FAQs with Mouse Brief: Do I need to bring a stroller to Disneyland Resort? What are the ages of children using prams in Disneyland? Is my child too old for a stroller at Disneyland? Can my young child visit Disneyland with a stroller?
Smart watches on wrists everywhere will tell you: visiting Disneyland Resort involves a lot of walking for a lot of people! You might be wondering whether you should bring (or rent) a stroller for your Disneyland Resort visit. Every family is different, so of course there is no definitive answer to the question of whether you should bring a stroller to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Instead, we are going to take you through some points to consider.
Before we begin, we have a quick note for guests with disabilities. We are going to list some restrictions for stroller use in Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. If you use a stroller as a mobility device or to transport medical equipment in the parks, “Stroller as a Wheelchair” tags are available from guests services. This will allow you to bring your stroller into attraction queues.
Should You Use a Stroller in Disneyland?
Here are a few points to consider when making your decision.
Many Mouske-Miles
Most guests report logging many miles over a single day at Disneyland Resort. If you use a stroller at home to visit places like parks, museums or zoos—yes—you will probably want a stroller for Disneyland Resort. If you have recently transitioned away from a stroller, the answer might be a little trickier. So, please keep reading for other points to take into consideration.
So Much To See & Do!
You will probably walk many miles at Disneyland Resort, but along the way, there are countless captivating stops.
When we visit Disneyland Resort, we find that our children will jet from one exciting attraction to the next without thinking much about the distance. Even between attractions, there are many enticing sights, sounds and smells to capture their attention. A walk that might seem long at home can be magical at Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park.
If you think your kids will forget about their tired feet as long as they are interested in what is happening, you can probably go without a stroller. However, this can also work against parents and other caregivers: if you are concerned about little ones spotting something exciting and dashing out of your line of sight, you may want a stroller just to keep them close.
Disneyland Attractions Are Close Together
If you have previously been to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, you may be surprised by the compact layout of Disneyland Park in California. Attractions are clustered densely throughout Disneyland Park.
In a place like Fantasyland, you can park your stroller once and experience a bunch of attractions with minimal travel between them. Once you are done, you can leave Fantasyland and move on to the next land. (Incidentally, this is how we recommend spending your early mornings at Disneyland Park: you can read about that here.)
Do keep in mind that you may not want to do all of the attractions in one area back-to-back. If the parks are even moderately crowded, you might instead find yourself zig-zagging across the parks. We do this to take advantage of short waits. Lighting Lane Multi Pass can also send us scooting from one end of the park to the other just to catch our reservation window for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Disney California Adventure Park does not have as many attractions as Disneyland Park. Still, it is pretty tightly packed with fun! Plus, the two parks themselves are close together!
The Disney Parks Are Next-door Neighbors
One of the best things about Disneyland Resort is that Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park are right across the Esplanade from one another. You can see the entrance of one as you exit the other! If you have a Park Hopper you can easily, well, hop between the two without much time lost.
If you do decide to use a Park Hopper (or a Magic Key), this will probably put some additional miles on your feet. The parks are very close together, but now you will be bouncing around two parks. You might even decide to visit Downtown Disney District. We recommend taking Park Hopping into account when deciding whether to bring a stroller to Disneyland Resort.
Think About Travel Outside the Parks
Even if you think you might not want to deal with a stroller in Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, do consider the trip to and from your hotel or other lodging.
If you plan on walking from your area hotel, take a look at the distance. You may also want to consider how many streets you will need to cross. Walking back to your hotel may not be the longest walk of the day, but with exhausted kids, it might just feel like it. Plus, the ambiance outside that parks is not nearly as exciting. Once you arrive at everyday asphalt and traffic lights, your kids might suddenly realize how tired they have become. In this situation, a piggy-back ride from a grown-up might do the trick… or you may want a stroller
On other other hand, you might be planning to take a shuttle or the monorail (from the Disneyland Hotel) to the parks. In that case, you may not need a stroller or want to hassle with one.
If you plan on driving to the parks, will you want to use the shuttle to travel from the parking area or walk? Keep in mind that children are not allowed to ride in strollers on the parking tram. Also, monorail and shuttle operators may ask you to fold your stroller during your ride.
Strollers Are Great Places to Relax in Disneyland
Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park are dynamic and awe-inspiring places. That also means they can be exhausting places, especially for little ones.
We offered some suggestions for places to relax in both parks in 5 Best Places to Relax in Disneyland Park and 5 Best Places to Relax in Disney California Adventure Park. But no matter where you park it, a stroller can be a nice place for little ones to relax.
On a crowded day, the comfortable personal space that a stroller provides can be priceless for an over-stimulated toddler. If you think your kids will need a kind of mobile retreat, you may want to consider bringing a stroller to Disneyland Resort.
But…Strollers Are Not Allowed in Disneyland Queues
There are areas of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park where stroller use is restricted.
You are typically not allowed to bring a stroller into an attraction queue (unless it is tagged as “Stroller as a Wheelchair”). If an area of either parks is particularly congested, you might be asked to leave your stroller outside that land. An example of this is the stroller parking just outside Mickey’s Toontown.
Because strollers are not allowed in queues, we will sometimes park our stroller and experience a cluster of attractions before returning to it. For example, we might park our stroller in Cars Land to ride Luigi’s Rollickin Roadsters, follow that with a spin on Maters Junkyard Jamboree and then line-up for a Meet and Greet with Lightning McQueen near Flo’s V8 Cafe. Only after we exchanges “Kachows!” with Lightning do we go retrieve our stroller from its parking spot.
Keep in mind that, even if you bring a stroller to Disneyland Resort, you will not be able to use it everywhere.
Other Stroller Restrictions to Keep in Mind
Strollers must be no larger than 31″ (79 cm) x 52″ (132 cm): strollers larger than these parameters are not allowed. Stroller wagons or wagons of any kind are not allowed inside Disneyland Resort.
Strollers are not allowed on escalators. Children are not allowed to sit inside strollers on parking trams. You may be asked to fold your stroller while riding the tram or monorail. Cast members may move strollers to keep walkways clear. Just as bags area checked, strollers are subject to inspection at security checkpoints.
Final Thoughts on Whether to Bring a Stroller to Disneyland
Well, that was a lot of information. Here’s a summary:
Reasons to Bring a Stroller to Disneyland Resort
You may want to bring a stroller to Disneyland Resort (or rent one) if you:
- Regularly use a stroller at home.
- Want to keep kids close for safety reasons.
- Plan on Park Hopping or visiting Downtown Disney District
- Think you will be crossing the parks repeatedly.
- Have a significant walk to your hotel or other lodging.
- Want some place for your children to relax.
Reasons to Skip Bringing a Stroller to Disneyland Resort
You might decide to visit Disneyland Resort without a stroller if you:
- Never use a stroller at home.
- Believe your kids will be too distracted to get tired.
- Are staying close to the parks.
- Do not want the hassle of taking strollers on shuttles, monorails, trams or through security.
- Have a stroller that is too big for Disneyland’s stroller restrictions and do not feel like renting one
- Think you will not use a stroller much anyway
Thank you for reading this decision guide on whether to bring a stroller to Disneyland Resort.
If you DO decide to bring a stroller to Disneyland Resort, we recommend checking-out this guide: Strollers at Disneyland Resort: Quick Tips and Strategies. We also have a post with tips for visiting with young children: 5 Tremendous Tips for Visiting Disneyland Resort with Young Kids. If you like what you see here, please consider subscribing below; we have a free newsletter which will deliver new posts straight to your inbox. Thanks again for reading!