Advice on older kids and strollers

[blessedby3]

My DD has always used a stroller at Disney (and she was just turned 7 and just turned 8 on our last two trips). She is on the tiny side and we bought a Mac Volo just for Disney as she never uses it at home. It works great for us. She can hop in and out as needed and she doesnt get so exhausted. We typically go commando all day long from open to close. When she is not in the stroller we use it to carry our junk! This next trip she will be 9 and may not need it. We will have our new DD with us and taking our new Quest so if DD9 needs a break then the baby can go in the sling and give DD9 a rest for a bit. I agree with PP's that you will see MANY older children in strollers and you wont feel out of place if your kids are in them too!!

 

[all4fun]

OP, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but you just want to know if you "big" boys will look funny in their little strollers, or if you should rent? NOT if your should use a stroller or not, correct? It sounds like you've already decided that you need them and I'm personally in the camp of 'do what works best for your family' on this subject. I don't think very many people would even look sideways at your children in umbrella strollers. You just might want to consider how easily they push with bigger kids in them. If they are hard to push for 10mins then you won't want to push them all day long and in that case I would consider renting. Just some food for thought!

hth

 

[Disneymaniacs]

That was my point - if the kids are in the stroller, then the parents are doing double the work, and the kids are so refreshed at the end of the day, LOL!

Maybe not. We always plan for a stroller for both of our children (5 and 3). I'd much rather push a stroller than carry a 40 pound child plus bags.

 

[sskem96]

We waited to go til the kids were 5 and 8 thinking we wouldn't need a stroller. DD8 ended up with mono a few weeks before our vacation, and she just couldn't keep up. We go commando. We ended up getting a multi-day double stroller rental. I certainly didn't notice anyone "giving us looks". Sometimes they rode together, and sometimes they took turns. We liked the jogging strollers at MGM best. This time, the oldest is almost 11, and the youngest will be 8. The youngest has always been the better walker anyway, so I know she'll be fine, and DD10 is "in training". If she has a lot of problems with her asthma while were there, we'll just have to get her a wheelchair. I definitely liked the convenience of a rental, and would not have hauled around my own stroller on the buses.

 

[tjmw2727]

We waited to go til the kids were 5 and 8 thinking we wouldn't need a stroller. DD8 ended up with mono a few weeks before our vacation, and she just couldn't keep up. We go commando. We ended up getting a multi-day double stroller rental. I certainly didn't notice anyone "giving us looks". Sometimes they rode together, and sometimes they took turns. We liked the jogging strollers at MGM best. snip.

Just for those reading a fyi that MGM dosen't have the joggers anymore. All 4 parks have the same plastic stroller shown here.
http://allearsnet.com/pl/strol_faq.htm
AK is brown with a jungle top as shown, MGM and MK are blue and Epcot is purple.

TJ

 

[crzy4dzny07]

We brought a Maclaren to push our kids around in. We bought the twin so we would only have to take one stroller on the buses with us. We bought the twin triumph, which has a weight limit of 110 pounds total.

Our son is almost 6 (3 more weeks), he's tall and big and is about 60 pounds. Our daughter is 2 and is almost 30 pounds.

Honestly I was glad we brought the stroller for our 5 year old.

I think it depends on the endurance of your child. If you're questioning the fact if you could condition them to the walking and Florida climate, I'd bring a stroller.

I'd recommend getting one stroller... a Maclaren... with a weight limit of 55 pounds. You can buy them at most Targets now even. (or look online and pay no shipping, no tax...ebay also has them). If your older child needs a stroller, I'd rent one at the park.

Honestly I coudn't imagine my 2 kids squishing in the double plastic strollers at the parks without killing each other the whole time. The WDW strollers look big enough for 2 three year olds, not 2 older kids.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

No it is not the norm! And the ONLY place I've seen such old kids in strollers. And I've been to activities with just as much walking. There were only a few older kids in strollers when we were there and most were getting looks . I mean just what Disney needs more strollers, it used to be so much nicer years ago when there were far, far less strollers and smaller ones to.

I get what you are saying but you do have to take into account the heat. We are not used to the Florida heat. My kids cannot take that heat hardly at all. I have a really hard time myself so we do take it really slow. We are not a commando family at all and we do what is best for the kids, but that heat can be rough if you are not used to it. JMHO.

 

[disneymarie]

I had the stroller formy daughter 6. FOr one thing it was handy to tow jackets, a small cooler with waters, and tote bag.I also needed it to lean on it because of health problems. Now that she out grew it at 10, I use a rollator, it has a seat on it for me, but faces forward for anyone traveling with elderly it is great.

My 10 last year did not mind a hitch along when she tired. At first she declined, but feet fatigue wore over her.
I would likely take a stroller anyway just to tote.
dianne

 

[BayouMouseketeer]

My DD will be 6 when we go but she has heat intolerance and asthma so she cannot handle all of the walking. DS will be 8 and also has asthma. So, I plan to rent a double stroller for them as I would rather spend the extra money than deal with meltdowns and miserable kids. DS8 will likely only ride towards the end of the day when he is tiring, but I also like the idea of not transporting it back and forth to the hotel!

 

[PrincessHeart]

Honestly I coudn't imagine my 2 kids squishing in the double plastic strollers at the parks without killing each other the whole time. The WDW strollers look big enough for 2 three year olds, not 2 older kids.

We generally rent two strollers for this reason. I don't want to listen to she/he's touching me/on my side all day. Also the singles are easier to manage especially in a crowd.