Anyone with a five year old NOT use a stroller at Disney?

[klineyqueen]

My DS just turned 4. He gets in and out of our stroller. we have a one year old who we need it for. We take one from home. He could easily do one or 2 days without it. He has tons of energy. but after a few days he gets tired out more easily.

 

[MousekeMommy]

After reading others' warnings, we took an umbrella stroller "just in case" for our 5 year old, did 4 parks in 3 days, and we never took it out of the car, and DS never complained about walking. I guess it just depends on the kid!

 

[disney6family]

We have not taken a stroller for anyone over 5. We too are an active family and walk a lot at home. If you are used to some walking they can probably handle the extra walking there. We also take frequent water/ snack breaks to give all of our legs a rest, especially in Epcot and AK. When they are tired and the line is standing still as it does before a show such as Universe of Energy we all sit on the floor and give ourselves a rest. MK and MGM are a breeze - only on the 12+ hour days at MK do we ever hear any complaints.

 

[TruBlu]

We didn't use a stroller last year when our son was 4 or this year. We were there in June when it was hot and crowded. We go from park open to close. DS did fine. If DH was with us he would con him into carrying him off the bus at night after the parks were closed - usually at least midnight. But, if he was just with me he would walk back to the room. I think a stroller would have just gotten in our way. BUT - we only had one 5 year old who was determined to keep up with his 8 year old brother. It may be different having 2. I think if you pace yourselves and rest when you need to you should be fine.

 

[cuppycake]

We bought 2 umbrellas before our trip in January. My kids were 2 and 4 at the time and needed them. We loved them. We used them at the airports and then at Disney. It was so nice knowing where our children were in big crowds. We also could put our backpacks on them and bring things into the park with no problem. It was nice when we got off the plane back home to carry our sleeping child to the stroller and not carry them around every where.

Exactly this!

Our DDs are 4.5 and 2.5 and we will have two umbrella strollers with us this year.

Yes, the 4.5 year old will walk almost the entire time, but who wants to carry her 45" tall, 41 pound body from the back of EPCOT to the front after Illuminations when she falls asleep? NOT ME!!

And, since we like to bring a very small cooler with some bottles of water and healthy snacks for the girls, and a small bag with a change of clothes in case anyone gets wet, etc....I'll be glad to have the space.

 

[dcforbreakfast]

We're an active family too, however add me to the list of OPs who mentioned lazy in connection with their kids.

My son is five and while he made it for several hours at an amusement park a couple weeks ago, I'm still going to buy a Maclaren Volo for him for the Disney trip in Dec (when he'll be--gasp--six!). He's big for his age too, so I'm sure he'll look like a little goober in it!

We live six blocks from his school and he won't walk--he'll only take his scooter. He hates walking anywhere, but I still make him go and usually he uses his scooter. Since we can't take the scooter to Disney, the stroller will likely be taken.

He's a big complainer when he's "over it" too if you know what I mean. I think if the stroller saves me a couple meltdowns it's well worth it. If he doesn't use it the first day it will sit in the hotel room after that, which is fine with me.

Hopefully he'll have a little brother or sister someday who can use it.

 

[twinspluscade]

OP here, THANK YOU everyone for your input!

Dh and I have talked it over, and I think we will go ahead and rent the double. My 3 year old will most certainly need a stroller--he's our "lazy" child --and since we'll need one anyway, I figure we might as well get one where the girls can ride if they want/need to. If nothing else, it'll give DS a little more room to stretch out in.

Thanks again!

 

[Princess Tink]

We haven't used a stroller at WDW since DS9 was 2.5 yrs old.....and his nickname is lazy leggs!

 

[sdaniel]

I'll have to agree with previous posters who said it depends on your child. We had a 1 year old, 3 year old, 5 year old, and a 7 year old on our last trip. We rented a double stroller for the older kids and brought our own for the one year old. The 3 year old pretty much rode in the stroller the entire time, the five year old walked 80-90% of the time and the seven year old walked (she wouldn't set foot in the stroller ). This was in the middle of May, so it was fairly warm weather.
So yes, it is possible for a five year old to walk the entire vacation.

Sonny D.

 

[Stargazer]

We didn't use a stroller for our 5-yr DD on our June trip and had no problems! I know each child is different, but for us, it wasn't an issue.

We even did AK, MGM and Epcot as full days (so no hotel breaks) and she was totally fine.

 

[joemo]

When DS was 5 he refused point blank to get into a stroller as 'only babies can't walk'!!

However he is bundle of energy who never stops running around, each to their own.