Stroller for a 5 year-old at USO?

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I know this is sometimes a controversial topic, but we used a stroller at WDW for my older child until he was 4 years old, because especially at Epcot and Animal Kingdom it's just too much walking for little feet. We last went to WDW when my little one was 3, and I was grateful to have our Kingdom Strollers rental because it rained a lot, and he was able to nap in it under a rain cover while his big brother went on rides he was too short to go on. I know rider switch works differently at UO, and that managing a stroller in the cobblestone streets of WOHP might not be worth the trouble. Universal looks more compact, but is it? Will I regret not renting a stroller midway through the first day? I would certainly rather rent from KS than the hard plastic in-park kind of strollers. And how is USO managing stroller parking in the pandemic? TIA!

 

[Makmak]

Ignore the haters. I’m bringing a stroller for my 7 year old bc we go 12 hours a day in the heat with masks so......
That said, I’m not sure where you are staying? If it’s not one of the top tier hotels then you’ll have to walk through city walk to get to the park entrances and that’s a hike... There is stroller parking right inside the Harry Potter lands so you can just park it and explore (they are their own little sections) then just get stroller and go off to the next land. You don’t have to fold strollers on Hogwarts express. You don’t have to fold strollers on the resort boats. There aren’t any special stroller parking rules for COVID. There are just the same designated areas as always. If you end up not thinking you need it just park it and get it in the way out—-it’s better to have and not need that the other way around.

 

[Darcy03231]

I would go with the stroller. We used one until DS was 7. It’s a lot of walking for those little legs. Heck, I could use a stroller by the end of the day.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

That's so awesome that you don't have to fold strollers on the resort boats or Hogawarts Express. Little things like that really do make a difference, especially if you have to unload whatever you have stashed under the stroller each time. Thanks for the feedback, I'll rent a stroller.

 

[tgarre06]

I would bring/rent a stroller too. We used one when my son was a month shy of turning 5, and we have a picture of him passed out in it in front of the Universal ball. We stayed at Portofino. I don’t think using a stroller was any harder than at Disney. I actually think it was easier with a stroller at Universal because I felt like it was less crowded than Disney (Magic Kingdom, pre-Covid, packed!) could’ve just been when we went though. Our son turned 6 last month, and I think we will bring a stroller again when we go next month to Universal.

 

[puffkin]

We used a stroller for our youngest til he was about 7. He is taller, but he is one who needs time to just "chill" and sometimes gets overwhelmed. My older son was fine walking the parks when he was between 5 & 6. This was a good way to keep my youngest happy while giving him some down time and allow his significantly older brother time to do things he wanted as well. Universal parks are just as much walking as Disney parks so you won't find anything different there. Probably the biggest difference is there are just a lot less strollers at Universal than at Disney, but there will still be plenty.

 

[finedice]

Such a touchy topic... I just need to stay away - even reading it hurts!

 

[bchbetha]

No stroller. The parks just aren’t that big.