Stroller for 5 1/2 year old??

[mpadilla89]

I think it's like others have said and it depends on your child. Our first time we went to Disneyland DD was 3.5 we took a stroller and she only used once out of the three days we where there. she slept through the whole parade. That was the first and last time we took a stroller.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

It really depends. Our first trip to Disney, my oldest was 3 and we decided not to bring a stroller since he was out of them at home. We ended up renting one every day. Same issue when we went with friends a few years later. Her 4 yo hadn't been in a stroller in ages, and I tried to get her to bring it because kids will use a stroller at Disney well past the time they use one at home. She didn't, and also ended up paying for a rental.

Ultimately, it really depends on the kid. At 3, my youngest is fine without a stroller, but his older brother wasn't. Granted, his older brother does have a significant disability, and some core weakness, but all kids are different. Especially if they aren't used to the heat, etc.

 

[GatorChris]

My youngest is 6 and we'll be bringing a stroller next week and on our trip in Nov. While she may not need it 100% of the time like she has in the past, it's still helpful getting to and leaving the parks. Plus when the parks are crowded, which is all the time now, it really helps to know that the smallest won't get left behind in a big crowd push.

 

[HuskyGal]

I'm going to be renting a stroller for my 3 and 6 year old. We are staying off site and my kids aren't as fit as pps'. I don't see my kid walking 8 + miles/day. My kid hasn't run a 5k at 6 yo. At 5 yo she did the hop on for rest, hop off when excited thing.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We still bring a stroller for my 6 yr old. She doesn't use it much in the parks; we'll park it in a land and come back and get it when we're done. But she does use it for the walk to and from the hotel. She could do the walk, I'm sure, but on those times she falls asleep on the way back I'm really glad we have it!

She also can't hang as late as the older ones, so unless we're onsite and I go back to the room with her, it's nice to have a place she rest/sleep while they still play.

 

[Mamato4boys]

Our next trip our youngest two will be 2 and 4. We will take one stroller and a carrier (a toddler Tula), and I assume that our 4 year old will want to ride part of the time. Walking to the parks and back will probably be 2 year old in the carrier and 4 year old in the stroller). We also have two older kids (who will be 15 and 12), so the stroller will make it much easier to keep up with them.

I could see DS#3 using a stroller part-time until he is 5 or 6 (at Disney, he has almost never used a stroller at other times, even when he was very young). He gets a bit overwhelmed by all the people and attaching a muslin blanket over the front of the stroller during our last trip let him see what was going on but still feel like he was "away" from everything, which helped a lot.

 

[707MickeyGirl]

I rented from City Strollers up through my granddaughter's 6th year. I was on the fence about it, because in everyday life I felt like 6 was way too old for a stroller, but we take long trips, with long park days, and she and I were both happier with a stroller - and that's really what it's all about. It's a vacation to a special place, so do what makes you all happier. We didn't use the stroller in the morning, but we would pick it up from the room around lunch or early evening, and she rode to/from the parks in it, and also if we were park-hopping or traversing the entire park. If we stayed in one land, we'd just park it and retrieve it when switching lands. The single strollers from City Strollers are tall and have a weight limit of 75 lbs. if I remember right, so think about that... they're obviously designed for a range of ages.

 

[SothrnChic]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone! We will be coming in from Maryland and staying at the GCH. I think he would be able to do the parks without the stroller, but I do worry about him getting lost in the shuffle if it is super crowded. We will be there Sept. 30 to Oct. 4. If I end up using a stroller, I will be renting one as we are going on to another state after our DL visit.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone! We will be coming in from Maryland and staying at the GCH. I think he would be able to do the parks without the stroller, but I do worry about him getting lost in the shuffle if it is super crowded. We will be there Sept. 30 to Oct. 4. If I end up using a stroller, I will be renting one as we are going on to another state after our DL visit.

Just make sure to rent it from an outside company (like City Strollers mentioned above) and not Disney. The Disney ones can't leave the espalade (although now that I type that, how do they control it with security moved?) and the longest part of your day is walking back to your room at the end of the day even at the GCH!

 

[cpster]

I would get the stroller. In addition to carrying your child it's nice to not have to lug around a back pack full of water and snacks. We actually do a small cooler that we lock onto the stroller and lock close so none of the adults have to carry a back pack around. People can easily run over small kids during the mass exodus post parade, fireworks and Fantasmic. A stroller helps keep my daughter safe. Going from land to land is faster too.

 

[bumbershoot]

As a WDW veteran, I am used to pushing my son around the very large parks in Florida. He is in the in-between stage where I am not sure if he needs a stroller but am afraid if I don't get one, he is not going to be able to keep up with us. Any suggestions??

We used it all the way through 5. Didn't use a stroller at home other than the jogging one for jogging. Had the maclaren umbrella for Disney.

I walk fast. He didn't.

No a 5yo does not need a stroller at Disneyland, except if cases of disability. If the child can't keep up the family needs to slow down.

My kid needed it because I cannot slow down. My hips KILL if i stroll. I would jog through Disney if I could.

Then we went to wdw when he was 6.5. Took the maclaren and left it as his choice. It was never even unfolded. Stayed put in the hallway the whole time.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone! We will be coming in from Maryland and staying at the GCH. I think he would be able to do the parks without the stroller, but I do worry about him getting lost in the shuffle if it is super crowded. We will be there Sept. 30 to Oct. 4. If I end up using a stroller, I will be renting one as we are going on to another state after our DL visit.

Gch is the last place we used it. Thought we were fine. The hotel is so close! Then we got the second furthest away room from the esplanade. Was almost as long from the center of the esplanade to our room as it would br to the sidewalk outside HoJo.

The sleepy walk we took while carrying the 5 year old hurrrt my back. Stroller was retrieved after that nap and uses the rest of the trip.

 

[Goose&mavie]

The first time we went to DL, we didn't bring our stroller since our LO hardly uses it at home. Bad mistake! So I rented one from DL, bad mistake since we couldn't take it out of the park area, so lugging a 3.5 yo the distance to the DL hotel after a long day of walking 7 miles already in the parks was torture. We've made it a point to bring our Uppababy G-luxe stroller each time (a step above an umbrella stroller but still portable and foldable). We just went earlier this year and LO is 5 and we really used it. She lay in it when we were walking back to the hotel late at night, what a huge help! Also, when she was walking, we put our stuff in it, again, a huge help.

If you are staying at GCH, you can debate needing a stroller or not since it's so close, but if you do rent, rent from citystrollers, as they will deliver it to your hotel.

 

[agamble]

You're at a close enough hotel that you're probably okay. That being said, purchasing a cheap umbrella stroller would be a cheap and easy option. They're lightweight and fold-up and can often be had for less than $20. Bonus, you can put him in it at the airport too.

We have multiple kids, so when our oldest was four we brought a double stroller with us. She used it only occasionally, and usually because we made her as it's a convenient place to put a kid in large crowds. This year we are visiting regularly and we have a sit-and-stand stroller that our baby and our son use. Our son is four, and like his big sister before him he rarely uses it. I am considering bringing our single stroller for our three day trip in the fall because we're staying across the street so the walk from the hotel is short. It reclines and would make a nice place for the baby to nap if we decided not to go back to the hotel midday. But I haven't decided yet, because it is so nice to be able to contain them in crowds and he might want it. Both strollers are the same size, but I look forward to when our little one is a bit bigger and we're down to just a nice umbrella type stroller that is small and light.

 

[AZMermaid]

We did 9 nights at WDW this past June. My kids were 5 and 6.5. 71 miles over 7 park days- but only one late night. We were willing to rent a stroller if needed, but decided to see what happened. No one ever even complained once! The last day they ran for 90 minutes at the Boneyard while DH and I held down the bench!

We also went stroller free in DL the year before at 4 and 5.5. We don't do late nights generally though, which I think helps. We go rope drop through 7ish.

 

[farmfresh]

Our first visit was with a 5 and 7 year old (with no health conditions)...strollers never crossed my mind because we were so thrilled to get those awkward things out of our regular lives! And where we are from, 5 is school age so no self respecting five year old would really want to hop in one!Besides, they walked to school etc so were reasonably fit and active. We had no problem keeping track of them, but did take rest and snack breaks. They were absolutely fine and slept very well at night!
I know you can keep stuff in them, which is plus, but on the other hand, they are a bit of a pest to maneuver on crowded days, so.. swings and roundabouts. Bottom line, it's up to you.....maybe have it as a back up.

 

[BriannaRuth]

We used a stroller in DL long after we'd stopped at home. We didn't bother bringing our Peg Perego, which we still had, but bought a cheap umbrella stroller on Amazon or something similar just for this purpose. I had it delivered to the hotel (Disney hotels don't charge for deliveries) rather than carrying it on the plane. Then when we left, we just left it at the hotel. More convenient and MUCH cheaper than renting one from DL since you can't take their out of the park.