Why does everyone seem to rent strollers?

[Angel Ariel]

I'm planning a trip with my 2.5 year old for March and it seems like all the trip planning steps for young kids includes stroller rentals. I'm just curious why people seem to prefer renting over bringing their own stroller? Is it a fear of theft? Just not wanting to travel with your own? Is this Baby Jogger city mini that everyone seems to recommend just the perfect stroller for the parks and my regular stroller won't stand up to it?

We have a larger every day stroller that I would leave at home, but was planning to bring our Colugo compact travel stroller. It theoretically fits into an airplane overhead bin (I know it will depend how large the plane is), is lightweight and easy to fold, and fully reclines. I like this bc then I also have a way to contain him a bit at the airport, if needed. Is there any reason I should plan to rent a stroller rather than bringing my own that I'm missing though?

We've always rented from an offsite company. We had enough to manage in the airport (as we brought car seat - we had a roller for it that DD could sit in and be rolled), we didn't want to deal with the stroller too.

Yes, concern about theft in the park is Also a factor - it does happen.

Also - take a look at videos of how mangled wheelchairs get when put on planes (even gate checked). I also didn't want our personal stroller getting wrecked by the baggage handling process.

For a multitude of reasons, it's always been easier to rent an offsite stroller for the week.

 

[Angel Ariel]

There are lots of people who have posted online about their strollers being stolen at WDW. A quick online search will give you some interesting reads. Yes, a lot of times it is simply the items in the stroller which have been stolen (I was just reading this morning about a guy who left his wallet on a stroller while on an attraction at AK and it was stolen) but people can sell strollers online for a few quick bucks and they know the odds of getting caught are slim since it is difficult to prove a stroller belongs to a particular person. There have occasionally been rings of these thieves going around to theme parks and stealing them.

Considering how many strollers are in the park on any given day, the odds of your stroller being stolen are low, but it can happen. The one thing I haven’t read is anything about a rented stroller being stolen. I wonder if there is insurance people buy, or what the consequences would be if a rental stroller (other than the Disney rentals) was stolen?

Yes, offsite rental companies allow you to buy insurance, usually around $25. Worth it for me, imo.

 

[leebee]

We always took our own umbrella stroller. I bought it at Goodwill for $10. It stood up to 6 trips to DisneyWorld over 3 years time. We abandoned it in a dumpster outside our condo when DD was 6; it finally wore out. It was great to have a small, easily folded stroller with us at Disney. There are MANY times I miss having a stroller with me at Disney, and DD is now 30!

 

[DodgerGirl]

When it came to bringing infants and toddlers on vacation to an amusement park or Disney park it used to be that you would bring your own baby stroller and buy one before the trip. But if you go to Disney Parks you'll notice that families rent strollers a lot and they do it for the following reasons,
A. To save money on buying a new baby stroller
B. Families who are fearful that their stroller will get stolen during the trip
C. To save time at the airport with a fear that the stroller might get broken or damaged on the plane
D. All of the above
The answer to this question is D. Because if you have a small family with one child it's better to bring your baby stroller because it is cheaper and less time consuming. But if you have a big family or a medium sized family renting strollers is the right choice. Because if you have two twin toddlers that take naps renting a double stroller is smart. But if you have a family that's small and you want to take toddlers or infants always rent a stroller because it's a smart thing to do plus if you ever lose your rental stroller in Disney parks it's very easy to do as 123

 

[jo-jo]

We have always brought a stroller because it was way cheaper. Now this is from several years ago, but one stroller was about $50 like the Kolcraft cloud. That's about 3 or 4 days worth of renting. Our biggest stroller was a baby trend sit and stand and that was under a $100.

But it seems some strollers today are huge.

Side story. A couple of years ago, we were going on the bus by the back entrance with my DH in wheelchair. Our DS and family joined us. Following them was another family we had no idea who they were. Bus driver asked if they were part of our party. The said no, but their stroller was so huge, it won't fit in the front door. But driver said yes it would, and made them get off. Not sure if they went right the the front door or back in line.

 

[_19disnA]

I think many who fly to MCO rather rent a stroller to avoid the hassle, complications and possible extra baggage charge for a checked stroller. If driving, then perhaps bringing your own makes sense. I doubt it has anything to do with theft. I find it hard to believe someone would spend the money for a Disney park ticket just to steal someone's stroller. It isn't reasonable to think someone would walk off with multiple strollers. I think more likely a Disney employee moved the stroller in the parking area to consolidate and make more room. Last time we were at Disney, we often saw employees moving them around to free up more space. Perhaps your stroller won't be where you left it, but still there somewhere.

 

[pjacobi]

We always took our own umbrella stroller. I bought it at Goodwill for $10. It stood up to 6 trips to DisneyWorld over 3 years time. We abandoned it in a dumpster outside our condo when DD was 6; it finally wore out. It was great to have a small, easily folded stroller with us at Disney. There are MANY times I miss having a stroller with me at Disney, and DD is now 30!

That's a good way to save money! How many Mickey bars could you buy with the price of a stroller rental?


-Paul

 

[mihtaylor]

I've wondered the same thing here. My take is that I'd rather use the stroller I bought (that is in great condition and built to handle days like Disney) than gamble on pushing around a beat-up rental through multiple parks. To me, renting sounded like a great way to make both me and my kids miserable and uncomfortable.

That said, Disney can be surprisingly NOT stroller-friendly, as I found out my first visit with young kids. No way should a park geared toward children make you fold up your stroller for the bus. You should be able to roll it into cargo storage underneath, like the off-resort hotels like Hilton Bonnet Creek and the Waldorf Astoria. They used to even make you fold them up for the Skyliner, which blew my mind. They changed that, though.

 

[Donna M]

I think your plan to use your fold up stroller would work real well.

We traveled with our grandkids 4 times to Disney bringing our own stroller. We knew they would sleep in it, it was cheaper and it was bought used so it didn´t cost us a lot to start with even though it was a good double stroller.

Having the stroller all the way to the gate was a huge benefit; it was our pack mule, there was so much space for stuff. We also carried two car seats that were used on the plane. Last year the stroller carried the car seats while the kids, 4 and 5 walked. Not bringing the stroller this year; they will have to endure a hard rented Disney Parks stroller or walk.

Having our stroller was great while walking around the airport and resorts too which you can´t do if you rent at a theme park.

 

[Lumpy1106]

We always brought a good collapsible stroller as OP is suggesting (ours was a MacClarren) but we had a bag for it and gate-checked it onto the plane. You really don't want to carry it onto the plane and hope to find overhead bin space for it, nor do I think the airline will let you. Just be prepared. The stroller should be solid enough to carry all of your stuff and easy enough to collapse so you don't hold up the line getting on the busses, plus compact enough to hold on the seat. Strategize how to cover it during a rainstorm too.