Why not bring a stroller instead of renting one?

[Emily'sMom]

Emily'sMom... that is why I signed up for it too. But my DH is very skeptical. But for $10 I think it's worth a try too. We will be using a single stroller for DS who will be 1 but I need a double for my two other children and the idea of bringing their huge double stroller on the plane just does not sit well with me. We are bringing enough stuff with us as it is.

Will you be using RC1? That is the one we signed up for but not until April so I am hoping these stroller last a long time. You will have to let us know on the other thread how it worked out.

I think you have to go into a swap hoping for the best, but having a plan B. For $10 it is worth a try. Maybe I am naive, but I tend to think people (especially DIS people ) are generally good! I think the problems arise when there are gaps in the hand off and the stroller is stored in the hotel's long term storage for an extended period.

RC1 looks really good for you in April-- there are only a few gaps and there are several months for Disers to sign up! Here is some pixie dust for your trip in April!

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Last year our kids were 5 and 6 so I was debating the stroller issue. Then our 6 year old started having trouble walking long distances and we found out it was a medical problem with his feet. I knew he couldn't walk around disney all day. He was too big for our old stroller at home. We ended up renting a single at disney and found out our 5 year old wanted to ride too. Turns out they could both sit in the single together. 6 year old in back 5 year old between his legs. So we saved a little over the cost of the double. The strollers are so easy to push even with 2 kids in them. Now I'm just hoping that by next year when they are 7 and 8 my son's feet will be better. After 2 years of prescription inserts and prescribed stretching 4 times a day. Otherwise we will probably have to rent again. I don't know of a stroller that a 8 year old child will fit in.

If you do find he'll need to use a stroller, you might want to check out the disABILITIES board. There is at least one link on the FAQ-thread to a company that rents out medical strollers. They do fit older and bigger kids.

 

[BostonRob]

You started this thread by asking why people don't bring their own strollers, and you got lots of answers, but apparently you didn't like some of them. I see nothing in this thread to indicate that the people who don't share your opinion "don't have young children or have forgotten what it's like to have young children," and you make it sound like they're morons for not bringing their strollers from home (or, God forbid, using umbrella strollers).

If people want or need to bring their own strollers from home, fine by me. I just don't understand why you need to insult people who don't.

Wow. I'm not sure why you and Savvy?71 and Cam8n feel insulted. People have to be careful "reading into the tone" of internet text because since it is merely writing, it lacks so much of the tone that we use when we communicate verbally. Similarly, I suppose I could have chose my words more carefully, especially since multiple people have the same complaint. But I wasn't looking to insult anybody, I was just having a conversation. I discussed my experiences and was looking for input. And when I got it, I continued the discussion. That is conversation.

If you're put off by phrases like "spoken like somebody who's never used an umbrella stroller", then you should just respond as you did - I have used an umbrella stroller, we used one for my 18 month old grandson. Then I would respond, well, it may work for an 18 month old, but it wouldn't work for my 3 year old because she's going to jump out of that stroller when there's something she wants to see.

To me, that's a conversation. I'm not attempting to insult anybody, I'm just saying why things that work in some situations might not work in others.

I do appreciate your post because you had productive things to add to the conversation, so thank you for that. But I never called anybody a moron nor did I intend to insult anybody. I'll continue to try to pick my words carefully and I'd suggest that you try not to read so much into things.

 

[Feralpeg]

Is that an umbrella style stroller? Those things are pretty useless because there's no place to store your stuff. Are you supposed to push the stroller AND carry a bag and hope you don't get thirsty because you don't have a fourth hand for your drink?
No thanks.

Interesting. The strollers available now are incredible. When my DD was a baby, there was a place for the baby. Nothing else. No drink holders. Somehow, I still managed.

 

[perkinsrose]

You seem to have forgotten that you are taking a trip to Disney, not trekking thru outer Mongolia for a month. You don't need to bring an outfit for every possible weather change to the park, you can buy a sweatshirt if you decide your child needs one. And buy extra diapers, rain ponchos, whatever. Besides, you cannot have any of that stuff in your stroller when you go to get on a bus, someone has to hold it all. That is not so easy to do on a full bus.

I would much rather fit everything I need (not think I might possibly need) into a tote bag, and then rent a stroller. That way you don't have the hassle of dealing with it on the bus, and you are not weighed down by tons of extra stuff. It is really not necessary to bring tons of things into the parks with you. And if you realize you desperately need something, you will most likely be able to buy it.

I've been to WDW in January/February with lows of 30s and highs of 80s. We DID need sweatshirts part of day and shorts another.

I'd rather bring a jacket/sweatshirt for every person than spend $30 or more each to buy them. I spend alot of money on our WDW trips and don't budget to buy clothing there. Our big splurge is a pin or two.

 

[BostonRob]

Interesting. The strollers available now are incredible. When my DD was a baby, there was a place for the baby. Nothing else. No drink holders. Somehow, I still managed.

You probably managed without a cell phone too, but I bet you carry one now.
Surely you don't expect people to eschew modern conveniences because once upon a time people managed without them?
I guess my whole point of this thread can be summed up like this - "Since stroller rentals are so expensive, it seems to make more sense to bring one from home - it will be both cheaper and a superior product. Are there issues I'm not considering with this plan? "

I guess I have to type really carefully because people seem to find my posts in this thread very off-putting. But as I said before, that isn't my intent. Maybe its because I don't like to use smileys.

 

[MomofKatie]

BostonRob, I have always found one of these can cover a multitude of sins...

 

[BostonRob]

 

[Feralpeg]

You probably managed without a cell phone too, but I bet you carry one now.
Surely you don't expect people to eschew modern conveniences because once upon a time people managed without them?
I guess my whole point of this thread can be summed up like this - "Since stroller rentals are so expensive, it seems to make more sense to bring one from home - it will be both cheaper and a superior product. Are there issues I'm not considering with this plan? "

I guess I have to type really carefully because people seem to find my posts in this thread very off-putting. But as I said before, that isn't my intent. Maybe its because I don't like to use smileys.

I didn't find you posts to be off puting and I really have no dog in this fight. I just get a kick out of the incredible strollers available today. I sometimes feel I raised my DD in the dark ages.

The grocery carts didn't have baby seats back then. I used to put a blanket down in the child seat area and just lay her there. No strap or anything. Now, I see these incredible grocery carts with baby seats or ones that look like a child toy. I sometimes wish I could go back and do it again with all the cool stuff.

Sorry if you felt I was picking on you!

 

[jamstew]

Wow. I'm not sure why you and Savvy?71 and Cam8n feel insulted. People have to be careful "reading into the tone" of internet text because since it is merely writing, it lacks so much of the tone that we use when we communicate verbally. Similarly, I suppose I could have chose my words more carefully, especially since multiple people have the same complaint. But I wasn't looking to insult anybody, I was just having a conversation. I discussed my experiences and was looking for input. And when I got it, I continued the discussion. That is conversation.

If you're put off by phrases like "spoken like somebody who's never used an umbrella stroller", then you should just respond as you did - I have used an umbrella stroller, we used one for my 18 month old grandson. Then I would respond, well, it may work for an 18 month old, but it wouldn't work for my 3 year old because she's going to jump out of that stroller when there's something she wants to see.

To me, that's a conversation. I'm not attempting to insult anybody, I'm just saying why things that work in some situations might not work in others.

I do appreciate your post because you had productive things to add to the conversation, so thank you for that. But I never called anybody a moron nor did I intend to insult anybody. I'll continue to try to pick my words carefully and I'd suggest that you try not to read so much into things.

I apologize if I overreacted, but some of your words were pretty harsh, if not insulting. I understand that tone is difficult to read into internet discussions, but words like "spoken like somebody who's either never had young childeren or who's forgotten what its like to have young children," to me, aren't the kind of words that invite conversation but rather discourage it. I think all of us (posting on this thread) either have young children or remember what it was like to have them. Some of us just do things differently--things that work for us.

I agree that umbrella strollers aren't perfect and don't have much storage, but they'll work for us--they'll have to since, as I indicated in my first response, we don't have our own strollers any more. I absolutely won't pay Disney's prices for rentals, so we'll buy umbrella strollers when we get there or rent from an offsite company. Oh, and an umbrella stroller definitely will work for a 3-year-old. We just got back from Sea World and used one (and yes, he did jump out a couple of times).

 

[BostonRob]

 

[cam8n]

I feel the same, I just thought boston rob was mad at the responses he got...but it is hard to tell what people are really feeling sometimes on here? Anyways good luck with whatever type of stroller people decide to bring!

 

[Vijoge]

I looked at the Stroller Swap lists and they all seem to be double strollers. Has anyone looked for or found a single stroller in the Swap?

We currently own a Peg Perego double stroller but we're only bringing the 3 y/o. I think she's prpbably too heavy for an umbrella stroller, I don't want to haul ours because it's bulky and heavy, and I'd rather not buy another stroller. Rental prices have skyrocketed. . etc.

 

[savvy?71]

bostonrob~~ (not *THE* BostonRob are you?!?!?)

I am late getting back to this but ftr, I was not insulted. I did, however, agree with the poster who noted that you were asking questions but seemed annoyed with almost every reply you received. It's no big deal; just because someone mentions a perceived tone doesn't mean anyone is devastated or *fists in air* at ya'

I agree with you about tone, but yours was ambiguous enough to be taken a few different ways


Back to the topic...even though I sort of forget what the original was....

I never understood the debate about strollers but it seems to get people going. I know something about 'storage' was mentioned in this thread and I have seen people get upset when someone walks by with nothing but bags and drinks and snacks in strollers, kids walking around....I dunno; I don't bring much into the parks. Just what my husband has in the backpack. But people have different day plans and needs. Mainly I try not to focus on what other families are doing unless they are directly infringing upon our family's enjoyment. Heh, although based on my tolerance level on any given day, that infringement-tolerance-level will vary

 

[robinbutterfly]

Where do you put your stoller and stuff in the stroller when you go on rides?
Is there a safe place for the stroller and your belongings?

 

[Mad-Jasper]

Yeah, hopefully I am missing that. On my last trip (when my only daughter was 2) I rented a car and used it daily because I didn't want to be lugging that stroller onto and off of crowded busses at the most stressful times of day.
On my next trip I'm toying with the idea of staying in a monorail resort so I can just roll on and roll off the monorail. I know, some people will complain about me taking up so much monorail car space with my stroller, but I'll do my best to make room for everybody. If Disney had some rule about strollers on monorails I'd certainly follow it, but as long as they don't, I'll be as considerate as possible and hope that nobody is looking for something like a stroller on a monorail to ruin their day.

By far, most people that bring their own strollers try very hard not to inconvience others. But when you have 10 or more people on a bus with a fold-away stroller, it's a real pain.

This is probably one of the dumbest decisions by WDW in the last few years. When couple with the rising costs of food and gas, we really didn't need a 75% price increase with strollers.

I sent an email to customer relations and received a nice form reply stating how concerned WDW is about customer opinions. Yeah, right!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Where do you put your stoller and stuff in the stroller when you go on rides?
Is there a safe place for the stroller and your belongings?

There are many many "stroller parking" areas in the parks near the attractions. Although the vast majority of items left in strollers are never bothered, don't leave anything that you can't replace. We only leave items like a change of clothes, water bottles, etc., in the stroller and keep everything else in the backpack, which we take on rides with us.

After pushing a stroller for our last 3 trips, going on an adults-only weekend and being stroller-free was AMAZING. I was so giddy about it I would look at my husband as we entered the parks each day, watching moms and dads resignedly pushing behemoth strollers to the gates, and say, "WOOHOO - I don't have to push a stroller today!!"

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Spoken like somebody who's either never had young childeren or who's forgotten what its like to have young children.
First off, if you have a kid in diapers, you need enough diapers and wipes and such to cover a whole day. And you need a change of clothes in case something goes catastrophically wrong (which happens more that you'd think especially when kids are eating foods they're not used to eating).

Second, your kids, whether in diapers or not require things that adults don't need. You alway have to bring a sweater or a jacket or something. Its easy for us adults to think, oh if it gets cold or it rains or whatever, I can deal with it. But when you've got young kids, you don't make them deal with it, you take care of them.

Third, you need snacks. Kids get hungry. Their little bodies have really fast metabolisms, and they're always running around and burning off extra engery anyway. If you want to buy a mickey bar between every meal, be my guest, but I'm going to pack in some cereal bars and bannanas and juice boxes because they need it and that's what I'd always do whether I'm at the beach or at disney world.

And you might be fine carrying around YOUR stuff in a backpack, but you're probably not carrying extra stuff for other small people, nor are you pushing said small people in a stroller or alternatively chasing them around, in which case a large full backpack may be overly burdensome.

This is why strollers come with so much storage. Kids require things that take up space.

Spoken like someone who thinks they know everything about everyone.

We went with a 12 month old and an umbrella stroller (Graco IPO). Our stroller was nice and tall, easy to steer, reclines fully so she could nap and still folded up umbrella style. We brought a backpack with diapers, wipes, extra clothes and food for her. We even had room for our ponchos. While she was in the stroller, we hung it off the handle, when she wasn't in it we just put the bag on our back. We did not need sweaters as it was 90+ degrees every day. It was no big deal at all.

 

[Nicoleclaw]

opps double post!

 

[Nicoleclaw]

I could totally be way off, but when I think of an umbrella stroller, I think of a cheapo 10-40 dollar stroller. The Graco IPO costs $90. I don't know if you can really consider it in the same category because it is made so much better. A $90 stroller shouldn't cause the same complaints that others have with cheap umbrella strollers; such as being hard to steer, tipping over, not having a cup holder for adults and not reclining.