Stroller – Bring or Rent? (3 year old)

[gravel72]

I have been hearing conflicting arguments about this one.

Any advice? I want to hear from the ones who have actually done this.

When we go our daughter will be 2 1/2 . I am sure she will be up and down a lot. ( And probably wanting us to carry her some too)

I am leaning toward renting one, here’s my reasoning:
-If she is does not want to ride anymore, I can drop off the stroller and not have to worry about pushing it around all day

-I doubt she will take a nap, while we are strolling. (Possibly in one of the theaters). So I do not think the reclining is a big deal.

Am I wrong ?

-gravel72

 

[daisylove]

Take a stroller. Trust me no matter how much of a walker she is she and you will be happier with a stroller. If she does want to walk a bit you canalways park it in a central spot in one of the lands while you do the rides. It will be a godsend when you all are tired and getting back to the room at night. My Dd is 5 and i still bring it and she willstill ride in it atWDW.

 

[gravel72]

Thanks,

Are the ones on property decent ?

Here's the problem I have with umbrella strollers:
- Because a lot of them are so small, I have to tilt just to push them. A whole day of that will kill my back.

- Plus, most umbrella strollers do not have a place for a diaper bag.

How are the on-site Strollers?

-gravel72

 

[momofbuzzfan]

I would definetly bring your own stroller. Maybe invest in a cheaper graco lite stroller for $30 or so. That way you have the recline and the basket. The rental strollers are like big jogger strollers and they are hard plastic with no padding. There is also not alot of storage on the rental strollers. Plus it is cheaper to buy your own then to rent one for a week. My son is a walker and he stays awake for everything, never wanting to miss a thing. Iwas shocked when we were at WDW and he wanted to ride in the stroller so much AND he even fell asleep almost every day in it! It was wonderful when leaving the park and going to your transportation with a tired child to have a stroller. Also it is nice when you go to DD (although I think I read that now DD rents strollers also). You don't mention if you are flying or not but a stroller is VERY helpful in the airport!! JMO but I wouldn't think of not bringing my own stroller and my son is 4yo now.

 

[turnlisa]

The strollers Disney has are quite large and don't recline. It doesn't matter if she doesn't usually nap, you might be surprised what a long day at the parks will do to you. I know there are many afternoons, I wish I had a stroller to crawl into! You may be surprised how much your DD rides in it. After awhile, my DS loves just being able to sit down and carrying him can get tiring.

I would suggest bringing your own stroller. The strollers aren't available for rental until you actually get into the park. At the end of the day, you need to turn them in there as well. There are many nights when we are headed to the bus stop that I am thankful that I can keep my DS in the stroller. Rentals are also pricey (about $8 a day) so if you are staying for a long period of time, it can add up.

Our old stroller had finally had it. For this trip, I purchased a Kolcraft that folds up in one motion with a button on the handle. It folds quite small, has a basket underneath and is tall so that my DH (who is 6'2") doesn't have to lean over. It also reclines. I paid $30 for it at Toys R Us.

 

[Barbday62]

The strollers were hard plastic in MK, ONly Epcot had cloth ones. We just got back with our Grandaughter at age 2 years 11 months and she deffinetly needed a storller more than we imagined. She did walk some but rode more of the time.

 

[pamole]

I'm having the same dilemma.... DD will be 5, DS will be 3 3/4. I had planned on not bringing strollers, since they are very active and don't use strollers anymore -- I have long since packed them away in the attic.

Here's the problem -- we just went to Sesame Place this year -- sans stroller. Inside the park was just fine -- fairly short distances from ride to ride, plenty of breaks, etc. But once it was time to go out of the park at the end of the day, they were dragging their tails! They made it, of course, but not without a lot of complaining!

Leave to the kids to always keep me guessing!!!

 

[R4racing]

I would say bring your own. If you are flying, gate check it. It can be handy hauling either the kid or carry-ons from one gate to the other or to baggage claim. Then you have it to/from parks, at hotel and any off-site places you might go. Try it the first day and see how it goes, you can always leave it at the hotel the rest of the trip. I would go with a stroller one step up from an umbrella though. Something that reclines and doesn't have that 'sling' type seat just looks like it would be more comfortable.

I think they have pictures of the strollers at www.wdwig.com. We have never used them, but seems they might be better for the older kids, who do walk most of the time, but on long days might need a little rest. Especially the hard plastic strollers.

 

[daisylove]

The other issue that always gets me is safety. You do not say when you are going but if you go whe the parks are crowded I like the stroller just for the safety iossues. I know where she is at all times. She is not getting separated in the crazy pushy crowd. Just always makes me feel better when it is crowded.

 

[Kae]

I rented. It worked out find. Sometimes I did not rent one until after lunch or later. I found when I did not have one my DS walked with out any complaint. When I noticed he was getting tired I got one. Now we were there during Value season & it was not that crowded.

Kae

 

[gravel72]

The question is not whether to USE a stroller, the question is should I rent one on-site, or bring my own ?

Has any one had any issues with renting stollers at MK ?

 

[Kae]

No trouble. I returned my stroller before the fireworks on our late night. DH & DS found a spot for the parade & I returned the stroller so I did not have to deal with the crowds we just carried DS out. My DS is tall so one time we got a double one so he could spread out. He was 4.

Kae

 

[trola2]

WE have always only rented the strollers and never had a problem. WE stay onsite and use Disney transportation. We didn't want to deal with carrying the stroller on and off the bus and if we didn't head straight back to the room, having it with us in the shops or restaurants. Maybe we are lazy, but renting worked well for us and my DD's were always excited to get their "buggy." It's the only place they ever did a stroller after about the age of 2, so it was always a fun ride for them.

~~Beth

 

[dcgrumpy]

We've always brought a stroller, but ended up renting a couple of times. I like having my own stroller for when we're not at the parks, plus it's easier than carrying a sleeping toddler back to the car. When DS was a little over 2 he saw the rental strollers and kept trying to climb in them . We ended up renting them a few of the days and he loved it, because it was something different. For the hard plastic ones, we rented a double and he used our sweatshirts as a pillow when he took a nap. Didn't look comfy to me, but he slept for hours.

 

[robdam]

We went with 3 y.o. DS and 5 y.o. DD this past May. Stayed @ WL Villas. We rented a double stroller every day we were in th eparks with no regrets whatsoever. We had PLEANTY of other stuff to schlepp on the plane/hotel, etc. Who needs to or wants to worry about a stroller?

 

[kimwim8]

I have a DD5 and DS2 1/2. I am bringing the umbrella stroller for the airport & DTD and maybe TL. But when we are in the parks, we will be renting a double. We rented last time and had no problem. I believe they recently started offering a discount for multiple day rentals. You don't have to use them on consecutive days, but I believe you have to pay for the days up front.

Here is a link to some helpful WDW stroller info & it has pictures of the strollers at each park.

http://allearsnet.com/pl/strol_faq.htm

Enjoy!

 

[JetMom]

How long is your trip? On our last trip, my youngest DS was 3. We were there for 9 days (WDW, US/IOA, and SeaWorld). At $7/day to rent a stroller it just made more sense to us to bring our own.