Does your 4yr old walk at the parks?

[Melknor]

I can't decide if we should take our stroller from home or not..............it is a full size Graco stroller and it would be nice to have the storage for sweatshirts and stuff. When I asked DS if he would walk or want to ride in the stroller, he said he is going to walk, however I can see him getting tired and want to be carried. If we don't take the stroller, I know we will have to slow down so he can keep up.


Those of you that have 4ish old's, do they walk in the parks? The entire time or just some times? It would be nice not to have to drag one with us also.............

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

DS splits time between walking riding. Can't you take an umbrella stroller? Do you have an umbrella stroller? If not, there are ones that have the undercarriage. I bought ours for $20 at Kmart. It has a small undercarriage, but it's still an undercarriage!

 

[Big_Disney_Fan]

Take the stroller, it will be a huge help... We used ours to help carry the suit cases into the air port. We checked it at the gate (does not count as cary on). In the park it held our ponchos (also work well to cover stoller if it rains while on a ride), and water bottles. Wife became really good at using the stroller as a crowd cutter. Worst case if you get there and decide not to use it, leave it in your hotel room. If you get there and decide you need one they are expencive to rent.

 

[budbeerlady]

I would take a stroller, we took an umbrella stroller even when Dd is 6. Its just so much walking and if she is happy, we are happy. Tired kids are no fun.

 

[clori]

I took both of my kids at 4 and both times found the stroller to be a waste for the kids though useful for pushing our things. However I was there in Jan/early February so we were not dealing with heat and humidity. We went from early entry and stayed until closing but the parks closed early at 5 for Animal Kingdom, 9pm for Epcot and in between for the other two. My kids didn't ride in the stroller but did like to push it around.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

DS split his time between walking and riding. I agree with other posters-- bring it along just in case. If your child is small, a cheap umbrella stroller will do the trick.

 

[Coconuts]

No, my kids didn't walk the whole time. Trust me, take a stroller!

 

[Hannathy]

Mine walked. We never took so much stuff that I would ever bother with a stroller just for "stuff" I never understood why people feel they need so much stuff at a theme park. It is so freeing when you don't have a stroller to bother with.

If he says he will walk I'd believe him, if he is like my DS once he has made up his mind he wouldn't ride in the stroller if you paid him!

 

[designermv]

I would take one. There is SO much walking involved at Disney, and I'd rather have a comfortable, happy child than an exhausted, whining, crabby one who wants to be carried (this is how my child would be...not implying that yours would. )

I think we'll be at the Poly at the same time.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

My DS is 3.5 (but he's as tall as the average 5 year old) and we never use a stroller anywhere at home anymore, but we used it a lot at Disney. Not only is it a lot of walking but I felt safer with him in his stroller when we were navigating large crowds. I would definitely bring one.

 

[ZeroMyHero]

I really didn't want to take a stroller when we went. DD had just turned 4 and could walk around the mall or the zoo with no problems, but the average day at Disney has you covering 10 miles. So I bought an el cheapo umbrella stroller and grudgingly brought it along. I was so glad I did. We were able to get places much faster and it really wasn't the hassle I thought it would be. We traveled light so the stroller only carried DD from place to place. Plus, I felt safer having her in the stroller in the really crowded areas (like Fantasyland). Like another PP said, you can just leave it in your room if you end up not using it.

 

[Melknor]

Thanks everyone for their input! As much as I would love to leave it at home, I do think we will bring ours. It will save us $$ from renting on site anyway. I know DS and he will whine wanting to be held when he gets tired and I would rather avoid that. Plus I don't want him wandering too far away and he isn't too thrilled with holding hands.

Designermv maybe we will run into each other at the Poly. I've planned in a lot of resort time for us this trip!

 

[Faldred]

When we went last year, our eldest was just shy of 4 (birthday was 3 weeks after we got back), and we had a stroller for him. He rode in it whenever we were going any real distance, and then walked around with us within each area.

On the whole, I'd rather have it, so you don't risk tiring the child out too much.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

When we went this past July, we had a 4 year old with us who walked most of the time. Heck, the 2 year old didn't want the stroller half the time, either. But then, she wanted to be carried.

Our 5.5 year old was also OK with walking, although we let her in her baby brother's stroller to cover ground quickly.

 

[monkey30]

We had one for our 4.5 yr old, he walked a lot, but the end of the day he was exhusted and would ride for in the afternoon and into the evening.

Good luck and have fun, leave it in the room if you find u are not using it!

 

[MoonFaerie]

Mine walked the entire time. But we were there in mid-Dec, so temps and humidty were comfortable and parks hours were shorter. We also have been stroller free at home and on other vacation since the youngest was 2. In the warmer months, or if we planned on doing late EMH, we would need a stroller.

 

[momtolots]

We were there in early Jan.2010 and my 2 youngest still used it. They did walk, but it was very handy to have at rope drop if you wanted to walk quickly to TSM at DHS. With all the older kids there was always enough hands to push one..we took two singles, as opposed to the double. some days we only took one to the parks, it just depended on their mood

 

[badblackpug]

Mine walked. We never took so much stuff that I would ever bother with a stroller just for "stuff" I never understood why people feel they need so much stuff at a theme park. It is so freeing when you don't have a stroller to bother with.

If he says he will walk I'd believe him, if he is like my DS once he has made up his mind he wouldn't ride in the stroller if you paid him!

Mine walked, too. I never did understand the "stuff" thing. So many people say how they want the stroller to tote their "stuff." Either I bring less "stuff" or don't mind carrying my "stuff" so much. I'm stuck with a stroller as I have a 2 year old and a 4 month old, but trust me, it is sooooo much easier without the stroller.

 

[NorweJenNY]

I have gotten so used to having the stroller, that I'm worried about my kids getting too big for them! I love having a place to put our "stuff" ...and it's not just stuff that we bring with us (although we do bring our share of jackets/ponchos, umbrellas, etc.). What about a leftover desserts? Unfinished drinks? Souvenirs? It's nice to be able to put "stuff" in there.

And especially in the warmer months, kids don't want to walk! The heat really can wear them out a lot faster.

We've got a 5 and 6 year old, and we plan on having the stroller with us again in the coming months, but we don't need it constantly - just periodically. We can park it in Tomorrowland and go to the Laugh Floor, Buzz, CoP, TTA, Cosmic Ray's, etc. before we ever go back to the stroller - but then we use the stroller to go to another area... like Fantasyland, where again we will park it and go on several attractions before we need it again. Here I think I've liked the stroller more for "stuff" than for a kid who is tired of walking (though our younger son still naps, so the stroller can be helpful for that too). For just a few hours in MK, we have gone without the stroller and been ok.

I found the extra helpful in AK and Epcot, as those are the places where we feel like we do the most amount of walking - those places are spread out between attractions, and sometimes my younger son will stay in the stroller while we watch street performers in Epcot, or look at animals in AK. He never would've made it walking... and hubby and I have back issues which means we're limited on doing the whole piggy-back ride or sitting-on-our-shoulders routine.

I say bring it!

 

[Hannathy]

And especially in the warmer months, kids don't want to walk! The heat really can wear them out a lot faster.

Yea but who does? I don't want to walk in the heat either and it also wears everyone out, It isn't specific for children. Actually they usually tolerate it better than adults who have been cooped up in offices for most of the year.