Stroller for older kids

[maxiesmom]

I think you should just see how it goes. Rent a stroller if you need to. I don't think a trip to WDW should be turned into a forced march, nor do I think if one child is tired and needs a break the vacation has to stop for the rest of the family too. Go, and do what works best for your family, either with or without a stroller.

 

[Laura549]

We just got back from our first trip with an 8 year old and a 5 year old( will be 6 in June). We decided to rent a citi mini gt stroller from kingdom strollers as the height and weight restrictions were good for my 5 year old. I am so happy we did! Some days we spent 8+ hours in the parks and it was a lot of walking! My legs and calfs were tired and I am in good shape! my 8 year old was fine, he was super tired at the end of the day and his feet hurt but he was a trooper. I don't think you need a stroller for the older children but it might be nice for the younger one, especially in the heat. There was also several times he was able to get a quick cat nap in too.

 

[veggirl]

Thanks everyone, I've really appreciated all the info and especially the details as to why for your family a stroller was great/a pain/not needed... this was exactly what I was looking for! And I'd love to hear more if anyone else has more to add!

Anyone go without a stroller and then end up renting one later in the day/trip?

@DSLRuser thanks for the follow-up with more info, it was helpful to better understand the downsides and I know you weren't picking me!

 

[Lmans77]

We are pro-stroller. We've had 3 previous trips and have rented a double citi mini each time. Now that my DD is 8, she is 54 lbs, and DS is 38 lbs at 6 years old, we are pushing up against the weight limit of the Citi Mini GT double. She's also said that she thinks she can walk now. Our next trip is Spring Break (just a week from now..woohoo!), and I'm renting a single citi mini GT which has a max weight of 65 lbs. So it'll be mostly for DS who is a bitty little thing, but they can share when she gets tired. Our first day is Epcot so that'll help so that she's fresh for World Showcase. Strollers never bothered us. Yes, they can be bulky and kinda a pain on the bus, but it is what it is. DH deals with the stroller, and I hold the kids hands. We are willing to stand on the bus so as to not take up more space than we already are. Or I make 1 kid sit on my lap when the bus is crowded. We also drive a lot to the parks because of the added hassle. We aren't much for busses anyway. lol.

 

[SmallWorld71]

A couple other thoughts:
- The summer heat can be brutal! IME, when we go to WDW in the summer, we ALL need to rest our legs/ take a break from the heat. You may find that you are too exhausted to push older kids around and that a better plan is for everyone to rest by either going back to the resort for a while, having a nice sit down lunch or something similar.
- Since your kids are close in age, you can go at their pace. Sometimes, there is more of a need for a stroller if you have a split in ages and little ones need to keep up with much older siblings.

As previously mentioned, every kid/ family is different. In my personal experience with my own 3: up through age 4 we had a stroller, 6 and up we went without. 5 was the iffy year and it varied by kid. We were more apt to use the stroller later in the week. YMMV

 

[LFSMom]

I would say play it by ear each day as others said. I would think maybe for Epcot and Animal Kingdom? However, I would do my best to avoid the stroller for older (heavier) kids. If they get tired, take a break, sit and enjoy the scenery and a Mickey Bar!
We rented a double stroller for our last trip with a 3 and 5 year old. The 3 yr old rode in it, napped in it, it was great. The 5 year old was too excited to sit in it, except maybe to be pushed back to the room at night! Probably could have gone with a single. Anyway, folding it up and trying to get on the bus with the two kids and that huge stroller was not fun. And we were there in late Sept and still found my husband standing up holding it on the bus on many an occasion. Then as someone else said, last time we went, we would leave the stroller area as we went to an attraction, only to come out and find it moved and have to go find it. This didn't happen often, but a few times was annoying enough. Plus side, is was nice for storage..
My family is heading back this September and our kids will be 4, 8 and 10. This time I will get a single for the youngest who will just have turned 4. I am a rope drop, get all the big rides in in the AM and relax in the PM kind of mom, so I cant have that 4 year old slowing me down!
The only down side I can see to playing it by ear, is we rented our stroller in advance and had it delivered to our hotel and it was much cheaper than renting an uncomfortable Disney stroller. Not sure, can you call the local stroller companies and have them deliver after you are already checked in? I wonder..

 

[VillainFavs]

First trip, kids were 5 and 7. Stroller never even crossed my mind. And we never got one. Never looked back, never regretted it, never thought twice about. Did we go commando from park open to close every single day? Nope. But that's okay. We lived. If kids dragged a bit, we took a break. If I dragged a bit, we took a break. We walked along together instead of them sitting in a stroller and me talking to the tops of their heads that I could even see. We didn't see fireworks every night. We didn't make rope drop every morning. But we did some of that. We saw everything we wanted. And we saw even more on our next trip. We had quiet times where we sat and took a break. Some of the slower, quiet times are the things they remember most--and some of my favorite memories too. And we survived without a stroller to store all our "stuff". We carried one small backpack that DH and I took turns with.

Yep, with a stroller we may have logged more park hours, maybe gotten in more repeat rides on headliners, seen every single night show and been at every single rope drop. But I guess those weren't my priorities.

 

[2binak]

Anyone go without a stroller and then end up renting one later in the day/trip?

DD was almost 6 during our first trip without a stroller. We live in the North and by mid-November, hadn't seen warm temperatures in nearly 3 months. Our first day at WDW, the temp hit 89. With the heat index, it was in the mid to upper 90's. By 2pm, DD, who is active, in good shape and not a complainer, was wilting in the heat (as were the adults!). We were taking breaks in the shade & getting cool drinks & ice cream, but it wasn't helping so we rented a park stroller and it really did make a world of difference for her. It gave her some shade and a place to sit back, relax & re-energize. The heat stayed with us for the next 2 days so for 3 days out of our 7 day vacation, we rented a park stroller. She didn't sit in it all day long, but it was there when she needed it.

 

[shandysugar]

I have 7yo and 5yo DDs and I rented a single stroller for our trip in 2 weeks. My 7yo is adamant she isn't going to ride in it at all which is awesome, but...my 5 year old is a whiner! She constantly wants to be picked up or ride on my husbands shoulders when we have to walk any amount at all. I'm happy with my decision!

 

[Sunshinekid]

We used a stroller for our trips when DD was age 4.5 and age 5.5. She was 7.5 last year and we didn't use one.
We will sit and rest watching a show if we can. Typically we do from opening to after lunch in the parks and then head back to the hotel to chill inside or by the pool. Then we might head to Disney Springs or offsite for dinner. She was tired a couple of days last year and hubby lifted her on his shoulders for the walk back to the car at the theme parks.
All kids are different and if using a stroller means your kid is happier and you all enjoy your holiday more then go for it.

 

[Shanti]

I personally don't believe anyone on these boards are qualified to comment on anyone's parenting style. I think we should just give objective advice based on pros/cons on stroller use. If we stick to that, this won't be such a hot topic.

Why have discussion boards only to censor ourselves, and avoid real discussion?

In answer to the OP's question, no, I would never use a stroller for kids that age. They are fully capable of walking and should do so.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I have yet to meet a normal 8 or 6 year old with less energy than their parents. They will walk, they'll be fine. There are plenty of opportunities for giving little (and big) legs a rest in the parks!

 

[howaboutme]

Why have discussion boards only to censor ourselves, and avoid real discussion?

In answer to the OP's question, no, I would never use a stroller for kids that age. They are fully capable of walking and should do so.

Because this discussion board is about..........................Disney. Not parenting. Thanks.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

OP, my 39lb 6 year old gets tired easily, and would happily push our 2 year old out of the stroller. We do 10 miles a day, and we aren't anywhere near commando. Kids need a little shade and rest, and it is nice when they can take a nap and you get to enjoy a few things yourself. My 18 and 15 year old aren't begging to be pushed around, so just ignore anyone trying to turn this into a parenting issue.

Have a great trip!

 

[Paigevon]

We decided to buy a stroller for DD4 turning 5 even though she does ballet and gymnastics and hikes with us (aka pretty active) for our upcoming trip.

We are planning rope drop most mornings, long afternoon breaks/naps and then return for late evenings, so we're planning to just bring the stroller out for the evening half of the day and for Epcot. We're going 5 days straight so if she seems tired our last day, we'll let her use it the entire day. Except for our very first day, we're taking the rest of the trip slowly, and we'll rest as often as needed, but she still is not conditioned for 5 long days of walking in a row. We decided to buy because we calculated that its cheaper than renting one, especially if we're wanting one every evening, and we can sell the stroller when she outgrows it.

She's 44 lbs and tall for her age. We bought a nice heavy-duty "umbrella stroller" that goes up to 50 lbs, reclines, folds easily and has a carrying strap, and has a small storage basket and pouch. It was $85 at Bed Bath and Beyond, had a 20% off coupon, and I bought a $60 gift card for $50.80 from raise.com (7% off plus had a $5 off referral bonus) so ended up paying $58 for a $85 stroller, free shipping.

I've pushed her around a bit to see how it feels. Moves easily, even over uneven surfaces. Overall I really like it a lot, and wish I had it when she was younger---even though she barely used a stroller and was walking before 10 months. She is a little too long/tall to comfortably sleep in it, unless she bends her knees and twists to tuck them in to the side, though.

We bought:

Summer Infant® 3D lite™ Convenience Stroller in Greenwich Green

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...-in-greenwich-green/1043850068?skuId=43850068 (unfortunately no longer for sale online, but similarly priced on amazon, also at Babies R Us with use of coupon/giftcards)

Anyway, do whatever is right for your family.

 

[Shanti]

Because this discussion board is about..........................Disney. Not parenting. Thanks.

She asked a parenting question, & the topic of parenting comes up on the board all the time, as Disney is a family vacation destination. If someone asks about parenting, then anyone on the board should feel free to share their response.

 

[TJA]

To the OP . We used a double stroller in disney (and then a double jogger when our kids got older) and never once regretted having it along. As the kids got older, we often parked it in a park for a few hours and then came back for it, or some days we just left it right in our room. My kids really looked forward to getting cozy in it after a long day at the parks. I think it's different for each family -- all kids are different and all parents have different perspectives. But I just wanted to let you know that it's really ok if your family wants to use a stroller . I've known both kids and parents who didn't like strollers in Disney, but our family loved it and to be honest I was really sad when we stopped taking it to disney.

 

[Jewel3k]

We rented the heavier duty double bob stroller from one of the companies. It went up to 50 lbs on each side and 48 inches tall and was very maneuverable. My 9 year old was not yet 50 inches, but was over 48 inches last trip and she rode in it. Heck, she feel asleep one evening in it. Yes, she can walk, but our trip was more enjoyable for everyone because our three could take turns in the stroller. I am a fast walker and it drives me crazy to slow down to the kids pace. Being able to push them when I needed to walk faster saved my sanity. The Florida heat and humidity can take a lot out of people not use to it. We also ate ice cream more than once a day which we would never do at home so clearly we have different rules on vacation than home.

 

[mjkacmom]

Because this discussion board is about..........................Disney. Not parenting. Thanks.

You must be new here...

 

[TiggerTrigger]

You know your children best. For us...a stroller would not be necessary at those ages, but everyone is different. We also live in a similar climate, so heat isn't going to impact us as much as it would for those that aren't acclimated to warmer areas. Our kids went stroller free for the first time when they were 4 (2 mos from 5th bday) and 7 (recently turned 7). We had rented a stroller for them on their previous trip and they barely used it, so we knew it was fine. While it's a lot of walking, there's also a lot of sitting on attractions and standing in lines which gives them a bit of a break. The biggest key is to watch them to see if they're showing signs that they need a rest...and maybe that means relaxing on a bench for a bit or watching the Country Bear Jamboree just to get off your feet.

If it were me, I'd skip the advance rental and just look to in park stroller rentals as a back up plan. I will say this...after a number of trips with strollers...it was so liberating to be stroller free. Still, you have to do what's best for you.