Stroller dilemma - To bring or not to bring.

[ethanwa]

Hi all -

We are flying from Seattle to LAX. Our kids are 3 (daughter) and 5 (son). We have a side-by-side stroller at home.

Our daughter definitely needs a stroller, but our son can be out of it most of the time I think. I think with a single stroller we can do switching on and off, but I am not sure. I don't want to be pushing an half-empty double-wide stroller around Disneyland most of the time if I don't have to.

Is it best to rent a stroller? Or should we bring one with us? I just hate the hassle of bringing a stroller, but I also don't want renting a stroller to be a hassle either.

What should I do here?!?

Ethan

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We've done both, brought a double (did this twice) and have rented many times. We find that renting works best for us. The double gets really heavy to push with kids and junk in it, like water bottles. If you have a Disney Visa you get 50% off stroller rentals. Normally $15, you get for $7.50. That's really a good deal.

We also find that we really like the DL strollers. They are pretty nice and clean. There is a pocket in the back and a large pouch on the bottom for stuff. They push nicely too. They also have a sun visor.

 

[ethanwa]

We've done both, brought a double (did this twice) and have rented many times. We find that renting works best for us. The double gets really heavy to push with kids and junk in it, like water bottles. If you have a Disney Visa you get 50% off stroller rentals. Normally $15, you get for $7.50. That's really a good deal.

We also find that we really like the DL strollers. They are pretty nice and clean. There is a pocket in the back and a large pouch on the bottom for stuff. They push nicely too. They also have a sun visor.

Do they rent doubles or just singles?

 

[MrsPinup]

If it is not an extra fee to fly with your stroller, I would say bring it. Even though my kids are 8 and 6, I still wish we had ours at times. They are great for carrying your stuff around so you don't have to pay for lockers and are a great place for your kids to rest while waiting for shows to start. I like saving money everywhere I can so I can spend my money on the things I want the most. Paying anything for the strollers if you can easily bring yours seems like a waste IMO.

 

[LavenderPeach]

At first I was going to say you should just rent one so you have one less thing to deal with but actually, you might want to bring your own because you might need it to help get your daughter to and from your hotel. We rented strollers several times in the past for DS (back when it was free with disney visa) but then he needed to be carried back to the parking structure. Even if we took a tram, we would still end up holding him for long periods of time because in the evening the wait for the tram can be long. So we just started bringing our own for that purpose.

Oh and they only rent single strollers at DLR. You can take them between the 2 parks but you can't take them outside the security area.

 

[ethanwa]

We are staying at Grand Californian.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

What are the odd that one or both of your little ones will be asleep at the end of the day? The GCH is very close to the parks, so you won't have to walk far to get "home" but still, sleeping babies and gear can be a bit of a hassel, no matter how far you have to walk.

 

[clairabell29]

I say bring it, especially for those ages. My sons are 2 and 5 and at DL they BOTH ride in the double stroller and they both fall asleep on the way out of the park at night. It's a lot of walking for little legs. If you find you don't need it you can always rent a single or buy a cheap umbrella stroller from target

 

[Zoemakes5]

Add me to the "bring it" camp. These are my reasons:

From experience, it's great having the stroller at the airport, waiting for shuttles, rental cars, etc! And, since you have a 3yo, I'm sure you have a car seat, it's a great car-seat-mover, too.

The strollers at DL don't have much "storage" space, there is no drink holder for you or the kids and of course, as pp mentioned, no doubles. They are easier to "lose" in a crowd or with stroller "cleaners" outside the rides.

The kids are used to/comfortable with their own stroller, so if there is a moment of sensory overload, their own comfortable stroller can mean as much as their favorite blankie or stuffed animal.

Finally, it can be from cumbersome to downright miserable carrying one child out of the park and back to the hotel room. To do it with the potential of two would be a nightmare. We bought a stroller for the sole purpose of taking our then 5 year old one year. It was a huge help. Having it saved US problems.

 

[CrazyDuck]

If you bring one bring a single or a front and back double (or even better.. a sit and stand). Unlike WDW, DL is too compact for double wides (thats why they don't rent them).

 

[coaches24]

We just went with my 2 YO DD and I said to my wife after our trip that I cant imagine going without a stroller when our DD is too old for the stroller. We had EVERYTHING in that thing and didnt have to carry anything on our own. We had snacks for us and our daughter so that we were only eating main meals in the parks which saved us some money and tantrums from our DD as she ate goldfish all the time. We had a small cooler with ice and bottled water which was the best part of the stroller aside from not having to carry our tired 2 yo.

I worried about it being safe at first but we left it parked in all different areas and never had an issue. My wife forgot her Iphone in plain sight a couple times as we went on rides and it was still there when we went back. I left the video camera a few times as well (including when we rode the train around the park) and it too was still there.

We did keep all our credit cards and cash in my wallet which I kept in my pocket, as well as our park hopper passes.

 

[coaches24]

If you bring one bring a single or a front and back double (or even better.. a sit and stand). Unlike WDW, DL is too compact for double wides (thats why they don't rent them).

I agree. I saw quite a few double wide strollers there on my trip and they just made things too conjested and it wasnt even super busy in the parks on my trip.

 

[Mugglemama]

We just went with my 2 YO DD and I said to my wife after our trip that I cant imagine going without a stroller when our DD is too old for the stroller.

After nearly 15 years of having to always take a stroller to DLR (we have 4 kids, spaced from 3-6 years apart), our last trip was the very first time we were able to go without a stroller, as our youngest was 5.5 on that trip. It was wonderful! We felt so free and unburdened without a stroller, lol.

OP, I don't know that I would suggest bringing a side-by-side double stroller into the parks. We've taken a full-sized single stroller in the parks many times (when we lived nearby, and were only going to be in the parks for a few hours at a time), and even that was cumbersome. An increasing intolerance of strollers seems to have developed among Disneyland-goers in the last 6 or 7 years, IMO. And even though I am the type of stroller-pusher to hang back and let other people go, and I never cut people off, etc.,(and have only used a very narrow umbrella stroller in the parks for the last 7 or 8 years...) I've had people nearly injure my kids several times just by being jerks and jumping over them or something as they run to where they're going. And that's with just a single stroller...I would be concerned that the people who do act like jerks about strollers would be even less considerate of a wide side-by-side.

 

[DahliaRW]

Bring it. Even my 6yo who never rides in a stroller needed it or needed to be carried by the end of the day. And if your stroller is empty, park it, and go back to get it as needed.

 

[taaren]

DS is 4 and we have only rented. Too much hassle to get the stroller at the airport, etc. I hate bringing the carseat so much we sometimes just buy a new one when we ge to the mainland! I like that I can abandon the rental by the GC gate at the end of the night and just carry him up to the room from there. We are light packers though and usually don't take much downstairs other than jackets/water, and go back to the room to snack or use DDRDs if the churros are calling our names.

 

[dptabrown]

I posed this same question a little bit ago and STILL am unsure! Most everyone recommended me bringing my double. But now I'm reading people say not to bring a side by side and that's what mine is. Hmmmm...
But yeah, no way am I even attempting to carry my then 2 or 4 year olds!!!
And what a great point about the stroller being a "car seat carrier" to the airplane gate!

 

[coaches24]

I posed this same question a little bit ago and STILL am unsure! Most everyone recommended me bringing my double. But now I'm reading people say not to bring a side by side and that's what mine is. Hmmmm...
But yeah, no way am I even attempting to carry my then 2 or 4 year olds!!!
And what a great point about the stroller being a "car seat carrier" to the airplane gate!

I saw a lot of the side by side strollers when I was there. They didn't seem to have any problems from what I saw. I just thought they were to wide for my taste. But I'm sure those who don't have strollers at all are looking at my single stroller and thinking what a pain the same way I was looking at the side by side. Truth is if I had to decide between a side by side and no stroller for kids to young to walk DL all day then I would take the take the side by side without delay.

 

[ethanwa]

Original poster of this thread....

Just got back from Disneyland. We have a side-by-side City Mini stroller (http://www.babyjogger.com/city_mini_dbl_dtl.aspx)

BRING IT! It helped us so much and fit through every door.

We also bought and brought a bike lock so we could chain up our stroller when we felt it may get taken (Downtown Disney I trusted a bit less than in the parks).

BRING YOUR STROLLER. I can't stress that enough.

 

[skiingfast]

Original poster of this thread....

Just got back from Disneyland. We have a side-by-side City Mini stroller (http://www.babyjogger.com/city_mini_dbl_dtl.aspx)

BRING IT! It helped us so much and fit through every door.

We also bought and brought a bike lock so we could chain up our stroller when we felt it may get taken (Downtown Disney I trusted a bit less than in the parks).

BRING YOUR STROLLER. I can't stress that enough.

I would be really careful about putting a lock around your stroller. If the CM's don't like where you left it you could find your lock cut and stroller moved.

 

[ethanwa]

I would be really careful about putting a lock around your stroller. If the CM's don't like where you left it you could find your lock cut and stroller moved.

The lock actually saved me the other day. I parked it outside of Ariel's Grotto for dinner. When I came out, the area was roped off and full of people! I didn't realize World of Color people would be right there! Anyway, because of my lock, my stroller was still there and I was able to get it out. Otherwise it would have been gone and I would have freaked.

I used the locked maybe 3 times while there... I tried not to most of the time because it's a hassle. Only when I was gone for an extended period of time.

I always parked our stroller next to other strollers just to make sure I was in a "safe zone" for strollers (from thieves or from Cast Members who may move it).