Stroller or not?

[SwanVT2]

Bringing DD, who will be almost 4, end of February. We have only 2 park days planned. The rest is time at the pool at BCV Stormalong Bay, Boardwalk area, and Downtown Disney.
Should we bring an umbrella stroller (we are flying with one layover) or just rent a stroller for the two days we are at MK?
Part of me doesn't want to deal with the hassle of checking a stroller at the gate. Part of me thinks it might be useful. However DD much prefers to walk/be carried than stroller.

 

[caliope]

Bringing DD, who will be almost 4, end of February. We have only 2 park days planned. The rest is time at the pool at BCV Stormalong Bay, Boardwalk area, and Downtown Disney.
Should we bring an umbrella stroller (we are flying with one layover) or just rent a stroller for the two days we are at MK?
Part of me doesn't want to deal with the hassle of checking a stroller at the gate. Part of me thinks it might be useful. However DD much prefers to walk/be carried than stroller.

We really used our stroller with our 3 year old. He likes to walk too but even he would admit to getting tired and asked to ride on our longer park days. Plus, sometimes we wanted to move quickly and his little legs don't "do" quick! He also weighs almost 40lbs so carrying him gets exhausting. We brought our big BOB jogging stroller and while it was cumbersome I'm so glad we had it. If your daughter is used to the umbrella, even if she doesn't love it, it might be good to have available, not just in the parks but on the Boardwalk and at DS.

 

[JWigs]

Agreed either rent or bring your own but it is really tiring to carry a toddler when they get tired. Even only 2 days can make your arms fell off when you can't move them by the end of the night.

 

[englishteacha]

I'd bring your own. If you find you don't need it, great. But I dread the idea of having to lug my very heavy preschooler at the end of a long day.

 

[mzsarah10]

The stroller comes in pretty handy after you leave the gates and go to the bus. I cant imagine carrying my 4 year old this past summer. My daughter also does better with a stroller that she is familiar with for stroller naps during the day. We also used it when going to DD.

 

[jeepwreck]

I say bring your own we did in no bed and it was great my son would be in it half the time and the other half cunning round but by the end of the day he would be passed out in the stroller and it was nicer then having to carry him around the whole trip
We were there for 11 days and my back would have killed if I would have had to carry him all the time

 

[brockash]

Bringing DD, who will be almost 4, end of February. We have only 2 park days planned. The rest is time at the pool at BCV Stormalong Bay, Boardwalk area, and Downtown Disney.
Should we bring an umbrella stroller (we are flying with one layover) or just rent a stroller for the two days we are at MK?
Part of me doesn't want to deal with the hassle of checking a stroller at the gate. Part of me thinks it might be useful. However DD much prefers to walk/be carried than stroller.

There's no way I'd go to Disney with a 3 year old without a stroller. - Even just strolling around DTD and Boardwalk area I'd def. still want a stroller, so if it were me, we'd be taking one.

 

[ForeverDance]

Just thought I'd throw out another perspective. We went in August this past year for a 9 day trip with our DD who was 3 at the time (turned 4 in October) and we did not bring or rent a stroller. We knew the option was there if we needed it, but really she did just fine. There were days that her legs were tired and we took it a bit slower and there were a couple of nights that I carried her out of the park (mostly for convenience of walking quicker) but for the couple of times that she might have needed it, I was happy to not have to worry about it.

 

[lorenni]

We have always brought a stroller. We had a Bob for every day use and then bought a maclaren for travel and that's what we bring on all trips, including Disney. DS will be turning 5 during our next trip and we'll still bring the maclaren. Advantages for us with the stroller include:

- sometimes we want to go a bit faster than little legs can go
- sometimes little legs get tired (the world showcase at Epcot is a long walk for kiddos)
- love having the storage under the stroller, and being able to hang a bag off the handles instead of having to wear a backpack in hot weather
- DS will still fall asleep in his stroller - even now we trick him into napping on occasion by suggesting we go for a walk
- in crowds (think the stampede out of MK after the Wishes fireworks) it can be a lot easier (indeed maybe safer) to have DS buckled into his stroller to maneuver our way out
- you can park the stroller in a central location and go on foot for as long as you want

 

[laura3773]

We're going in October this year and I'm about 90% sure I don't want to rent a stroller this time. We went two years ago, and my daughter (at age 2) rode in the stroller two times in our entire 5 day trip - and both of those time were for naps.

 

[brinkley07]

I would bring one. If there are any problems at the airport and you need to be a little faster you will have it, and if she tires at the parks you have it. We also love the convenience of putting things under the stroller or on the handles instead of having to carry them. My DS still takes a nap in his every day when we are there.