when stroller goes away what do you bring in the parks?

[daisylove]

For those out there with DD or DS's. How did you pare down what you took in the park when you got rid of strollers. My DD is getting there and this will be her last year with stroller at WDW. I tend to bring in a ton of stuff (most of the allearnet packing list it seems. LOL) If I do not have the stroller to lug aroung the backpack and to leave it on during rides I do not know what I will do.

 

[catherines_mama]

I never put things under the stroller anyway. I just carry a nice Lands End backpack with everything in it. I'd say 1 backpack/2-3 people I'd say. If I want to shop I'll decide what I want and pick it up at the end of the day so i'm not lugging it around. Good luck!

 

[TerriBelle]

THis has not been a problem for us. We LOVE the freedom of not having the stroller. I carry the black Disney backpack or a fanny pack, my husband has a regular backpack and our DD (10) has her own fanny pack. Our twin boys had just turned 6 on our last trip and did not carry anything.

 

[denman007]

What age to drop the stroller?

 

[ahutton]

On our trip last month, our girls were 2 & 4. We did not take stroller into the park with us during the day, only in the evening. I carried a very small diaper bag that had a couple changes for the 2 year old, sunscreen, diaper rash cream, crayons, a bib and a little fork and spoon. DH carried a fanny pack with our camera, park tickets, room keys and our Drivers Licenses. For 4-6 hours in a park we found that was enough, we just bought drinks in the park. In the evening the diaper bag went into the bottom of the stroller, and little DD - who had tired legs by the time it got to be evening - rode in her stroller. Our 4 year old asked to be carried twice in the 8 days we were there, and for only a short time. We decided if we needed an extra or larger stroller we would get one, but we never did.

 

[laceemouse]

Our kids are 13, 11, 9, and 6. We did many trips with 1 or 2 strollers. We did our first non-stroller trip this past March and it was GREAT! It was wonderful not having to park and unload the thing for shows and rides and then look for it afterward. We were able to move through the crowds much more easily. We travel light, just one backpack for the six of us. We carried money, the tickets, wet wipes and not much else. We used the water fountains or bought drinks when we were thristy. We did not shop, but you can have things sent back to your room. I carried the backpack most of the time, but DH and my 2 oldest DD did take turns helping me with it. Many people keep using strollers way longer but I feel that is they just tried a non-stroller trip they would be converted. We just held hands and snaked through the masses when it got crowded while people pushing strollers were just sittting there waiting for a break in the crowd and looking frustrated!!!! It really depends on your kids, but we are not a super fit athletic family. If we can do it ANYONE can!!!!!

 

[TerriBelle]

laceemouse - I agree with all your reasons for not using a stroller! We also found the transportation, restaurants, and stores easier without a stroller.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Originally posted by ahutton
On our trip last month, our girls were 2 & 4. We did not take stroller into the park with us during the day, only in the evening. I carried a very small diaper bag that had a couple changes for the 2 year old, sunscreen, diaper rash cream, crayons, a bib and a little fork and spoon. DH carried a fanny pack with our camera, park tickets, room keys and our Drivers Licenses. For 4-6 hours in a park we found that was enough, we just bought drinks in the park. In the evening the diaper bag went into the bottom of the stroller, and little DD - who had tired legs by the time it got to be evening - rode in her stroller. Our 4 year old asked to be carried twice in the 8 days we were there, and for only a short time. We decided if we needed an extra or larger stroller we would get one, but we never did.

This is what I am thinking about doing for our DD who will be 3. Just take the stroller at night.

 

[denman007]

My dd is 5 and I think we will take a stroller - one of the smallest fold-ups you can get. I think during the day when it's hotter is when we will use it most.

I'd rather have a stroller than have to carry a child for any distance. Plus I think it helps us get around the parks quicker.

I might try a day at MK without it since we're staying at the Poly - when we get tired, it's a quick trip back.

 

[JESW]

You would be surprised at how few things you actually need in the parks. If you do carry a backpack or other type of bag, one day when you get back to your room take everything out and see what you actually used. When the strollers went away we also carried a backpack for a while with many useless items - altho at the time I thought I needed them - wipes (easy just to stop at a bathroom)..tissues (same as the first)...drinks.(we used water fountains or just carried ONE bottle for all of us instead of four)..sweaters (If it got cold we'd leave...never happened)..etc. Now we go with nothing, not even a fanny pack! (Our kids are 5 & 9) (Our cameras are small and fit in our pockets...only DH carries a wallet)

We find it so freeing....it also helps get into the parks just a little bit quicker since we don't need to go through the bag line. One night I wanted to bring a few things and DD5 reminded me that I didn't need to. When we got to the MK and saw the bag line backup DD pointed it out to me and said that is why we didn't need to bring anything!

It's also nice to not have to worry about storing anything on rides - or forgetting anything! We save shopping until our way out of the parks so we carry it for the shortest time.

Our strategy may not work for everyone but it works for us. Sometimes I see people in the parks with these large backpacks stuffed to the gills and I wonder what in heck they have in them!?! I can understand if you have a little one and need diapers and wipes and clothes and all that...

Jill

 

[disneysteve]

I carry a backpack. DW and I both wear fanny packs. We also carry one water bottle with a shoulder strap and we all drink from that and refill it throughout the day with fresh ice and water from the restaurants.

As for what's in the backpack and fanny packs - snacks, sunscreen, sunglasses, camera and related supplies (battery, case, memory cards). That's basically about it. If we buy anything small during the day like pins or a keychain, it goes in the backpack. Anything larger gets sent to the front gate for pickup when we leave.

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Ours will be 5 1/2 when we go, and we are still taking the stroller. Just because we use it as our "pack Mule" with a small cooler loaded with goodies and drinks. Plus, our daughter gets lazy and we'll stick her in it when it's time to go. But, it's a small fold up umbrella kind of stroller. We just park it in whatever "land" we are in and go get it when it's time to venture somewhere else. We probably won't take it at night, cuz we'll be well rested and won't need any snacks anymore because we would have already had our big dinner, then dessert at WDW.
So, we'll see how it goes...... maybe we won't even use it, but we'll have it just in case !!!!

 

[CindyAnn]

DH and I each carry a good-sized backpack (2 adults & 2 kids). The kids each have a small waistpack for Disney Dollars and their Disney hand-held games. Since we often travel when the weather is cooler, the day might start out and end off with T-shirt + sweatshirt + polar fleece + windbreaker. I'd rather stuff it in a backpack when we're not using it and keep track of 1 backpack, rather than trying to keep track of 4 of everything. DH is an enthusiastic photographer, so I think on our last trip he carried 4 or 5 cameras in his backpack (including the kids'). We also always carry 4 water bottles (generally the Brita filtered type) because we're huge water drinkers. I like having bandaids with me, and post-it notes to cover the toilet light so DD doesn't feel like she's goind to be sucked in.

Since I like being prepared for just about anything, I'm willing to do the work to carry everything around. Most people, though, will be happy being less prepared and less encumbered!

 

[bubba's mom]

sounds like you need to start big and go smaller..... if you have kids, you will probably need the backpack. our backpack never seems to be large enough, until i purchased a backpack from the luggage department! it's not much bigger than a regular backpack, but has 2 huge zipper compartments plus lots of other compartments. i'd rather be ~with and not use~ than ~need and without~....fortunately DH agrees and we share the load