Strollers for older kids?

[thelionqueen]

I think it's very funny that the question OP asked has gotten so many judgmental replies. Personally, I would do whatever you think is more convenient for you, don't worry about what other people think, say or post.

I have a 8 & 4 year old (very active btw) and they absolutely love to sit in the stroller together and enjoy a snack, drink or just relax a little. My 8yo is a little tall for his age, and sometimes looks crammed in or uncomfortable. He assures me he is not and that is all I care about.

Honestly, if I could fit in a stroller and was tired, I'd get in one

 

[mannasn]

I find the double strollers difficult to manuver.

This is another thing I was worried about! How easy it is to move those big things around (well, they look big in the photos anyway)!

Thanks for all the comments.

I wasn't the least bit offended by the "too big for strollers" comment, but I guess I'm a pretty easy going gal. I did ask for any and all opinions about whether kids this age need strollers. So, I got some from both "sides." No big deal.

I think we've pretty much decided to bring an umbrella type stroller with us for DS-4 and if DS-7 gets terribly tired we'll let them trade spots for a while (my DS-7 is very small/short/slender for his age).

Thanks again!

 

[Ardenne]

FWIW, my then-7-year-old did write in her Disney journal almost every night that she wished she could ride in a stroller like her little brother (who was 2 at the time), because her legs were so tired -- but she actually didn't mention it during the days. She was having too much fun to think about it while we were actually in the parks, I think, though she'd occasionally sit down in the stroller briefly if we were stopped and he wasn't in it at the time.

It definitely was a lifesaver having a stroller with a large basket to cart around our stuff -- diapers, sunscreen, water bottles and ponchos for the entire group, etc. I found it a lot handier than a backpack since we could just park it and leave it in whatever area we were currently in.

Given your description of your older child's endurance level, I'd probably go with the double stroller rental. If it makes your son's vacation happier, it's probably worth it, both for him and for you

 

[Mo-Yo]

I know this topic gets heated. And it's kind of silly IMHO.

The OP asked if she should rent a stroller to make her life easier while she is on vacation. I say yes, rent the double. Give it a shot the first day, and if you don't need it, get a refund on your length of stay rental.

We went in in Dec. with our kids, 9,7,5. The defining issue of my 5 year old's life is her struggle to keep up with her siblings...and it tires her out and makes her quite cranky after a while. I, for one, don't need THAT at Disney. It would be nice if we all fit into neat little packages, but we don't, at least in my experience.

So we got the double stroller, and never regretted a second. We were able to move through the wide-open areas of the park way more quickly (and safely) than we would have with three kids on foot. In congested areas, like in Fantasyland , etc. we parked it and walked around together. Sometimes we had two kids in the stroller, sometimes we had none. DD8 who is very outgoing and athletic enjoyed sitting with her sister an viewing the sites occassionally.
ONce or twice my 9 year old son, who is of average size, even hopped in for a quick spin. He looked like a big goof, and he was the first to admit it and laugh at himself, but he enjoyed the joke...and the break.

I didn't think the strollers were hard to push at all, and it made the whole thing so much easier. We had kind of a rolling homebase.

Next Spring when we go, we'll have a 10, 8, and 6 year old. I am still up in the air about getting a stroller for DD6. I probably won't, but we'll miss it...and we'll move much slower and cover less territory for sure.

To the OP. Do what works for you and your family. Don't let the turkeys get you down.

 

[mannasn]

Thanks, Mo-Yo - another question answered. I was wondering, if you pay for length of stay strollers and do not use all the days if you could get a refund.

 

[WaltD4Me]

If your child gets worn out walking the mall I would say definitely get the double stroller. The point is to make the trip the most enjoyable for your family and it sounds like to do this, the double stroller is the way to go. Disney is not a good place to start teaching your child about endurance!

I rented a stroller for my six year old niece from our towncar company last trip and I was SO glad I did! She didn't use it all the time, but it was great to have to give her little breaks without hauling back to the resort, we didn't do afternoon breaks everyday because most times she just needed a 20-30 minute walking breaking and then she was up and raring to go again. It was also great to have for the "end of the day getting out of the park" time.

 

[Hannathy]

Well I'm the "turkey" (which to be is more lashing out than anything I said) who has a different opinion about strollers. I gave my opinion, of what has worked with us for 3 kids and my reasons for backing up this oppinion. Many others feel this way,check out some other threads. I have yet to hear on any of the threads a real reason given for backing up why an older child needs a stroller. Not including a special needs child. I would also like to hear a reasonable explanation of why 20 years ago you could go to MK and never see a child over 4 or maybe 5 in a stroller. And there wasn't the terrible stroller jams. How did they manage then and not now? We have to pay for kids to have phys ed 3x a week to get exercise but they can't walk on vacation this I don't understand. Yes everyone is entitled to their own oppinion and it is not rude, unlike name calling, to express it even if it is different than yours. You are welcome to use a stroller for your 8-9 yr old but I am also welcome to look at you when said child gets out of a stroller and strolls onto RNC or comment when you hit me with the stroller and 60 lbs of kid.

Just a thought is your child worn out at the mall or just bored, I hate the mall and get worn out there but not at Disney.

 

[Tricia1972]

This is another thing I was worried about! How easy it is to move those big things around (well, they look big in the photos anyway)!

Thanks for all the comments.

I wasn't the least bit offended by the "too big for strollers" comment, but I guess I'm a pretty easy going gal. I did ask for any and all opinions about whether kids this age need strollers. So, I got some from both "sides." No big deal.

I think we've pretty much decided to bring an umbrella type stroller with us for DS-4 and if DS-7 gets terribly tired we'll let them trade spots for a while (my DS-7 is very small/short/slender for his age).

Thanks again!

If you do go with an umbrella stroller and want the convenience of being able to carry some things - you could always buy one of those net bags that attach to the handles of an umbrella stroller to store some of your gear.

One word of caution - before buying an umbrella stroller - you may want to push it around the store for quite a while. Many of these strollers have handles that are quite low and you may get a sore back pushing it around Disney every day for a week.

 

[MareQ]

You are welcome to use a stroller for your 8-9 yr old but I am also welcome to look at you when said child gets out of a stroller and strolls onto RNC or comment when you hit me with the stroller and 60 lbs of kid.

QUOTE]

Why do you care if an 8 year old gets out of a stroller and walks to RNR?? When you see a child walk does that mean in your mind - that the child has no right to be IN a stroller? Would you have "looked" at me when MY 8 year old got out of his stroller to walk on rides?

 

[Tricia1972]

I would also like to hear a reasonable explanation of why 20 years ago you could go to MK and never see a child over 4 or maybe 5 in a stroller.

I am not sure if this is reasonable or true, but just an idea that I had while reading your post. Epcot opened in 1982, I believe that MGM opened in 1989, and Animal Kingdom opened in 1989. Maybe some parents (certainly not all parents) but maybe the parents with the strollers are just pushing their kids to walk way more going to Disney now than they were 20 years ago.

I am in NO WAY trying to discredit your post - you have some valid points. I am just offering a suggestion that you may or may not think is reasonable.

I am taking a stroller but only one stroller with a ride on option for my 4 year old when I go. (If he gets tired or crabby then he can hop a ride for a few minutes) However my main reason for strollering it around Disney will be the 2 year old sitting in the stroller for most of the time and hope you don't say anything in case I accidentally bump into you. I really try to be considerate with strollers, and have never hit anyone except the person who stepped on the wheel trying to cut in front of me and that only happened once.

At any rate - have a great day!

 

[amwhitaker]

Anyone know how much stroller rental is? My friend has a 4 and 7 year old. I'm not into walking slow at a child's pace, and I'm not into hearing wining when they are tired of walking, so we need a double stroller.

 

[maxiesmom]

Well I'm the "turkey" (which to be is more lashing out than anything I said) who has a different opinion about strollers. I gave my opinion, of what has worked with us for 3 kids and my reasons for backing up this oppinion. Many others feel this way,check out some other threads. I have yet to hear on any of the threads a real reason given for backing up why an older child needs a stroller. Not including a special needs child. I would also like to hear a reasonable explanation of why 20 years ago you could go to MK and never see a child over 4 or maybe 5 in a stroller. And there wasn't the terrible stroller jams. How did they manage then and not now? We have to pay for kids to have phys ed 3x a week to get exercise but they can't walk on vacation this I don't understand. Yes everyone is entitled to their own oppinion and it is not rude, unlike name calling, to express it even if it is different than yours. You are welcome to use a stroller for your 8-9 yr old but I am also welcome to look at you when said child gets out of a stroller and strolls onto RNC or comment when you hit me with the stroller and 60 lbs of kid.

Wow that is kind of harsh. It sounds like you think all strollers should be banned to make your park experience easier. We have lots of things for our children now that our parents didn't have for us. No one if forcing you to rent a stroller and I think it is rude to assume everyone with a stroller is going to be plowing you over with it. Disney World can be exhausting for adults, never mind children and their short legs. And if you are running thru the parks shooting parents dirty looks I think that is not only a waste of time but a miserable way to spend your vacation.

 

[Ardenne]

Anyone know how much stroller rental is? My friend has a 4 and 7 year old. I'm not into walking slow at a child's pace, and I'm not into hearing wining when they are tired of walking, so we need a double stroller.

They're $18/day for a single day, $16/day for a length-of-stay rental.

 

[beattyfamily]

They're $18/day for a single day, $16/day for a length-of-stay rental.

Wow, that's great reason to bring your own!! That's $100 for 6 days at the discounted rate!!

 

[declansdad]

They're $18/day for a single day, $16/day for a length-of-stay rental.

Single strollers are 10 amd 8 respectively.

 

[Ardenne]

Yes, that was my #1 reason for not doing it last time, even though I do think my 7-year-old would have appreciated it!

Bringing our own wasn't really an option -- Disney strollers are made to fit larger kids, but standard strollers really aren't -- so we just let her walk. Like I said, she managed, though she did complain about it every night in her journal.

Like someone above said, I sure would have liked a stroller ride occasionally, by the end of a long day at Disney -- so I can really understand why a child, particularly one small for his/her age, might appreciate one too. On the other hand, though, we found that we used the umbrella stroller we had for the 2-year-old a lot more in some areas than others -- it was useful for park crossing, but within any given area it spent the majority of the time parked, since it can't be taken into line or into any attractions. I suspect that DD's legs would have been tired even if we had had a double stroller, since only a relatively small fraction of her walking would have been avoided through stroller use.

 

[Ardenne]

Single strollers are 10 amd 8 respectively.

Yes, that's right -- sorry, I should have been more specific! The $18/16 is for the double strollers, since that's what the post I was responding to asked about, but I really didn't make that clear at all.

 

[Irish9697]

My kids are 5 & 6 now, but will be 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 this fall when we go again. They're small kids who are very active in daily home life. They swim twice a week, do gymnastics once a week, play tball (or soccer, depends on the season) once a week, and my daughter does dance. That is all in addition to normal everyday play and activities at school. They are active kids. However, they're small. They're both at the very bottom size-wise in their classes. Most people guess just by looking that they are a year younger than they are. My husband and I are runners and walk very fast and can cover a lot of ground. I would never expect my two sub-40 pound kids to be able to deal with that all day long and it'd be fairly hard for me to slow down to their pace all day as well. Not to mention the fact that when we go to the zoo and the mall, sometimes they complain that they are tired of walking. We've always brought umbrella strollers with us before and will do that or rent a Disney double again this time. Yes, they will probably walk some, but I want to provide them with a respite when they need it.

As an example, we took them to NYC last fall and they spent a good deal of time being wheeled around the city by us. With all of those people and the traffic, I felt much safer having them securely in front of me in a stroller than walking by my side where they might get tripped up or lost in a crowd, even with hand-holding.

We just returned from a trip to Cancun. As we walked around with them downtown, we inevitably ended up carrying them as their feet got too tired to carry them any farther.

I am all for stroller usage if it works for your family!!!

 

[Lorelai]

Thanks, Mo-Yo - another question answered. I was wondering, if you pay for length of stay strollers and do not use all the days if you could get a refund.

Last April we had one day left on our single stroller rental and they told us that it is a non expire purchase - to save the receipt and bring it back this year to use up our last day.

So we will see if that is true when we head back this weekend. If not, no biggie.

Actually, now I am thinking that since she is four, and quite a fast mover, I may opt to rent on a need be basis, depending on the park. For instance, AK is just too much for her to walk, because we zig zag all over that place. But MK we kind of go slow, and move around in a big circle. She should handle that fine. The amount of rides break up the movement.

Have a great time on your trip too!

 

[disneyobessed]

my son will be just about 5 this august when we go and YUP we are brining the umbrella stroller. You can move quicker and cover more ground like someone else said which means you get you moneys worth!! Im actaully debating on bringing the umbrella which as been to disney 2x and beat to he--. Not sure if i should buy another one for this trip (when folded it stays together with a rubber band ) or rent one at disney....