What to do with all that STUFF (and strollers ?? too)

[CK1]

(note also posted on Theme parks board... please answer here or there! )

As I examine the items we'll take into the parks with us each day (fanny packs, bottled water, mist fans, diaper bag, camera, radios) I am puzzled by WHAT TO DO WITH IT! We will rent a stroller, and nothing has ever been taken from it when we have used it before... but the new strollers at all the parks do NOT have nice baskets like the old MK ones did! They have skinny mesh "slots" on back, at best. We will have a double stroller (so some of the time, when one kid isn't riding, we will have an empty seat...) but then you get to your destination and... do you haul all your stuff on the ride? We have added an extra child to our family since our last trip (3 kids now!) and I am puzzled as to how to manage the stuff, and yet I know that compared to tohers I have seen, we are minimalists (or at the very least, moderates!) I really don't want to rent a locker... that's just one more thing to "check out" when we leave a park.

ANybody find a good way to attach a bag to those strollers (WITHOUT off-setting its balance backwards!) Especially the Epcot / MK ones... I am thinking of bringing bungee cords with me (except they would probably be confiscated by security as potential weapons!)

Help appreciated!

Cindy

 

[Barb D]

I've never used the rental strollers, but I've put hooks on the handles of my own stroller to hang things from. It's just the little plastic ring things with a gap...do you know what I'm talking about? Anyway, I can hang a mesh bag from one to hold extra clothes, etc, and hang water bottles, squeeze breeze, etc. from another one.

You can get weights to add to the front of an umbrella stroller to help with the tipping issue.

 

[jldriscoll]

I've never tried this on a disney stroller, but when we take our wagon to Cedar Point, I use to do the bungie thing to attach stuff to the sides. I found them hard to use. I went and got some nylon strap and plastic buckles (the kind on back packs and bags) and made my own adjustable straps!! It's nice because they lay flat and aren't pokey. I don't know about the "not tipping over" thing. Perhaps you could attach stuff to the sides?

 

[Jordan's MOM]

WDW does not allow wagons in the parks. Sorry. I haave seen lots of parents with bags on the backs of the strollers but I have also seen more that one turn over. I did see in the First Start Catalog this side mount stroller bag. I haave never seen one used but it might be an idea.
Our child was older on his first trip so this is not first hand experence, but we have learned we can cut down on what we take into the parks. Consider if there is anything you don not HAVE to take into the park. Perhaps share water bottles or perchase a larger fammy pack that you can wear on the rides. We are now down to one fanny pack but as I said my child is older.

Jordan's mom

 

[jldriscoll]

NO, we weren't planning to take a wagon, I jsut wanted to make it clear, I haven't tried my straps on a stroller yet. Seems like they would work though.

Be pretty tough to bring a wagon from Michigan when we aren't driving LOL!!!!

 

[Lars624]

The water bottles & the mister easily fit in the mesh bag on the stroller. We also could put things on the seat of the stroller while we were on a ride. I had a backpack that we had the valuable things in, camera, etc, and we usually took that on the rides with us.

 

[docswkids]

My 4 yr old's fanny pack was stolen out of a plastic bag that was sitting on the seat of our rental stroller at MK. I'm sure the thief thought that there was something good in it, and not just the crayons, disposable camera, and things valuable to a 4 yr old. The good news was that disney replaced his magic moments electronic game. Make sure that you dont leave anything in the stroller that you are not prepared to have stolen.

 

[Tootsietoo]

Make sure that you dont leave anything in the stroller that you are not prepared to have stolen.

What about the stroller itself? Many years ago when our children were small we always rented the Disney strollers. On our next trip we will be taking our granddaughter (15 months old), and I'm sure because of her medical problems her own stroller would be more comfortable. Have any of you ever had a problem with a stroller being stolen, and how can this be prevented, short of having someone watch it? We were there a few weeks ago, and a lot of people had their own strollers and left them parked outside the rides. Many of them were pretty pricey strollers.

 

[ReneeQ]

What we do is take an older stroller that we don't love and could live without, though we've never had a problem with a stroller being stollen. We're going in Oct. and my nephew will just have turned my 5. My sister found a great heavy duty umbrella stroller for $3 at a flea market that we'll be taking. That's much cheaper than renting and we'll have it at Downtown Disney, the airport (they're flying from Atlanta) etc.

Over the years I have discovered I do better with two bags in the parks. I pack my backpack with my essentials, camera, money, the stuff I couldn't live without. Then I pack a lightweight small mesh duffle bag with the stuff we could live without, like the rain ponchos, kids change of clothes, extra snacks (I have some in my backpack), etc. I just keep that hanging on the stroller or underneath (if we have a basket). This really lightens the load in the backpack, but keeps me organized.

 

[tinkerbell27]

Use a bike lock on your stroller! WE went in may and it worked great. We have a nice double stroller that we love -there was no way I was gonna leave it at home!!! I found a bike chain and lock (walmart) it was covered in bright red plastic, and ran it through the back wheels. It worked great!

 

[SueM in MN]

I found a bike chain and lock (walmart) it was covered in bright red plastic, and ran it through the back wheels. It worked great!

If you are going to use a bike lock, that is a good way to use it. You can't lock the stroller to anything. It needs to be able to be moved in case of fire or ride evacuation. By putting the lock thru one set of wheels, the stroller can still be moved in an emergency by lifting the locked wheels off the ground, but no one can use it with one set of wheels locked up.

 

[cinmell]

The stroller I have now doesn't have spaces in the wheels to put a lock unless we take off a plastice cover piece. In a post a while ago someone suggested a ski lock. So, I was thinking of a very thin chain or ski lock thru on wheel to up to where the stroller collapses in the back. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to look for this type of lock? I did a general search on the internet but not much luck.

 

[100AcreMom]

We have visited the parks several times over the past few years, and often I feel like a bag lady. I always carry my camera and money in my fanny pack, and leave my large diaper bag with all the rest of my stuff (snacks, diapers, clothes, etc) hanging from the stroller. We have never had anyone mess with our stuff, although a CM will occasionally move your stroller.

If you have a bag with an adjustable strap, try letting the strap almost all of the way out. If you lower the bag, the weight is less likely to flip over the stroller. During one trip, my bag was so heavy that I simply had to remove it before the kids got out of the stroller, let them out, and put it in the seat. It was a pain, but it worked.

 

[SueM in MN]

The stroller I have now doesn't have spaces in the wheels to put a lock unless we take off a plastice cover piece.

People have posted some other places besides locking the wheels together:
Over the seat, so a child would have to sit on the lock.
Across the frame in a way that prevents the stroller from being folded.