The age old STOLLER debate......

[alibeau]

Hi Guys,

We return to WDW next month and I am in a dilemma as to what to do over strollers AGAIN!

DD2 is 4 next week and I will definately be taking a stroller for her as I know she will need one at the parks. DD1 is six and hasn't used a stroller in years. I asked her what she wanted to do at the parks with regard to using a stroller and she said that she won't go near one as people might go 'goo goo gaa gaa' to her and think she is a baby (her words not mine ).

However, I am really not sure how she will cope towards the end of the day at the parks?? Ideally I think we would hire a double 'Disney stroller' for the two of them but the price of hiring them is sky high I think she would probably go in one of the Disney ones as it is not a 'stroller' as such!??!? but I really do begrudge the money involved. Having said that, we will only be doing Disney parks for a max of 6 days, so do we just bite the bullet to make our lives a bit easier?? but there again we will also be doing SW, BG, IOA and US and so will have the same problems there??? Any advice pls???

Anyone know of any discounts available on hiring Disney 'strollers'?!?! and/or the current costs?

Thanks,

Ali

PS. I really want to have a plan in place as DH is recovering from a hernia op and so the last thing I want is him putting DD2 on his shoulders to free up the stroller for DD1......

 

[Pegasus928]

Bearing in mind all the parks you plan on doing would it not be better to look at the cost of buying one from Walmart or somewhere similar?
There are also some 'stroller swap' groups that I have seen in the past. Maybe one of those would be worth looking into.
I would think that at the end of the day when DD is getting a little tired she would welcome the chance to sit anywhere and be pushed around for a little while - and will soon overcome her concerns about being regarded as a baby. And it would certainly make sense from DHs point of view.

 

[buzz for boys]

On our last trip dd was nearly 3 and ds was 6 we managed with just one pushchair between them !!! Our 3 yr old actually walked far more than our 6 yr old. Not sure I would want to take one for a 6 yr old as its just something else to drag around that she possibly wont sit in !! I really wanted my ds 7 to sit it the pushchair at one point he was hardly able to walk but he refused to be a baby and dragged himself along !!
As thers have said there are cheap pushchairs in walmart if you find you need one !
Hope that helps x

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I appreciate the dilemma, I would personally agree and say that Walmart or somewhere else may be a good option.
The last thing you need when walking around the theme parks is children who are very tired.
We have been in similar situations with Joshua who whilst mobile isn't capable of walking around a theme park due to his autism mainly, we always used to take our own stroller and now have a wheelchair.

As for the kid's too big for strollers debate, if there is one you do what's best for you own child(ren), doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

 

[alibeau]

Hi everyone and thanks for your replies You have all brought up good points

I think it is true to say that although DD1 *thinks* she doesn't want to go in a stroller, after a lot of walking she will probably be glad of a chance to rest her legs?!?!

And yes Johnny, I agree, I'm really not bothered what anyone thinks if they saw DD1 in a stroller. If it makes all our lives easier, if she is happy to go in one and we have a more enjoyable holiday then we will use strollers

I guess we are just so out of practice using them at home that it's difficult to picture using them again and to what extent we will need them.

Thanks again!

Ali

 

[maymcg]

what about a sit and stand? Then she can sit and get pushed but not actually be in the buggy. I have ds1 9, dd 6 and ds2 2 i hope to get a sit and stand so at least we have the extra seat without the trouble of a double buggy.

When we were at a festival last year ds1 spent more time sitting in the buggy that ds2! He was the worst for getting tired and sore legs and i dont want to have to go through that again.

I know there are stroller swaps on here somewhere but i cant find it again

May
Xx

Found it Stroller swap is in the Budget board!!!

 

[scottish mum]

The last time we went dd was 4 and ds just turned 7. We just took one stroller with us and ds borrowed it a few times while dd walked for a while. This worked well for us as it meant we only needed to take 1 with us.

 

[jtlover]

We got one for our DD when she was 6 - we tended to get one every other day for her which she was happy about, as it is a lot of walking. She is nearly 18 now

I wonder if one of those boards that you clip on the back of the pushchair might be a better option instead of having to hire 2? Thought I dont know if they fit on all pushchairs? But I dont know if that helps as that is standing too

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

I would pick up a stroller for her. She will be glad of the rest and many, many people have older children in strollers. Wouldn't think twice about it. I usually hire a disney one though as they are great for shade for older children.

 

[barnaby1]

We are in the middle of our first stroller free trip. Our dd will be 4 in March and still normally has a 30 minute lunchtime sleep 3 times per week. She hasn't used a stroller at home for a year or more. We didn't know how she would go. We didn't offer a stroller but we were open to a cheap umbrella one from walmart if needed. Well, we are now on day 9, she has not had a day time sleep the whole time and apart from the very occasional piggyback she has not stopped from morning until night. She is still raring to go 1-2 hours after her normal bedtime.
I do think that if we had offered the stroller it would have been a very different scenario.

 

[natalielongstaff]

The last time we went dd was 4 and ds just turned 7. We just took one stroller with us and ds borrowed it a few times while dd walked for a while. This worked well for us as it meant we only needed to take 1 with us.

thats what i was going to suggest

When we went with a 6yr old he coped very well with the walking so you may be pleasently surprised !

xx

 

[Hilary]

I think it depends on the kind of park days you plan. A full-speed commando park day whizzing from one ride to the next will be far more taxing on little legs than a stop-and-smell-the-roses kind of day.

We got one for our DD when she was 6 - we tended to get one every other day for her which she was happy about, as it is a lot of walking. She is nearly 18 now

Ditto for our youngest DD who was just a couple of weeks short of her 6th birthday the first time we visited Orlando, and she was really happy to have the option of a stroller every afternoon (she managed the mornings before finding it all a bit too much). She's just coming up to 21

Without a stroller you'll always be restricted to the pace of the slowest in your party (not necessarily your DD1 LOL!) - if you don't plan hectic days that will be no problem. If, however, you plan to get lots done you may find the rest of you become frustrated if you need to slow down.

You probably won't know what's going to work until you get there and try it!

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

I am all for the shade offered by the stroller in the summer months.