I couldn’t find a thread of tips and need o knows later thank July ‘14. Share your wisdom. I’ve never done Disney with a stroller but saw enough of the stroller parking and overloaded vehicles on the last trip to know there are some serious dos and don’ts. Share the wisdom!
I have limited experience but I would say if you are taking Disney transportation make sure you have a stroller that easily folds/unfold. Also, never leave anything of value or food (squirrels) and make sure you have attached something to easily identify your stroller in the sea of strollers.
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take something lightweight. If you have 2 kids take a “Stand and Sit”. Trying to navigate through door frames, TSA, and the stores in Disney was a pain with a typical side by side double stroller. Put something unique on your stroller to help ID it.
Yes. A small, lightweight travel stroller is best, IMO, although NOT as small as an umbrella stroller. You want something with an under-seat basket for sure!
We did use a more standard sized stroller for one of our Disney trips. It folded easily enough, but it was a little bulky at times, so we found a better travel stroller to use instead.
Regardless of what type of stroller, I recommend finding something really gaudy, easily recognizable to tie on. We had this big white lacy ribbon tied to ours, which made it easy to spot in the sea of strollers. When you drop off a stroller in location A, you can be assured that by the time you return, it will be in location D! This is because Cast Members are frequently rearranging the strollers for optimum space, so where left it might not be where it is when you return. And it is surprising how all strollers start to look the same when mixed in with 100 others!
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This depends a little bit on the age of your child, but we preferred to strategically park the stroller in each land in an area that we would pass on the way out. Then we carried or let our son walk (he was only 1) within the land. It seemed easier sometimes than navigating with the stroller. We honestly never had an issue finding it. It was almost always right where we left it and it was also red which was helpful.
If you are flying, I recommend getting a travel bag and bag checking or gate checking it. They fly for free! Some airlines have weight restrictions on gate check, but they will all bag check them. We stuffed our stroller bag with diapers, wipes and other baby stuff which was helpful!
We traveled with a diaper bag and my husband’s camera bag. I didn’t really hesitate to leave the diaper bag in the stroller but always carried the camera with us when we parked it.
Anything else specific you have questions on?
WDWPreschool has a fun, free option for helping ID your stroller. I put our name on it and then got it laminated- they told me it should hold up in the rain. There are also some really nice embroidered ones on Etsy if you want to invest in something more substantial.
I’m planning on using a bike lock to secure our soft-sided lunch cooler and backpack (no valuables in it- just change of clothes, first aid supplies, etc.) to the frame in the bottom of the stroller. I’m sure they’ll be fine, but it gives me piece of mind to know they can’t be just snatched away.
Our son is now 7 and we will still be bringing a stroller in Nov. It helps tremendously. Ours is sort of an umbrella stroller, very light and easy to fold, but it does have a basket under the seat. So on top of preventing me from carrying 55 pounds on my shoulders about 99.7% of the time, it also prevents me from carrying a backpack for the extra clothes, water bottle and snacks. At first when I told him we’d bring it my son was like ‘‘no way I’m sitting in a stroller, I’m a man now’’ but when I told him ‘‘too big for stroller = to big to be carried’’ he just shut up real quick… 
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We swear by a stroller, even got a double the last time we were down there for our 8 and 4 year old. 8 year old really appreciated not having to walk super fast as we RD or hoofing it to a FPP time.
So, if you bring your own or rent here is a BIG tip. Get one of those bags that attach to the handle bars. Our rental came with on. Security DOES NOT consider this a bag since the flap somewhat opens easily. Then toss the rest of your belongings down below NOT in a bag. you can go through the bag free line and they just move your stuff around and you are on your way. We found that out after waiting in line at MK and security telling us to go through bagless from now on.
Other tips, we love the side by side b/c it’s actually easier than the longer strollers in stores. We like dbl versus single b/c my husband would drop kids off with me at line and then run across the way with the stroller and park it and come back. We didn’t both have to go to stroller parking and then go to line.
If you are on the monorail, you don’t have to fold up your stroller, if you are on the bus you will so get something that folds easily. We have a City Mini at home for that reason and loved that the rental places mostly use them as well.
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We rented from Kingdom Strollers and I wore our then almost two-year old in the airport. We didn’t need to deal with the stroller in the airport and you can wear kids through security (most of the time) so that was easier as well.
Renting through Kingdom Strollers was easy. We rented the stroller, opted for the rain cover and also rented a full size crib for the room. **Side note for anyone traveling with kids who still sleep in a crib - my DH and I still consider this the best money we spent on the trip. Yes, you can probably get a pack-and-play free from the resort (or bring one from home) but if your kid is anything like mine they just don’t sleep as well in a pack-and-play like they do in a crib.
Anyway, we got a City Mini from Kingdom and it was great. Easy and quick to fold and handled well.
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Thank you so much everyone!!! Such great info. Keep it coming if you see things missing. Also for stroller parking - I remember seeing it and figure it is obvious, but does anyone know of a map somewhere that I can use for planning?
There aren’t any maps because, like you said, it’s pretty much everywhere. It’s pretty well labeled and is almost always pretty convenient. If you are looking to rope drop something and want to know the best place to stash, feel free to ask, but I wouldn’t worry about planning where to park!
This. This is what we did when we left our backpack in the stroller. Someone could still take it, but it decreases the chances of a crime of opportunity. Anything that was valuable or that would spoil our day to lose, we kept with us in a smaller shoulder bag. We also looped the bike lock around one of the back wheels. If someone wanted to move it they could lift the back two wheels up and push it a short distance without too much trouble, but it wouldn’t have been easy to get it across the park. Again, not a guarantee but a deterrent against crimes of opportunity.
DD is 4 and we are doing it with a stroller from kingdom strollers once again. No light one, we always rent the mini gt single because it’s important for us a fully reclining one as we don’t do mid-day breaks. She enjoys not having to walk sometimes and usually mid afternoon or after fireworks she takes her nap properly laid down. We find it really convenient for storage as well, as we hang the backpack, a bag with frozen water bottles and other things. And don’t worry about parking, lots of places.
Make sure you are comfortable pushing the stroller. We used umbrella strollers and put baskets on the back. But the one my DH (who’s 6’) pushed had an extendable handle, so he didn’t have to lean over to push it.
If you use umbrella strollers, and your kids sometimes want to walk, make sure you have something, even a bottle of water to put in the seat or it might be harder to control.
Take the smallest that will still be useful to you. It can be hard to navigate the crowds otherwise.
Don’t use the strollers as battering rams. Remember, your little one’s feet are there, too and you don’t want to hurt others, particularly if they might end up falling on your stroller. And it’s bad manners.
If you park your stroller and it ‘goes missing’, don’t panic. The CM has probably just re-parked it. Just have a look around.
Make sure it’s easy to fold and unfold, both for the buses and for the gate check. And put your contact info on it.
Make sure you bring the rain cover the rental places provide with you to the parks or get one if bringing your own stroller. My husband didn’t realize it was hiding in the cooler bag we weren’t using - big disaster when we didn’t have it as it took days for the stroller to dry out.
Like everyone else having a place to stash drinks, ponchos, extra shoes and not have to lug it was a godsend and it is a lot of walking for the kids. I also find it easier to keep track of them in the crowd when they are contained in a stroller.
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Okay - where to stroller park for BOG for PPO followed by 7DMT right after?
I agree with many of the tips including leaving in a land and walking from there, renting from kingdom strollers, having something to identify it by. I found that a good stroller that folds will go under the bus seats and out of the way if you can load first. Under seat storage space is key, as is a rain cover if going during rainy season.
We used an umbrella stroller that could recline and had an area underneath for storage. I also bought an attachable stroller organizer for the handles which was very useful for drinks. We had a small backpack too and a lot of time would put it on the handles instead of wearing it. Ultimately we were SO glad that we did not use a larger stroller than we did. It was so easy to deal with on the buses.
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The stroller parking for BOG is across the walkway from the restaurant, next to 7DMT, and it is probably not much further from the exit of 7DMT as the actual stroller parking area for the ride which is between 7DMT and Winnie the Pooh, I believe. If the child riding in the stroller is tall enough for 7DMT, and you plan on riding prior to park open, you will probably just want to park by the restaurant and leave the stroller to go ride the ride a couple times.
When we were there 2 weeks ago, we finished breakfast at 8:45AM and were able to get 2 rides prior to the end of the welcome show at the castle. Then, we were able to get in the Standby line before the crowd arrived to get a 3rd ride with no waiting.