Stoller dilemma.....

[alibeau]

Hi guys, could just do with a bit of feedback.....

Our LO's are 5 and 3. Here at home our eldest no longer uses a stroller but our youngest does but also likes to walk too. I just cannot decide how many strollers to take as I am sure that our eldest won't be happy to walk all day and will defo need a break at some point but equally I don't want to be pushing around empty strollers and trying to hold hands etc....

Also getting off and on the trams with two LO's and two strollers will be a bit of a pain....

I am thinking that the answer would be to hire a double stroller type thing at the disney parks That way we only have one 'thing' to push, no doubt our eldest will love the novelty factor and take a much needed rest.....

BUT I don't want to pay for hiring one when we have two prefectly good strollers - arrgghhhhhhhh.......

Probably going to take two away with us anyway to be on the safe side but am not sure what the answer is for the parks.....

What do you do???

Ali

A week from now we'll be on our way

 

[wifey]

Your kids are familiar with your own strollers the ones at Disney don't look very comfortable and they do get hot in the sun plus your bound to have a raincover on your own for when the rain showers start Disney ones didn't have any last time we were there.
Your own strollers you can take on the monorail and on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch in AK.
You are used to the weight when you push your own strollers.
Stroller rentals keep going up even booking it weekly gets expensive, you've already paid out for the ones you own.
You can get into the hotel lifts with sleepy kids in their own strollers and get them to your room with little fuss plus you can take the kids directly to the gates at the airport. They soon unload them when you get across to the other side.
Another option perhaps get a buggy board then the older child could stand on the back....

We stopped taking the stroller to the parks back in 2005 when DS was 6 he was more than ready by then to walk around and not get tired out. He was fine, each child does get more accustomed to walking around the parks in their own time.
Ultimately it's your decision you'll know when they no longer need one.

 

[Young Pooh]

I am in a similar boat as you - DD will be almost 5 when we go but due to poor muscle tone she is not as active and gets tired quicker than other kids her age.

She will definately need her stroller in the parks but won't want to use it until she is tired. This means I will be pushing around an empty stroller for a lot of time. At least I can load it with the bags etc.

We went in 2007 but she used the stroller most of the time so it wasn't really an issue. Getting on and off the buses etc was ok - we have a Quinny so it folds really small and is light.

 

[madmumof2]

I have the same issue. Mine are the same age as yours, but when we go they will be 6 and nearly 4.

Neither of mine use a stroller anymore and I have no idea how far they can walk without getting tired out. Whenever we walk, Cameron is fine but Alyssa wants picking up, although we never walk the same distance we would in the parks so I don't know if Cameron will be tired too.

I think I might see how it goes in the parks, and if they bothh get tired and need too many rests throughout the day, then I'll buy one from Walmart for the next day.

I know I don't notice how far I've walked if I'm enjoying myself, so hopefully the kids won't realise how tired they are until they get back to the hotel room and conk out lol.

 

[wilma-bride]

Our youngest was 5 when he went for the first time in April last year. For the most part, he was fine without a stroller and we didn't take one with us. We just made sure we went at his pace - to be honest, he was racing around like a mad thing the majority of the time. We did hire a stroller on a couple of occasions - once when we went to MK late one evening for Spectro and Wishes, once at Epcot when we knew there would be a lot of walking involved and once at Hollywood Studios, mainly because it was towards the end of the holiday and he was knackered (OK, so that's 3 times, not a couple but you get the idea).

What I'm trying to say is that your 5 yo would probably be fine without a stroller 99% of the time and it seems a bit of an overkill to take 2 strollers when you will probably only use 1 the majority of the time you are there.

Having said that, you know your own child and only you kow how he/she will cope and you do always have the option to hire one if you absolutely need it.

 

[alibeau]

Thanks for your replies

Having looked at our 'planner', our first day is at Epcot
and I just can't picture our eldest getting around there without needing a 'stroller break' So I am thinking that perhaps the best plan would be to take the two strollers on that day and see how we get on........

Thanks again for your replies, it's always good to hear everyones thoughts

No wonder though that I can't make a decision on strollers, I've been wondering all day why my ticker is wrong until I realised that it's actually Tuesday today and not Wednesday - I think I'm losing it

Ali

 

[milomummy]

I agonised over what to do too, my son had just turned 5 when we went and although he has not used a pushchair for a couple of years I knew the amount of walking we'd be doing may cause grief.
In the end we hired one of the disney ones a couple of times when we knew we'd be there for a long time and when we stayed late to watch the fireworks. They didn't look particularly comfortable although DS loved it...probably the novelty I guess!

We saw this fab pushchair that you can buy there tho, can't think what it was called, but it was a pushchair at the front, and then the back was a fitted seat/step so an older child could have a rest, maybe something like that would be an idea?

Aside from a those couple of days in the parks, we didn't need a pushchair for him any other time, although one would have been handy when we were shopping as he got fed up and a bit moany (typical male there!). We just had to adjust our pace to suit him.

If it was me, I'd deffo take at least one of your own strollers...dead handy for the airport hanging around etc..then once you're there, you have options of either buying a cheapy stroller (none we looked at looked very sturdy or comfortable!), looking for one of those sit and stand buggy things I mentioned above, or hiring a double from the parks on days you know will be long.

 

[milomummy]

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8342692

Hopefully that link will take you to the sit n stand stroller I mentioned...for $89.99 it's got to be worth a thought....

 

[Snowy-girls]

We are also in this position wth Dd3(she will be 4 when we go).She loves walking+has been out of a pushchair since 2 1/2yrs.BUT there is no way she will cope in the parks.We plan on buying one of the strollers they sell in the parks,DTD+resort gift shops.They are aprox $40 here is a piccy of one http://www.kolcraft.com/product.aspx?id=99&shopby=category
A little dearer than a cheap one from Walmart,but these ones have swivel wheels,adjustable umbrella hood,lie back padded seat,net bag,cup holder.
Also alot cheaper than renting a stroller,prices for strollers now are $15 single and(a huge) $31 double.x.

 

[milomummy]

I have to say, we looked at the stroller that they sell in the parks and it didn't look worth the money...the seat looked quite small, the handles for parents to push were strangely low, and it didn't look very sturdy at all, it certainly didn't look able to cope with a child over the age of 2 in my opinion, hence we decided to hire one of their strollers for the day.