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Transcript

96. Stroller Strategy at Disney · Mom Street USA

0:05
Welcome everybody to Mom St. USA.
0:07
My name is Jackie AKA Wishes Mama.
0:09
And for today's episode of Mom St. we are focusing on
0:14
strollers. Every parent's best friend
0:17
whenever they go to the parks I feel like is a stroller.
0:20
So today we are going to be talking about the insurance and
0:22
outs of strollers. We're going to be talking about
0:24
what to consider, should I bring my own?
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Should I rent one? What type of stroller do I need?
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All of those types of questions are what we are going to tackle
0:32
today, so let's go ahead and jump in to the information that
0:35
we've got for today. The first thing that I do just
0:38
want to mention is that taking strollers to Disney is a major
0:43
thing to consider when you're visiting with kids anywhere from
0:46
infant all the way up to 8 or 9 years old.
0:49
You know your kiddos best or the kiddos that you're going to be
0:53
visiting with. If they need a stroller, bring
0:57
them a stroller, right? There's always lots of debate
1:00
on, well, my kid is 7 or 8, should I bring them a stroller?
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Well, you know whether or not they're going to be able to
1:06
handle the type of park day that your group does.
1:08
If you're a group that just does a few things in the morning,
1:11
takes a break in the afternoon for the pool and then goes back
1:13
in the evening, they may not need a stroller.
1:16
But if you're a group that is like rope drop to park close,
1:21
you're there all day, you might take a break somewhere in the
1:24
middle, you might not, then they might need a stroller.
1:27
So it really just depends situationally on what your group
1:30
needs, what the needs are of your kiddo, what the needs are
1:33
of the grown-ups in your group as well.
1:37
So you just really have to make that decision for yourself and
1:40
decide whether or not a stroller is something that you need.
1:43
For me, for example, I have a six year old and I have an 8
1:46
year old. My 8 year old, on our last trip,
1:50
there were only maybe 2 instances the entire time that
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he asked to ride in the stroller.
1:56
He's pretty good. He's solid.
1:57
He wants to walk, he wants to lead the way.
2:00
He is my map reader that wants to, you know, figure out where
2:04
we need to go next and how we're going to get there and be in
2:06
charge. Right now.
2:08
My 6 year old, very, very, very different.
2:11
She rode in the stroller probably 75% of our trip.
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So they're just very different kids.
2:18
They're two years apart, but very, very different kids.
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So my 6 year old absolutely is going to need a stroller for
2:24
probably another two years, whereas my 8 year old is pretty
2:28
much done with the stroller life when it comes to the Disney
2:31
park. So again, you know your kids
2:34
best all the way up through 8910 years old.
2:37
You know, whether or not they're going to be able to hang and do
2:39
what you want to do when it comes to your Disney vacation.
2:43
So this episode is going to focus mostly on Disney rules for
2:47
strollers in the parks and then my suggestions for bringing
2:52
strollers to Disney, as well as some information about rentals
2:55
and where you can do stroller rentals at both Disney World and
3:00
Disneyland. So both of those we're going to
3:02
be chatting about today. I will just briefly mention that
3:08
kind of hand in hand with strollers when it comes to
3:11
Disney are park bags and how you pack your bags and what you
3:16
leave in the stroller and what you take with you and that type
3:19
of information. So we did a whole episode on
3:23
what's in my Disney park bag. That was episode 92.
3:26
So if you scroll back a little bit in our archives, you can
3:29
find information on that. So if you're looking For more
3:31
information on what to bring in my stroller, I go through kind
3:35
of my whole plan and in course of action with that.
3:39
But basically in a nutshell, I suggest when it comes to packing
3:43
your stroller, anything that's replaceable can be left in the
3:46
stroller. So something that you know, if
3:49
it were to go missing, if it were to fall out of somebody
3:51
were to grab it out of your stroller, you never know what
3:53
might happen. It's something that it will not
3:56
ruin your trip to lose. Everything else needs to go in a
3:59
separate bag that is on you at all times, your phone, your,
4:02
your wallet, your ID, those types of things.
4:06
You always, always, always want to hold on to them.
4:08
They are irreplaceable, especially when you're at the
4:10
Disney parks. So that would be my suggestion
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kind of in a nutshell as far as that goes.
4:15
If you want more details about what specifics, check out
4:18
episode 92 of Mom St. for that. So let's go ahead and jump into
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our stroller rules. I'm going to talk a little bit
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about both parks and kind of what they look like.
4:31
You will find that both parks are pretty much the same when it
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comes to their stroller information.
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So at Walt Disney World in Florida, the regulations for
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strollers can be strollers larger than 31 inches in width
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and 52 inches in length are not permitted.
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Now I will say if you've got like a single stroller, you're
4:55
golden. You're not going to have to
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worry about those regulations. If you've got a double stroller,
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that's where you really need to start to pay attention because a
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lot of them are going to be just at that maximum especially
5:08
length with you can find if you do the side by side like jogging
5:13
strollers, things like that. But if you've got one of the
5:15
inline strollers, which I'll talk about double strollers here
5:18
in just a little bit, they're going to be really close to that
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length. So you really want to pay
5:22
attention to that. And a big note that stroller
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wagons and just wagons in general are not permitted in the
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Disney parks. The only exception to that is if
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you qualify to get your stroller deemed a medical device for a
5:40
medical need. And I'll get into that here in
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just a little bit. And what exactly that means at
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Disneyland, you will find the same thing supply.
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So strollers larger than 31 inches by 52 inches are not
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permitted. So same dimensions as what we
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just found at Disney World for Disneyland and same thing as far
6:00
as their stroller wagons and just wagons in general are not
6:04
permitted unless they are deemed medically necessary.
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So again, I'll talk about that just briefly in a moment.
6:11
But before I hop on to that, let's talk about what it's like
6:13
to take strollers through security because this is
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something that I feel like is not often talked about when it
6:19
comes to the topic of strollers at Disney.
6:22
So when you are going through security lines at the Disney
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parks, Disney Springs, Downtown Disney, if you're in Anaheim,
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the strollers are going to have a separate line when you go
6:34
through security. So you will have security guards
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that are directing you and they're saying, you know,
6:40
strollers to the left, everybody else to the right type of deal.
6:44
So strollers are not going to be physically pushed and wheeled
6:48
through the metal detectors that they have at the security lines.
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Another thing to note is that the security guards that work
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those security checkpoints at the at Disney are going to need
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to be able to see to the bottom of any storage that is
7:02
underneath your stroller when you are going through.
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So they're going to ask you as you wheel your stroller up,
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you're going to park it, you're going to take everything out of
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the bottom of your stroller and you're going to carry it through
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the metal detector with you. Or if you are at Disneyland,
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often times they're now using more of an airport security
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style when you're going to put it up on like a conveyor belt
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and it's going to go through the metal detector devices that way
7:30
when it comes to bags. So, but either way, they have to
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be able to see to the bottom of your storage that is in the
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bottom of your stroller. So you've got to think about how
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you want to pack your bags, backpacks, packing cubes for the
7:45
bottom of your stroller, something that's easy to grab.
7:48
You don't want a ton of loose items in the bottom of your
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stroller because then you're going to be fumbling trying to
7:53
get them out. You're going to be fumbling
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trying to get them through security and then back into your
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stroller. So having kind of an organized
8:00
system, whether that's Ziploc bags, whether that's packing
8:03
cubes, whether that's certain, you know, smaller backpacks,
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whatever your system may be, you just want to make sure that you
8:09
have a plan because you you want to be prepped for that when it
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happens. So definitely something to
8:15
consider about when it comes to strollers at Disney.
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The other thing to really consider is what type of
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stroller do I want to bring, right?
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There are so many different configurations and styles and
8:28
brands and all those types of things when it comes to
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strollers at Disney. So here is some of my advice
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that I would will give to you. Just a little background
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knowledge, I have taken I think 6 or 7 trips now with strollers
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and I have taken kiddos and strollers that range anywhere
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from about 18 months all the way up through my son is 8 now.
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So I've got kind of that realm of experience.
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And then this previous trip I also went with my 10 month old
8:59
niece. So again, lots of experience
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when it comes to strollers in the parks and kind of what
9:04
configurations work well overall, when it comes to
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strollers, the smaller and more lightweight the stroller, the
9:12
better. You don't want these big heavy
9:16
strollers in the Disney parks because there are lots of,
9:20
there's lots of maneuvering you're going to have to do.
9:21
You're going to have to fold up, you're going to have to carry
9:23
them, you're going to have to haul them on all those types of
9:26
things. So you want to really have a
9:29
more small and compact and lightweight stroller to make
9:33
your life easier when it comes to the parks.
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I would always also suggest to bring a stroller that you are
9:38
familiar with and you have experience using.
9:41
Be sure that you know how to fold and unfold the stroller for
9:45
the bus, the tram, any sort of travel that you may need to do
9:49
that requires you to fold that stroller up.
9:52
You do not want to be the person at the bus stop that is in a
9:55
panic because you don't know how to fold your stroller up and the
9:57
line behind you is waiting to board the bus to go to Magic
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Kingdom, right? So you want to make sure that
10:03
you're familiar with it or that you just take some time to
10:05
practice. So if you're going to rent
10:06
something new or borrow from a friend or buy something new, you
10:10
want to make sure that you have plenty of time to practice all
10:14
of the insurance and outs to, you know, folding it down,
10:17
getting it back out, you know, figuring out how all of that
10:20
works. Some of them have locks on them,
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some of them have releases on them.
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You know, every stroller is a little bit different.
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So you want to make sure that you take the time to do that.
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Now, if you are somebody who is going to need a double stroller,
10:34
you have two kiddos that you know we're going to need a
10:36
stroller either part of the time, most of the time, whatever
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your needs may be. I personally suggest using the
10:44
strollers that are single line. I do not suggest using the side
10:48
by side ones as much. They're harder to maneuver and
10:52
they are harder to get on and off like the monorail.
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If you are going to be taking the monorail at any point in
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your trip and they will have to be folded down on the sky liner.
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Whereas if you have a inline single line double stroller,
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they can be wheeled right on because they will still fit
11:11
within between the benches on the sky liner.
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So if you are planning to take any of those modes of
11:17
transportation, you really want to consider what type of double
11:20
stroller you're taking. Now if you're taking the bus,
11:22
they still have to be folded up. If you're driving, obviously
11:25
they're going to be folded up in a car and then they're going to
11:28
still need to be folded up if you're taking a tram in a
11:30
parking lot to get to the parking.
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When it comes to that, as far as going through security doesn't
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really make a difference because the process is the same as far
11:39
as single strollers versus double strollers versus inline
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versus double wide. So just primarily for
11:46
transportation at Disney World, I, I suggest to doing an inline
11:50
stroller and for navigating so that your, your footprint when
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you're navigating through the park is more narrow and not as
11:58
wide to kind of navigate through those crowds.
12:02
And you can also consider if you've got more than one adult
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with you using two single strollers instead of a double
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stroller, there's something to be said for a little bit more
12:13
ease of maneuverability if you've got a single stroller
12:16
versus the double stroller. So considering maybe using 2
12:20
smaller single strollers versus one bigger double stroller maybe
12:24
in your benefit as well, depending on your situation and
12:27
whether or not that's something that your group can do.
12:30
So let's talk about if you are planning to rent a stroller,
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what are some of these options that you have?
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We're going to talk in depth kind of about several different
12:39
options and different places that you can rent from.
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We're going to start right from the source and that is rentals
12:45
in the Disney park. So we're going to talk about
12:48
Disney World first and then Disneyland as far as rentals in
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the park. Disney World does offer two
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different styles of stroller rentals.
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They have a single stroller which they suggest being a child
13:01
that is £50 or less. So that's kind of their
13:04
suggested maximum for these strollers and that is $15 a day
13:09
or $13 daily if you do a length of stay.
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And I'll explain that here in a moment.
13:15
And then they also have double strollers and their double
13:18
strollers are side by side double S, So they are not the
13:21
inline ones that I was talking about just a little bit ago.
13:24
They're double shoulders. They suggest a weight capacity
13:27
of £100 or less. And that would be total, right?
13:30
So if you've got 2 kiddos in there, you got to consider that.
13:33
And those are $31 a day or $27.00 a day if you do length of
13:38
stay. And just a quick note that in
13:40
the parks, they don't require any deposit.
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But at Disney Springs, there's $100 credit card deposit that is
13:46
put on your card as a hold until you return your stroller back to
13:50
them. So just to note, if you're
13:52
planning to rent at Disney Springs, that is an option, but
13:55
note that hold will be placed on your card.
13:58
So the way that the length of stay works and this is for this
14:02
is primarily for Disney World because Disneyland does not have
14:06
this offering. But at Disney World you can do a
14:09
length of stay rental. And the way that that works is
14:12
at the parks you will prepay for the number of days that you are
14:16
going to require a stroller. So you purchase it ahead and
14:21
then you hold on to that receipt and it will have the dates on
14:24
there for you and you will then just show your receipt at the
14:28
rental location to receive your stroller for the day and you
14:31
won't have to pay again that day.
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So you pay for it ahead of time, the beginning of your trip, then
14:35
you just hang on to that receipt for the length of your trip.
14:38
So that's a great option if that's something that you know
14:41
you're going to want to have every day.
14:43
I will though mention that strollers are always first come,
14:45
first serve at the Disney parks. So even if you've done a length
14:49
of stay, you still want to make sure you get there early to
14:51
ensure that you get the stroller that you're wanting for your for
14:55
your day in the park. And just a note that these
14:59
strollers need to be returned to the rental location before
15:04
leaving the theme park. So if you're park hopping, you
15:07
have to. Let's say you're starting at
15:09
Magic Kingdom and your park hopping over to Epcot.
15:12
Even though it would be super easy to just roll your stroller
15:15
right on to the monorail to go over to Epcot, that is not
15:19
Disney policy. You have to return that stroller
15:22
to the location that you rented it from before you leave the
15:26
park now. Also note that if you misplace
15:29
your stroller, replacements are available with your receipt at
15:33
locations throughout resort property based on availability.
15:36
So that receipt that you get after you purchase that rental
15:41
stroller is so important. You want to make sure that you
15:45
don't lose it. You want to make sure you hang
15:47
on to that. Put it somewhere very, very safe
15:49
or it will stay dry and it will stay nice.
15:53
So that way you have it even if it's just for the day.
15:56
You want to make sure that you hang on to that just in case
15:58
something happens to the stroller that you're currently
16:01
using. Now, where to rent your
16:04
strollers at the Walt Disney World parks?
16:08
For initial rentals at Magic Kingdom, it is under the Main
16:12
Street railroad station. So after you tap into the parks,
16:16
as you're walking underneath the train, you're going to head
16:19
towards the center of that to find rentals there.
16:22
At Animal Kingdom, after you enter the park, it is on the
16:26
right hand side of like their guest services area.
16:29
So go through, tap in and then go directly to the right to find
16:32
the rentals there. Same thing at Hollywood Studios,
16:36
it is to the right as you enter the park.
16:38
At Oscars is the name of the the little shop over there at Epcot,
16:44
they've got two locations because they've got 2 entrances.
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So if you are coming in the main entrance at Epcot, it is left of
16:50
Spaceship Earth. So you're looking at Spaceship
16:53
Earth, don't go under it. You want to stay out from
16:56
underneath it and go to the left you where you'll see all the
16:58
strollers and EC VS lined up. And then an International
17:01
gateway, it's just a guest relations.
17:03
So that is going to be directly after you tap in.
17:06
On your left hand side is guest relations at International
17:09
gateway. So it would be if you're
17:10
arriving from the Sky liner or like the Boardwalk Beach Club
17:13
area. And then if you are looking to
17:16
rent at Disney Springs, there one rental location is between
17:20
the Coca-Cola store and Wolfgang Pucks restaurant.
17:23
So that is where you will find rentals there for strollers.
17:27
So it's Disney World. Let's talk briefly here about
17:30
Disneyland, a little bit less to talk about.
17:32
They have some less options just because they tend to have more
17:35
locals. You guys have heard us talk
17:36
about that on Mom Street. So they don't really have as
17:39
many as many options there. But at Disneyland they do have a
17:44
single stroller and a double stroller.
17:46
They are the exact same. So if you're familiar with what
17:49
they look like at Disney World, they are the exact same
17:51
strollers at Disneyland. And we'll talk about kind of the
17:54
makeup of those here momentarily.
17:56
The single strollers at Disneyland are $18.00 a day and
17:59
the double strollers are $36 a day.
18:03
And just a note here that while we talked about park hopping
18:07
before with Disney World, Disneyland is different because
18:11
the parks are so close together, they do allow those strollers to
18:15
be used at both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure.
18:19
So if you're park hopping between the two parks, you don't
18:21
have to worry about returning the stroller and getting a new
18:24
one to park hop across the Plaza there, which is kind of a nice
18:27
perk that Disneyland allows you to do that.
18:30
And where to rent at Disneyland is all in one location.
18:35
So we talked about that. They let you park up with them
18:37
because all of the rentals for strollers for Disneyland and DCA
18:42
are found outside of the main entrance of Disneyland.
18:45
So it will be before you tap into the park on the right hand
18:49
side at their guest relations area.
18:51
So for both DCA and Disneyland, that is where you will get your
18:55
stroller rentals. So if you're planning to then go
18:57
over to DCA, give yourself a little bit of extra walking time
19:01
to walk over to Disneyland and then across the Plaza to DCA.
19:04
Not that it's very far, but you get the idea.
19:06
So now these stroller rentals in the parks, let's talk about
19:11
them. They are hard plastic strollers.
19:17
They are not super comfy, they are not padded and they are
19:21
definitely not infant friendly. They do not recline.
19:26
They are, again like I said, very hard plastic.
19:28
They do have seatbelts in them, but as far as like age goes, I
19:33
don't know that I would consider using one of these until my
19:37
kiddo was probably 18 months at the very youngest because
19:42
they're just not situated and set up for good infant support
19:46
when it comes to sitting in strollers.
19:48
And if you've got a really, really wiggly kiddo, they don't
19:51
have as much like side support to kind of keep them upright as
19:56
they're wiggling and moving around in your stroller in the
19:59
parks. They also do not provide any
20:02
storage underneath or like cup holder storage on the top by the
20:06
handle either. So that is also something to
20:09
definitely consider because if you're like me, you use that
20:14
storage underneath that stroller for a lot of stuff and you want
20:17
cup holders for your water bottle.
20:19
So those are big things to consider if you're planning to
20:22
rent. And those are really important
20:24
things to you. Maybe looking at an outside
20:27
rental company, which we're going to talk about here in a
20:29
moment, might be a better plan for you rather than planning to
20:32
rent one inside the Disney parks.
20:35
And again, we talked about those rental strollers cannot leave
20:38
the parks. So transporting back to your
20:42
resort hotel can be really, really rough.
20:46
You know, getting to the bus, getting off the bus and back to
20:49
the room, you then have no stroller to help you carry your
20:52
stuff, carry your kids if they're sleepy.
20:54
You know, those are really big considerations to make.
20:57
So for that reason, unless it's just a last effort or a last
21:03
option, I don't know that I would suggest renting in the
21:07
parks. I would more so look at some of
21:10
these outside companies to rent from to see what different
21:13
options that they offer. And that is where we are going
21:16
to head next. So the goal now is to give you
21:19
guys some recommendations from not only our mom St. community,
21:23
but from different blogs online and and kind of forms that I've
21:27
read for some companies that people have utilized a lot in
21:30
Disney World and Disneyland to do third party rentals.
21:34
So we're going to start with Disney World.
21:36
The first company that I do want to mention for our Disney World
21:39
side of these third party companies is Scooter Bug.
21:43
And Scooter Bug is the official affiliate for Disney World.
21:47
So they are the company that Disney will suggest that you
21:51
work with and they are the company that is quite honestly
21:55
the easiest to work with at Disney because they are the ones
21:58
that are allowed to do drop off and pick up right at concierge
22:01
at your Disney resort. The other companies, they have
22:05
some additional stipulations now that Disney has put into effect
22:09
in the last like 3 or 4 years where you have to be there in
22:12
person or there's other stipulations and you can look
22:15
all that up whenever you go to rent and to make sure that you
22:18
know the exact needs of that rental agreement, right?
22:23
But with Scooter Bug, they can do drop off and pick up right at
22:26
concierge, which is really nice. They do rent wheelchairs, EC VS
22:30
and strollers at that at Scooter Bug, but we're just going to
22:34
focus on the strollers in this episode.
22:36
But it is good to know if you're someone who maybe needs more
22:39
than one device from them. If you need an accessibility
22:43
device and a stroller, then that's good to know that they
22:45
have several options for that now with their stroller options.
22:50
You can find all of this, by the way, at scooterbug.com/orlando.
22:55
They will give you specifics on what styles of stroller they
22:59
offer, you know, the makeup of them, those types of things.
23:03
They're single stroller options for rentals.
23:06
I'm going to give you just kind of a generic price breakdown.
23:09
Now this may change depending on the style of the stroller that
23:13
you choose. If it's a bigger, fancier
23:15
stroller that's got more cup holders and more storage and
23:18
things like that, it may be more expensive.
23:20
It's if it's a more basic 1, you may find a less expensive price,
23:24
but for one to three days you're looking at $64, for four days,
23:28
75, for five days, $80.00 and it kind of just goes up from there
23:32
incrementally. So A5 day rental is going to of
23:35
their stroller is going to cost you $80 if that kind of gives
23:38
you a generic idea of how much it it will cost.
23:42
Now they do have double stroller options as well.
23:45
I believe all of their double stroller options are the side by
23:49
side stroller options. I think almost 90% of these
23:53
stroller rental places have just the side by sides.
23:56
I don't recall. I think there's only one that I
24:00
found that had the front to back option for double strollers.
24:04
Again, you're going to have to check websites and see what
24:06
configurations they have to offer.
24:08
I looked at a lot of stroller websites and it's hard to
24:10
remember for sure, but the double stroller options at
24:13
Scooter Bug for cost wise, if you do one to three days, it's
24:17
going to be $80. If you do four or five days,
24:20
it's going to be $100.00. So again, you can kind of get
24:23
that idea. If you need six or seven days,
24:25
it's 115. So little increments that it it
24:28
goes up kind of per day depending on what your needs
24:31
are. And again,
24:32
scooterbug.com/orlando for specifics on that.
24:36
Just a quick note, I know I mentioned earlier about wagons
24:42
and stroller wagons and accessibility.
24:44
Scooter Bug is one that does also have an adaptive needs
24:48
stroller option. However, it does not meet the
24:51
size qualifications of the Disney park, so it must be
24:54
tagged as a medical device. So if you are someone that needs
24:57
your stroller tagged as a medical device, you can visit
25:00
guest services at the parks to have your stroller tagged.
25:03
And Kate and I talked about this long, long time ago on Mom
25:07
Street. But if you go back to episode
25:08
25, we did a whole episode on Disney travel with special needs
25:12
that we'll talk a little bit more about strollers and kind of
25:15
what that process is like. But basically these tags are
25:19
available for a guest who meets one of the following.
25:22
Is a child with a disability who uses their stroller as a
25:25
mobility device in lieu of a traditional wheelchair.
25:28
Is a child with additional medical equipment that needs a
25:30
way to transport their equipment while in a queue?
25:33
Or is an adult with a mobility disability who uses a stroller
25:37
as a mobility device to assist with walking.
25:39
Again, you're going to have to check with Disney to see whether
25:43
or not you qualify. And just a note on that, that
25:45
you do have to have it tagged and approved at a park.
25:49
So just make make yourself a plan for what that's going to
25:53
look like. Because if they don't approve
25:56
you, you don't want to be stuck at the park without a stroller
25:59
or wheelchair that will fit the qualifications of Disney.
26:03
So just a couple things to note with that.
26:07
I am also going to mention here while we're talking about
26:10
Scooter Bug, that Scooter Bug is also the official affiliate for
26:14
Disneyland. So they've got both coasts here
26:18
kind of under their belt for Scooter Bug.
26:21
And again, same thing. They have single stroller and
26:24
double stroller options for Disneyland rentals as well.
26:27
They have a one day option, I'm sorry, single stroller one day
26:31
option for $30. Two days is 45, three days is 64
26:35
days is 75, five days is 80. For the double strollers,
26:40
they've got one day at $40, two days at 63, days at 74, days at
26:45
85, and five days at 95. So you can kind of find the
26:49
trend from there. Again, if you want Disneyland at
26:52
scooterbug.com/anaheim for specifics on that one.
26:57
Just a quick note, with Scooter Bug, Disneyland has far less
27:01
options than Disney World for styles and types of strollers on
27:04
their website, so be sure you're looking at the correct coast if
27:08
you are planning to book through Scooter Bug and with Disneyland.
27:13
Just a note that Disneyland bookings do require a hotel
27:16
confirmation number to finalize the booking.
27:18
So you have to be staying at either one of the Disneyland
27:25
hotels or one of their partner hotels and good neighbor hotels
27:30
and those are all listed on that scooter bug website.
27:32
So it's a little bit trickier with that.
27:34
You can't just be staying anywhere to utilize that scooter
27:37
bug. Drop off and equipment must be
27:39
picked up from the hotel staff within one hour of your
27:42
reservation start time for that as well.
27:45
So that's kind of scooter bug. Again, they are the the direct
27:48
affiliate with Disney World and Disneyland.
27:51
But let's talk about some other rental companies.
27:54
I'm going to give you a couple for world and a couple for land
27:57
just to kind of give you guys some different options.
27:59
And again, I have not utilized these.
28:01
I will be completely transparent with you.
28:03
A lot of these came from our Mom St. community giving suggestions
28:07
and also some suggestions that I found on blogs and did a lot of
28:11
research on and things like that.
28:13
So that's kind of where this list came from.
28:17
We're going to start with a few at more at Disney World that you
28:19
can look at. The first one being Kingdom
28:22
Strollers. Kingdom Strollers is a very
28:25
popular Walt Disney World stroller rental company.
28:28
They do have single and double strollers.
28:31
Again, you will have to double check to see what
28:34
configurations. I believe Kingdom Strollers only
28:36
has the side by side double S for their single stroller
28:40
prices. One to three days is $60.00,
28:43
four to seven days is $80 for their double strollers, one to
28:47
three days is $80.00 and four to seven days is $100.00.
28:50
So again, you can compare prices and and styles and things like
28:54
that on all of these websites. Kingdom Strollers does also have
28:58
one stroller option for special needs.
29:00
You will have to check those configurations and dimensions to
29:04
ensure that that meets the needs for Disney.
29:07
I believe it does, if I'm remembering correctly, because I
29:11
didn't write down that it didn't.
29:12
So I'm going to guess that it does.
29:14
But again, double check that those dimensions that we talked
29:17
about earlier in this episode. And just a quick note, with
29:20
Kingdom Strollers, you can also rent cribs, bed rails and
29:23
inflatable toddler beds from them as well.
29:25
So if again, if there are other things that you need while
29:28
you're down at the parks, Kingdom Strollers has several
29:31
different options. And some exciting news for our
29:34
mom St. listeners. We actually now have an
29:35
affiliate link with Kingdom Strollers.
29:38
So that is a new addition to our link tree, which is in all of
29:41
our social media BIOS. And I will be sure to put that
29:45
link, that affiliate link also in our show notes.
29:48
So if you are someone who is planning to use Kingdom
29:51
strollers and would like to support Mom St. go ahead and
29:56
click our link to to submit your information through.
30:00
So that way it will be no extra cost to you and it will give us
30:03
a little bit of a kickback for that.
30:05
So that's an exciting new addition.
30:07
And I am I did also put that in our Discord channel today.
30:10
So if you are part of our good friend Kirk at Walrus Carp on
30:14
his Discord, we have a mom St. section.
30:17
It is on that Channel. I put that in there earlier.
30:19
So you can find it there as well.
30:21
So exciting for us to have that affiliate link with Kingdom
30:25
Strollers. They're a great company to work
30:27
with. I, I can say nothing but good
30:29
things of, of everyone that I've interacted with at their, at
30:32
their companies. So that is one other third party
30:35
option for Disney World. The last one that I do just want
30:39
to briefly mention is one that is Buena Vista rentals.
30:43
Again for Disney World, I am just going to focus on their
30:46
stroller options. They do have like ECV options as
30:50
well. Again, just focused on strollers
30:53
for the time being. They do have a single stroller
30:57
option which is the city mini stroller and that is a one to
31:01
three day rental is $90.00, a four to six day rental is
31:05
$106.00 and a seven day rental is 127 dollars.
31:09
They have a double option which is also a city mini double
31:13
stroller. A1 to three day option is 101
31:16
dollars, four to six days is 127 dollars, and a seven day rental
31:20
is $149. So another option, another
31:24
reputable company that a lot of people use for different rental
31:27
needs. Again, full information about
31:30
what styles they have, what kinds of strollers, what other
31:33
things they offer to rent, all available on those websites.
31:37
Just do a quick Google search and you'll be able to find those
31:40
no problem. Let's talk about a few at
31:43
Disneyland. These ones, I will be completely
31:46
honest with you, were a little bit trickier to find and that I
31:49
think it's just simply because so many locals go to Disneyland
31:53
that they don't have as many people that need the rentals out
31:56
there. So you'll see that there's a few
32:01
options that are a little bit different than what we talked
32:03
about at Disney World, but this first one is pretty standard and
32:06
that is OC baby gear rentals. And again, this is Disneyland.
32:11
They do have single strollers, double strollers, and they have
32:14
cribs and car seats as well. So that's nice if you need some
32:17
sort of a car seat rental once you're out in Anaheim, if you're
32:21
flying, they have that option as well for their single stroller
32:25
rentals. One day ranges between 30 and
32:28
$35 depending on what kind of stroller you're getting.
32:31
A2 day is 45 to 53, day is 55 to 65, four day is 70 to 80.
32:37
You guys get the idea. Depending on again this the
32:40
style of your stroller that you're getting from them, they
32:44
have double stroller options. A one day double stroller rental
32:48
is $35, two days is 53 days is 65, four days is 80 and five
32:53
days is 95. S a little bit closer in price
32:58
between their single and double options, which I thought was
33:00
interesting, but again a really great option and like I
33:03
mentioned, they do cribs and car seats as well.
33:07
Another rental option out at Disneyland is something called
33:10
Baby Quip, like Equipment QUIP. Baby Quip and this company is
33:17
completely different than any other rental company because it
33:20
uses what they call providers AKA individuals in the area who
33:26
are renting out their own personal equipment to others
33:30
while they are visiting on vacation.
33:32
So it's not a company that has a stock of rentals that you can
33:37
utilize. This is a company that uses moms
33:41
or other people in the area that have this equipment already that
33:45
the, you know, that the users sign an agreement and make sure
33:49
that you know, everything is safe and all that and go through
33:51
those kind of checkpoints, but then they rent them out to
33:55
people. The prices on these greatly
33:58
vary, so it's hard for me to even give you an estimate on
34:02
what they cost and what they have.
34:04
Their stock is is very flexible with what they have in stock at
34:10
any given point because it is all individual based when it
34:13
comes to what rentals they offer.
34:16
But they have all sorts of different things, strollers, car
34:18
seats, cribs, high chairs, even like toys and activity seats.
34:22
So if you have a little little and you're going to Anaheim and
34:26
this sounds like something you'd be interested in, they have a
34:28
ton of options. Again, tons of different price
34:31
points. So it it'll take you a little
34:33
bit longer on this type of a website to search and find what
34:36
you need for the price that you're looking for, but they're
34:38
going to have a lot more individualized options on their
34:41
website as well. The last one that I want to
34:44
mention at Disneyland is City strollers and they have high
34:51
chairs, pack and place cribs, rain covers, fans, all sorts of
34:55
stuff. When it comes to their rental
34:58
options, their single strollers start at just $15 a day.
35:03
And I couldn't get really much more information from there
35:06
without like actually putting all of my information in and
35:09
going through the rental. But it starts as low as $15 a
35:11
day depending on what type of stroller you're looking for.
35:14
And their double strollers range anywhere from $18.00 to $23 a
35:19
day, again, depends on what you're looking for.
35:22
This is the only one that I could find at both World and
35:25
Land that offered a sit and stand stroller.
35:28
And the reason that I point that out is I love our sit and stand
35:33
stroller. So basically, if you're not
35:35
familiar with what that looks like, the front is a standard
35:37
stroller seat and the back just has like a little bench seat,
35:41
but it also has extra foot room where your older kiddos can
35:44
stand either facing you, like riding backwards or turn and
35:49
face forward with their back to you as they're standing in the
35:51
stroller. I think the sit and stand is
35:54
really, really great if you've got an older kiddo who maybe
35:57
doesn't always want to ride in the stroller, but they want to
36:00
be able to like hop on if you're going across the park, things
36:02
like that. That's what we use and it is so,
36:06
so wonderful to have the trip prior to this one.
36:10
We really, really benefited from that because my older kiddo was
36:13
able to hop in and out as he wanted to, whereas my younger 1
36:17
was just able to stay in the front and enjoy her stroller
36:19
ride as we were walking around the parks in Disney Springs and
36:23
things like that. And then on this last trip, we
36:25
utilized it where my, my 4 year old niece used the front of the
36:30
stroller and my daughter used the back of the stroller as as a
36:34
six year old. And it was just really nice to
36:36
have that option. And they were both old enough
36:38
that they could interchange and kind of swap seats.
36:40
But if you've got a little little and then a little bit of
36:43
a bigger, you know, preschooler, almost school age kiddo,
36:45
something like a sit and stand is really, really beneficial for
36:48
that. And they're sitting stands at
36:50
city strollers for Disneyland. Rentals do start at $25 a day
36:54
for that. And again, like I said, they
36:56
also have high chairs, pack and place cribs, rain covers for
36:59
your strollers, fans and more. So lots of options at that
37:01
location as well. One other option I do just want
37:05
to mention before we kind of leave the rental portion and
37:09
talk just a little bit more about some other stroller tips
37:11
and tricks is another option. If you really don't want to rent
37:16
one and you but you really don't want to bring yours on the plane
37:19
or you don't have room in your car or whatever.
37:21
Maybe your you always have the option to just purchase a
37:25
smaller umbrella type stroller and just have it delivered to
37:29
your your resort via Amazon, Target, Walmart, whatever your
37:33
delivery, you know your delivery preference may be.
37:38
Do keep in mind that if you have packages delivered, they are
37:41
subject to a fee at the at the resorts typically like a $6
37:45
processing fee. I want to say last I checked,
37:48
but that is another great option.
37:49
Or if you or renting a car or you have an Uber and you want to
37:54
have them just stop at Walmart really quick so you can grab a
37:56
stroller, that's also an option. Lots of people on Facebook
38:00
groups will, will leave strollers because they have done
38:02
just this. They've bought it at the
38:04
beginning of their trip, used it for the trip, and then they will
38:06
look, you know, in a Facebook group to pass it on to somebody
38:09
else that's checking in. So there's always the option for
38:12
that as well. If you don't want to rent one,
38:14
but you don't want to bring your own from home, that's another
38:16
way that you can go. So all of that being said, those
38:20
are all several different options depending on if you're
38:23
visiting Disney World or Disneyland for where to rent
38:26
from and what kind of options are available.
38:30
Before we kind of wrap up, I do just want to talk about some
38:35
general park tips for your stroller.
38:39
So let's talk about marking your stroller in the Disney parks and
38:43
why this is a good idea. This is a really good idea
38:47
because you want to have something identifiable and
38:52
visible on your stroller in the parks.
38:56
It may be a stroller sign, it may be something else, but I
38:59
always recommend some sort of marking and some sort of
39:03
marking. This is visible from the top of
39:05
the handle of your stroller. So I talked about signs.
39:08
Signs are great, they're super cute, but I always recommend
39:12
having something on the top handle area because if you're
39:16
looking out over a sea of strollers and all you have is
39:20
that sign that's hanging down, it's going to be really hard to
39:23
find your stroller. So I recommend some sort of
39:27
ribbon. We've used tape, different kinds
39:30
of tape on our handle where you kind of like double it back and
39:33
leave just an end sticky and then stick it to itself kind of
39:36
deal. So I something bright and
39:39
colorful. They make like neon duct tape.
39:42
I would take a strip and, you know, fold it back over itself,
39:46
leave about that much empty, about an inch or two of sticky,
39:51
and then just wrap it on itself to stick it onto your your
39:54
handle to be able to find it. We often find ours by our water
39:59
bottles because we tend to leave some water bottles in the top of
40:02
ours. But if you're not planning to do
40:04
that, that's not going to be super helpful.
40:06
I would also caution you against using like a balloon because
40:10
like Animal Kingdom, you're not. You're not allowed to take
40:12
balloons into the parks. And you will see lots of other
40:15
balloons on strollers, especially if they are the ones
40:18
that everybody buys off of Main Street, you know, So something
40:22
that is identifiable, easy to know that, you know, there's our
40:26
stroller. Because here's the thing, your
40:29
strollers going to get moved. Chances are very, very good that
40:33
it will get moved. And it's not because somebody's
40:35
messing with your stroller. It's because there are cast
40:37
members that are stationed at the stroller parking locations
40:41
that their job is to consolidate space to make more accessible
40:46
room for new strollers to be parked.
40:50
So let's talk about stroller parking and the cast members
40:53
that do stroller parking. Please, please, please, please,
40:57
please be sure to pay attention to the signage for stroller
41:02
parking. Not every attraction has
41:06
stroller parking directly located outside of it.
41:09
I'm thinking of like Fantasyland at Disney World.
41:13
There is stroller parking outside of Winnie the Pooh and
41:16
Seven Dwarfs, There is stroller parking outside of the carousel,
41:22
and that's pretty much it. Oh, there's a little bit of
41:24
stroller parking across some Voyage to The Little Mermaid or
41:27
under the Sea Voyage to The Little Mermaid, but that is it.
41:33
There's stroller parking over by like if you're wanting to go to
41:36
Haunted Mansion, you have to park by the Tangled bathrooms.
41:39
So there's just some different options.
41:41
Or you parked it further down by the marketplace.
41:43
So again, not every option for attraction has stroller parking
41:51
directly located outside of it. So pay attention to those
41:54
strollers parking signs and pay attention to where it says no
41:58
stroller parking as well. And please just ask a cast
42:02
member if you're not sure where to park your stroller and you're
42:05
trying to go on a ride, just ask them where where you can go and
42:10
they are going to know. I guarantee you if they work at
42:12
that attraction or stationed at that attraction, they are going
42:15
to know where to tell you to go and park your stroller.
42:17
Because if you park in a non stroller parking area, your
42:22
stroller will likely be moved and will be much harder to find
42:26
when you go to try to return to it.
42:28
Because if they see a stroller just left, those cast members
42:30
are going to move it to wherever the closest stroller parking is.
42:33
But you may not know where that is.
42:34
So just pay attention to that. Make sure you only park in
42:38
places where you're allowed to park so that way you don't have
42:41
that issue as well. Another thing to consider is
42:46
using some sort of an air tag or a tracker on your stroller if
42:50
you're concerned about not being able to find it.
42:53
We have done this in the past. We've never needed it.
42:55
It's never been an issue. But I do know people who have
42:58
lost their strollers and then found them, you know, way later
43:03
on in the day because things got moved.
43:06
So using some sort of an air tag or a tracker on your stroller is
43:11
always a good idea just to help be sure in case it does get
43:15
moved or needs to get moved. Some of those stroller parking
43:18
areas are larger than others. You know, I think of the
43:21
stroller parking by the carousel is a very, very large stroller
43:26
parking area. The stroller parking over down
43:30
from around the corner from like Columbia Harbor House is a
43:34
pretty big parking area that things get shifted a lot.
43:37
So you just always want to make sure that you can find your
43:40
stroller again by using markers on the top of some sort of
43:44
marking, whether it's a sign or tape or ribbon, like I said.
43:48
And then also a tracker is a good idea for that as well.
43:52
And then a couple other just general stroller notes before we
43:56
kind of wrap up this episode at Walt Disney World.
44:01
If you are visiting the Disney World Sign of Things, or if you
44:04
are visiting Disneyland when it is the wet season, bring a
44:09
stroller cover for the rain and use it.
44:14
I cannot tell you how many times I've gone in to an attraction
44:20
and kind of looked up and went, oh those clouds are getting a
44:22
little dark, come back out and it is downpouring and our
44:27
stroller is drenched. It has happened to me more times
44:32
than I'd like to admit. You think I would learn by now,
44:34
but I haven't. So always make sure you have a
44:38
stroller cover with you and be sure to use it.
44:41
If you think there's a chance of rain and especially in the
44:43
afternoon at Disney World during that rainy season, just throw it
44:48
on. Better safe than sorry.
44:50
Especially if you've got kiddos that are sensitive to wet and
44:54
rain and water and they if they're going to have a hard
44:56
time sitting in your stroller if it's wet, you want to make sure
44:59
that you can avoid that at all costs.
45:02
So that is something that you really want to consider as well.
45:06
Another thing is just a kind of reminder.
45:11
I mentioned this earlier, but I do just want to remind you
45:13
because this is one of the biggest things to think about
45:16
with strollers. Your stroller will need to be
45:18
folded up for buses and for parking lot trams.
45:23
So if you plan to use buses and you plan to drive in a car, your
45:27
stroller will need to be easily folded up.
45:31
If you are travelling on the monorail or you are travelling
45:36
on the ferry boat, your stroller does not have to be folded up.
45:41
If you are someone using the sky liner, single strollers do not
45:45
have to be folded up and double strollers that are in line, not
45:51
double wide, do not have to be folded up.
45:53
Double wide strollers do have to be folded on the sky liner.
45:57
All of those things are super important to note.
46:00
Now with Disneyland, that doesn't matter as much because
46:04
you don't have as much transportation across property,
46:08
but like on their monorail, you don't have to fold your
46:10
strollers up. So if you're someone that's
46:12
planning to take the monorail from a Disneyland owned resort,
46:16
something to consider as well when it comes to that.
46:19
But that is, I think the biggest thing to consider.
46:22
Is it an easily folding stroller?
46:25
Is it something I'm going to have to mess with?
46:27
Can I do it with one hand if I have to be holding a baby on one
46:31
hand and folding up the stroller with the other?
46:33
You know, I had our single stroller was that way when I had
46:37
just my first one. And it was easy to fold enough
46:40
that I could hold my son on one hip, grab the strap, yank it up,
46:44
and my stroller was folded. That's the kind of stroller you
46:48
want to take to Disney with you. You want it to be easy.
46:50
You don't want it to be stressful because trying to find
46:53
a seat on the bus and get on and get off and get everybody with
46:56
you is is way harder and more stressful enough when you don't
47:02
have an easy stroller to work with.
47:04
So that is my final parting thought for this episode on
47:08
strollers. It was a little fast and
47:10
furious, kind of just a quick overview of strollers.
47:14
As always, if you've got additional questions or need
47:17
help planning or have ideas for future episodes of Mom St.
47:21
USA, we want to hear from you. So you can always send us a an
47:25
e-mail Mom St. usa@gmail.com. Or you can reach out to us at
47:30
Mom St. USA on TikTok, Instagram,
47:34
Facebook, YouTube. You can find us on all of those
47:36
places as well. Let's talk briefly about what is
47:41
coming up next before we sign off officially for today.
47:45
Our next episode for the podcast is going back to the hub.
47:51
I mentioned that we were going to be circling back to our hub
47:54
friends here again shortly and that will be another episode
47:58
with Duck and Jess and we are going to talk about spooky
48:02
season. Yes, we have already arrived to
48:04
the time of year where we need to start talking about spooky
48:07
season and what is coming up at the theme parks.
48:11
So our next episode will be all things spooky and not so spooky.
48:17
So we'll be talking about things like Halloween Horror Nights,
48:20
things like Not so scary Halloween party, all those types
48:23
of things will be what we are chatting about next on Mom
48:26
Street. But until then, thank you all so
48:28
much for joining us for this episode of Mom St.
48:31
USA. We as always, we appreciate your
48:33
support. Thank you so much for being
48:35
here, and we will catch you on the next episode.
48:38
Bye everyone.