Would you bring an expensive stroller?

[QueenT]

My daughter & granddaughter (18 mos) will be with us on our October trip. Currently she has an inexpensive umbrella stroller and an inexpensive carriage stroller, neither is all that easy to push around.

I am thinking of buying a more expensive one with better wheels, but then I was worried about it being stolen.

DGD will be 18 months when October rolls around, she is 12 months now.

What do all you Disney veterans think?

 

[sjreed]

I do know of one person (my hairdresser) who had their stroller and all its contents stolen while they were on Spaceship Earth in Epcot.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

My daughter & granddaughter (18 mos) will be with us on our October trip. Currently she has an inexpensive umbrella stroller and an inexpensive carriage stroller, neither is all that easy to push around.

I am thinking of buying a more expensive one with better wheels, but then I was worried about it being stolen.

DGD will be 18 months when October rolls around, she is 12 months now.

What do all you Disney veterans think?

When my DD was 7 months old, we took an expensive umbrella stroller with us. I, and this is just my opinion, wanted her to have more support and reclining options that came with the more expensive strollers.

 

[Tinkerbell_Tiffany]

really you are better off renting one in my opinion, it is just a big pain dragging it around on DTT like the monorail and the buses. just my opinion.
and while we were on spaceship earth we came out and our stroller was gone but the CM's just moved it because we didnt park it in the right spot so they are known for that. mabe they just moved the stroller on them...

 

[mmmears]

Back a few years ago, we took an expensive lightweight stroller with us to WDW. It was the only one narrow enough to fit down the aisle of the plane, and we needed it between the house and hotel. Once at WDW, we used it for our daughter because it was MUCH easier to push around than the rental ones, more comfortable (since she was used to it), and really helpful to have around on our way to and from the room. That being said, we did bring a small bike lock with us -- I think my husband locked it at Epcot and other places with huge stroller parking areas. We didn't want it taken. I don't know if you would find this worth the trouble, though.

 

[labst60]

There is always a lot of discussion about this on the family board - you might want to check there - but you'll probably get the recommendation to get teh better stroller (easier for you, more comfortable for baby). There is also a thread about strollers being stolen (it appears that it is infrequent)- we have never had a problem with ours - but you might want to scan back a few pages on the family board.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We always brought two umbrella strollers when our kids were younger and checked them with our luggage on the plane. Once, when we picked up the strollers on the luggage carousel, one of the wheels had been completely ground down which rendered it unusable. It must have been dragged on the ground while it was on the luggage truck going from plane into airport. We only paid $10 for it so it wasn't a big deal. Had it been an expensive stroller I would have been more upset.

 

[DisneyPhD]

We always bring our, most of the time they are cheap, but I don't own a bug a bo ($800 stroller)

We have been to WDW 8 times with strollers, never had a problem and never worried about it.

This will be our 4th trip with a peg pergo aria double (not cheap, but good stroller around $300). No problems.

Really you want comfort, but still small at WDW, not only for the busses, but manvoring around.

Bring a rain cover too ,espeically in the summer time.

Always bring your own stroller for kids under 3 years old. You will need it outside the parks too and the child will be much more comfortable. The WDW stroller are not good for younger kids (but pretty good for older ones, even older then 5 years old.)

We don't check them with our luggage, but stroll it right up to the airplane gate and they "gate check it" for you. It is waiting for you when you get off. I have heard of more people having damage to their strollers this way then I have heard of anyone ever having issues at WDW itself. We have always been lucky, but take everything that can come off your stroller off it before hand. Trays and cup holders can get lost.

Have a great trip. What ever stroller you bring try it out ahead of time, make sure the child and you are comfortable with it, both ridding in it and folding it up.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

Really you want comfort, but still small at WDW, not only for the busses, but manvoring around.

Bring a rain cover too ,espeically in the summer time.

Always bring your own stroller for kids under 3 years old. You will need it outside the parks too and the child will be much more comfortable. The WDW stroller are not good for younger kids (but pretty good for older ones, even older then 5 years old.)

Very good advice. For younger children, I believe bringing a stroller is a must. Also, we always wheeled ours right up to the airplane before boarding and they were there waiting for us as we got off. We never had any damage.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

That is such a hard judgement call. I have to say that in all of our trips to the world we have never had our stroller stollen and it was a Graco, double stroller. I think it was around $145 when I bought it *years ago and had all the bells and whistles.

I guess I would ask yourself if someone stole your expensive stroller, could you replace it or are you truly struggling as in this trip is the dream of a lifetime, if you know what I mean? If so, then I would take my umbrella. If not, then I would take my chances (which are in your favor) and take your good stroller as an 18-month-old will probably nap in their stroller and be much more comfortable. (We always tied a balloon to ours so that it was more recognizable.)

However, if you are really, really worried, I would just go to Babies 'R Us and buy a new umbrella stroller for $19.99. The handles are a bit longer than the old umbrellas, the wheels are better, and they have a hanging net cargo holder thingy as well as a sun umbrella. They come in pink, blue, mint green and gray. (Just bought one as my umbrella was pretty worn and stopped folding - lol!)

Also just want to mention that *should your stroller get stollen, you can buy a REALLY nice top of the line umbrella type stroller in Once Upon A Toy for $55!!

I know this post doesn't give you a definitive answer so lastly I just want to say, if it were me, I would take my good one. But bottom line is what you want and will be comfortable doing.

More importantly you should be stress free and happy on your vacation - not worrying about your stroller. So, do what feels right for you!

 

[Pats Dragon]

To me the biggest question is who will be on the buses, monorail, etc to lift the stroller. If it is just grandma sometimes, and she does not regularly lift weights then renting one might be best. If you rent one be sure to slather suntan lotion on legs because sometimes the canopy doesn't provide enought shade. Also think about tying a balloon on it so that you can spot it easily.

 

[Mellie0119]

We've never had our stroller stolen per say... After riding Spaceship Earth (what is it with that ride and strollers? ) we came out and couldn't find our stroller. We looked all around and saw one *exactly* like ours (down to the missing cup holder) but not with our stuff (park map, empty water bottle- nothing valuable) in it. We took it to Guest Services he said to take it and use it, we gave our cell number should the other stroller owners come back, we never heard anything and ended up taking it home. More of a case of mistaken identity than theft.

We bought a nice umbrella stroller to take on this trip- about $60. The way I figure, there are going to be plenty of nicer strollers out there (not to mention a ton of the cheap ones) that mine would be overlooked by would be stroller-nappers. We also have our last name written in permanant marker on the back of the seat. Makes it easy to spot.

Just don't leave anything valuable on the stroller and I bet it will be fine.

 

[QueenT]

I really appreciate the wonderful input on this, I feel much better now. I've been worrying about this & that, and while this may seem a minor issue moneywise in view of the total $$ being spent on the trip, I kept envisioning happily trotting out of some ride (excuse me, attraction), and the ensuing drama if my daughter's stroller disappeared. Plus I hate spending money on things I don't have to, thus I can rationalize 500/night for OKW 8 people but can't stand to spend 50 to replace something I already bought, just a quirk, LOL.

My family is a bit exciteable, to say the least (except me of course), panic first & figure things out later seems to make them happiest! Especially if they can be loud and yell a lot while panicing! I am not the greatest planner in the world, but I prefer to enjoy my vacations, so I am trying to do everything I can to anticipate & remove any difficulties.

You can see why I am really happy to get such good advice!

I definitely do want to bring our own stroller, my granddaughter is so little I can't imagine putting her in a rental, plus my daughter is trying to save some $$ so she has more spending money.

Now that I can put this in PERSPECTIVE, I can see that replacing it wouldn't be that bad if it did get stolen (accidentally or otherwise). When I said expensive, I just meant 100$ or so as opposed to the 20$ that your typical low end umbrella stroller costs. So even if I had to go out & spend 50$ on another one, I would not die.

I really like the idea of a marker of some kind, & also the bike lock idea, thank you.

Fortunately I have plenty of muscle to lug things around, between 3 muscular teenage boys 16, 17, & 19, and my daughters are no slouches either.

Personally, I pay for things, I don't lift them. (which might explain why I am on an exercise program to prepare for my trip)

 

[HalfDozen]

We have brought everything from a $120 lightweight "umbrella" stroller to a side by side $300 stroller and have never had a problem. I don't leave my valuables in it at all - but we usually hide it way in the back so it's hard to get out, lock the wheels, and try to tie a balloon or something recognizable to it. Most stroller thefts are actually mistaken identies, I think. I hear it's much more common at Sea World and Universal to have something stolen.

I think you should bring whatever the child in question is most comfortable in. I don't like the rentals - they're too big for babies and the germ factor kind of gives me the willies (I'm sure they "clean" them, but who knows). I also don't like the fact that at the end of a long day, when the kids are falling asleep in a stroller, you'd have to get them out and drop the stroller off at the rental drop off place before you even leave the park. This means if you drive, you still have to walk all the way to the car without a stroller with sleeping kids and stuff. It's a long way from Main Street to the parking lot, let me tell you - and sometimes a long wait. You can usually fold up a stroller while waiting for the tram rather quickly, and then if you're at the end of an aisle, you have the option of popping it back open again when you depart the tram. (But we usually come back in the evenings and park in that first section, so we walk from the boat dock). (And just so you know, you can leave the kids in the stroller if you take the boat - it can be harder on the monorail because of the crowds).

Anyway, just my experience with strollers and kids. I always bring my own and feel much better having it. I did buy a bike lock with the $300 one, but never used it. It was always right where we parked it (or where it had been parked for us) when we got out of attractions.

 

[Zoemakes5]

Personally, from my experience, I'd get the more expensive one and take it with. (A) I've never had anything stolen from inside my strollers, and my stroller has certainly always been there, and we've had really nice double strollers a couple of times. (B) As your toddler g.s. gets bigger, he will get heavier, and the cheaper models get tougher and tougher to maneuver as the kids get heavier, but the more expensive models tend to do better. You may even want to look at places like once upon a child to see if you can get one used (C) The more expensive ones seem to have better/bigger baskets underneath for items, which I've found invaluable at WDW.
I'd go with the better one.

 

[alimomof3]

We just returned from WDW with my 4 and 2-1/2 year old. I had this same issue and ended up buying a MacClaren Quest off ebay. Since my kids are a bit older I was worried about spending $130 on a stroller I just bought for this WDW trip. However the MacClarens go up to 55lbs unlike most other strollers that only go to 40lbs. I am so so so so glad we brought one, if I could do it all again, I'd buy another one too for my older DD. We ended up renting one each day but the kids would always fall asleep before we made it out of the park and I'd have to pick my DD up and carry her. My DH and I were always carrying one kid while out of the park. Being at WDW is tiring for even adults let alone my kids never wanted to walk unless we were in line or something we couldn't take the stroller with. We also stayed on one of the monorail hotels so we could easily roll it on the monorail from MK or Epcot and didn't have to wake a sleeping kid to fold up the stroller.

I think if I was staying at a monorail resort or had my own car, I would without a doubt bring my own. If you are staying somewhere and primarily be using the bus transportation, I would think about renting. I enjoyed the rented one's too in the parks, it was just out of the parks I really wished I had two strollers.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I can't tell you which to do since our kids are grown, but I know that if you bring the expensive stroller, you'll have lots of company! DH and I raised our kids in the era of the cheap umbrella strollers (I don't remember anyone having a stroller worth more than 25-30 dollars). Last week at WDW, we were constantly amazed at the high-tech, quality strollers that people use nowadays (wow, I feel so old writing this!). DH and I were constantly elbowing each other and whispering "Did you see that huge stroller?" Babies can sit, lie down, have lots of padding, and ride with about 8 wheels. No doubt today's strollers are much more comfortable than in our day but BIG! Lots of people brought their own.

 

[mrstomrice]

We brought our own Peg Perego and I was happy to have it! The buses were not a problem b/c I was always able to store it beneath the wheelchair accessible seats, even if someone was there, they were happy to let me put it there. It gave my son the chance to lay down and nap in the park comfortably. The more comfy the child, the happier

 

[Vavasmon]

My Dd is now 10.5 years old and well past the stroller age but we are big amusement park fans an started taking her to parks before her second birthday. Wile we did not do WDW until she was 6, I left my $125 Graco *exoensive forthe time) outside of many amusement park attractions in parks I consider less safe than WDW and never had anything stolen. The biggest reasons for why I brought my own until she was about 4.5 were:
- I knew how clean it was (or in some cases was not) and that when she was young all the seatbelt straps worked.
- When DD was small it was very hard for her nap in the rentals. Ours reclined and had a nice padded seat. Also, the cloth was cooler in hot weather than the hard plastic.
- The stroller was familiar to her - if she became tired etc. It was nice to have something she knew.
- While taking it on trams/buses was a pain, waiting in a long stroller line at some parks is a pain too.
- Being our own it was more distinctive and therefore less likely to be accidently taken.

I personnaly think they are not stolen because while they cost a lot of money, they are not quick cash items. Park strollers are sometimes taken by people with tired kids because, in my opinion, they don't fell like they are "stealing" since it is not leaving the park. I was alway careful to not leave anything of value in the stroller. We have seem people come back to strollers to discover their wallets or video cameras missing.

One DD was 4.5 and mainly walking, we rented park strollers. By that point she had also given up her nap.

 

[crazy4disney01]

I have always brought our stroller (average priced) and never had anything happen to it (knock on wood). To me, the ones you rent don't look very comfortable (no cushion) and my DD has always enjoyed using things she is familiar with. I don't really think you would have a problem taking your own stroller.