First trip with small children in stroller

[DisneyMom2000000]

Our trip is almost here!!

I have been to Disney many times, but never with small children or with a stroller. So, I have more stroller related questions.

-Is it ok to leave a diaper bag in the stroller basket when it is parked? Obviously I risk it being stollen, but I will leave nothing particularly valuable. Basically just an extra pacifier, clothes, diapers, wipes, etc. Is it ok to leave a bag unattended like that?

-Should I use a bike lock to lock the wheels of my stroller when we leave it for extended periods of time? I know not to lock it to anything, but we could at least lock the wheels. It is a relatively expensive stroller. I do have our name on it and plan to get a balloon to tie to it, but a lock may make me feel better about leaving it.

-Should I cover the stroller when leaving it for a long period of time? I have a rain cover.

 

[Hezzy04]

1. Yes, it is ok and allowed to leave the diaper bag in the stroller.

2. I don't think you are allowed to put a lock on the stroller. Sometimes cast members need to move the strollers. If I am wrong, someone can correct me

3.If rain is in the forecast it wouldn't be a bad idea to cover it if you will be gone for long periods of time. We didn't last year, but we also didn't have rain in the forecast!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

the stroller must be able to be moved by cast members cleaning up stroller parking, so lock could be cut off. also remember that balloons are not allow in Animal Kingdom and will have to be removed before entering the park. yes I would cover when parking for longer times esp in rainy season. with what you are saying left in diaper bag you could leave in basket but I would be careful if you have snacks because of furry friends that like to help themselves

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

1. Yes, it is ok and allowed to leave the diaper bag in the stroller.

2. I don't think you are allowed to put a lock on the stroller. Sometimes cast members need to move the strollers. If I am wrong, someone can correct me

3.If rain is in the forecast it wouldn't be a bad idea to cover it if you will be gone for long periods of time. We didn't last year, but we also didn't have rain in the forecast!

I was thinking maybe the cover would be a good idea even if its not raining? Keep hands and critters out of it.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

the stroller must be able to be moved by cast members cleaning up stroller parking, so lock could be cut off. also remember that balloons are not allow in Animal Kingdom and will have to be removed before entering the park. yes I would cover when parking for longer times esp in rainy season. with what you are saying left in diaper bag you could leave in basket but I would be careful if you have snacks because of furry friends that like to help themselves

Good point about Animal Kingdom. Thank you!!!

I may cover it even if its not raining to keep the furry friends out!!

 

[DopeyDame]

Yup - we leave bags in the strollers all the time. Of course there's a risk of stealing it, but if someone really wants the diaper cream that badly, then have at it. (There was the one time when I had a terrible case of mommy brain and realized I had brought the diaper bag on the ride and left my purse in the stroller - wallet, park tickets, cell phone, the works. I don't recommend that. Fortunately everything was still there when I got back.)

I've never used a lock and as many have said, CMs move the strollers all the time.

Absolutely cover the stroller. We came back once to soda spilled all over our stroller. Gross. And you never know when a quick burst of rain is going to pop out of a Florida afternoon sky.

 

[Tara1988]

You can lock the front two wheels together, that way it can still be moved easily by cast members tilting it up on the back wheels. I would put the bag in the seat when leaving it, and cover it. That would help keep critters out and make it more difficult for someone to steal the bag. Also, I've seen people thread the lock through a wheel and their bag.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Yup - we leave bags in the strollers all the time. Of course there's a risk of stealing it, but if someone really wants the diaper cream that badly, then have at it. (There was the one time when I had a terrible case of mommy brain and realized I had brought the diaper bag on the ride and left my purse in the stroller - wallet, park tickets, cell phone, the works. I don't recommend that. Fortunately everything was still there when I got back.)

I've never used a lock and as many have said, CMs move the strollers all the time.

Absolutely cover the stroller. We came back once to soda spilled all over our stroller. Gross. And you never know when a quick burst of rain is going to pop out of a Florida afternoon sky.

I could so see myself doing that -- switching the purse and the diaper bag!!! Haha!!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Good point about Animal Kingdom. Thank you!!!

I may cover it even if its not raining to keep the furry friends out!!

they can get in under the cover have seen them do that

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

You can lock the front two wheels together, that way it can still be moved easily by cast members tilting it up on the back wheels. I would put the bag in the seat when leaving it, and cover it. That would help keep critters out and make it more difficult for someone to steal the bag. Also, I've seen people thread the lock through a wheel and their bag.

Perfect. I am SURE the stroller would be fine, but having an expensive stroller stolen would certainly put a damper on things...

they can get in under the cover have seen them do that

little stinkers!

 

[Ava]

I recommend keeping one diaper & a little travel case of wipes with you when you park your stroller. We used this: http://www.target.com/p/skip-hop-pronto-baby-changing-station-diaper-clutch-black/ but you could just keep a diaper and the wipes in a gallon size Ziploc and put that in your backpack/park bag.

In many places its easier to leave the stroller parked while you hit up all the rides in that area, and this way if your LO suddenly needs a change you don't have to trek back to your stroller to get the supplies.

 

[A (squared)]

Because of animals, I wouldn't leave food in the stroller, but everything else you mentioned should be fine. When we came to WDW with our then-2-month-old, we kept a large ziplock bag with the majority of the day's diapers and an extra outfit in the bottom of the stroller, and just a few diapers in a diaper clutch in the main diaper bag, and that worked out really nicely.

As everyone said, locking a stroller can be tricky because it'll get moved around by cast members (that happened just about every time we went into a ride). My suggestion would actually be to just rent a stroller while you're there, so you don't need to worry about it being stolen (you can get insurance for most rentals for an extra $10-15, definitely worth the peace of mind). Since DS was so young, at that time our stroller at home was his infant car seat and a stroller frame - we were REALLY freaked out by the idea that it could be stolen, since then we'd have to buy a new car seat before we could drive home from the airport. So we ended up renting a stroller and were so glad we did - the total cost was ~$80 for a week, it was waiting at bell services when we checked in, and no worries at all about it getting stolen.

As for covering it - yes. Since heavy rain can crop up in Florida with very little warning, and you might end up being away from the stroller longer than you expected, you just never know. Our first day in the parks, we weren't used to thinking about leaving the stroller outside, and even though it looked like rain we didn't cover it. DS then spent the rest of the day resting on his uncle's sweatshirt, since the stroller was completely soaked.

 

[Pookasaurus]

We left stuff in our stroller, but never anything we weren't okay with not being there when we returned. My bag alone was expensive (to me at least) let alone all the stuff in it, so we always brought it with us on rides. Since we had a baby that couldn't go on the faster rides you might not want to mess with bags on, it worked out since someone was always staying with the baby anyway while we did rider swap. I had the stroller loaded up with all sorts of fantastical battery operated fans and in the heat of September I thought for sure we'd come back to at least one missing (and I wouldn't have even blamed anyone for it!) but alas, nothing was ever stolen. As already stated I would make sure not to leave food in the stroller - a cover isn't going to stop them. Those squirells are impressive and methodical! I've watched them unzip bags in their never ending quest.

Also as stated, your stroller will get moved a lot, so keep that in mind when locking it. Even when we had ours parked somewhere I thought for sure there wasn't going to be a reason to move it, often it was.

I tend to keep an eye on the weather regardless so if there was the potential for rain or if we were going to be leaving the stroller for a while we'd cover it otherwise it was fine. Eventually it gets to be a pain to keep messing with it.

 

[WuvEeyore]

Our trip is almost here!!

I have been to Disney many times, but never with small children or with a stroller. So, I have more stroller related questions.

-Is it ok to leave a diaper bag in the stroller basket when it is parked? Obviously I risk it being stollen, but I will leave nothing particularly valuable. Basically just an extra pacifier, clothes, diapers, wipes, etc. Is it ok to leave a bag unattended like that?

-Should I use a bike lock to lock the wheels of my stroller when we leave it for extended periods of time? I know not to lock it to anything, but we could at least lock the wheels. It is a relatively expensive stroller. I do have our name on it and plan to get a balloon to tie to it, but a lock may make me feel better about leaving it.

-Should I cover the stroller when leaving it for a long period of time? I have a rain cover.

I left a bag with baby stuff and it was fine, but only if it won't hurt you to lose it. I've heard of people leaving clear bags with their stroller so people could see there was nothing in there but diapers.

I have used a stroller lock, locked the wheels. If a CM had to move it, they did, but you wouldn't get too far with it. I also tied colorful bandanas to the handle. Balloons could go missing.

Yes, use a rain cover! It was a life saver on one of our very rainy trips.

 

[Kimly]

We are local and go to The World often, we leave normal baby stuff like diapers and sippy cups in the stroller and they are never messed with. Well sometimes the squirrels mess with the strollers but that's it.

 

[Shellyb84]

I've never thought about animals bothering the stroller. We leave food in ours all the time and luckily have never had an issue.