New Minnie & Mickey Mouse Stroller Rentals at Disney World
Walt Disney World has rolled out a brand new lineup of Minnie & Mickey Mouse stroller rentals at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs. This post covers the change, pricing, and my clueless commentary–and solicits your feedback on the refreshed wheels!
In addition to featuring character models of Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse in the same new cartoon style as Runaway Railway, these strollers have a sharp red, black, and yellow color scheme that replaces the previous plain beige & blue strollers. In technical terms, those were very blah.
Otherwise, these are the same molded plastic bases with soft sides, including mesh paneling that allows air flow and a fabric roof. Walt Disney World’s rental strollers are essentially designed for durability and daily use by different guests, meaning that there are minimal moving parts that can break (e.g. no reclining) or elements that can get dirty or worn (e.g. no padding for the seat). Here are other details about these new Mickey & Minnie Mouse rental strollers at Walt Disney World…
Let’s start with pricing and parameters:
Single Stroller – Recommended for children 50 lbs. or less and under 38 inches tall.
- Daily: $15
- Multi-Day (Length of Stay): $13
- $100 USD credit card deposit is required for strollers rented at Disney Springs.
Double Stroller – Recommended for children 100 lbs. (total weight) or less and under 38 inches tall.
- Daily: $31
- Multi-Day (Length of Stay): $27
Length of Stay Rental – Pre-pay the number of days that you will require a stroller and save. Purchase a Length of Stay rental ticket for less per day when rented for multiple days. Then, upon visiting a theme park, simply show your receipt at the rental location to receive your stroller for the day.
Stroller Return – Strollers should be returned to a rental location before leaving the theme park.
Stroller Replacement – Strollers cannot be removed from the parks. When visiting more than one park in a single day, simply present your rental receipt at another park to obtain a replacement. Likewise, if you misplace your stroller, replacements are available with a receipt at various locations throughout Walt Disney World, based on availability.
Okay, now time for commentary. This is a seemingly insignificant change, arguably not worthy of a standalone blog post–but then again, yesterday we covered the announcement of a Toy Story Land “playset” (gift shop). This is easily more interesting and consequential than that.
In actuality, I think this is moderately interesting news. For one, these are a nice visual upgrade over the old blah strollers that also offers more exposure for Minnie and Mickey Mouse. That second point may seem unimportant, as the characters once had greater recognizability than even Santa Claus. However, they’ve started to slip in recent years, and if there are two characters who deserve widespread exposure and visibility, it’s Mickey & Minnie.
For another thing, whenever there has been any change with strollers at Walt Disney World in the last few years, it has been a hot topic among readers of this blog. Two years ago, Walt Disney World banned oversized strollers, requiring them to be no larger than 31″ (79cm) wide and 52″ (132cm) long. Additionally, wagons were no longer permitted.
This led to outrage, confusion, and concerns about third party stroller rentals no longer meeting the size parameters. Disney’s stated reason for that particular size update was to help guest flow and ease congestion. Setting aside the legitimate concerns many readers had at the time, that goal made sense. There had been a proliferation of Humvee-sized stroller-like monstrosities in the parks, including ones shaped like pumpkin coaches and spaceships from Star Wars. The huge strollers were causing crowd flow issues.
Only a few months after that, Disney inked an exclusivity deal with ScooterBug, the company that provides all such devices at Walt Disney World’s theme parks and Disney Springs. This resulted in Walt Disney World no longer allowing third-party vendors for strollers and mobility aids to be dropped off at Bell Services prior to guests arrival at the hotel, nor can they be left with Bell Services by guests for vendor pick-up at the end of a trip.
This change is much less “exciting” in retrospect, as a lot of the comments at the time were fueled by uncertainty and vagueness in the announcement. With that said, there were a couple of obvious reasons for the change, with the first being the burden all of these deliveries pose for Bell Services. The proliferation of third party vendors for strollers, ECVs, groceries, etc. meant that Bell Services was often constantly dealing with trucks doing drop-offs at Walt Disney World. The other obvious motivation was that the third parties are competition for Disney and ScooterBug, and the companies had no incentive to help out their competitors.
Nothing about this cosmetic change to Mickey & Minnie strollers strikes me as even remotely controversial, but I also didn’t anticipate the backlash to either of those past changes. This may come as a shock to all of you, but I’m not exactly an expert on strollers. However, as someone who operates a Walt Disney World blog, it’s probably knowledge I should have, which is another purpose of this post–to solicit that from you.
I’ve unintentionally locked eyes with parents trying to navigate an oversized stroller amidst the gridlock of post-fireworks crowds in Magic Kingdom, and seeing the desperation and dejection in their face is something I can never unsee or forget. This actually occurs with surprising regularity–not the locking eyes part, just seeing strollers stuck in the sea of crowds and parents looking like they’d rather be anywhere else in the world right then.
From those observations, my assumption has long been huge and clunky strollers are a mistake. That smaller strollers are better, with the most compact and lightweight options being best. In my mind, a stroller is a sort of like a tripod–the goal should be striking the right balance of compact size, weight, durability, strength, and price. (I assume carbon fiber strollers are a thing?)
If I were shopping for a stroller, I’d probably want one made of the lightest, space age materials that can hold a lot of weight but don’t weigh much themselves and condense down to the smallest size possible, while also not breaking the bank. When Walt Disney World crowds get rough, I’d want the ability to call an audible, collapsing the stroller and carrying the kid through the congestion.
However, and I cannot stress this enough, I have no clue what I’m talking about. When watching Dwight stress test a stroller with a watermelon, my reaction was “that seems like a smart idea.” I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the intended takeaway. (Sarah is going to be mortified that I wrote all of this, as my uninformed opinion of strollers is one of many topics I should “keep to myself.”) Anyway, I’m curious–are Walt Disney World’s rental strollers a solid option? Is renting from a third party the better bet? If so, which one(s) do you recommend? What makes for a “good” stroller while navigating crowds and the parks in general?
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Care to share your thoughts, experience, and recommendations on strollers at Walt Disney World? Thoughts on the new Mickey & Minnie Mouse designs? Do you agree or disagree with my assessment of what makes a good stroller in the parks? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
The last time we used a stroller was when our youngest was seven and then only for the last day. She just could not go any more and was happy to have a stroller. However she was a small seven year old so she fit fine. I miss my kids being young but I don’t miss pushing that stroller!
We are FL annual pass holders and have our comfy, jogging double stroller use down to a science. It’s amazing and maneuvers well (even though it’s large), fits lots stiff (snacks, change of clothes, rain gear, diapers, etc), and it reclines and offers plenty of shade for naps or breaks. But rule #1 is don’t do anything that requires taking everything out and folding it. For that reason, no small boat transportation or busses to the parks. Try folding a heavy stroller, carrying it onto a bus, carrying all your stuff on the bus, AND holding the kids. It’s a nightmare. Monorail and large cargo boat = okay because no stroller folding is required. We would walk to Epcot/Hollywood if staying at crescent lake resorts or drive to the parks and walk (no tram because, again, stroller folding). But it’s a long walk in and out of the parks for little kids and so the choice is to either carry a kid or bring a stroller. Sometimes we bring our very small single pocket folding stroller for short visits, but the kids fight over the single seat and it doesn’t hold enough of our stuff. My kids are getting older and Disney is the only reason we still own our jogging double stroller, but it makes Disney life so much easier.
Sincere thanks to everyone who has left a thoughtful comment with advice, anecdotes, and recommendations.
This topic truly is fascinating and there’s a lot I never even considered in terms of what matters with a stroller, and strategy for using it (or not). Great discussion, everyone! 🙂
Great review, but enough about the kiddies. How about doing a review on scooters? I’ve only seen singles so far, so your review would be easier. Speed, maneuvering around other people, baggage capacity, lights, battery life. As you get older, you too will take naps. We’re getting older and at some point will want some advice. These things could change your itinerary planning and maybe you could do all four parks in a single day!
Surely you have already thought of this.
We have both rented a double stroller – nice, cushy, high quality – from a third party vendor and rented from Disney on site. My thoughts are this: If you are very young children who may not be able to make the walk from the gate to your transportation pick up, rent a nice stroller. If you need a nice comfortable stroller for another child to nap in during your park day, rent a nice stroller. If you drive your own car, bring a stroller. If you rented a car and parked at the park, rent a stroller. However, if you have older kids who can make the walk to whatever your transportation might be and you don’t need to rely on the stroller for naps, then just rent from the park! The lack of cushion downside is far outweighed by the convenience of not having to deal with a stroller on Disney transportation.
To date, one of our favorite WDW memories is sitting on a bench outside of the Land, waiting for our Soarin’ Fastpass return window, and watching the CMs rearranging the strollers in stroller parking. We saw a plethora of squirrels go diving for snacks and had to chuckle when families came back trying to find their identical beige stroller now moved elsewhere in a sea of strollers. It was the funniest memory. 🙂
Hilarious. Long overdue and so obvious!
Thinking back I don’t believe we ever used a stroller while at WDW.
We have one child and I believe he was under one our first trip. Always just walked with him up on my shoulders couldn’t bother dealing with a stroller. Two incidents do come to mind though. One time not thinking we were heading from Liberty Square area over to Pirates and there is a cut through – i recall you pass between an overhand area and being 6ft 2in and forgetting you have a child on your shoulders – he got a good wallop thanks to me. Another trip maybe 3 or 4 years after, I made the mistake walking around for our 2 week trip Teva Sandals having a 30 or 40 lbs on my shoulders – big mistake that trip. About 4 days in I couldn’t walk or carry him – two raw, blister feet. The skin on both my soles just peeled fully off. Had to carry on with two wrapped feet for the remainder of the trip. Luckily after that last incident our next trip he was walking.
Dad of four kids here. During our last trip to Disney World my kids were 7, 5, 3, and 1. We had two double strollers: one fancy umbrella stroller (skinny, lightweight, foldable, but not garbage) and we rented a double BOB from Kingdom Stroller. It was absolutely essential. It is also essential to know when to park then and hoof it. We would often park the strollers behind the carousel in MK and not go back to them for several hours. At the end of the day, however, being able to put every butt in a seat and make our way to the exit was a life saver, mostly because I am always concerned one of the little ones will get swallowed up by the sea of people exiting. Let’s not forget that the stroller was always filled with drinks and snacks to keep everyone happy. The rental strollers from Disney are terribly uncomfortable (testimonial from my oldest, I’ve never tried it!), and it will be a necessary hassle for us to rent one from a third party provider for our next trip.
my priorities for a disney stroller, like any stroller:
1) maneuverability. I need to be able to pop a curb and turn on a dime, ideally with one hand. Being able to fold and unfold with one hand is HUGE as well, but basically impossible with a double stroller. Non-disney vacations we have a single that’s a workhorse but we need a double for disney and while it’s technically possible to fold and unfold single handedly, it requires more arm span and strength than I have
2) full recline and HUGE sun shade – traveling with kids = naps on the go and those two things are clutch. Unfortunately this rules out a lot of the teeny tiny strollers which I’m okay with
3) lightweight but large weight capacity. I make chunky kids. I have a 3 and 1 year old and combined they’re almost 80 pounds. I don’t need to be pushing an extra 20 pounds in stroller around or be concerned it’s going to collapse
4) cupholders for the adults and the kids
I want to thank everyone for the excellent advice here. Thanks to the pandemic we have barely used our stroller for our 2yo and as it is one of the car seat/convertible ones it is totally inappropriate for use at the parks. We’re hoping to make a Disneyland trip later this year once vaccines are available for the under 5 set and would be driving down so bringing our own stroller makes the most sense.
I can’t remember where we were, but on one of our early trips with a child, we ended up buying a collapsible stroller. I don’t know the current cost, but at the time it was probably $20 at Target. It’s a better deal than Disney’s rental prices.
We ended up bringing that stroller home and using it for several years as a small lightweight option.
I don’t know what you do if you buy one on vacation but don’t need it at home. I’d hate to see them thrown away.
At $27 per day, the double is almost twice as expensive as one you can get from a third part vendor ($85 for a 4-7 night rental). That coupled with the fact that they look extremely uncomfortable and I am not sure why anyone would rent the stroller at the parks as opposed to getting one from a third party vendor.
We have a kid who is one and uses a stroller and one who’s four, and doesn’t need a stroller any more under normal circumstances – but Disney days and distances are long. We’re visiting from the UK, so for our trip last month we brought our YoYo Zen (tiny, foldable stroller that fits in an overhead locker and is narrow enough to make it down an aeroplane aisle) specifically for the airport. Heathrow and Orlando both have gates a long way from the terminal, and our little guy is chunky: we wouldn’t be able to carry him and the hand luggage for the distance required.
We always stay offsite, usually at the Waldorf, so we’re not caught by the on-site resorts’ rules about stroller delivery. We used Orlando Stroller Rentals and got a three-wheel Bob Revolution Double delivered to the hotel; it was waiting when we arrived. It was actually much more manouverable than the (blisteringly expensive) Bugaboo Fox we use at home for just one kid. Both children used it for two weeks very happily. It came with a nice little console for parents that fitted two drinks and a snack, and has tons of pockets as well as a very big carrying space underneath.
Tom, there are a few things that probably aren’t obvious if you’re not dealing with stroller-age kids! The first is that they sleep in the day, and you absolutely don’t want to wake them if they are doing; it’s key to keeping them in a good mood and, surprisingly, to helping them to sleep well at night. So renting and being able to get them to wherever you’re going outside the parks easily without having to wake them to return the stroller is a big deal. Monorail resort visitors are golden: you can wheel a sleeping/sleepy kid all the way to your room without having to move them. We always drive (Minnie Vans when they’re a thing) in large part because of the hassle of dealing with moving tired or sleeping kids in and out of buggies.
Kids are heavy and often wriggly even when they’re awake. Even with my tiny, folding YoYo Zen (which always came to the parks with us when we only had one) I would never have considered folding it and carrying it to avoid crowds; while I see your point about post-firework crowds, once you’re ALSO carrying a kid it’s just too tricky to do the one-arm-fold-and-shuffle. (If you’ve dealt with those crowds and a buggy once, you figure out strategies to avoid them – we leave before fireworks, we leave partway through or we leave much, much later.)
The additional space to carry stuff (we have a big change bag with snacks, drinks bottles, nappies etc. and a change of clothes for both kids looped over the handles, with all the extra room the underneath of the buggy offers) is brilliant. Before we had kids I was a no-bag or fanny pack visitor; that’s just not an option with children. But it is VERY nice to have somewhere to put those Figment popcorn buckets you’ve hoarded for eBay. (I joke. I do not do that stuff.)
And finally, those buggies have rainproof covers. Dad and I don’t mind getting wet (and I always pack ponchos for the whole family), but it can be unpleasant for the kids; they really like having their dry little cave inside the thing.
The Disney buggies you can rent in the park are uncomfortable for the children because they’re so hard, and they don’t recline: both of these factors mean that your nap-age children will not nap, which makes the rest of the day pretty tough for everybody. And the manouverability of the Bob Revolution is extraordinarily good; I can’t compare that with the park strollers, but I’d be surprised if they were as easy to get out of tight spots.
Our excellent double stroller from a third-party company rocked up at $150 for 13 days. That’s considerably cheaper than the much less convenient, much less comfortable Disney alternative – $13 rather than $27. And it includes insurance (which I was grateful for, because my son appears to have eaten one of the shoulder pads).
When we first brought two kids to WDW we rented from Apple Strollers and got the City Mini Double. It was light, fit through doors and was very mobile. We loved it so much we bought one when we got home.
Disney mom of one child here-you need a stroller just as much at the beginning and end of the day as you do during the day-so bring your own!! Carrying a sleeping child (whose weight somehow doubles) from the park to your transportation is not a good end to a magical day. Moms of two or more children need their own stroller even more-or at least a rental that can leave the park with them. Plus you then have it for the resort, the airport, etc.
We straight up started calling the stroller “the pack-mule” by the time the kids were about 4 and 6 – see posts below about the value of having a place for stuff for the family. We kept a stroller until the youngest was 7 or 8 for this reason.
We only used a double once and said never again! Our problem was getting all the stuff out of the stroller to collapse it on transportation and then lugging it on transportation – if we were driving ourselves and only had to collapse it in our own vehicle then we might have felt differently. Our second problem was that is was harder to maneuver. We found that switching turns in the stroller worked well for us and only took one tried and true stroller (aircraft aluminum – composite not yet a thing – but, yes, Tom we felt about our stroller needs exactly as you do) plus a sling or baby/toddler carrier/backpack stored in the stroller for the odd time that both needed a rest at the same time. FWIW the carrier also came in handy in those areas where strollers were not allowed and we didn’t want to have all our arms full of children.
My kids are almost old enough to stop using a stroller (5 and 7), and we have recently switched to a single instead of the double, but my favorite thing about it was that it was somewhere to keep all of our stuff. We always hung our backpack on it so we wouldn’t have to carry it around. We also had a 12 can soft sided cooler that we would fill half with soda for us and half with capri sun for the kids, plus cheese sticks and other snacks, and it fit perfectly into one half of the cargo area under the seats. The rest of that area was always full of ponchos and bubble wands and whatnot. I will admit it was difficult at some times, mostly on the parking trams, but inside the parks we never really had a problem navigating the crowds. You just can’t be in a hurry or you’ll hit people’s ankles, and I didn’t want to be that guy. Also, cup holders are awesome. It will be nice to not need a stroller, but I will be sad that I will have to wear the backpack again.
Was so curious about trying out strollers with kids at Disney World, so we rented one and went to Magic Kingdom for the day. Hated every minute of it. Will never rent a three year old again.
But really, if these operate similarly to the ones you can rent at Legoland, they’re great and actually maneuver better (tighter corners) than our four wheeled stroller or the bob city jogger. And I can see renting one for backup for another couple of years just to prolong everyone’s day in the park.
City dweller here and yup, we have a big stroller, an umbrella stroller, and a wagon. All serve their purposes depending on the situation, outing, landscape (beach v. park v. pavement v. subway, etc.) That being said, for DW with a 3 year old, I would definitely bring the umbrella stroller with decent storage underneath. It would have to be something that my daughter could easily jump in an out of without too many straps, is lightweight enough to lug on and off DW transportation, and could fit the 1 million things you need to carry around with a toddler. I would not want to rent one of these Minnie/Mickey ones because I would want one for the resort, Disney Springs, walking from the park exit to buses, etc. I think I would be inclined to bring my own from home – would be good in the airport too. Curious as to what age other parents stop using strollers on DW trips! I imagine it’s much later than what we would do at home.