If you bring your own stroller to Disney...

[Disneygal4life]

Have you ever had problems with a stroller getting taken or things being removed from it? We're planning on taking our own on our upcoming trip and my mom said we should bring a bicycle lock for it. I thought that was a bit extreme and I've seen tons of strollers parked outside of rides and buildings but I wanted to here what the experts on this board thought. Obvously we would not leave valuables like cameras and money in the stroller but should we be wary of baby items? Should we label the stroller?? Thanks, new mom here and I'm trying to learn. Thanks.

 

[~Kristina~]

I haven't had any issues, but I don't leave anything worth taking in the stroller. I have a small Eddie Bauer back pack that everything fit into and it goes with me on the rides.

 

[Tiger926]

Have you ever had problems with a stroller getting taken or things being removed from it? We're planning on taking our own on our upcoming trip and my mom said we should bring a bicycle lock for it. I thought that was a bit extreme and I've seen tons of strollers parked outside of rides and buildings but I wanted to here what the experts on this board thought. Obvously we would not leave valuables like cameras and money in the stroller but should we be wary of baby items? Should we label the stroller?? Thanks, new mom here and I'm trying to learn. Thanks.

You are not allowed to lock or secure your stroller to anything as Disney CMs need to move them around. That being said, my hubby uses a small lock that goes around the front wheel (we have 2 very expensive strollers) so that it can still be moved by the CM, but it can't be wheeled around by a potential thief. We asked a couple of CMs and they told us what we had (a very small little luggage lock type thing) is ok as it basically does the same thing as if we locked the wheels, but it's a little more secure in that you can't wheel it through the park, so someone wouldn't get very far with it.

Good luck - we have never had our strollers taken, but there are threads here on the DIS about it happening. Please don't leave any valuables in it at all.

Good luck, Tiger

 

[gabriellyn]

When we went in Dec/Jan we brought our own stroller and we never once had any issues. AND we left our diaper bag in it, blankets, jackets, etc. We usually stuffed the basket and just covered it w/a Neat Sheet (in case of rain). We even occasionally left purchases in it!! But seriously, it was so packed that it would have taken a "pro" to be able to untangle that mess to get to the "good stuff". Surely not worth the effort! However, next time we will be more careful, just in case.

 

[karemore]

I was worried too last year.

I put a luggage tag with our resort info and last name on the stroller. I also used a black marker and wrote our last name on the tag inside the stroller.

We didn't have any trouble. I think you are less likely to have your own stroller taken than you are a rented one since they all look alike.

 

[jpeka65844]

No problem here either. The only things we'd leave in the bottom bin was DS's jacket and the lap blanket if it got cool in the evening.

Just do something to mark it! CM's will be moving it around while you're in an attraction, and most likely it will NOT be where you left it! I didn't think I had a popular stroller until I visited WDW and saw 8 million just like it!

 

[ekball]

We've taken a stroller 3 times, and have never had a problem. Never touched, except when it was moved by the CM's. We leave our diaper bag underneath the stroller and have never had a problem with that either. I like to put a rain cover on the stroller at the beginning of the day (just in case)...I fold it up over the top of the stroller while we're walking around, then I fold it down over the stroller when we go into the rides. That way it stays dry if it rains, and it also makes it a little more difficult for someone to "accidently" plop their child in our stroller and run!! I would never pay the new prices of the rental strollers. Ridiculous.

 

[rt2dz]

We always bring our own stroller: more convenient (have outside parks), more comfortable, more storage space, kids are familiar, and (cough) cheaper--especially now.

We have never had a problem. We've never overheard anyone having a problem. I do hear of rentals being walked off by someone else. I am assuming out of laziness to look for their own, probably moved, stroller. I do not leave anything of value in it. I do leave the diaper bag. If someone needs diapers and wipes that bad, they can have 'em. I would have given them if they just asked.

I've never felt the need to lock my stroller either (and it is a $350 stroller, not a $10 umbrella stroller). I might if it were more expensive bugaboo, but overall, I think most people with kids aren't going to be after someone else's stroller and people without kids aren't going to bother with the stroller.

 

[DisFam95]

We've taken our Mac techno's w/ no issues. I usually keep diapers/wipes/cream in a clear ziplock in the stroller to save room in my backback. I do put a luggage tag on it and also put something to identify it easily in a crowd or strollers. I always get one of those bows thats a bunch of curling ribbon bundled together in LIME GREEN of course from Hallmark and tie it to the handle.

We leave jackets and very small packages underneath but would never leave a big purchase in it. I've heard of Pal Mickey's or other small stuffed animals left in the seats taken but that's all I've heard of being stolen.

I will never leave food or a drink out in the cupholder. We saw a drink w/ a straw in it and a big black bird was sitting on the stroller handle and walking around. It was pecking at the straw and turned around and it rubbed on it's back side. We gagged to think someone was going to come take a big swig off that bird butt straw!

I'd be afraid to put a lock on the wheel. If someone tried to move it (like CM's will do) and realize it's 'stuck' on something and forcefully try to push it I'd worry it would bend something in the wheel.

 

[trennr]

You shouldn't have any problem. you wouldn't mess witha nybody elses stroller...so most people are the same way.

However with all strollers you may find it in a totally differnet place when you return to it.

I remember one year after we got out of the Haunted Mansion our stroller was nowhere near the place I had left it. A CM had moved it on down the street toward Frontierland at a staging area there. Have to admit DW and I were freaking.

 

[tinkerjess]

sorry if this is a silly question ,but when you bring your own stroller how do you get it to the parks? also i heard you cant bring it on the railroad at magic kingdom

 

[mbethel]

You can take it on the railroad at MK if you can completely collapse it. Same on the trams from the parking lots or buses from the resorts.

 

[tinkerjess]

thanks so much i did not know that. im bringing my own stroller

 

[disneydreamin247]

I WAS going to use my own for MK and Epcot since we are staying on the monorail, and rent one for DHS and AK. I am traveling alone with DS and didn't want to have to lug a stroller, DS, and whatever he may acquire throughout the day on and off a bus. However, with the new rental prices I am reconsidering that plan. Looks like I will be lugging one all around the World.

 

[MinnieForMe]

We've never had a problem. However, last year we watched a squirrel empty someone's tote bag to get food. It was hilarious. We shooed him away but he just kept coming back. The person had french fries open in their bag.

 

[DebRMN]

never had a problem. We always brought a double & a single

 

[Woodland1]

Sadly enough, when I was there a few years ago, I was one of the "theft victims." We had our stroller very well-marked so as to set it apart from all the others. I had an infant at the time, and was using one of those baby carriers for him. I had it tucked away under the basket under the stroller seat. The stroller was black and so was this carrier (one of the "hip" carriers to help distribute the baby's weight when holding him on my side). Anyway, we were all in one of those shows (AK I think??) and we got the stroller no problem and a few minutes later I wanted to use the baby carrier and it was nowhere to be found. I was so so upset b/c that was the start of our trip and the baby relied so much on using that carrier (he was colicky) and I was using the stroller for one of the other kids... The carrier cost me probably around $50 and I had just bought it before the trip. I was very disappointed b.c you just don't expect that to happen in DISNEY of all places. I mean, taking something from UNDER the basket floor UNDER a stroller... that just showed me that someone did it intentionally vs just taking the wrong stroller.

 

[stopher1]

We took ours 4 years in a row, never had any problems with anything being taken. We always leave stuff in it (backpack, blanket, sweatshirts if needed,etc) but always are sure to remove the cameras when we go a attractions...just to remove any possible temptation.

 

[snowglobe girl]

I've never had any problems either. I always bring a bright colored scarf to tie to the handle so I can spot it easily when CM's move them. I always leave the diaper bag in the bottom - I agree that if they need diapers that bad, take them. I also leave jackets, hats, etc. A couple of years ago, by mid-week, I even started leaving my $250 breast pump (which was in a back-pack) because it became too much trouble to cross over from whatever we were doing to go to the front of the park to lockers. That would be really gross for someone to steal that!!! I never leave our cameras in the bottom though.

 

[frtchr]

So if the stroller collapses, it CAN go on the MK railroad? That's great! We avoided it last time because I didn't know how to get from one stop to another without taking our stroller. Excellent!