Stroller. Worth it?

[MudQueen22]

I'm debating on whether I should bring my own stroller or rent one from Disney.
My friend said the double strollers are $27 per day, and I doubt a single is much less.
We have our own, and it isn't much trouble to bring it with us to Disney, but dh says that it will be difficult getting it on and off the Disney buses when we travel from the resort to the parks.
He mentioned we could drive our vehicle to the parks, but don't you still have to get on some other type of transportation to get from the parking lots to the park gates?
I've never been. Dh has been, but he has always taken the Disney buses to the parks.
What would you do? What is most reasonable?

 

[DSLRuser]

We brought or went to Wally World and bought a cheap one for like $30

No way I would rent for that price.

 

[Disneylover99]

As long as it's easy to fold in order to get it on the bus, I would bring it.

 

[Sunnyday3]

We always bring our umbrella stroller-it was about $30. We always use Disney's transportation and it's so easy to fold up an umbrella stroller. I've never had an issue with it on the busses, or otherwise.

I totally get the convenience of renting, but the price stops me. I'd rather use that money for souvenirs

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

I take my own. I don't find it difficult to fold it up though. I like to have my own because if child is sleeping I don't have to carry het to the hotel room. Magic Kingdom is the only park you would have to transfer after you park.

 

[Caseheidi]

We take our own. It is inconvient on the buses and trams, but the positives out weighed the negative. The walk back to the room (renting you leave in park), the ease of finding it (all the Disney ones look alike, and some people just don't care if they grab another guests stroller), the cost, the comfort (Disney's do not look comfortable at all) and my child having her own personal space she is already comfortable with.

For us DD napped in the stroller daily, by her own choice. She gets a little over stimulated at Disney, and we were able to put the seat back down, pull the sun shade down and cover with a blanket. This had the added advantage of her shutting out the crowded and movement, helping her calm down. So for me, this is the only reason that counts taking our own. If you have a child who gets cranky and over stimulated in crowds, having your own strollers is the best.

 

[TSirgey]

I always bring my own. I used a maclaren volo and it folds up easily and has a strap so it was easy to take on and off the bus. I also always stroll my little one right up to board the plane and the flight attendants stow it away. This way you have a stroller for the airport too.

 

[jms]

I rent one from Orlando Strollers. They deliver to our resort the day we arrive and pick up the day we leave. That way I dont have to bring one through the airport and security plus I can take it all the way to the bus instead of carrying a sleeping toddler. I believe my 5 day single rental is $60 or so. Then I bring an Umbrella stroller for the airport, especially since we have a layover in Atlanta. Google Orlando Stroller Rental and you will find them

 

[akadada]

I don't know what your budget is like, but strollers are a must for kiddos under I would guess 6 (ours are younger) and we use Kingdom Strollers...they're fantastic. Excellent quality and service. We've rented the highest end strollers for what we think is incredibly reasonable rate (we also buy the insurance because my son is a WMD).

We're so glad to not have to lug the stroller from car to airport; airport through security; flight gate check to plane; off plane check to rental car (and then reverse when we leave) anymore. That alone is worth the premium rental.

best of luck

 

[MudQueen22]

Thanks for replying.
Most of you have me leaning toward bringing my own. We will be taking the family minivan from Texas to Florida; there will be five of us in it. Packing the stroller will make luggage a tight squeeze, but it can be done. I'm not concerned about transport from home to the resort; it's from the resort to the parks.
I currently have a Graco stroller that originally came with the infant car seat. It is big and bulky, but comfortable and has undercarriage storage. Would it be better for me to bring an umbrella stroller?
ETA: planning to bring a soft-sided cooler in; not sure if that will not work with the umbrella.

 

[Kate and Family]

When we went in 2012 we did not use a stroller except at MK - so we rented one at the gates.

My granddaughter was 3 years old, so she mostly could keep up. Going back to Ft. Wilderness was not a problem if we walked at her speed. Mostly we used it so that we could move at our pace, instead of hers going through the parks. As it turned out the 7 year old became sick and we used it for her so that she could stay and see wishes. (I took the youngest back to Ft. Wilderness).

For us, renting the stroller at the gate and returning it to the gate worked really well. The stroller was easy to push and was quite roomy. It was a seat rather than a recliner - so visibility was much better for the child than traditional strollers. I am not sure it would have fit the bill for an infant.

 

[Sphinx610]

I rent one from Orlando Strollers. They deliver to our resort the day we arrive and pick up the day we leave. That way I dont have to bring one through the airport and security plus I can take it all the way to the bus instead of carrying a sleeping toddler.

^^^This^^^
When my kiddos were smaller we rented from them too. The park strollers are not comfortable! Orlando Stroller Rental strollers were so nice and ended up being much cheaper than renting for the week at the park.

 

[AshleeH]

We've brought our own and rented from Orlando Stroller in the past. They've been vacation-savers. My kids walk a lot, but not in the realm of Disney-walking. They did fine in Disneyland last year, but the trips before that, a stroller was necessary at some point (not much for our 2012 trip, but vital when our younger son was 4 and 5).

 

[RllngRckBrw]

I know the prices are nuts but I prefer to rent one. We really like the convenience of it. Our kids always used them to avoid walking all day and climbing in and out was easy for him. This was one area we chose to waste the money because of the extra convenience it provided.

 

[akadada]

Thanks for replying.
Would it be better for me to bring an umbrella stroller?
ETA: planning to bring a soft-sided cooler in; not sure if that will not work with the umbrella.

If you plan on bringing one, then I think an umbrella is much nicer and easier. We possibly have the same or similar Greco as you and it's a bear. We bought a Jeep Brand and brought it to Disney prior to learning about Kingdom and it was champ. Perfect for the trip. Although sans stroller, we'd still rent.

Cheers.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Thanks for replying.
Most of you have me leaning toward bringing my own. We will be taking the family minivan from Texas to Florida; there will be five of us in it. Packing the stroller will make luggage a tight squeeze, but it can be done. I'm not concerned about transport from home to the resort; it's from the resort to the parks.
I currently have a Graco stroller that originally came with the infant car seat. It is big and bulky, but comfortable and has undercarriage storage. Would it be better for me to bring an umbrella stroller?
ETA: planning to bring a soft-sided cooler in; not sure if that will not work with the umbrella.

The umbrella stroller will 'work' if someone carries the cooler or if you store it in a locker.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We love having a stroller that folds easily. We bought a baby jogger, but a lot of the private companies rent the same ones. We use Disney transportation, and having it fold with one hand is great.

 

[raven69david]

We use our umbrella stroller without a problem for DS2. If he walks, then we just use it to hold our bags, but it's not a problem when using it on Disney transportation and/or the trams. If you have a large stroller such as Britax models, then it may be a bit cumbersome, but I didn't mind with our Britax B-Agile which is a larger stroller.

 

[babydovesx2]

Don't flame me but our DD who is 9 still rides a stroller. But in her defense she is the size of the average 5 year old. She is very, very small for her age and does not have the stamina for walking thru the parks all day. We have tried renting a Disney stroller, renting for a stroller company and bringing our own. We like brining our own much, much more than renting. When we are in line to get on the bus I go ahead and fold the stroller so we won't hold up the line when we get onto the bus. DH always stands with the stroller so we don't take up a seat with our stroller.

 

[GoMegGo]

I rent from Orlando Stroller rentals. The WDW stroller are like pushing a flat-bed cart at Costco. And, you can't take them out of the parks. The strollers Orlando Stroller Rentals offer are really nice (we actually have a similar one at home) and are very easy to fold. I hate umbrella stroller since they offer no sun protection (my husband and I are very pale, and therefore we breed pale babies), the City Mini GT we rented last huge have a HUGE sunshade, which I loved.