Strollers. . Renting vs bringing your own

[Caramia01]

Any thoughts? How much is it to rent one at the parks? Are they clean and comfortable? And is there room for a cooler underneath!! We leave in 2 days and don't know what to do!!

 

[Perdygirl]

I did not rent a stroller while we were there, but I saw them everywhere, and they are quite spacious. The only drawback I can think of is how to identify your stroller from the masses of others when you leave an attraction. They have a space for a sign with your name on it, but I would bring along something colorful to tie on to the handle.

BTW, I saw kids up to age 9 or 10 in these strollers. My 5 yr old is too proud to ride though.

 

[dsnymomof4]

One wheel of our stroller broke on our last trip, so we had to rent one for the last day ($18 I think). It was not very comfortable (hard plastic), had no storage underneath, only a pouch in the back. Besides, it's nice to be able to push it past the park entrance. Many a night did my DD4 fall asleep in the stoller and I can't imagine having to carry her to the bus stop and hold her while we waited and then carry her to the hotel room. It was nice being able to push her everywhere.

 

[LauraV]

When our children were younger we brought our own tandum stroller and were glad we did. We had storage space for our diaper bag, etc.
This time (DS-4, DD-8) we occasionally rented the Disney strollers. A double is $18 and it is good for the entire day so if you park hop just keep your reciept and you can get another stroller later on that day.
The Disney strollers are plastic seating, almost like a lounge chair, and have an awning overhead. No storage space unless you want to park your water bottle in the pockets in the back. Very hard for the child to sleep in.
If your children are still young and require diaper bags and naps I would bring your own.
If they are a little older it may be easier to just rent one at the park.

 

[kimwim8]

Here's a link with pictures of the park rental strollers.

http://allearsnet.com/pl/strol_faq.htm

We rent a double stroller for most days of our trip. There is a multi-day discount, and the days don't have to be consecutive.

Have a great trip!

 

[Holly]

Disney's stroller are nice, and we have always rented a stroller in the past, but for our next trip (which is in 4 days!!) we are bringing our own double stroller from home.

Our main reasons are:

1. WDW's strollers don't recline, and depending on the age of your child, they may fall asleep. (We have 2 year old twins)

2. WDW strollers have less storage than my own stroller.

3. It's saving us around $125 by bringing our own vs. renting

4. I want to use my stroller at the airport, resort, etc

 

[KarenP99]

If it's an extended stay, bring your own! We did 1 day before the cruise in Sept, and I rented one (first time renting), and it worked out great for 1 day...but if we were there more than that I would have been longing for my own! Just the sweaty padded handle alone gave me the willies!

Karen

 

[Caramia01]

Guess we'll be bringing our own. It sounded so nice to be able to just rent one there instead of lugging it to the airport and around everywhere but I'm sure everyone is right. It'll probably be more useful then a pain! Thanks for all your help!

 

[Frantasmic]

Each park has a different type of stroller.

Singles are $10 a day; doubles are $18 a day.

On the first day at the first stroller rental place, you can tell them you want a length of stay rental and you get a $2 discount per day (you get coupons for each day).

As long as you have your receipt, you can park hop and get a different stroller at each park as well.

MK was the sturdy plastic strollers.

EPCOT and MGM had the more common looking ones.

EPCOTS had the most space to store stuff under neath. MK has no storage space.

We had brought a stroller to save money, but I left it at the bus stop on the first day (not used to carrying one around) and we never saw it again. It was just a little umbrella stroller from Target.

If you plan on using a single stroller and can afford it, multiple-day rental is nice and you don't have to worry about lugging the stroller back and forth to the hotel room. We were VERY close to the bus stop at our hotel resort, so getting to and from the stop and then to and from the stroller rental places were the only times my son had to walk. He enjoyed it; we enjoyed not carrying him when he was tired, and we got some space to store stuff.

 

[shellybaxter]

The only thing I have noticed that would deter me from bringing a stroller would be if I were using Disney Buses. Children, even sleeping ones, have to be removed from the stroller and the strollers have to be folded up. I saw several frustrated mommies and daddies in the later evenings

 

[Soprano]

Our kids were 2 and 3 when we went in 2004, so we bought the Jeep double one from Toys R US for $70 and used it whle on holiday. We were there for 17 days so got our moneys worth.

We will return in Feb and will do the same again. They are pretty handy to have as the kids will get tired during a day in a park. And we can dump jumpers, raincoats and other gear in them too. We will not bring it home as its too much hassle with three cases (we buy a lot over there )as well

 

[dumby]

Our kids were 2 and 3 when we went in 2004, so we bought the Jeep double one from Toys R US for $70 and used it whle on holiday. We were there for 17 days so got our moneys worth.

We will return in Feb and will do the same again. They are pretty handy to have as the kids will get tired during a day in a park. And we can dump jumpers, raincoats and other gear in them too. We will not bring it home as its too much hassle with three cases (we buy a lot over there )as well

What do you do with the stroller when you start home? I am taking an older one we have for my 5-year-old and don't want to bring it home as he has not used it at home in 2 years, but I sure don't want to throw it away. Is there a way to donate it to another family at WDW?

 

[The Sweetness]

Btw the ages of 2 & 10, DD had infinite trips to WDW. Usually for long weekends. I always rented a stroller, as I cannot even imagining choosing the option of lugging a stroller w/ tired kid/ baby onto a crowded bus. If you are renting and driving to the parks, I may risk it. I wouldnt worry TOO much about theft, just dont leave anything that you cant easilly replace ($$$ stroller) Id bring something cheap just incase it looked good to someone else when you werent around. WDW isnt immune to theft