Stroller help!

[eventsdj]

This is my 2nd official post on disboards, My husband can not even believe I found Disney message boards. He is teasing me that I can't even wait until the credit card cools off (from our reservations) to read every detail about Disney.

My question, our daugher will be 4.5 years when we go, and we've gotten rid of our stroller.
Should I find one cheap to bring with us, (were flying) or should we rent?
I think if I brought one of the umbrella type strollers, it may be a pain becasue there is no where to store anything (underneath).
BUT, you can buy one for $10, and to rent on would be $10 a day.

HMMMM, what do you all do???
Jen

 

[StrollPatrolMom]

Different situation, but....on the "cheap" umbrella strollers you have to watch the weight limits...some are as low as 30 pounds. We're going down with friends and we're both buying new strollers for traveling, but in the case of a 4.5 year old...I guess it depends if you plan on breaking up your days at the park or not...I don't even see my 3.5 year old riding in the stroller *that* much unless the crowds are bad...if it were just a 4.5 year old, I'd probably consider trying to rent as needed...

 

[all4fun]

There are numerous stroller threads so if you do a search you'll find tons of info already posted. The favorite around here seems to be the maclaren strollers. They are nice for older kids because they can hold up to 55 or 65lbs depending on the model. We have a Kidco stroller that is very similar (50lb limit) to the Macs and has been to Disney several times. DH is tall and and hates kicking the back wheels all the time though (and the handles on this stroller are actually taller than the Macs we've parked it next to) so we just bought a jogging stroller which I dread traveling with but I think ds will be much more comfy riding in as he is also tall and leggy. His feet are almost dragging the ground in the umbrella one. He is 4 as of April and will still definitely need the stroller at WDW this fall. As a matter of fact you'll see kids as old as 7 or 8 riding in the rental strollers at WDW (which are very sturdy but are hard plastic so don't look all that comfy to me).

hth

 

[TheBigQ]

I would rent one. When we go to Disney in October our DD will be 5 and we plan on renting her a stroller just in case. Personally I can't stand umbrella strollers - theres no storage, some don't have a sunshade & if they do its inadequate at best, weight limit. Our DD4 (5 in Oct) is 46 lbs & 45" tall so the cheapie umbrella strollers aren't comfortable at all.

We do own a Mac for our DD2 but we'll get 2 or so more years out of it if your DD4 doesn't really use one in general I wouldn't invest in one unless you have family/friends you can give it to. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Elmo888]

I would buy one if you can afford it or find one used - something like a Maclaren Volo (I saw one on sale at albeebaby.com for $90). It has a high weight limit. If you are going for 7 days and it is $10 a day, it still seems like it would be worth $90 for a stroller that you can use outside the parks.

There is a lot of walking outside the parks, and the rented strollers stay in the parks. From your resort room to the transportation (bus/monorail/boat), from there to the park and in reverse on your way back to your room. When everyone is tired (you and your child), it is difficult to carry a tired/sleeping child.

With or without a stroller, you really have to carry your stuff in some sort of bag (backpack, etc.). With a stroller, you can easily and quickly grab the bag and fold the stroller to board transportation (although you can just roll your stroller onto the monorail and some boats). I hung a backpack with non-valuables on the stroller and didn't use the stroller basket. Some of the Macs can by tippy - when you take the child off, the stroller can tip if it has a bag hanging on the handles.

Or beg, steal, or borrow one from a friend?

 

[mickeyluvr004]

This is my 2nd official post on disboards, My husband can not even believe I found Disney message boards. He is teasing me that I can't even wait until the credit card cools off (from our reservations) to read every detail about Disney.

My question, our daugher will be 4.5 years when we go, and we've gotten rid of our stroller.
Should I find one cheap to bring with us, (were flying) or should we rent?
I think if I brought one of the umbrella type strollers, it may be a pain becasue there is no where to store anything (underneath).
BUT, you can buy one for $10, and to rent on would be $10 a day.

HMMMM, what do you all do???
Jen

we are going in sept and i have a 3.5 year old and i picked up a saftey 1st brand new in box for 35.00 off of craigslist.com, we went in 2003 and my other daughter was 4.5 and she also used the stroller as it came in handy walking back to the rooms at pors late at night, it was a lifesaver and back saver as she was soooo tired from walking and we were able to get back to our room faster as she wasn't lagging behind us. what about a consignment shop or garage/ tag sale? sometimes you can find really good deals out there good luck

 

[bartleby1]

This is my 2nd official post on disboards, My husband can not even believe I found Disney message boards. He is teasing me that I can't even wait until the credit card cools off (from our reservations) to read every detail about Disney.

My question, our daugher will be 4.5 years when we go, and we've gotten rid of our stroller.
Should I find one cheap to bring with us, (were flying) or should we rent?
I think if I brought one of the umbrella type strollers, it may be a pain becasue there is no where to store anything (underneath).
BUT, you can buy one for $10, and to rent on would be $10 a day.

HMMMM, what do you all do???
Jen

My kids are quite tall, so a cheapie umbrella stroller was not an option at 4.5 yrs old. Also, even if they can fit, many are hard to push with a larger child in it and you will need to do a LOT of pushing - NOT fun for mom and dad!

As much as I hate to spend extra money, the rentals were the BEST for that age for our kids. And really, if you are spending so much for a disney vacation, the stroller money is worth every penny to have a happy kid! Keep in mind though, there isn't much storage on the rentals either. But, they are super easy to push and you don't need to lug them on the bus or in and out of the car. A 4.5 yr old shouldn't really need a stroller outside of the parks.

You can find pictures of the rental strollers here:
http://allearsnet.com/pl/strol_faq.htm

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

We have a Maclaren Quest for our DD who will turn 5 next september. We bought it a little over a year ago and it has been great for travel.

It has good shade, a basket that fits a ton of stuff, a rain cover (great for Florida storms) and it even reclines.

The best thing is that it is really easy to push. We had a Combi stroller just before that, and it was so bad that we decided to rent a stroller from abbf and not bring the Combi to the parks when dd was almost 3.

 

[badblackpug]

I would rent. You may find that you don't even need it.

 

[guelde96]

If you rent for your length of stay the price goes down to $8 a day. When we took our kids at 4.5 they still needed the stroller. there is a lot of walking. Taking one is an option. Then you have to haul the stroller in and out of the bus or the monorail or whatever. We have a 3.5 and are renting this coming September for the first time.

 

[blessedby3]

We invested in a Maclaren Volo a few years back and got it for $68. It was a much better deal than renting for us and we have used it for 2 Disney trips. Well worth the money. They are so sturdy and have a high weight limit so you will get years of use out of it. The Volo holds up to 55 pounds. My youngest DD is 8 1/2 now and can still ride in it like no one is sitting in the stroller. They push like a dream. We enjoyed having it for late nights when she would fall asleep and no one wanted to carry her to the busses. I dont think the rentals look very comfy and we prefer to have our own.