Resorts and Transportation with a Baby

[coconutprincess]

Hi all. We have been to Disney numerous times and always used their transportation. We are planning a trip for next year, when DS will be between 15-18 months old.

This will be our first time with a stroller. We were thinking of staying at the Poly, as I heard that its easier with the stroller, and people don't collapse them on the monorail - but I am not sure if that is proper etiquitte or not. (please no flames).

Is there one resort better than the rest with a little one and strollers? Or is it easier to rent a car? DH really doesn't want to rent a car, but we can if needed.

Right now we are focusing on POR, WL, or Poly.

 

[Sue M]

Poly would be a good choice with monorail to MK, and a short walking path to TTC to get Epcot monorail.
You can get on monorail with strollers, without collapsing them, just be careful of not blocking exit.
We were on a monorail, trying to get off and a woman with stroller was blocking the exit making it difficult to get out, my daughter accidentally bumped the stroller, and woman made a nasty remark .

 

[twinboysmom]

Any of the monorail resorts are a little easier but we have been asked by cm's to fold our stroller for the monorail. It is rare but it can happen.

We stayed at WL and it was fine. Some boats will allow you to roll the stroller on and some of the smaller boats will require you to fold the stroller. To me, the absolute easiest resort to stay at with little ones is one that you didn't mention. We love the CR because it has a walkway to the MK. It takes 7-10 minutes and is quicker than any monorail or boat. Then monorail to Epcot. The CR and Poly routinely share buses and every time we have stayed at the CR the buses have been full before we got to the poly.

Even if you stay at POR (which I think would be fine btw) I don't think you need to rent a car. We have been 6 times with our boys before they were 3, have a double stroller, and have stayed at resorts that only had bus transportation and it was fine.

 

[mountdew1]

As courtesy, the stroller should always be collapsed. Whether a CM asks you to or not, it takes up space that other guests could use.

We did a week long trip with my 1yo nephew and his parents. We stayed at OKW and had no problems folding the stroller each time to take the bus. The key is to not have stuff hanging off of it all over the place. If everything the child needs is kept in a single bag, which should make it much easier to find and carry when the stroller needs to be parked, collapsing a stroller to use transportation isn't that hard since it sounds like there will be 2 of you.

 

[maxiesmom]

One of the great things about staying at a monorail resort is being able to keep your child in the stroller when getting on a monorail (most of the time). Just don't keep your stroller up and then take your child out and put them in a seat. That is bad form.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We were just at Bay Lake Tower in October and a few times when we got the monorail at the Contemporary, guests were asked to remove children from strollers and fold them up because the monorail was full.

 

[North of Mouse]

We stayed at WL and it was fine. Some boats will allow you to roll the stroller on and some of the smaller boats will require you to fold the stroller.

*All* the small boats require strollers to be folded, as there is a step down, and no way for the strollers to roll on, or be parked, on the boat.

 

[buzznina]

We have no issues using the buses with one and at times 2 strollers. DW and I have a good routine and we make sure the stroller(s) are folded before the bus comes and I will take the 2 strollers and a bag and head straight to the back door to stand. If it looks like the bus will not be full I will grab a seat by the back door. When the monorail is not crowded it is very nice but the times we used it with crowds made us want to take the bus The bad part of the monorail when crowded, is that people turn into a stampede. We have had a couple actually split my DW and DD(4 at that time) apart when they were holding hands, by rushing through them going onto the monorail. JMO

 

[ready2vacation]

We visited in September with a 10 month old. We stayed offsite that trip and thought driving to/from the parks was a breeze. We also used the boats and monorail quite a bit. We never collapsed for the monorail, but it was also a crowd level "1" when we were there. For the boat at Epcot, we collapsed but the captain told us not to do that as there was plenty of room.

I will note that we used a small "lite" stroller (step up from an umbrella). It was very small, light, and perfect so when we didn't collapse it still didn't take up hardly any room. (I still managed to run over two people that week though - one who came to a dead stop in front of me unexpectedly and the other due to my bad driving )

 

[nurse.darcy]

I have a friend that still takes a stroller to carry "snacks" to the park. She does live local, however, and has several children and usually only visits one park per day. She drives and loves that convenience. I am of the "please fold your stroller" crowd on resort transportation. Its just safer for your kids to be in your lap or in a seat, rather than the stroller. If the Monorail has to come to a sudden stop, the stroller can become a projectile object even with the child in it. It happens. As far as where is convenient to stay, I don't think any of the resorts are a problem. I agree with a previous poster that the Contemporary is absolutely the most convenient resort on property for the walk to MK and ability to hop the Monorail to Epcot and other resorts for a visit. Truly plan your resort around what you plan on doing during your stay. That will help your decision making. The child and stroller are really not a big factor as you will already have a routine set up for yourselves.

A couple of things to keep in mind. . .

You will always have to go through the bag check lines so make it easy on yourselves and pack one bag that can be worn or thrown in the stroller, either way, at will.

Do not have multiple bags and stuff hanging all over the stroller, as this will slow you down and inconvenience you every time you have to park the stroller for a ride or attraction.

If you make purchases in the park, either have them sent to your hotel room (if staying onsite) or to the front of the park for pick up as you exit the park that day. This will make your life so much easier.

With good planning the trip should be a piece of cake and you will have an absolute ball regardless of where you stay. Just keep in mind your toddler's schedule and don't force them to go park commando all the time. Adjust your touring schedule to allow for some down time (i.e. naps, pool, etc) so they have a chance to rewind. It will make for a much more harmonious trip.

Have a blast.

 

[coconutprincess]

Thanks for all the replies! This really helps!!!!

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

As courtesy, the stroller should always be collapsed. Whether a CM asks you to or not, it takes up space that other guests could use.

I don't think courtesy requires that the stroller ALWAYS be folded. We have gone the past couple of years in late January and we were often the only group in our monorail car, so I didn't fold the stroller. I wasn't being rude at all.

 

[uagirl]

As courtesy, the stroller should always be collapsed. Whether a CM asks you to or not, it takes up space that other guests could use.

We did a week long trip with my 1yo nephew and his parents. We stayed at OKW and had no problems folding the stroller each time to take the bus. The key is to not have stuff hanging off of it all over the place. If everything the child needs is kept in a single bag, which should make it much easier to find and carry when the stroller needs to be parked, collapsing a stroller to use transportation isn't that hard since it sounds like there will be 2 of you.

I have to disagree. If the monorail is empty, I'm not taking my sleeping child out to fold the stroller. When we were there in September, the monorail was never crowded enough to require folding the stroller.

 

[bamadismom]

We just got back last night and the whole time we were there I never saw a folded stroller on the monorail. I would sit then pull the stroller in front of me and lock it so it didn't take up any other seating space. Also we stayed at POP so we used bus transportation mainly. It wasn't hard at all when we saw the bus coming we folded the stroller. I had my hipster bag with my camera, phones, wallet and other valuables that I carried and took on rides. I had a diaper bag that attaches to the back of the stroller with diapers, wipes, snacks, extra clothes, sunscreen and whatever other park items we needed that we left on the stroller. Then we had a lunch bag type cooler in the basket with water and juice. The stroller folded with the cooler and bag attached so that was nice. Me and DH discussed that next time if we have the money we would like to stay at a monorail resort. But not because of the stroller bit because of how easy and close you are when you have a sleeping or cranky child and don't want to wait or ride a bus for 20 minutes. Good luck with what you decide!