Stroller??

[aebeauregard]

Myself, my husband, my mom, my dad, and our almost 2 year old are going to the Disneyworld sept 6-10th. We are only planning two days in the parks with a rest day in between to hang around the resort and swim. I'm wondering what people suggest in terms of strollers. I'm debating bringing our own jogger stroller, our own umbrella stroller, or renting.

We will be staying at fort wilderness cabins. Also we are traveling by plane and then magical express. Do strollers have to be collapsed on the boats like they do on bus transportation?

This is our first trip with our daughter, not just to disney but anywhere. I'm not sure what to expect travel with a toddler to be like. I used to be a go go go kind of person at disney but I know this trip will be much different. Thanks for any opinions or suggestions to help me figure out our best option.

 

[Steffiesunshine]

I don't want to be bothered worrying about the stroller on the plane, so I will be renting a stroller for the week from one of the companies near Disney that drop it off at your resort for you. It's cheaper, and more comfortable, than the park rentals.

 

[LuckyBelle81]

I agree with pp. Definitely rent and have it delivered to your resort. We have rented strollers in the parks before but last year we stayed at the cabins and rented from Apple. It was so much cheaper and so convenient. It was great to have the stroller to get from the cabin to the bus stop and very helpful to have in the evenings when we were getting back to the cabin and everyone was tired. We had to fold the stroller for buses and for the smaller ferries. I'm not sure about the larger ferry - it may depend on how busy/crowded it is.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

You will very likely need to fold the stroller for the ferries. We went between MK and the Contemporary and Ft Wilderness a couple times and each time we were required to fold the strollers.

Your jogger will likely be a beast to fold for the boats, but if the kiddo is really familiar with it and its comfortable and you have active help (not sure if the parents are the "oh let me help you with that" types or the "help me too" types) then one person can wrestle stroller and stuff and another the kid when you go in transit and its manageable. If your umbrella is a small cheap kind without a shade and not very comfy I would definitely not use with a kid that little at Disney. If its a nicer one like a maclaren or something with a nice shade, recline, etc that seems like your best option if you want to have it for the flight too.

We did both last trip - brought one stroller for my very chunky just-turned-one year old (he weighed like 25 pounds at that point, we needed a stroller at the airport!) - we own a city mini and its older so I didn't mind if it got a little banged up on the flight (it came out in great shape, but you never know). We also rented from Kingdom for my almost-4-year old, which was great because she didn't need a stroller for the flight but we had it for travel to/from the parks and within the parks. My verdict was that those were the right choices for those ages...a little one is easier to manage in an airport in their stroller they know. (BTW, the third party stroller rentals ARE awesome - a nice city mini which has a huge shade and amazing one-hand fold, and ours were delivered right with our luggage from magical express...SO easy).

Good luck! Key points for me were comfort/stamina of kiddo, recline for naps, shade, ease of fold for parents, and plane risk tolerance. Think through those and I bet you'll have the right answer for you.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We prefer to bring our own stroller. We have a City Mini GT and just gate check it on the plane. No issues so far. It collapses super easy and can
be carried with one hand. Doesn't really get easier.

 

[brockash]

Myself, my husband, my mom, my dad, and our almost 2 year old are going to the Disneyworld sept 6-10th. We are only planning two days in the parks with a rest day in between to hang around the resort and swim. I'm wondering what people suggest in terms of strollers. I'm debating bringing our own jogger stroller, our own umbrella stroller, or renting.

We will be staying at fort wilderness cabins. Also we are traveling by plane and then magical express. Do strollers have to be collapsed on the boats like they do on bus transportation?

This is our first trip with our daughter, not just to disney but anywhere. I'm not sure what to expect travel with a toddler to be like. I used to be a go go go kind of person at disney but I know this trip will be much different. Thanks for any opinions or suggestions to help me figure out our best option.

For a 2 year old, even for only 2 days, I'd def. bring my own stroller (the ones you rent from Disney are hard plastic and def. not comfortable for a 2 year old.) I find having a stroller in the airport with little ones is easier anyways, so I'd just bring mine, but you could also rent from a stroller company down there. I wouldn't want to just bring an umbrella stroller for a 2 year old, but a jogger's kind of a pain in terms of collapsing etc. with the big tires, so if those were the only 2 I owned, then I'd probably rent a citi mini from a company. Sept. is hot and it's nice to have a good place for the 2 year old to rest, nap, get out of the sun, watch parades/shows etc.

 

[Baklava]

We prefer to bring our own stroller. We have a City Mini GT and just gate check it on the plane. No issues so far. It collapses super easy and can
be carried with one hand. Doesn't really get easier.

We rented because our kid is too big for an everyday stroller, but what we rented was a GT Mini. It was awesome. We used Orlando Stroller Rental and were very happy.

 

[aebeauregard]

You will very likely need to fold the stroller for the ferries. We went between MK and the Contemporary and Ft Wilderness a couple times and each time we were required to fold the strollers.

Your jogger will likely be a beast to fold for the boats, but if the kiddo is really familiar with it and its comfortable and you have active help (not sure if the parents are the "oh let me help you with that" types or the "help me too" types) then one person can wrestle stroller and stuff and another the kid when you go in transit and its manageable. If your umbrella is a small cheap kind without a shade and not very comfy I would definitely not use with a kid that little at Disney. If its a nicer one like a maclaren or something with a nice shade, recline, etc that seems like your best option if you want to have it for the flight too.

We did both last trip - brought one stroller for my very chunky just-turned-one year old (he weighed like 25 pounds at that point, we needed a stroller at the airport!) - we own a city mini and its older so I didn't mind if it got a little banged up on the flight (it came out in great shape, but you never know). We also rented from Kingdom for my almost-4-year old, which was great because she didn't need a stroller for the flight but we had it for travel to/from the parks and within the parks. My verdict was that those were the right choices for those ages...a little one is easier to manage in an airport in their stroller they know. (BTW, the third party stroller rentals ARE awesome - a nice city mini which has a huge shade and amazing one-hand fold, and ours were delivered right with our luggage from magical express...SO easy).

Good luck! Key points for me were comfort/stamina of kiddo, recline for naps, shade, ease of fold for parents, and plane risk tolerance. Think through those and I bet you'll have the right answer for you.

Your post made me laugh out loud when I read the "oh let me help you with that"/"help me too" part. HAHA. I have one of each type coming.

 

[aebeauregard]

So I was looking at apple stroller rentals after all the posts and it keeps coming up as free on the website. Is there some catch I'm not catching onto? If it really is free other than delivery that's a great deal, but it sounds too good to be true!

After reading all of your posts I was thinking about bringing our umbrella stroller for the airport and just gate checking it and then renting a city mini if it wasn't too expensive (never heard of this type before but it seems everyone suggests this kind....thanks for the tip!!).

 

[BellsFam]

I bought a Chicco because I got a trade in coupon at Toys R Us and the rewards pints cheaper than I could rent. We used it in the airport as a pack mule!

I wanted something DD could lay down in in case she fell asleep, this did that.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Myself, my husband, my mom, my dad, and our almost 2 year old are going to the Disneyworld sept 6-10th. We are only planning two days in the parks with a rest day in between to hang around the resort and swim. I'm wondering what people suggest in terms of strollers. I'm debating bringing our own jogger stroller, our own umbrella stroller, or renting.

We will be staying at fort wilderness cabins. Also we are traveling by plane and then magical express. Do strollers have to be collapsed on the boats like they do on bus transportation?

This is our first trip with our daughter, not just to disney but anywhere. I'm not sure what to expect travel with a toddler to be like. I used to be a go go go kind of person at disney but I know this trip will be much different. Thanks for any opinions or suggestions to help me figure out our best option.

when we have stayed at FW it depended on how crowded the boat was if we had to fold stroller. plus depending on where you are it can be quite the walk to the main pool with the water area your little one will enjoy. I would either bring your stroller or rent from an off site rental, not a park rental. if you do bring your jogger make sure that your airline will allow it to be gate checked as some lines have size requirement to gate check. also have a bag or something to protect stroller while under the plane from spills and tears. on the ME it will have to go under the bus not folded and carried on like park buses. last thing unless you are renting a golf cart you will be using internal buses no matter which park you are going to esp MK as it will be a walk to the boat from cabins. not sure how you would get a jogging stroller on a golf cart with 4 adults and toddler

 

[aebeauregard]

when we have stayed at FW it depended on how crowded the boat was if we had to fold stroller. plus depending on where you are it can be quite the walk to the main pool with the water area your little one will enjoy. I would either bring your stroller or rent from an off site rental, not a park rental. if you do bring your jogger make sure that your airline will allow it to be gate checked as some lines have size requirement to gate check. also have a bag or something to protect stroller while under the plane from spills and tears. on the ME it will have to go under the bus not folded and carried on like park buses. last thing unless you are renting a golf cart you will be using internal buses no matter which park you are going to esp MK as it will be a walk to the boat from cabins. not sure how you would get a jogging stroller on a golf cart with 4 adults and toddler

That's a good point about the jogger on the golf cart. I did reserve a golf cart...I'm still a little on the fence about that though. It will save like $200 to not get one, but I also don't want to go crazy being dependent on the internal bus system with a toddler. I go back and forth if it will be worth the money or not. Would I have any problems with City Mini on a golfcart?

 

[Betty Rohrer]

That's a good point about the jogger on the golf cart. I did reserve a golf cart...I'm still a little on the fence about that though. It will save like $200 to not get one, but I also don't want to go crazy being dependent on the internal bus system with a toddler. I go back and forth if it will be worth the money or not. Would I have any problems with City Mini on a golfcart?

the golf carts are 4 seaters but you could get a toddler in between the 2 adults in the front. the 2 adults in the back would have to balance the stroller but stroller would take leg room. not sure stroller would balance without the adults. as for internal buses it would be a further walk from MK boat dock than golf cart parking and you might have to wait for you bus but ride itself is not bad. have done both ways. I found the wait for the boat worse than bus last trip and at end of night or after rain storms the wait can be long as it takes about 20 minutes for the boat to get from one dock to other, so you have about 20 minutes to wait if you have to wait for a second boat. if you can find a picture of the golf carts it will help you see how it will work for your family. we have done both cart and bus trips and if you think you can work out stroller in it and afford it would go cart but if not I would bus it

 

[Dis703]

We bring our own, but we also have the Citi Mini which is IMO the perfect park stroller. Easy to push, folds flat, easy one step one handed fold, storage space, and possibly the most important part is a huge canopy for shade. When I took one of my kiddos we left the double at home and rented a single from Kingdom Strollers. Well worth the $40. Since then we picked up a used single so I have it for the airport as well.

 

[kayemgi]

I would say rent, but do the math first. In our case, since we knew we'd be doing more than one trip with our daughter (not necessarily even just Disney trips! Day trips, zoo trips, NYC trips, etc.), we decided it made more sense to buy a lightweight "travel" stroller. We went with the Kolcraft Cloud Plus, which was only $50 when we got it (check Walmart if you're interested). It's been wonderful for all of our various trips, and it was so nice to have and easy to use on our Disney trip. The storage basket is a big plus over an umbrella stroller, the sun shade is great, and the cup holders are the perfect size to fit a Starbucks cup!

 

[happymommy]

I always wanted my own, so would bring a good one. Joggers are a pain, and you see very few of them at Disney. Umbrella is okay, as long as it's a good one that can recline so the child can fall asleep if they need to. I'd bring a good lightweight one with a sunshade that can recline.

 

[emij]

I can't imagine doing the airport without a stroller!! Seriously, it makes our travel experience so much easier, and gate check is free. Added bonus is that I don't have to rent one for the park.

 

[happymommy]

I agree - when my kids were little, the stroller was important at the airport!