A stroller tip for older kids/EMH evening hours!

marciemi

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 29, 1999
Messages
4,842
Hope this advice doesn't get "poofed" as getting around the system, but here's what we found when at EMH evening hours at the MK. We have a 9 year old, who's in good shape and had held up well all day, but we'd already done all of MGM early entry, then much of Animal Kingdom. By the time we went to MK for the late EMH hours, he was really drooping.

We did a couple rides, then watched Wishes. We were in Tomorrowland, near the (Plaza Pavilion?) restaurant that connects it to Main Street. We noticed that as soon as the show ended, many people pushed their strollers to the side (there was a big gaggle of them) and ran towards Main Street. Obviously they wanted to beat the crowds more than they wanted to get their $1 deposit back.

Well, we took advantage of this and "appropriated" one of the double strollers for the remaining 2 1/2 hours of the evening. DS9 was so glad to just sit between attractions (and since this was the only evening DH had at the parks with us since he was in conventions all the time, we did pretty much everything). Believe it or not, even my 11 & 12 year old took turns sitting in it with him. And they fit! And the strollers are such good quality that I had no trouble pushing it with two of them in it weighing well over my body weight!

The advantages to this were:

1. (Obviously) The kids got to sit and take a break. I never would have spent the $13 or whatever to rent a stroller for kids that age - I guess I wouldn't have even known if they would have even allowed us to rent one. But it was SO nice for them.

2. I got to put my heavy backpack that I'd been hauling on my shoulders all day somewhere. I hung it on the handles while pushing, then left it in the stroller during rides. So a big break for me too!

3. It was so dark, no one could see the ages of the kids in the stroller to give them strange glances or anything so they weren't embarrassed (although I think they were so tired they wouldn't have cared!)

4. I think we helped Disney out by hauling the stroller for them (albeit around the park first) from Tomorrowland to where we dropped it off near the stroller return by the main gate (no we didn't try returning it for the deposit!) Kept someone from having to move it all that way!

I think it would be even more obvious where strollers were abandoned on Main Street during that time if you wanted to get one. Also, this would probably work at Epcot after Illuminations or MGM after Fantasmic on those late evenings. Hope this helps someone out!
 
You have done Disney a great service! What did you do about the nametag?
 
There was not one in the stroller we borrowed, nor in many others nearby. I'm guessing people with uncommon names may pull them out before leaving, maybe to avoid being "tracked down" by Disney or others (not that I'm saying anyone, especially Disney, would, but maybe in this era of data security people are taking no chances!)
 

When we were there on an eride night in Aug '03 I noticed a ton of abandoned strollers at various attractions. You'd think that folks would want to push their tired kids back to the entrance rather than walking but who knows?
 











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