New (smaller) WDW rental strollers

[LadyKay]

I just got back yesterday from BWV (just my husband and I) and was aghast to see that Epcot and Magic Kingdom had both replaced their regular size rentals for ones much smaller and shorter (both double and single have been replaced for smaller versions). We normally rent the double and fit both our girls (5 & 8) comfortably. We are headed back next month with the whole crew and I know we no longer have a use for the size stroller they now rent. I even went as far to stop a guest to ask her about the smaller strollers and she replied that she rented two doubles, one for each child. Not sure about the other parks as we only visited Epcot and MK. I would like to know if Disney is doing this to discourage parents of older children (5 & up) from using the rentals, is it more space efficient (stroller parking) or are they really trying to squeeze more $$$ out of us??? Has anyone else noticed these changes.

I did a search on the boards, so I really hope I am not feeding you all old news.

 

[liznboys]

Oh yeah, we saw the smaller rentals last month. I think it all comes down to money. Maybe they raised the rental prices to buy the news strollers.

The new strollers appear to be cheaper quality-less pricey for them to buy. They are smaller and therefore can't fit as big of kids or as many kids, and don't take up as much room around the park. Did they plan it that way or is that just the "bonus" of having less expensive strollers? I don't know.

What we thought was kinda odd though is that the wheels sit at an angle and it seems like that would cause people to trip over them. We didn't see anyone tripping so I guess not, but it just stood out to us.

We did rent a single one on one day when our 4 yr old was really tired towards the end of the trip and we were in Epcot. (We always had our own umbrella stroller for our 2 yr old.) It was fine.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I haven't seen them yet, but thanks for sharing. We usually rent a double and both of our girls smoosh in when they need breaks. I was on the fence about a Disney rental or an offsite company this year. Now, I'm definately renting offsite for my preschooler and my 7 year old will just have to hoof it or take a seat on a bench when she needs a break.

I loved those doubles and the big canopies ... when the kids were dragging, we would plop them in the "chariot" and give them a snack while we meandered to the next attraction. It had to end sometime, but I was sort of figuring that we would still be able to sqeeze in one more year with the Disney Chariot!

 

[TwoRoos]

I noticed the new strollers when we went in November. They look much smaller than the old ones. And I noticed those slanted wheels, too. At first I thought someone had a damaged stroller until I looked around and noticed that they were all like that!

For anyone looking to rent offsite, I highly recommend Orlando Stroller Rentals. We rented a double from them in November for our 6.5 and 2.5 year olds. Their strollers are awesome! I've reserved one again for our next trip (in May). The seats recline almost completely flat. They have really big sunshades. They have a large storage basket underneath and mesh pouches on the seat backs. They are easy to push and easy to fold. They deliver to/pick up from your resort. The best thing about them is their price. We rented for 10 nights from OSR for about one third the price of the Disney rentals. There have been lots of great reviews of them here on the DIS if you're interested in reading reviews from others.

www.orlandostrollerrentals.com

 

[LadyKay]

I noticed the new strollers when we went in November. They look much smaller than the old ones. And I noticed those slanted wheels, too. At first I thought someone had a damaged stroller until I looked around and noticed that they were all like that!

For anyone looking to rent offsite, I highly recommend Orlando Stroller Rentals. We rented a double from them in November for our 6.5 and 2.5 year olds. Their strollers are awesome! I've reserved one again for our next trip (in May). The seats recline almost completely flat. They have really big sunshades. They have a large storage basket underneath and mesh pouches on the seat backs. They are easy to push and easy to fold. They deliver to/pick up from your resort. The best thing about them is their price. We rented for 10 nights from OSR for about one third the price of the Disney rentals. There have been lots of great reviews of them here on the DIS if you're interested in reading reviews from others.

www.orlandostrollerrentals.com

My girls are 8 and 5 however my 8 year old is exactly the same size as my five year old, the five year old is average size. Are one of these rentals doable for me? I have already planned our itinerary for our Feb/March '09 trip and a ton of walking is involved!!! What do you think?

 

[TwoRoos]

My girls are 8 and 5 however my 8 year old is exactly the same size as my five year old, the five year old is average size. Are one of these rentals doable for me? I have already planned our itinerary for our Feb/March '09 trip and a ton of walking is involved!!! What do you think?

Another Disser reported that OSR double strollers hold 100 pounds. You may want to verify that directly with OSR. It may be on their website...I don't know. But I would say that if their combined weight is within the limits that you should be fine. (You also may want to check the weight limits of the singles. It may work out better to rent two singles.)

If the weight thing works out, I guess the only other thing to consider would be the height of your 8 year old. If she is too tall, it may be uncomfortable if her head doesn't fit under the sunshade. But since you say she is small for her age, it will probably work fine for you.

Probably the best thing you could do is call Shannon (the owner) and ask her about it. She told me the height and weight of her two that ride in there and that helped me to know that my 6 year old would fit fine.

 

[Ladybug888]

Does anyone happen to have a picture of these new strollers? I am just curious to see what they look like. TIA

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

I am so not happy about the new strollers. We haven't used them yet but I absolutely loved the big blue strollers. My kids would sit happily and I could fit 2 in 1 stroller - we often rent 2 doubles so that way everyone has a seat BUT, now if only 1 kid fits in a double we are going to have to rethink buying a new "disney stroller" since I refuse to take my high end strollers to Disney (terrified of them being stolen). We only have 3 adults to push - and will soon have 5 kids LOL. So 1 kid per stroller just won't cut it LOL

 

[LadyKay]

Does anyone happen to have a picture of these new strollers? I am just curious to see what they look like. TIA

You know I was so upset when I saw them I can't figure out why I didn't take a photo of them!!! Sorry! I will do so in 25 days and post ASAP!

 

[livndisney]

Here is a picture of the new strollers:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/tips_for_touring/StrollerRental.htm

 

[Laurabearz]

I just got back yesterday from BWV (just my husband and I) and was aghast to see that Epcot and Magic Kingdom had both replaced their regular size rentals for ones much smaller and shorter (both double and single have been replaced for smaller versions). We normally rent the double and fit both our girls (5 & 8) comfortably. We are headed back next month with the whole crew and I know we no longer have a use for the size stroller they now rent. I even went as far to stop a guest to ask her about the smaller strollers and she replied that she rented two doubles, one for each child. Not sure about the other parks as we only visited Epcot and MK. I would like to know if Disney is doing this to discourage parents of older children (5 & up) from using the rentals, is it more space efficient (stroller parking) or are they really trying to squeeze more $$$ out of us??? Has anyone else noticed these changes.

I did a search on the boards, so I really hope I am not feeding you all old news.

I can't imagine paying $62 bucks a day for strollers...

Thankfully my kids for the most part have grown out of strollers.

 

[vivinmich]

The new strollers look tiny! I'm so glad that I rented from OSR for our trip in March!

 

[cmaee]

Before renting from Orlando Stroller Rentals or WDW, I would check out the DIS buget board. They have some stroller swaps going on that might work for you. We are in the Royal Carriage Double Stroller swap for our week in April, and I know that there are openings available...there are 4 strollers in this one swap and many other swaps as well. We will have 2 double jogging strollers for the week we are there - 8 days and am paying $20.... $10 per stroller.

 

[gavsmom]

is there a picture anywhere of the stroller that disney sells for around $40? I'm thinking for me that makes more sense than spending $80.00 on a length of stay rental

 

[momx2]

My husband and I were talking about the new strollers in December on our trip. One of the parks already had them, can't remember which one. We don't use strollers anymore since our girls are 11 and 7. We believe WDW is trying to discourage stroller rental with the high price and new size of the strollers. I must say I noticed much less stroller rentals in Dec. than ever before. I actually enjoyed that fact.

Please don't flame me for what I'm about to post because I understand where you guys are coming from. I was very sad and didn't like our first stroller free trip. We have let our DDs ride until they are 5. Then up until 6 only get one if we are going to be in a park all day or if we were there really late. Then no strollers past 6. I missed the stroller terribly at first, but now it's kind of great being free of it.

I think there were too many stollers and it made for a lot of miserable patrons of WDW who were dodging the hundreds of strollers and ever increasing amount of electric scooters. This past trip there were less strollers and it was great! Unless there are medical or physical problems I don't think kids older than 5 need to be in a stroller on a regular basis in WDW. We have always taken the stance that if my 7 yr. old is so tired that she needs a stroller, then we go back to the room.

I can honestly say this past December was the first trip I remember that someone in my family wasn't ran over by a stroller. That was nice.

 

[Ariel on Land]

wow, those "doubles" sure look skinny.... I don't know how you'd comfortably fit two kids if they weren't either both pretty young, or both fairly slender!

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

is there a picture anywhere of the stroller that disney sells for around $40? I'm thinking for me that makes more sense than spending $80.00 on a length of stay rental

The stroller they sell is basically a nicer version of an umbrella stroller - http://common.csnstores.com/Kolcraft-Tour-Sport-Reclining-Umbrella-Stroller~img~KCT~KCT1023_b.jpg


sooo NOT worth the money

 

[Hollytigs]

This thread is very interesting as it answers a lot of questions I had, but can anyone who has experienced the new double strollers tell me if they think it would be suitable for my two daughters?
The oldest one will be nearly 7 when we go, but she has special needs and although she can walk for about an hour without trouble, it gets hard for her after that. The problem is that she is also big for her age. She will probably be about 90lbs by the time we go. My youngest daughter will be nearly 2 and is average size/weight. Do you think they will both fit in one of the new double strollers?
The alternative would be to bring DD1's stroller from home and rent a special needs one from OSR, but that would be a nightmare on the buses, and also we would end up pushing DD6's stroller around empty a lot of the time when she wants to walk!

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

This thread is very interesting as it answers a lot of questions I had, but can anyone who has experienced the new double strollers tell me if they think it would be suitable for my two daughters?
The oldest one will be nearly 7 when we go, but she has special needs and although she can walk for about an hour without trouble, it gets hard for her after that. The problem is that she is also big for her age. She will probably be about 90lbs by the time we go. My youngest daughter will be nearly 2 and is average size/weight. Do you think they will both fit in one of the new double strollers?
The alternative would be to bring DD1's stroller from home and rent a special needs one from OSR, but that would be a nightmare on the buses, and also we would end up pushing DD6's stroller around empty a lot of the time when she wants to walk!

Most likely you will need to rent a double stroller for your DD7 alone. Or at least plan that way until you get there and see if they both fit, kwim?

 

[Hollytigs]

I suppose I could rent a double and then if they don't fit they can take turns riding.

I was going to bring DD1s stroller anyway for the airport and to have around the hotel and for shopping etc, so it wouldn't be so much trouble to bring that one on the buses and just have two in the parks.

So, I think I've just answered my own question - bring DD1s stroller and rent a double Typing the question in just makes you think better!