Bugaboo Butterfly at Disney World Review - The Best Stroller for Disney?
We recently took our first trip to Disney World and brought a new stroller: the ultra-compact Bugaboo Butterfly. Join me in this post as I detail its features and share how it handled in the parks and at the airport.
We recently took our first trip to Disney World and brought a new stroller: the ultra-compact Bugaboo Butterfly. Join me in this post as I detail its features and share how it handled at the airport, in the parks, and everywhere in between.
Stroller Stats
Folded Bugaboo Butterfly and under seat basket
Bugaboo Butterfly Size and Specifications
- Open Dimensions: 40.5" (height) x 18" (width) x 36.5" (length)
- Folded Dimensions: 18" x 19.5" x 21.5"
- Very precise most-compact fold dimensions from Bugaboo: 17.72" x 9.06" x 21.26"
- Weight: 16 lbs
- Seat back height: 24 inches
- Child weight/height limit: 50 lbs and 48 inches
The Bugaboo Butterfly is what is known as an "ultra-compact travel stroller." It's lightweight and easy to carry, folds small enough to fit in an overhead bin on a plane, and super maneuverable. As far as travel strollers go, the Butterfly has the highest seat back that I'm aware of, making it perfect for taller toddlers.
It's seat can recline to "near flat" as they call it, but I wouldn't say it reclines enough for a super small infant. Definitely good enough for nap time for an older baby or toddler, though!
Price
As of May 2025, the Bugaboo Butterfly sells for $550, making it one of the pricier ultra-compact strollers on the market. This is about $50 more than it sold for last year and a lot more than what I paid. 😅 I managed an open box return from Bugaboo's "Pretty Perfect" refurbished section and saved about 25%. Still expensive, but a bit more reasonable. I'd definitely recommend watching for a "Pretty Perfect" refurbished model or wait for v1 Bugaboo Butterfly models to go on sale since Bugaboo has announced a version 2 (for $600). 😳
I don't blame you if even 25% off sounds too expensive. In that case I'd recommend you check out the Summer Infant 3D Lite which can be had for less then $100. It's a little bulkier and doesn't have quite as compact of a fold, but is frankly pretty darn good. If you're interested in that, check out my Summer Infant stroller review.
Air Travel
Bugaboo Butterfly in Subaru Crosstrek and in transport bag
For air travel, the Bugaboo Butterfly is truly my dream stroller. Its ability to fold down so compactly means it tucks effortlessly into our small Subaru alongside all of our baggage and glides through crowded airports with ease.
It can fit in the overhead bins on most airplanes, meaning that you can treat it as a carry on. If you plan on doing this, though, I recommend getting an outer bag for it to make it look more like luggage and less like a stroller. Otherwise the gate attendants will assume you will be gate checking and may question it. We purchased the official Bugaboo backpack for ours, but to be honest I'd probably pick a generic stroller backpack if I were to do it again.
We actually decided to gate check ours, just because with the carseat and our real carryon suitcases it is too much to handle. The Bugaboo backpack is padded and protects it well enough, but we decided to double bag ours in our stroller bag that we've used in the past.
Without a doubt, from now on this will be my preferred stroller to fly.
Disney Transportation
Perhaps even more crucial than its air travel performance, the Bugaboo Butterfly truly shone on Disney transportation. It exceeded all my expectations. Its compact size allowed us to easily tuck it between the handrails by the seats on the Monorail, and its sturdy brake held it firmly in place, preventing any incidents.
Bugaboo Butterfly on a Monorail and in a crowded Disney bus
For Disney's buses and boats, where strollers must be collapsed, the Bugaboo Butterfly's compactness and portability truly shined, allowing me to effortlessly tuck it between my legs when sitting or even hold it securely while standing.
I think my Summer Infant 3D Lite stroller would have been fine as well in these situations, but I definitely wouldn't want to bring anything bigger than an umbrella stroller on a crowded Disney bus!
Park Performance
A recurring theme you've likely noticed is my admiration for the Bugaboo Butterfly's compact and nimble design. These very attributes make it an ideal stroller for navigating Disney Parks. Its wheels are perfectly sized to glide smoothly over park pavement, it has a pretty good suspension, and its compact form allows for incredible agility, making it exceptionally easy to maneuver through dense crowds. Unlike some of the massive strollers we passed, we never had trouble finding a slot to park it.
The stroller's canopy is pretty good. Not as good as our full sized stroller. but it gets the job done and shaded most of our toddler during the day. Sunscreen and a UPF50 blanket was necessary for her legs, though. The mesh window's position directly in the center of the canopy was a design choice I wasn't thrilled with. Although we liked having it open to check on our child, doing so necessitated fully extending the canopy, which frustratingly blocked her view. This meant it typically remained zipped shut unless she was napping and needed maximal shade.
The 5-point harness is very easy to work with. It's quick to load and, more importantly, quick to release. This means that if you see a ride with a five-minute wait or a character with no line you can quickly pop the kid out of the stroller and hustle on over to it. Likewise, it is super easy to fold. I might not have been able to fold it in "one-second" like the box claims, but I could definitely do it in under five every time.
Overall, the Bugaboo Butterfly was a joy to use in the parks.
Does the Bugaboo Butterfly tip over?
Before buying this stroller, I'd seen some reviews suggesting it could tip easily. I could see this happening potentially with an older kid if they like to lean over the side of the stroller, but we had no problems with it and at no point was I concerned that it would tip.. If you are concerned, however, there is a wrist strap attached to the handlebar that can give you a little more peace of mind. We rarely, if ever, found ourselves using it though. I think the upcoming Butterfly v2 has larger wheels so maybe that helps mitigate this issue even further, but like I said, I'm not too worried about it tipping.
Accessories
We ended up rounding out our stroller with the following accessories. Here's a few quick reviews of them if you're interested. 🙂
Bumper Bar
The Butterfly does not come standard with a bumper bar which I think is a bit ridiculous given the price. I managed to get an "open box" bar for not too much and I'd definitely recommend having one since kids tend to like something to hang on to and it provides a platform for attaching fans and other accessories.
Bugaboo Butterfly Transport Backpack
We bought the official backpack for the stroller because it seemed like it would be handy in the airport. I don't regret buying it because I think it helps protect the stroller if you decide to gate check it, but I think I would buy a cheaper generic backpack for the Butterfly instead.
Oxo Stroller Hooks
I originally bought these stroller hooks because I thought we could hang our diaper bag off of them. Unfortunately, our diaper bag ended up weighing over 20 lbs and it was too heavy for the stroller to carry. That said, the hooks are very high quality and we still found them useful for carrying souvenir bags and other lighter weight items like hats and even the refillable resort mugs.
LED Slap Bracelets
This one is a little weird, but hear me out. At night it can be difficult to see your stroller in the dark, so we brought some of the LED reflective bracelets that we use for walking and hiking back home. We just slapped on around the handlebar of our stroller and occasionally around a bar on the front to help make it easier to spot at night in the crowded parks.
Portable Fan
Last, but not least, a rechargeable mini fan is a must for hot Florida afternoons. There's a ton of these to pick from on Amazon. We just went with one that was cheap enough that we wouldn't be sad if it broke and had a reasonable amount of 5 start reviews.
Final Takeaways
The Bugaboo Butterfly stroller proved to be an exceptional companion for our Disney World trip, largely thanks to its ultra-compact design and unparalleled portability. It excelled in every aspect, from being able to fit into overhead plane and navigating crowded airports, to seamlessly handling Disney World's transportation and parks. The only downside, in my opinion, is its cost and lack of included bumper bar for the price. That said, I don't regret purchasing it and would highly recommend this stroller if you're looking for something that is a breeze to travel with to Disney World. Cheers! 🎅🍻
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