Is it better to hire a stroller or take one with you (from the UK)

[Cinalella]

Our DD will be 2 half when we travel and I wondered if it would be easier to hire a stroller or take a cheap one with us? Is it true that we could encounter problems when we try to take one on the trams?

 

[deb305]

The parking lot trams make you fold the strollers up and store them on the floor.(The seating area is so narrow there is no room for a roll on stroller) . Not much space left for you or your feet. Also the Disney buses make you fold them. If the Monorail is not crowded you can roll it on.
On the other hand, I don't know what your airport walks would be like. If she will stay in one, it could be a great seat for the inevitable long waits to board.
In either case plan on her needing one for touring WDW. The rentals are plentiful, but they do not recline. When our DD was 2 she loved it (Okay so at time we passed it off as being one of the rides).
Good luck

 

[Bella2000]

I would recommend taking a stroller not just for the park but also the airport and hotel. I found with any type of waiting it's tempting for kids to want to bolt and at least in a stroller you can give them something to occupy the time and they are strapped in. We have never had an issue with ours on the buses or Monorail - we've taken a Peg Perego in the past and a Maclaren the past few trips which are both portable and fold easily. Inside the park if it can fold, it can go, like the train at MK. I've seen people struggle with the bigger travel type stroller - especially on a crowded bus but we've folded ours and put it under the seat. Also when you leave the park it's easier to push your child out of the park especially if he/she is tired vs. leaving carriage and having them walk or carry them. Basically with that age group - 2.5 - it's hard enough to maintain control and a carriage at least give you a semblance of some

 

[BevS97]

I would bring one with you - at 2 you will need it outside of the parks as well.

We fly from the uk and bringing the stroller is really painless, you can take the stroller right to the gate, where it is taken off you. It is returned to you at the gate at the other side, so you can use it to wheel your dd through the airport.

We took a basic Maclaren stroller and it was no bother at all on the trams, we just folded it up and put it between 2 people. (wheels on the floor, handle upright between us). I would suggest getting somethign that reclines a little as you will probably find she still naps in it, as the heat seems to make my dd more tired than at home.

Bev

 

[CarolMN]

Although my nephews didn't complain, I didn't think the strollers available for rental at the parks looked very comfortable. They did not recline. Here's a link to more info on the park strollers that includes pictures:

WDW Strollers

Maybe it will help you to make up your mind.

 

[2d_star_to_the_right]

We adopted our children from Russia. I can not emphasize how valuable those cheap umbrella strollers are. They fold up and fit in the over compartment storage on the plane so you have them right when you get off and after hours of airport sitting and flying you are going to have cranky, sleep children and to be able to put them down while you go through customs, get transportation to WDW and your luggage is worth the hassle alone.

As for the parks- it is far easier to bring your own (in my opinion) rather than stand in line to rent every time you are at a park (one ticket is good for a day but you still have to get a stroller each time you reenter the park). Not to mention your own stroller is alot easier to identify against the zillion disney look alikes-even when you mark them. And of course- there are places where you may not be able to get a stroller- like going to Downtown Disney or if you are staying a sprawling resort- where you are at one end and the pool/food court is on the other.

It is true that the buses and trams are inconveinant for strollers and if that is a real hassle- you can always try renting for the day.

Lastly- you can always stop at a store and buy a cheap stroller- they can be as low as 15.00$.

But I would not have made it through air travel without one!

just thoughts

 

[KristiKelly]

We took our stroller on our last trip 4/02. It's the sit /stand style, my 2 y/o could ride in the front and my y/o could sit or stand on the back. However the last 2 days of our trip we ended up renting strollers, the rental strollers roll & turn so much easier than our stroller did. I'll admit, that to me, the rentals do not look comfortable but my kids did not seem to mind. If it's hot when you go, the stroller do get HOT when setting in the sun while you're waiting for a ride, we would pull the little canopy thing over and then we brought towels from the hotel and draped them over to shade them. Even when the cast members moved them we always returned with our strollers nicely shaded. Hope this helps

 

[Baloo]

2nd star welcome to the DIS and congratualtions on your two sweeties! How old are they?

I agree on taking a stroller with you.My son didn't care for the rentals.I think you'll need a stroller when your out of the parks too for an easier time of getting a around with your little one.