First trip to WDW...stroller for 7 and 4 year old?

[mynamewastaken2]

This will be our first trip to WDW! We leave in mid-October and are staying at AoA for eight days. Soooo excited!!

My question is, do we really need a stroller for our 7 and 4-year-old girls? I don't want to ruin the trip with tired and cranky kids, and honestly the 4-year-old is a bit of a princess, but DH is thinking it's ridiculous to put my 7 year old in a stroller? Is it worth it to get a double stroller or should I just get a single?

 

[maplevale]

We are going with a 6 and 2.5 year old. I think I am getting a double for the trip - our 6 year old is our 'Princess' and I am not sure how she will last for consecutive days in the park . I know we need a stroller for our 2.5 year old so in my case - it isn't any more of a hassle to have a double.

I think you could likely do a single and if need be - they can share. We did that at the local theme park this summer and it worked well. At one point we had the younger on dad's shoulder and the older in the stroller. Lot's of the day we had no one in the stroller.

 

[Geomom]

The 7 yr old should be fine, but I'd definitely have one for the 4 yr old! A single stroller should be fine for you--if there's no benches nearby, let the 7yr old just sit and rest in the stroller for a bit if she's tired. My kids are older now, so no need for a stroller. Our first trip my oldest had just turned 5--she really could have used a stroller at Epcot, the rest of the parks she was fine. My youngest always complained about walking--we made a deal that she could have a stroller at Disney until she turned 6. She got to have a stroller for the trip she had just turned 6 on, but our next trip when she was 6 1/2, she didn't have one and she was fine. There was one trip that my oldest was 9 and she got sick in one of the parks--we ended up strolling her out of the parks, and it was a mix of carrying/making the almost 5 yr old walk. We were very happy to have a stroller on hand that trip!

 

[idcomford]

We went last year with our 5 year old son adn are going agin this November as he is now 6. Rented a stroller from Kingdon or Orlando Stroller rental and am so happy we did. Their little legs just get tired and its a lot of walking over multiple days. We will do it again this year.
You can park your stroller in one location and ride multiple rides which is great!

 

[mynamewastaken2]

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm thinking they will probably fight over who is riding and who is walking, so maybe getting a double will be worth not having to listen to them bicker.

Do you recommend renting at the parks or ahead of time? We don't plan to bring one to Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom during our trip--but should we?

 

[maplevale]

We rented offsite because we wanted the stroller mostly for the into and out of the parks (and crowds) in the AM and PM. It means you need to carry it on and off busses (if you are staying on sight) but we didn't find it bad after the first day - just remember not to have a lot of bags/loose items for when you are folding it up!

HS I would think at 4 and 7 you can do without a stroller. AK is HUGE with lots of walking between things as is Epcot if you do the Countries (which is the best time to put both kids in a stroller and meander the afternoon away!)

 

[Happyjen27]

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm thinking they will probably fight over who is riding and who is walking, so maybe getting a double will be worth not having to listen to them bicker.

Do you recommend renting at the parks or ahead of time? We don't plan to bring one to Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom during our trip--but should we?

Yes, they will argue, because they're going to both be tired. I have twins, so we don't know anything but double strollers. We rented a double from orlando stroller and had a great experience. It was nice to not have to get them out of the stroller at the end of the park day and be able to take the stroller back to the resort.

 

[MSSANDRA]

most four year olds need a stroller, most seven year olds do not need one but there are exceptions to every rule. I would for sure have at least one single stroller and I would take it to every park every day. WDW is a ton of walking and kids are extra heavy at the end of the day when you are extra tired too!!! I think a sit and stand would be a good choice to allow the 7 year old a short break on occasion. I think a double may be a bit more trouble than it is worth.

 

[jana616]

Our last trip we had a 20 month old, almost 5 year old, and 7.5 year old. We rented a double stroller and almost all the time some combination of the three kids were in it. A few times our 7 year old climbed toward the front and held on for dear life because he was exhausted and needed a break We're going again in a few weeks and again are getting a double, but I expect my now almost 9 year old to walk. My 6 year old will definitely still ride a lot of the time, partly because he is a dawdler and it kills me to have to wait for him when we're trying to go quickly somewhere.

If I were you, I'd rent a double off-site. The walk to the busses at the end of the night is the very worst part for me, and you'll be so glad they can just hang out in the stroller instead of dragging them or carrying them. We rented a City Elite double from Kingdom Strollers last year and they were awesome. That one is designed for bigger kids versus the City Mini.

 

[dsneygirl]

We rented a stroller for the Halloween party for my 7 year old. He is almost 60lbs and over 50 inches tall. he barely fit and was so heavy to push there is no way I could have done it for our entire trip. He walked everywhere (we stayed at BLT and went back and forth to MK multiple times a day) and was fine.

I also could not imagine pushing a double stroller with that much weight all day in the heat.

 

[Disneychix]

We had a stroller for my 5 (almost 6 year old) in October last year. I took him again in June, he was then almost 6.5 and he walked the entire time and we never had a problem. I was impressed and jealous of his newly found energetic legs!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We'll have a 3 and just turned 7 year old on our trip next month. We're doing a double because I'm afraid they'll fight over a single, even though neither kid uses a stroller at home.

DHS is definitely walkable. AK not so much.

ETA: The Disney strollers are junk. Definitely rent from an off-site company. We've rented from both Kingdom Strollers and Orando Stroller Rentals in the past. Both had excellent customer service.

 

[Coconuts]

Get the double! We have been there with kids the same ages and both of them were tired and needed the stroller. I know that if I would have gotten a single they would have been fighting over the stroller the whole time. They still fought the whole time, when they were together in the stroller, but at least not fighting over a seat. They just fought about the usual, "he's too close to me", "stop breathing on me", etc.

 

[momof3littles]

We are making our first trip in Feb. My youngest two will be almost 4 and newly 7 when we go. I am pretty sure we are going to get a stroller for my will-be-7 yo, as when she's tired, she's tiiiiiired. And a bear. She's sweet as pie normally, but when she gets low blood sugar or is tired, look out. She's also very petite, and my almost 4 yo isn't that much shorter than she is. She's 6.5 now and is barely 40 lbs and still not all that tall. That's a lot of walking for short legs. As a result, I think we're going to get a stroller.

I was on the fence about a double vs. just a single for the almost 4 yo. However, I saw that apple only charges 35 for the week per stroller. My thought was that it wouldn't hurt to have two strollers. The singles will fold faster, we can split up if we have to at times, and if after a day or two we decide DD can walk fine, we are only out $35 for having rented an extra we didn't need. IMO, it is worth having the option.

We are staying at POR with 5 in a room, so space will be a little tight. I think we're going to rent a car, and we may store the strollers in there to save room in the hotel.

The 2nd stroller would also give us a space for bags, etc. if the 7 yo is walking fine for most of the day.

I'm a total noob though and my reasoning may be completely flawed. I don't know much about apple for rentals, but I'm hoping that will work out fine.

 

[Kristibo42]

Not another stroller thread. Do what is best for your family. But unless for medical reasons I would never put a 7 year old in a stroller.

 

[dhardawa]

I debated a stroller when my son was 3 1/2 and eventually opted not to take one. I never regretted it for a second. He ran circles around is. That just goes to show all kids are different. He'll be 6 this time and I wouldn't dream of taking a stroller.

 

[GoldieLocks5]

my 6yo was in our stroller a LOT this past trip- he was the most tired of my 3 kids (the other two were 4yo) because he stayed up later, didn't nap as much or at all, did more rides, etc.

we plan to rent a stroller for him to be in next trip b/c all 3 were always fighting about who would get to sit in our double.

Disney is not the average trip - it's tiring - I would sit in a stroller if I could!

 

[brettcw23]

This will be our first trip to WDW! We leave in mid-October and are staying at AoA for eight days. Soooo excited!!

My question is, do we really need a stroller for our 7 and 4-year-old girls? I don't want to ruin the trip with tired and cranky kids, and honestly the 4-year-old is a bit of a princess, but DH is thinking it's ridiculous to put my 7 year old in a stroller? Is it worth it to get a double stroller or should I just get a single?

We did a trip last year with 8 and 5 and my 5 yo did awesome w\o a stroller.
The year before we just took an umbrella stroller (much smaller\lighter) and my the 5 yo would hop in whenever we had to go a good distance. ore so for speed than b\c she was tired.

I def wouldn't put the 7 yo in it unless you ar worried about them straying from you. They prob won;t want to be in it and t will be a pain in the but trying to navigate the Parks with them. I took out MANY calves and shins when my girls were in our double stroller.

The one thing that my wife missed about our double stroller was not being able to shove our stuff into it! We have since adjusted just fine though.

 

[brettcw23]

One last thing...you know your kids better than anyone! And each kid is different. My girls are very active and want to be independent. Their energy levels never waned and they never complained about the walking. My pedometers had us clipping off about 8 miles a day! Some kids aren't as active as others, some will be insulted if they're not treated like a "big kid" and some will embrace the idea of being "chauffeured" around in the stroller. For the youngest, it won;t hurt you to have a stroller. For your 7 yo, maybe talk to them and see what they think.

 

[Vailbaby]

Im going with 7 year old twins and a 4 year old in a few months. No strollers here...Actually haven't used a stroller in a while on any trip.