Rental Strollers - comfortable?

[MemphisDad]

I have been looking at the pictures of the strollers at allearsnet.com, and I was wondering how comfortable the hard plastic ones are. Do you recommend bringing a cushion or some type of extra padding? We're going with our 16 month old who is not a reliable walker yet so he will probably be in the stroller a lot. We are still thinking about bringing our own stroller, but are considering the rentals so it would be one less thing to drag onto the plane.

 

[Kermit]

Personally, I don't think that the strollers are comfortable enough for a young toddler who will be in one that much. They're fine for older children who don't normally need a stroller but who can't handle walking all day at WDW, but for a child who uses a stroller at home, you need one that reclines with a softer seat.

You can have your stroller put on the airplane just before you board, and it won't count as one of your items. You'll probably appreciate having it there. And you'll like having one as you're waiting for the bus or walking to the car each evening, too.

 

[BobbiG]

I second that....for a little one that might want to snooze a little while it...definitely braing your own...it will be well worth it. I was there in October with a 24 month old...and she wouldn't sit in it for long. She wanted to push it instead...

 

[DazedandConfused]

We just got back and rented a double stoller every day for our 6 y.o. and our 3 y.o. They are not the most comfortable things but my 3 y.o. did curl up and sleep in it all the way through Illuminations with sweatshirts wadded up under his head! LOL! I did bring our own single stroller but on our first day our 6 y.o. was begging for a stroller... it was too much for him so, we started renting from the first day. If I only had one child I would definately use my own. We went to WDW when our first son was 7 months and we brought our own stroller. It was awesome to have our own. Rentals are good but for younger kiddos - they do not recline and they are not as clean as your own. We brought ours with us to MK the first day and when we decided to rent they held it in a back room for us. The major problem with the rental strollers is : THERE IS NO STORAGE BASKET!!!! So, if you are like us, the backpack/diaper bag became a problem. We stopped bringing our video camera because it was too hard to carry around. We hung our backpacks off the handle of the rental stroller but it made it real tippy if the kids got out of it. I would have much preferred to have my own stoller with it's basket in the bottom of it but with 2 kids I had to rent. It's also very expensive to rent ... $15 for a double per day. Not sure what the single is but I think it is $8. Then you can get $1 back at the end of the day if you return it to where you rented it. Plus we loved having our own stoller to push my youngest through the airport and help with the carry ons in the basket! We just used the gate check and had the stroller ready for when we landed too. HTH, Chris.

 

[tink&cinderella]

I would not rent a stroller at WDW as they do not recline, the roof is not down far enough to shade little ones from the sun and they are very low to the ground. I would bring my own stroller or buy a umbrella stroller that reclines and has a basket.

Best of luck

 

[italianfamilia]

I am considering renting a double for 6 and 4, but concerned about the storage. Does anyone know of a double stroller that I can buy that can handle 100 pounds combined of kids?

 

[dizzy203]

I always brought the stroller from home. I checked it in las luggage and never had any problem. Sometimes you need it just to walk to your car. After a long day in the park you might not want to carry your child.

 

[jenrein]

I rented a single for my 6 yr old- she brought her pillow from her bed- it was teh perfect size lengthwise to add cushion. The first day she had nothing and it was fine too.

 

[tanyaandallie]

No way for a 16 mos old. For an older child, yes but not for a baby that young. At 16 mos your little one will spend a tonof time in the stroller so you want a comfy one. We also check ours with our luggage and it works great.

I might also suggest a sling/baby carrier. I carried my ds (20 mos at the time) in ours a to nour last trip. They are really great for standing in line b/c your arms get tired holding a squirmy toddler!

 

[Jennygt]

You can rent from a babys best friend, you will have the stroller for your entire trip and they will deliver it to your resort. I am planning to take my lightweight stroller for the airport and then rent from ABBF so I have a comfy stroller for DS when we go in Sept. I don't want to have to carry him around the airport, he is 24lbs at 7months! Just another option to consider.

 

[hddanis]

Another option is to rent from A Baby's Best Friend http://www.abbf.com/index.html. You can get the stroller delivered to your hotel, have it the entire time you're there (not just in the parks) and not have to worry about carrying it on the plane.

I checked and a single stroller for 4-7 days is $57.

We're using them for our upcoming trip in June. I'm getting a double jogging stroller for my DD6 and DS4