How Much Did You Use Your Stroller w/ 2 yr. old?

[jo-jo]

Is this your first trip? I'd take the stroller, but also add something to it so you can find your blue stroller from the other 2000 blue strollers.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Our 2 year old is in the stroller 100% of the time we are moving through crowds. We park it when we go into an attraction or restaurant.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Depends on the child. My oldest used it a ton. My youngest just around World Showcase as he much preferred to walk. We took my niece last September and she refused to sit it in 99% of the time. We did make her around nap time in the World Showcase but that was a struggle. All she wanted to do was push the darn thing which was a huge safety hazard!

 

[ktlm]

All the time. And for perspective, my DD was a kid who NEVER got in her stroller after she took her first steps at 12 months old- not at the zoo, not at the mall, not anywhere else that involved a lot of walking. The only place she ever rode in a stroller after taking her first steps was at Disney.

On her first trip when she was 2, she pretty much took one look at how big the place was and jumped in her stroller and let us push her around which was unheard of for her. I can't even imagine trying to negotiate WDW with a 2 year old without a stroller. We were able to stay in the parks from open to close and she took stroller naps (we tried to take a resort break the first day and quickly discovered that did not work for her- she was mad that we left the park and refused to sleep for about 3 hours until we went back to the park and then she got in her stroller and went to sleep). The stroller is particularly helpful if you are trying to move quickly to get to an ADR, FP, or show. 2 year olds do not move quickly. I think you will use it way more than you think you will.

One other note- do you have connections flying? You might want to consider taking a small stroller with you instead of renting at WDW. We found the stroller useful in the airport- particularly when we had short connection times (either by flight booking, or more often by the first leg of our flight being late). Also, where are you staying and how are you traveling around WDW? If you have to turn the rented stroller in when you leave the park, you might find yourself having to carry a sleeping or sleepy tired child from the turn in point to the bus stop/boat stop/ monorail/ walking to the resort/ as well as once you get to the resort through the resort and all the way up to the room. You do have to fold the stroller for the bus, and for some (but not all) the boats, but it also can come in handy outside of the parks.

I think our first trip without the stroller was when DD was 6 (she just turned 13), and I would say that was our worst Disney trip in all the years we have gone (and we went when the parks were closed and we got stuck in resort for a hurricane). She is high energy, but did not yet quite have the stamina for all the walking involved and was whiny and complained her feet and/or legs were tired a lot. By the time she was 8, she could go open to close on her feet like a pro!

 

[MudQueen22]

I can't imagine not having a stroller for a 2-year-old at Disney.
We even used one for our five-year-old at Disney on our very first trip.

On our last trip, our 2-year-old used the stroller for not just transportation, but for naps, and as a seat at parades.

 

[saraheliz]

Bring the stroller. I've been twice with almost 3 year olds and there is no way we could have made it without one. That being said, we decorated our handles with brightly colored ribbons so it was very easy to pick our stroller out in the stroller parking, even if it had been moved (plus the first time I was travelling with my mom and sister and that way they could pick it out to go grab it even if they weren't as familiar with it).

 

[blf14]

So much!! Just because you might park it and wander around a specific land, there is soooo much more to consider, as everyone above has mentioned. More than anything, knowing they’re safe and restrained while maneuvering through a crowd is priceless. Plus, somewhere to hold water bottles and any other paraphernalia. The first time we took my big kids without a stroller was a game changer, and not in a good way . DH and I are tall and fast walkers and could cover so much more crowd before they were on foot, lol!

 

[KrazeeK120]

I can see how it would be helpful getting them out of the parks to the monorail or buses, but between 2 parents we could carry them for that.

I can’t imagine carrying a 30+ lb child to transportation at the end of every day!!

 

[jliucci]

We took our 2.5yo in November. She was in the stroller 100% of the time unless it was parked for an attraction or on her dads shoulders. There is way to many people inside of Disney to let our 2 yo walk around.

 

[Zomp]

I'm sure this was mentioned up thread but we use the stroller not just for my two year old, but for us too. We pack the bottom carrier with an extra set of clothes, diapers, snacks, etc... You'll never have to worry about using a locker as long as you have a stroller.

 

[Marissa227]

I'm sure this was mentioned up thread but we use the stroller not just for my two year old, but for us too. We pack the bottom carrier with an extra set of clothes, diapers, snacks, etc... You'll never have to worry about using a locker as long as you have a stroller.

Same!!

 

[allthenuggets]

The first time we took our kiddo to WDW he was 5, and we used it a lot. I couldn't imagine NOT having it for an even younger child. We last went when he was 8 and he did fine with no stroller that time, but we are definitely the type of family that takes a lot of breaks, including a big midday break/nap back at the hotel. If we didn't do that, I would have considered a stroller for him then!

 

[Disney_Ummi]

We used it the entire time, couldn't imagine not having it.

 

[2019TripIdeas]

I would say my 2 year old, on our most recent trip, used it every time we were moving from ride to ride. And sometimes that did mean going long distances between rides because of how fastpasses were booked. He was obviously out of it here and there and holding our hands, but sometimes the crowds were just too heavy to manage that. His 18 month old brother was ALWAYS in it and did not seem to mind a bit. Unless he was physically standing in line, on a ride or sitting down at a restaurant, he was hanging out in the stroller. It was super crucial when 4 year old sibling and a parent were doing FastPass/RiderSwap as it gave the boys a place to safely sit and have a snack so keep that in mind if someone will want to go on a ride the 2 year old wouldn't hit requirements for.


I would definitely plan to have a way to transport a 2 year old. Yes, you do park it in a central location in certain lands/areas and can do multiple rides from there, but still I really think you'd want it. We did not bring a stroller for our 4 year old (well, we didn't have a seat... she squished into the double with her brothers sometimes and it worked just fine) so I'm not even a dieheard 'everyone needs a stroller' fanatic at all... I just think it would be so so hard to be without one for a 2 year old.