Has anyone let their 3.5 year old walk?

[Camno's Mama]

We brought our double jogger, which I love, the last couple of times, but my older one wants to walk a lot more now. Since that stroller isn't easy to travel with, I was thinking about taking our single stroller for the younger one. We are only spending two days at the parks...so, I was just wondering if anyone had tried letting a child that age walk, and how it went.

Thanks,
Courtney

 

[gonemousin']

If you're only doing two days at the parks then I say let your 3.5 yr old walk as much as he/she can and grab a rental stroller if you end up needing. I doubt you'll get through the day comando with no stroller at that age (especially if it's hot and you're planning to do park open to park close), but I don't think I'd bring your double jogger. Two days of a park rental would be far more convenient IMHO. Good luck!!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Our 3.5 year old wanted to walk sometimes (we had his Mac stroller with) but most of the time preferred his stroller (especially as the day wore on).

 

[all4fun]

Your dc might be totally different than mine, but if we let him walk, we'd constantly be walking the opposite direction of where we want to go. He'll be four in April and he's just starting to get a lot better about staying by our sides. Plus, he doesn't always want to walk the same pace we do so in our case the stroller allows us to move a lot more quickly.

I guess it depends on his personality. If he loves to stick with you and do whatever you want, then go for it. I do agree with the pp though that you should plan on grabbing a rental stroller at some point through out the day. WDW is a big place and even adults get worn out walking everywhere - and our legs are longer so we can cover more distance with less effort.

jmho.

 

[Camno's Mama]

What was I thinking? Those are some very good points. I sometimes forget about the stopping every two seconds and the walking the other direction! I was only thinking about the constant need to get out of the stroller.

We have a pretty beat-up umbrella stroller that I might consider taking in addition to the single stroller.

Thank you! Sometimes ideas sound so much better in your own head...

Courtney

 

[ClaraBug]

We are going this upcoming August, my youngest will be two weeks shy of four. We are going to bring the umbrella stroller b/c I know her poor little legs will give out after a couple of hours. I am also going to bring a "leash." Target has an Eddie Baurer one that is a doggie backpack and the "leash" attaches to the backpack. The opening is not very deep but it is enough for her. Plus she will be within reach.

 

[MommeeOfAPrnzess]

when we went we took our stroller she was 26 months and our friends boy was 5 and she took him one
They both used them and sometimes "doubled" up on his (jogging stroller) him in front her in back = it worked out
there is a lot of walking and if tired they went in - it also helped my mom as she had something to lean on and put our stuff in
just a thought!

 

[Darcy03231]

If you decide to rent the stroller just make sure you do it when you get there if you're going at a busy time of year. We went back once to rent one and they were all out.

 

[powellrj]

we usually take our kids for the first time around age 4. To be honest, until I started reading the DIS, it never occurred to me to even take a stroller. My kids were never really stroller kids and walked with us most places.

If you child is use to a stroller, than by all means take it. If they haven't used a stroller for years, I would leave it at home.

 

[mericletwins]

We brought our double jogger, which I love, the last couple of times, but my older one wants to walk a lot more now. Since that stroller isn't easy to travel with, I was thinking about taking our single stroller for the younger one. We are only spending two days at the parks...so, I was just wondering if anyone had tried letting a child that age walk, and how it went.

Thanks,
Courtney

Absolutely not. I would never, if for nothing else, then because of safety. It can get very crowded and I would not let my kids walk. They were in the stroller or we did not move.

 

[Hannathy]

Yes we did. My DD was slightly over 3 1/2 and we went for a week and did not take a stroller and she was fine. Like the other poster she had not used a stroller at home for ages so I didn't think to take one. If you are only there 2 days I wouldn't drag one along. When my DS was 2 1/2 we went and he walked more than he was in except for parking lots and at night when he was tired, but he was a yr younger.

 

[disneymomto5]

We just got back from a weekend trip, and my 3 year old and 6 year old fought over who was going to sit in the stroller. It's alot of walking especially if you've been out late and their tired.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

Absolutely not. I would never, if for nothing else, then because of safety. It can get very crowded and I would not let my kids walk. They were in the stroller or we did not move.

We were also very strict with our two children when they were younger. Stroller or we do not move. As soon as we got off a ride/attraction, they immediately got in their stroller. I was very concerned about losing them. Also, we moved much, much faster this way.

 

[suffolkprincess]

You can tote SO much more stuff SO much more comfortably!

A lot of times on our recent trip DD4 walked around the immediate area we were in (always holding a hand) but when commuting from land to land, she was riding (or if it was really really crowded.) Meanwhile, the stroller would be parked somewhere central (this worked well in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, where we spent most of our time anyway.)

We stashed the extra clothes, the bottles of Staples water, etc in the stroller. Worked out very well.

 

[kribit]

We were also very strict with our two children when they were younger. Stroller or we do not move. As soon as we got off a ride/attraction, they immediately got in their stroller. I was very concerned about losing them. Also, we moved much, much faster this way.

This is what we did and it worked out very well for all of us. My kids had not seen the stroller for a year until Disney and they were thrilled to "get driven around." Our decision to do this was also for safety,as there are just too many people in the parks.

The only time I remember them walking longer than ride to ride was in Fantasyland one morning during little ones magic hour. There was no one there.

To the op - bring the stroller.

 

[seetheworld]

Great question! I was wondering the same thing myself. After reading the post, I will most certainly be taking my stroller. Thank you all for your help!

 

[eloveslink]

We went in October, and I struggled with the same thing. The double jogger is such a pain to lug around. I ended up renting a single stroller for DD who just turned 3. I found that my 4 yr old could sit in the back of it (when he got tired) and put my 3 yr old between her legs. I think a single stoller was $7/day when you bought a length of stay pass.

 

[design_mom]

How old is your younger one? If you only took the single stroller could you also take a sling or baby carrier and carry the younger one for a while if your 3.5yo needed the stroller?

We did two open-to-close days at MK last spring with my (then) 2yo DD. I carried her in our Ergo Baby Carrier and didn't even take the stroller. (It's a tiny picture, buy you can sort of see it in my avatar.) It was wonderful to be stroller-free. It kept her contained (hands free) in the lines, too... and we didn't spend 10 minutes searching the "sea of strollers' after getting off each attraction.