Too big for stroller?

[CS Torkelson]

Stroller rental prices at Disney are insane. You're better off buying one at Wal-Mart and throwing it out or selling it for pennies (or donate it) when you're done.

I have seen many older kids, including early teens, sitting in the bigger strollers. Personally, I don't care who looks at us funny, I'd rather have happy and not tired kids than cranky, tired messes. Last summer, we had a 16 day trip. At the time, my oldest was 11 and my twins were days away from turning 8. My oldest walked, but we made the decision that the twins would melt down if they had to walk day in and day out. We still had their double wide stroller from when they were babies...and our previous trip to WDW. We brought it and they rode in it 85% of the time. It made it easy for us to keep tabs on them and not have try to herd them where we want to go. Plus, they didn't wear out in the heat. And when one of them walked, my 11 year old sat down a handful of times. After that, our trips were all extended weekend trips. For those 3 and 4 day trips, they walked. We brought a single stroller, which we use as a gear stroller to carry our cooler bag for food. We're heading down again this week. Plan is the same. Everyone will walk, and we'll have the gear stroller. But if one of them gets really tired, I have no qualms with them being pushed a little.

Side bonus...pushing around near 8 year old twins, plus a bag of food hanging off the back, is one HECK of a workout.

You go girl! What a sweet momma.

 

[CS Torkelson]

Our 5 years olds were great on our last trip. In fact they were in better shape walking then my DH! Before our trip we would take the kids to the HS track and walk, a couple times week walking more and more each time. It was good training that paid off!

I have friends who "train" for their WDW trip by walking beginning 6 months ahead. They say it helps tremendously also!

 

[CS Torkelson]

I agree w the comment on the safety of having a stroller. It can get so crowded and it just makes life so much easier where your little ones are safely sitting in a stroller and you can concentrate on navigating and getting from A to B.
We used a stroller for our 8 yr old and I was bashed to pieces on here by people who said that was too old. But it was what worked for us and made our vacation more enjoyable for everyone!! She is now 12 and isn't lazy, I don't have to carry her lol and she isn't scarred for life because she rode in a stroller at age 8. Lol
My advice is do what makes your vacation magical!!
And we rented from Kingdom Strollers. They were awesome!

She sounds like a smart one to me! I'd go for that ride too! "A sweet mom, are you." (My Yoda impression.)

 

[Klayfish]

You go girl! What a sweet momma.

Guess I was showing my feminine side, but I'm actually dad. My wife is a sweet momma though...

 

[CS Torkelson]

Guess I was showing my feminine side, but I'm actually dad. My wife is a sweet momma though...

Oh hahahaaaa! I'm sorry! Let me change that to, "sweet daddy!"

 

[Alice777]

I don't know about double stroller but when I was at WDW this April, familly with 3 kids had 2 strollers. Oldest, around 5 or 6 did not have a stroller and was crying and having a tantrum because he wanted to sit on a stroller. I would normally not notice these things but my son (22 years old) made a comment that he didn't understand why they would have 2 strollers when they have 3 kids and felt sorry for the boy.

I barely made each day walking all day and I can imagine how tiring it'll be for a child especially if you are planning to stay at the park all day. At least with a stroller, child can take a nap if needed.

 

[caroline1851]

Get a single the first day and see how it goes. Epcot is a lot of walking. When my dd was 2, almost 3, she walked the whole time.We went back after she turned 5 and she needed/wanted a stroller every day.

 

[Klayfish]

I don't know about double stroller but when I was at WDW this April, familly with 3 kids had 2 strollers. Oldest, around 5 or 6 did not have a stroller and was crying and having a tantrum because he wanted to sit on a stroller. I would normally not notice these things but my son (22 years old) made a comment that he didn't understand why they would have 2 strollers when they have 3 kids and felt sorry for the boy.

I barely made each day walking all day and I can imagine how tiring it'll be for a child especially if you are planning to stay at the park all day. At least with a stroller, child can take a nap if needed.

Depends on the kids ages. At some point, they teeter on being too old for the stroller but maybe not 100% ready to walk yet. My oldest son is 12 and I have boy/girl twins who turn 9 at the end of July. As I said before, for short weekend trips, we've had them walk, because they can survive 3 or 4 days. Though even then the twins were moaning on occasion that they wanted to ride in our gear stroller. Now with our 17 day trip upcoming, we're just not taking the chance. I know they'll get really tired, so we're on the Craigslist hunt for a double wide jogging stroller with a pivoting front wheel (MUCH easier to maneuver than the ones with the fixed wheel). As for my oldest, he's now 12 and is physically fit. But I guarantee you there will be a handful of times where he asks to sit in it for a break, and I won't say no.

 

[Dismama2boys]

I do not take strollers after 3 years old. Unless a child has special needs I can't see it. We are a society of lazy children(my opinion). We take things at the pace of the slowest child and rest as needed. Heck my son refused his stroller in Disney at 1 1/2 and kept up just fine.

I wouldn't call a child who gets tired after days of walking 10-12 miles a day for several days "lazy". My child can go from being completely fine to refusing to walk in nothing flat at the end of the day, and carrying a 40 lb child from the back of the park to the parking lot is not something I want to do. And as others have mentioned, it's a great way to keep track of little ones in the crushing crowds after fireworks, etc. I get that it's your opinion that stroller = lazy kids, and you're certainly entitled to it. But you're ignoring logical information, as well as being unnecessarily judgmental.

 

[goofy4tink]

My dd was almost 6 the first time we visited WDW. Now, granted, she was a tall kid, still is. But, she stopped using a stroller by the time she went to preschool at 2.5!! Would she have fit in a stroller? Sure. But, here is my reasoning for going without.
Yes, it's a lot of walking. And no, my dd wasn't 'ready' for it..no training went on! It has since, but that's a different story. Did she get tired? Sure she did. Did we see everything, do everything? Nope. We sat and relaxed every so often. We made sure to fit in meal breaks, in air conditioning. We tried to head back to the resort each day, for a few hours, just to kick back and maybe swim. When it was time for bed? Not one word of complaint from her!!! She was pooped!
There was one instance where I overheard a family arguing...actually it wasn't hard to overhear, they were pretty loud. Dad was saying that he was tired of pushing the stroller with a 7 y/o in it!!! Mom was saying that the kid would be exhausted after 3 hrs of walking. Dad screamed at her 'Well, then maybe he'll be ready for bed before midnight for a change!!!!'. It was actually kind of funny.

I'm not saying kids are lazy, or that parents are lazy. You have to do what's right for you and your family. But I'll be darned if a mother is going to look at me, and say "Excuse me, but could you please move? I need to get these kids out of the park and you're blocking my route!'..while trying to exit the Hub area after the fireworks. I explained to her that we all wanted to move along but because she had a stroller full of kids (yes, it was a double) didn't make her need any greater than others. She looked at me and said, and I quote, 'Well, nice way to treat a parent with tired kids. Can't imagine what kind of a parent you'ld be if you ever bothered to put your selfishness away and have them!!!
Seriously??? Have three kids lady...I know all about it.

 

[Klayfish]

But I'll be darned if a mother is going to look at me, and say "Excuse me, but could you please move? I need to get these kids out of the park and you're blocking my route!'..while trying to exit the Hub area after the fireworks. I explained to her that we all wanted to move along but because she had a stroller full of kids (yes, it was a double) didn't make her need any greater than others. She looked at me and said, and I quote, 'Well, nice way to treat a parent with tired kids. Can't imagine what kind of a parent you'ld be if you ever bothered to put your selfishness away and have them!!!
Seriously??? Have three kids lady...I know all about it.

That's always a challenge, trying to get out of the park with the herd while pushing a heavy double stroller. Been there, done that many times. Especially on Main Street with the darn trolley tracks. You are trying to be careful to not whack the person in front of you in the ankles with the stroller, while trying not to get run over from behind, or have people try to rush and get around you...and step right in front of you. I've had words with a few people who are so impatient that they wind up basically pushing my kids legs as they're trying to squeeze in front of us. The fun part of it is my kids think it's great. From their point of view sitting that low, it's a see of legs. They try to be my navigator to weave a path through...daddy, go left. Dad, go right. Dad, run. Dad, STOP!!!!!

 

[MariMama]

That's always a challenge, trying to get out of the park with the herd while pushing a heavy double stroller. Been there, done that many times. Especially on Main Street with the darn trolley tracks. You are trying to be careful to not whack the person in front of you in the ankles with the stroller, while trying not to get run over from behind, or have people try to rush and get around you...and step right in front of you. I've had words with a few people who are so impatient that they wind up basically pushing my kids legs as they're trying to squeeze in front of us. The fun part of it is my kids think it's great. From their point of view sitting that low, it's a see of legs. They try to be my navigator to weave a path through...daddy, go left. Dad, go right. Dad, run. Dad, STOP!!!!!

I can't imagine how heavy a stroller is with two 9 year olds in it.

 

[Gillyrose779]

Our kids are 5 and 6- I'm not sure when we will stop using a stroller at Disney but it's not going to be anytime soon.

We do not use a stroller at all ... except Disney!

We would all love to be pushed in a stroller by the end of the day! I'm jealous of my kids. Plus- hubs and I like to move quickly from point A to point B and you can't do that with walking 5 and 6 year olds. They also tend to wander and I have to keep an eye on them in crowds - which can be stressful. When we are in a large crowd the safest place for them is in the stroller.

 

[TWK]

I'd bring a double umbrella stroller. Walking all day is a lot for little ones, and it is easier to keep track of them in a stroller. My 7 year old had to walk almost the whole time last time (the 2 little ones were in a stroller) and she was TIRED. We ended up getting her an extra souvenir for being such a trooper about it.

 

[Gillyrose779]

I'm not sure where all this "lazy" talk is coming from. We track that we walk 12-15 miles per day on vacation. That is a lot to ask of a 3-6 year old- let alone a grown adult.

 

[RustManFan]

my kids wouldn't have tolerated the notion. As soon as they were walking they both thought a stroller was only for babies!!

 

[grnflash]

my kids wouldn't have tolerated the notion. As soon as they were walking they both thought a stroller was only for babies!!

That's us too! We gave up the stroller super early. I do think people should do what's best for them and we'd never give anyone any looks. But I'm giggling imagining telling our 8 year old we were bringing a stroller for him. Now that would be meltdown-inducing.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I'm not sure where all this "lazy" talk is coming from. We track that we walk 12-15 miles per day on vacation. That is a lot to ask of a 3-6 year old- let alone a grown adult.

It's just people who like to judge and be negative about anything they can. They aren't the ones having to carry a 35lb child to the bus stop at 11:30 at night.

 

[RustManFan]

That's us too! We gave up the stroller super early. I do think people should do what's best for them and we'd never give anyone any looks. But I'm giggling imagining telling our 8 year old we were bringing a stroller for him. Now that would be meltdown-inducing.

my DD and DS would have told me that they were staying home! At that is at 3 rather than 8!!

 

[HM]

We first went to WDW with 4 and 6 year olds. We rented during one day (Epcot) but didn't use one any other day during our 8 day trip.