Yet another stroller question/thoughts

[deedeew80]

So I wasn’t planning on renting a stroller for this trip but now I think I will after today! We live in NJ, right across from Philadelphia, and we decided to take the kids on the subway over to Philly for a few hours. (They’ve never been) I have an 8yr old daughter and a 6yr old son. They are exhausted! We were there for about 4 hours and walked a lot. Sat one time to eat and that was it. No way they will get through Disney without a stroller. I honestly thought they would be okay. Now, not too sure. I know in Disney there is a lot of walking, but we are also on and off rides. I don’t know. What is everyone else doing about a stroller for their kids? Specifically older kids?

 

[stephk1981]

So, this is going to be a controversial question lol! Some people are going to say your kids are too old, make them walk etc. My take, do what works best for your kids! I have a almost 10 DS and a almost 12 month DD. I always rented from kingdom strollers for DS until he was 7. We go a few times a year, they made it super easy with drop off at Bell services of your resort....then you leave it for kingdom strollers at Bell services for them to pick back up at the end of your trip. I'm going to admit my DS can be a little lazy about walking if I let him, so at 6, I thought he'd be walking more than he did. He used the stroller less and less though each of the 3 trips we took DS at age 6. I rented again the first trip after DS turned 7, he used it maybe twice the whole trip for a total of 15 minutes. We walk a lot at Disney!! I guess he just got used to the walking. If you do rent, IMO, I would rent a single and make your kids take turns. I doubt at 8 and 6 both will ride ALL the time. When neither need it, throw your stuff in it! Best thing about having another baby for me was getting a stroller to put our stuff in again, I hadn't realized how much I missed having one! I hope you have an amazing trip

 

[NYCgrrl]

So I wasn’t planning on renting a stroller for this trip but now I think I will after today! We live in NJ, right across from Philadelphia, and we decided to take the kids on the subway over to Philly for a few hours. (They’ve never been) I have an 8yr old daughter and a 6yr old son. They are exhausted! We were there for about 4 hours and walked a lot. Sat one time to eat and that was it. No way they will get through Disney without a stroller. I honestly thought they would be okay. Now, not too sure. I know in Disney there is a lot of walking, but we are also on and off rides. I don’t know. What is everyone else doing about a stroller for their kids? Specifically older kids?

The way I see it you are presented with 2 distinct choices for the next 4 hour or more outing with your children:

1) rent or buy a stroller

OR

2) Plan more downtime within the excursion. Not hard to do in Philly or WDW.

Your problem is not one I've ever faced at the current ages of your children. I worry more if I can keep up w/ them, LOL.

GL!

 

[SLim501]

This Philly girl is totally renting a stroller for my son that is turning 7 on our trip. We have gone back and forth on it and decided to bite the bullet and rent it. I am picturing it parked a lot during the day, but by the time evening rolls around, he is going to be tired and then the whining will start. Even if he only uses it when we are leaving the park and heading back to the resort, it will be worth it.

 

[Klayfish]

Yes, this becomes very controversial, but the right answer is do whatever you feel is best. We had our kids using strollers at WDW until they were 8 and I wouldn't have had it any other way. It worked perfect for us.

 

[mjkacmom]

The way I see it you are presented with 2 distinct choices for the next 4 hour or more outing with your children:

1) rent or buy a stroller

OR

2) Plan more downtime within the excursion. Not hard to do in Philly or WDW.

Your problem is not one I've ever faced at the current ages of your children. I worry more if I can keep up w/ them, LOL.

GL!

Me too! My kids would’ve been pushing us at those ages!

 

[Cherrychip]

Do what you think will work for your family. My kids are 5 1/2 and 8. We no longer need stroller for regular outings, but I will continue to use a stroller at Disney World. Disney World is a ton of walking and I bring a lot of stuff into the parks with us, so I want it to carry our stuff as much as for our kids to ride in (and, not gonna lie, I have perched on the edge of the stroller to rest when the kids were running around while we were waiting for fireworks and I was tired of standing, lol) As far as the kids go, our kids could make it through the day at Disney without the stroller if they had to, but I would hate to not have it at night when leaving the parks-we go rope drop to close, and they can handle it fine until it is time to leave, at which point they are exhausted and it would not be pretty trying to leave without the stroller. If someone were willing to push me and I could fit, I would gladly climb in a stroller myself at that point!

Honestly I will probably bring one even when the kids are way, way too big, because I use it as a rolling locker for our non-valuables such as rain ponchos, water bottles, snacks, sunscreen, princess dresses for the girls to wear during meet and greets, etc. No way am I walking all the way to wherever the lockers are every time I want to grab a snack or something, and we don't buy all our snacks/meals in the park because it gets expensive. I'm not good at traveling light at Disney, and I'd prefer pushing and parking a stroller over carrying all of our stuff with me all day.

 

[ElenaRN]

We intended to rent one on our trip last month. Mainly for our 4 yo but figured 7 yo would use it a little too. Well, we totally forgot to rent and decided to see how it went without.
The kids honestly did fine. They complained a little toward the end of each day but not too much. I probably complained more being 6m pregnant!

 

[unrequited23]

We will be bringing our sit and stand stroller for our 4.5 yr old and just turning 7 yr old this January.

In your place I would rent a stroller. The piece of mind knowing that I wouldn't have to carry a child through a crowd from the back of the park to the bus stop would be worth it to me. We tend to park ours and walk to visit several attractions in an area, then ride (as needed) to the next area of interest.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Personally, I would never bring a stroller for my kids at those ages. They have more energy than I do and pushing a stroller with a 50+ lb kid would just wear me out sooner and have me wanting to end the day early. Every family is different though and you have to do what's right for you. For what it's worth though, my DD walked our last trip when she was 7 over the course of 13 days, 10+ hrs/day without once complaining, and she's the kind of kid who still complains about walking at the grocery store. We just alternated shows and rides as much as possible and took snack breaks as needed.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We took DD when she was 5.5. We didn't take a stroller and said we would just rent one if it was absolutely needed. She did fine and never needed the stroller. We did a full week but we didn't do park commando. We did RD most days, midday break by the pool and then a PM park. If the kids got a bit tired we stopped and took a rest. She never complained once.

I think Disney is different from a day trip to Philly (I also live right over the bridge from Philly in South Jersey!!). At Disney they are just so excited and in my experience (with my kids at that age) they are less likely to complain since they are so engaged and ready to do the next ride.

I also refuse to push over 50 pounds of dead weight once they hit a certain age. It just wears me out. Once we did the first stroller free trip it was like a whole new world!! For ME, if my kids couldn't walk a whole day at Disney at that age then we vacation elsewhere until they can. Pushing around a stroller with kids that age or that big is not a fun vacation for me.

 

[familyman123]

Factors that will impact how tired your kids will get
1. Heat - What month are you going? July will wear you out much quicker than January.
2. Breaks - are you taking a mid day break? Or are you going 8,9+ hours straight?
3. Plan - Are you going to accumulate several miles by hitting all the biggest rides first or are you willing to tour more slowly?
4. Rest Days? - are they going to have a chance to recoup?

Other thoughts
- If you have a stroller, the kids will want to ride it. If you don't bring one, they may not even think about it.
- You need to go at their pace for the whole day if don't have a stroller.

My latest experience.
When we went this year, I had a double for stroller for a 3 and 6 year old. We did rope drop til about dinner every day. Heat index was 100+. The 6 year old would not have kept up at the pace without a stroller; we did more because we had a stroller. We also had an 8 year old. She would use sometimes use the stroller while I would carry the 3 year old.