Stroller age

[loves to dive]

Really depends on your kid. My son's first trip he was just shy of 3 and we didn't use one. He hated them after he started walking and you couldn't force him into them. I think I did rent one toward the end of the day one day because he wasn't ready to go back to the room yet but I could tell he was tired. I was a single Mom so I think a stroller might have been more of an issue for me trying to wrangle it. He would just hold on to some piece of my clothes if we were in lines for food or it was too crowded, otherwise he was pretty good about staying close to me so I could reach out and grab him if needed. He was a very active little boy though, I don't think he ever totally sat in a chair when eating, always perched on the side. He would conk out on the bus, usually in my lap, but would wake up as soon as we got to the resort and had no trouble walking back to the room.

 

[khertz]

We took one for my 7 year old a couple weeks ago and was glad we did. She did a lot of walking, but it was nice to have the stroller for her when her feet got tired.

 

[Silvermist999]

The last time we rented a stroller was when my youngest was 4, we even rented a double stroller and our oldest who was 6 sat in it a lot as well. Great for them to sit and eat snacks and also for us to manoeuvre our way through the parks quickly when needed.

 

[Claire-Bear]

Thanks, I think we'll arrange for a double in case!

 

[bluedolphin32]

Thanks all. We will definitely need one for our 4 year old (we have a City Mini) but wondered about our 7 year old.

Last fsmily trip we got the double b/c youngest was 4 and middle had barely turned 7 just before the trip. Both are girls and we were glad to have the double. 7 year old used it quite a bit and would've been jealous and fighting for a turn in the single. We also didn't have to worry about losing them in a crowd at rope drop or park close.

The last time we rented a stroller was when my youngest was 4, we even rented a double stroller and our oldest who was 6 sat in it a lot as well. Great for them to sit and eat snacks and also for us to manoeuvre our way through the parks quickly when needed.

Yup. If you need one either way for a younger sibling, get the double.

 

[AZMermaid]

My kids didn’t need them by 5. We did a June trip when they were 5 and 6 and we walked 71 miles in 7 park days according to our fitbits. The kids didn’t complain one single time. I was shocked but never even a single whine! We budgeted to rent one if needed, bit thought we’d try “out of sight, out of mind.” They never even thought to want for one. And yes, they complain when we park at the back of the Target lot!

 

[Kae]

We stopped at 5,

 

[brockash]

Hi all

For what ages would you recommend strollers are used in the parks? Does it depend how long you will be there? Depend on the park?

My eldest will be 7 and I'm thinking won't need one, but it's been over 10 years since we last went and I can't remember the walking distances.

Thank you

I think a lot depends on how you want to tour. I'll be honest, for us, we don't want to tour every day at a 7 year olds preference, so we still got a stroller for our longer days with our 7 year old. If you're only doing short days and are happy to go at their pace etc., than you probably don't need one. If you have more than just the 7 year old in your group, and/or are doing longer days or in the heat, I'd do a stroller at 7.

 

[Anna131517]

This really depends on the child and their weight. Our last trip our two youngest were 5 and 6 (a few weeks short of 7). However, my almost 7 year is tiny for her age - same size as her younger sister and each kid weighed about 35 lbs. We got a double citi mini stroller and while my almost 7 year old didn’t use the stroller a ton, it was nice to have. We also rented a single citi mini GT when my son was 7 and that bum definitely used the stroller and even fell asleep in it a couple times. But I’m a stroller person. I love having a base for all our drinks and gear and actually find it easier to walk when pushing a stroller (I have MS). Definitely check height and weight requirements before renting a stroller for a 7 year old. We had to get a single citi mini GT for my son because he was heavier at 7.

 

[BingoJoe]

Putting your child in a stroller can be a good idea at Disney for many years after you wouldn't dream of it elsewhere.

By the time my daughter was 6 there was no point, at 5 we didn't bother but it probably would have been useful at points.

Visit length definitely makes a difference, if you only have one day in magic kingdom while you run from attraction to attraction then the benefits of taking time to explore the parks on foot diminish.

Can't think of many 7 year olds who would want to be in a stroller unless they were really unfit or overweight or something but only you know your kids well enough I suppose.

 

[Claire-Bear]

We will be having long days in the parks (my sister will be dropping us off before work and picking us up after work) so I'll get a double. We already need to take a single due to our 4 year old. I think I'd rather have it than deal with a tired hot 7 year old! If we weren't already needing one, I'd think about it more, but given her sister will be using one it'll be "in her face" all the time

P.s. she's not "overweight" or "really unfit"

 

[sponica]

Can't think of many 7 year olds who would want to be in a stroller unless they were really unfit or overweight or something but only you know your kids well enough I suppose.

You haven't met enough 7 year olds But really, I'd also love to be pushed around in a chariot like I'm queen of the world or something.

 

[AZMermaid]

You haven't met enough 7 year olds But really, I'd also love to be pushed around in a chariot like I'm queen of the world or something.

As a first grade teacher…. I stand by that most of my students don’t *need* a stroller. If they weren’t offered one… they wouldn’t want one. I’d agree probably 20% of them would whine enough to make it worthwhile for everyone’s sanity! I’d also say 40% of my kids would laugh hysterically at the idea. So the middle 40% would probably say- sure! Why not!

Now, my nephew is 8 and a cancer survivor. He still has iron infusions weekly and his nose bleeds for hours every night. He is small but looks like a typical 6 year old. He absolutely needs a stroller. So I’d agree that some kids need it. But most? No. But if offered…. Sure!

 

[pineapplepalms]

We will be having long days in the parks (my sister will be dropping us off before work and picking us up after work) so I'll get a double. We already need to take a single due to our 4 year old. I think I'd rather have it than deal with a tired hot 7 year old! If we weren't already needing one, I'd think about it more, but given her sister will be using one it'll be "in her face" all the time

P.s. she's not "overweight" or "really unfit"

I think that’s a good call! My 6yo (almost 7) is very lean and active but at the end of a long Disney day he sometimes likes to relax in the stroller. He’s probably in his last year of fitting in it though. Most of the time he’ll hop on the buggy board for a while rather than go in the stroller.

If he was our only kid, then we probably wouldn’t bring one. But we have 2 younger ones and still use the double for them, the diaper bag, snacks, water bottles, etc. so it’s there with us and he’ll use it sometimes. We never use one at home for him, and rarely use one for the younger ones unless we’re going to to a local zoo or amusement park. The other nice thing about the stroller at Disney is we can keep all 3 kids contained with it when moving through crowds and don’t have to worry about them being run over by people or losing track of them.

 

[hpsalb]

As others have said, it really depends on your kid and travel plans. ODS was ok without one by 5/6, but MDS still needs one some at 7. YDS is 5, so we use either our jogging stroller with a rider board or a single stroller. The younger two switch with the single or both ride if we have the rider board.

They don’t ride all the time, but it’s super helpful if we are going a long way and/or a long time. Or if we are expecting large crowds. This isn’t something most people mention, but if you are going during high crowds, a stroller helped us stay together. Maybe a little tighter to navigate in crowds, but it was easy to get separated in the crowds unless we were using the stroller.

 

[KrazeeK120]

My son was 6.5 on our last trip. He’s our only. And I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be caught dead in a stroller. We were there in August (so…surface of the sun) and he did great. Better than me, really. We took a break back at the resort every day during the really hot part of the afternoon. It was amazing not lugging a stroller around after having gone when he was 18 months and almost 3.

 

[brockash]

Putting your child in a stroller can be a good idea at Disney for many years after you wouldn't dream of it elsewhere.

By the time my daughter was 6 there was no point, at 5 we didn't bother but it probably would have been useful at points.

Visit length definitely makes a difference, if you only have one day in magic kingdom while you run from attraction to attraction then the benefits of taking time to explore the parks on foot diminish.

Can't think of many 7 year olds who would want to be in a stroller unless they were really unfit or overweight or something but only you know your kids well enough I suppose.

Lol...trust me there are plenty of 7 year olds who want to be in a stroller at times at Disney...99% of them I'm sure are not "really unfit, overweight or something." Lol...just typical kids with shorter legs who aren't used to nor want to walk 10+ miles a day in 90+ degree heat.

All 3 of my kids have always been on the thinner side...all play multiple sports etc. At Disney they 100% enjoyed a stroller still at 7. - Same with my sisters kids...again definitely not at home and none of them are unhealthy or have "something" wrong with them.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Thanks for this thread. I’m bringing an 8 year old and it’s been a long time since I had little ones at Disney. I of course was not thinking of a stroller but not sure how she will do with all the walking. Sounds like most kids do okay and complain when standing in line. We are going in June so it will be hot. Thanks all.

 

[ajohnso23]

Where is the best place to rent a stroller from? How much are the rentals from Disney?

 

[SLThomas318]

We use a third party company... orlando stroller rentals.