stroller type for 1.5 yr old?

[ekatz]

Hello,

I am taking my 1.5 and 3.5 yr olds. We are planning on just going our own pace and doing as much as we can. I am wondering how stroller parking works..you park your stroller outside the ride before you enter the line, right? then your children either walk through the line or you carry them, there is no option to take a stroller in a line, even if it is a small umbrella-type.

just wanted to confirm. if that is the case, we are going to take one umbrella and rent one jogger so that hopefully the baby can nap in the jogger at times. is there a better strategy for the strollers.

we are staying at GF, so hopefully we will have relative ease getting the strollers on/off the monorails.

any insights on strollers, or other tips for kids this age would be great..i am searching the boards as well, but if anything comes to mind.

thanks!
liz
ps..love listening to the podcasts.

[tdk316]

Last year our kids were the same age as yours and the trip went really well! We used a double stroller (Combi Twin Sport Double). We decided not to take two strollers because the oldest could walk or ride on our shoulders for the little time we'd all be apart. That being said, we also fly and are limited to the amount of baggage we can have. If we drove, I probably would bring the extra little umbrella for the few times they're on their own.

Yep, you park the stroller outside the rides and come back to it later. Don't leave anything of huge value in the stroller. That being said, we've never had a problem with anything missing and I've left wrapped food, diapers, ponchos, umbrellas, etc. in the bottom. Oh, one tip, don't leave open food in the stroller while you're gone. One stroller I saw was covered in birds eating the food out of the tray. Ewwww....

Bring whatever stroller the kid is the most comfortable in, regardless of size. They will be spending a lot of time in it. Try to test them out at home, go to the zoo or something for the day and see what works for you. I have several double strollers and we decided on the Combi by doing some test runs closer to home.

Make sure you have a poncho and clothes line clips to cover the stroller just in case it rains (if you don't have a rain cover from the stroller manufacturer). I also use the clothes line clips to put blankets over for shade while they sleep, etc.

GF will be great for strollers! We have been staying at BLT and walking to MK in the mornings and taking the monorail back after lunch for naps. You can't beat the ease of the monorails, just stroll on and off.

Depending upon your stroller, you may want to buy an extra cup holder. I bought two extra for mine and they were constantly in use. I put the sunscreen in one, snacks in another and the rest had drinks.

I also bought two of those stroller clips and those were helpful with all of the bags.

I did buy a clip on fan (useless for us) and the adjustable shade umbrella (also useless for us) but you may find them useful. Luckily I decided not to use those before hauling them to Disney.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. I was really worried about how things would work out the first time we took our kids (they were 5mo and 2.5yo at the time) but it all turned out great! They'll be heading back for their third trip this fall, more than I ever went when I was a kid!

[MonoMan]

I ended up purchasing a stroller that I called our Disney stroller for our first visit (at age 1) to WDW and we continued to use the stroller on subsequent trips. It was a little more than an umbrella stroller, it provided a shade cover, which also allowed me to use a "universal" rain cover which I purchased at Babies R Us but it still collapsed very easily and was light enough to take on and off of the buses. On previous trip (before kids) we had noticed many people having difficulty carrying the larger heavier strollers on and off the buses. Also unless it has changed in the last year, if you rent strollers from Disney they are only for the parks, so you're on your own for the DTD area and around the resorts.

I highly recommend bringing your own rain cover, it's something you hope that you'll never need but be so happy that you have if it does rain - especially when you have a sleeping child in the stroller. Both times we had to use it, we were stopped numerous times by people asking us if we bought that in the parks.

Also, when you leave the stroller in the "stroller parking area" the cast members may move them as they work to keep them consolidated. I always tie something unique (bright ribbon) on the handle so I can easily and quickly spot our stroller. It's amazing how they all tend to look the same.

Have a great trip!

[princessgirls]

Disney is so stroller friendly!!! You will easily see where to park your stroller.
I recommend a small, easy to use umbrella. I had a Maccalern and that thing did not owe me a dime!!!!

Light, durable, easy to push!

Julie

[magicofdisney]

One ride in particular, Safari Ride at AK, allows you to use the stroller part way through the queue. Otherwise, it's as you stated, you drop it off before you enter the ride queue. You've received excellent advice so far.

[mudpuppysmom]

We are once again "stroller people" and this time around I have not taken (or ever had one) a heavy bulky stroller with us.

After much research (and a lot of craigslisting buying and selling) we arrived at two strollers that work very well for travel, yet are basically full sized for the comfort of toddlers.

One is the Peg Perego Pliko ....one hand fold -- like an umbrella stroller and also has a buggy "board" (step) on the back for an additional child to ride on periodically. A snack tray and full sized canopy alond with full recline are good attributes of the stroller. The ONLY minus I had to say about this was that it was a bit heavy.

The other stroller, which we use now, is the Inglesina Zippy (no I didn't buy it new.....it got one used for $50 -- chloroxed the heck out of it and we're good to go). This one has all the above mentioned good points but weighs less and you can also drag it behind you like a piece of luggage (you can the pliko too).

When you child needs to nap if I remember correctly the disney strollers are hard plastic and who wants to nap on a hard surface. If you have your own you are free to roll on and off the monorail, ferry and fold up is a breeze for the busses and trams!

If you can, as mentioned, whatever you decide.....give it a good try before you go and you are familiar with how it works and if it has any quirks that might give you a hard time while on vacation.

It's goona be a great time -- it always is!!

[tdk316]

The Inglesina Zippy is my all time favorite stroller for everyday use! It looks as good as it did the day I bought it years ago and I use it all of the time. It is so much easier to use than the Maccalerns (at least the Maccalern that I had... and sold).

Still bringing the Combi Twin Sport Double this WDW trip though. Easy to pack, has its own integrated case for the airline, fairly light when it has to be hauled onto a bus, and can confine two tired toddlers at once. Looking forward to bringing the Zippy... maybe next year.

[ekatz]

thanks for all the helpful advice everyone!!

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I highly recommend bringing your own rain cover, it's something you hope that you'll never need but be so happy that you have if it does rain - especially when you have a sleeping child in the stroller. Both times we had to use it, we were stopped numerous times by people asking us if we bought that in the parks.

An Intercot tip led me to buy a stroller cover for my Graco "Cadillac" stroller, and after parking it over by Small World under clear blue skies I came out of Pooh to see suddenly dark skies, and as soon as I had time to think to myself that it might rain the skies opened up.

I had not put the cover over the stroller and we had left a backpack full of cameras, diapers and clothes in the stroller and all had to be rescued fast! I RAN over to move the stroller to the Peter Pan bathrooms and spent the next 30 minutes in the bathroom drying stuff off.

The strangest thing was that turned out to be our 2nd best day at Disney that trip (which I guess speaks to how bad the other days were). Nothing like a pour-down to clear out the Dumbo line!