How difficult is it to take strollers in the bus?

[Mlgurney]

I don't plan on bringing strollers with us from home. I was going to use a rental company once we get to florida. My kids have never been to disney or anything remotely like it. They don't use a stroller now for anything, but I'm not planning on going back to our resort at all during the day and I just don't want to hear whining that they are tired. I ould be pushing one stroller and my mother would be pushing the other stroller. One of my concerns is that if we just rent a stroller at the parks, is that I'll have to try to carry my sleeping kids once we get to our resort. I'm sure they'll fall asleep once we get on the bus and I have no idea how much walking we'll have to do once we get to the resort (never stayed at a disney resort before). My 5 year old whines when she walks around in target for a while and my 7 year old always chooses to just stay home (and he is a little runt and sickly, so don't want him o overdo it)!

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't plan on bringing strollers with us from home. I was going to use a rental company once we get to florida. My kids have never been to disney or anything remotely like it. They don't use a stroller now for anything, but I'm not planning on going back to our resort at all during the day and I just don't want to hear whining that they are tired. I ould be pushing one stroller and my mother would be pushing the other stroller. One of my concerns is that if we just rent a stroller at the parks, is that I'll have to try to carry my sleeping kids once we get to our resort. I'm sure they'll fall asleep once we get on the bus and I have no idea how much walking we'll have to do once we get to the resort (never stayed at a disney resort before). My 5 year old whines when she walks around in target for a while and my 7 year old always chooses to just stay home (and he is a little runt and sickly, so don't want him o overdo it)!

What resort are you booked at? That can make a big difference on how much walking you are doing at the resort.

Also, there are typically more people standing on a Disney bus then there are sitting. They are designed that way. So odds are good your kids won't be sleeping on the bus, unless you are very lucky.

 

[Mlgurney]

We are staying at All Star Movies the first week of October.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Bringing them on and off buses can be quite difficult. You have to empty them and fold them up. Many times you will be standing on the busses juggling the strollers, your bags and the kids. I think we stood every trip back to AoA at park closing (and we preboarded with a ECV but everyone but dd gave up seats to the elderly or someone with a baby). Don't assume you will be sitting on the busses so that your kids will go to sleep.

I wouldn't be taking any stroller for that old of kids but that is your choice.

 

[dsneygirl]

I could barely push my 7 year old for 1 night at MNSSHP last year, there is no way I would get my mom to push him around all week.

I would consider 1 stroller and trade off.

 

[treemi01]

Again, if you are thinking of renting, make sure you check the weight limits. Rental companies will NOT allow you to go over the weight limit and most have steep fees. We did break a stroller in Disney with a kid slightly over the weight range. If your kids weigh more than the weight limit (most limits are 35-45 lbs) and you are sure you need a stroller, I'd look into a special needs stroller.

 

[twinboysmom]

The citi minis are one of the easier strollers to bring on the bus but they still take up significant space. With a full or close to full bus, bringing two on could be difficult, especially at busy times (morning times and near park closings) . Also, there is zero guarantee that you and your family will get a seat on a bus, regardless of whether your children are sleepy. And I know this sounds mean but I am being honest, with your aged children, people will not be likely to offer up seats. In my experience, people offer up seats to elderly, obviously disabled, and parents holding young kids (toddler age and below) if they even offer to give up a seat. We have held our twins as young toddlers balancing a double stroller and bags numerous times without a seat being offered.

If you are insistent that both of your kids need a stroller (I think you would be ok with one) then consider renting a double citi mini gt. If they are 45 lbs. a piece they will be below the weight limit. It's not the most fun to push but it is doable. It's not that much more difficult to carry than a citi mini single.

 

[Laura66]

I wouldn't be taking a stroller for a 5 and 7 year old unless they had some issues.

It really is a pain to be folding them up all the time. Can't you just take more breaks? Maybe you need to slow down your pace if they can't handle it?

If you really think you need a stroller I'd rent one at the parks.

 

[brockash]

I know it's more expensive, but have you considered renting a double at the parks? For those ages, that's probably what I would do, then you don't have to deal with it on the buses.

 

[brockash]

What resort are you booked at? That can make a big difference on how much walking you are doing at the resort.

Also, there are typically more people standing on a Disney bus then there are sitting. They are designed that way. So odds are good your kids won't be sleeping on the bus, unless you are very lucky.

I think you'll be fine having them walk from the bus to your room. I saw you're staying at an All-Star and there just really isn't much walking. They're some of the (if not the) smallest resorts. My kids have often fallen asleep on the bus ride back, but just like at home if they fall asleep heading home, I just wake them up (the bus lights come on anyways so that will often wake them up) and they walk back to the room. If you can swing it, price-wise; I'd def. just rent a double at the parks.

 

[tigerbelly]

It is really hard to know how your kids will react to Disney walking. If you haven't been before with a stroller aged child then you may not know just how much parking and walking your children will end up doing.

It depends on the park you are in, but for instance- The Land in Epcot does not allow strollers so you have to park and walk all the way around it. You would need a stroller for World Showcase though.

Magic Kingdom is also very walkable for kids. You can park your stroller and go on several rides in each land. And walking from land to land is not that much of a hike.

Hollywood Studios is walkable as well. With a lot of stops and rides/shows your kids probably won't be too tired.

Animal Kingdom is another park that would benefit from a stroller as it is more spread out.

So that said, we had a stroller for our small 4 year old last October. The 7 year old walked with zero complaints at all. 4 year old appreciated the stroller (even more than when he was 3) and fell asleep in it in the evenings since we stayed very late some nights. But I think we are probably done with the stroller- next trip with the kids we will be stroller free and I will be very grateful. It is an annoyance, and a hinderance more than anything. I will really enjoy hopping off a ride and going to the next place without sending someone back to fetch the stroller (for a 5 minute walk to the next stroller parking)

One other point I'll make (and I don't mean to be critical of your plan) but we did not schedule a mid day break for our last trip and learned very quickly that it was absolutely essential to our well being. Adults and kids alike. There is a definite "hitting the wall" feeling after lunch. About 2:30-5 every day we took a break and were refreshed enough to close the parks every day. So you might want to allow yourself some flexibility for that.

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

If I were you, I would not rent in the parks, I think at those ages, probably the times when you will benefit from a stroller is from your hotel room to the first land that you plan to visit in MK.

I think that at that age they can probably walk most of the park, I would park the strollers at one of the train stops (MK entrance or Splash Mountain) and would leave it there until the time when you will depart the park.

It is no fun walking back with tired kids, and the walk from the exit of the park, to the bus stop, plus waiting standing, plus the walk from the bus stop at the hotel to the room can seem very long when you are carrying a sleeping child.

I usually don´t like cheap umbrella strollers and find them hard to push, but would take them for those distances over carrying or lugging a sleepy and tired child any day.

And IMO, for older kids, nothing beats the maclaren strollers, they are super easy to push.

 

[twodogs]

Posted this in another thread. I initially rented only a single citi mini for our 4 yo and not our 6 yo. They never used a stroller at home at that age, but by the first night at MK, they were fighting over who could use the stroller. We stayed at BLT, so we walked to MK and back at end of night. Just having the double we rented from Kingdom Strollers after that first night saved our vacation. Weight limit on citi mini double GT is 50 lbs each seat and 100 lbs total, so you are fine. If you think your kids need it, get it! Don't get talked out of it! If they don't use it at all, leave it in hotel. In light of overall cost of our vacation, $80 total for 7 night double stroller rental with free delivery and pick up was well worth it!! Double was not hard to manage on buses, it was just me and my husband and kids. They walked on bus, I had bags, and DH had stroller. Easy to fold and we didn't have trouble finding room on buses.. We went in early May both times to give you an idea of crowds. Here is my other post:

We rented twice from Kingdom Stroller and they were amazing! Answered my live chat at 11pm when our other stroller wasn't working out, put a brand new citi mini double GT together and dropped at BLT about three hours later at 2am so we'd have it next day!! Free rain cover and cooler bag but you need to check those boxes online when you order, even though they are free. Pushing a heavy older child like yours ( mine were 4 and 6 first time and then 5 and 7 yo the second time), the AIR tires on these citi minis make it vastly easier to push than the plastic park stroller's wheels. I ordered the citi mini GT which has a little more head space than the regular citi mini so better for an older child like yours. Loved the sun shade, as the sun is intense (and we are from Dallas!). I liked the huge basket and simple fold. Not an issue getting on monorail or buses. We rolled it right into monorail, didn't fold it. You do have to fold on buses, but simple. I can't recommend off site rental enough. Delivery right to hotel, perfect!! I have also used Orlando Stroller Rental and that worked fine too, but Kingdom gave free rain cover and cooler.

Forgot to add, citi mini has an adjustable height handlebar, so easy to make the push comfortable for parents of different heights.

http://www.kingdomstrollers.com

 

[Runnergal]

If you are going to rent a stroller, rent a double, that way your poor 16yo doesn't have to carry or push one. And get a good one; flimsy umbrella strollers are a pain to push especially with bigger kids and the stroller companies rent good ones. Only you know your family; if you think that having strollers for your kids will help you all have a better vacation, then by all means do it. They certainly won't be the only big kids in strollers. Yes they are sort of a pain on the bus but what can you do? I rented from kingdom strollers and was very happy. We rented a regular single city mini because it was just for my 2yo but I agree with pp that the gt double is great-I own one and we love it.

 

[kohlby]

If the other adults in the party will help, then yes, taking two strollers will be manageable. However, I don't think you need two strollers. I would plan on taking one. If you really think your 7 year old will need a stroller, then they can take turns.

We had one trip with an 11 month old, a 3.5 year old, and a 6.5 year old. The eldest would complain about walking short distances when he was at home. But he was too heavy for our single stroller and the baby was in the sling, so he had no choice other than walking. We told the kids that we would stay in the parks as long as they could handle. We did 7 different parks over 8 days - and the eldest didn't complain once! We didn't even have to slow down for him! It had been an unusually cold winter so we didn't get to get him in shape for all that walking either. We had thought we would have had to slow down and give him more breaks - but nope! Our reason for leaving the parks each evening had to do with getting the 3.5 year old in bed at a reasonable hour instead. So, your kids may surprise you!

We are definitely taking a stroller on our next trip and our youngest is 5. However, he has some sensory issues so we really need the stroller as a secure place for him. We're just happy we got him out of needing to be held all the time at Disney for security and will accept the stroller now. There is a good chance he'll need it at 6 as well. (7 is too far away to know - but I'm really hoping not!) So, another thing for people to keep in mind is that it's not always about how much walking a child can handle. So, if your 7 year old has some special needs, then those need to be considered as well.

As for falling asleep on the bus, we've never had this happen past the age of 2. I'm sure it happens - as I've seen kids older than that do it. But it likely doesn't happen with that many 7 year olds - and if it does, it wouldn't be that terrible to wake the child up to walk. We have found not going back to the hotel mid-day works best for us. But we go in the off-season and the parks have shorter hours so that helps us get them back at a reasonable hour.

 

[disneywalkers]

I think you'll be fine having them walk from the bus to your room. I saw you're staying at an All-Star and there just really isn't much walking. They're some of the (if not the) smallest resorts. My kids have often fallen asleep on the bus ride back, but just like at home if they fall asleep heading home, I just wake them up (the bus lights come on anyways so that will often wake them up) and they walk back to the room. If you can swing it, price-wise; I'd def. just rent a double at the parks.

We rented Disney's single and our 5 year old son pushed his 7 year old sister around all day and loved it lol little goob.

 

[StuckInKS]

In my opinion, strollers are a pain the butt to take to the parks all around, especially when it is two singles or a double. Unfortunately, for every trip two of our kids have been 3 and under, so it was necessary. With a 5 and 7 year old, I would not take one at all. Since we have always had littler ones occupying the stroller, my "older" kids (who were as young as 4 at the time) never had a choice about walking and they seemed to do OK for all of our four trips. As soon as our youngest turns 4, we are retiring the stroller and I will be on

I really think you will regret it. If you absolutely feel you need a stroller, just take one small umbrella stroller.

 

[StuckInKS]

if they even offer to give up a seat. We have held our twins as young toddlers balancing a double stroller and bags numerous times without a seat being offered.

This is very true and something to think about. People are very likely not to give up a seat for you and Movies usually shares a bus with Music and Sports, so it can get crowded fast. It can be hard to hold on as the bus makes its turns and stops and if your kids are tired, they are gonna need help standing through all that. Having to hold two strollers on top of all that is really gonna be a pain.

 

[Suzanne74]

I am sorry but 2 strollers for school age kids is insane. I took my just turned 4yr old last year and didn't even think about bringing a stroller. I am sure if we brought one she would have used it at times but if it isnt there, they are fine. She kept up with the 12yr old and adults just fine. Would they actually cry for one if it wasn't an option? What age are we drawing the line here these days? Is it now preteen ages of 8-12?

There are so many shows, restaurants, shady benches, parades and sitting rides. It isn't like the kids are walking non stop all day. I think you will really regret lugging 2 strollers around and man they would be heavy to push all day. Then the stroller parking. Ugh. I would re-evaluate. Take none and possibly rent a double on Epcot day. I don't see the need for the hassle. Start evening walks to get them ready if you are afraid they aren't in shape.

 

[gjl]

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