Cooler and/or Stroller Bag

[Isbell5]

We leave in 24 days for WDW!!! So I am trying to get all my ducks in a row. We will take food in, so I have a soft side cooler that we take on picnics/ball games that I plan to use for that. I also was planning to have a "stroller bag" that would have ponchos, tylenol, extra shirts, etc in it (no valuables).

Do you leave these items in your stroller at the stroller parking areas or do you take them up to the attractions/rides with you?

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

Back in the day..... Our stroller bag was kept in the lockers at the entrance to the park. We only carried the absolute essentials on our person.

Thankfully these days it's the KTTW card and a little cash only

 

[Nissi]

We do leave bags like that, with no valuables, stashed under the stroller when we go on rides or in the built in mesh pockets, etc.
Our valuable stuff stays on our person in either a cross body or a backpack.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We leave in 24 days for WDW!!! So I am trying to get all my ducks in a row. We will take food in, so I have a soft side cooler that we take on picnics/ball games that I plan to use for that. I also was planning to have a "stroller bag" that would have ponchos, tylenol, extra shirts, etc in it (no valuables).

Do you leave these items in your stroller at the stroller parking areas or do you take them up to the attractions/rides with you?

As long as you don't mind them being gone when you return to the stroller. You just don't know what is going through the minds of others at WDW. Some are out to see what they can score off unattended strollers.

If you are taking a bus from your resort to the theme parks, will you be able to manage all that stuff including the stroller and the child from the stroller when you have to fold it up?

Also make sure there is no glass in the bag. No mayonnaise jars. No bottled drinks.

 

[LSUfan4444]

For the most part, te leave ours in/on our stroller. We have always used a heavier jogging stroller. We stash things under the stroller that we know we won't probably need to get to throughout the say (extra clothes, etc.), but we clip a bag with our snacks to the handle by using one of those "mommy hooks". It does add some extra weight to the back of the stroller so if the kid is not in the stroller, it can (and has) tipped back on us, but for the most part it has worked well.

When we go on an attraction, we sometimes took the bag with our snacks and what not with us.

In summary, we kind of do both. We have one bag we leave on the stroller and one bag we take with us sometimes so we keep it easy to get to and easy to put on and off.

 

[tigger24601]

We'll often leave our poncho/sweater bag either under our stroller our in the seat and put the stroller rain cover over it. Life that thing, protects from rain and birds. Just a thought.

 

[houseful of boys]

I absolutely leave my cooler, diaper bags, and poncho bag in the stroller while riding. Never leave anything you wouldn't be willing to lose just in case of worst case scenarios already mentioned. In all my trips to Disney, I've never had anything taken.

 

[KimK2006]

We left thing in the stroller that could be replaced if stolen. We did NOT lug the extra things on rides.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

My number one response to queries like this is always- less is more!

On many trips, we've not had anything stolen except food by critters- once a squirrel stole french fires (technically at US) and once gulls stole popcorn. that said, we don't leave valuables. Carrry those on your person.

One thing we do carrry is water. Our trick is to use 2.5gallon zliplock bags. It makes securuity so much easier over a backpack with tons of zippers. you just hold it up, and they can see everything.

I also really try hard to think about ways to reduce how much we carry. Like, instead of lots of drinks, you might consider those tiny lightweight drink packets. Okay, mabe thsoe are not for you....but I always find it very helpful to spend time thinking about what we actually use. Like only bringing as much Tylenol as you need, or sacrificing the (extra) digital camera/camcorder to just the cell phone camera.


I don't know your personal needs, but we gave up the softsided cooler many moons ago. It was too much of a hassle. Like I said though, we were only using it for water.

At 24 days, I review most of what we'll bring. Goiing back to the cooler- as a kind of random example- if your cooler is bigger than you think you'll need- it may well be worth spending $5 for a softer one, a more compact one- or even if you need it - a bigger one- or one with a better zipper, etc. Any time I can replace two items with one item- I try to do so. I often find that such changes are money well spent.

to give a personal example. Last year I replaced a cheap old suitcase with a better quality sinner-roller bag. Wow!

 

[huhwhat]

We brought in a small soft cooler.....it fit 6 bottles of water and 4 sandwiches...I brought a large ziploc bag and asked for a cup of ice....put it in the ziploc and put that in the cooler.....as for the diaper bag.....I used to put 6-8 diapers in a plastic grocery bag long with wipes (and extra bags for disposal) on the basket of the stroller , cuts down bulk...if your child needs tylenol you can get it at first aid, but you probably shouldn't bring a sick kids to MK anyway

 

[Isbell5]

Thanks for your replies. The tylenol is more for me and DH. we plan to use water flavoring packets and refill our bottles in the park, so its mostly snacks and sandwiches we need a place for. Thanks again!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Thanks for your replies. The tylenol is more for me and DH. we plan to use water flavoring packets and refill our bottles in the park, so its mostly snacks and sandwiches we need a place for. Thanks again!

Lots of folks do bring sandwiches and snacks to the parks, so you are not alone. Then again, you'll also see folks with HUGE backpacks in the parks, and families with small kids who have no bag at all.

If you reguarly need Tylenol, by all means- bring some. Do what works best for you.

This is always such a personal topic, and there's certainly no one-size-fits all solution of what to carry. My own family varies from trip to trip. winter needs- jackets, even sometimes mittens!- are very different from summer needs- water, water, water!

I'm just trying to impart wisdom I've gleaned from my many travels to the mouse.

If you have a compelling reason to carry sandwiches, by all means. There are lots of good reasons, including saving money and food allergies. Conversely- I don't know if this is your first trip or not - but there is also no shortage of reasonably good, reasonably inexpensive food in WDW. I'd put WDW far ahead of most amusement parks in terms of varitation and food quality. Most other times, I suck it up that the best option is going to be lousy, overpriced cheese pizza. At WDW, you can even get kosher meals, gluten free, nut free, and plenty of vegetarian options. It sounds like you are pretty well prepped, but if you have not looked up menus, you may want to look on the parent of this site or allearsnet for menu listings. (Disney's website does not list QS options). Each park even has fresh fruit stands and all kids meals come with healthy choices like applesauce, grapes, and veggies. Again, I'm not trying to tell you what the best choice is for your group, just letting you know what the options are so can pick wisely.

Have a great trip!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We brought in a small soft cooler.....it fit 6 bottles of water and 4 sandwiches...I brought a large ziploc bag and asked for a cup of ice....put it in the ziploc and put that in the cooler.....as for the diaper bag.....I used to put 6-8 diapers in a plastic grocery bag long with wipes (and extra bags for disposal) on the basket of the stroller , cuts down bulk...if your child needs tylenol you can get it at first aid, but you probably shouldn't bring a sick kids to MK anyway

Ziploc bags are GOLDen on trips to WDW!