what to do with "stuff" while you ride

[laura&fam]

We will be going to Disneyland with a 13 month old baby, and everything that goes with him.

Does one of us have to stand outside the ride every single time and babysit the stroller and diaper bag? The baby swap thing is for the baby, but what about the rides he can go on? Will a rental stroller get swiped if we leave it?

I plan to limit the amount of stuff we're taking, but I don't want to put diapers in a locker and have to trek clear across the park every time we have to change a diaper. Any ideas?

The last time I went to DL I was in high school - taking kids is a whole new experience for me!

 

[Michelle2]

I don't know if this is what other people do, or if it is the best way, but we always left the diaper bag with the stroller. We took all of our valuables, which was only a travel pack for me (had our money, passes, hotel key, etc in it), and the camera bag with DH. For the most part, I doubt anyone wants a bunch of diapers and wet ones. We never had any problems coming back to them. Just make sure that valuables aren't accidentally put in there.

I think this next time, I can fit our camera and camcorder all in my travel bag, and then it will limit us on only one small bag to take everywhere...we will see in a few days!

 

[laura&fam]

Can you take a small bag and/or camera on the ride with you? Obviously you might want to think twice on splash mountain, but in general?

 

[brenda1966]

Yes, when I toured WDW with my big SLR camera in my back pack I took it on every ride there (including space mountain and ToT). I kept a zip lock bag in there for splash mountain and in case it rained.

Last time I went with a child, I had a small bag with valuables (camera, etc.) that came on the rides with us but all other kid stuff just stayed in the stroller and was never bothered.

Bring a scarf or ribbon or scrap of material and tie to your stroller to make it unique and easy to spot.

 

[Amy&Dan]

My husband carries a full size backpack when we are at Disneyland and it fits on everything just fine. Some of the rides even have basket type things you can put the backpack/bag into. If we go on something fast he just loops the strap around his leg and puts it snuggly between his feet/legs. On wet rides we usually keep a plastic bag in the backpack so we can place the backpack in the bag.

 

[Eeyorecln]

We had a bag full of diapers, bottled water, baby food, snacks, etc. and left it on the stroller even when we went in to the restaurants for an hour to eat. Nothing was ever messed with. I'll even confess that once my DH thought I had grabbed the digital camera and I thought he had, soo we had left that in the stroller over lunch one day and it was still there! Of course, after that we checked with each other to make sure we had the valuables. Just remember the CM's sometimes play hide and seek with the strollers. Several times they had moved the strollers around outside an attraction. It was no big deal to us, we had it happen at WDW. But some people seemed confused as to why their stroller had moved. And if you rent one the bandana idea is a good one because they all look alike.

 

[LucyKate]

Diaper bag seems a good idea - I would have thought it a guarantee your stroller won't be stolen!

The major problem doesn't seem to be people stealing bags from strollers, but either taking the wrong stroller, because they all look the same, not being able to find the stroller when CMs move them to clear walk ways, or people who haven't paid themselves "borrowing" the strollers when kids get tired.

If you leave you bag and identify the stroller, this should avoid all these problems. If the stroller is "borrowed" the Unofficial Guide says if you take your receipt to the stroller hire place they will give you another free of charge. (The unofficial guide has some ingeneous ideas for ensuring no one will dare borrow your stroller - one involves hanging a plastic bag on the stroller with a nappy soaked in Coke - you get the picture!)

You can certainly take cameras and smaller bags on rides - my wife took her bag, which is about 18" wide by 12" high, stuffed with our things on to every ride, no questions asked.