Bring a stroller or rent one

[jerzgrl]

bringing children 4 and 5 both close to 50lbs each. I anticipate that someone will need to ride in one to take the stress off walking. I am thinking of bringing two fold up umbrella strollers instead of renting. Good idea or not?

Also, how does bringing a stroller on a plane wrk? Carry on or luggage check?

 

[susy]

If they are close to 50lbs, I wouldl just rent a double at the parks. We took my son's umbrella stroller for as long as we could. It gets very hard to manuever when they are too heavy. The park ones are great, though!

 

[tink2]

I agree. We plan to rent one at the parks for our 4 1/2 DD. We will probably let her walk a little in the mornings on the first couple of days and rent one after lunch. If they are anything like my DD, they will want to walk some and the ones at the parks are so convenient!

 

[winniedapooh]

I agree with bringing the stroller but, how long are you going for? Is it worth it to rent, $15 a day? You may just want to go to a 2nd hand store to see about picking up a used model. I have 5 DCherubs and have always brought the side by side double with us. It is easy to check in at the airport, with the luggage, and then you have it with you. I know many others here feel differently about bringing a stroller along, but we rented once, 8 days, at then $12 a pop. Never again, I told DH he could pay if he wanted to leave ours at home! LOL, we brought it on our last trip and will bring it again our next! By the way, I have a very tiny 7 yo and a very tall 5 yo. The way we do the parks, they can keep up with staying awake and not getting cranky, but they need the rest on their feet! It folds up for easy storage in the car and makes for an enjoyable walk around YBC and Boardwalk! Hope this offers some input.

Faith, trust, and pixie dust to you!

 

[house_of_princesses]

I always bring our stroller. (Don't know what I'll do when we leave the stroller age! ) There are times you may want it where you can't rent one. Or carry something other than children while at DTD!

 

[scottsalisbury2003]

If it fits into your budget .... rent.... they are better suited to long distance travel at a great pace. There are a lot of cobblestones, trolley tracks, curbs etc... and the disney strollers have nice big wheels.

 

[Samandmom]

We just got back. I brought a umbrella stroller for my 2 yr old DS and checked it in as luggage. When we got the stroller back the wheels were bent on it. So we had to rent one in the parks everday. My DS loved it. They are much more roomier than an umbrella stroller and they have wonderful shade on them. They are very easy to push since they have the big wheels.

 

[zurgswife]

In march we did a 4 day cruise then 3 days at the parks...we brought a umbrella for our 5 yr old instead of the regular stroller...It wasn't quite as easy to use as the regular stroller but it worked just fine.....We checked it as luggage..

 

[stephaniebatesjones]

We always bring our own stroller because our DD has medical issues and has to be very cautious of germs. We also like to bring our own because it seems to be more comfortable than those at the parks. The ones at the parks are hard plastic and not cusioned( did I spell that right). They also get very hot to sit in and don't recline. If you bring your own, be sure and bring one with BIG WHEELS. We used an umbrella one year, and the rubber on the back wheels kept coming off. It was really bad. Nowwe use the larger stroller...the type that the baby carrier can snap on to. This works great.

Good luck
Steph

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

Another point about renting......
We brought our umbrella stroller for DS4, and found he was heavy and we wasn't very comfortable in it (umbrella's are small) even though he is a very small 4 year old.
DH suggested we rent a double and DD7 could ride too. Once I started to push the kids in the rental - I thought, Wow, this is so much easier to push than our own umbrella stroller. You can push with one hand with two kids in it. They are not really like strollers, more like carts. It's really easy for the kids to jump in and out of and the kids really enjoyed riding. We were there last June and it was in the high 90's each day and didn't find a problem with the plastic getting hot.
I felt it was the best $15. we spent!

 

[welovedis]

I normally would suggest bringing your own but with the age/weight of your children you might be better off renting. Most umbrella strollers don't do well with children over 40 pounds and they can be hard to steer and harder to push than the rentals.

I think most airlines will let you gate-check the stroller (if you are using it with the child until the gate), otherwise you have them checked with the regular baggage. You might want to look at your airline's FAQs for more specific info as I don't know on which airline you'll be flying.

HTH!

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I actually do both. I bring DD18mo umbrella stroller for the simple ease of moving her around the airport, etc. But in parks, I leave stroller at hotel and rent a double for both DDs (4 and 18 mo). Actually, I have been known to rent a double with just one kid to hae the extra room . Oh well!

In my case, DD18mo is very adventurous and the best strategy for dealing with her in the airport is in the stroller. Her umbrella stroller fits down the aisle of the plane, and folds into the overhead bin very easily.

 

[dijid]

Tough call. At 50lbs, your kids are above the weight limit for most conventional strollers. The park joggers might be your best bet, although I agree that they are $$$ for a long stay. As an alternative, I would suggest trying to find a used Peg Perego Pliko stroller. Those can carry up to 100lbs and ones made after 1998 have steps on the back that a second child can stand on.

 

[Eugenius20]

I've thought about the same thing. We're going later next week (May 15) and I'm bringing 2 kids, 5 and 2 (~40-45 lbs and 28? lbs). We are going to bring one of our big strollers and see how it goes. If we have to rent one, then we may push our own and push the rented one. That may cut down on your expenses in half. One of my co-workers who went down there suggested that we buy one at say Wal-mart for $15 and then leave it there when we're done.

As far as bringing your own strollers, we've taken several trips on planes with the big one. We've always brought it straight up to the gate, and then they do a gate check and stick it underneath. Then when you get off the plane, they'll bring it right up for you. Then you don't have to lug the kid from check-in to gate, and from gate to baggage claim. Also great for putting your carryons.

 

[fredwena]

Last year, I pushed my 5y/o in an umbrella stroller. Our friends
rented the park stroller for their 5y/o daughter.
The park's strollers are bigger, can hold more things, and are 10 times easier to get around. I know it seems like the umbrella would be lighter, but the big wheels on the parks stroller make them so much less work.
Hope this helps.
This year, we are renting the park's strollers.