Not taking stroller after 10 years

[bness]

We have two children 10ds and 7dd. After taking the stroller for 10 years, I think this year we'll leave it home.
What I want to know from others is after not having it to tote all the extras, jackets, water bottles, do you miss not having it? The kids won't miss not having it to ride in but I think I'll miss not having it to carry all the "stuff". That's the only reason we'd take it this year, to carry stuff. What do you think?

 

[Hannathy]

Congratulations!! It is so freeing and liberating to not have a stroller you will be jumping for joy.

As far as the stuff, first stop and think do I really need all this junk? the answer is probably NO. Second is Mom is not a pack mule, you are not pack Mom! Everyone carries their own stuff. I implemented this rule last trip and it was very funny when I announced that what they left the room carrying they brought back or it didn't come back and they all turned around and left something on the beds

I did bend and carry my DS 7's poncho in my bag but you really need very little.
If it is a cool season and you will need heavier jackets I would put them in a locker during the day.

 

[TheRatPack]

We had a year or two break from the stroller and we only carried necessities in a Disney tote bag which I lugged around all day....although you could use the lockers at the front of the parks? We took a ziploc with meds, sunscreen...etc and then little things like extra batteries for the camera, extra memory cards, tide pen for stains, passporter planner, wipes, hand sanitizer, small first aid kit we put together in one of those travel soap dishes...etc. Oh and our ziploc of rolled up rain poncho's LOL

Now that we have little ones again, we do enjoy the stroller (my shoulders welcome not having to carry that tote bag all day)....and we do take a few more things like a change of clothes for the youngest...etc. But seriously, we still fit it all in a tote bag and my travel purse so I think we'll be okay when the stroller goes away.

 

[lady_hlh]

Sometimes I do miss being able to push our backpacks around in the stroller but it is nice not to worry about keeping track of it or having to carry it off and on the bus. You definitely need to tell your kids that they are responsible for carrying their own stuff which will definitely reduce the amount of stuff that gets carried in to the park every day.

 

[brymolmom]

We just had our FINAL trip with stroller - so I looked around to see what others are doing without. Up til now we bring a backpack with ponchos, water squirters, light up toys, extra change of clothes, mini first aid, sunscreen, some granola bars, the pin lanyards and autograph books - whew. When we go on rides - we grab it and bring it in with us. For water - we bring a small "six-pack" size cooler with frozen water bottles and leave it in the stroller at all times.

For tickets and camera - I have a small over-the-shoulder bag.

For future, my plan is to cut way back on 'things' and to separate it between dh and I - two small and lightweight backpacks. I will only bring ponchos when the weather truly calls for it. I will not bring light up toys or water squirters. So it will be like this:
my bag - 1 change of kids clothes, sunscreen, autograph book
dh's bag - 1 change of clothes, granola bars, small first aid

I think that'll be it usually. I will also make sure that the bags have room for at least one water bottle each. I will bring those two with us and after that - ask for cups of ice water from CS places. And, if we end up buying one or two bottles of water - no biggie.

I figure with bags like that - they'll be very light weight and no big deal to have on our backs all day long.

At least that's my plan at this point.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Kids get to carry their own stuff. Tie jackets, sweatshirts, sweaters around the waist. Loop the poncho over a belt or tuck the end of it over a fanny pack strap. Buy anything you need like water, snacks.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

We just don't take stuff. Seriously, I'm amazed at the lists I see here. Tide pens? Light up toys? Sunscreen? First aid kit?

We put on sunscreen before we leave, throw our KTTW and my cell phone in my pocket, my DS wears his pin lanyard, and we go. I use a photo pass card and don't take pictures but if I did there are digital cameras that fit nicely in a pocket.

DS wears his swim trunks and a quick drying shirt most days -- if he gets wet, he gets wet. If he spills something we go play in a fountain until it's not dirty any more. I don't really care if we get wet. We did MNSSHP in the rain one evening and had the time of our lives -- no lines, no crowds, and we were soaking wet. Who cares? If we need a bandaid we go to first aid.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We just don't take stuff. Seriously, I'm amazed at the lists I see here. Tide pens? Light up toys? Sunscreen? First aid kit?

We put on sunscreen before we leave, throw our KTTW and my cell phone in my pocket, my DS wears his pin lanyard, and we go. I use a photo pass card and don't take pictures but if I did there are digital cameras that fit nicely in a pocket.

DS wears his swim trunks and a quick drying shirt most days -- if he gets wet, he gets wet. If he spills something we go play in a fountain until it's not dirty any more. I don't really care if we get wet. We did MNSSHP in the rain one evening and had the time of our lives -- no lines, no crowds, and we were soaking wet. Who cares? If we need a bandaid we go to first aid.

I love your traveling style!!

 

[brymolmom]

We just don't take stuff. Seriously, I'm amazed at the lists I see here. Tide pens? Light up toys? Sunscreen? First aid kit?

We put on sunscreen before we leave, throw our KTTW and my cell phone in my pocket, my DS wears his pin lanyard, and we go. I use a photo pass card and don't take pictures but if I did there are digital cameras that fit nicely in a pocket.

DS wears his swim trunks and a quick drying shirt most days -- if he gets wet, he gets wet. If he spills something we go play in a fountain until it's not dirty any more. I don't really care if we get wet. We did MNSSHP in the rain one evening and had the time of our lives -- no lines, no crowds, and we were soaking wet. Who cares? If we need a bandaid we go to first aid.

You must not have a 'glow in the dark' kid like I do. When we go in the summer - we need to re-sunscreen the kids at least twice during the day. Sometimes the face stick stuff even more than that - and they still burn a bit in the Florida sun! And we use the really expensive - spf at least 50 kind.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

I'm so jealous.

When I don't need strollers anymore, I don't think I will carry anything!!

 

[laceemouse]

I love your traveling style!!

agree 100%
We hardly carry anything anymore. We buy drinks when we need them. I LOVE being stroller free

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

You must not have a 'glow in the dark' kid like I do. When we go in the summer - we need to re-sunscreen the kids at least twice during the day. Sometimes the face stick stuff even more than that - and they still burn a bit in the Florida sun! And we use the really expensive - spf at least 50 kind.

This is true, my kid's skin is the color of milk chocolate at the start of a trip (heading towards dark chocolate by the end). I on the other hand am as pale as you get.

I think the difference is probably also that we don't stay in the park midday, especially in the heat of the summer. Usually we go back to the resort (and more sunblock if needed), for a swim or a nap. If we don't do that we go to another resort, enjoy the last character breakfast of the day, sight see within the resort, and get out of the sun.

Having said that, that's one thing. I'm still not sure how one gets from "I need pants with big pockets for a small bottle of sunblock" to "my shoulder hurts from the giant tote bag I carry".

 

[TMB1203]

We did our first stroller free trip last year. It was GREAT!
The first day I had a back pack filled with stuff that I thought we might need. After the first day-the backpack stayed home and I put as much as we could in the camera case. Anything that didn't fit in the camera case stayed in the room. There was one day that we purchased some items from the gift shop and made the mistake of not shipping it back to the room. My the end of the day the bag was ripping and my hand was blue from the ink on the bag. Have learned that all purchases get shipped back to the resort.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Yeah! No stroller! We've done a half day without it, and I loved it.

Here's what we brought in a small pack - camera, small sunscreen, tickets, sunglasses, a couple of band-aids, some trading pins for the kids.

That's it! It is great traveling light.

 

[Chelley00]

I get to do my first stroller-free trip this year


I'm taking my baggalini with camera, extra batteries, ziploc for the camera in case it rains, tiny travel first aid kit, travel size sunscreen, travel hand sanitizer, poncho, Kleenex, KTTW cards, and a tiny bit of cash. It's already packed and is pretty light, so it shouldn't be too much of a load to carry. I'll probably throw in a water bottle and gum (2 things I can't live without)

DD will have a princess fanny pack with her autograph book and pen and poncho.

 

[DVC Sadie]

Kids get to carry their own stuff. Tie jackets, sweatshirts, sweaters around the waist. Loop the poncho over a belt or tuck the end of it over a fanny pack strap. Buy anything you need like water, snacks.

Thats what our family does as well. For us, no stroller meant freedom.

For those of you who need to reapply sunscreen throughout the day buy a small size sunscreen that clips to a belt loop, lanyard, etc. Voila, hands free.

 

[pigletto]

We carry one messanger type bag and keep it light. We have a travel size bottle of sunscreen and some ponchos , a bottle or two of water and our camera. That's it.
Oh.. and dramamine as it turns out DH will get motion sickness from even looking at a ride

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

It is so much faster getting around without all of the stuff!

 

[RMulieri]

I have a 5 yr old and we didn't use , nor did we want a stroller.We brought ONLY the essentials in backpacks on me and Dh.I honestly think people bring way too much stuff into the parks they do not need

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

This will be our first year without a stroller as well. I will have my baggalini with me so whatever fits in there is what we're taking. If it doesn't fit it doesn't come! Right now I only plan on taking my cell phone, KTTW cards, camera, maybe a bottle of water, my wallet, and maybe sunscreen depending on the weather (we always put it on in the room before leaving).