Rent or bring a stroller?

Jenrausch84

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 29, 2018
We've been to Disney several times, last year we drove so bringing a stroller was no problem. This year I'll have my 5 year old and 2 old. I still think we need a stroller but not sure if we want to try and lug it through the airport. We have before, but that was when we just had one kid, not two haha. Any thoughts? What are the best places to rent from?
 
That's a personal decision, and my opinion is different than most here. I think renting a stroller is a huge waste of money, especially if you already have one. Bring it. It's really not that big of a deal to bring one through the airport. Having 3 kids, including twins, we did it several times. No way would I have considered renting.
 
Normally I would have agreed with you, I've never rented one before. However the double stroller we have is a bike trailer as well and Disney didn't like it unless I had the front wheel detached which made using it very difficult. Part of the reason I've considered renting this time.
 
I guess I don't see how having the stroller in the airport is a disadvantage?
You can put some carry ons in the stroller and then just unload at security and reload it to walk to your gate plus you have somewhere for the kids to sit instead of trying to carry them or them keep up with you as you walk to the gate.
Also the stroller is right there waiting for when you get off the plane.

If you're going to rent then I'd personally just rent the regular old strollers at the parks vs a 3rd party company because I wouldn't want to have to worry about it's safety lol.
 
I would just bring a single and use it for the 2yo.

I would also bring a good carrier (like an Ergo, Beco, something similar) to carry the 2yo through naps and/or while in line...and then the 5yo can jump in the stroller if they really need to. This strategy worked great for us when our kids were 2 and 6yo...but the 6yo didn't NEED the stroller.
 
I would just bring a single and use it for the 2yo.

I would also bring a good carrier (like an Ergo, Beco, something similar) to carry the 2yo through naps and/or while in line...and then the 5yo can jump in the stroller if they really need to. This strategy worked great for us when our kids were 2 and 6yo...but the 6yo didn't NEED the stroller.


That sounds like a good idea. My 4 year old didn't use it last year that I can remember, so I dont think he would need it this year.
 
I would just bring a single and use it for the 2yo.

I would also bring a good carrier (like an Ergo, Beco, something similar) to carry the 2yo through naps and/or while in line...and then the 5yo can jump in the stroller if they really need to. This strategy worked great for us when our kids were 2 and 6yo...but the 6yo didn't NEED the stroller.

This. Last time we went to Disney, our girls were 2.5 and 5.5. We just brought our single Maclaren for the 2.5 year old and my Lillebaby carrier. I’d throw the younger one in the Lille at the end of the night and the older one would hop in the stroller so we could make it through the closing crowds to the buses. I can’t remember my older one ever asking to ride in the stroller but she would happily hop in if the younger wanted to walk or I had her in the carrier.
 


We are renting solely because my husband would not enjoy Disney with ours. He is always worried about our stroller getting stolen so we are renting and getting the insurance so he can park the stroller and enjoy his trip. I know its alittle odd but for him to be able to relax the money is worth it for us.
 
IVe done both, gotten to the point in our kids lives now tho that the stroller isnt an everday thing now, so we care less of what happens to it on a trip
 
We are renting solely because my husband would not enjoy Disney with ours. He is always worried about our stroller getting stolen so we are renting and getting the insurance so he can park the stroller and enjoy his trip. I know its alittle odd but for him to be able to relax the money is worth it for us.

Just a quick suggestion, because it sounds like you're going to be spending an awful lot of money for renting AND insurance on a stroller...

Go buy one from Wal-Mart. I don't mean the $15 el-cheapo. Go buy one for $40-$50. For that money, you can get a decent one. If you want a "fancy" one, go to Craigslist and find a fancy one that was $150 new and now sells for $50. Use it for your trip, then either sell it or if you don't want to hassle with that, donate it to another vacationing family at WDW. It'll cost far less and you won't have to worry about it getting stolen. Yes, stroller theft can happen there, but it's exceedingly rare...and when it does it's only the super high end strollers (which I think is foolish to bring to a park anyway). Nobody will touch your average run-of-the-mill stroller.
 
I would bring yours from home. Your 2 year old will want it in the airport. (and easier to ride in the stroller or sit in the stroller during the long security lines) You can check the stroller at the gate when you enter the airplane (you just leave it at the airplane door when you step on) - they put them separate from all the luggage so it won't get damaged.
 
On our girls' first trip, we brought our own stroller from home...which was fine at home, but I hated it at WDW. It was a sit and stand and it was downright horrible on that first WDW trip. Mind you, maybe you like your home stroller more than I liked mine. So, we rented a City Mini Double for all future trips before our kids started going stroller free (younger one was 4...almost 5...when we hit that point). Sure, I was paying to rent something when I could have brought one for free from home ... BUT ... the stroller we rented was- 1. easier to fold for buses 2. more comfortable for my kids for all day use 3. easier to push all day in the parks 4. easily picked up and dropped off in my resort lobby so I didn't have to mess with it in the airport.

When I bought my double stroller, my budget was tight and we weren't using it for our older one (2 at the time) outside of trips to the zoo and such (she liked to walk). So, I couldn't justify dropping $ on buying a City Mini Double or better. By the time we rented one (girls were 2 and 4 at that point) and I fell in love with it, my kids were too old for me to justify that kind of $ on a stroller...i.e. we barely used one in the real world and the older one would be totally aging out of needing one soon. So, renting was the best solution for us. No regrets!
 
Just a quick suggestion, because it sounds like you're going to be spending an awful lot of money for renting AND insurance on a stroller...

Go buy one from Wal-Mart. I don't mean the $15 el-cheapo. Go buy one for $40-$50. For that money, you can get a decent one. If you want a "fancy" one, go to Craigslist and find a fancy one that was $150 new and now sells for $50. Use it for your trip, then either sell it or if you don't want to hassle with that, donate it to another vacationing family at WDW. It'll cost far less and you won't have to worry about it getting stolen. Yes, stroller theft can happen there, but it's exceedingly rare...and when it does it's only the super high end strollers (which I think is foolish to bring to a park anyway). Nobody will touch your average run-of-the-mill stroller.

Thanks for the suggestion...unfortunately that won't work for my family. We need a double stroller that reclines (2 yr old and 4 month old) and needs to be high enough to not strain my husbands back. I have also scoured online postings but all the posts for strollers that fit our needs come out cheaper or about the same to rent (It will cost use about $100 - 120 to rent). I wish we could just go the cheap route but its just not feasible for us.
 
We have had good success with using our maclaren volo single umbrella stroller getting from home through the airport and to the resort, and then renting a city mini double from the sponsor of this board. Our girls are now 6.5 and 2.5 and so we are thinking of only using the Maclaren (which has literally been pushed 1000s of miles all over the world) on our next trip. Over time, renting was more expensive than buying our own city mini, but we really don't need a double at home.
 
We have had good success with using our maclaren volo single umbrella stroller getting from home through the airport and to the resort, and then renting a city mini double from the sponsor of this board. Our girls are now 6.5 and 2.5 and so we are thinking of only using the Maclaren (which has literally been pushed 1000s of miles all over the world) on our next trip. Over time, renting was more expensive than buying our own city mini, but we really don't need a double at home.
Love the Volo! I think it was made for WDW. It’s what I recommend to everyone. A Maclaren would have good resale value if that’s the route you go.... but if you go to WDW annually, I think you will likely get a few more uses out it.

Personally I hated renting. I tried it once when I did a trip with just my daughter and I. It annoyed me because I wasn’t used to how the stroller ‘handled’
 
We've been to Disney several times, last year we drove so bringing a stroller was no problem. This year I'll have my 5 year old and 2 old. I still think we need a stroller but not sure if we want to try and lug it through the airport. We have before, but that was when we just had one kid, not two haha. Any thoughts? What are the best places to rent from?
In my opinion, def. still need a stroller and with the 2 year old, I'd bring my own or rent a double citi mini from a company. There's no way I'd rent from Disney for those ages. Disney's are just hard plastic. I'd want one they could comfortably nap in.
 
We have done both. Our Uppababy got damaged twice when we gate checked it. We bought a used Combi that we brought for a few trips but then baby #2 came.

So we started rented the double CitiMini. We never had a double stroller for home. Only a sit and stand. But for WDW the renting the double just made more sense for us.

We also used a carrier when the kids were little but after a year they didnt want to be in it.
 
I think it depends on how much luggage you're already bringing and will they charge you extra to bring it on the plane? We flew Frontier last time and they nickle and dime you for everything there. It would have cost us almost as much to bring the stroller as renting one. So we decided to rent. Plus we didn't own a double stroller and the 5 yr old needed it.
 
We have rented from Orlando Stroller several times and it worked out great for us. They deliver directly to your resort and you have it for the whole trip, so you don't have to wait in lines each morning renting a Disney stroller. They also handle well and are quite comfy, so my kids tend to nap in them. The Disney ones are hard, I can't imagine sleeping in one of those. I definitely recommend tying a bright scarf or ribbon onto the rental to make it easier to find because there are a sea of a the same strollers in the stroller parking areas and it is never where you left it.
 
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I think it depends on how much luggage you're already bringing and will they charge you extra to bring it on the plane? We flew Frontier last time and they nickle and dime you for everything there. It would have cost us almost as much to bring the stroller as renting one. So we decided to rent. Plus we didn't own a double stroller and the 5 yr old needed it.

Frontier doesn't charge for strollers, you can bring one for free. Same with Spirit, United, American, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, Hawaiian, Allegiant, and Virgin Airlines. Possibly some others, but these ones for sure. A car seat can also be brought for free, and most, if not all, allow diaper bags to be brought for free as well, and they are not counted towards any baggage allowances.
 

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