Bring or rent a stroller?

[mattandmandy]

DH and I are trying to decide if we should bring our own double stroller or rent one? Our main concern is how hard it will be to board the bus with the stroller. It is collapsable, of course, but a little large since it's a double. I have not even looked up the cost of renting yet so I am not sure how much it will save us to take our own. DH is just worried that it will be too hard to have room on the bus for it. Any advice from anyone who has taken their own strollers and if you would do it again would help. Thanks!

[Mickey91]

If you would have asked me this question a few months ago, I would have said to definitely rent one. Taking them on the bus is a major pain and should be avoided if possible.

Today, since the price has doubled, you can actually buy a stroller cheaper than you can rent one. And the double strollers are astronomical. I would definitely bring my own if I needed one again.

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Double stroller rental is $31 a day ($27 for length of stay rentals)! I would bring my own or buy a double umbrella stroller.

[disneykid99]

It is a pain to bring a stroller on the bus - no doubt. DH would fold it just before we got on - carry it in then sit with it between his legs while the kids sat with me. The bus drivers are used to it and you will not be the only person on the bus with one:) Having the stroller for the walks to and from the bus stop is great with small kids. We also like the comfort of our double stroller and the big basket under it. The rental strollers do not have a basket. Of course saving $ is the biggest advantage to bring even if it is a little more challenging to have to fold it and put it on the bus. Have a great trip:mickey:

[Dawnya]

We took our strollers for several years. How small are your kids? If they can ride in umbrella strollers, I would recommend that because they are smaller and easier to handle. We had 3 kids in strollers at one time and we used a double and an umbrella, and the umbrella was way easier to handle.

[Emme&TeddysMommy]

We have two children a 1 year old and 2 year old so we are in the same predicament as you. We have a double stroller, but it is big and a bit bulky. We were also concerned about the comfort of other passengers on the bus so we bought 2 light weight single strollers. They were great! I know it was crazy to purchase another stroller, but it was worth it. If only one child needed to be changed or one child fell asleep the other could keep going with mommy or daddy. The ones we purchased also had basket underneath so we were able to store items. The strollers also lay down for nap time and they have a 5 point harness. I paid a bit more than an umbrella stroller but the extra feature were important to me for the comfort of our children.

[ledudes]

Bring your own for sure. We actually bring 2 separate ones which is a definite pain on the buses, but worth it as far as at the airport....avoiding the hassle of renting each day and waiting in the rental line...comfort...around your hotel...downtown disney. We actually try to stay somewhere where we don't need to use teh buses much...BC is great since you can walk to 2 (and sometimes 3) parks from there...this year we will stay at teh Poly so we can avoid teh bus most days. Just be 1st in the bus line in the am and use the bench seat where there is a big gap on the end where your stroller sort of fits and is out of the way. I figure you only have to hopefully ride the bus twice each day and once you are in teh park, it is worth the trouble. Rental prices are also outrageous!

[Imagineer1981]

we used to always bring our own strollers as kids. But once it was stollen

[Jasper]

We always took our own stroller because there were so many times that we needed a stroller when we weren't anyplace where we could rent one. Since you are talking about two kids though I would suggest leaving the double stroller at home and purchasing two inexpensive umbrella strollers because the collapse so much better than a double stroller.

[Disney Doll]

It kind of depends on what kind of double stoller you have at home and how old your kids are. My advice would be to bring a small stroller from home. I hate the Disney strollers because they are too big and don't manuever easily through crowds. However, if you bring a huge stroller from home you'll have the same manuevering issues. I don't think the Disney strollers were really made for infants. They're just a giant hunk of plastic which is good because they can be wiped down and clean easily, but it would not be very comfortable for a baby. I say bring a small double from home or even bring 2 umbrellas with a connecter. I've never used the connecter myself, but it might be nice to be able to split up sometimes. At Disney size does matter. It is a major pain to haul a huge stroller on the bus. It is also a major pain to push a huge stoller through a crowd. When I bring my umbrella stroller I can easily get around the tight racks in the gift shops and I can weave in and out of large crowds without running up on someone's heels. Plus, like others have mentioned you literally can buy a new stoller to keep for the rental price you'd pay at WDW.

[FutureCorpsFan]

Definately bring yours. It's not inside the parks you have to worry about, it's outside. Kids get tired and you end up carrying them from the entrance to the bus because they crashed.

Marty

[Goes4FastPass]

I would saym bring your own and make it as small an 'umbrella' type as you can get - even a connected double...

...unless you're one of those familes that feels like you have to push a cart (aka stroller) through the MK that's big enough to hold everything the whole family might need for Everest (the Himalaya kind, not the AK kind) Expedition.

[mattandmandy]

Thanks everyone for your advice. It seems so obvious now but I never would have thought it if yall hadn't suggested..... We will take our own but we are definately going to buy a couple of small umbrella strollers so we don't have to lug that huge stroller everywhere. Now, if anyone wants to recommend a certain kind to me send me a message! Thanks!!!

[LisaP]

I'm not sure how old your children are, but for my DS 3yo I bought a new stroller for my Disney trip in June. I wanted him to be comfortable if he fell asleep, and I also wanted a front tray for snacks and drinks. I test drove the Chicco Trevi stroller in Babies R Us, which was a bit over $100, but to me it was worth every penny. It has extra large wheels for easy one-handed maneuvering, a nice basket underneath, great ergonomic handles, adjustable recline seat, 5 point harness and a removable front tray. I did not need another stroller, but I absolutely love this stroller!

I also purchased the airport gate check bag (so the stroller would not get filty in the underbelly of the plane), and it fit in there just fine with the front wheels removed and tossed into the bag.

The stroller is lightweight (13 lbs I believe) and extremely easy to fold up. It folds up like an umbrella stroller, and just lock the wheels and you can stand this baby up on the buses!

It is a great middle of the road option for the dilemma of a cheapie umbrella stroller vs. the big bulky stroller you do not want to drag around WDW.

Hint: BRU often has coupons out for $10 or $20 off a stroller purchase over $100, so keep an eye out for them (or PM me, I may have one or two current coupons).

:thumbsup:

Chicco Trevi stroller
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2668020

Airport gate check bag
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2967918

This is also a great attachment
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3155553

[dizknee531]

Definitely bring your own. Could you possibly bring 2 umbrella strollers?? it would be easier for you on the bus. the good thing is that if they fall asleep, you can board the monorail with them sleeping. it's something to think about. :confused:

[Emme&TeddysMommy]

This is the stroller we use. We have two of them and love them!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2585640

[Mousemates]

BYOS (bring your own stroller)....remember there are also lengthy walks from the room to the bus and the bus to the park entrance....yes they can be a hassle on the bus...but not as much trouble as carrying a totally crashed toddler on each hip while making the journey from bus to bed.

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Now, if anyone wants to recommend a certain kind to me send me a message! Thanks!!!

How old are the kids (or weight) and how tall are the people pushing them? The Chicco is great if you are not tall, if you are very tall I recommend a Maclaren. Mac's are expensive, but sometimes you can get last year's colors on clearance. Combi's are good unless it is older kids, better with infants (I loved it when DD was 9 pounds, was a nightmare a year later at WDW and sold it at a garage sale).

It is important to test it out with the kids in the store, some may seem easy to push but if you put in a 30 pound kid it can be much harder to manuever. Also handle height is important if you are tall. Do you need it to recline? If no recline is needed the Maclaren Volo is awesome, holds much larger kids, very light and folds very small/thin.

[crazykids]

We use the Jeep double umbrella stroller, it folds up easy & I think it weighs around 13 lbs. There's no basket, but I always wear a backpack when I'm there, so I don't really miss it. It wasn't too expensive, it costs approx. $65 at Babies R Us. Renting was a lot easier, but like others have said, I refuse to pay those huge price increases! I have 3 kids under 5, so we usually bring down a double & a single umbrella stroller.

[Septbride2002]

It depends on your budget. If you have the extra money to rent a double stroller everyday then I say go for it. If you are on a tighter budget they I reccomend you bring your own stroller.

We've always brought our own stroller and while yes not always the easist of things to carry around from tram to monorail to bus and so forth - it was convenient for when we were in the parks and around the resort.

~Amanda

[donnah77]

Another vote in favor of bringing your own. We bought a Chicco Capri for DD 3 years ago and love it. Easy to use, convenient on the bus, comfy for her. We even brought 2 this spring now that we have DS too. Have fun!

[MickeyChick]

We bought a Joovy Caboose Sit-and-Stand stroller before our trip in January for my 4 and 2 year olds. TOTALLY worth it to bring your own. The kids are more comfortable than in the hard plastic rentals (that look like everyone else's hard plastic rentals). And it was so nice to have a place for them to sit and ride walking to and from the room, in shops and in line for buses. Without being strapped in to the stroller, I would have been chasing them all over the place. And at the end of the day, it was a joy not to have to carry sleeping little ones from the bus to the room.

[Lizzie]

I think you have to look at it this way. How long are you going to be on the bus and how long are you going to be walking around the park all day.

We always bring our double jogger and don't mind the bulky stroller on the bus. But its comfortable to push and the kids can nap in it. I like having the one when my husband and I child swap. Than the one waiting can walk around outside the ride which usually helps the kids get a quick nap in.

Though on our next trip will have three kids and we are not going to attempt a tripple so we will have a double and a single.

[llbmomof4]

We bought a Combi travel stroller specifically for travel...that was 10 years ago, and it has made it through 4 kids, and it is my favorite. Once our little ones were able to sit up, supported, we used that little Combi (then it was called the Savvy Z i think)...my sister bought a Combi travel stroller last year and loved it. If i had another little one, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat...the thing only weighed 7 pounds, and supposedly would fit in an airplane overhead bin (but we always gate-checked ours). I remember that it was a little pricey for an umbrella stroller, but it did last through our 4 kids, plus a friend's child, so i definately got my money's worth out of it...probably ended up being a better deal than buying several cheap ones.

[Cheloconnell]

I think it would be crazy to bring or buy an expensive stroller for the trip. Yes, they are more comfortable, but more likely to be taken. How much are the kids really going to be in them. I found this great umbrella stroller at Walmart that has a canopy for the sun and also storage for a diaper bag underneath that was under $20. I suggest buying two and use them. We only rented strollers once and found it to be both expensive and then we wound up having to carry the kids to the bus, around the hotel, through the airport etc.. I definitely suggest bringing your own stroller. It is worth taking the time to break it down at the bus stops. :mickey: