Tips about Epcot, Food & Beverage, Magic Kingdom, Planning, Souvenirs and Strollers
I had two kids with me and we rented the strollers for packages and for them to take a break every now and then. My kids are a 4'11" and 5 foot and they enjoyed the strollers. Some people may have thought it was crazy but they needed a break every now and then too. I personally think a stroller only makes the walking a little nicer having, gives you something to lean on while your walking and really makes a difference with not worrying over who is going to carry the back packs etc. - Neanie9
I would recommend that you don't assume that an older child 4 or 5 is too old for a stroller, there is alot of walking and usually alot of heat plus it helps to keep track of them, We were able to keep up a pretty good pace in the parks even to late at night by taking a break in the afternoon and putting the 5 year old in a stroller. - marsee
Don't take your own stroller! We almost did. I just thought my daughter would be so much more comfortable in her own and that the plastic ones at WDW would be hot and uncomfortable. After watching so many folks down there wrestling to get their strollers on and off the monorail and bus, and am grateful we rented. $7.00 gets you a stroller for the entire day and Perri was very comfortable. Plus if you change parks, it is nice to leave that one behind during the commute and pick up a new one at the next park. - Kelli Williams
If your youngest may possibly need a stroller (my youngest is currently 6), I would bring it. Additionally, I've been using our diaper bag as a carry-on. At the minimum, we use the stroller to trundle our "stuff", which is generally in the diaper bag - not valuable stuff (like cameras, wallets, etc...), but stuff like paper napkins, straws, water bottles, leftover food, maps for the parks you're not currently visiting, wipes, first aid kit, kleenex, hats, ponchos, sunglasses, whatever!, etc... We've been fortunate that our stroller/diaper bag (which is monogrammed) has never been stolen at Disney, so we continue to believe it will never be violated. It's even good for a tired 5 year old (and will likely be great for our tired 6 year old, who is still under 45 lbs!). Our stroller is now over 10 years old (so we won't worry if it *is* stolen) and is fairly light and easy to fold up (it's an umbrella style by MacLaren). - Audrey Ishizaki
If you are wanting to purchase fragile items like stemware or coffee mugs, consider ordering directly from The Disney Store online. They have many items that are available at the parks. This way they can ship it to you and it will be well-packaged with separate boxes for each item and bubble wrap. - Cindy Waters-Goodman
On our last trip in May, my husband came up with an idea for some extra storage in our 2.5 year olds stroller. He took a standard sized bicycle bag and used plastic cable ties to secure it to the front of the stroller beneath the seat. It was a great place to store items that we didn't need to get at frequently, i.e a change of clothes for our toddler, first aid supplies, etc. We have a Graco Lite Rider, but I think this would work on most full size strollers. The bike bag did not interfere in any way with the strollers operation, and best yet, it did not have to be removed when the stroller was folded. It really helped us maximize storage and stay organized.
Something else that we found useful...we secured one of those d-ring key chain clips to the stroller handle with a Velcro strap. It was a handy place to hang all of our souvenir shopping bags that we would accumulate! - Jackie Beering
Whether you bring your own stroller, or rent one at the parks (and sometimes they sell out-megabummer!) figure out a way to "customize" yours. For example, having a colorful scarf you can tie around the handle. There will be numerous times you will have to pick your stroller out of a parking lot of strollers as you come out of a ride, and there may be many that look just like yours. - Mindie Lou
I wanted to thank you for a tip I read about on your website. We chose to go to Disney during the hurricane season and although the hurricane never came on land, we did feel its effects. It rained every day at 4 p.m. (more than the usual daily Orlando shower). We have a 4 year old who required a stroller and was extremely afraid of getting his clothes wet. Luckily I had read about the stroller cover you can purchase at Babies R' Us which protects the stroller from rain. It was a lifesaver. Alex and our items that were stored under the stroller, remained dry everyday. It folds away like those playhut tents into a small, flat circle. It was the best ten dollars we spent! Alex was happy and so were we. - Angie and Bill
We are leaving on our 6th trip to WDW and are taking 13 others with us! Something new we are doing this year....we have made 1 reservation a day for everyone (Hoop De Doo, Crystal Palace, Fantasmic, Cinderella's Breakfast......) so to make it easy for everyone we made a spread sheet of sorts with the whole week (calendar look to it) and put all of our confirmation numbers for each day at each location with times included (hotels also). Then we reduced it to a credit card size (still readable) and laminated it. That way everyone in the party has a copy and it is easily accessible!!!! - Gaylia Laird
When planning my vacation, I got a calendar that you can write on, and put on the calendar when to call for dining reservations, reminders to buy things for vacations, phone numbers, anything related to the vacation. Anytime I thought of something related to the vacation I wrote it on. I even wrote confirmation numbers on it so they would all be in the same place. This is a great way to keep reminders for vacation planning. - Donna Rebholz
I went on a Disney Trip with many people and I suggest this for anyone who is traveling in a larger group from one location. Each of us made a little gift for each person. We made notes, bags of candy, tapes with our favorite Disney songs, coloring pages, games, and pictures. Then before the flight each person put their gifts in everyone else's bags. It added a lot of excitement to have a plane packet. My gift was a little more complex, but it was great. It was a journal that had quotes, pictures, photos, maps, and brochure clippings pasted inside. Everyone on the trip wrote in them. Another tip is to have a pre-party a week or two before the trip. We did this before our cruise. We played games, had dinner, read through books and researched little things and just discussed everything. Then we had a post party to look at pictures and videos. - Lindsay
We love to visit WDW over the Christmas holidays. In fact, I've already booked our 2 week December Wilderness Lodge trip. As you know, the holiday season rates at the resorts are out of this world. A few years ago we just happened to stumble on the fact that the rate you receive for your entire stay is based upon what "season" it is when you check in. Thanks to this little known fact, we are checking in on December 20th (the last day of value season) and receiving the value season rate for our entire 13 night stay! By arriving on the 20th (instead of the 21st) we are saving hundreds of dollars. - DZNYNUT35
I was recently unable to book a room for the nights of 2/9 -2/10 to no avail. Then I started asking for the whole week and many things became available. When it became time to pay for the entire trip, I just had them cancel the other days and I kept the nights that I wanted. - Roxanne Stritt
