Strollers at Disney World

Go to any Disney forum and ask the question, "Should I take my own stroller or rent one?" and you'll discover that this is one of the most controversial topics in all of Disney vactiondom! There seems to be very little room for middle ground in this discussion. The camps have very clearly drawn lines. You are generally either a die hard "owner" or a die hard "renter".

Bringing your own stroller

Pros:

• Free
• More comfortable
• Can be used outside the parks

Cons:

• Can be difficult to get on/off public transportation. If you think about it, this is more than just folding up your stroller. You have to take everything, including possibly a sleeping baby, out of the stoller. If you have more babies than adults this gets interesting.

Renting a Stroller

Pros

• You don't have to pack it on/off public transportation

Cons

• Expensive
• If you are leaving after the fireworks, you'll have a mad-rush of other people trying to return strollers to content with
• You won't have use of a stroller outside the park

My own experience is that it really depends on the circumstances. When we've stayed on-site we leaned toward having our own stroller. This is because you tend to do a lot of walking in the massive Disney resorts to get to the bus stops. Also, the busses generally are not all that difficult to get strollers on to, except during rush hours. However, when we've stayed off-site we really don't do much walking to get to the parks and it is very hard to get a stroller onto the parking lot trams. In those cases, we've been very glad when we didn't take our own stroller.

Also, if you only have 1 small child and 2 adults, having your own stroller is very managable. However, we found when we went with 2 very small kids (under 2) that it was easier to be able to ditch the rental stroller and each carry a kid than have one parent carry 2 kids and the other wrangle the stroller, diaper bags, and packages.

On our last trip our kids were 10, 8, and 5, I was realizing that this might be our last trip with a stroller. As I was pushing the stroller, which was loaded with rain coats, food, and drink cups and not a single child, I wondered whether we would still need to rent a stroller just to use a mule!

A couple of tips if you decide to rent strollers at Disney that we've learned:

• You can rent strollers for more than one day at a reduced rate.
• Tie a scarf or something to your stroller so it stands out from the herd. Cast Members will often move your stroller while you are away, so this will help you find your stoller.
• You can take your "rental" with you when you hop from park to park.
• You can drop your rental off at one end of the park and ride the train to the other and pick up a different stroller.
• Cover your stoller with a poncho if it looks like rain to keep it dry.

Some resources about Disney strollers:

• AllEars.net
• Disney World Guest Services