Rental of special needs buggy/stroller

[tambam28]

Hi This is my first post and not totally sure what to do, so please forgive me if I miss something out.

We are taking our DS who is on the autistic spectrum, he is very scared of everything and we had thought about taking his stroller with us from the UK, but I feel he will be too big for it now as he will turn 4 just two days before we go. I feel he might cope better if he had his own space in a buggy when there are crowds about.

I was hoping someone would be able to help me with the rental of a bigger stroller, ie Maclaren Major or something similar.

I have checked around but wanted to hear other peoples experiences with this.

We are going for 2 weeks from the 8th Sept.

Any advice will be greatly received.

Many thanks

Tam

 

[peemagg]

If you look at the FAQ's sticky at the beginning of this forum, there are places in there that have gotten good reviews by people on here, that will rent special needs strollers.

 

[lanejudy]

Depending on how big he is and the weight limit on your stroller, a 4-year-old may be fine in a traditional stroller. However, that said, you asked about the Maclaren Major and I can give some testimony to that. We looked into renting one (check the links in the FAQ sticky) and ultimately decided to purchase one so we'd have it for other uses and not just WDW. Our 7-yr-old was very comfortable in it with plenty of room to grow. It folds compactly just like a standard umbrella stroller, it's just a little longer when folded. Easily carries onto transportation. One thing is the footrest has to be removed to fold; we hang a drawstring bag on the back of the stroller and the footrest fit in there perfectly and wasn't an issue of something extra to carry. Also, depending on options you get, some may need to be removed for folding (the canopy, and I think the lateral pads).

There are other special needs strollers available through the more traditional baby-stroller rental sites. In my research, these appeared to be larger and more cumbersome for folding and transporting on the bus, plus heavier. But do your research and see what fits your needs. I think there's another similar to the Maclaren Major - might be Otto Bock but I forget. You are more likely to find these through the medical sites rather than the stroller rental sites.

Don't forget to stop by Guest Relations in the park so you can use the stroller in lines. Good luck and enjoy your vacation.