strollers to bring or not to bring

[kam1011]

My oldest was fine at that age, my son was not. This year, my youngest is that age and we are bringing it just in case. Might not use it all the time.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

What we did when my dd was 5 was not bring it and rent one in the parks if she needed it.

We did a 7 day trip with midday breaks and she never asked for a stroller. Not once. We also had two days before and after our Disney vacation visiting family in Orlando. Still no stroller.

We were thoroughly prepared to rent in the parks if needed. Thankfully we didn't and she did well. We also went completely bagless that trip. It was awesome.

Every child is different and you know what's best for your child

 

[Sheaboys]

In 2012 we were prepared to go strollerless. With a 3yr old and 6yr old. Lasted 1/2 a day rented a double. It was great. Now, we went in end of August so it was hot, hot, hot and we did get rain, so it was easy to have kids hop in and move fast through the rain.

This year, the kids will be 5 and 8. Again going strollerless and again in end of August, but prepared to rent if required.

All of my kids have been stroller less since they were 18-24 months old. We do our local six flags often with no stroller. So we shall see.

We don't own any umbrella strollers, but if you do, I say take it, especially if going in the hot, hot, hot months.

 

[mediadiva]

our son will be turning 5 when we go to Disney. I am wondering if I should bring our umbrella stroller for him. He just turned 4 now and he is 43.5 inches so he is not a small toddler just tall.... what is everyone else thoughts and experiences on this....

My child is turning 5 about a week before we go. We are bringing a collapsable mclaren stroller, if we get there and find we don't ned it we can always leave it at the hotel the rest of the week but I think at night if we want to stay late she will need a place to fall asleep then my older can ride a lot of the bigger kid rides while the little one sleeps. We take the big BOB to other less crowded parks but I think the umbrella stroller will be more convenient given the crowds. I took the BOB once and as much as I love it, it was kinda miserable in the crowds during the parade and parties etc.

 

[Kellykins1218]

NOT. They're just too much trouble to deal with. If you decide you want one, just rent it from Disney in the parks when you get there. Cost a little more, but the convenience is well, well worth it.

Totally disagree with this. Umbrella strollers are no trouble at all. You're going to be walking at least 6-8 miles a day and that's a lot for little legs. Strollers at DW do not cost a little more. They cost A LOT more. Take the umbrella stroller. You won't regret it.

 

[leebee]

Bring, but make sure it has a large canopy! The Florida heat is bad, and we are right next to the equator which means the sun shines almost directly on us. My husband once got sunburn just from walking from the car parking lot into our local mall! It gets really bad for people during overcast days - they think that they can't get sunburn - but you get it even worse there!

I see lots of little kids in strollers that have little to no canopies being miserable and burnt to a crisp. So be careful, but do bring a stroller - you will be grateful you did. Besides, it's either bring your own or end up paying Disney $$ to rent one, right?

???
Orlando is not right NEXT to the equator; it's 2000 miles from the equator. Orlando is closer to my home in Orono, ME (1500 miles) than it is to the equator.

HOWEVER… I agree about getting sunburned! Remember that little ones in strollers need sunscreen and protection just as much as everyone else. I can't tell you how many kids I've seen in WDW in strollers, with blankies draped over the top to keep them out of the sun- but their feet stick out and are getting burned to a crisp!

 

[quakechicago]

Bring.

We rented a double (it was all they had but awesome for a bag, autograph book, and toys). I was NOT going to lug our huge honking (now unused) jogging stroller. Normally our DD walks everywhere and has since she was under 2, but even walking the dog a few miles a day is NOT the same as walking at Disney.

We averaged over 15 MILES a day in February and much of that was at my super fast, East Coast walking pace to make it to ADRs and fastpasses on time.

And a bonus Disney miracle? DD who doesn't sleep ANYWHERE but a bed slept in the stroller every day. So renting one that reclined was awesome. We brought our riding board too and she loved being up high next to me seeing what was going on.

Have fun!

 

[jcvalenti]

We bring a stroller event though my son hasn't used one in years. We find it no problem at all, and having one to store cooler bags, merchandise, ponchos, sunscreen, etc. is super convenient.

 

[Lolsmum]

How often do you use a stroller now? Can you do a day out, all day, and not miss it?

My kids are active and we walk a fair amount in our day to day lives, so we didn't even consider a stroller for them at just turned 5 and 6 when we went. We didn't miss it at all. It meant we carried less (one bag switched off between my husband and I) and each of the kids got carried in at the end of the night just once, over a 10 night trip. We live in the UK, so the heat of Orlando in August was certainly something new, but they did great. Frankly, I think I needed a stroller more than them.

 

[NavyDad]

My daughter was 4 our first trip and we didn't use a stroller at all. We had zero problems at all….

 

[NavyDad]

What we did when my dd was 5 was not bring it and rent one in the parks if she needed it.

We did a 7 day trip with midday breaks and she never asked for a stroller. Not once. We also had two days before and after our Disney vacation visiting family in Orlando. Still no stroller.

We were thoroughly prepared to rent in the parks if needed. Thankfully we didn't and she did well. We also went completely bagless that trip. It was awesome.

Every child is different and you know what's best for your child

 

[bibliophile]

I guess it depends on how much you use a stroller now. DD was 3 when we went for the first time, and we didn't use a stroller. She got tired from time to time, but hubby didn't mind carrying her if we needed to. It was a lot easier to get where we needed to go by picking her up and carrying her past all the strollers, than if we had taken a stroller with us.

 

[jltdone]

thanks you everyone for the info and input. our son has not used a stroller for a long time now. We did how ever do a day trip to Toronto and brought his stroller and he used just fine at first he thought it was a baby stroller but had to tell him we got rid of his baby stroller and this is a big boy seat. our umbrella stroller is a little kicked up and yes it does have a canopy on it. I was thinking to bring it and now I am going to bring it. If he doesn't use it then it will sit in the resort if he does and then doesn't at park it will be somewhere we can put camera and things like that.
SO thank you again
Jay

 

[jcjen519]

my son just turned 5 and he never uses a stroller unless we're at disney. I think we'll be using it for awhile based on recent trips.

 

[Ronda93]

someone upthread mentioned tired kids being carried at the end of the day. I wouldn't want to dislodge a sleeping kid from a rental in the MK. You're still 20-30 minutes from done.

 

[Belleandtinker]

It truly depends on your kid AND your touring plan. In my opinion if you are going from rope to fireworks without a break, get a stroller.

We rented a stroller for my DS8 last year. It was worth the money. We didn't use it everyday but did on our long days. No regrets.

 

[snorkelyn]

Bring. Our youngest is 5, and we bring it. Lighter days, it stays in the room. Sometimes we bring it, park it near the front, and walk. It'll be there if we need it. And it makes a nice seat waiting at the bus stop.

 

[Bluegrrl]

Oops, sorry about the equator thing! I think it just seems like it right now! It's freaking hot and the sun here is evil - if you get a stroller, get one with a good extendable canopy. And be prepared to sunscreen up those little toes, legs and even the arms and fingers.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

Umbrella strollers are awesome, I have no idea why more people don't bring them. I got one for DD when they first came out over 20 years ago, made life so much easier for days out, so much so a lot of my friends went and got them too. Deffo bring, at 5 years old he will need it at some point even if he wants to walk.

 

[Ryansdad0727]

I took our big Jeep jogging stroller a few weeks ago when our son was almost 5. We parked it and walked around a good bit but it in invaluable when he needed to sleep between parks. We would walk from HS through EPCOT to catch the monorail to MK or back to the room at Contemporary. He would sleep the whole time.