How does it work on busses and in parks when you bring your own strollers?

[RHenry]

On busses, do you have to bring your stroller up in the passenger area with you, or do they put it in a cargo area? Also, is there any area in the parks where you can leave your stroller if you bring your own to the park and then rent one of theirs (or to park one of your own while you're not using it?)

Lastly, does anyone have advice/info on which parks are smaller, and require less walking? For example, I've heard MGM is smaller, and an older child may not need a stroller. We have 2 kids and are trying to decide if/when to leave a second stroller behind at the hotel. Thanks

 

[girlfriend]

Hi there,

On the Disney busses your strollers go on the bus with you. On Magical Express, they can be stowed down with luggage. I'm not sure about where you can store yours if you decide not to use it once you get to a park, though.

As far as least amount of walking...for me personally I thought AK involved the least amount but I could see where MGM is too. However my dogs were barking at each park, there's just so much to see and do that you will end up doing a lot of walking regardless.

Have a great trip!

 

[LovingDVC]

About stroller parking:

If you decide not to use your stroller while you are inside the parks, you can park the stroller in any stroller parking area (outside each attraction). Just make sure your name is marked on your stroller. Also, the CM's will rearrange the strollers from time to time, so it may not be where you left it.

In the four times that we have been recently (3 rented strollers and 1 brought our own), I have never lost a stroller. When we brought our own, I was a little worried that it would get stolen, but no worries.

About bringing a stroller:

When we rode the busses, trams, and monorail, we just collapsed our stroller in the folded position and carried it onboard. (Your child cannot remain in the stroller while on Disney transporation.)

On a side note, it was nice to have our own stroller when walking to and from the transporation sites and not waiting in line for a Disney stroller like the other times we've gone. Our DD3 wasn't as tired when we arrived and walked more from attraction to attraction inside the park.

Parks with least amount of walking:

Yes, I agree that MGM is the least amount of walking. We really didn't need our stroller there, and left it in the Beauty and the Beast stroller parking area most of the day. AK is all up hill and was tiring for my mom and DD3 -- I would bring a stroller there. At MK and Epcot, I would also bring the stroller. Epcot has the most walking in my opinion and you would want to keep the stroller with you, as it would be a long way back. At MK, you could hop the train back over to the area where you left the stroller, if you ended up not needing it and parking it somewhere.

 

[zaza]

On ME, you must put your stroller down below. You can't keep it up with you, but I don't know why you'd need to. Our ME bus wasn't very full, and our driver told us to not bother to fold up the stroller. He just stuck it in a luggage hold open.

We left our stroller sit various places at the parks with no problems. We even parked it for a few hours at Epcot and at MGM when the Princess and her mom went back to the resort for a nap while the grandparents stayed to do rides and shows. We only left the soft-side cooler in it for extended periods, no other "stuff."

The Princess was 18 MO when we went and we used the stroller everywhere. She doesn't walk fast (she can, but gets too busy looking around to do so at Disney!) and it was just much easier to have her in what she calls "my ride."

Our Chicco umbrella stroller has an underseat mesh bin. We bought an extra mesh bag at Babies r Us for $10, which helped to hold junk. We also had a small diaper bag that hooked over the handles. We used a large ziploc bag (the kind with the reinforced handles) to stow some of our underseat stuff--all but the cooler. That kept the stuff dry and made it easy to grab when we were leaving the stroller somewhere.

We also took some clothespins and a colored disposable poncho (got green ones at Target dollar spot). When it looked like rain, or when we were leaving the stroller for a few hours, we pinned a poncho over the seat. It kept it dry and also made it easier to find, especially if cast members had moved it!