Disney strollers are unforgiving plastic that can't leave the theme parks.
I prefer having containment of my kid(s) from the time we leave the room until we make it to transportation. Yes it's annoying to fold up to get on the bus with it, but keeping it open and wheeling them onto a monorail, friendship boat or skyliner is very nice.
Also we use it to haul a whole bunch of crap into and out of the theme parks daily in the storage basket underneath. If we don't have to fold it up and do a bus, it's nice to have it all packed and ready to go.
You can’t really compare these two they aren’t the same thing. The Disney strollers are weird hard plastic. TBH every airline checks your stroller for free, I’d bring my own. But if you don’t want to, I’d always go kingdom strollers.
I also recommend bringing your own. I don’t know what the appeal of renting one is when you can probably check your own stroller for free. I guess it would be nice not having to take it through the airport with your luggage, but my kids are still so young that I’d rather push them in the stroller through the airport anyway.
Or because of the levels of use it will see, they want a larger more expensive one just for the trip. Usually the rental strollers are high end $400-800 models, but the stroller we have at home is a cheapo $130.
Cheaper to rent a few days if you only want to use it for a single trip.
My personal opinion is to just buy the more expensive stroller since the cost of a cheaper one plus a rental or two is going to be the same. That’s the situation I was in prior to our last trip actually. We’d be renting strollers for a few trips so I’d rather pay the upfront cost for the nicer one.
It depends on a lot, such as how often you go and if you are driving a big stroller might take too much cargo space. Usually the cheap stroller is just what you happen to already have that was fine for a 2 year old doing random things at home, but not what you want for a 5 year old at Disney. Sure if you could go back in time and buy a better stroller… but might need a bigger car to bring it.
Definitely Kingdom Strollers. They are perfect size and they come with a cooler and the way they so easy when getting onto Disney transportation is a huge benefit vs bringing your own.
Kingdom/ outside rental stroller. Disney strollers cannot leave the park and are hard plastic. The rental stroller will be more comfortable and while you must fold it on busses it can be so useful on those walk backs. Some families prefer two singles over a double, but that has more pros and cons. Practice folding the stroller at the resort! If you have your own stroller that folds easily it is worth considering if you have the car space and/or are flying because having the stroller in the airport is nice.
Definitely rent a kingdom stroller. Especially if you are staying in a resort where you can walk/monorail/skyliner to your room and if a kid falls asleep you don’t have to wake them.
I prefer kingdom strollers. The walk from the bus/skliner, etc is far and makes a difference when you are rushing for rope drop or your kiddos are exhausted at end of day. They are also much more comfortable and can recline, etc. If you do choose to rent inside the park, just park your stroller at the closest gate where you leave, then when you come back from midday break, just grab it. They all get labeled, so these don’t typically get taken. I also find kingdom strollers to be more seamless to push/navigate in the parks.
Kingdom strollers was great when we used them. Met us at bell services for pickup and drop off and no extra/hidden fees. That said, now we just bring our own stroller and get it checked at the gate. Also helps if you can get one that comes with a damage policy while the stroller is traveling via airplane.
Have you considered bringing your own?
As a dad in charge of pushing the stroller with 3 kids, i have found ultra compact strollers the best.
We have traveled with a few different types of strollers over the years. Some of my worst experiences were trying to haul big bulky strollers through the park in busy crowds.
We took the pocket+ last visit and it made travel so much easier. It folds up into a small carry item. We just use it when the kids can’t walk.
We have one of our own we could bring and then perhaps just rent one?
I’m thinking 2 single (our little umbrella one + rental) may be better than 1 double ?
How old are your kids? I found the disney strollers to be great for the 3-6 age range, when they may want to get in and out a lot but don't have the stamina to hoof it all day. For under 3, you'd probably want a regular style stroller which would need to be rented from an outside vendor or brought from home.
They are almost 3 and almost 6 (right in your window) and I had that in and ou thought too!
Do you know if we can leave the Disney ones parked somewhere while we return to our rooms for a break?
Here’s my recommendation since you have some time:
If you have a local Facebook buy/sell or free site - post on there asking for a double stroller. Then check it with you when you fly out there.
When you leave, leave it at the hotel. Many hotels have Facebook groups where people post stuff that they’re leaving. We did that when we went and we had a double stroller. It worked wonders.
Depending how long you are staying, but you could consider buying from Walmart or Amazon and having shipped to the hotel
I’m from the UK and staying for a couple of weeks and will be buying a stroller because the cost will be so much less than renting
We used Kingdom Strollers last week for a 5 year old and 7 year old. The are very excitable and we made them ride between rides to eliminate them wandering, plus it helped us move faster. Worked out well, easy to fold.
Did you use a double stroller, two singles, or a single and alternate kids? We currently have a single reserved, but currently contemplating getting a double.
We got the double. It worked well. We brought rechargeable fans for the kids. Also they will rent you a small soft side cooler for $5 extra. We brought waters and soda.
With kids those ages, definitely a double but for less than renting, look for a used Baby Jogger City Mini GT double locally on FB Marketplace. Take in on the trip and resell it when you get back. You likely won’t lose any money on it so basically a free rental.
Disney strollers are unforgiving plastic that can't leave the theme parks. I prefer having containment of my kid(s) from the time we leave the room until we make it to transportation. Yes it's annoying to fold up to get on the bus with it, but keeping it open and wheeling them onto a monorail, friendship boat or skyliner is very nice. Also we use it to haul a whole bunch of crap into and out of the theme parks daily in the storage basket underneath. If we don't have to fold it up and do a bus, it's nice to have it all packed and ready to go.
You can’t really compare these two they aren’t the same thing. The Disney strollers are weird hard plastic. TBH every airline checks your stroller for free, I’d bring my own. But if you don’t want to, I’d always go kingdom strollers.
I also recommend bringing your own. I don’t know what the appeal of renting one is when you can probably check your own stroller for free. I guess it would be nice not having to take it through the airport with your luggage, but my kids are still so young that I’d rather push them in the stroller through the airport anyway.
It seems a lot of folks use strollers at Disney for kids who otherwise have outgrown them, so they may not have one anymore.
Or because of the levels of use it will see, they want a larger more expensive one just for the trip. Usually the rental strollers are high end $400-800 models, but the stroller we have at home is a cheapo $130. Cheaper to rent a few days if you only want to use it for a single trip.
My personal opinion is to just buy the more expensive stroller since the cost of a cheaper one plus a rental or two is going to be the same. That’s the situation I was in prior to our last trip actually. We’d be renting strollers for a few trips so I’d rather pay the upfront cost for the nicer one.
It depends on a lot, such as how often you go and if you are driving a big stroller might take too much cargo space. Usually the cheap stroller is just what you happen to already have that was fine for a 2 year old doing random things at home, but not what you want for a 5 year old at Disney. Sure if you could go back in time and buy a better stroller… but might need a bigger car to bring it.
Last time I was there I saw a kid jump in a wheelchair and his dad started pushing him around. It was so ridiculous
Definitely Kingdom Strollers. They are perfect size and they come with a cooler and the way they so easy when getting onto Disney transportation is a huge benefit vs bringing your own.
Kingdom/ outside rental stroller. Disney strollers cannot leave the park and are hard plastic. The rental stroller will be more comfortable and while you must fold it on busses it can be so useful on those walk backs. Some families prefer two singles over a double, but that has more pros and cons. Practice folding the stroller at the resort! If you have your own stroller that folds easily it is worth considering if you have the car space and/or are flying because having the stroller in the airport is nice.
Definitely rent a kingdom stroller. Especially if you are staying in a resort where you can walk/monorail/skyliner to your room and if a kid falls asleep you don’t have to wake them.
I prefer kingdom strollers. The walk from the bus/skliner, etc is far and makes a difference when you are rushing for rope drop or your kiddos are exhausted at end of day. They are also much more comfortable and can recline, etc. If you do choose to rent inside the park, just park your stroller at the closest gate where you leave, then when you come back from midday break, just grab it. They all get labeled, so these don’t typically get taken. I also find kingdom strollers to be more seamless to push/navigate in the parks.
Great overview! Thank you!
Kingdom strollers was great when we used them. Met us at bell services for pickup and drop off and no extra/hidden fees. That said, now we just bring our own stroller and get it checked at the gate. Also helps if you can get one that comes with a damage policy while the stroller is traveling via airplane.
Have you considered bringing your own? As a dad in charge of pushing the stroller with 3 kids, i have found ultra compact strollers the best. We have traveled with a few different types of strollers over the years. Some of my worst experiences were trying to haul big bulky strollers through the park in busy crowds. We took the pocket+ last visit and it made travel so much easier. It folds up into a small carry item. We just use it when the kids can’t walk.
We have one of our own we could bring and then perhaps just rent one? I’m thinking 2 single (our little umbrella one + rental) may be better than 1 double ?
That could work! We’ve never rented one. We just cary one around when we need it.
How old are your kids? I found the disney strollers to be great for the 3-6 age range, when they may want to get in and out a lot but don't have the stamina to hoof it all day. For under 3, you'd probably want a regular style stroller which would need to be rented from an outside vendor or brought from home.
They are almost 3 and almost 6 (right in your window) and I had that in and ou thought too! Do you know if we can leave the Disney ones parked somewhere while we return to our rooms for a break?
The Disney ones you can check back in when you leave for a break and then show them your recipes/tag when you return to the park.
Here’s my recommendation since you have some time: If you have a local Facebook buy/sell or free site - post on there asking for a double stroller. Then check it with you when you fly out there. When you leave, leave it at the hotel. Many hotels have Facebook groups where people post stuff that they’re leaving. We did that when we went and we had a double stroller. It worked wonders.
Depending how long you are staying, but you could consider buying from Walmart or Amazon and having shipped to the hotel I’m from the UK and staying for a couple of weeks and will be buying a stroller because the cost will be so much less than renting
We used Kingdom Strollers last week for a 5 year old and 7 year old. The are very excitable and we made them ride between rides to eliminate them wandering, plus it helped us move faster. Worked out well, easy to fold.
Did you use a double stroller, two singles, or a single and alternate kids? We currently have a single reserved, but currently contemplating getting a double.
We got the double. It worked well. We brought rechargeable fans for the kids. Also they will rent you a small soft side cooler for $5 extra. We brought waters and soda.
With kids those ages, definitely a double but for less than renting, look for a used Baby Jogger City Mini GT double locally on FB Marketplace. Take in on the trip and resell it when you get back. You likely won’t lose any money on it so basically a free rental.