Loading and Unloading the stroller to board rides

[SandraC]

Hi, there are 4 of us, dh, myself, dd 8 and ds 2. Last April's WDW trip, dd was 7 and ds was 15 months old and in a stroller. We always brought a back pack with diapers, wipes, babyfood, snacks, water bottles and ds's sippy cup of milk, video cam and camera with extra film. It's not too full. Every time there was a ride we could all go on, we did. dh would have been happy just leaving the back pack, but I insisted on bringing on the rides (and there were A LOT of rides all 4 of us did together). It got tiring to refill the pack with water bottles, baby's milk etc.,. to get on rides. This April, we will be in the same situation, I got an even smaller back pack and will only pack 2 diapers, wipes, water bottles, few snacks, wallet, video cam and camera. What did you do? Do you leave everything or take it with you? Sandra

 

[MulanMom]

We have a backpack filled with cameras & valuable stuff. Then we have a rather large diaper bag which we leave in the stroller. No one's ever bothered our stuff. DH enhanced the double stroller by adding stops along the upper arms so I can sling the diaper bag over the rear handle, but I don't have to worry about it dragging against the ground or wheels.

Sharon

 

[rusty]

We would bring one backpack but had a net bag on the stroller. Once we were in the park I put the snacks and diapers, etc. in the net bag so that we only had to take the cameras and valuables in the backpack. It was December and there was no rain but other times of the year when it may rain you could use a plastic grocery store bag or something. At the end of the day I put everything back in the backpack so that we only had to carry one bag when we were folding up the stroller and getting on buses and so forth. Hope this helps. Liza

 

[BevS97]

we keep everything valuable in one bag which we can easily lift off the back of the stroller and take into the rides - we leave things like diapers, sippy cups, snacks etc in the stroller and noone has ever bothered it.

Whatever you decide to carry with you, it is much easier if it is already in a bag so that you can just lift that bag, you don't want to be packing and unpacking each time you come to the stroller.

Bev

 

[tjmw2727]

One for misc kid stuff, nothing valuable, that stays in the stroller. I keep my wallet in my pocket or fanny pack at all times and we have a small back pack or fanny pack with camera and other valuables. I leave the kids bag in the stroller with toys, snacks and extra clothing and grab the other bag. This way you have no packing and re packing from ride to ride. Enjoy.
TJ

 

[MinnieGi]

We had everything is one easy to carry diaper bag that fit into the storage compartyment of the stroller. Its the same one I use on a daily basis. I just carried it onto all rides and DH usually carried DD onto all rides. We also have storage compartments in the stroller. Water bottle holders in the stroller storage area, three cup holders and netting areas. Stuff in there I just kept with the stroller, it was all non-valuable stuff. No one ever bothered with it anyway.

 

[SandraC]

Ok, I am admitting this....I am paranoid that my water will be tampered with if I leave it in the stroller. I also admit, the reasonable ME knows this is an unrealistic fear ~ still I alway take our water bottles and baby sippy cup on the rides in our bag. I'm the same way at a bar. I never leave a full glass of anything to go dancing or to the washroom. Weird eh?

 

[cgajdzisz]

Call me paranoid also. I never thought about it but I'll probably join you in toteing around our waterbottles now!

 

[grlzmom]

I agree that it is a pain to lug all the stuff around in and out of the strollers.

Having five kiddos we thought we had this down to a science til our last visit in Oct. for MNSSH. We would take all the valuables on rides with us and leave extra formula, dipes, wipes, sippies etc in the big diaper bag in the stroller (we also always take our water bottles on rides with us). Then, low and behold our diaper bag was STOLEN while on small world ride. We were shocked, years with no problems and then oh well. Security was incredible, never got our stuff back but disney replaced our umbrella, baby outfit and rattle. Problem was dd is on special formula and they only sell carnation at wdw (her extra sealed can was in diaper bag). It cost us a small fortune at the local grocery store.

Lesson learned, disney cant be responsible for every not nice person who enters the gates, AND if lil ones have a favorire blankie, sippie or toy, drag it along no matter how heavy the bag gets. I still feel safe leaving stuff in the stroller but it did kind of ruin our day.

Jeanne
16 days til the magic begins again

 

[SandraC]

This is how far I have gone...

...I wanted the PERFECT backpack ~ so I am designing it myself. The one we use now is too big and if we only have a couple diapers, wallet and camera, there is a lot of room left. It's made of heavy canvas so it doesn't collapse well. So I bought a smaller backpack made of lighter more flexible canvas. It has pull stings instead of zippers. I bought strong think black elastic and will will sew on four pouches on the outside. So when time to get on a ride, I just pop in everyones water bottles into the outside pouches, the camera, wallets, diapers, and snacks stay in the small backpack! Hope this works! S

 

[skeezixspud]

You are not the only compulsive to do something like this! I have customized all sorts of baby gear, the most famous being my "tube" design stroller cover for use when flying; I've made those for all my friends and relatives. (They are made out of ripstop nylon, and they allow the wheels and handles to stick out so that you can pull the stroller down the jetway.)

If you want the same mesh that is used on store-bought bags, here is a wonderful cheap source. Go the the laundry equipment aisle at K-Mart and look for their large mesh laundry sacks. They cost ~ $4 each, come in several nice colors, and one will yield two full yards of mesh fabric, plus 2 yds of cord. This mesh is almost never available from fabric stores, BTW.
I find that the best way to neatly and easily add it to a ready-made bag is by "framing" your pockets with matching polyethylene webbing, then top-stitching through that to attach the pocket assembly to the bag.

Also, I get around the water-bottle issue by leaving all but one of them (empty) in the stroller.
I carry one full bottle around with me (a Brita filter bottle) and we refill the other bottles from it. Of course, you can't see the stuff in our stroller bag; it is attached to the stroller and is difficult to remove or open if you don't know how. (I have a Maclaren, and I designed a basket liner to flip out over the back crosshatching, so that it can stay attached when the stroller is folded.)

 

[SandraC]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I never thought about the laundry aisle! I bought mesh, but I don't like it, it's not flexible at all, good thing it was cheap. I wanted mesh with some *give* so it would hold water bottles in. I'll try your suggestion! Last year the airline ran out of bags to cover the stroller and car seat so they went on the plane *naked*, they were chilly by the end of the flight but surprisingly clean. I was going to look for GIANT plastic bags for the car seat and stroller for the plane. I can check the car seat (a big one) with the luggage, but I like having the stroller until the last minute ~ THE CAGE ~ in case I need it!

We will be bringing:
midsized stroller
child's car seat (ds is 2 and just over 30 lbs.)
dh will have a midsized suitcase
I will have a big suitcase with dd,ds and my stuff
dd will have a carry on with toys and art supplies
ds's carry on will be the food bag
I'll carry on ALL THE STUFF WE NEED ON THE PLANE bag
dh carry on will be the pull cart, it's a small cheap one.

We are renting a minivan! LOL! Sandra

 

[erddig]

Here goes my "system", I carry one water bottle (me DH DS share) and use the water bottle strap bought at Epcot. Camera and video camera go in fanny pack which never leaves us. All the other junk ( baby stuff, snacks extra clothes) goes in a back pack which usually stays on the stroller or on one of our backs (I don't take it if I would be devasted if I lost it- loveys and cups I have duplicates). i also have a "luggage lock" on the backpack its not really secure just a deterent. I found a cool mini wallet which attaches to belt loops) for resort ids, park tickets, fastpass and cash I carry that. (hubby carries most of the cash, I use the resort id ). DS 6 carries small fanny for his pennies, quarters and pressed penny book. Anything I buy I have sent to Ft Wildernesss. My best tip is the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) Whatever I think I need I leave half If I really need it I go back to the camper (FT. Wilderness) Its amazing what I don't need.
Pam

 

[padams]

I once saw a post of the Dis where someone said that she tied a clear plastic bag with a "dirty" (just pretend) diaper on the back of her stroller. She said that no one disturbed or took her stroller! I suspect that most stroller losses are due to parents picking up a stroller that looks like theirs and not realizing unitl later (maybe even after they leave the park) that it is not theirs. In our stroller days, we also kept all valuables in one backpack along with one water bottle. If something could be easily replaced, we left it in the stroller.