Need some stroller tips..

[Whatalotofstuff]

I am a newcomer to this forum, and it is so helpful! Thanks to everyone for contributing!

This is probably already in a thread somewhere, but I am overwhelmed with all the info here and just thought I would ask anyway. We are going to Disney World in June. I have been researching strollers to see what would be best to take with us. (I have a two year old.) Any recommendations..? I do like the Maclaren Volo, but it's kind of expensive for an umbrella-type stroller. Do you have to leave your stroller sitting unattended at certain events like shows, etc? Should I worry about it being stolen? I'm a newbie at all this, so any advice would be appreciated! I thought about just taking a little cheapie umbrella type, but we need something comfortable for us to push (tall parents) and for her to have enough space and comfort (tall two year old!), plus I like the feature of the small basket and add-on organizer for this stroller for more space to store stuff..

 

[jdcamp]

We have a 2 1/2 yr old and a 10 month old and go to Disney roughly every 5 weeks. We purchased 2 Macleren Volo's and are very very happy with them. They are very lightweight and fold up easily. I always smile a little to myself when I see other parents wrestling to close up their strollers before boarding a bus. I can close these strollers easliy with one had while I'm holding a baby on my hip. They are so lightweight, I can easily carry the stroller and baby or toddler. It is a little disconcerting to leave your stroller unattended, but we have not had a problem yet. Good luck with your choice.

(We were going to purchase a cheap umbrella stroller but I am very happy we spent the money on the Volo. I notice that tall parents seem to have trouble pushing the cheap umbrella strollers, they always look like they are hunched over in a very uncomfortable position)

 

[Hummer2]

Try Ebay. You should be able to get a Volo for about $70 ($50 + $20 S&H)

 

[jagafen]

We just took our Volo out for a test drive at the Zoo today. I love it. Our DS is 5, 40#, and the Volo goes up to 55#. If your little one is 2, you should get plenty of use out of it! I also got mine off ebay for $72 shipped.

 

[blum74]

I just purchased a brand new Volo for $70, shipped. Check out http://www.babye-store.com/

 

[of2dbeach]

one thing i wouls suggest is getting a stroller cover at toys-r-us because you dont want a soggy heiney i found this the hard way when i covered the stroller ( our own ) with a raincoat and thought it would be ok when it rained WRONG. they move the strollers around and the Cm do try to be careful and are instructed to pull the covers back up if they should fall off etc. other parents sadly dont give a care and our stroller was drenched!! Our then 3 yr old pitched a fit ( louder then mine ) resulting in them calling managment and they asked DD if she wanted them to get her a stroller till hers dried out oh that made it worse!! How could she give up "Strollie" yes she named the stroller.. anyways a big huge beach towel and a new Mickey mouse rain coat was brought out for "Strollie" the manager and another CM helped me dry off "strollie" put down the raincoat and the huge beach towel and they wouldnt even let me pay for it! plus they gave us fast passes for a bunch of rides!! So even in the midst of a bad thing a good thing came out of it. The stroller covers cost around $20 .. trust me you will be glad you bought it. People kept commenting about it it even has side vents for air . And yes you do have to leave your stroller outside alot because of the rides etc. no one has ever bothered with our stroller just moving it to make room for others. you might want to tie a colorful bandana on yours to make it easier to spot though . have a wondeful trip!

 

[mick0613]

we are at disney now and have an umbrella made by chicco got it at babies r us and it is working out great , yes you have to leave it unattended for rides and shows but dont leave anything of value in it and it should be fine, we leave diaper bag in ours and mickey ears and all was fine when we got back

 

[Mykimouse]

Yea I had a friend go last month and their umbrella stroller got stolen. Luckily it was a cheap one. Leave something personal in it, but not to valuable and you'll be fine. If you want some extra piece of mind:

1. Take a diaper
2. Dirty it with something
3. Place it in a clear plastic bag
4. Hang it from the stroller

Works every time ;-)

 

[of2dbeach]

put a glob of mustard in a diaper and tie it to the stoller.. I bet noone will take it with a "Poopy" diaper . Why cant people just leave your stuff alone. What a way to spoil a trip for someone.So sad , especialy at "the happiest place on Earth". We have never had a problem with our stoller though TG

 

[VWB]

I don't want to worry you but.... Last time I went to Disney with my two kids I purchased a "used" double jogger stroller to take to Disney. My kids LOVED having the stroller to sit in so that they could make it ALL DAY!!! The very last night we were at Epcot eating and came out around 9:00 p.m. and the stroller was gone. We looked EVERYWHERE and reported it to security and whoever else that would listened. It was decided that someone just stole it. The only bright spot out of this was that it was our last night and now we wouldn't have to deal with it in the airport. It was a pain for my husband to fold it up to get on the bus but it was well worth it. I am glad we bought it used and did not pay full price. Just beware that not everyone in Disney is nice. Sad to say...

 

[Topo Bella]

We purchased a cheap-o umbrella stroller (worried that our good one would get stolen) and regreted it. The handles are always too low and you have to bend over to push the stroller and the wheels do not ride smoothly. Plus, our then 18 month old was not able to recline. Needless to say, we make a quick trip to the store to purchase something more comfortable.

I think the trick is to purchase a stroller that is not too expensive so that you wouldn't be heart-broken if it were stolen but is comfortable. We purchased a $45 Graco with a canopy which worked fine, even though it was not easy to collapse.

 

[jen2207]

What is the general opinion of the strollers they have for rent at the parks? Kate (from Jon and Kate +8) raved about them..... but I"m not going to be pushing as may kids as they have! thanks for input!

 

[2moms]

We just got back yesterday from disney with my 5 and 3 year old DDs and opted to purchase and bring a Mac Volo and rent a single stroller at the parks. The rentals do maneuver like a dream, but I definately knew we would need at least 1 stroller for around the resort/walking around outside the parks. The Volo is nice because there is a higher weight capacity than other strollers of similiar price and size, it folded up so easily and compactly to get on and off the buses and boats, the handles are high so you're not bent over pushing it the whole time, and I could steer the thing with my 5 year old in it with one hand! It was definately worth the $70 I paid at Babies R Us with a coupon. The only thing was, there were a lot of other Volos around, so we bought a balloon and tied it to the handles in order to spot it quicker after getting off attractions. The Volo is worth the $ you pay for it IMHO.

 

[penjen]

The last 2 years we took our umbrella stroller. It was a good cheap way to get DS around. Last year I just left the stroller in the room when we left thinking we would never need it again or a the hastle of using it in the airport. Well I just had to go buy another for this trip. We weren't planning on going again this year but now we are. It will be too hot for DS to make it on his own. I will probably leave this one behind too.

 

[DollfieDreams]

What is the general opinion of the strollers they have for rent at the parks? Kate (from Jon and Kate +8) raved about them..... but I"m not going to be pushing as may kids as they have! thanks for input!

i work at strollers in epcot.

and i can tell you i LOVE them! they are much more convenient to manuever throughout the parks than a regular stroller is. they have wide handles for both the double and singles, storage space in the back, sun visors and seat belts for the kids. they are cleaned every morning by hand and are continued to be looked over throughout the day. i highly recommend them to anyone coming to disney that either has a lot of kids in their party or is staying for a long time.

the rates are $10 for a single and $18 for a double, but thats just for one day in any theme park. if you purchase say...5 days of a double stroller, you'll pay $18 for the first day and then just $16 ($2 off the original price, so it'll be $8 for the singles) for each of the other 4 days. you'll be able to skip the lines and go straight to where they are handing out strollers.

they can fit one to a single and up to 3 in a double, but there are only 2 seat belts. i dont use them, but i know some guests like to have the safety of it. they come with a name tag so you'll be able to identify your stoller when you park it outside of an attraction. i recommend them, and hope you find them easy to use!

they also have umbrella strollers for sale for about $42.85 at every stroller location.

 

[strmtroopr96]

i work at strollers in epcot.

the rates are $10 for a single and $18 for a double, but thats just for one day in any theme park. if you purchase say...5 days of a double stroller, you'll pay $18 for the first day and then just $16 ($2 off the original price, so it'll be $8 for the singles) for each of the other 4 days. you'll be able to skip the lines and go straight to where they are handing out strollers.

Just to clarify, but stroller rental prices at WDW have gone up in price. It is $15 ($13 per day for length of stay) to rent a single per day and $31 ($27 per day for length of stay) to rent a double per day.

 

[Ashlander]

we are at disney now and have an umbrella made by chicco got it at babies r us and it is working out great , yes you have to leave it unattended for rides and shows but dont leave anything of value in it and it should be fine, we leave diaper bag in ours and mickey ears and all was fine when we got back

I completely agree with this recommendation. We bought the Chicco CT0.5 for our last trip and it was awesome. It is taller than a lot of strollers, folds compactly and even came with a rain cover. It has soft handles and is easy to push and maneuver. We take it everywhere now. My kids 6,5,3 fight over who gets to ride in it.

Our last trip we bought dog bandanna and tied it to our stroller to help keep it from being stolen. We bought it at the MK - there was a dog store to the left of the entrance when you walked in. They only had a bright red Stitch bandanna, but it worked. Our stroller was easy to find and was not stollen.

 

[Munchkin'sMommy]

My son is 2 years old and I have been through 4 strollers already...I am that picky about strollers. He has a Graco Quatro Tour DLX stroller but it is such a monstrosity of a stroller that I don't hardly use it anymore. I recently bought him a Chicco umbrella stroller and so far so good. It doesn't have a cup holder or a snack tray, but it is alot more agile and I can get in and out of crowds, crowded places, etc, alot more quickly than I can with the Graco. The problem I have with strollers is that my son is very tall already (40" at 2 years old) and his legs and feet tend to touch the ground if the stroller is too low.

When we go to Disney next year, I will probably take the Chicco stroller or maybe just rent one.

I purchased the Chicco stroller at Burlington Coat Factory for 59.00 plus 10% off since I hade a coupon.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

My first CP I worked attractions in Fantasyland, or should I say strollerland. I would highly recommend against bringing your own stroller. From a CM standpoint, I hate personal strollers because they are always incredibly difficult to maneuver when you are trying to keep up with the stroller parking lots. Secondly, I have seen quite a few personal strollers get mixed up, and it is a huge pain. For some crazy reason, the stroller manufacturers made more than one of the same stroller, and many people see a stroller similar to theirs and just take it. Oftentimes there will be personal items in there, and it means a long time talking to security. Oftentimes when the person discovers they have the wrong stroller, they will just dump it wherever they are, and retrace their steps to find theirs. This means that you are talking to security for awhile while we run around trying to help you replace your stuff.

The rental strollers are great- they are super easy to maneuver in the parks. Don't keep any personal stuff in it, and if it gets "misplaced", we can grab you a new one very quickly and you'll be on your way. The same thing will hold true if your stroller happens to have a malfunction. Just switch it out and be on your way.

If you do get your own stroller, opt for one with bigger wheels that can handle lots of walking on uneven pavement. Avoid jogging strollers, the one fixed wheel keeps it from maneuvering easily. Also- please pay attention the stroller parking signs, you will save yourself and the CMs lots of headaches. In Fantasyland especially there will be signs all over with arrows pointing you to where your stroller goes. If you don't put it htere, we will move it for you and then you will panic thinking that your stroller is lost. Also be aware that in stroller parking lots we are constantly moving them forward to make room for the new strollers. This means that your stroller may not be exactly where you left it. A balloon or colorful item tied to the handle can make it much easier for you to spot.

 

[jen2207]

I just got my volo today - thanks for the many recommendations from you all here! My 5 year old DD is "practicing" pushing my two year old DD and being Disney characters so that she is ready - first I had to pretend to be Mickey and Minnie, now DD is being Pluto and Donald. So cute!!!