Renting a stroller for an older child - Need suggestions

[disney 4 5]

We are headed to DW for 12 days in May. Our DS5 has Down Syndrome & has low muscle tone. He can get very worn out very quickly. It has been a few years since he was at DW with us & I just think that if we used a stroller it would be lots easier for him. He has more than outgrown the baby stroller we had for him so I thought maybe we would just rent a stroller instead of buying one (the bigger kid ones run around $400 ) Who do any of you suggest renting from? I hate Disney's strollers. Plus with renting one we would have it for at the resort & downtown disney. TIA

 

[anonymousegirl]

I just made a booking with Orlando Stroller rentals. I think they sponsor this board. They carry a variety of stroller including ones for older children and medical strollers. They will drop off and pick up to your hotel. Tel them your dates and the stroller will be at Bell Services when you arrive.

I booked one for my nephew who is 6 and needs a little help and a quiet "safe" place to hide. We are planning to get a stroller as a wheelchair GAC so we can keep him feeling safe and comfortable through the unavoidable long queues. I am also researching the best touring plans and plan on a heavy use of FP for those attractions that offer it.

Good luck!

 

[ireland_nicole]

I have rented from OSR twice and love them. Plus, they listened to the needs of our community and started carrying a special needs stroller when we asked. If DD didn't have a w/c now I would still be using them

 

[disney 4 5]

Thanks for the suggestions. They have one of the strollers that we have been looking at buying too. Just trying to justify the cost of buying one over renting one.

 

[kirstenb1]

I don't know the rental cost vs buying one, however I can recommend a really good one: Keekaroo. Our 6 yr old has low tone also. We bought this for her 2 yrs ago. It goes up to 50 or 55 lbs. The best thing is it's a heavy duty umbrella stroller, so it folds up really easy. At the time, I was looking at other brands like MacLaren. I read the reviews on Amazon, and this one got great reviews. I think we paid 129.00 new for it. It'll be making it's 4th trip to WDW, has made countless trips to the mall and Busch Gardens, Water Country and the zoo. It's taken a beating and is still terrific!!

 

[disney 4 5]

I don't know the rental cost vs buying one, however I can recommend a really good one: Keekaroo. Our 6 yr old has low tone also. We bought this for her 2 yrs ago. It goes up to 50 or 55 lbs. The best thing is it's a heavy duty umbrella stroller, so it folds up really easy. At the time, I was looking at other brands like MacLaren. I read the reviews on Amazon, and this one got great reviews. I think we paid 129.00 new for it. It'll be making it's 4th trip to WDW, has made countless trips to the mall and Busch Gardens, Water Country and the zoo. It's taken a beating and is still terrific!!

I will check it out but it might not work for long cuz he is already 42 lbs & over 3 foot tall. So I had been looking at strollers that would go up to 70 or 75 lbs. But thanks for the suggestion. : )

 

[Lisa71]

Orlando Stoller Rentals and get a City Mini Elite...and then as a note get your doctor to write a note about your child's needs to your insurance and they can cover a portion of a nice stroller for our child. Our DS has mild CP and can walk, but tires (or falls down a lot). He does better in a stroller and we got the Special Tomato push chair. WE LOVE IT!! It goes up to 100lbs, and our share was $200 (it was about $800 retail). It has pads for support that we did not order). Our insurance was very nice about arranging for it and even had a specialist weigh and measure our son to be sure the one we wanted (after many online Mom discussions) would work.

 

[lanejudy]

I will check it out but it might not work for long cuz he is already 42 lbs & over 3 foot tall. So I had been looking at strollers that would go up to 70 or 75 lbs. But thanks for the suggestion. : )

I also suggest looking at a Maclaren Major Elite. Our DD also has low muscle tone and tires easily. It's an oversized umbrella stroller, folds up well, carries on buses well; some of the other special-needs strollers are much more cumbersome if you'll be using buses. The footrest has to be removed to fold, but we hang a bag on the back handles and tuck the footrest in that. It is good for 140 lbs, I think, and I have seen teenage kids who use one. When we were looking into renting one for our trip, at least one of the companies listed in Sue M's sticky at the top of the page rents the Maclaren; more likely from a company that also offers wheelchairs than the traditional babystroller rentals. We decided to purchase one used so we'd have it for other vacations as well; very good deal used (quite expensive new!).

Good luck!