strollers and buses/monorails

[lizhall]

We are coming in two weeks and staying at shades of green. I was going to bring our umbrella stroller, but now I'm thinking about renting a stroller from one of the off-site companies. Price is great, won't need to bring ours with us, etc. I am thinking of getting a double, but my concern is getting them folded up and onto the buses/monorails. Anyone who has done this have any advice/tips?? Thanks!

 

[jj1403]

We are coming in two weeks and staying at shades of green. I was going to bring our umbrella stroller, but now I'm thinking about renting a stroller from one of the off-site companies. Price is great, won't need to bring ours with us, etc. I am thinking of getting a double, but my concern is getting them folded up and onto the buses/monorails. Anyone who has done this have any advice/tips?? Thanks!

We've done it... doubles are extremely difficult to manover on a crowded bus. We actually opted to take a cab a few times back to our hotel so we wouldn't have to deal with the hassel. We have a baby jogger so it's extremely easy to fold but large and ackward on a crowded bus.

 

[grimley1968]

Any strollers need to be folded on buses, and on some boats. On bigger boats, though, and the monorail you can leave strollers unfolded, especially if your child is sleeping.

I still wouldn't rent a stroller from an offsite company. a) It's not that difficult to bring an umbrella stroller on a plane. You just gate-check it and board. Or if driving, you should be able to lay it underneath or on top of luggage. b) Disney has cheap but decent umbrella strollers for sale for a very reasonable price. c) All WDW parks have strollers to rent. They're not the most comfortable things I'm sure, but it's nice at the end of the day to just drop it off and get on a bus without it.

 

[meljean]

We used our double and had no trouble on the buses. We have a double umbrella stroller. It was so nice to have our own double stroller.

 

[goofy4tink]

Larger strollers can be a pain on a crowded bus. They take up a lot of room. I guess I'm a little confused though. You said you had planned on bringing your umbrella stroller, but then thought about renting a double stroller. Do you have two kids to put in that double stroller?? Or were you planning on using the other seat area to carry stuff??
The other thing to keep in mind is getting that double stroller through some of the crowds in the parks!! I have seen complete chaos after the nightly fireworks show when parents are trying to get through the crowd, in low light. It's shoulder to shoulder people...really almost impossible to walk through, let alone push a stroller. The double strollers are a nightmare!!!

If you can get by with the umbrella stroller, you will be much better off. And, you'll have it to use at the airports.

 

[Kermie]

When our kids were in strollers, we bought inexpensive umbrella strollers, intending to just leave them there. I made little pillows to fasten onto the sides, which made them a favorite, so they came back home with us.

Single strollers are much easier - our double was beautiful, but heavy! We just had a system where we each had a baby and a stroller, taking turns with the bag.

 

[twinboysmom]

Hi OP. We have brought our boys 6 times from the age of 18 months until just shy of 3 with a double stroller. We have 2 that we bring and neither have the easy fold of the double citi mini. We make it just fine on the bus. You can watch videos in you tube of the citi min being folded. It really is quick and easy and for a double, it's a pretty small fold. IMO, it's about the most manageable double when folded as you can get. For comparison sake we have a double bob (terrible fold) and a double maclaren. The citi mini is a quicker fold that the maclaren.

As for brining a cheap umbrella, I absolutely will not do it. A better quality umbrella like a maclaren or similar, yes. I value my children's comfort and appreciate the better strollers canopies and reclines. Also, I have zero intentions of pushing a cheap umbrella in the parks all day. Most have a very low weight limit, low handles, and steer terribly, especially with a larger child (like a 3 year old). We're only on the buses for a short time of the day but in the parks for long periods. Better strollers for us. Just my two cents.

 

[kmb584]

Strollers can be a pain to fold but it's required for all bus and boat rides (the only exception that comes to mind is when we stayed at POFQ and took the boat to DTD; if DD [15 months at the time] was asleep, the captain allowed me to leave it open.). On the monorail, I never fold it unless all of the carts are exceptionally crowded.

 

[maxiesmom]

We are coming in two weeks and staying at shades of green. I was going to bring our umbrella stroller, but now I'm thinking about renting a stroller from one of the off-site companies. Price is great, won't need to bring ours with us, etc. I am thinking of getting a double, but my concern is getting them folded up and onto the buses/monorails. Anyone who has done this have any advice/tips?? Thanks!

Keep in mind that the buses Disney uses have more standing room that sitting room. More than likely you will end up having to stand on a bus or two or three. Can you stand, keep your balance, hold onto your stuff, your stroller, and your kids all at once? That may be easier to do if you have a smaller stroller, or if you just use one in the parks.