To stroll or not to stroll....

[Adam&Alex's Mom]

...that is question... I know... for probably the 1000th time.... sorry! I am trying to convince my husband to take the umbrella strollers with us on our August vacation to DL..... the strollers have a shade canopy... partly recline and have a little mesh basket underneath. We have 4YO twin boys and his opinion is that they are old enough to walk... which they are.. I just think they will tire out as the days wear on... and it will be nice to have on the eving walk back... oh.. we are staying at the DLH...so maybe we don't use them in the morning... but when we go back for round 2 after we have lunch and a nap. What has been your experience?

 

[tinkerbelt]

I would take them. DL is a lot of walking, even for a bigger kid. My DD is almost 4 and we still take our stroller when we go. Little legs get tired pretty easily. Plus, the basket is so nice to store a change of clothes or some snacks or sunscreen. You can always park them and come back for them later if you get tired of them. We do that a lot.

 

[DangerMouse]

My 7 and 9 year old beg for turns in the stroller by the end of the day. TAKE IT!! You won't regret it.

 

[brergnat]

Oh gosh, I totally agree that 4 year olds WILL need the stroller.

Although you are staying at DLH, if you want to go straight into DCA from the hotel, that's a LOT of walking (half a mile, according to Google Earth!).

Plus, be aware that the monorail is not near as efficient as the one at WDW. I find the DLH monorail to be broken down QUITE often!!! Just last Friday morning, in fact, it was down at opening time and did not come "online" until around 9:30 a.m.

If that happens to you, you'll have a nice half mile walk into the parks first thing in the morning. Your kids will be pooped before lunch.

Convince your DH by telling him that if the kids decide they want to walk, you just use the strollers to carry your bag(s).

 

[Diva of Dragons]

I agree with the others here. Our friends have 4 year old twins also and when they get tired, they want to be carried. Save yourself!! LOL

 

[abby]

My dd was 6 and 1/2 last time we were there and wanted a stroller. (we haven't owned one in years....) It is just so much walking, and I like it because I don't have to worry with crowds where she is or hold her hand all the time. At the very least take one, so they can trade off, but two would be sooooooo much better.

 

[kkmcan]

Definitely get the strollers. 4 is still so young to make it thru all that walking. My kids got strollers last year after we did a week long marathon of Sea World, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Knotts Berry Farm and 3 days of Disneyland. They were so tired and sore that I broke down and got them each a stroller. Now for their ages....... 9 and 6!! My dh was so embarrassed to have the kids in strollers but in their defense they are small for their ages. DD9 is barely 50 pounds ard only 48" tall!!

Get them- you will all have a much better time without tired, worn out kids.

 

[Adam&Alex's Mom]

Thanks for the advice... hopefully my husband will read this and see the light I just know that if the kids are both crabby we will not have have a good vacation... I want to do my part to make it the happiest place on earth!!!

Thanks again!

 

[Disnee]

Ditto on what everyone else said - take your stroller!! My 4 YO DS used it a lot more than I expected last November...I could have kissed it, it made that much of a difference to our trip!

 

[DizMe]

I will be the voice of dissent here! Kids that age are perfectly capable of walking and it's good for them. Our society today is lazy, though, and many aren't used to exercise. This includes the adults, btw.

If your kids get tired, do something sitting down for a while or go back to the hotel and rest. I couldn't believe how many BIG kids I saw last October being pushed around in strollers. DH and I also noticed what a large number of adults were riding on those Rascal things. We were joking that soon, Americans would go straight from stroller to Rascal.

I personally refuse to take a stroller to DL, but I also refuse to take a child under 4. My kids start going to DL when they can walk without requiring wheels to help them along Oh yes, I have 4-year-old twins plus 3 older sibs. This year is the twins' first trip

 

[jlima]

If your kids get tired, do something sitting down for a while or go back to the hotel and rest.

Going back to the hotel and resting can involve a walk of a mile or more!

If you are in Toontown and a meltdown comes on, it's an incredible walk back to the DLH - all the way through the park, then all the way through DTD. IMHO the monorail is unreliable as a consistent transportation option, as it hasn't operated consistently due to construction of the submarine ride or it just wasn't operating; then when it does operate, the lines in the park to go back to DTD are incredible. My kids aren't lazy; but they do get tired after several hours of commando Disney.

When my kids were little, the stroller was used the most on the way in and on the way out. We would park the stroller by Dumbo, ride everything we wanted to, then retrieve the stroller when it was time to go.

No one - me included - wants to listen to my kids whine when they are tired. They had strollers until they were in kindergarten. Like a previous poster said, my contribution to the magic.

 

[mv1175]

Hi there!!

We have a 4yo as well and she gets tired then she wants a stroller ride or somebody to carry her. Please please bring the stroller for the sake of your twins. Unless you are willing to carry the twins.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I would take them personally. We went to DL when my nieces were both one month shy of their fourth birthdays. My brother and his wife opted to not take strollers and overall they did fine. But they were exhausted and never made it in the parks past 7:00 p.m. Which meant they never did see the Electrical Parade or fireworks that trip. Also, that trip we took was in December so it was nice and cool. If I was going in the summer with a child that age, I would think it would be nice to have, esp. given your stroller has a canopy for shade. Again, my nieces did okay, but in my opinion a stroller would have been a nice idea and made it possible for them to see and do a bit more than they did. And several times one was tired and that meant the other had to leave to go back to the hotel. Had they brought a stroller, the tired out one could have rested a bit. There are definitely lots of places to rest at DL but sometimes kids get so exhausted and the familarity of their own stroller can be very comforting. And sometimes the only place outside of their bed they will take a cap nap which can be the way to save the day for everybody! In August with crowds, heat, and the long hours, I really think you'll be sorry if you don't have the option.

I would think that having them in the evenings so that if they do fall asleep you and your husband can still see the fireworks would be nice. And the walk to the DLH from the parks is 10-15 minutes each way. If you take a midday break, just the walking to and from the hotel to the parks could add up to an hour of walking right there. Its a pleasant walk but not if you have an exahusted child. You can take the monorail but sometimes that isn't as easy as it sounds. And if you are leaving from DCA at night to return to the hotel, you have no choice but to walk as there isn't a monorail stop there.

In the end you cannot make a wrong choice. The worst thing that can happen if you don't take the stroller is that you can rent one at the park. If you take it and don't need it, you can just leave it in the room.

 

[DisneyCrocsRUS]

Wow! Sounds like I'll be fairly unpopular here, since the majority are all resoundingly voting for you to take a stroller, but I've read lots & lots of other threads that give lots of opinions voting for the opposite as well.

Personally, I don't like using strollers much at all. Our little DD2 turns 2 in a couple weeks & she loves to walk everywhere, she actually hates the stroller. I rarely take it w/us anywhere, and when I do, it ends up being a burden because I end up having to tend to it & wish I had just left it in the car.

We use a lot of baby carriers too & DD prefers to ride on my back in a carrier or in a ring sling, so if the time comes where she is too pooped out to walk, I'll pop her in the carrier. We're staying onsite & plan to take the day in segments & hopefully not wear the kids out (or ourselves ) w/too much walking.

I think you should do what is right for you & your family. You know better than anyone else whether your child likes to ride in a stroller at all, or whether the stroller would be more of a burden. You know yourself best & would probably know whether you'd be capable or willing to carry your little ones once they got too tired out as well. Worse case scenario is you can always rent a stroller at DL (although you can't take it out of the park), or you can trot back to the hotel (even though it may be a stride, a couple hour rest would be good for everyone if it's at that point of tiredness).

 

[Peaceableone]

If you have a Disney Visa card, I think I heard that if you show it you can get a free stroller rental.

 

[kjk]

I plan on renting a stroller for our DS3 in August when we go--he will have just turned 4. We plan on being at the park all day, so I want him to have a place to rest and sit down, plus have a place to keep our water bottles and camera and sunscreen. He likes to walk, but when he gets tired, he is too heavy to carry, especially if he falls asleep. Maybe we will see you there in August! If you can't win the battle with your husband to take your strollers with you, then rent them at the park. Several others have said that if you have a Disney Visa, you can rent one for free--I need to check into that.

 

[DangerMouse]

Several others have said that if you have a Disney Visa, you can rent one for free--I need to check into that.

You can actually rent TWO for free per day. Which would work great for the OP with her twins.

 

[brenda1966]

My only hesitation in using the free Visa stroller is that you can't take them out of the parks! The time when we really, really need the stroller is that walk out of the park and back to the hotel.

During the day we don't use the stroller much, except to hold our stuff. Once you're used to having one to hold your stuff, it's hard to give that up. What do you do with a half drank pepsi in a paper cup if you're going on a ride? Well you can leave in in the stroller.

Another time I use the stroller is if we need to move fast. I can put her in the stroller and be out of one park an into the next at lightening speed.

The one time I opted to leave the stroller at the hotel was the one day my DD complained of a belly ache (and she wasn't pretending). I had to carry her around and that was no fun!

 

[limace]

I will be the voice of dissent here! Kids that age are perfectly capable of walking and it's good for them. Our society today is lazy, though, and many aren't used to exercise. This includes the adults, btw.

If your kids get tired, do something sitting down for a while or go back to the hotel and rest. I couldn't believe how many BIG kids I saw last October being pushed around in strollers. DH and I also noticed what a large number of adults were riding on those Rascal things. We were joking that soon, Americans would go straight from stroller to Rascal.

I personally refuse to take a stroller to DL, but I also refuse to take a child under 4. My kids start going to DL when they can walk without requiring wheels to help them along Oh yes, I have 4-year-old twins plus 3 older sibs. This year is the twins' first trip

While I agree that our society is coming way too sedentary, I can't agree with your post. Even really active kids aren't used to walking 5 or 6 miles a day in really hot weather and crowds-we're going in July and coming from Oregon and the weather is going to be pretty extreme for us, I anticipate. We are not big stroller users in our family-more babywearing and walking type folks-but there are times that I'd rather let my kid rest rather than make a point.

And man, my girls are 9 years apart. If we had to wait another 3 or 4 years for my youngest to be old enough to go, my older daughter (and I) would just explode with anticipation!

I'd say, bring the stroller. Or you could just tell DH to get ready to carry both kids if they get tired

 

[jlima]

My only hesitation in using the free Visa stroller is that you can't take them out of the parks! The time when we really, really need the stroller is that walk out of the park and back to the hotel.

We stayed at the Paradise Pier this past weekend and I saw a stroller on our floor (14th) . . . so someone got a stroller out of the park!