Stroller Question? How Old Is Too Old?

[a jay]

Ok this may seem a very stupid question, but how old are your children before you stop renting Disney and Universal strollers?

My son is 8 and he's not great on his feet, infact hopeless. The only problem is, although only 8 he wears a aged 11 to 12 clothing!! He tends to fall over very easily and tires very quickly add that to the heat and huge amount of walking distance everyone does in Florida we could in for a miserable holiday. The last few holidays i've always managed to get away with a stroller but this year i think he really is going to be too big. I know we can hire wheel chairs but i don't think he would happy in one and to be honest i would feel very uncomfortable when he suddenly decided to jump out and run around! Yes, i know what everyone would be thinknig. Any suggestions!!!

 

[natalielongstaff]

The strollers that you can rent in the parks seem big to me and might suit you, I personally don't think you should use a wheelchair unless its for medical reasons !

 

[Pinklepurr361]

I hired a single stroller for my petite 6 year old this year, then my 8 year old wanted to ride in in to, so from then onwards we hired a double! It was money well spent as it meant we could move around the parks faster and without complaints! I did wonder what people would think but to be honest we were not in the minority and there were much older/larger children riding in them too. I believe there is no weight limit its more to do with whether the child can fit in one!

If my children were larger/heavier than average I would probably put my foot down and tell them to walk. They are lighter/smaller than average so it wasn't difficult to push the stroller, except uphill!

 

[Shooby doo]

a jay from what I recall of the strollers then you may have got away with it if he was a "normal" sized 8 year old but if he is fitting in 11-12 year old clothing I would think that the stroller isn't going to work.Now if the wheelchair is a non-starter then you're only other option is to really take your time & go at his pace,I know that this may be frustrating for the rest of your party but is the simplest solution.
HTH SD

 

[Shazzie B]

I don't wish to cause offence or panic but has anyone mentioned a condition called Dyspraxia to you? My son was particularly clumsy too, and although never 'officially' diagnosied I adopted some of the techniques the 'experts' reccomend to help him cope with his lack of co-ordination.

The SENCO at your son's school may also be able to help-my DS did something called 'Brain Gym' I can't remember the exact details (it was several years ago!), but she did an assesment on him to work out wether it was hands/arms/legs/feet or combination that were not 'connecting' properly and then worked out some simple exercises for him to encourage better 'connection' and co-ordination.

I think what we perhaps think of as 'laziness' is a by product of the condition-becauses it takes so much more effort for them to walk etc. I know how frustrated we used to get with our DS, it's easier to cope with when you know a little more about it.

Have a 'google' and see what you think.

 

[darthtatty]

ive seen adults and teenagers fit into them ok so im sure that your son could.
best to test one out and if he is heavy get him to walk the difficult bits
failing that just take your time, ok so you may not do as much but im sure you'll have a great time

 

[JohnnySharp2]

If you feel your child needs a stroller then that's your choice, age is irrelevant.
You see many older children in strollers around the parks.

Our son Joshua is perfectly mobile but is autistic and unable to talk, he is just unable to walk long distances and isn't a good walker generally.
We used to take an oversize stroller but now have a child's small wheelchair, whilst we encourage him to walk around shopping malls and anywhere within reason, he is simply incapable of walking around a theme park.

 

[Snowy-girls]

First i would like to say that you should deffinatley NOT hire a wheelchair unless your child needs one for medical reasons/disability.You could be stopping another child who needs that chair from enjoying the parks.
If you want to use a stroller for your child at that age then that is your decision,you honestly should'nt worry about what other people may think.If it will make your day more bearable than do it .I was even considering getting a double next year for our trip,our dd's will be 4 +7(8th birthday whilst we are there)when we go+when i mentioned it to dd7 she went mad at me and said 'i am NOT getting in a buggy-i am 7' .So i will end up buying the $45 stroller that they sell in the parks just for dd4.It's saving me a whole lot of money,considering the rental price of a double stroller is now $31 per day .x.

 

[Shazzie B]

Don't worry about putting him in a stroller-I've often thought I'd like to get in one-if I could fit

 

[KatyTheFairyPrincess]

I was 9 when I first went and there was no way I would have gone in a stroller,

Maybe try without for the first day and don't even mention it too him!
My guess is he won't want to be in one when he gets there,
Just take it at his pace and see what happens

 

[a jay]

Thankyou for all your advice.

As for my son's condition he has been diagnosed with dyspraxia and finds lots of gross motor skills difficult to coordinate and control. The weight for the strollers is not an issue as he's very very tall, with legs that go on and on (he does'nt get this off his mother, which is such a shame!) He's very slight and would fit easily into the strollers but i think his legs will really be hanging over the ends. To be honest the wheelchair option was not really an option, but if i was to go for it i would proably hire one from home rather than the parks. I think i will go with my judgement and who cares what anyone else thinks! As long as my son is happy and comfortable that is our main priority. As longs as he's happy and is able to fit, then i will probably go with the stroller. There's nothing worse than walking around these massive parks in the middle of summer seeing little children being marched around obviously struggling.

 

[Shazzie B]

Thankyou for all your advice.

As for my son's condition he has been diagnosed with dyspraxia and finds lots of gross motor skills difficult to coordinate and control.

There's nothing worse than walking around these massive parks in the middle of summer seeing little children being marched around obviously struggling.

He sounded so like my DS at that age. He's desperate to try a Sedgeway-not sure my nerves will allow it!

Couldn't agree more - hate to see this.

Have a great time

 

[scojos]

if your son has a medical condition you might want to consider a GAC for him,
Tracy

 

[Belle68]

Age and size doesnt come into it, it about whats comfortable for your son, you and the rest of the family. Its a holiday so make it as stress free as possible and dont worry about what other people my think.

 

[jtlover]

My DD is 16 and would like to use one now if she could get away with it

Unless they have changed, the strollers tend to be different at each park - so I would ask to let him try them before you hire - they are happy for you to do that.

 

[SueM in MN]

if your son has a medical condition you might want to consider a GAC for him,
Tracy

GAC stands for Guest Assistance Card and is just what it sounds like - a Card that tells the CMs what type of Assistance a Guest needs.
In the OP's case, what the child might need would be to use a stroller as a wheelchair - the stroller would be allowed to be brought into lines that strollers are not usually allowed in and used the same as a wheelchair. Other than that, his needs are 'endurance or stamina' needs that WDW officially recommends a wheelchair for.

The WDW strollers are large and he would fit in one, but might be more comfortable with a double stroller rather than a single.
For a child that size, the wheelchairs for rent in the parks would probably not be very comfortable. There are a limited number of child sized ones; most are adult sized and (depending on his size), he may find the armrests up by his shoulders, the footrests 6 inches below his feet and the seat so long that he can either sit way forward and have his legs at the edge of the seat (but no back support) or sit back in the seat, but then have the edge of the seat come below his knees.

There is more information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread (link in my signature) about GACs, renting strollers and wheelchairs, including special needs strollers, which are like giant umbrella strollers.

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD is 16 and would like to use one now if she could get away with it

Unless they have changed, the strollers tend to be different at each park - so I would ask to let him try them before you hire - they are happy for you to do that.

They have changed and the strollers are now the same at all the parks. Only the color is different.
This is a picture of the WDW single stroller. They also have double strollers which are just the same, only twice as wide.

 

[Miss Stitch]

My son is 8 and on our last trip we hired a stroller for him. He also fits into size 11-12 clothes and is very well built. A few days into our trip he banged his foot on the pool in the hotel and had trouble walking for a couple of days, we thought about a wheelchair but thought the stroller would be a better option. Here is a photo of him in it, sorry about the size.

Although he was quite happy in it, he had to keep his legs bent and knees up most of the time as his legs stuck out a bit too much. He looked much too big for the stroller. I wished afterwards we had gotten a wheelchair.

When you arrive, you could ask to check out a stroller and see if your son could fit comfortably, and if not, consider renting a wheelchair.

 

[thehails]

We humans are a funny old lot aren't we, worrying about what other's think .

My sons will be 9 & 6 when we go to WDW and I'm planning on hiring a double stroller if necessary because I think they will need it by the end of a long day. Both of them are happy to walk but when we went to DLRP we hired 1 because our then 4 year old had just come out of hospital and both children ended up in it at times.

If it helps you and your son to stay longer in the parks and means you have a great time then go with what you need.

Have a lovely time

 

[SueM in MN]

a double stroller would be a better fit than a single stroller. Since it's wider, there is more room to spread out the legs.