Parents often wonder how to best transport their babies through the Disney theme parks. We asked our Parenting Panel: Strollers, slings or both? What do you bring on your visits?
Nancy is an enthusiastic Disney Parks fan, wife for nine years, mom for two years. A Disneyland Resort local, she first visited the Walt Disney World Resort in 2006 and has returned four times since. Nancy writes:
When my son was in the infant stage, we used both a stroller and sling and appreciated having both. Being new parents, when we went to the parks we had a tendency to overpack for the little guy. Our Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe Travel System gave us a lot of room to store our baby bag, extra clothes, bottles, blankets, and sweaters for all. One thing I love about this stroller is how much storage room it provides when the car seat attachment is used. We could stuff the stroller sitting area to the gills while the baby and car seat rested above. I never felt like we needed more room, and my husband and I were able to drop our usual park backpack.
We went to WDW when my son was just shy of 5 months old. We used the Baby Bjorn Active Carrier and thought it was comfortable for our backs, as well as for baby. We appreciated that baby could be positioned facing outward or inward. Due to the freezing temperatures during that trip, sometimes my husband wore the Bjorn and then zipped his jacket up around our baby’s body to help keep him extra warm. We’ve had the opportunity to borrow a friend’s Ergo Baby Carrier—and plan to look into purchasing one for ourselves when the next little one arrives—due to its versatility.
We really liked the stroller for longer naps and for walking long distances. We employed the Bjorn more during baby’s wake times so he could more easily interact with us. We even used it during meal times so our hands could be free, but baby was still upright and able to engage with those around him.
Now that our son is older than 2, we have downsized to a Chico Liteway stroller and I love it. It provides just enough storage space in the basket, while still providing a shade canopy and a full recline. It is much smaller and lighter to maneuver through the parks and pack onto the tram.
Jen, also known as *Nala*, is an engineer, a Disney fan, and a MouseAdventure fanatic. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two future MouseAdventurers, ages 2 months and 2 years. Jen writes:
Since our son was born, we have taken him to Disneyland at 5 months, 16 months and 21 months, and once to WDW at 10 months. As he has grown we have found ourselves modifying our kid transportation methods with every trip.
For our son's first Disneyland trip at 5 months, we wheeled him around the parks in the bucket car seat and the stroller. At that age he was still napping several times per day, so we brought the bucket car seat because we knew it was a place he was comfortable napping. (As an aside, we found the walkways back by Grizzly River Run in Disney California Adventure a great place to walk the baby to get him to sleep. Plenty of white noise!) We didn't take him on many rides at that age, so it wasn't a problem to just carry him through the lines of the rides we did go on.
Our next trip was to WDW with a 10 month old. For that trip, we used a combination of the stroller (no car seat) and a child carrier backpack. My husband got the kid used to the backpack over the summer, and he would ride in it contentedly because he could see what was going on and be close to Daddy at the same time. The backpack was a great way to carry both kid and baby supplies. We got a lot of comments about it, and since then we have actually been surprised we haven't seen many other families using kid backpacks in the parks. We used the stroller on that trip primarily for naps.
Since our son has been old enough to walk, he has much preferred his feet to any stroller. However, the parks require way too much walking for little legs, so, on our last couple of Disneyland trips, we have brought a stroller along primarily to transport him between lands or when he gets just too tired to walk. The stroller has also been useful as a place to park the kid for a parade.
Our next Disneyland trip will be our first since our daughter was born. She'll be 4 months old and our son will be 2 1/2. For baby, we plan to bring the stroller / bucket car seat combination again for naps, as well as a front carrier as she's not quite big enough for the backpack. The advantage of the front carrier is Disneyland will allow us to leave her in it for most rides. For the 2-year-old, we'll most likely bring a small umbrella stroller for those times the legs just don't want to keep going. We'll have Grandma and Grandpa with us on this trip, so plenty of adult hands available to push the two strollers.
After this next trip we plan to graduate to a double jogging stroller, and look ahead to the days when we won't need strollers anymore!
Jenny is a former theme park employee, avid Disney fan(atic), and an at-home mom to 2 Disney vets (7- and 5-years-old.) Jenny writes:
I have been bringing my now 7- and 5-year-olds to Disneyland since they were 3-months and 6-weeks respectively. I tried several strollers and carriers over the years, and each was great given the ages of my kids who used them. Most of my choices are based off the fact that I often took the kids just by myself.
When I just had my first child, I used a few different single strollers, but the most important feature for me was full recline for napping during the day.
When started taking my youngest to Disneyland at 6 weeks, I relied on two things: a wrap style carrier and a bassinet stroller, the type that is literally a bed on wheels. The wrap carrier, a Hug-a-bub, was great as it held my son tight and close to me, and he would happily sleep in it while I took my daughter on rides. I had a side by side double stroller at that time with a bassinet on one side and a seat on the other. It was perfect for strolling the parks. My son could sleep in the bassinet while I took my daughter to eat or when she would nap herself. I felt good knowing my son was able to sleep laying down and not confined to an infant car seat all day.
As the kids got older, 3-years-old and 18-months-old, I moved onto a different stroller. It was a tandem stroller that while being the width of a single stroller still had 2 reclining seats where both kids could nap if needed. By this time, I pretty much ruled out a carrier, as both kids were mobile and no longer wanted to be carried in a carrier.
I now still occasionally use a double stroller as by the end of a long Disneyland day, the kids will ride as we walk back to the parking lot. It also works for us as my 5-year-old still enjoys a nap on occasion. All of my strollers have had one thing in common: a good push either via air tires or suspension. Those features made it much more enjoyable for me to push around all day.
A few accessories for the strollers that I couldn't have lived without include a foot muff or stroller blanket, a rain cover, and a parent console. The console held my drink. The stroller blanket was invaluable for those later nights staying to watch fireworks during cooler weather. Even in Southern California, I benefited from having a rain cover.
It's your turn—keep the discussion flowing!
Visit the Parenting in the Parks forum on our MousePad discussion board, and share your opinions about this topic or many others, or send your suggestions via e-mail. Reader-submitted tips might be used in a future article, and you might be selected to participate in an upcoming panel discussion!
