Stroller for backpack storage

BigRedDad

BigRedDad

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, my DD grew up and we have been strollerless for our last 5 or so trips. The stroller served 2 purposes back then: a mule and a place for DD to relax. Now that we don't have it, I miss the mule part. Also, I have become more frugal as WDW has skyrocketed their prices. I am seriously considering buying a used stroller to use as a mule.

Here me out for a second. Yes, I could rent a locker but that is a hassle. With a stroller, it can go with you everywhere. Parking it is easy, you can leave it parked where it is for a while, and you don't have to lug around that backpack with everything in it. I know it is better to pack light. However, there is a need for a few extra things in the heat/humidity of FL. You need flip flops to put on for water rides and cool off in the fountains. You need sunscreen (at least I do because I do not want to have skin cancer surgery again). You need to be able to carry water. Having that ice cold misting fan is nice. I can even save by having one of those backpack cooler to bring my own drinks and lunch in.

Does this sound like a hassle? We drive so space is no issue.
 
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Courtney6682

Courtney6682

Well-Known Member
I don't think it sounds like a hassle at all. You could prob get an umbrella stroller for $5-$10 at a yard sale! Like u said, it's somewhere to leave your bag.
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
LOL!

I sympathize with your plight, but if you'll permit me to slip on my curmudgeon-iest, most snarky persona (in other words, understand that I'm engaging in tongue-in-cheek hyperbole here), here's my reaction:

Here me out for a second. Yes, I could rent a locker but that is a hassle.
You know what else is a hassle? A goshdarn stroller. They're already clogging up every bus and walkway on Disney property, slamming into people's ankles and ruining their vacations -- nay, their lives. Why do it when you don't have to?

With a stroller, it can go with you everywhere. Parking it is easy, you can leave it parked where it is for a while, and you don't have to lug around that backpack with everything in it.
A stroller can't go with you everywhere, and everybody hates looking at it parked all over the place. And why in the world would want you take "everything" with you, in a backpack or otherwise? If an item doesn't fit in a tiny crossbody purse, you do not need it. Imagine a world where you don't have to spend portions of your vacation time parking or hunting for a stroller.

I know it is better to pack light. However, there is a need for a few extra things in the heat/humidity of FL. You need flip flops to put on for water rides and cool off in the fountains.
No, you don't (and unless you're a member of the cast of "Friends," stay out of the fountains). ;) Wear waterproof hiking sandals to the park (e.g., Tevas), and your feet are ready for anything.

You need sunscreen (at least I do because I do not want to have skin cancer surgery again).
You've got me there -- nobody wants you to risk your health, but why not bring a small, sample-sized bottle of sunscreen with you instead of the gallon jug of it from BJ's Wholesale Club (you can refill it from a bigger bottle in your hotel room)?

You need to be able to carry water.
Free iced water is available, on request, from any CS venue. I like to carry it right in my hand, no wheeled conveyances needed. I drink it, and then throw the cup away in the nearest appropriate receptacle. If you must carry an extra supply of water with you, get a small sports bottle on a carabiner and refill it from drinking fountains as needed. Or just drink from the drinking fountains -- it's what Walt would want you to do with the drinking fountains, anyway. "Drinking" is right there in the name.

Having that ice cold misting fan is nice. I can even save by having one of those backpack cooler to bring my own drinks and lunch in.
If you find you need some water in your face, ask a loved one to flick some on you, or simply bathe it in one of the said drinking fountains -- or to cool off, do the redneck version my mother taught me -- duck into the nearest restroom, remove your shirt, run cold water over it, wring it out well and put it back on (obviously this requires wearing clothing that will stay opaque when wet). As far as carrying lunch, granola bars are lightweight. So is money to buy lunch (just use the money you were planning to spend on jugs of water, misting fans, strollers, backpack coolers, shopping carts, Sherpas, etc.)

Sorry, OP -- I know I'm giving you a hard time (all in good fun), and please take what I'm saying with the humor in which it was intended. It is your life and your decision and you should not be concerned with what anyone else thinks about it. Still, I would respectfully suggest that if you're bringing so much stuff to the parks that you're considering buying a baby stroller just to tote it all around, I think you might have an overly expansive definition of what you "need" with you in the parks. I challenge you to try, for just one day, breezing around the parks with no large backpack and no stroller -- just a carefully-curated set of items (sunglasses, small sunscreen, Band-Aids, disposable poncho for water rides, phone, a granola bar) in a small crossbody purse or mini-backpack -- and see if you don't feel freer, and more able to enjoy the parks and your family, than you ever have while you were carrying around a huge burden of "stuff."
 
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BigRedDad

BigRedDad

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Weather_Lady said:
I think you might have an overly expansive definition of what you "need" with you in the parks. I challenge you to try, for just one day, breezing around the parks with no backpack and no stroller -- just a carefully-curated set of items (sunglasses, small sunscreen, Band-Aids, disposable poncho for water rides, phone, a granola bar) in a small crossbody purse or min-backpack -- and see if you don't feel freer, and more able to enjoy the parks and your family, than you ever have while you were carrying around a huge burden of "stuff."
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Very funny and all of the point/counter-point arguments I put in my head. My wife is also Type 1 diabetic, so having snacks along for her is a help too. I only started thinking about this again when I saw reviews of the Polar Bear Backpack cooler. Would save money just having that on one trip. My DSLR is where the real weight comes from.

I doubt I will do it, but it has been in the back of my head. If I can find a nice strong umbrella stroller, I may think about it.
 
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D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
BigRedDad said:
Very funny and all of the point/counter-point arguments I put in my head. My wife is also Type 1 diabetic, so having snacks along for her is a help too. I only started thinking about this again when I saw reviews of the Polar Bear Backpack cooler. Would save money just having that on one trip. My DSLR is where the real weight comes from.

I doubt I will do it, but it has been in the back of my head. If I can find a nice strong umbrella stroller, I may think about it.
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When my wife used her DSLR for photos, we put almost everything in her photo bag in extra pockets and in her purse, sometimes everything was in her photo bag.
 
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Minnie Mum

Well-Known Member
Why on earth would you do that? If you really think you need to haul that much stuff around with you, then spread the wealth. Divide and conquer. Have everyone in your group carry something. No need for you to be the pack mule with a backpack the size of a small steamer trunk. When our kids were small, but too big for strollers, we each had a small bag. The kids carried their own jacket/poncho, water bottle, snacks, and what not.

Besides, who in their right mind leaves their stuff unattended in a stroller when they're standing in line and on rides? Or do you really want to waste the time to repeatedly look for a parking spot, unload the stroller, then hunt for said stroller after a CM has moved it, and reload the stroller before moving to the next attraction and repeating the process?
 
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JillC LI

JillC LI

Well-Known Member
Do what's best for you, of course. However, I can't imagine my family needing more than I could carry in a small backpack, and we just leave our jackets for the evening in a locker.
 
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D

drizgirl

Well-Known Member
Minnie Mum said:
Why on earth would you do that? If you really think you need to haul that much stuff around with you, then spread the wealth. Divide and conquer. Have everyone in your group carry something. No need for you to be the pack mule with a backpack the size of a small steamer trunk. When our kids were small, but too big for strollers, we each had a small bag. The kids carried their own jacket/poncho, water bottle, snacks, and what not.

Besides, who in their right mind leaves their stuff unattended in a stroller when they're standing in line and on rides? Or do you really want to waste the time to repeatedly look for a parking spot, unload the stroller, then hunt for said stroller after a CM has moved it, and reload the stroller before moving to the next attraction and repeating the process?
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Not to worry. He's already clarified that his wife and boys can carry the stuff.
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
graphite1326 said:
By the way I have been run over by two strollers so you know where I stand.
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I can sympathize. Our party has been hit by a stroller and a wheelchair (one of them gouged a sizeable chunk out of my 70+-year-old father's ankle, which bled profusely. The only reaction from the person who hit him, besides a mumbled, "sorry," was to turn their head back to an ongoing parade as they continued forward and bumped into him AGAIN a few seconds later.) The funny thing about both incidents is that NEITHER THE STROLLER NOR THE WHEELCHAIR CONTAINED A PERSON, nor were there any children/disabled persons visibly with their pushers, leading me to wonder if those people weren't also using them as "mules."
 
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CourtneyBags

Member
I wouldn't get a stroller and also you probably don't need that large of a bag. We had 2 backpacks and one of them got left in the room by accident on the first day of our trip. The one with all the baby crap including diapers. And you know what? It was actually fine and made the rest of the week less tense Bc we knew we didn't actually need everything we had planned to bring.
 
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