What age for no stroller at Disney?

[holly7347]

Hi all,
We are going to go to disney in April 09 with our then newly turned 6 and 4 year old DD's. Right now they are 5 and 3 and the 5 year old can pretty much walk everywhere when we go to the zoo and such. She will ocassionally complain that she doesn't have any energy but a quick break with a snack/drink usually cures that. The 3 year old can walk for a while but she is SLOW so I usually put her in a stroller to get from stop to stop at the zoo then let her out. We have never done anything like Disney and never taken a 9 day vacation with them before. Do you think we will still need a stroller for the 6 year old if we hag out at the parks most of the day every day?

 

[Mouse House Mama]

It depends on the kid and the time of year. In the summer the kids tire out so fast. We are not used to heat like Florida (NYers!) so it wipes us out. Heck I'd like to sit in a stroller! Last trip our 5 year old walked most of it. Of course it was January and it was chilly. We also don't go commando so they got alot of rest. I would definetly take at least one stroller.

 

[disneyworldmom2]

Depending on their size, you might want to consider renting a double stroller at the parks. That way, the younger could sit whenever she wants, and the older can sit, too.

 

[BlondeAlligator]

I would make sure to have a stroller; rent or bring your own. First, kids might do well for one day at the zoo, but several days of WDW can make them really tired. There is so much walking that even the most fit adults wear out after a few days. Plus, the more tired my DD does get, the slower she walks, so the stroller means we can do more & see more without wearing her out or taking all day to wlak form one thing to another.

Also, I like the stroller for safety reasons...at the end of the day when the crowds are all leaving it's nice to know that my 5yo is comfy and safe in her stroller, not getting trampled or possibly seperated from me.

 

[livie1205]

when my kids hit 5 they did not use a stroller at wdw anymore...

 

[Rylee]

For those ages, I wouldn't bother bringing one from home, that way you won't have to deal with it on the buses or when one is not needed. I would rent one at the parks. If you get a single, the younger one can ride in, for the most part, and/or they can take turns. You may want a double if you plan on being in the parks late at night, or when you are taking in areas/attractions that may not hold as much interest for the kids... such as the World Showcase, etc.

There is a slight discount on stroller rents when you pay up front for the length of stay. (They'll provide you with enough tickets for your stay.) Also, if you change parks or leave and return, you do not need to pay again... the rental is good for the whole day and at any park. Just keep your ticket stub.

*Take a ribbon or something similar, to tie on the stroller, so you can find yours quicker in the stroller parking areas.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I would bring it. Carrying a sleeping child from the bus to the room can be difficult.

 

[eliza61]

I pretty much stopped the stroller when my kids were about 5-6.
1) What usually ended up happening was by the end of the day the stroller was filled with various junk that I ended up pushing around all day.
2) When my kids got tired we took breaks. I'm not a commando style tourer especially with kids.
3) During busy times it was more of a pain, parking and retrieving the stroller in the designated stroller area with 50 million other strollers.

 

[daisyduck123]

DS used one a lot during our trip when he was in Kindergarten.

The next year in 1st grade, we brought it again & he didn't sit in it even once. We did use it to carry our jackets, packages, etc.
At the end of our trip, I think we gave it away because we knew we'd NEVER use it again.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Right around 5 yo's they stopped using the stroller. We did bring our Maclaren this past Feb. for DS5, but we only used it for the Pirate & Princess party. We knew he wouldn't last after 10:00 pm.

 

[Fabinva]

We rented a double stroller for our DS6 and DD4 and they both used it a lot, the oldest did not want to ride on it at first but all that walking changed his mind and it was great for husband and I to be able to walk at a fast pace when we needed to.

 

[camdensmom]

I would bring a stroller. I wouldn't be as concerned with the actual parks because it is a lot of stop and go and not distance walking but the resorts, getting in and out of the parks, downtown disney, etc. require a lot of walking.

It all depends on what your days will look like, but remember you'll be altering their schedule and they will possibly be doing a lot of swimming.

You're going to have some tired kiddos.

WDW is VERY easy to navigate a stroller. There are places to leave it and it doesn't need to be closed on the monorail. My son is 2.5 and on our December trip he was hardly ever in it, but it was so nice to have for the airport and resort and I kind of liked having a place for jackets, bags, snacks etc.

 

[Omma]

We had a HUGE eye opener yesterday. My kiddos will be 5, 6 & 7 when we go to WDW & I assumed we would be able to go w/out a stroller. We have been walking with our kids and they have been great. But our trip to the zoo yesterday proved me OH SO WRONG.

Our youngest dd was WHINING after just 1.5hrs about "walking so far" and about how "hot" it was. (It's Colorado and was barely 60 degrees! ) And our ds is the SLOWEST walker in the world. He was happy, just REALLY slow. I looked at my dh and said, "No problem - rope drop to Dumbo should only take what? 2 hrs?"

We decided last night we will be getting a stroller. A double one.

 

[pperfectmom]

We took a single last fall for our 2 and 4 year old to switch off. The pros were we could move a little faster at times. The cons were they were a PITA getting off and on the buses, the kids fought constantly over whose turn it was, you had to constantly search for it because the CM's kept moving it. This year when the kids are 5 and 3 I don't think I'm going to take it. If we get tired, we'll take a break. We normally aren't in any hurry anyway and my kids can definately walk that amount. Heck, they have a whole lot more energy than I do. As it gets closer I might change my mind but I doubt it.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Yes, there are plenty of people who would argue that a 5 6 or 7 year old should not be in a stroller. I am NOT one of those people. I would much rather have the stroller with us and not deal with the meltdowns and whining (God, I hate the whining!!!!)

 

[crisi]

Depends on the kid, the time of year, your touring schedule, and the park.

We found the MK an easy park to do strollerless at a young age (maybe four) - particularly with my son whose main use for the stroller was as a restraint to keep him from running off.

We found evenings in Epcot after five long park days to be more pleasant with a stroller even at seven with my daughter the "non-walker." The park is large, the days are long, the kids are tired. And yeah - I have one that runs - and the other is the two hour walk to Dumbo kid - so unless we really wanted to smell the roses (or drive ourselves batty), putting our little daydreamer in a stroller was the only way to get it done. The other option was to go back to the resort earlier or take our previous park days slower.

 

[CampbellScot]

We use one! My step kids will be 6 and 9 on our trip this year and we are SO going to have one and I don't give a bunny's patoot what anyone else thinks. It works for us.

It does not matter what anybody says about the "appropriateness" of strollers based on the age. Walking at disney simply is not comparable to a day at the zoo or "other" amusement parks. We would never get a stroller for our kids at Dorney Park...and it's a pretty big park. Disney is an entirely different situation. You know your kids best. If you are "stay in the park all day" types, a stroller might be a good idea. If you would rather sit and rest whenever one of your kids needs it, you can do that too. But we found that time wasted sitting and resting b/c someone was being whiny also caused annoyance from the child who was NOT tired and wanted to keep going. The stroller allowed them to sit and rest and get out of the sun when they wanted. Everyone had the freedom to choose for themselves without infringing on the pace of anyone else. The kids always had a seat when they wanted one and during heavy crowd times I knew exactly where they were...safe in their "Kid transporter" as we called it! by the end of the day no one was complaining about sore feet, nobody had blisters and everyone was ready for the next day!

You will NOT be out of place if you have strollers for your little ones. Not at all.

 

[sk!mom]

You'll get a lot of different answers on this. Really depends on the kid, the family, and what their used to.

In my experience, 4 or 5 has been the oldest to use a stroller. My DD celebrated her 5th birthday on her first trip and used a stroller some. It gave her legs a good break. DS was 5.5 on his first trip and also used a stroller some. Neither one had used a stroller in any other situation for a year or two prior.

I traveled with my sister's family a few years ago and her almost 6 year old never used a stroller- it was never mentioned. He did fine.

I think in our family 5 must be the limit as my kids and nieces and nephews have all thought a stroller was too babyish in real life by about 4. WDW can be so tiring that some agreed to a stroller there at 5 but that was the last time I ever saw any of them in a stroller.

I'll have several 12, 13, and 14 year olds with me this summer and I'll bet they'll wish they could have a stroller.

 

[TJA]

I don't know if you have a resort in mind yet, but my opinion is to take a jogger from home and stay at a resort where you have easy access to parks (monorail, boats, walking...). I have no idea what your budget is, but we have twins and take a double jogger to Disney, have done this around 13x so far, and we love it. Our twins are approaching age 5, but we'll still be taking our jogger mainly for night time in the parks. Our kids walk most of the days but do like to take rests in the jogger especially when it's super hot out. Then at night if we stay out late, they will fall asleep in the jogger. Depending on which resort we're staying at, we can let the twins stay asleep and just roll the stroller right on the monorail or boat, or else simply walk back to our resort. It's great!

 

[DevilDuckie]

Hi all,
We are going to go to disney in April 09 with our then newly turned 6 and 4 year old DD's. Right now they are 5 and 3 and the 5 year old can pretty much walk everywhere when we go to the zoo and such. She will ocassionally complain that she doesn't have any energy but a quick break with a snack/drink usually cures that. The 3 year old can walk for a while but she is SLOW so I usually put her in a stroller to get from stop to stop at the zoo then let her out. We have never done anything like Disney and never taken a 9 day vacation with them before. Do you think we will still need a stroller for the 6 year old if we hag out at the parks most of the day every day?

My kid would have died of shame if I'd tried to put him in a stroller once he hit 5, so past pre-school strollers were not part of our world. His first trip to Disney was at age 5 and it wasn't an issue. With 9 days I suspect you'll take a reasonably easy pace and your older girl should be fine.