Strollers at Disney
During all of our trips to Disney, we have mainly taken one stroller. It is our everyday stroller (or at least it was when we went out places, ha!). We have taken an umbrella stroller on another trip too. So I wanted to compare our experiences with both strollers because I always debate which one will be easier on our trips, and I figured there are other people wondering the same thing.
Eating
So one of the bigs things we do at Disney is eat. We love getting the refillable popcorn buckets. This is great for Melody while we are roaming around the park or shopping. With our full size stroller, Melody clearly has more room to eat. She can either keep her drink in the cup holder or beside her (if it is leakproof). It also provides her a tray if she has a snack cup or more than just popcorn. Lastly, it provides us a tray. We have a spot for two drinks and even phone storage. The umbrella stroller is much tighter on her and doesn’t provide her quite the freedom of handling food as easily. There also isn’t a tray to store her drink or ours.
Napping
Melody naps often in her stroller. We rarely go back to the room unless we are staying at an Epcot resort where it is convenient. So after lunch, Melody tends to crash in her stroller. This is obviously easy while using our full size stroller. Our stroller even will recline for her. The umbrella stroller is MUCH harder. If you don’t anticipate a napping child, this may not be relevant though. As you can see I don’t have a single picture of her napping in the umbrella stroller. I am certain she did, but it didn’t last long and wasn’t comfortable.
Storage
The umbrella stroller does not provide hardly any storage. We had a small space underneath the seat we would store our ponchos. And you’ll notice we did use the handles to hold our popcorn bucket when not using it, but that was it. The full size stroller provides quite a bit of storage in the bottom. This helps when we buy things or if we are wearing jackets in the morning or evenings but need to store it in the warmer afternoons.
Height Comfort
So I wasn’t really sure how to word this, so height comfort it is. When you are pushing the stroller around the parks, it can become evident one is more comfortable to push than the other. The full size stroller is at a better height for pushing around, and the handles are also much better. With the umbrella stroller it stands a bit shorter. This isn’t awful for me, but would be harder for a taller person. And the handles are not quite as ideal.
Fan Clipping Abilities
So let’s be honest, Florida is HOT. Even when it is cold, it is still hot, ha. But really, sitting in a stroller for an extended period of time can get hot without as much air flow. So back many years ago, my mom bought Melody a Mickey Mouse fan at Disney. Well I will say, it does NOT clip onto her umbrella stroller. I am not saying it won’t work on any, but it did not work on ours. But it worked great on her full size one. We were able to clip it to the cover portion of the stroller at the top. While Melody’s umbrella stroller at a small cover, it was not good enough to hold the fan.
Toddler Comfort
So the full size stroller has a lot of cushion and padding. This makes for a much more comfortable ride throughout the parks (and a happier kid). The umbrella stroller does not provide any added comfort at all. It is just cheaper fabric as a seat. Now if your kid won’t be in the stroller as much, this isn’t even an issue then. Melody didn’t seem to complain in it, but I could definitely tell she was more comfortable in the full size one!
Bus Easiness
So first let’s talk weight. The umbrella stroller is so much lighter than the full size one. I could easily carry the stroller, my backpack, and Melody if needed. The umbrella stroller was great when just the two of us would go to the park on a trip with my mom and she worked. It was so easy to carry and manage size wise while on a bus. The full size stroller is not only a bit heavier, but it is much harder to navigate on a bus with its size.
So when you get on a Disney bus, you have to fold up your stroller. To fold up a full size stroller is simple. For ours, you simply pull a handle up and it’s done (now be aware of your storage at this point though!). An umbrella stroller isn’t quite as easy. You have to hold a button with your foot, then grab each end and pull together. Not as easy if you are holding a kid too.
Then when you get off the bus you have to unfold it. With the full size stroller it is kind of the opposite of folding an umbrella stroller. You have to grab each end and pull it apart. Again, this isn’t easy with a kid on your hip who is asleep! On the flip side, the umbrella stroller pops right open.
Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures on the bus to show you, but I did get some screen grabs from Amazon to give you an example of both.
I think both strollers are great options for everyone depending on their requirements. If you are going solo with a toddler, I think an umbrella stroller is great. It worked for us nicely. But if you think you will be at the parks all day, I would go for comfort for the child and do a full size one. I hope to eventually use the Disney strollers and see how those are soon!
