Stroller for 5 year old?

[MerryJ]

Reading all the advice about strollers has me a little worried and now I don't know what to do.

My 1.5 year old needs a stroller, of course. We have a light weight one with a full canopy that reclines flat but is umbrella stroller size. My original plan was to bring this stroller, with the expectation that my older kids would walk.

We also have a 5 year old and a 7.5 year old. My 5 year old doesn't normally ride in a stroller, but does sometimes complain about walking too far. My husband will sometimes will carry him on his shoulders in those circumstances.

I also have a sit and stand type stroller. There is a main seat in the front, and then a smaller bench seat behind it where a child can either sit (although not super comfy) or stand and be pushed. It isn't much bigger than a standard stroller, but when a second child is on the back, the child in the front cannot lean back, and it doesn't lay flat for sleeping. With my 25lb 1 year old and my 40lb 5 year old, it would be pretty heavy to push, although within the weight limits of it, I think.

I plan on having my Ergo baby carrier with me as well. I could probably carry the baby while my 5 year old rode in the stroller in a pinch, but he is over the weight limit of my small single stroller.

We will be in the parks for 4 or 5 days. We do plan on heading back to the hotel for breaks in the afternoons, and my baby will probably nap then (if she adjusts to the time change!) Should I bring the lay flat, easy single stroller, or the one and a half stroller so that my 5 year old can grab a ride too?

Thanks!

 

[starshine514]

It all depends on your kids and you. Is your 5-yr-old a whiner? Mine is, so I bring a stroller for her in order to maintain my sanity. My 7-yr-old is not much of a whiner, but does tire easily (genetic blood disorder) and does hop into the stroller of her sister isn't using it. If I was in your situation with my girls and a 1.5-yr-old, I'd go with the sit & stand. However, that's my kids; you'll need to make the decision based on your kids. Do you mind wearing your baby? Would you want to wear your baby for an extended period of time if your 5-yr-old fell asleep in the stroller (mine still does, it's actually a great way to get her to actually take a nap)? But wait, you mentioned a problematic weight limit on your stroller for your older child, so the wearing-the-baby-while-the-5-yr-old-rides scenario may not even be plausible. Although, my guess is my 7-yr-old is above the weight limit for her sister's stroller also, and she hasn't damaged in when she hops into it.

 

[DarthMole]

Skip the bigger one. You're already leaning that way. Considering you are planning breaks already, your 5 year old will be fine. We went two years ago with our kids who were 7 and 4 (turned 4 during the trip). We brought a small stroller and brought it to the park on the first day. We never used it. It stayed in the car the rest of the trip. We too had afternoon breaks back at the hotel and it worked out fine. The way I see it is we're there for the kids and if they're old enough to walk for hours on end, then why bring a stroller? If they get tired, take a break. Don't force it. Especially if you're dreading the task of pushing 65lbs of dead weight around. It's your vacation too.

 

[coaches24]

Sounds like you already know what you want to do.

I don't see the harm in bringing the 1.5 stroller. Since you have to have a stroller anyway might as well have the one that your 5 year old can use when he wants to. It's better than having to carry him through the parks or listening to him throw a fit when he gets tired. Sounds like that would make things easier on you.

 

[nikib808]

I struggled with this decision as well. We have a 3 year old and a 5.5 year old. It was an easy decision to bring our Maclaren for the 3 y/o, however, my husband and I differed on whether to bring our other MacClaren for the 5.5 y/o. In the end, we decided to bring both and are so glad we did.

We're currently at Disney, and while both our kids are troopers and walked most of the first day, they were very pooped at the end of the long day. While we are at the GCH, there is still quite a bit if walking involved back and forth for midday naps. Our 5 y/o prefers the faster rides, so we've even had to split up quite a few times so they both could do the rides they enjoy.

We use the monorail and train quite often to bypass the crowds at the front entrances. If you feel you'll use them like we do, also keep in mind that you'll have to collapse them before boarding.

Just my two cents....

Happy planning!

 

[kirstie101]

Sounds like you already know what you want to do.

I don't see the harm in bringing the 1.5 stroller. Since you have to have a stroller anyway might as well have the one that your 5 year old can use when he wants to. It's better than having to carry him through the parks or listening to him throw a fit when he gets tired. Sounds like that would make things easier on you.

I completely agree. DD5 uses a stroller in the evenings at the very least. The more days we're in the park, the more she uses it. But we do some pretty serious park hopping and going from land to land on a whim so we do more walking than what has to be done I'd say.

 

[mrswh]

Bring the sit 'n stand. It will give you much more flexibility. Don't worry about the weight limit (assuming it's a well built stroller) - we had a McClaren umbrella stroller that we used to put both kids in when they were tired (one on the other's lap). I find it silly to push the issue - if a kid is tired, let them ride. Heck, by the 4th or 5th day at DL sometimes I wish I had a stroller!

Our kids are 6 (just turned) and 7 and we don't bring a stroller anymore but we are open to renting one if they need it. In addition to being handy when the kids are tired, it's a good place to put your stuff, and the best thing about it, IMO, is that you have it for when you just want to get from one place to another quickly. Pop them in the stroller and give their little legs a rest, while you get where you need to go.

 

[guynhawaii]

Aloha,

Well, I guess I'm the outlier of the group. I completely dislike strollers. Most especially at DL or WDW. I didn't take my children to DL until my son was four and my daugher was five. By that age they didn't need a stroller and could enjoy (on their own two feet) and remember the park. If possible, I would leave your 1.5 year old with relatives and take the 5 and 7 year olds to DL without the stroller(s).

 

[jilld11]

I'm leaving my 16 month old home for my next DL trip so my DS9 and DD7 can enjoy it w/o worrying about naps, strollers, etc. This should be something they can both enjoy and the 16 month old will never remember anyway.

 

[indygirl99]

Take the sit and stand. Wearing your 25# baby and bending over to push the other in an umbrella stroller will kill your back.

 

[Pesky]

I will say bring the stroller you are planning on and add a lightweight umbrella one that you can whip out if need be. We got one off One Step Ahead that collapses and has a shoulder strap so we can cart it around fairly easily and use if we need to. If your other stroller has a basket, you might be able to stick the wheels in the basket and have the handles hooked on the back seat of the stroller.

 

[disneydreamer74]

Definitely bring the stroller if your 5 yr old is a whiner. My DD5 is a trooper in the parks, but we go back for breaks too. We also park hop like crazy so if my legs are throbbing by day 4, I know her little legs are gonna be hurtin' I bring our jogger stroller and she hops in and out at will, if she gets sleepy at night she hops in and takes a snooze. Dbf and I like to stay til park closing (midnight during the summers) so this allows us to stay in the parks after DD5 has dozed off. Everyone comes out a winner! I realize that some 5 yr olds do perfectly fine walking in the parks, but my DD5 is NOT one of them. Bottom line is this: I want our trips to be happy times, not fussy/whiny trips! Enjoy!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I like the idea of bringing an extra umbrella stroller for the 5 yr old. You could even just bring it to the parks for the evening when they'll likely need it the most.

 

[mariners1999]

Reading all the advice about strollers has me a little worried and now I don't know what to do.
.

I also have a sit and stand type stroller. There is a main seat in the front, and then a smaller bench seat behind it where a child can either sit (although not super comfy) or stand and be pushed. It isn't much bigger than a standard stroller, but when a second child is on the back, the child in the front cannot lean back, and it doesn't lay flat for sleeping. With my 25lb 1 year old and my 40lb 5 year old, it would be pretty heavy to push, although within the weight limits of it, I think.


Thanks!

We had the same issue about 2 years ago when we went and my son was 5. The advice I got from this board was when in doubt bring that stroller! My wife and I loved the stroller by the end of the trip. By the end of the day he was soooo tired from so much walking (remember how little a 5 year old's legs are). It just makes the trip so much more enjoyable. Plus your son will have a built in seat to stand on for parade time.

 

[DISHoppy]

Just to add our experience...this is not a one-size-fits-all situation...our DDs are 8 and 5 and have been walking the WDW parks since they were 5 and 3.5. Our last stroller visit was in 12/08 when now DD5 was 18 mos. That's WDW and that's a lot of walking. We did take breaks for shows, sit down meals and parades, but we're a semi-commando bunch that knows where to go and when (well, @ least I do ). From my recollection DL is so compact, it will literally be a walk in the park for us next month.

-Kevin

 

[Isatricia]

I say it depends on the child. I logged 8-10 miles each day on my pedometer. If my girls had been wearing theirs, I would guess they would have logged more since kids rarely walk in a straight line. My nearly 7 year old was really whining by the end of the night.

 

[jacs1234]

If I were you I'd bring it. It's not any harder to push than an umbrella stroller and I bet it will come in handy. We had one when my kids were 3, just 5, 7 and 9. Often we would have 3 on that thing lol. We stayed at hojo's and it was awesome letting there legs have a rest on the way back. It also was quicker because we walked at the 9 year olds pace, not the 3 year olds. Also kept them all in the one place haha.

 

[jojomojo]

We went a couple years ago when my dd was 3.5 and didn't even think to bring one (I don't think we even owned one, always used the ergo or babyhawk IF we had to). After that first day (only a half day mind you, starting in the afternoon), I sent the hubby to the nearest Walmart to get an umbrella stroller (setting for recline, basket underneath, small canopy). It was perfect! She's 5 and we're taking it again this year. If I had a 1.5 yr old too, I'd bring TWO umbrella strollers. They are so easy to maneuver, light weight and easy to fold (as long as you can grab stuff out of the basket easily, I'll keep a cloth bag in the bottom to transfer the basket stuff when we need to fold it). I don't think I would want one larger stroller over two small ones, I'd like the freedom to split up if needed. If one person needed to take both kids, I'd feel fine parking the cheapy stroller somewhere (it was $20), pushing the little one and with the older one on foot.

 

[MerryJ]

Thanks for all the input! Knowing my 5 year old, I think we will take the sit and stand. It isn't much bigger than a standard stroller anyhow, and i think we will all be happier if he has a place to ride if he needs it.

I have to get packing! We leave at the crack of dawn on Tuesday!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

DD's Disney stroller for several years was a Mac Volo, her 1st visit without a stroller was this last one, so she was 8 years and almost 5 months. Last visit with a stroller was Thanksgiving 2010, so she was 7 years and almost 5 months.

The last few visits with a stroller we'd park it in a land, ride those rides and then she'd hop in when we moved to a different area, it was especially nice for the walk back to are not so far away hotels.

It was a necessity at WDW *10/09* she was 6 then, it was hot and muggy, she'd fall asleep on the bus every night and to have had to lug her back to our room *stayed at POP* would've been miserable!