Stroller for older kids

[veggirl]

This thread has been so helpful because it shows the diversity of opinions and experiences, and really helps people see it's all about what works best for your family! Thanks!!

 

[Lysha14]

A lot of great info here. I learned some great tips for my oldest, 8. I was worried about the afternoon tiredness but thanks to you ladies I got some tips!

 

[Kacedia]

We will be renting a double for our October trip, and although it is mainly for our "will have just turned 3" year old, I know that my 6yr old will utilize it as well at times. Heck, chances are her older sisters (8 & 9) will even ask to have a sit down....don't think I'll be pushing them around, but that would signal time for a break for sure.

 

[rg35]

Forget about the haters!

We rented two double disney strollers for our 7 year old triplets last year. The girls, who are smaller, shared one, and our son used one for himself. Used in parks only. Do what you think will make your trip more enjoyable for you and your family.

I know the Disney park strollers are expensive to rent, but I don't really think there are other models that are big enough for older/bigger kids.

We are going again in June and will not be doing strollers this year, however, so we'll see how it goes.

Honestly I think the thing I will miss most is having a place to hang bags and stuff when going on rides and having to carry everything with us now.

 

[J. Iminy]

I like the strollers for selfish reasons. My wife and I are avid runners and gym goers. Having the kids (6,4 and 6mos this year, and 7, 5 and 1 next when we go) in the strollers in the past has made our time in the park easier and more pleasant/efficient. In addition to providing them breaks when needed, we are much faster when we pushing them around the parks and can get a lot more done than if we had to make the older two walk. They are pretty active too and will likely want to walk most of the time, but the fact is that we can just move faster from place to place without them. In addition to having somewhere to store our stuff and providing more flexibility for staying later in the park (they can konk out easier), it just works for us.

Frankly, before reading this board it never even dawned on me that this would be viewed as "coddling" older kids. My kids will likely want to walk more often than not (and actually fight us to walk on their own), so I never really thought about it as "giving in" to them. Though I guess I see how it could be viewed that way. I just want the flexibility to have the stroller, especially for late in the day, to move around the park quicker because their little legs are only so fast and we like to walk everywhere (for example, we may walk through Epcot, around WS twice, through the BW and then over to DHS in the same day). We definitely won't force them to ride all the time, but at certain points of the day I think it will just be better for us adults to move quicker and get more done. Particularly since we are a family that opens and (nearly) closes parks-- and the kids love that.

 

[TristiK]

We have a 3 year old (will be 4 and 2 months on the trip) and a 7 year old. We will definitely need a stroller for the youngest as she still naps and I'm sure will be tired of walking by the afternoon. I'm considering renting a double though. My oldest hasn't ridden in a stroller since she was 3. However, she has a genetic disorder (Turner Syndrome) which causes growth restriction. She takes daily shots of HGH which can cause severe joint pain. She's had some issues lately and I can see the massive amounts of walking causing more problems. Will some people judge me for putting my 7 year old in a stroller? Probably. Is it worth ruining her experience over because she's in pain? No. I say do what is right for you and your family.

 

[CharleneR]

I didn't read through all the replys, but 2 years ago we went to San Diego and my boys were 9 and 6 (almost 7) and had no problems walking everywhere we went. We were on the go everyday walking around Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari park (which is HUGE) and many other places. Their only "practice" was a day walking around Hershey Park for almost 12 hours. We took breaks when needed and if they got tired standing in line I just had them sit on the ground

 

[DnA2010]

Haven't read all the replies, but our trip when DD was 6, was go go go and DD had no issues walking - I think the parks gave her a heck of a rush. She is a naturally easy kid and we don't do complaining so we wouldn't get any of that. I don't think we would have got her in a stroller at 6, let along 8. However to each their own- you know your kids and their needs

 

[keepswimming76]

It is all about your child and his/her best needs. Some children have non-visable issues that may make keeping them in a stroller a good strategy...as long as he/she is okay with it. Our son (now 9) is small for his age, and has high-funtioning autism. We last rented a double for him and his sister when he was 7 and she was 4.

The stroller has provided a respite when he may feel overwhelmed, gives him a rest because he can tire easily, and helps us to keep a good eye on him. But we are at the end of the line with him using it now as he is getting too big.

Just do what makes sense for your family.
People should not judge others for situations they may not be aware of.

 

[worleygirl26]

My daughter was 1 last year and my son was 6. At the end of day 1 I called to switch my single to a double. We are a very active bunch that are on the go all the time normally but Disney is different. We traveled to get there, our routine was messed up, and he was more tired than usual. I have no issue getting a stroller for him. It gave him a place to sit and have a snack and drink while we were able to stay mobile. Plus his sister loves having a buddy beside her. We are going in June and will definitely have a double again.

 

[3ferreiras]

I agree that it's good to have your kids "train" for Disney by going on walks before the trip. However, since you are going to Disney in the summer, this will probably not be enough to go completely stroller-less. Most adults would prefer being pushed around some of the time in the crazy heat! In my opinion, your best option is to rent a single stroller on the days you think you'll need it the most and have the kids switch off as needed. Not having to listen to whining is worth the money! It's also nice to have a stroller so you have a place for your bag. It'll be so much easier to take a few snacks and water bottles into the park and not have to lug a bag all day.

 

[harrowgirl]

Last trip (10 days) with our 5 and 7 year olds we brought a single stroller. The intention was to have a single stroller plus glider board, but the airline lost my board.

Anyways, my son (age 5) liked riding in the stroller with the hood down for a sensory break (he has autism), but I found my 7 year old daughter liked having a break in the stroller at times as well. Sometimes we would park the stroller in a stroller parking area and leave it for a while if we were staying within a pretty close area.

Not sure what we are doing on our May trip (ages 5 and 7 still, but almost 6 and 8) if we are bringing it or not. It is nice to have a place to hold our stuff, but it is so much easier not pushing the stroller around. I'm inclined to bring it just so my son has a place to decompress by himself if he needs to.

I have never had an issue getting from point a to point b and we ALWAYS use a touring plan.

 

[harrowgirl]

It is all about your child and his/her best needs. Some children have non-visable issues that may make keeping them in a stroller a good strategy...as long as he/she is okay with it. Our son (now 9) is small for his age, and has high-funtioning autism. We last rented a double for him and his sister when he was 7 and she was 4.

The stroller has provided a respite when he may feel overwhelmed, gives him a rest because he can tire easily, and helps us to keep a good eye on him. But we are at the end of the line with him using it now as he is getting too big.

Just do what makes sense for your family.
People should not judge others for situations they may not be aware of.

funny - I hadn't seen this response and wrote basically the same thing for our son! I was really surprised last trip how much he wanted to ride in the stroller with the shade pulled all the way down to cover himself. The previous trip he had pretty much refused to ride in the stroller. But it was nice because we could keep going, and he had a place to calm himself.

 

[DisneyOma]

I'd hate to have to lug a double stroller onto a bus so I'd be the last one saying to use one. Plus, if I had to have a double stroller because I brought a bunch of crap with me and couldn't carry it, I'd be even more miserable!

Travel light, rent a stroller as needed. Last time we brought a stroller was for our 2 year old. Last time I ever carried stuff other than my own crap was then too.

 

[wiccan92]

I'll be going at the end of September and was just wondering about a stroller for my 5 1/2 y/o. She's definitely a whiner when she starts to get tired. I was thinking about using a stroller for the evenings or end of the week. This thread was helpful in helping me determine if/when we would use the stroller. But now I have no idea if I should rent or bring one with me!

 

[SpecialMom]

I have been getting stares about my son sitting in a stroller at Disney for years. Here is the difference. It was either push his wheelchair around in the park without a canopy or sitting in a nicer stroller that provides shade from the son and it also way more comfortable. We are always renting the stroller and so far the GT Mini has worked for us. This year we may need to rent the special needs stroller which is HUGE but its still better then pushing a wheelchair around. My 8 year old is on the smaller side. He is around 48 inches which is the absolute maximum you can fit in a GT Mini. If you don't want to reserve beforehand, just go to their store and 'test sit' your kid and then decide which will work for you.

 

[DisneyOma]

I'm looking for advice on strollers for older kids. DD(8) and DS(6) haven't ridden in a stroller for a long time but I'm considering it for summer WDW trip because I've heard it's a lot of walking and I'd much rather push a kid then carry one or listen to non-stop whining about walking. But it's hard to think about a stroller with an 8 year old...

So if we go for it, I'm thinking we'd just do the Disney ones because those should fit the older kids. Reading through the threads I'm thinking single because people seem to indicate doubles are harder to maneuver in the parks.

But I'm really interested in others thoughts/advice on the topic, this will be our first trip to the parks! Thanks!

How big are your kids? How much do they weigh?

Two points - most strollers won't hold the average sized 8 year old, even the double ones. And pushing an 8 year old and a 6 year old around for hours is hard - who will be doing the pushing? Someone with a ton of stamina I hope!

 

[Shellyb84]

I'm a big believer in the stroller. We live in the city and walk everywhere but Disney is its own level of exhaustion. Having the stroller means I can move a lot faster than if I'm waiting for little legs to try and catch up. It also gives my son a place to rest and maybe even nap. On our last trip to Disneyland he fell asleep in the stroller after the fireworks and I was able to spend an hour alone in the park wandering and shopping without being rushed. It was wonderful!

This exactly! We never use a stroller anywhere else, but I dread the day of not having one at Disney! Our DD walks sooooo slow so the stroller allows us to get places faster, and I don't have to worry about holding a hand constantly, and no whining. We were able to do late EMH while our daughter napped peacefully in the stroller, also keeping her happy and well resting for the next morning. I also like having a place to store our bag, carry our cups, tie a balloon to, carry a small cooler for water, etc. We will be doing a split stay with a monorail and Epcot resort so rarely have to fool with folding it to get on a bus. She'll be a month away from 7 on our next trip and we will be taking it again. Who cares what other people think? Only you know what works best for your family, and I think anything to make the parks easier and keep everyone happy is a good thing!

 

[Shellyb84]

I'm looking for advice on strollers for older kids. DD(8) and DS(6) haven't ridden in a stroller for a long time but I'm considering it for summer WDW trip because I've heard it's a lot of walking and I'd much rather push a kid then carry one or listen to non-stop whining about walking. But it's hard to think about a stroller with an 8 year old...

So if we go for it, I'm thinking we'd just do the Disney ones because those should fit the older kids. Reading through the threads I'm thinking single because people seem to indicate doubles are harder to maneuver in the parks.

But I'm really interested in others thoughts/advice on the topic, this will be our first trip to the parks! Thanks!

And we use a Baby Jogger City Elite. It was kind of pricey (I think you can rent one though) but there's room for bigger kids, I can maneuver and fold it with one hand, so it was well worth the money.

 

[maxiesmom]

How big are your kids? How much do they weigh?

Two points - most strollers won't hold the average sized 8 year old, even the double ones. And pushing an 8 year old and a 6 year old around for hours is hard - who will be doing the pushing? Someone with a ton of stamina I hope!

It isn't that hard. One trip, after she kept falling waaay behind, I got a stroller for my then 6 year old niece. It was either a stroller for her, or resigning the other 5 people to walking at a snail's pace. She wanted to walk slow and look at everything, not pay attention to where she was walking or anything else. Having her in a stroller made the trip enjoyable for everyone. And the Disney strollers are very easy to push.