Would you still use a stroller at DL for a 4-year-old?

[Amy&Dan]

I agree with pretty much every other poster on this thread, take the stroller! If you find it more of a bother than a help, you can always leave it in the room.


We didn't start going to DL until our kids were 6 and 8 but one trip we did go with my twin nieces who were just a month shy of 4. My brother and his wife opted not to stroller and they did fine, on the other hand, it did at times complicate things for the rest of us. I remember one night when we were going from the Disneyland Hotel to Ariel's Grotto. We had taken a brief break at the hotel but other than that, the girls had been on their feet all day long. My husband and I finally had to carry them because they were so tired and let me tell you, I was longing for a stroller! And it would have made it nicer for my kids (who were 8 and 10) hada their cousins been in a stroller. Did it ruin the trip? Of course not and again, my nieces did very well. But in my opinion, it would have been nice for everyone on the trip if we had had a stroller for them.

I don't see anything wrong with parents maximizing the enjoyment of their trip and I doubt very seriously that kids in strollers, at Disneyland in particular, are a reason for last problems for the kids or anyone else!

That website is awful, and makes me thankful I have better things to do with my time than judge others for how they tour themeparks with their children or parent in general. If I had the time to create a website, I hope I'd do something more worthwhile than that site.

 

[sherilaine]

I again agree that at a theme park such as Disneyland strollers are way more useful than anywhere else.

Are there people who have lazy kids in strollers way beyond the years that they should be in strollers and are those kids likely to grow up to be lazy, overweight people? Sure.

But Disneyland is not the problem.

 

[jaxy82]

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone! I appreciate the input -- especially being brand new!

This is probably a stupid question, but does anyone worry about their stroller getting stolen?

 

[dedwards]

It only matters what you think not what others think. Our kids are 7 and 3 and I bring a sit and stand stroller the 7 year old can walk no problem all day but if he jumps on for a break it is nice to have.

As far as that website all I can say is Rude people usually have no idea how rude they are being.

I have two older kids 21 and 19 that I was a single father raising them and I took them on many trips to Disneyland and others and never did stroller, but one time i will never forget when they were 5 and 3 at Knotts at the end of the second day they were both exhausted and I ended up carrying two kids all our stuff to the far back parking lot I would have killed to have a stroller then.

Never let what others think sway you on making choices about how best to maximize your fun in the parks.

 

[Joluru]

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone! I appreciate the input -- especially being brand new!

This is probably a stupid question, but does anyone worry about their stroller getting stolen?

Our stroller was bought at a garage sale for $20, and isn't fancy. We didn't leave anything in it. If someone stole it, I'd laugh. I wouldn't take an expensive new stroller.

 

[mysteriouspnai]

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone! I appreciate the input -- especially being brand new!

This is probably a stupid question, but does anyone worry about their stroller getting stolen?

Sorry that I totally hijacked your thread a little earlier xD

Once again, I don't have experience in this, but there have been horror stories of strollers getting stolen, things dumped on the ground etc. Some have suggested to take a rental locker so at least they don't steal your own stroller. Also, don't leave valuables inside the stroller. Some have suggested having locks on the wheels, others have suggested to take cheap strollers as opposed to mega-fancy ones.

Which reminds me, two trips ago, I saw a pimped out stroller that had an attachment to put an iPad in. Can you imagine being that lucky kid shuttled from one ride to the next watching Disney clips instead of having to look at peoples' legs? I feel like those kids are spoiled, albeit lucky, and I slightly feel sorry for them that they or their parents are too ignorant to let the kid experience the sounds and sights of Disneyland. But I'm sure it's a great way to cut down on the complaining.

Thanks everyone for your insights on my earlier question! I apologize if I offended you with the link earlier, I just wanted to introduce some shock to the boards!

 

[ValpoCory]

It all depends on the child. If your child has a high motor and doesn't tire out easily, then you probably don't need one. But if your child has an average or below average motor, having a stroller can help extend their energy until they are much older.

My DD7 still loved to ride in my DS3's stroller in January.

 

[mamaCta]

I am expecting DD3 to be in the stroller a lot and DS6 to spend less than half the time in it. DS6 will mostly use it when he needs a seat or we want to cross the park quickly.

We are taking a bike trailer with a stroller wheel attachment. I plan on using a bike lock though the wheels at any point where I feel it may be left alone for too long.

We will also have 4 adults along to share the pushing duties, but the bike trailers are easy to push. I'm looking forward to having it there to carry my camera back and our lunch bag.

We used a $13 umbrella stroller in WDW when DD15 was 7. She walked a lot, but couldn't keep up with the long distances. Guaranteed she fell asleep in it every night on the way out of the park.

 

[CaliDisneyMama]

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone! I appreciate the input -- especially being brand new!

This is probably a stupid question, but does anyone worry about their stroller getting stolen?

I don't. I've never had any worries about that at all. I don't bring fancy strollers (just a simple umbrella stroller, so maybe I would feel different if i had a more expensive one there) and the only time anyone ever touched it is if it's in their way (like if we learned our stroller behind theirs) or if the CMs are organizing the strollers (they often move disorganized groups of strollers into organized rows).

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We have brought a tandem double or our sit and stand on every trip and never had a problem. We do take anything valuable with us, but even the one time I forgot the camera on the seat of the stroller (must have put it down to get the baby out), it was still there. Thankfully!!! Longest POTC ride ever

 

[DharmaLou]

Absolutely. We would not have survived without it for DD4. She walked most of the time at the parks, but it was great for to/from.

 

[VandVsmama]

Wow, I am betting that the adults whose pictures were posted on that website did not give permission for their pictures to be posted like that. They probably weren't aware that their picture was being taken.

The haters can go pound sand. Like another poster said, we don't know if any of those kids might have had a disability, autism, an autoimmune disease that makes walking for long periods difficult, etc.

 

[Aspoonfullofsugar]

I've never taken a stroller into DL or WDW. Our DS and DD were both barely three on their first visits. I think it depends on your child. We've always been big walkers. We went for a long walk pretty much daily. They both started out in a stroller and by the time each was about 2 1/2 they refused to get into one and just walked with us. They knew how to stay with us and walked at a pretty good pace. No stroller worked well for us but I think each parent should make their own decision on what would be best for their individual child.

 

[Mama Who]

Hi there; I'm new here!

We're taking our kids on our first family trip to DL in May; my daughter will be 16 months old and my son will be turning four while we're there. We are debating whether to take two strollers, or just one ... He has a lot of stamina but it's so much walking ... On the other hand, if he doesn't want to ride, it could be a pain to drag around, and could impede us from making quick moves like trying the wide right theory for RSR.

Curious about whether you would; or if you have any tips?

Okay, I'm from a firm "healthy people school age and above do not need strollers" family, but for a 4 year old I would not try a full day without one. As for the wide right, park the stroller in the first stroller parking you come to in the park and leave it until later. I would assume first thing in the morning he won't need it and you can simply come back for it after RSR and whatever else you choose to do early.

 

[todzwife]

We ride bikes as a family all summer and "prep" for our trips with walks, but my kids still get tired. Heck *I* get tired and would like somewhere to sit every now and then!

And even if they didn't get tired, sometimes littles need to be CONTAINED. 2 years ago when we went at T-Giving, it was horribly crowded. I was VERY glad we had a stroller for our just-turned-7-year old not because he couldn't walk, but because it was faster to have him hop in and we could move without worrying we'd lose him in the crowd. Holding hands is nice and all, but with thick crowds, 1 person can break that hand holding and then your kid is where? They are also a seat during parades or fantasmic.

That website is horrible.

 

[monkeyman200]

I might be crazy, but even before this thread, I had made a reservation for my 5 and 6 year olds with citystrollerrentals. I am simply trying to make this trip enjoyable for all of us (and we will be 3 generations on this once-in-a-lifetime trip) and I fully anticipate it to be the most wonderous experience for the kids and grandparents. Until this thread I had no doubts about my plan, and certainly didn't realize I could be judged negatively by society for my choice.....

 

[aliceindisneyland]

There seem to be a lot of stroller haters but I bet they would still complain--about too many screaming kids if more people were bullied out of using strollers. I have been hobbled many times by rude people but I do not fault the stroller. Strollers don't hobble people--people hobble people! Used a stroller til my kids were 7 and 5, tons more fun was had by all than would have been possible with kids walking all the way.

 

[larina]

That website is disgusting. I didn't look very far because I have better things to do with my time than to judge folks I know nothing about (and care nothing about really) and will likely never see again. That kind of 'mean girl' mentality is just lost on me. Live and let live.

I'm kind of surprised at the amount of time some people seem to spend (waste) worrying about others (how they transport their kids, what size their stroller is, what they wear, where they do or do not take their children, what they bring, etc, etc, etc, the list seems to be endless) when they are supposed to be having fun at Disneyland. I guess I just do not care nearly enough about what others are doing OR about what they might be thinking about me.

Life is short, have fun! And if you need a stroller to do so, then make sure to have one.

 

[profa]

Wow we have some super kids here. I can't imagine most young children lasting 16 hrs anywhere but especially w/o a stroller.
I have ran marathons and my kids are fit and have ran 5ks at ages 7 and 8 so of course the 4 yr old is also active. The entire family skis every weekend. But I'm not trying to win any awards. I just want to have a nice vacation. I love the stroller. I don't know why people think they are a hinderance. It was never a problem. Last trip we had to have it as dd4 had a broken leg. But would have used it anyway. I put our water bottles in the stroller and some of the heavier snacks like trail mix. It' s nice not having the water on my back all day. There is no way that 4 yr old could keep up all day; she did walk a lot too and sometimes we parked the stroller but again it was never a problem. DH walks fast and we had a lot of ground to cover. Of course my boys wanted the stroller at times. As for carrying them no thanks. Dh has a bad back and I don't want one. I really don't see how carrying a kid is just SOO much better.
The PP said his wife goes often. Well in that case you aren't always trying to do it all.
I was a stroller person because I enjoyed having it to hold everything for myself and the 3 kids on outings even if they were walking.
Really not sure why parking a stroller in the stroller areas pisses people off. REally? wow, thinking life must be really good if that's what you have to get pissed off about.

 

[Esaldana86]

I have a 5 year old and I'm taking an umbrella stroller for him. He's tiny, 31 pounds and 35 inches tall.I'm concerned about him getting tired and also losing him. He's the kind of kid that disappears every time you turn around. I don't care what anyone else says, Strollers ARE allowed in Disney so do what you think is best for your family. Oh, and the stroller I found has Mickey Mouse ears on the canopy. How cute is that?