Stroller Questions???

[WhitGB]

I have a few questions regarding strollers. I will be taking my 5 year old DD on a mommy/daughter trip in Sept and needed help with the strollers. Because of her age and size an umbrella stroller would not be comfortable for the entire day so I will rent her one from the parks. My concern is her getting tired going from the parks to the buses and then the hotel. Has anyone ever taken the umbrella stroller with them to the park and then "stashed" it somewhere while they rented a park stroller for the day? Is there an area for me to do this? Is it unnecessary? I am willing to pay for locker space but I am thinking it is too long. Any info would help. Thnx.

 

[BlondeAlligator]

I have a DD age 5 as well...she is really tall for her age but I found that the Maclaren Volo works great! It is a very lightweight, umbrella-style stroller that even has a strap that you can use to carry it when it is folded. I've never had a problem with it on the buses or at the airport, even by myself. I would try to get one of those, or borrow one, rather than rent the Disney strollers. A) The Disney strollers are hard plastic that is rather uncomfy & can get hot. B) By bringing your own, you save the rental $$ and also have it all the time at your disposal, not just in the parks. I have found that I need it most at the end of the day walking back to our room from the bus, but I love having it in the airport, too. Your 5yo is not going to want to sit in it all day; they are just too excited & like to walk/run everywhere! The Volo has a sun canopy & my DD says it's very comfortable.

If you're going to travel with a stroller then it should be one you can use the whole trip; why waste $$ on renting if you don't have to?

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[Nanu57v]

Where are you staying? My 2yo walked most of the time from the buses to the park and from the hotel room to the buses, but we made her ride in the stroller in the park for safety reasons (crowds). I'd say that unless you are staying at a really huge resort, she should be fine walking that amount. Unless she has some sort of physical issue or whatever.

I know there are lockers at Epcot, and probable the other resorts too, but the stroller would have to be small enough to fit.

 

[abcboys]

I considered doing the same thing you are thinking with my 2 kids but decided against it. I was either going to fold up the umbrella and put it on top of the rental and keep it that way....or I heard someone mention on here that the stroller rental place will hold your stroller from you if you are renting one. I've never tried either but was planning the same thing.

 

[estherhead]

If it is just you & dd then I do recommend having an umbrella stroller. It seemed like from watching the fireworks to the front of the park one of my dd's would fall asleep in the Disney stroller. We just had 1 umbrella stroller (for our baby) and whichever girl was most out of it would get the stroller to the bus. If I had been by myself with one of them, I almost guarauntee I would have had to carry her or she would have been crying all the way to the bus. So, personally, I say find an umbrella stroller that you can push the whole time. We've had ours a long time & I can't remember what it is or I would tell you. Maybe a Strollee? At 5, she'll probably be out of it most of the day in the park anyway. It's really at the resort on your way home after dark that you'll need a stroller most!

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

If it is just you & dd then I do recommend having an umbrella stroller. It seemed like from watching the fireworks to the front of the park one of my dd's would fall asleep in the Disney stroller. We just had 1 umbrella stroller (for our baby) and whichever girl was most out of it would get the stroller to the bus. If I had been by myself with one of them, I almost guarauntee I would have had to carry her or she would have been crying all the way to the bus. So, personally, I say find an umbrella stroller that you can push the whole time. We've had ours a long time & I can't remember what it is or I would tell you. Maybe a Strollee? At 5, she'll probably be out of it most of the day in the park anyway. It's really at the resort on your way home after dark that you'll need a stroller most!

I agree with an umbrella stroller. We have a Chicco and love it. but I think the weight limit is 35 lbs. Not too sure though.

BTW esterhead, you will be arriving at the world 3 days before us. Have fun.

 

[mello]

So, is the Maclaren Volo actually big enough for a 5yo to sleep in?

We've got the same dilemma about our 5yo on our upcoming trip. Our ds did Disneyland fine at the age of 5 without a stroller, however the distances are so much closer there. We know our 5yo dd will be fine walking a majority of the time at WDW, but we're thinking about those late nights walking back to the bus, room, etc. (Plus it has always been nice to have the stroller to pile our junk on when nobody's riding in it). We still have a small umbrella stroller, but it's too small for dd to sleep in, and that's the only time we really forsee needing one for her. We were thinking of not taking one at all and just renting if the need came about. But are the rentals not comfortable enough for sleeping? We're just so on the fence about this.

 

[kileybeth]

if I could figure out my photobucket acct and how to upload a pic I would show you a pic of my DS5 in his Mac volo. I highly recommend them. I used it last Sept and will take it again next week. Disney is a huge place and if you are alone it is hard enough to try and keep track of a kiddo but also to carry stuff throughout the day. By days end, I need a stroller let alone my little ones! Those bus lines can be long and the resorts spread out. We even stayed at POLY last time and where still very thankful for strollers for little ones at days end. jmo.

Mac volo lover here.

 

[hebbynan]

So, is the Maclaren Volo actually big enough for a 5yo to sleep in?

We've got the same dilemma about our 5yo on our upcoming trip. Our ds did Disneyland fine at the age of 5 without a stroller, however the distances are so much closer there. We know our 5yo dd will be fine walking a majority of the time at WDW, but we're thinking about those late nights walking back to the bus, room, etc. (Plus it has always been nice to have the stroller to pile our junk on when nobody's riding in it). We still have a small umbrella stroller, but it's too small for dd to sleep in, and that's the only time we really forsee needing one for her. We were thinking of not taking one at all and just renting if the need came about. But are the rentals not comfortable enough for sleeping? We're just so on the fence about this.

Yes, a Maclaren Volo will fit a 5 year old. We took one last year for our 3 year old and the 7 year old ended up using it more! The weight limit says 50 pounds, but DS7 was about 60 pounds and it still pushed like a dream. What made bringing one of our own nicer was that once one of them fell asleep in it, I didn't have to get them out until our bus came to the bus stop (with a rented one, you'll have to pick them up when you return it and then you run the risk of waking up a very cranky kid!). The carrying strap that's attached to it is great too! And it really is light weight...much lighter than the cheap $12 ones you can get at Walmart or Target. I love it!