Stroller Rain Covers...

[DWhittles]

What is this like my 10,000th question to you wize folks?
Someday I'll stop I SWEAR!
I have a raincover for my stroller. I've read about folks using vinyl backed tablecloths to cover their strollers but nothing about actual raincovers.
Should I not bring it with me? Should I go the route of tablecloth instead?
Diana

 

[ValerieK]

We always bring ours. We didn't have to use it on our last trip in May, but when we went in June and July we used it all the time. If you have one, bring it and use it.

 

[llp479]

Bring it and use it. After years of trying to keep our stroller dry I bought one for what was our last trip with dds stroller. Wish I had bought one years ago!

The stroller croaked while at WDW - may it rest in peace it served us well.

 

[tynkrB]

Yes bring it! We always bring ours and we always use it! Note if it even looks like it might rain it will. Be sure to cover your stoller if you go into a lengthy line or show as it may just start coming down and you will return to a wet stroller.

 

[CindyAnn]

DWhittles - Back in my stroller pushing days (a couple of years ago now) I also noticed that people on the DIS seemed to do amazing and mysterious things to protect their strollers from rain. Where I live rain covers for strollers are available in every baby store, and everybody who has a stroller has a rain cover for it. I could never figure it out. Was this a Canadian thing? A northeast thing? A snow-related thing? I guess in a pinch I'd use a poncho or tablecloth, but the rain covers are much better and well ventilated. I'm just laughing, because it's always been a mystery to me too! I'm glad you asked, because maybe we'll get some more answers.

 

[DWhittles]

Thanks guys! I love my rain cover and it almost is always in the basket of my stroller.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought no one else used them though!
Diana

 

[daisylove]

I just got back and boy did I use mine. I attched mine when we got to the park. It is the type that goes over the whole stroller even anything you have on the handles. So I put it on but rolled the front back up onto the hood and secured it with a couple of plastic clothespins. That way whenever we went into the ride I would just unroll it and then use the clothespins to secure it on the hood. The whole day looked cloudy and thundered but no rain by Test track at 8:00pm. I considered not bothering but did put it down before we went in and I am so glad I did. By the time we got to the outside part of the ride it was pouring!Cover worked great and DD had a dry place to sit after the ride.

 

[my2tinkerbells]

Definatly take the rain cover! Ours came with our stroller, and it was perfect, it kept the girls and the stroller nice and dry. Another tip is, even on dry days, especially in the magic kingdom Iwould put the rain cover on when I parked the stroller because....we would see empty strollers with BIRDS all over them.........YUCK!!!!!!! The people of course were clueless when they came back to there strollers I'm sure and set there babies right in the seat were the birds just were!! So, just a little something to think about, this was happening the most near Dumbo in that conjested area of the magic kingdom. Especially if the people had food somewhere in the stroller, the birds would find it and get it out!!!!

I hate to even think about it!!

Anyway, at Target today I saw they had Graco rain covers on clearance for $1 something, might be worth it, lol!

Jill

 

[BevS97]

OK, you just had me laughing out loud for real!

I have never understood why people are so keen on ponchos or plastic tablecloths when there are proper rain covers to be had?
And I love that the DIS advice gets under our skin so much, that we start to think - hey, they're using a tablecloth, that must be better than my rain cover!

we will be using the raincover - I can't see how a tablecloth can be better than the real thing.

Have a great trip

Bev

 

[DWhittles]

My2tinkerbells - Birds? That is something that wouldn't have EVER occured to me. It makes sense though and now that PJ is in love with his Zwiback (sp) cookies the birds will be just as in love with the hunks of it he leaves in his stroller upon exit.
ICKY!!!

BevS97 - It's true. I'm so convinced that the advice on here is dead on all the time that I DO start to believe and trust everything I read! I will however, be bringing my very own raincover this time and I'll use the tablecloth for a picnic!
Diana

 

[DisneyPhD]

We love our rain cover, I wouldn't go to WDW with out it. It worked really well with our Combi Travel Savy DX.

However we are looking into the whole double stroller thing (since we now have 2 kids!) and not sure what to do about that. Do they make double stroller covers? What if the stroller is a side to side. We are looking at a peg pergo side to side, I can handle the $300 price, but I am not paying $50 more for a rain cover. (from peg pergo), I think hubby would flip his lid if I did that.

 

[DWhittles]

I know they make raincovers for double strollers becuase my best friend has 2 babies and a double stroller and we have been out in the rain with all three of them!
Check Babies R Us for them...

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm laughing at the Brit and the Canadian wondering if there is some strange shower curtain/poncho code!

It's really very simple. As a rule, most Americans don't take babies out for buggy walks in inclement weather when they are at home. If it starts to rain when you are out, you take the buggy indoors and wait until it stops. (It's a bit of a safety thing, too; lightning is a hazard with your hands on a metal buggy.)

Most Americans buy their baby gear in general mdse. stores like WalMart and Target. These are suburban stores that serve suburban markets; they usually don't carry rainshields b/c not enough of their customers want to buy them. You can buy rainshields in the US at specialty nursery stores (i.e., BRUS or Baby Depot) with no problem; but a lot of the people who post here don't have a store of that type near where they live. Also, if the only place you would ever use a rainshield is on a one-time 5-day trip to WDW, a $2 shower curtain liner and 2 clothespins are a much cheaper solution than a $20 rainshield.

As for me? I've got proper rainshields, but then I'm a first-generation American, and I don't care that my neighbors think I'm mad for walking in the rain.

 

[CindyAnn]

Sorry NotUrsula - I didn't intend to offend! (Actually I'm not at all sure that you are offended, but sorry, just in case). We also don't usually amble about in the rain, but when older siblings need to go to school or there's an important errand, you may have no choice but to take along a baby in his or her stroller, regardless of the weather.

It's just another one of those things that varies from place to place, I guess. Two others I've found on the DIS over the years have been electric tea kettles and whether or not parents should stay at a party with their children.

 

[NotUrsula]

Oh, goodness, I'm not offended--I'm amused. It's just been my observation that these days, Americans choose not to be very hardy about children and weather, or at least, much less so than residents of other countries. My personal opinion is that a child getting a bit wet is no big deal, but I'm in a minority here.

You pointed out the "fact of life" instances of an older child getting to school or a parent running an important errand. I assure you, in the US, both of those situations would almost always involve an automobile, even if the school or the errand was 100 yards from the house. This is just that much a car culture, especially if you live in the suburbs, as nearly all American parents with young children do.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

Bring it. Better to be safet than sorry.