5 year old twin boys....take a stroller or not?

[gaudioli]

I have 5 year old twin boys...I have time to decide but I have no idea if I should bring the stroller. When we go out locally they don't use it but we did go to Hershey park this summer and by night time they were willing to sit in it. We are flying and have a rental car.....maybe only bring it at night?

Anyone have any advice?

 

[Nancyg56]

I know folks think rental at the parks is a waste but we used to rent at the park. We never needed to drag one on the plane or Disney transportation, and could choose when we needed one.

 

[pamkat1820]

We rent one and have it delivered to the resort. My son willbe five on this trip and I'm doing it again. We will only bring it when we r planning an all day park day. Better safe than sorry. It's cheaper to rent it for the week instead of renting it daily at the park if needed.

 

[Nancyg56]

We rent one and have it delivered to the resort. My son willbe five on this trip and I'm doing it again. We will only bring it when we r planning an all day park day. Better safe than sorry. It's cheaper to rent it for the week instead of renting it daily at the park if needed.

It is less expensive for sure!

 

[thisismyusername]

Our youngest child could be pretty unwilling to walk long distances just out of the nature of his birth order and our willingness to pick him up and carry him since he was "the baby." When I was on the fence with him being in/out of a stroller at Disney (at 4), we decided to take him and our other kids on family walks of 4+ miles several months before we traveled to build his endurance and check his whiney-ness. While he could walk 4+ miles, he complained *a lot* during the last mile or so, and we decided that a vacation was not going to be fun if we were dealing with a cranky kid who wanted to be carried.

By the time he turned 5, though, we ditched the stroller the following year for Disney. It was an adjustment for him (and for us--it's nice to have to tote water and snacks and ponchos), but he had the endurance and the ability to be out of the stroller the entire day. We never used it otherwise, and I think if you are still using your stroller, your boys will likely be acclimated to having it there. Conversely, if you're only pulling it out for amusement park trips, try to see how they do if you walk with them for 4+ miles. If they don't complain, I think you'll be fine going strollerless.

 

[LisaCM614]

I have 5 year old twin boys...I have time to decide but I have no idea if I should bring the stroller. When we go out locally they don't use it but we did go to Hershey park this summer and by night time they were willing to sit in it. We are flying and have a rental car.....maybe only bring it at night?

Anyone have any advice?

Hi, we went to Disney for our first family trip when my twins were just 5 and my oldest was 6. The three of them had not been in a stroller since they were 18 months old. It was beyond their imagination to even sit in a stroller. They were and are too fiercely independent. We did not bring a stroller but we also knew that meant we were going to take it slow. And we did - we enjoyed things at their pace and when they were too wiped out for night time entertainment that was ok. I knew it wasn't going to be our only trip! We made it to the fireworks one night. The other nights I sat with the least tired child on the beach at the Poly (where we were staying) and watched Wishes! from there. My kids were just too wiped out at night to even do anything after dinner. Would I recommend you bring a stroller for night time? I guess if your kiddos are willing to sit in it and I wanted to be sure to be out until late I would. We had the kids in bed at fairly normal bed times on that trip. Each AM we were getting up for Rope Drop and they needed their sleep (so did we!)

 

[TJA]

We also have twins, but girls so it may be a little different than boys. We did bring our double jogger to disney when they were 5, mostly for the same reasons as you are thinking -- they were wiped out by night and it was handy to let them have a seat. Another reason, though, is that my girls LOVED getting the jogger ready for night time fun -- they'd pack it with light-up toys, favorite stuffed animal, etc., and then really look forward to getting cozy together especially when it was time for fireworks. I'm not sure if boys would feel similar, but my girls just loved it. It actually added to our fun because if by chance the girls fell asleep in the jogger, DH and I would just take our time and stroll back to our resort, grab a snack, talk, enjoy the sights.

It did make a difference where we stayed, though, to be honest. If we stayed at an Epcot resort, we'd end our night in Epcot so that we could just walk between the park and our resort (no unloading and folding jogger). And if we stayed at a monorail resort, we'd end our night in MK usually (sometimes Epcot) so that we could just roll the jogger on and off the monorail.

We would've probably done things differently if we stayed at a bus-only resort as it wouldn't have been very convenient with our jogger and sleeping twins on a bus. Not sure what we'd do with a rental car. But I do think in your shoes I'd be sure to have a comfortable jogger on hand at least for nights. For what it's worth, my twins also never used a stroller here at home, local zoos, etc. But Disney World was a whole different situation for us and we never regretted having the jogger along.

 

[lynch34]

I am going in three weeks and rented a heavy duty stroller for my 8-year-old. We have a double for my 5-year-old and 3-year-old. The kids are just overall way more happy at the end of the day.

 

[mickeynut1]

I know folks think rental at the parks is a waste but we used to rent at the park. We never needed to drag one on the plane or Disney transportation, and could choose when we needed one.

I think renting in the parks is a good idea. It would probably be cheaper to rent one from an outside company, but I think renting in the park (if you needed it) would be easier. Not having to take it on the buses, boats, etc would be less hassle, especially if you don't think you would need it all the time.

 

[gaudioli]

great comments for both sides...lolol fortunately or unfortunately (depends on how you look at it) i have 6 months to rack my brain about this...hahahaha thanks for all the info!!

 

[100acreHiker]

We had a stroller for my then-five year old (he's seven now), but only used it for Epcot as it's such a big park and we were there from rope drop to closing. I think we used it in MK one evening. Before then, he hadn't used a stroller since he was 3. We rented it from Orlando Stroller company and left it in the corner of our room other days. May I make a recommendation? We went with friends recently who had two younger kids (5 & 4) and they got a double stroller. The thing was massive and a true pain to maneuver throughout the parks and resort. Often she found that her two kids didn't really need to be in it at the same time. If you do anticipate the kids needing it simultaneously, it may be worth saving your back the stress of pushing a double and get two lightweight singles, one for you to push and the other for your spouse to push.

 

[gaudioli]

We had a stroller for my then-five year old (he's seven now), but only used it for Epcot as it's such a big park and we were there from rope drop to closing. I think we used it in MK one evening. Before then, he hadn't used a stroller since he was 3. We rented it from Orlando Stroller company and left it in the corner of our room other days. May I make a recommendation? We went with friends recently who had two younger kids (5 & 4) and they got a double stroller. The thing was massive and a true pain to maneuver throughout the parks and resort. Often she found that her two kids didn't really need to be in it at the same time. If you do anticipate the kids needing it simultaneously, it may be worth saving your back the stress of pushing a double and get two lightweight singles, one for you to push and the other for your spouse to push.

I have considered the singles v/double...i think if i were to do that then i would rent there. I see BRU has a double for $100 and with a coupon I could get it a decent price..i have to go look at it tho...if it's heavy even though it looks like an umbrella stroller i think that may make my decision for me. lol

 

[princessjadesmom]

I rented a stroller for my daughter's first trip when she was 6. She didn't use one when we were at home, but it was a blessing to have one at Disney for sure. She was exhausted by the end of the day and definitely needed to lay in the stroller. It was also nice to have somewhere to set our stuff down when we went on rides. I wouldn't leave anything valuable in there, but extra snacks, crafts, etc. we always left in the stroller.

 

[TJA]

We had the City Series Baby Jogger. It has handles on the seats that you pull up and it folds the jogger in. No double stroller or jogger was ever convenient for us on a bus or in a car, but if staying at a monorail resort or Epcot resort it was no problem. It pushed like a dream, very easily. We still have it -- I can't seem to part with it as we had so many great WDW memories with it in tow!! It looks something like this:

 

[quandrea]

My twins gave up the stroller after three. So when they were there at four they were on leg power. They did really well. They best benefit was that they were TIRED. We always had sleep issues,on holiday--scared, wouldn't settle, took a few days to get used to new,bed, etc. Once they were on leg power, they slept beautifully. That was priceless. I think if your boys,are energetic, listen well and are used to a bit of walking, give it a try. I am so glad to not have to cart it around any more. We've done about nine trips since they gave up the stroller. They are just about six now.

 

[worleygirl26]

I rented a single for my 1 year old on our last trip and switched it out for a double because my 6 year old was so tired on day 1. I would definitely bring or rent one.

 

[happymommy]

I brought one until my kids were 6 and 8 (they shared by then our really good single one).

According to my iPhone last trip, many days we walk well over 8 miles (and we don't go all day morning till night).

I'd say if you're on the fence, at least rent one from an outside company! If you bring a double, it may take up a lot of the trunk space of your rental car. If you can make it through the airport without it, then renting for the whole trip would be easier.

 

[Turk February]

We brought a comfy, compact umbrella stroller for our then 5-yr-old last year. It's so much walking, and so many consecutive full days of walking that she ended up using it a lot. Plus, it gets you around faster instead of walking at their pace. She hasn't used a stroller since she's as 3 but wasn't against it since she would get tired and want to sit. We are going again in December, she will be 6 1/2, and we will bring it again. She was able to do a full day at Hershey last month without a stroller but I think it's a different story when it's 5 straight days of walking.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I think renting in the parks is a good idea. It would probably be cheaper to rent one from an outside company, but I think renting in the park (if you needed it) would be easier. Not having to take it on the buses, boats, etc would be less hassle, especially if you don't think you would need it all the time.

I agree with this. Its so much easier to rent in the parks, just get it when/if you need it. Its nice to not worry about lugging it back to the room.

 

[happymommy]

I agree with this. Its so much easier to rent in the parks, just get it when/if you need it. Its nice to not worry about lugging it back to the room.

This may work for lots of folks, but at 6, my DD fell asleep in ours, so staying at the Dolphin (we were at DHS) she was able to sleep on the boat ride and back to the resort (turned out she had strep throat - so I know unusual case).

Depending on which resort you're staying at, you may or may not want to rent at the parks. If you're at a resort where the only choice is a bus, it would probably be much easier to rent at the parks. At an Epcot resort, or a monorail one, or WL even, maybe it's a toss up - only you know your kid best!

Turns out, my DD has a disorder that now she needs a wheelchair at the parks. We're at Pop in 2 weeks (yippee - mom daughter trip again) and still renting from a vendor rather than using the park wheelchairs. We will want to use it at DTD and walk over to AOA and around the Boardwalk from Epcot, so it's worth the hassle of folding up and me carrying it on the bus.