Stroller for 12 year old

[militarymomto5]

Hey guys! Needing some help for our upcoming trip:
We have 5 kids, our youngest being 4 so we plan on taking a stroller to Disney. Our 12 year old has congenital hip dysplasia that has been relatively mild the past few years until he hit a growth spurt recently causing a bit of pain after long days. . We are looking for a stroller that has been tried and tested by the experts here that will accommodate our needs. We don't want a wheelchair bc we expect he will be walking most of day and well be letting dd ride when he doesn't (and honestly, a place to store all our junk is a bonus!). DS12 is 60 pounds, and as tall as a 7 year old so he still can fit into many strollers. What are your favorites?? Thanks!

 

[misled3]

Sit and stand

 

[SueM in MN]

As far as i know, Sit and stand is for 2 children, each child 40 pounds or less and 40 inches tall or less.
Many of the strollers have a weight capacity of 50 pounds total (child plus everything you are carrying).
This one has a weight limit of 70 pounds, but very expensive:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10957914

Post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has information about renting. You can follow the link in my signature to get there.
You are correct that he is too small to probably ride comfortably in an adult size wheelchair. He is too big for most of the Off-site rental strollers, but there are companies that rent special needs strollers for kids with disabilities who are too large for a regular stroller. Those are larger and harder to transport.

Another option you may not have thought about is the park rental strollers - they will hold a larger child, especially if you rent a double stroller. Since you don't need one all the time, you could get it at the park when you need it or get it and park it when you don't need it.
If you park hop or leave the park mid-day, save your receipt and you can get a stroller again without paying twice for the same day.

I'm going to move this to the disABILITIES main board which is about trip planning be ause I think you would get more views there.

 

[Denise773]

The CityMini doubles and Bob doubles both hold up to 100 pounds. I have the CityMini and we brought it to Disney last year and we're so glad we did. It fits just fine between the doorways. I'm not sure about the Bob's but I think they do too.
There are a bunch of stroller rental companies in Orlando that rent both.

Have a great time!

 

[militarymomto5]

Thank for such quick responses! We've never been to Disney so renting there had never crossed my mind! I googled a few places and found the liberty push chair by Orlando stroller rentals. Anyone ever. Used either the company or the stroller? Reviews on either? I really love how helpful everyone is anytime I ask a question, thank you!!! it's been a long time since we've purchased or reviewed strollers!

 

[ibcrazie4dizney]

we have a special tomato push chair for dgd8. we like it and it seems comfy for her. we used a reg stroller until about 2 yrs ago when she started to get too big for them. she didn't seem as comfy and it was getting harder to push. check with your dr, our neuro gave us a prescription and insurance paid for it.

 

[SueM in MN]

The CityMini doubles and Bob doubles both hold up to 100 pounds. I have the CityMini and we brought it to Disney last year and we're so glad we did. It fits just fine between the doorways. I'm not sure about the Bob's but I think they do too.
There are a bunch of stroller rental companies in Orlando that rent both.

Have a great time!

check the weight per seat though - the total for the stroller may be 100 pounds, but it each seat may be no more than 50.

If you go to the specs tab on this page, it lists things like the seat height, width and depth. Those will be helpful to figure out whether or not your child would ft at all.

If your child is working with a therapis, orthopedic or specialty clinict, they may be aware of places in your area that loan out equipment.

 

[JLC44]

Thank for such quick responses! We've never been to Disney so renting there had never crossed my mind! I googled a few places and found the liberty push chair by Orlando stroller rentals. Anyone ever. Used either the company or the stroller? Reviews on either? I really love how helpful everyone is anytime I ask a question, thank you!!! it's been a long time since we've purchased or reviewed strollers!

We haven't used either, but we have the Advanced Mobility Freedom pushchair. Advanced Mobility is a division of Baby Jogger. Spirit has 75 pound weight limit, Liberty is 100 pounds, Freedom 200 pounds. We got it 3 years ago for our then 8 yr old with Autism. We got the biggest because we don't know if/when he will not need it so we didn't want him to outgrow it.

Our Freedom has been wonderful, very well made, we use it regularly. When we are someplace that he is going to be out of it, for example if she takes him into a store, I sit in the stroller to wait cause it is the most comfortable seat in the house. I am 6'3" 200 pounds and it fits me great.

I think you and your son will love the Liberty. I saw on the rental site that you can get the rain canopy added for free, make sure you do that. It will be a fitted canopy specifically for that stroller. We have the one that is for ours.

One other thing to consider, we keep a bicycle lock in our stoller so we can lock it up if we are going to be away from it. May be over cautious but at $900 we aren't taking chances.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Joovy 360 jogger

 

[ttintagel]

Your choice of a stroller over a wheelchair makes perfect sense to me as an adult.

But, I'm flashing back to being a twelve-year-old with serious health issues (Disclaimer: not the same ones as your kid), and not always understanding some of the choices my parents made in that regard and not always feeling like they understood what it was like for me. I can look back now and understand, but at the time I really wish we could have talked more about it.

So, if you haven't, it might be good to have a chat and make sure he's as on board with the stroller idea as you are. It goes without saying that you know your family better than this Internet stranger does, and if the mods feel this is too far off topic I completely understand, but I just wanted to add my perspective.

 

[SueM in MN]

Your choice of a stroller over a wheelchair makes perfect sense to me as an adult.

But, I'm flashing back to being a twelve-year-old with serious health issues (Disclaimer: not the same ones as your kid), and not always understanding some of the choices my parents made in that regard and not always feeling like they understood what it was like for me. I can look back now and understand, but at the time I really wish we could have talked more about it.

So, if you haven't, it might be good to have a chat and make sure he's as on board with the stroller idea as you are. It goes without saying that you know your family better than this Internet stranger does, and if the mods feel this is too far off topic I completely understand, but I just wanted to add my perspective.

Yes, a 12 yr old may have feelings about it one way or another.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Yes, a 12 yr old may have feelings about it one way or another.

But at Disney World he wouldn't stand out like a lot of other places. I've seen plenty of BIG kids in strollers...and sometimes wished I could fit into one, too

 

[JLC44]

At first our son was self-conscious about the looks we got untill we explained to him that they weren't looking at him, it was the size of the stroller. He was 8 at the time.

 

[JLC44]

found the picture from the 4th in the Advanced Mobility Freedom stroller. This is the 200 pound weight limit version. Son is 11 yrs old.

 

[SueM in MN]

But at Disney World he wouldn't stand out like a lot of other places. I've seen plenty of BIG kids in strollers...and sometimes wished I could fit into one, too

I should clarify - I meant the type of mobility device.
He may have feelings about being in a stroller where he might be close to hitting his head on the top of the canopy and bending his legs up to keep them from hitting the ground.
He may prefer one of the special needs strollers or one of the Disney rental ones.

I agree, you will see kids of all sizes in strollers at wdw

 

[lanejudy]

In my experience, the Liberty Pushchair - while good - can be heavy, bulky and cumbersome if you plan to fold and carry it on WDW transportation. We ended up getting a Maclaren Major -- it is like an oversized umbrella stroller. Light and easy to pack onto buses, yet made to hold a child up to 140 lbs (I think that might be pushing it, but it's what the specs said!). It sits more upright while the Liberty Pushchair seemed more reclined, maybe that was just my perception though. Anyway, we bought a used one for much less than new, which has been perfect because we rarely use it around home, mainly on vacations. Last I looked, it could be rented from a couple of the wheelchair/medical rental companies in Orlando from on the FAQ sticky, not from the baby stroller rental companies.

I agree with asking DS's opinion as to stroller or wheelchair. At 12, he may feel a stroller is much to babyish for him, especially if he has littler family members and he hasn't needed a mobility aid recently.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[infopurposesonly]

We use a Kid Kart Mighty Lite for DD13. She's had it since she was eight, and we've been able to adjust it to accommodate her growth in height. I think it looks more like a wheelchair than a stroller. It's heavier than a lot of strollers. I actually prefer the Maclaren Major, which we rented once for a Disney trip. That was easier to push, but since we now need the stroller more than we expected, the Mighty Lite is sturdier and after five years is still in great shape.

 

[militarymomto5]

I wanted to say thank you to each of you for your help! And also for the feedback about making sure he's ok w stroller vs chair. He has in the past been ok w strollers (to the point of bribing sister out of them!) but this serves as a reminder for me to NOT assume and clear it with him first! def don't want a kid who needs a rest to push it to far bc he doesn't want to feel embarrassed. I have written down all suggestions and will be doing some reading this week, and you guys have me a great place to start!!! Thank you all!!!

 

[rebekah8284]

I own a maclaren major elite for my son who is autistic. It is a great stroller very easy to push and the handles are high up so even my six foot six boyfriend doesn't have to bend down to push it. It does fold down very easily however if you have the sunshade and foot rest both have to be removed to fold it down. Just something to think about if you are planning on taking buses. Someone will need to hold those parts when it is folded down. Because of that we are renting a citi mini gt as don't want to deal with that while trying to load him onto the bus. Other than that its a great stroller lots of room and he loves being up so high as can see lots more. Hope that helps

 

[joanchris]

You've gotten some great advice here! Just wanted to add that when we went in 2005 my younger daughter was almost 7. She had no problem fitting into a Disney rental stroller on the last couple of days of our trip, she was worn out and done with walking! It was nice as it doesn't look like a "baby" stroller. My husband and I were wishing at one point we would have fit in there.