"Long-term" stroller parking?

[Sunshine2U]

We've never done parks with a stroller and now taking one for 4yo GS. We plan to arrive a MK well before rope drop and grab coffee/breakfast at Starbucks. Is there a place where we can "park" the stroller before rope drop, and leave it until we actually need it? That could be as late as 3:00 but we can certainly get it sooner.

Perhaps easier, we're making a beeline for FPP at rope drop and have 1:30 lunch at CRT. Could we park at Carousel and leave until after lunch?

 

[revdon64]

Having used a stroller in the past, I'm fairly certain that CMs are not monitoring how long any particular stroller is parked in a location designated as stroller parking. If you were to park it say at the carousel and do three or four rides I that area, I think you'd be just fine. Don't leave anything of value in it though. The longer it sits unattended, the more chance that your stuff will go missing.

 

[yulilin3]

If you want to park it before rope drop then your option would be Crystal Palace. If you want to do actual rope drop with stroller then the carousel is fine. Just know that it will not be in the exact same spot you leave it as CM have to re arrange and move strollers in each parking "lot" through the day

 

[Jules76126]

If you do plan to leave the stroller for hours at a time, I would definitely attach something distinctive to it. It could be a bright colored ribbon on the handle or something similar. CMs will move the strollers to create more room/consolidate as people come and go. We used to do this all the time as otherwise it is a huge mess. One word of caution, people have been known to walk off with strollers that are not theirs. This has been both intentional and accidental. That is why I suggest the distinctive ribbon and checking on it from time to time so you know its still there.

 

[Klayfish]

We never rope drop, so I can't comment on that part, but we leave our stroller in one spot for hours pretty much every single day we're in the parks. We use a cheap umbrella stroller to carry our food. But there's no real reason to push it around with us all the time, so we find a shaded spot in stroller parking somewhere and just leave it. Typically we'll leave it for 3-5 hours. Never once had an issue. Yes, the CM may move it a bit within the area of that particular stroller parking, but that's not a big deal...just a few extra seconds of searching.

 

[Alesia]

A word of caution: Do not leave food in your stroller. I have seen more than one stroller get ransacked by hungry squirrels.

 

[Klayfish]

A word of caution: Do not leave food in your stroller. I have seen more than one stroller get ransacked by hungry squirrels.

I suppose if you leave it wide open that can happen...I've seen plenty of squirrels in the parks. Ours is in a very large soft sided cooler bag that's zipped up. Never had anything get in.

 

[Gentry2004]

We've left ours at the carousel for many many hours before without issue. We just bring a basic umbrella one because our youngest isn't that small anymore.

 

[Alesia]

I suppose if you leave it wide open that can happen...I've seen plenty of squirrels in the parks. Ours is in a very large soft sided cooler bag that's zipped up. Never had anything get in.

Trust me, they know how to operate zippers; I have seen it with my own eyes. If they can smell it, they can get to it. They especially seem to love potato chips.

 

[ucfknight]

They don't go around and mark the tires.

 

[scrapquitler]

YOu can park it and leave it in a stroller parking area as long as you want, but be aware that cast members are constangly rearranging and lining up strollers within the parking area so you might not find it where you left it. Having a brightly colored bandana or something tied to your stroller will help you find it when you go back looking for it.

 

[Klayfish]

Trust me, they know how to operate zippers; I have seen it with my own eyes. If they can smell it, they can get to it. They especially seem to love potato chips.

Yeah, they're clever little things. But we've left our bag out I can't even count how many times and never had one get in.

 

[bumbershoot]

I suppose if you leave it wide open that can happen...I've seen plenty of squirrels in the parks. Ours is in a very large soft sided cooler bag that's zipped up. Never had anything get in.

Maybe they didn't get in, but I bet they were all over it. I've watching squirrels gnawing on food containers and water bottles in strollers. Mmm, squirrel spit...

 

[otten]

Tip: get a balloon. It makes it super easy to spot your stroller in the sea of them.

 

[Micca]

They don't go around and mark the tires.

Whew, that means they won't boot your stroller!

 

[KrazeeK120]

Maybe they didn't get in, but I bet they were all over it. I've watching squirrels gnawing on food containers and water bottles in strollers. Mmm, squirrel spit...

I left my water bottles in an insulated lunch bag on my last trip. I am now thoroughly disgusted and will no longer leave anything in the stroller that I intend to later consume. Gross. Thanks for the enlightenment?

 

[Klayfish]

Maybe they didn't get in, but I bet they were all over it. I've watching squirrels gnawing on food containers and water bottles in strollers. Mmm, squirrel spit...

Like I said, we don't leave our food containers out in the open. It's in a thick, insulated soft sided cooler with a full zipper. We've been using the same bag for 10 years and it doesn't have a chew mark on it. So perhaps they've crawled on top of the bag, but who cares. The food is inside, which they've never gotten to, so they've never gotten to the containers either. Safe and sound. If by miracle one time they figure out how to open the zipper, then easy solution is to zip tie the zipper shut.

 

[HopperFan]

Whew, that means they won't boot your stroller!

First thing that popped in my head, even the visual of it in shape of Mickey head ....

 

[Sleepy425]

When I took my daughters alone for the day, I left the stroller by Tony's. I figured if I needed it at any point, I could hop the train to the front of the park (we took the antique cars down main street at park opening, which is why I left it there). It stayed there for most of the day.
As for the squirrels - they definitely have gotten into our coolers before. They left nice holes in them and grabbed the food through the holes. Thankfully we only keep snacks in the cooler, so it isn't like we lost an entire meal.

 

[elaine amj]

My one suggestion for long term parking? Look for a spot that is covered in case of rain. It will also keep it cooler than being left in the heat. We did this in Epcot. Our first spot was outside the Land pavilion in the blazing sun and open to the rain. We moved it later to outside Character Spot - plenty of shade and fully under cover.