Credit: Image via James Busecher | Twitter
Disney World is the No. 1 family destination in the world, and with those numbers it’s no surprise that stroller parking throughout the theme parks can be a hassle. At some rides parking and retrieving one’s stroller can be more time-consuming than the actual attraction.

This past weekend, Disney debuted a new pilot program to help alleviate some of the hassles around stroller parking. At Animal Kingdom, now the third busiest theme park in the Western Hemisphere, the new stroller parking test has guests using multiple smaller stroller parking areas.

When guests rent a Disney stroller, the stroller is tagged with a specific color that corresponds to one of three specific parking areas at each of the test attractions. Those guests who bring their own strollers will have their stroller tagged at the first attraction where they use the system. If a guest wants to change their color, they’re able to remove the tag and pick up a new one at their next attraction.

The system has the stroller parking areas at the attractions now broken into three smaller parking areas instead of one large area. This should help the crowds more easily disperse after a show or attraction lets out. Cast Members are located in the parking area to assist guest and to ensure that the strollers are being parked in their proper parking area.

The list of attractions where the system is in use include;

  • “it’s tough to be a bug”
  • Festival of the Lion King
  • Finding Nemo – The Musical
  • Kali River Rapids
  • Kilimanjaro Safaris
  • Rivers of Light
  • Wildlife Express Train
The test seems focused on shows and other attractions where a large number of guests would exit at the same time, with the exceptions being Kali River Rapids and Kilimanjaro Safaris. The Safari ride has always had its own issues due to the length of the ride and ride capacity, creating a massive sea of strollers, luckily the parking area for that ride is tucked away out of sight from most areas in the park. Neither of the Pandora: The World of Avatar and none of the Dinoland rides are included in the test. This could be due to the Dinoland kids rides being less popular and therefore don’t cause a large glut of strollers to sit out front of them.

That points to another issue with the new system. If the other Disney World parks adopt a similar stroller parking program, then some attractions would need to update their small stroller parking areas, especially at the Magic Kingdom where Cast Members regularly are required to move strollers around as new ones arrive often causing guests to struggle to find their strollers once they attempt to retrieve them.

While not perfect, the new system has received positive feedback on social media since debuting June 1.

Disney has not confirmed how long the pilot program will last.

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This article appears in May 30 – Jun 5, 2018.