Strollers at Disney World

Hi,
I have been to Disney twice wih my kids and my son is a big boy as well. We rent the strollers at the parks. They are a plastic stroller and thay have single and double strollers. Your children will fit fine. If you rent them at the park and decide to park hop your stroller rental is good at all the parks so you just get one when you get to the new park. I would recommend renting the stroller instead of buying one. Have a great trip you will love it.
Sherri
Momof 3 1 boy age 7 2 girls ages 5 and almost 2

DO NOT BUY STROLLERS for DISNEY. They have great double strollers you can use there. The last time we went was back in 2003 and we were not charge for them. i have heard that they are now charging a rental fee but you get part of it back when you return the stroller. My kids loved riding in the one we rented. They both fell asleep for a little while in the stroller. They were really comfortable. My oldest son at the time was 50 pounds and 4 years old. My youngest was 20 months old and weighed 30 pounds. They are great double strollers. The best way I can describe them is they look like a double jogging stroller but the seats are lower to the ground. If you ever watch Jon and Kate Plus 8 they used 3 of these strollers for their trip to Disney. some one on youtube put a video up of still photos. There is one from their trip that shows the strollers. If you are patient enough to get through all of the other pictures. Here is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBL45qFx_8I

the picture is 1min45sec into the video.

We have four children, and have done Disney both with our own stroller and then with the ones they rent at Disney. By far, it's much easier to rent one of their strollers than to bring your own. They are designed to make it easy to get your kids in and out of them, and the children like riding in them. They should be large enough for your children. If you're concerned, call the Guest information line at ###-###-#### and they will put you in contact with the right people.

May I offer a word of advice? Pace yourself with the kids. Over the years we've learned that doing a few things in the morning that require a lot of energy is a good thing, but only if you can pause during mid-day and have lunch, nap and/or swim in the pool. After taking a break, then going back to the parks is much more enjoyable. There's nothing worse than anticipating having all this fun and then having kids melt down because they're overstimulated and frustrated! If you're staying on the properties, it's good to do the early morning admissions to the parks, and by the time you've done the first hour, the other people are coming in so the lines get longer. It's well worth making sure you start early and then take the mid-day break.

Have a wonderful time! October is great because there are fewer crowds there (well, Columbus Day might be the exception) and the temperatures are mild.

Disney rents singles and doubles, and your 5 year old will definitely fit. There is a rental charge, but renting theirs has a huge advantage: no one steals yours. You will be leaving your stroller in 'stroller parking' at most rides and attractions; why even worry whether it will be there later or not? And why lug yours from the hotel every day on the trams, busses, or boat (they tend to be very crowded)? Plus, you can decide what you want each day (double or single) depending on what areas you're planning to visit. You can go online and check the rental cost, if that would be a deciding factor.

Hi Z.,
We went to Disney in May without any strollers. Our girls, now 6 and 4.5 both weigh close to 40 pounds each. They were tough enough to walk around the parks, when they were tired, we carried them on our shoulders for about 15 minutes,went to see a show, sat down to eat, etc... then asked them to walk and they were fine. They just needed an energy boost. The strollers cost $15 per day single and $30 per day double. We saved $$, but in my opinion, if you really need one, bring your own umbrella (lightweight) stroller(s) so that you don't have to worry about returning/renting etc...
Most of all, enjoy your trip! Have fun!!

Hi Z.!
Definitely bring your own strollers from home. The ones they have at Disney are pretty expensive to rent daily. I was also kind of grossed out by how many leaky diapers could have possibly been in there! :s I think they are 20 or 30 dollars a day...so that will get really expensive if you have 2 for 7 days. We just got back from Disney a few months ago and I had to rent a stroller for one day because ours got wet....
So all in all, again I would totally recommend that you bring one (or 2 in your case!). I'm sure you can find some really inexpensive umbrella stroller at babys r us, or....maybe check on craigslist for moms getting rid of strollers?....if you wanna go that route. Good luck and have fun! Embrace the Disney experience!

Whichever strollers you decide to use- be sure to still keep all of your valuables on your person. A friend of mine rented a stroller at Disney this past spring, left it where she was instructed while going on a ride and the stroller was stollen. Not something you want to think about happening at the Happiest Place on Earth...
Have a good trip!

Hi Z.,

It is definitely a good idea to have a stroller at Disney. The kids definitely get exhausted after all the walking around. Also if need be you can move much faster pushing them somewhere then waiting for them to walk! Disney has single and double strollers and they are very roomy so I am sure your son would fit fine. They are about $8/day or you can get a deal on multiple day rentals. I think it is worth the cost and convenience, especially if you are flying and realistically your kids would probably not use the single strollers much after this trip. I am sure most times they prefer to walk.

Have fun!

C.

definitely bring your own - it is so much more convenient and also cheaper than renting them everyday. We bought a cheap one at Kmart so we didn't care if it got ruined or stolen - by the way -- now that I have done it I would not worry about one being stolen. You will appreciate having your own when your children are tired and you are leaving the parks and waiting in line for transportation. You will also not have to wait to rent them or return them. The other great thing about bringing your own is that the ones they rent you are hard plastic so they are not comfortable if you child wants to nap. Have a great time.

I had two strollers from home. I had a single that was mine and I borrowed my girlfriend's single (in case we had to split). The rentals in disney and very uncomfortable I would think - they are hard plastic. I did see a drunk father in Epcot being pushed in a double so I would say they are big enough. You can see a picture here....http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/wdwguide/7_Children/genera... You can also rent strollers elsewhere if you don't want to buy - try this site http://www.orlandostrollerrentals.com/single-stroller.html they had nice looking strollers - not sure how your son would do but maybe. I think Disney strollers are $15 a day single and $31 day double......Anyway - good luck whatever you decide and it will be a great time

they have rental strollers there. of course they are not as comfortable and you should call to get the info about them and how to rent them. or go online, they may have the answer as well.

The strollers at isney are perfect. We go every year and we see teens being pushed in them. They are made of the hard plastic like at every amusement park. That was our plan a few years ago, but my son broke his foot the day before leaving so I ran to Babies-R-Us and purchased 2 umbrella strollers. It was easier in the airport & to separate kids and me and hubby at parks. If you do bring them w/ you, you can wheel them right up to the door of the plane and the skycap take them from you & will have them there when getting off. Another good thing about the Disney strollers is, when you rent 1, you can park hop and just show the receipt and rent for free in the next park (per day). They don't charge you at each park after you rent 1 for the day. For sanity purposes, I'd rent 2 singles (if you don't need them in airport) & then if you need to separate or if 1 needs a nap the others not bothering them. I wish you luck. You are going to have an AWESOME time. Unfortunately, we aren't going this year and it's killing us, especially the kids. Give Mickey a big kiss from us (haha). I see Premier Designs, so I was laughing at how you said you saved your lia money. You sound like me. Take care and enjoy!

We went to Disney in May of 2007 for our first time with our then 3 1/2 yr old son. First of all - GREAT trip! We did bring our stroller for him and so glad we did. The strollers that you can rent at the park are made of hard plastic and there is no reclining! It is basically a seat on wheels. I knew that my son would nap and therefore needed the stroller. I would bring two individual strollers as you suggest and would probably try and borrow at least one so that you do not have all that additional cost. Unfortunately - I do not know what type will hold your son. My son is going to be five in November and I know that he would never sit in a stroller so I don't have similar issues. Sorry.

We had a Little Tikes brand wagons for our vacations. It was great.

As for disney I am sure they have their strollers there to be most effective and efficent for parents to use. I am also sure they did research on what would be most user friendly.

Hi Z....Disney World is so much fun...our family has been 5 times now...my kids are 15 and 12...first time we went they were 7 and 4..we rented the strollers there. They work great and my 7 year old fit too...we got the double...the wheel easily and you can get them at all the parks. They are good for storage too...it is a lot of walking so a stroller is a must!!!! Enjoy your trip!

Hi Z.,
My youngest was 5 the first time we went to Disney and it never occurred to us to use a stroller since we hadn't used one at home in 3 years. He did fine. He did have the occasional shoulder ride from dad but he walked plenty. I would suggest using one single stroller and if you end up with two that need a break from walking, put the big kid in the stroller and the small, light kid on the shoulders.
Good luck and have a wonderful time!

We rented the ones at Disney last year. They are $10 a day for a single and double is a little more. If you rent it for a few days up front the cost goes down. I liked them better than my own b/c they are bigger and low to the ground and easy for napping in. They are cleaned after each use also, ours was very clean. The double stroller is wide so they sit side by side. I liked just renting it b/c you don't have to worry about lugging your own down there. Good luck in whichever you decide.

http://www.philandteds.com/nz/index.htm
Try this one.

I went last year planning to rent a stroller for my big 4yo. As we were looking at the long rental line at Magic Kingdom we saw they were selling really nice strong umbrella strollers for I think $35. It was great, cheaper than the week rental, had a small umbrella, we were able to take it to each park and no lines at each park to pick up the rental. I figured we would leave it when we left, but it was so nice we took it home and used it.

Just make sure you bring something to flag it as yours, there are hundreds of them.

Have a blast 3 & 5 is perfect time to go!!!!!

The strollers at Disney are fantastic and that is definately the way to go. They are definately large enough for a 5 year old...we were in Disney a few years back and my son (6 years old at the time) and niece (7 years old at the time) had no problems. The strollers are made of hard plastic so they are easy to keep clean (after the ice cream cones start to drip ha-ha), they are easy to push and low to the ground so the kids hop in and out with no problem and they have large hanging baskets on the back for all of your belongings. You can rent single or double strollers as well. We had four kids with us on that trip ages 7,6, and two 3 year olds so we rented two double strollers and the kids took turns sitting with who they wanted and all the adults took turns pushing. Have a great vacation!!!

The Disney "strollers" are more like pushable wagons - flat bed type things that will hold more than one child. (At least some of them are...they might have regular strollers, too, but I noticed the push cart ones more...) Some places I think even had wagons. I would call WDW direct and ask - I'm sure customer service could tell you what the strollers are like - and possibly even reserve them ahead of time (I seem to recall they run out early...).

I've heard that the double jogging stroller is amazingly light and feels almost effortless to push 2 kids around. I tried my friends with to 37 lb toddler and it was super light. On the other hand 2 single strollers might be smart too incase you and your husband want to split resources ever and split up for a bit. Good Luck! It should be sooo fun.

Hi, The strollers at Disney are quite large and one would fit both your kids. We were there in April and I saw many people with 8-10 year olds in them when the day got too much for them. I am not sure if you have to ask for a double or not (they all seemed to be the same size whether or not there was 1 or 2 children in them). Good luck and have a great trip.