Disney World without Buses - Stroller Issue

[Mickey3Boys]

We were miserable when we had to take our stroller on and off the buses with our then 2 year old. Now we are going back with our 2 year old twins and would like to avoid the buses & trams - anything where you have to breakdown the stroller. We are staying in a rent house 3 miles from the park, so can anyone recommend the easiest parking for us for Magic Kingdom?

Is valet parking available anywhere if you are not staying at the resort?

 

[livndisney]

Not staying on property would have you parking at the ticket and transportation center. You can park and walk to either the monorail or boat to take you to the Magic Kingdom. HOWEVER it may be quite a long walk. There are trams that run in the parking lots but you would need to unload and fold up the stroller to take it on the tram.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We were miserable when we had to take our stroller on and off the buses with our then 2 year old. Now we are going back with our 2 year old twins and would like to avoid the buses & trams - anything where you have to breakdown the stroller. We are staying in a rent house 3 miles from the park, so can anyone recommend the easiest parking for us for Magic Kingdom?

Is valet parking available anywhere if you are not staying at the resort?

You are not supposed to use valet parking at a resort to visit the theme parks. But if you are dining or shopping at the resort, you can valet park there. Once you leave the resort, you are supposed to move your vehicle as well.

 

[camdensmom]

My rec. would be to stay on property and rent a car. It is free to park anywhere on WDW property when you stay at one of their resorts. It can add up otherwise. You may also find it easier to just rent a stroller in the park. At 2 they should be big enough for it.

 

[jlstwinmommy]

If you belong to AAA, buy at least one of your tickets there. Then you can get the AAA parking pass that lets you park toward the front of the park. In most cases, you are near the handicapp parking which is an easy walk into the parks. I found this to be the easiest way to get my twins around their first 2 trips. At the Magic Kingdom, we took the ferry across if my kids didn't want to walk. It was easier to get the stroller on the ferry then on the monorail.

I'm looking forward to our next trip which will be without a stroller.

 

[NotUrsula]

I recommend you buy a new stroller. You must have a really awkward one if it was that difficult on buses. Now you've set yourself up for a worse experience with it if you are staying offsite and driving -- if you thought that buses were difficult you'll find that the parking lot trams are even worse.

I would suggest perhaps a perhaps a Chicco Citta Twin http://www.target.com/Chicco-Citta-...e_recently-viewed-items_1/602-3351464-1660606. or an Eddie Bauer Montecito http://www.target.com/Eddie-Bauer-T...00IJAFQW/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_1/602-3351464-1660606

Both of them fold very compactly, though for the best result you need to be sure NOT to put anything in the baskets while in transit between parks.

 

[tanyaandallie]

You are fine!!!!! You don't need a new stroller! We have traveled two times now with our double. Both times we rented a car. Dealing with the stroller on the tram can be a pain, but it's not that bad. We just folded it up and one of us took the stroller, one of took the kids. Sure the stroller takes up tons of room, but it was not an issue for us.

The only other place we had to fold up our stroller was on the train at MK. Once again, not that big of a deal.

Also, if you get to the parks early enough you can just walk rather than riding the tram so you don't have to deal with the folding up the stroller.

 

[brymolmom]

Possible....but you better be in great shape. Is your older child going to be walking or in a stroller too? If walking - how old is that child? Even the closest parking spots can be far at the end of a long day after walking all the way out of the park - to the monorail (they might make you take the stroller down - depending how busy and if the handicapped cars are taken - so you better take the boat) or boat, then out of the gates at the TTC...and then to your car. So, you might end up on the trams anyway unless you get lucky by being really close. We always go right for opening and I've only thought it was easier to walk rather than break down the stroller like twice ever. Every other time we've been far enough away (and tired enough after a lot of walking and a long day) to take the tram.

So, a word of advice on breaking down strollers just in case you end up deciding to do this. Bring a large, cheap, roomy canvas bag and keep it on the bottom of your stroller. This, in addition to your diaper bag or whatever other bag your 'stuff' will be in. Leave this bag in your stroller throughout the day. When you get close to a bus or tram where you need to break down the stroller - grab it out and throw anything you've accumulated in the stroller basket in it. THis is usually the biggest pain for us - we end up with some water bottles, garbage (wrappers or napkins, etc), popcorn bins, shoes or socks that were taken off to dry after running through splash pools, etc. at the bottom and yes, it CAN be a pain to scramble to try to have a hand to take all these things and hold them on the bus or tram. That's why having a large bag to take anything and everything and keep it in one place while the other adult is breaking down the stroller works great. Oh and don't worry - with 2 year old twins even if they're sleepign we find other parents hugely helpful at WDW. I had my hands full with a child and just asked another parent to break down the stroller and he did and handded it to me and everything. No problems at all!

 

[NotUrsula]

Better yet, keep your "stuff" in a backpack draped over the handles and don't use the underseat basket at all. Packing light in a portable bag is the best way to go, and among other things eliminates the issue of theft from unattended strollers.

Really, I mean it. If you break yourself of the habit of packing that basket, I guarantee that you won't be nearly as aggravated by the hassle of folding or transporting a stroller.

 

[all4fun]

I agree with NotUrsula about not packing the stroller basket full of stuff.

Something else we did this trip was carry a big tote bag which I either folded and left under the stroller or sometimes hung it off the stroller handle (which FYI, can make the stroller tippy). Then before going to the bus depot, we'd empty out whatever loose items were in the stroller basket and throw it in the bag and over a shoulder. This way folding the stroller for transport on the bus was a snap. Btw, I just carried a Baggallini Messenger with our camera and misc items since ds isn't in diapers any more we don't have to pack a lot of stuff into the parks so mainly what was in the bottom of the stroller was the rain cover (when not needed), poncho's, umbrella, and maybe a couple of misc items like a few bottles of water.

Now ONE time on our last trip we took the stroller on the tram. Ours is a single jogging stroller (front wheel swivels) but with the wheels on, it's a very bulky fold. DH had a difficult time getting it both on and off the tram at the TTC so he said never again and we just walked, which for the most part was fine with me. We were on the dining plan and I needed all the extra exercise I could get. Just wear comfortable shoes or you'll regret it. Unless you're parking in AAA it is a bit of a walk. AAA parking is a very short walk to TTC so if you have a membership w/them I would use it to buy a ticket so you can use that parking area.

DH also told me a couple of times if I wanted to take ds on the tram while he walked and just meet him at the TTC that was fine with him. Like I said, I needed the exercise though.

Hth

 

[tjmw2727]

Better yet, keep your "stuff" in a backpack draped over the handles and don't use the underseat basket at all. Packing light in a portable bag is the best way to go, and among other things eliminates the issue of theft from unattended strollers.

Really, I mean it. If you break yourself of the habit of packing that basket, I guarantee that you won't be nearly as aggravated by the hassle of folding or transporting a stroller.

ITA - this helped us tremendously once we figured it out. As for avoiding trams/parking fees it's a no/no to park at the resorts for park access and there are signs to that affect.

The main parking area for the MK is the TTC and from there you can access the MK via monorail or boat. You can opt to walk to the park entrance (boat/monorail) especially if you arrive early and get a closer spot and IIRC you can also drop off the family and then return to park the car and take the tram solo. Although unless your double stroller is enourmous or a jogger as mentioned above it should fit in the tram. I know I got to a point where I could open and close our stroller pretty quickly when need be (and yes I did have a double).

Relax and don't worry, your going to WDW, many many people use double strollers in WDW every day and manage fine.

TJ

 

[Princess_Michelle]

I recommend you buy a new stroller. You must have a really awkward one if it was that difficult on buses. Now you've set yourself up for a worse experience with it if you are staying offsite and driving -- if you thought that buses were difficult you'll find that the parking lot trams are even worse.

I would suggest perhaps a perhaps a Chicco Citta Twin http://www.target.com/Chicco-Citta-...e_recently-viewed-items_1/602-3351464-1660606. or an Eddie Bauer Montecito http://www.target.com/Eddie-Bauer-T...00IJAFQW/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_1/602-3351464-1660606

Both of them fold very compactly, though for the best result you need to be sure NOT to put anything in the baskets while in transit between parks.

Sorry, no offense to this poster, but I TOTALLY disagree. We just got back from our trip with our 3 yr. old and our 4 yr. old niece. We stayed off site (Windsor Hills) and parked at the parks and TTC every day. It's a breeze, and after staying at POP the previous year, I can tell you, 100 times easier than using Disney transport.

We have a Chicco umbrella stroller. It was a piece of cake. The lines for the trams are NOTHING compared to Disney bus lines, and most of the time were non existent. After you park, you walk up to the tram area, step to the side, get situated and get on the tram or wait for the next one.....which is usually right behind the current one. At the end of the night, same thing.
There's never a million people behind you who will run you over to get a spot on the tram like we experienced with Disney bus lines. We found the walks to the parking lot trams to be shorter than walks to bus lines at the resorts AND the parks. Half the time, we arrived in time for rope drop, so we parked so close, we didn't even need to take the trams.

You'll be fine

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

A baby sling works great for getting from the parking lot to the stroller rental in the park. You can use these for babies as well as toddlers, they don't take up much room in the stroller, and you can use them when standing in the lines that won't allow you to bring a stroller.


--Eeyore's Wife