Stroller for 5 Year Old ???

[WantToGoNow]

Has anyone gone to Disney for a week and NOT brought/rented a stroller for a child this age? How did he/she hold up with day after day walking?

We will have a stroller for dd2 (will be three 3 weeks after trip) but she won't share it and has no desire to walk herself (learned this from the zoo and local amusement park). He does walk whenever we go places now and does great from morning to night -- but that's one day not multiple in a row.

We plan to get an early start (my children are early risers even when they don't need to). We will tour the parks until early afternoon and break for a rest/swim. We will then have an early ts dinner (most of our ADR's are between 6:30 - 7:30) and call it a night.

 

[Hannathy]

We went with my DS 5 without a stroller, never even considered it. He did fine and we go commando and he had to keep up with a teen and college age kid and 3 adults. Went opening till closing no leaving the parks and stayed to closing which was late it was Easter! No one including him thought about a stroller at his age so he just went, kids have ton's of energy if you can walk it so can they.

 

[KTSMOM]

I think it depends on the child. My DD is not a great long distance walker so i'm either going to rent a stroller while down there or try and find an umbrella stroller that will fit her weight. A friend of hers just returned from DW and her parents carried the child about 1/2 of the time. We're going in August, so that won't be an option with the heat. Just remember DW is HUGE and a week of walking can tire an adult out.

 

[PolyAddict]

We went twice last year when my DD was 4 and 5. Mind you she is the least athletic of my 3 girls, she did not require a stroller. On our May trip i was in a wheelchair and she did ask to sit on my lap. In November, she was on her own. I would say that if most of there walking at home is w/o a stroller you will be fine.

 

[mommyintn]

We just rented a double stroller since we had our 3 year old with us and our 6 year old rode with him. It was easier for us to get around and keep track of the boys through the crowds. It was also a great place for them to sit with their blanket and watch the fireworks at night.

 

[phins_jazy]

Well, I'm at Disney now. I have a 19 month old and a 7 year old. I thought the 7 year old would be fine but on our first night here she was draggin so bad and her little legs hurt so much that we went and got a stroller for her. She was embarassed to ride in it at first but once she got over that she was very happy to have the break. Do what feels comfortable for you. If your children are happy everyone else will be happy to!!

 

[Luv'sTink]

Just because you can go all day doesn't mean your DH or child can, everyone is different. If I were you I would leave my options open, you can always rent a stroller if you really need to.

 

[lindakmonty]

I agree every child is different. I am very grateful we took a stroller for ds5 last month. We were there from open to close but did go back for naps. We all needed them!

 

[In Luv with Disney]

I have a DD who just turned 1 and a DS who is 4 1/2...will be 5 when we go in December. I just bought a double Maclaren stroller. Mainly for trips to WDW, the Zoo, the Mall, other amusement parks, etc. I KNOW my little guy will need a break. He still naps most days!!!

I think only you know your child and what he can/can't handle. Remember, you walk an average of 9 miles a day, and as many as 15!! That's a lot of walking!

 

[Naisy68]

My DD will be 5 when we go in August and I am pretty sure we will need to rent a stroller for some of our days down there. I can just hear her telling her Daddy to carry her or put her up on his shoulders because her legs are tired. Or worse, she might ask ME to carry her and I simply can't carry her very long anymore. I wish I could - meaning, I can't believe how fast she has grown. Anyway, I know my DH and I won't be able to do that with the heat at that time.
Have a Disney Day, Renee

 

[Armandocme]

I have a DD who just turned 1 and a DS who is 4 1/2...will be 5 when we go in December. I just bought a double Maclaren stroller. Mainly for trips to WDW, the Zoo, the Mall, other amusement parks, etc. I KNOW my little guy will need a break. He still naps most days!!!

I think only you know your child and what he can/can't handle. Remember, you walk an average of 9 miles a day, and as many as 15!! That's a lot of walking!

Yeah, we bought the same Maclaren double stroller for our trip to WDW 2 years ago for our DD1 and DD3 at the time. We plan on taking it back with us for our trip next week (DD3 and DD5 now). I figure we might as well get as much use as we can from that expensive stroller!

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I was in your situation about 2 months ago. I have a 2 DS's, 5 & 2. I struggled with renting one from the parks that was big enough for both boys, or bringing our umbrella stroller from home for my 2 year old and assuming the 5 year old would walk.
The first day I brought the umbrella stroller for the 2 year old............and that was the only day we did that. The rest of our 7 day trip we rented the double strollers from Disney and they worked great. If I had a double stroller I would have brought that from home, but since I didn't we rented. The 5 y/o loved having the option of riding when he was tired, and I loved having him in the stroller around big crowds (parade times, etc.) so he couldn't easily get lost.

One thing to do to spread a little Disney Magic--Every afternoon when we left, we looked for a family that was coming in and offered them our stroller. Saved that family almost $20 in stroller rental, and showed our boys random acts of kindness. Just keep your receipt and if you return to the park that night you'll get a new stroller.

 

[JBARN105]

MY DS is 5 will be 6 when we go again this year. Since we have been taking him (3 years old) we ALWAYS get a double stroller. He's a big boy and can walk long distances, but the convenience of having a place to stow bags, cameras, etc. is worth it. He jumps in and out but I will still get the stroller this year - if not just for him - for us too!!

 

[powellrj]

we started taking the kids when they were around 4, and we have never used a stroller. There are lots of threads about people who have kids as old as 10 that they get strollers for, so if you are worried that people would think it were strange, don't be. If you are asking do be do disney without them, we always do. We never take things into the parks with us, so using them as storage isn't an issue.

 

[revcohea]

On our last trip, which was our 5 year old DD's first trip we chose not to rent a stroller the first day and that was a mistake, by the end of the day she was dragging and begging us to carry her. The next day we rented a stroller and she went strong all day and all night for the rest of the trip. We were there in December and there were days it got pretty crowded, it was much easier to keep up with her. It worked out great for us. On a similar note we just returned from Six Flags and Busch Gardens and spent all day at both places, no stroller, she was fine. But it wasn't crowded at all and we left the parks at 7pm. If you are doing multiple days and long days, it just makes sense to have that handy seat available for parade watching and naps.

 

[Schmeck]

We didn't use a stroller for our oldest DD when she was 5, but we were only at WDW for 4 days. I don't know how she would have done if we had stayed longer.

Why not just rent one for the 5 yr old when needed? MK is pretty small, you could do without one there, but if you plan to do EPCOT WS in a day, you'll most likely need one.