At What Age Did You Stop Using a Stroller in the Parks?

[aimeebarb]

I am debating between a single or double. My daughters will be 6 1/2 when we go. We will also have an infant, so I'm thinking they can take turns riding in it when they get tired and I will wear the baby in a carrier. A double just seems kind of like overkill at their age (famous last words, I'm sure).

 

[dhardawa]

We went when my son was 3 1/2 without the stroller and it was just fine.

 

[Disneyaddictz]

My daughter is 4 and only uses a stroller for Busch gardens and disney world. It's probably more so for me then her, high crowd places are stressful and with all the distractions she'd be gone in a minute, she's so high energy and independent, my eyes would be glued to her rather than be able to enjoy the scenery and surroundings. I guess I'm using the stroller as another would use the child leash.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[brymolmom]

A couple things...

Our rule was 'no stroller after age 5 at WDW'. I set it when my kids were maybe 4-ish. I think it is KEY for your kids to KNOW your own family's rule. And mine did...The kids would say 'this is the last time I'llb e able to use a stroller because I won't be 5 anymore next time'. This helped TREMENDOUSLY when the time finally came to get rid of it. They weren't 100% thrilled but they EXPECTED it so it was a lot easier.

My kids are 17 months apart so it was also very helpful that when my son turned 6, he knew there was no more double stroller and that there would only be a single and it was for his sister only.

I knew that if I didn't have a rule in place that it would be way too easy for me to rely on the crutch of a stroller. But I knew it was best for them to learn that they needed to do that for themselves. Not to mention that I wanted them to learn that the parents shouldn't do all the work for them when they were capable, as all kids at that age without any special issues are by that age. By age 5 or 6 no typical child needs a stroller, but many kids and parents want one.

 

[Mouse3Dad]

How old were your kids when you stopped bringing a stroller to WDW? I think my kids are getting close to not needing one during the day, but they both almost always fall asleep right before Fireworks, so it's still convenient for us to bring it even though we may not use it until around their bedtime. Thoughts?

Whichever age works for you!

From my experience my DD last year was 6. While we took one, she barely used it. I'll say this, it was nice to place the backpack on the handles and use it to hold things during the day. We did close down a few parks during our trip, and our daughter being over 40lbs while sleeping would be make for a longer wait.

One other thing my wife and I always talk about. The vacation is as much for us as it is our child. I say no enough at home, so if I have an opportunity to make sure everyone I am traveling with is happy, than its a win win.

 

[MandiC]

We didn't bring one this year, but we only brought our older two, who were 7 and 9. Wasn't even a consideration and wasn't a problem at all.

We are bringing the whole family next fall, our younger two will be 4 and 5 almost 6. I'm not bringing a double but we are considering bringing a single. I doubt we will bring it into all the parks. No way will I bring it into Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom but maybe on Epcot and Magic Kingdom. My big thing at this point is my youngest is already too big for my only single stroller other than a basic, cheap umbrella stroller. Seems like a waste to buy a new one at this stage in the game...but renting for a whole week seems like a waste when I am 99% sure we won't need it for the whole week.

 

[HardShell]

Our upcoming trip will be our first with no strollers at all. Last trip (1.5 years ago) the twins were still 5 and small for their age - they could walk fine but we used a double umbrella stroller when traversing the parks so their little legs wouldn't have to keep up with mine (6'3" w/ long legs)... and to accommodate the inevitable nap time.

FTR, I have promised the whole troop that I will walk slower this trip...

... but NO NAPPING!

 

[SnowBelleAlice]

DD's last Disney trip with a stroller was at age 7. That ride was a Mac Volo.

 

[mandy14]

The winners are the parents who have happy kids at the end of the night, although you wouldn't know it from some of the posters on the DIS! It's like a badge of honor or something...."my kids would be MORTIFIED if I mentioned a stroller after the age of 3!! I win!!"

We rented one for my DS when he was 5 year old, who gets random, severe leg cramps (thankfully seeming to be outgrowing them now that he is 8) but when one strikes he cannot walk. Luckily we never needed it for that reason, but as our first time as a family in WDW, I rather enjoyed using it in each land for all of the junk we brought. Haven't made that mistake again!!! LOL

I thought that we would really need it at park close (we were there from 9am until after Wishes), but I ended up returning it empty while DH and the kids staked out our spot for Wishes. DS was totally fine. We did not feel it was needed for the next trip when he was 7. However, IF we felt it was, I wouldn't let anyone else talk me into not getting one just because their superhuman child can walk from here to the ends of the earth.

Do what you need to do to keep everyone happy!

I LOVE this post! A badge of honor--you are so right! I love how everyone comments about when your child should or is capable of walking.
I think whatever works for your family is the best. If your kid is 14 and you want to push them in a stroller have at it. You choose what makes your vacation fun.
That being said, we used a stroller for the last time when our girls were 5 and 7. We had a great time. We tried the next time we went but it didn't really work well for us.

 

[sapdaddy2]

Our age was 5. It all depends on what your kids are use to. My wife and I are avid hikers so it is nothing for us to take the kids on a 4-6 mike hike in the woods since they were babies. By the time they were about 5 they had no problem hiking the whole distance. Yes I did carry then a lot when they were little.

Walking around WDW with stopping and riding was a piece of cake for us.

 

[esquared221]

This is something we're going to have to answer for ourselves next time we go. We just got back and our kids are 7 and almost 3. We brought the stroller (which we never use anymore at home) primarily for our 3 year old who we knew would walk frequently but would get tired often. My daughter (the 7 yr old) fell asleep in it during one night we stayed for the Electric Parade.

I'd bring one if you think your kids might need it. There are lots of families walking around WDW with a sleeping "big" kid in the stroller while one parent holds the sleeping little one

 

[floreksa]

We took one on our 1st trip. DD was 6, but looked 8 or 9. I could have cared less what others thought. This last trip, at 8, she was just too big for one, but we really didn't need it either. She never complained of being tired. Hot -yes!, tired-no. LOL

 

[leshunlenese]

when my son was 3, we bought one that may and he only pushed it! Never got in it and never said he was tired and he doesn't take naps and we never went back to the hotel for breaks, I left it at home when we came back that September and he hasn't used one since

 

[lucyem]

DD's last Disney trip with a stroller was at age 7. That ride was a Mac Volo.

Same for us

By 7 we could have gone without a stroller but we brought it along anyway. Kids get so wiped out at WDW. It sat in the room a lot at that point, but we used it for many late evenings. Honestly we were sad to see our stroller days go. No more handy cup holders for F&W

 

[nat8199]

Our next trip our twins will be 4.5 and our DD will just have turned six. We will definitely bring our double stroller, which will be awesome for us since last time we had a triple! This is my vacation too and just like I am refusing to cook or clean, I am also refusing to carry kids around. I don't think our kids will need it often, so we will probably just park it in each section of park that we are visiting, but for the long walks leaving parks, or for a kid who needs to sit and have a snack, or when a kid gets tired we will have it. Our next trip will probably be in the 7/8/9 year range and I will not bring one.

 

[KB'sMom]

We have always gone in January - so shorter hours and cooler temps. We used a stroller the year our youngest was 1.75 years old and found it to be a complete PITA - but needed b/c he still napped at the time. We would park the stroller for a show and then have to back track to find it, or we'd get on the train in MK and get off somewhere else leaving the stroller behind and having to go back for it. Then there was the day it POURED rain while we were on a ride and the stroller was saturated and unusable for the rest of the day, not to mention manouvering it on and off busses. When we went the following year (DS was 2.75 years old), we decided to try a day without it. We had no issues whatsoever and did 9 park days in a row without a stroller. I found that with shows and rides and stops for meals and snacks there wasn't THAT much walking. Plus when it got absolutely crazy after fireworks or evening shows I could throw him up on my shoulders to get him out of the crowds and we could get through all the people so much easier.

 

[6loversofdisney]

I say you can't really put an age on this type of question. It really all depends. I always did what worked best for me. Since I always try to do 'cheap', I brought two umbrella strollers from home. I played it by ear. I had them on the first day and once we saw that the younger child was not going to sit in it at all, we didn't take it after that. But it was nice that it was always there just in case. As far as my older child, he was probably 'too big' for it but we didn't care. We would rather have it just in case than to not. Some of the best times and memories were my husband doing wheelies with him in the stroller. I don't tend to care what anyone else thinks or how it looks so I saw it's your call, your personal decision. You can always rent something once you get there if you don't take the strollers with you.

 

[pooh4evr]

We stopped at 5. I missed it more than anyone- I didn't want to carry everybody's junk! We found that we didn't use it that much, once we got to a land or area and parked it, we left it there just to drag it to another parking spot.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

We just got back from tokyo disneyland and we forget to bring our stroller. We had every intention to bring the stroller but accidentally left it at home. I thought we were doomed because my DS5 is lazy and always used a stroller for previous trips. We were pleasantly surprised at how good he did without one. It ended up being a blessing because we didn't have to worry about finding parking for it etc. I definitely underestimated him, and I'm glad we forgot the stroller because it gave him a chance to prove himself and reminded me that I need to stop "babying" him so much.

 

[gorkt]

We brought a double when my kids were 4 and 2, a single when they were 5 and 7 and non when they were 9 and 11 (obviously). The year we brought the single, we ended up taking more breaks than we thought we would - the 7 year old got tuckered out and would fight for the stroller with the 5 year old. So nice to ditch the stroller last year!