Walk from DLH to Parks

[TammyPB]

Hello,

We're going to DL in 2 weeks, and we're staying at the DLH. I've got a 4 year old and a 6 year old.

I know that it's a long walk, and I'm not looking forward to that because my husband thinks we can do this trip without strollers! "They're getting old enough -- we just have to take our time and be patient. I don't want to be rushing anywhere." Ugh, gotta find a way around that one. I think I might have to overrule that decision!

Is the monorail up and running now? I think I saw that they were doing construction on it in December -- is that still true?

Any tips on making that walk a little easier? When we go to DCA, can we cut through GCH, since we're staying at DLH?

Thanks for any help,
Tammy

 

[iceskatejen]

Yes, it's running a full circuit. Though I'm with you--kids that age would be best off with having the option of riding in a stroller.

 

[abby]

Last time we were there DD who was 6 and 1/2 wanted a rental stroller all day, we haven't owned one for years. There is so much walking, it makes it easier, also I love having her in a stroller because in crowds I know where she is.

 

[AZMickeyfans]

We usually take 1 stroller for ds4. Up until dd6 was about 5 1/2 we would take 2 for both of them but she wouldnt ride the whole time. When ds wants to walk she usually jumps in and rides but she is way to tall for it so it gets uncomfortable and she gets out. She can make it the whole day without a stroller but she usually piggyback rides on one of us back to the hotel as soon as we leave the gates.

 

[ChrisMouse]

I have to weigh in on this...just got back Sat. with my 4 & 6 year old.

We NEVER WOULD HAVE MADE IT THROUGH WITHOUT STROLLERS. Yes, even for my 6 year old.

There.

Here's what we did: we brought crummy umbrella strollers with us from home. We used those for that hike (yes, it's a hike) between Bonita Tower of DLH and the gates. Once inside, we checked our umbrella strollers in at the stroller rental (they just give you a claim check) and then we used our Disney Visa to rent two FREE strollers each day. The rentals ROCK. Big wheels, nice tall handles, and big sunshades.

I guess my kids are lazy, but we never would have made it without them. My DD took a brief nap in the late afternoon in the stroller & we were good to go all evening long. When the park closed, we turned in the rentals and picked up our umbrellas for the walk back through DTD.

We didn't use the monorail because of long lines and because we were always somewhere in the park at 8pm...

I just KNOW if we hadn't had them, we would have had to crash earlier. PLUS we would have had whining and/or piggybacking all the way to the DLH. Let's face it, that would NOT have been fun.

Just my two cents, but what we did worked very well.

Good luck!

 

[godalejunior]

I'll weigh in too. On our Jan. trip we wore DS (5) out and we did not get a stroller until our last day. Big mistake. We should have got it from the get go, especially because we had the Disney VISA.
This trip we got it for our full days on Thurs. and Fri. We stayed at Tropicana so the walk was minimal getting to the park. No complaints from DS and no sore feet or blisters.
One thing I noticed that was different from our Jan. trip. We were able to rent strollers at Star Trader with our VISA for free. Now, I was told you have to rent the stroller at DL main gate to get it for free. So, I would have had to walk all the way to the front gate, stand in the huge line or pay the $10. I found that very interesting especially because the park map has the Star Trader denoted as a rental site.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I went back and forth on the stroller issue when we planned our first trip. I finally decided we'd bring 1 stroller for DS2, but if DS6 needed a stroller in the late afternoon/evenings, we'd rent one.

We took daily long walks around the neighborhood before our trip, and I think that really paid off. And whenever DS2 wanted out of the stroller, DS6 hopped in for a free ride. I figured it was saving his energy for later in the evening, so why not? (We did get a few odd looks from grown-ups, but DS6 was oblivious so I didn't care, either.)

We never did need to rent a stroller for him, though DS6 did ride back to the hotel in the stroller one or two evenings, while DH carried DS2 on his shoulders. So bringing one stroller worked out well for us.

I say you make a deal with your DH. Here are the options:
1. You can bring (at least) one stroller from home
2. You can agree to rent (one or more) stroller as necessary
3. Don't bring, don't rent, but then he does all the carrying when the whining starts.

 

[ShawnaF]

I too say you should override that decision, that's a LOT of walking for little tiny kids! My stroller is wonderful and I would never take a trip without it! It also is fantastic for holding all the junk we have to haul with us even when our 2 year old wants to walk. If my husband said no stroller, I'd likely leave him home and take the stroller and 2 year old - lol! DTD walking goes nicely because of window shopping but remember all the walking in the park too. My feet kill me after one day, I'm sure the little ones are exhausted too plus the last thing you need is for one of them to get blisters.

 

[teacherkaren]

If you have a Disney VISA you can get a stroller free at the park entrance. If you each have a card you can get 2.

 

[TammyPB]

Thank you guys! Okay, we will get two cheap umbrella strollers and use our Visa to get free rentals at the gate, like ChrisMouse did. I figure that it's better safe than sorry! Hubby will go along with it after the first day, I'm sure.

I appreciate all of your feedback.