Stroller Question

[sophies*mom]

I agree that if for nothing else, it will be nice at the end of the day when those little feet are tired.

On another note, I also wouldn't leave anything with value in the bottom of the stroller. Although what one person thinks is valuable, may be different for others. I'd be devastated if I lost my camera, where another person would be sad to lose a hat or sweatshirt.
We had a lot of stuff in the bottom of our stroller and had no issues. I also decorated a sign with our name, laminated it and zip tied it to the handle, so there was no mistaking who it belonged to.

 

[starjazz]

I want my kid to have lots of energy the whole week we are there, so I will be bringing it so that its there if needed. Mine are 6 & 4, and both plop down inevitably at some point on a long day like a Disney day.

 

[LuSoph]

I am bringing my USED stroller to use in the park. I was hoping that the ratty nature would deter any would be thieves. I was planning to leave our travel potty, lunch kits and water in the bottom of the stroller for the day, but keep valuables in a small cross body purse. Its just me with two kids, so I don't want to be hauling a backpack around. DOn't backpacks get in the way on the rides? Am I being naive to leave those items in the bottom? I have never been to DL before, so I am clueless!

 

[corinne76]

I do worry about theft. We tend to not leave important things in the stroller (passports, what? Those things should stay on you at all times)

The only thing is the souvenirs. Leave them? Take them on rides? Not buy anything?

 

[DahliaRW]

Check souvenir purchases at the news stand, for free, and pick them up when you leave the parks.

 

[corinne76]

Check souvenir purchases at the news stand, for free, and pick them up when you leave the parks.

Did NOT know this! thanks!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

When it comes to leaving stuff in your stroller, I can say that we have never had any trouble. Our only challenge was trying to find our stroller when the CMs move them. That being said, we never leave money, wallets, or anything of value in the stroller. Just cheap blankets, cheap Walmart jackets, and water. Everything else gets dragged around in a backpack.

 

[sophies*mom]

I am bringing my USED stroller to use in the park. I was hoping that the ratty nature would deter any would be thieves. I was planning to leave our travel potty, lunch kits and water in the bottom of the stroller for the day, but keep valuables in a small cross body purse. Its just me with two kids, so I don't want to be hauling a backpack around. DOn't backpacks get in the way on the rides? Am I being naive to leave those items in the bottom? I have never been to DL before, so I am clueless!

I think you'll be okay. I also kept the important stuff in my cross body purse and we didn't take everything out on each ride. Maybe if the potty is on top of everything else, you for sure won't have problems lol.

When I was single, I would take a backpack and never had any trouble. A lot of rides you can put it at your feet, some rides you can leave it behind on the loading dock (I wanna say Grizzly River Run is one, but I could be wrong, it's been a while) and then jerky rides, like Indiana Jones, have a mesh pocket to put stuff in.

You can always rent a locker if you don't want to keep too much in your stroller and don't want to bring a backpack.

 

[pixiewings71]

Our first trip DD15 was 6, I asked her if she wanted us to take a stroller and she very pointedly told me no, she was big enough to walk. I would ask her throughout the day if she wanted us to rent one and she always said no, her 9 year old sister would say "YES" but J would always say "NO" so we didn't rent one, didn't bring one and she walked better than the rest of us. LOL
I think it depends on the family and don't judge those who use them, heck at times I wish I could ride in one and get pushed around....

 

[Ratherbeatdisneyland]

My son is only 3, so we for sure will be bringing one. We don't do much walking, especially right now with winter we are inside a lot more then usual, so I know he will get tired. Our plan is to only have one backpack with us, and we will have it on us at all times. My BIGGEST concern is our stroller being stolen. It's not a high end one, but it would surely be frustrating and hard if suddenly we didn't have it! I like the name idea with the zip ties. I think anything that makes it more conspicuous is less likely to be taken...So I might do that, and then put a neon/glow in the dark ribbon on it so I can find it easier when parked.

 

[Tony Gonzalez]

If you bring your own stroller and you really care about it, bring a lock with you to either lock the wheels or to lock it to a location as stroller theft at Disneyland is at a rise. We just got our BOB ($500.00+) Stroller stolen last week and I also spoke to a mom that got her BOB stroller stolen yesterday, and apparently (according to a Disneyland employee), it was the 3rd stroller reported missing/stolen yesterday.

 

[sophies*mom]

If you bring your own stroller and you really care about it, bring a lock with you to either lock the wheels or to lock it to a location as stroller theft at Disneyland is at a rise. We just got our BOB ($500.00+) Stroller stolen last week and I also spoke to a mom that got her BOB stroller stolen yesterday, and apparently (according to a Disneyland employee), it was the 3rd stroller reported missing/stolen yesterday.

You can lock the wheels together but if you lock it to a fixture (light post or railing) the CMs will not hesitate to cut it off, FYI, as they are constantly moving strollers to make more room.

 

[sophies*mom]

This is our stroller sign, the one I mentioned that was laminated and zip tied on to the handle. I pulled the zip ties tight and even I had a hard time getting it off at the end! lol

 

[FFMatt12]

Did NOT know this! thanks!

You can have any souvenir or merchandise purchase sent for free to the front of the parks. Just ask the CM at the counter to do so and they will have you fill out a short form. Life saver if you find something you might not find at other stores in the parks!

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

You can have any souvenir or merchandise purchase sent for free to the front of the parks. Just ask the CM at the counter to do so and they will have you fill out a short form. Life saver if you find something you might not find at other stores in the parks!

Thanks, that is something we will definitely use. At WDW we always had things sent to our resort but at DL we are staying off site. I was dreading having to carry around all 5 of the kids souvenir purchases.

 

[VandVsmama]

We went to DL when our kids were 4 and 6. We rented a stroller from Anaheim City Strollers. It worked out great. I rented a single stroller and the kids took turns in it. YDD even took a short nap in it at one point.

I do have one unrelated question...why are you bringing a travel potty into the parks?

 

[deanimal]

I guess there's some advantage to being the family pushing the $80 Graco stroller with the wonky wheel and shredding foam on the handles! While I realize that some people will steal anything we've never had an issue leaving our snacks, water bottles and hoodies in the stroller. I learned a long time ago that travel is a lot more relaxing if you leave your nice stuff behind. I've only been robbed once when I had everything except the clothes I was wearing and my cards and travel documents stolen in Egypt back in my backpacker days. It was very liberating! Now we travel with older stuff that we discard along the way.

I would never be able to leave a $500 stroller parked at Disneyland, I'd just be too nervous even if the risk was low. If anyone wants my crappy stuff enough to steal it, I figure they must be a lot more desperate than I am and they're welcome to it!

 

[ClaraOswald]

I guess there's some advantage to being the family pushing the $80 Graco stroller with the wonky wheel and shredding foam on the handles! While I realize that some people will steal anything we've never had an issue leaving our snacks, water bottles and hoodies in the stroller. I learned a long time ago that travel is a lot more relaxing if you leave your nice stuff behind. I've only been robbed once when I had everything except the clothes I was wearing and my cards and travel documents stolen in Egypt back in my backpacker days. It was very liberating! Now we travel with older stuff that we discard along the way.

I would never be able to leave a $500 stroller parked at Disneyland, I'd just be too nervous even if the risk was low. If anyone wants my crappy stuff enough to steal it, I figure they must be a lot more desperate than I am and they're welcome to it!

I am always a bit surprised to see expensive strollers in the parks. We have a decent (though not expensive) stroller at home that we really like. But we opted to bring a $50 one with us - it has a decent sized basket and we bought a visor extender to keep our little one in the shade. Just not worth it to bring an expensive stroller...especially since the people at the airport gate check just throw it all over. (Okay, so we did lose a wheel our first day but my husband fixed it at City Hall with a paper clip.)

 

[brandimay412]

Last time we were at Disneyland my kids were 2 years old and 4 months old so we had to bring a stroller. We had a older style double Graco that was and still is hard to push around and steer. My DH only agreed to another trip this year if we would buy a nicer stroller that was easier to push around for a week. We're going in April with my 5 year old DS and almost 3 year old DD so we purchased a BOB last month (we're there for a week and I know their little legs will get tired from all the walking so a stroller is a no brainer for my family at this time). I'm extremely concerned about it being stolen but DH only agreed to go if we bought something easier to push around. I bought this stroller lock so we can lock the wheels together but it'll still be hard for me to leave it even when it's locked. Anybody had a stroller stolen while it's had the wheels locked together? I still plan to bring a backpack to put our valuables in but I'm making note of the tip to send your souvenirs to the front news-stand. Also, I'm going to laminate a sign and zip tie it like another suggestion here so thanks so much for those great tips. Here's the stroller lock we purchased. I'll review it after I have a chance to use it in April .
http://www.amazon.com/Buggyguard-Re...&qid=1423775807&sr=8-1&keywords=Stroller+lock

 

[D1sneyfam1ly]

1. When in doubt bring a stroller. 5 is not too young.

2. Do not rent one in the park. Buy an umbrella stroller ($10) and bring it. Its cheaper. Better yet buy a used one at Other Mothers or any thrift store. The older it is the less likely it'll get stolen. If you rent one at DL you are renting a "used" stroller anyway.

3. Use it to carry your bag, but bring the bag with you on the ride.

4. ID it some way. Take a stroller with a stain, or tie a balloon to it or just a simple ribbon on the handle. This will make it easier to find amongst all the other strollers and save you time.

*These are my rules, and may not work for everyone!

This was everything I was going to say! You could even pick up the umbrella stroller at one of the nearby stores once you get there. An umbrella stroller takes up less room and would definitely cost much less then renting a stroller if you end up deciding you need the stroller. I have never had issues with anything on the stroller but we always take our valuables in a bag with us on rides and leave the diapers, wipes, and snack bag in the stroller.