What kind of stroller?

[jenniferyawn]

Hi, all! We are heading down in October with DS16, DD14, and DS 22 months in Oct... Never been with a stroller before. We will be staying off property, but the teens love Disney transportation so we will probably be using plenty. I'm not sure what type of stroller will work best. Here's what I'm thinking...advice or tips appreciated!

1- rent a Disney stroller. I know they are great, but I'm afraid I will miss it on the way to the car, waiting for transportation, etc. I also wonder how much hassle it is to rent and turn in.

2 - regular stroller - it's not gigantic but does take up space when folded for transportation and is more difficult to fold. The plus of thus one is the section at the bottom to carry the diaper bag when it's open.

3- umbrella stroller - definitely the lightest and easiest to fold and use on didney transportation but can you hang a bag from one? It's been a long time since I've used one!

 

[MaggieMollyMom]

I would consider renting one from an off site vendor. Most rent City Mini type strollers and from what I ahve heard, are good choices for your child's age. We are using Kingdom Stroller rental....and before I get bashed, my children are older, yes, but have special needs and require special needs strollers.

have a great trip

 

[mggeary]

Hi, all! We are heading down in October with DS16, DD14, and DS 22 months in Oct... Never been with a stroller before. We will be staying off property, but the teens love Disney transportation so we will probably be using plenty. I'm not sure what type of stroller will work best. Here's what I'm thinking...advice or tips appreciated!

1- rent a Disney stroller. I know they are great, but I'm afraid I will miss it on the way to the car, waiting for transportation, etc. I also wonder how much hassle it is to rent and turn in.

2 - regular stroller - it's not gigantic but does take up space when folded for transportation and is more difficult to fold. The plus of thus one is the section at the bottom to carry the diaper bag when it's open.

3- umbrella stroller - definitely the lightest and easiest to fold and use on didney transportation but can you hang a bag from one? It's been a long time since I've used one!

I'd just bring your nicer stroller. Like OP said, if you do chose to rent, go with an offsite vendor, disney strollers are basically overpriced molded plastic and will suck up valuable morning park time renting. Also, if you rent consider going with a company that can drop off and pick up from Bell Services at your resort (Disney no longer lets them all do this). You can google a bunch of articles of highly rated companies.

 

[staceyeileen]

Are you flying or driving down? I always bring my nice big stroller (baby jogger city elite) to Disney, but I'm local so I don't have to worry about bringing it on a plane. Umbrella strollers generally have tiny canopies so not enough protection from the sun. Also you'll want your child to nap in the stroller, so you'll want it to recline fully and be comfy. Extra storage space is a good thing.

If you don't want to bring your own, I'll second what others said about renting from a 3rd party, NOT Disney.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I would rent from an outside company (we've used Kingdom Strollers and Apple Strollers - rented a City Mini from both - and had great experiences both times).

We bring DD's car seat on the plane (even when she was under 2), and we didn't want to deal with both the car seat and the stroller in the airport. I wore DD in a Beco Gemini through the airport (and I would do so now, even at 2.5 yrs old) instead of having her in a stroller. With her convertible car seat, we now also have the option of the car seat travel cart (like this). Both of those are, for us, easier than handling both the car seat and the stroller in the airport.

One other thing - we have heard enough about strollers being roughed up on planes/stolen in the parks that we didn't want to have to worry about our own City Mini. Renting the city mini, there was insurance so if something happened to it in the parks, it wasn't on us to replace the stroller.

Renting offsite allowed DD to have a stroller she was comfortable/familiar with, without us having to worry about the condition of the stroller/something happening to it. Win, win for us

AFAIK, Apple Strollers still has their deal where renting the stroller is $5/day (the cost of the insurance only, plus a $10 dollar delivery/pick-up fee). Totally worth it, IMO.

 

[GatorMama]

We've taken a Phil & Ted double when we needed two seats and we've taken a Maclaren Triumph when we needed just one. The nicer umbrella strollers have sunshades on top and baskets underneath which are both BIG necessities at Disney to me. And it folds up easy enough to get on/off trams/buses.

I hate taking our P&T double apart to ride the trams. But otherwise, it's awesome to have in the parks too

 

[jenniferyawn]

Wow! I didn't even know renting offsite was an option! Thank you! I looked at Apple and Kingdom strollers and think we will go with Kingdom because it says they deliver to Windsor Hills and WH isn't on the other list. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Lovetherodent]

Well, I for one can't stand pushing a semi through the parks, so when my kids were stroller sized, it was umbrella all the the way, the basic kind without baskets and canopies. We'd go back to the hotel for the mid-day nap, so no worries about needing one the kid could sleep in (never went with a pre-walking infant, however). I am a huge fan of travelling light, so I never want to lug around more than is absolutely necessary. Plus, they fold up so easy getting on and off buses, no problems smacking into the feet and knees of everybody I walk by on the bus as I'm trying to juggle the toddler and the stroller. Never had a problem with an umbrella falling over backward due to the weight of a bag with a couple of diapers and a travel pack of wipes. Our rule, though, is if you want it in the park, you carry it, but if the whole family treats the stroller and the diaper bag like their own personal station wagon? Well an umbrella probably won't work for you.

 

[hcox31]

We used our city mini and it was fantastic for travel. Folded up small enough to carry on transportation (planes and buses), had a small basket under to store stuff while in the parks, reclined for nap time and a nice big canopy to keep the sun off.

 

[mggeary]

Well, I for one can't stand pushing a semi through the parks, so when my kids were stroller sized, it was umbrella all the the way, the basic kind without baskets and canopies. We'd go back to the hotel for the mid-day nap, so no worries about needing one the kid could sleep in (never went with a pre-walking infant, however). I am a huge fan of travelling light, so I never want to lug around more than is absolutely necessary. Plus, they fold up so easy getting on and off buses, no problems smacking into the feet and knees of everybody I walk by on the bus as I'm trying to juggle the toddler and the stroller. Never had a problem with an umbrella falling over backward due to the weight of a bag with a couple of diapers and a travel pack of wipes. Our rule, though, is if you want it in the park, you carry it, but if the whole family treats the stroller and the diaper bag like their own personal station wagon? Well an umbrella probably won't work for you.

The last sentence is why we favor a more substantial stroller over an umbrella stroller. We end up needing the space for diaper bag, sweatshirts/jackets for night, snacks, bottled water, autograph stuff, etc... If you don't need any of this stuff, a comfortable umbrella stroller should work out just fine.

 

[Dis703]

Add us to the many that LOVE our citi mini for the parks. We bought a double for our twins specifically with trips like Disney in mind. It pushes super easy, folds in one quick pull, has huge canopies to offer shade for the kids and reclines fully to allow them to sleep in it if need be. And has a decent size basket underneath for storage.