$31 rental for a double stroller.

[EltonJohn]

Never truer words were written.

Knox

With all due respect, you can have disagreements without getting nasty about it. I've been on religious message boards and it doesn't get this bad, and you know what they say about religion.

 

[Goofyzgurl]

Whoa....that's really excessive. We just rented a single for $10 last night. They were selling strollers at then rental area for $40! I would've bought one there before I paid $31 to rent one!

 

[loonytoony]

$27/day x 365 days a year = $9,855. Lets say they rent 75% of the days $9,855 x .75 = $7,391. That's a nice profit! What a magical place!

I had a friend who did a project on disney and the real rate is like 90% and the average life is 2 years.

 

[CanadianGuy]

With all due respect, you can have disagreements without getting nasty about it. I've been on religious message boards and it doesn't get this bad, and you know what they say about religion.

Disagreements CAN be had without getting nasty about it.. and as a moderator on these boards.. I wish more disagreements WOULD be had that way..



If I've learned anything in 2 years on the DIS, its that you can add 'vacations' to religion and politics.

Knox

 

[~April J~]

ITA. And older children riding in strollers only makes the parks more congested, which impedes the enjoyment of other guests, which makes it their business. Disney most likely gets a lot of complaints about that.



Did your parents ever get you a train set for Christmas, but you couldn't play with it because Dad was always playing with it? Ever wonder who the train set was really for

As for all the flames in this thread, isn't the Dis suppossed to be "The Internet's Largest and Friendliest Disney Community"?

Wow I guess I should have read threw all the responses. My six and a half year old son is 32lbs and yes offer him a stroller when we visit ANY place that requires a lot of walking. He was born with club feet and had surgeries and YEARS worth of casting to correct them. because of all the stuff done to his feet and from being born with this condition his feet are rather sensitive. He is FAR from being over weight and even with long breaks offered several consecutive days of lots of walking and he will be in so much pain he wouldn't be able to walk. I choose to make MY son comfortable and will do anything to make his visit to WDW as enjoyable and magical as I can, so if it annoys anyone that my six year old is riding in a stroller......tough. I can't believe people would sit around and flame parents for trying to make a magical moment for their children. I'm sure if I were to watch (those of you who are voicing your displeasure so negatively) parent I would be able to pick out several thing I could ramble on about but I wouldn't do that.....Its not my place........nor yours. We all just want whats best for OUR children.

I quoted a person. My message is meant for the people he/she quoted.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I had a friend who did a project on disney and the real rate is like 90% and the average life is 2 years.

Wow.. if you can get an electronic copy of this project I'd LOVE to see it..

You can PM here for an email address.

Thanks!

Knox

 

[goofyernmost]

Wow I guess I should have read threw all the responses. My six and a half year old son is 32lbs and yes offer him a stroller when we visit ANY place that requires a lot of walking. He was born with club feet and had surgeries and YEARS worth of casting to correct them. because of all the stuff done to his feet and from being born with this condition his feet are rather sensitive. He is FAR from being over weight and even with long breaks offered several consecutive days of lots of walking and he will be in so much pain he wouldn't be able to walk. I choose to make MY son comfortable and will do anything to make his visit to WDW as enjoyable and magical as I can, so if it annoys anyone that my six year old is riding in a stroller......tough. I can't believe people would sit around and flame parents for trying to make a magical moment for their children. I'm sure if I were to watch (those of you who are voicing your displeasure so negatively) parent I would be able to pick out several thing I could ramble on about but I wouldn't do that.....Its not my place........nor yours. We all just want whats best for OUR children.

I quoted a person. My message is meant for the people he/she quoted.

And yet another one...sigh! No one has ever said, on this thread or others, that kids with problems regardless of age, shouldn't be using whatever means is available to enjoy a pain free visit. No one has singled out any one. No one is judging who should or shouldn't be in a stroller individually. Some look suspicious but who knows they could really need a stroller. We cannot tell, but, common sense tells one that there is a certain number that use them that really do not need them. Those are the ones we are speaking about.

What they are saying is, if a child of that age, isn't sick, isn't challenged and is riding around in a cart instead of getting much needed exercise then it is wrong in their opinion. The parent knows if it is being used for convenience or necessity and that is all that should matter. If it is being used for a convenience then this increase may just cut out a large number of those double wide monsters and make room for the rest of us. If a child needs it then they should be using them. That is what is has been said from the beginning. If you have a real need then you have no real reason to be upset by these messages. We agree with you. If Disney has increased the price to control the numbers out there then you can put your anger toward those that have been using them and really not needing them. They have unwillingly created the problem.

 

[LilGMom]

Target just got my WDW stroller rental money. We are now the proud owners of a Baby Trend Sit-N-Stand. A five day rental for a double was about the same amont of money as what we spent on the stroller and we'll be using this stroller for our December trip as well. So I figure that the stroller will be paying for itself on the last day of our May trip and will have more than paid for itself for our December trip. My local Target store thanks WDW for the stroller rental increase and I guess I should too since it'll be saving me money in December.

 

[autumnbaby9]

It shouldn't matter if it is a convenience or a necessity.

IMO vacations are the time to be lazy. I'm hardly going to be sticking to my exercise regiment while at WDW (or any other vacation spot) so I'm not going to make my child excert herself if she doesn't want to. I will be taking breaks at the hotel but even so WDW is a LOT of walking for little legs. If DD gets tired I will rent her a stroller. If others don't like it, tough. You are not paying for the rental so you don't get a say.

 

[aquaticmom]

It's pretty sad when I can rent a car from National cheaper than I can rent a stroller for the day from Disney.

 

[KPeveler]

i am hoping that no matter how expensive they are, disney can come up with a creative way to control where the strollers are parked - like creating a "rental stroller parking area" in fantasy land that is NOT in the middle of a walkway. i had a lot of trouble getting my wheelchair through fantasyland cause of all the strollers, and they were all parked - no kids in them! i know kids use strollers, for whatever reason. as i do not have kids, it makes no difference to me why people use them. however, there needs to be a better idea for stroller parking!

 

[CleveRocks]

Riding in Disney strollers one or two weeks in a lifetime is hardly a rampaging cause of obesity in 6 year olds. I don't think riding in a stroller on vacation is damaging anyone's health, just like I don't think an out-of-shape couple vacationing at a health spa for a week is going to improve their health by doing so.

I just think there's a lot of overly dramatic stuff getting thrown around in this thread.

Just like I don't buy it when 20-something recreational drug users tout the medicinal virtues of marijuana, I don't buy it that everyone is so very concerned for the health of children they don't know. The drug users want marijuana legalized, and they'll back anything they think will further their cause, and the "stroller haters" want stroller presence substantially reduced, and they'll back anything they think will further their cause.

 

[kaytieeldr]

....

Hi all,

I am a LONG time WDW visitor -- I not only go often, but I talk about it as a vacation destination SO much to other people, that I am personally responsible for at least an additional dozen visits in the past few years. You're welcome. Thank you We appreciate your business and your recommendations - but that doesn't account for the other ten million-plus visits per year.
The Disney company is a business with shareholders, and finances have always been central to the running of the company, but the recent gouging since the economic recovery after 9/11 has been absurd and it is damaging your relationship with your loyal customer base -- the best word of mouth you have.

To whit......

1) Not only are there large ticket increases every year, last year gave us TWO That was 2006, not last year.
2) The explosion of hard ticket events mean that regular customers not only lose park hour time but also night events like the fireworks and SpectroMagic...without a refund. The Magic Kingdom's standard hours are 8 AM to 6 PM. Nobody is "losing" park time; most days/times of the year, Guests benefit from extended hours. Not only is this nonsense, but you are getting double admission for one day while cheating the first group. May we refer you back to your earlier comment, abuot Disney being a business with shareholders? This is understandable for a few tmes, but have you seen how many MNSSHPs there are this year?? We have, as a matter of fact. We scheduled them.3) The ridiculous and sudden reduction of the dining plan that has infuriated customers and waiters alike. I'm sure whoever put this through received a pay raise for their money-saving ideas, but never have so many been so angered for such nonsense.... While Disney does not customarily explain its actions to our Guests, we first feel that changes announced six month in advance of execution are not sudden; these changes were made in part in response to specific complaints and suggestions from our Guests; and while we feel our Guests can and do benefit from the Dining Plan, it is not mandatory.4) Holiday surcharges?? Because food is more expensive at Christmas? No value added, just taking away from folks --esp those not expecting it Thank you again for your comments. This, too, is a market-driven, supply and demand-based increase.
5) The stroller rental price being raised over 70%! There is a new slogan on the various boards (credit Boomhauer)
14 day SUV rental from Alamo - $377.
14 day stroller rental from Disney - $434.
Disney's audacity - Priceless. Please be advised that Guest-driven automobiles are not permitted in any of our theme parks, making this an invalid comparison.


6) This is on top of the regularly overpriced items -- parking, concessions, photopass, souvenirs, hard ticket prices, hopping prices

It is amazing how much the Parks spend on advertising, and then "abuse" their customers one they get them. Your word of mouth is eventually going to suffer. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but our love has limits.

 

[boomhauer]

Disney "screws" people on lots of things. $2.50 for 30c worth of soda? Come on.. That's egregious in my book. McDonalds French Fries for 4.50$ ?? A stuffed animal for $50 that cast members can get 40% off at Christmas time? How much of that is profit then?

I agree, but there's a big difference between those things and a stroller. For the audience that goes to Disney, a stroller isn't an option - It's a necessity. If Disney wants to charge $25 for a small McDonalds french fries, I could care less. Not necessary for me and my family. If they want to charge $100 for a stuffed animal, I could care less. Not necessary for me and my family. However, what is necessary is a stroller.

Funny thing, with all my disgust over the new prices, I've never even rented a stroller from Disney. We always bring our own. However, this new price increase is guarneteed to make riding the buses a living hell. That's not something I want to deal with on my vacation. So, we'll have to bite the bullet, drop the $400, and rent a car. I hope the decision was worth it to Disney. This price increase will be sending us off to their 2 biggest competitors for 2 days we would have otherwise spent at Disney. Rest assured, I won't be the only one.

 

[goofyernmost]

It shouldn't matter if it is a convenience or a necessity.

IMO vacations are the time to be lazy. I'm hardly going to be sticking to my exercise regiment while at WDW (or any other vacation spot) so I'm not going to make my child excert herself if she doesn't want to. I will be taking breaks at the hotel but even so WDW is a LOT of walking for little legs. If DD gets tired I will rent her a stroller. If others don't like it, tough. You are not paying for the rental so you don't get a say.

What you said is absolutely correct. It doesn't matter one little speck what the rest of us like or dislike. ! If you want to pay the extra for the stroller, I am sure that Disney Co. will be more than happy to let you have one or two. Last February my daughter rented a double stroller for her visit. Yesterday, I said to her, "did you hear that the cost of one of those is now $31.00 per day.

After her jaw was jacked up from the floor her first statement was "well they better get used to walking for the next trip". Apparently there is a breaking point!

So if you want one, rent one. There is no law that says that the cost has to be low. Frankly, I would have walked away at the $18.00 price.

There is also a limited value for a Dole Whip. At some point it isn't worth it. As far as strollers being a necessity is concerned. No one said you couldn't have one, it's just a tad more costly. What at Disney isn't costly?

Economically speaking, when something becomes a "necessity" is exactly when the price goes up. When it is just a "wanna have" it is usually cheaper to encourage you to get it. Just from my observations they don't have to lower the price anymore to encourage the demand. The demand is there.

 

[maxiesmom]

What you said is absolutely correct. It doesn't matter one little speck what the rest of us like or dislike. ! If you want to pay the extra for the stroller, I am sure that Disney Co. will be more than happy to let you have one or two. Last February my daughter rented a double stroller for her visit. Yesterday, I said to her, "did you hear that the cost of one of those is now $31.00 per day.

After her jaw was jacked up from the floor her first statement was "well they better get used to walking for the next trip". Apparently there is a breaking point!

So if you want one, rent one. There is no law that says that the cost has to be low. Frankly, I would have walked away at the $18.00 price.

There is also a limited value for a Dole Whip. At some point it isn't worth it. As far as strollers being a necessity is concerned. No one said you couldn't have one, it's just a tad more costly. What at Disney isn't costly?

Economically speaking, when something becomes a "necessity" is exactly when the price goes up. When it is just a "wanna have" it is usually cheaper to encourage you to get it. Just from my observations they don't have to lower the price anymore to encourage the demand. The demand is there.

No suprise that you are the voice of reason!

Well said!

 

[disneymyway]

I think there is a lot of misplaced anger in this thread.

So I don't like strollers (we barely used it when our daughter turned 2 and gave ours away when our daughter turned 3) - how does that affect any of you? We disagree about strollers, that's all, just like we might disagree about the use of pacifiers or breastfeeding or any of the zillion choices parents make. Yes , I have opinions about all those things as I'm sure you all do. But my opinion does not take away any of your rights. You have the right to rent 6 strollers for each of your 6 kids ranging in ages from 5 to 15 if you like. What any of us say about it does not matter. It is your right!

So if you want to be angry at someone, direct it at the right place, at WDW. They are the ones who might affect your money and your families. Not us.

Personally, I am very curious to see how Disney will respond to the protests. If they bring the price back down, it may be that some marketing genius just made a big mistake. But if the price stays the same, I think Jeremy was right - WDW is trying to control the number of double strollers ( and I think just the double ones, because the single ones didn't go up that much) but making them more difficult to rent. Those parks are crowded and maybe they just felt like they had to do something.

Yes, more people will bring their own, but as Jeremy said, few people will bring them for their 8 year old or just to lug around purchases.

I think WDW did this to control the crowds at the parks. Don't shoot the messenger! I had nothing to do with this no matter what the reason!

And just so you know, we got the same kind of comments in reverse when our daughter was small. People would say, "Where's your stroller honey? Are your mean old parents making you walk?" Nosey stuff, yeah, but we figured for every one person who said it, there were 10 thinking it. What did we care? We were confident in our decision to make our child walk and what others thought didn't matter. Make your decision and be happy with it. What others think on the board shouldn't shake people up the way it seems to be!

 

[LilGMom]

i am hoping that no matter how expensive they are, disney can come up with a creative way to control where the strollers are parked - like creating a "rental stroller parking area" in fantasy land that is NOT in the middle of a walkway.

They should come up with a stroller parking garage!

Riding in Disney strollers one or two weeks in a lifetime is hardly a rampaging cause of obesity in 6 year olds. I don't think riding in a stroller on vacation is damaging anyone's health, just like I don't think an out-of-shape couple vacationing at a health spa for a week is going to improve their health by doing so.

I agree. Heck, I get more excercise when I'm at WDW with all of the walking I do. My kids probably get the same amount, maybe a little more even though they use a stroller.

 

[DavidH]

I was a CM at Studio Main Entrance from '89-'96, which included the stroller shop. Now I am a paying guest and don't like the prices of things, but....

> We had different prices and lower prices then, but strollers never made a profit.
>We ran at least 2 shifts and at least 3 during the summer. CM's in strollers start at least 2 hours before park open and stay more than 3 hours after close.
>I was making almost $12/hr with more benefits than I could use when I left.
>We had over 12 CM's for the opening and closing shifts. Most were backstage.
>We would rent 600-800 strollers and 300 wheelchairs in about 2 hours - they would all come back in about one hour after closing. Sent 4 people out after closing to find the ones "left" in the park.
>We ran out most days during the summer, but there was no room for more because they were stacked to the ceiling in every nook and cranny in the back.
>We had a full time repair person, two in the summer.
>We'd get 30 - 40 new strollers a month as replacements. A couple of strollers went in the dumpster every night.
> Maybe 20% of the guest "abused" the strollers with big kids, several kids, or tons of stuff or whatever.

I think Disney is raising the prices on doubles to reduce the demand for them. People who need a double stroller will either pay it or buy their own. The "abusers" will likely chose to do without. It is not "to make money", but to control the number of double strollers in the parks.

David

 

[LastGracefulPirate]

And yet another one...sigh! No one has ever said, on this thread or others, that kids with problems regardless of age, shouldn't be using whatever means is available to enjoy a pain free visit. No one has singled out any one. No one is judging who should or shouldn't be in a stroller individually. Some look suspicious Sorry to tell ya- but this is judgmental right here. but who knows they could really need a stroller. We cannot tell, but, common sense tells one that there is a certain number that use them that really do not need them. Those are the ones we are speaking about.

What they are saying is, if a child of that age, isn't sick, isn't challenged and is riding around in a cart instead of getting much needed exercise then it is wrong in their opinion. The parent knows if it is being used for convenience or necessity and that is all that should matter. If it is being used for a convenience then this increase may just cut out a large number of those double wide monsters and make room for the rest of us. If a child needs it then they should be using them. That is what is has been said from the beginning. If you have a real need then you have no real reason to be upset by these messages. We agree with you. If Disney has increased the price to control the numbers out there then you can put your anger toward those that have been using them and really not needing them. They have unwillingly created the problem.

(The following is taken from a previous post- sorry didn't know how to double quote) I just found out about the price increase this morning and I was heart broken! Our trip is coming up fast- April 25th, and we had budgeted to rent a double stroller at $18 a day for DS 2 and DS6. I did call Disney and spoke with several people who did confirm the increase ($27 a day for extended days) and most agreed it was high.

I was hoping that I could reserve one at this price but no. So with a ticket or room rate increase- I can plan ahead, but with the stroller price increase I'm stuck?! This is just sickening! I'm not going to purchase a double stoller - because it's hard to find a stroller that would accomodate my 6yo. But I will be buying an umbrella for my 2yo. Regarless, we planned on taking breaks every afternoon- but it is NO ONE'S business if my 6yo needs a break. As one person commented- it makes him/her sick to see 6-7-8 yo in stollers all day. Just because you see one resting at 8:00 pm DOES NOT mean they have been in there all day!!! Our family has been saving for quite a while to be able to take a trip to Disney and WE will decide what WE need to make OUR trip more enjoyable for OUR family. WDW is a place designed for CHILDREN (of all ages)- and is a more appropriate place for cranky and tired 6YO than for judgmental adults who give condesending stares - even tho they have no idea what the conditions may or may not be. And if my child happens to have a brief melt down on our 10th day because he's tired of walking- so be it. If an adult doesn't want to see a cranky child- you're in the wrong place, try the Bahamas next time.__________________