How do your kids handle all the walking?

[fredms]

I am nervous about my nieces and nephew (6, 4, 4) and all the walking at Disney. Specifically we are staying at Boardwalk and doing PSB and then AK on Saturday Jan 22 - Should I do PSB or cut it out since Epcot is so big and that is a lot of walking. I'll rent a stroller as needed, but I just think it may be too much for them. Any thoughts?

 

[Memaw2Wm]

My granddaughter was not quite 6 our first trip ... she didn't have any trouble with all the walking ... but she's an active kid and we did take breaks.

But since you're traveling with 4 y.o. I'd rent a stroller and let all three take turns ... if you park hop just hang onto your receipt and get a "free" stroller at the next park.

If your nieces are into princesses don't cut out the Princess Storybook breakfast ... my GK enjoyed it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

ITA it should be fine. Have a great trip!

 

[3MouseMom]

I'd really rent a double stoller and let them take turns. Epcot is big and they do get tired. I got a double and let my 8yo take a break in it with the 4 yo. It really worked well!

 

[disneyandme]

Get a double stroller and let them ride as often as they want. I am bringing a stroller for my DD5-- she has asthma-- and it makes a world of difference.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

fredms,
Before our trip last September with my DDs (then age 4 & almost 2), we would take long walks. I don't know if this helped or not but they never complained their legs hurt. Because you are going in January and live in Queens (just like me), it may be too cold for long walks.

I also suggest a stroller for them to share.

 

[hokiefan33]

Originally posted by fredms
I am nervous about my nieces and nephew (6, 4, 4) and all the walking at Disney. Specifically we are staying at Boardwalk and doing PSB and then AK on Saturday Jan 22 - Should I do PSB or cut it out since Epcot is so big and that is a lot of walking. I'll rent a stroller as needed, but I just think it may be too much for them. Any thoughts?

How do my kids handle all the walking? They don't; I push them in a double stroller. It's the best $15 per day you can spend, no matter how old your kids are (mine are DS8 and DD5). They don't spend all day in the stroller, but it sure is nice to have when they're both tired. It actually saves us the much-ballyhooed "mid-day break" that everyone swears is absolutely necessary to save your vacation, especially with small kids. We don't want to interrupt our day with an unnecessary trip back to the resort, so the stroller serves as our kids' way to cool down and not be tired from walking all day. Works great.

 

[garettdoyle]

I agree with the stroller concept but I wanted to point out the difference between bringing your own versus renting at one of the parks.

When you rent a stroller, you only have use of it within the park. So your kids will have to walk (or be carried) everywhere else (to/from parking/transportation), within your resort, etc.

I also observed significant lines for people renting strollers at MK, so plan accordingly if you plan on renting.

Might also want to come up with a way to identify your stroller (rental or personal), as it is easy to get confused as to which stroller is yours (all the rentals are the same and many other people will have the same make/model of your stroller).

 

[hokiefan33]

Originally posted by garettdoyle
I agree with the stroller concept but I wanted to point out the difference between bringing your own versus renting at one of the parks.

When you rent a stroller, you only have use of it within the park. So your kids will have to walk (or be carried) everywhere else (to/from parking/transportation), within your resort, etc.

I also observed significant lines for people renting strollers at MK, so plan accordingly if you plan on renting.

Might also want to come up with a way to identify your stroller (rental or personal), as it is easy to get confused as to which stroller is yours (all the rentals are the same and many other people will have the same make/model of your stroller).

When you rent, you do only have use of it within that park, however you only pay one rental fee per day; the "rental" is transferrable within each park. You do not have use of the stroller outside the park, but that's never been a problem for me. The walk from the parks to the buses (or monorail) back to the resort is never far.

I myself have never stood in line more than 3 minutes to rent a stroller, and this is during the summer months. That doesn't guarantee, however, that you won't find a longer line, just in my experience, line length isn't an issue.

You get a name card to put in your stroller for ID purposes, but this is hard to see. If you get a piece of ribbon or a bandana or something easily seen and tie it to your stroller, it makes it MUCH easier to pick out amongst a crowd, especially after the CM's move them after you've been on a ride.

 

[Del]

When my kids were under 3, bring our own stroller was important since then we had it for the parking lots and etc... but last trip they were 4 and 7---rented a double stroller and the 7 yr old only used it when she was exhausted and the 4 yo to nap. They held up really well and only needed it in the parks. Otherwise it just held our backpack (which was heavy!). The biggest tip i have is to use a colored bandana to tie onto the Dis rent a stroller to tell the difference between all of the other ones in Dis stroller parking. It will save you an enormous amount of time. Good Luck!


Del

 

[crisi]

Ours were four and five last trip. We also stayed at BW and rented strollers. They did fine getting to and from Epcot on their feet (we'd often wait for the boat on the way back). We often park hopped and never had any problem getting a stroller - lines were minimal (look for the stroller express line before MK opens - pay for your stroller out front, then pick it up inside the gate).

Its amazing how much energy little kids can find. They can go longer than I can - its just channeling that to productive walking instead of jumping, dancing, spinning and squirming! Fortunately, Disney provides great motivators for moving in terms of "walking to the next ride." My daughter often wants to be picked up - but she doesn't need to be picked up - its a want. When its a need we rest. Or I pick her up for about fifty steps then say "you need to walk again, honey" and she is fine.

Its a rare "personal" stroller that will fit two four year olds. My daughter was over 45 lbs and we'd have had to buy a stroller for her - as she outgrew her toddler Graco a few years ago. Not worth it for us. The Disney strollers have their issues (not great for small kids, and, yes, with the rental fees you could buy a nice stroller and resell it when you get home!) but are nice for bigger kids - they push 100 lbs of two kids easily. The other thing is you don't have to worry about it getting stolen - if its missing, you go back to stroller rental (not convienent, but still) and show them your receipt and get another one! Strollers don't go missing often at WDW, but when they do, it can put a real crimp in the vacation

As for identifying your rental stroller - this is especially important if your last name is even vaguely common. We often get off and see two strollers with "Peterson" on the back of them.

 

[fredms]

Thanks for the loads of good advice. So I'll keep the psb breakfast and we are bringing a stroller for the baby and will rent a double for the twins and Gabrielle.

One question, when going from Boardwalk to PSB should we walk and use the future world entrance or should we drive to the Epcot entrance as we will be going to AK afterward? Any help is appreciated.

 

[crisi]

You can use the International Gateway, then take a bus from the front of Epcot to the AK.

You can drive to Epcot (if you have a rental car), use the front entrance, leave by the front entrance, and drive to AK. (Probably the quickest)

You could walk to Epcot, walk back to the BW, take your car to the AK. (Probably the most time consuming)

Its a personal preference thing. I think Norway from the IG or front entrance is pretty much the same distance. We don't like to drive at Disney, so I'd do the first (except I'd probably break down and take a cab in my "hurry hurry" state of making the most of a morning). I also find entering through the IG to be particularly charming - make sure to do it once during your trip!

 

[ahutton]

For our last trip with DD being 4 we played the stroller thing for her by ear. We never ended up actually renting one, she never needed it. But we don't commando through the parks. We found that if we paced our day right between the shows, rides and meals we spent plenty of time resting our feet. And nothing motivated her more than when it was time to go saying "lets go swimming" - she always managed to find the energy to walk back to the bus or hotel, get changed and then play in the pool to cool off. That is also the case for our 2 year old this trip - we only used a stroller for her when we hit the parks in the evenings. She's a bundle of energy, and even if we had a stroller she would not have wanted to be in it.

For PSB from Boardwalk we would either walk or take the boat to the International Gateway, then walk over to Norway. From there we would walk to the front entrance to catch the AK bus. You can always break up the walk a bit by stopping to look at the fountain or taking a pass through Test Track if the kids are interested in it.

 

[PAFamily]

We always rent the double strollers and have found them to be great. Even when the kids aren't sitting in it, we can lay our stuff in it. But the kids do end up using it when their little legs get tired. We have gone the last 3 years (DD is 5, DS is 3) and have found it to be an easy no hassle way to get around.