I gotta say that I was baffled why anyone would say it is easier without a stroller and now I'm wondering if the type of stroller has more to do with it. We use a BOB and it makes everything so much easier:
- a place to sit (kids and grown ups) - a storage unit for food/clothes/water/souvenirs/bubble guns/balloon tie down/you get the idea
-a quiet place for a tired/frustrated/overwhelmed child to hide or sleep (laying down)
- a safe spot to keep everyone together in the hordes of human cattle
- a fun little ride up and down curbs and skating ahead like you do with the grocery store carts.
Now, if your stroller cannot perform these functions, it's probably more trouble than it's worth. Bottom line, if you have a BOB or equivalently useful stroller (if there is such a thing)...bring it. If you're thinking an umbrella stroller will do the job...I don't think it will and it might be best to go without.
Full disclosure: we are doing our first WDW trip this fall, but are DLR vets, so I might be barking up the wrong tree.
Pros to not using a stroller (in my opinion):
Not having to fold it up and carry it on to and off of the bus
SOOO much easier walking through thick crowds than trying to push a stroller and squeezing through non-existent space
You're not taking up as much space in thick crowds, and for every less stroller, it makes the crowds seem less thick. It seems like more and more people are coming to the parks with strollers (not that that's wrong, just a statement of what it looks like), which makes it feel like the crowds are a lot worse.
Even jogging strollers become tiring to push after a while, especially in the heat when you have a child and a storage basket full of stuff adding weight to it (there's no way I would personally ever consider anything but a jogging stroller as others are too difficult to quickly maneuver and turn)
Less likely to store a bunch of unnecessary stuff under the stroller that you then have to sort through every time you need a diaper. Also, you don't have to empty out a basket full of souvenir cups and popcorn buckets and leftovers that probably will eventually be thrown out anyway every time you have to fold up the stroller. (Also, if you're travelling with relatives, you don't have them thinking your stroller is their personal mobile home and shoving sweatshirts (in 95 degree weather), water bottles, their souvenirs, and tons of other crap in your stroller that they don't feel like carrying themselves and most of which probably wouldn't be brought to the park anyway, except that you have the stroller, so why not. Then every time you need something you brought that was a necessity, you have to dig through all of their crap for ten minutes to find it, then play tetris trying to get it all to fit back in there again- yes, I'm talking to you, mom.)
You don't have to find a space to store it in your room and won't have to worry about tripping on it in the middle of the night
You don't have to worry about packing a rain cover and remembering to put it on the stroller every time you leave it
You don't have to worry about remembering to take everything of value out whenever you park it and don't have to worry about your child's favorite stuffed animal being stolen from the stroller. It's so old and ratty no one would want it anyway, but it cannot be replaced, so you still worry- all you other parents know what I'm talking about.
You don't have to worry AS MUCH about little one throwing their shoes and socks out of the stroller and losing them forever because if they are walking, they are LESS likely to lose them. Yes, it still can happen, but probably with much less frequency.
You don't have to spend extra time parking it and looking for it before and after attractions (no, it may not always take a lot of time, but when it's crowded it can be a pain)
You will most likely have necessities in a backpack with you at all times rather than under the stroller, which definitely makes it convenient when baby/ toddler needs a diaper and you're not with the stroller
At hotels like CBR that don't have elevators, you don't have to drag a stroller up to your 2nd floor room
Sure, strollers are a necessity at times, especially with babies and toddlers. I will be bringing a single jogging stroller in August for DS who will be just shy of 2 because he will need naps and it will help to keep him contained when the crowds are bad. At that age, they simply don't understand the importance of staying with you at all times. I also have a 7 year old DD and there's no way I would consider bringing a stroller for her. Yes, I am sure she will get tired, but our rule has always been (since she turned 3 and stopped using a stroller) with anywhere we go that if you want to stay, you walk. It stops a lot of the complaining and when she says she's tired, that's the time to leave. Once a kid's legs get tired, all of them is probably tired. Of course they want to stay and ride more stuff, but even when they aren't walking, kids still have their limits. I don't see the point in trying to continue to push kids to keep going who are clearly worn out by letting them ride in a stroller. They are still worn out and it's better to leave when they first start showing the signs of being tired than to try to get a couple last minute rides or shows that could potentially lead to a melt down. At least, that's what works for us.
