What age no stroller

[J'Adore Disney]

Age 5 for my daughter; age 6 for my son (asthmatic)

 

[Dis703]

My oldest almost never used his stroller at 2 1/2 but when we returned when he was 4 and 5 he definitely took some stroller breaks in his brothers' stroller. I did take him alone at age 5 once and did not bring a stroller. He did okay, but he definitely had moments he was exhausted and needed a break. We just had to plan for chilling out sitting somewhere to give him a rest. It wasn't enough for me to regret not bringing it.

My twins are 4 and definitely still use a stroller for Disney.

 

[Magpie]

Like others have said, it entirely depends on the child. And I think it depends on the parent, too.

I do tend to assume that school-aged children in strollers have special needs, of some sort or another.

And as far as I can tell, the pros to having a stroller are:

Hauling huge amounts of stuff (perhaps your child is still in diapers or bottle-fed or in need of regular changes of clothes).

A convenient place for the child to nap.

Containment (a child in a stroller can't run away).

Seating at parades.

The pros to skipping the stroller are:

Travelling lighter - no need to bother with stroller parking, hauling it on and off busses/trams/monorails/boats/etc.

Cheaper - if you were planning to rent.

You'll be touring at the child's pace (for some this is a pro, for others a negative).

More freedom for the child, and more parent-child interaction.

More exercise, and a tired child at the end of the day. (Depending on your child, this can be a BIG deal - there's nothing more aggravating than having your kid bouncing off the hotel room walls when all you want to do is go to sleep.) I like having a tired child, whenever possible. Sore muscles never hurt them, either. Like I told my then-14yo when she was complaining after a long day in Universal, it's an opportunity to get stronger!

Personally, I used our stroller as little as humanly possible, much preferring to have my kids walk. I figured I wasn't ever in any great rush, and it'd always be better for them to be up on their own two feet and moving around anyway. By age two, I had them walking a kilometer and a half to the parent/child drop in, most days. It was a nice walk, and we discovered a lot of four leaf clovers and caterpillars on the way. This early endurance training did NOT turn my kids into athletes, however.

 

[froggy922]

At what age range do you think a stroller is no longer necessary? the boy will be 5 and girl 9 thanks

Our son's first trip, he was 4 and we used the stroller ALL the time (we drove so we brought ours from home). The next year's trip he was 5 and we also brought the stroller with us, but he never used it (nor wanted it). I hated that we had packed it (taking up precious trunk space in trunk) but oh well, it was better safe than sorry. So, in a nut shell, for my son, he used at stroller at 4, but stopped at 5.

 

[momof2n2]

7 IMO

ETA: It depends on how slowly you are willing to tour. We are commandos. We expect to get a ton done and most of my kids aren't able to haul it at commando-pace until they are about 8. We also bring stuff with us and we are not back pack people. We have ponchos, a bag of might-need items, princess dress; and we inevitably buy things. The stroller has more needs than just moving a child. I will dreadfully miss not having a stroller one day.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

On our last trip the fitbit said 12 miles the first day at MK. The 4yo boy with us did OK but he is high energy. I will be using a stroller for my 3yo DGD for a couple years

 

[maloned]

I have an 8 year old and a 4 year old. I still take my double stroller. My girls don't want to walk the parks. I don't mind pushing them, even though it's much heavier now. For one, I don't have to worry losing them in a crowd and I burn a ton more calories pushing them around the park. Plus, the stroller is great for storing stuff. Snacks, drinks, etc.

 

[Kimberly9701]

This. My son will be 4 in 2 weeks. In October we took his reclining umbrella stroller, parked it in fantasyland and he walked all morning. Used it land to land and in the evening.
Doing the same in 2 days!

The more I read these posts, the more I realize that it probably depends on your daily itinerary.. Much more than a child's or parent's fitness level. I am a runner, my son plays sports all year round.. But it's a lot of fast walking if you're an over planner lol. I found it easier to rent from the parks, one reason being that I no longer own a stroller, and second bc I didn't want to deal with an outside rental and taking to and from parks. We were seriously go-go-go from 7am til well after midnight. Constantly adding fast passes, taking a break at the Poly to swim, 1-2 character meals per day, which is basically the only time that we "relaxed". So if you go at a slower, leisurely pace then I don't think a 5 year old would need a stroller. But if you are walking with swimming in the mix 12+ hours per day, then it is a savior. As I said before, I don't mean to have your kid in one all day... Use it sparingly and when needed (nighttime and speed walking to next character meal). So in the end I think what matters is what you have planned, and what plans you are willing to change if child is worn out.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Just got back... My son is 6 and we brought a stroller. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It's good for when he's tired and #1 best feature is it's a great place to put all your crap, drinks, etc. I tied a big yellow handkerchief on mine so it was easy to spot in the "stroller sea" and love how you can park it and not worry about your stuff being stolen. (valuables were on my person, of course!) If we got tired of pushing it on crowded days we would park it for awhile. I loved having one, even if I have an big boy

It was so nice to have for drinks and our fan spray bottles- which btw was my first time buying them.. With a heat index of 104 it was the best $50 that I've ever spent!lol

 

[DavidNYC]

Completely depends on the child and how you tour. My kids haven't been in strollers since they were four but still use one at Disney (they're six now). We tend to go from nine in the morning until nine at night straight through (sometimes more) and they are dying to get back into a stroller now and then to relax because we are running around so much. If your child doesn't want to stroller or if you're the type of takes frequent breaks during the day then you may not need one. In short - there is no right answer other than what fits your situation. I should also note the older they get, the more we tend to leave the stroller in one location for a couple hours at a time and use it for the long trek from section to section of the park or late at night when they're getting tired.

 

[jenrose66]

At what age range do you think a stroller is no longer necessary? the boy will be 5 and girl 9 thanks

I stopped bringing the stroller after my youngest turned 3. I think if we had one she would have used it but I have three kids and was over strollers. If she got too pooped I let her piggyback for a bit.

 

[tikisunset77]

If you are even debating about bringing a stroller bring it. If you are wanting to rent a stroller (local or disney stroller), just get one your first day and see how they do. If they ask to sit in it at all that day, then go ahead and the next day get the length of stay rental. Every
vacation I have ever been on with the kids when we didn't bring the stroller, we regretted it. We have upgraded mid vacation to a bigger stroller
for the older son to sit in, and on our last vacation when we didn't bring the stroller we found ourselves perusing the Kmart stroller section.
Bring the stroller if there is any doubt in your mind. I have gotten some good ideas in this thread about bringing the stroller and parking it in a land
just to have it...but I am definitely bringing it next vacation. Last time we were in the World my then 3 yr old was running to it everytime haha
(boys ages 5 and will be 7 when we go in June)

 

[Micca]

Our DDs are grown now, but I think we used strollers until they were 7. They were small for their age, and they seemed to enjoy being chauffeured around the parks.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Everyone's kids are different. An example:

2002: Daughter is 5, son is 2. Stroller is rented and used for 2 year old. 5 year old shares stroller with 2 year old our last day in the Magic Kingdom.
2006: Daughter is 9, son is 6. No stroller.
2009: Daughter is 12, son is 9. Nieces are 9, 5, and 3. In-laws bring folding stroller. It goes empty 80% of the time. I end up pushing it around empty, and complain about it the whole time. *shrug*

 

[kohlby]

From what I've seen over the years, 5 is the either-way age. Some 5 year olds still need them quite a bit and others do just fine without it. It depends a lot on how you tour, when you go, and the specific child - so lots of variables.

As for my kids at age 5, no for the older two, yes for the youngest. The youngest was perfectly capable of walking physically, but he has some sensory issues and really needed the security of the stroller. He also refused to do any rides for the first half of our trip. He used the stroller as his hide-away and emerged when he was ready. He didn't have a Disney trip at 6, but had a Universal/IOA/Legoland trip and we went without the stroller for the first time and didn't need it. (We brought it with us in the car - but he didn't catch on that we had it. Otherwise, he would have wanted it). We're planning a Disney trip for next fall, and he'll be 7 by then. I'm hoping to not have the stroller leave our house this time.

*We do several park days so that's another thing to consider. At 3, my eldest did not need the stroller at all the first day, despite lots of walking. (It helped that I had to stop to nurse an infant a lot though!) But by the end of the week, he was in it most of the time.

 

[toni nicole]

I would say it definitely depends, when I was younger my parents got the double stroller even when me and my sister were probably 9 and 7, just to keep us from getting too grumpy from all the walking. I don't remember how well I fit, but I know they made it happen.

 

[Hollymom1229]

My niece had the big stroller for her trip at 1 y.o., a basic umbrella stroller for her trip when 3, and walked with no stroller for her trip at 7. I think we will have a similar plan for DD. Somewhere around age 5 - 6 the stroller goes away permanently, but you really need to pay attention to your kid's cues that they are tired.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

At what age range do you think a stroller is no longer necessary? the boy will be 5 and girl 9 thanks

Each child is different. We stopped with any stroller at 3 years old and just made sure to keep my kids hydrated and get them breaks as needed. Breaking as needed was a lot better than the hassle of a stroller.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Children are like snowflakes each one is unique.

Both my DD's have always been athletes. Since they could walk they refused to get in a stroller. I am 5"9' a runner with long strides. I also used to tour commando from open until close just the 3 of us.

However, the older one was a runner, and she was FAST. I used the big double stroller rental until she was about 9 for containment purposes.

I wish more parents would do that. Disney is mentally and physically exhausting and I've never had one single trip in all these years where I haven't witnessed at least one meltdown by and overtired child . Every bus ride home there is one sleeping child.

You'll see parents dragging their kids through the park or worse not holding hands and having the stragglers walk into traffic. I have a naturally fast pace and what looks like rushing to some people is me strolling along. My arms were aching at the end of every day not because of pushing the stroller rather yanking it to a sudden stop because some kid stepped in front of me.

 

[kiramay]

At what age range do you think a stroller is no longer necessary? the boy will be 5 and girl 9 thanks

We took ours for its last trip this December. My youngest was 5 years 9 months. He walked a lot but we still loved having a place to store all our stuff. My 10 year old bent the frame halfway through the trip, so we tossed the stroller when we left. It seemed a fitting end since I bought the stroller for our first Disney trip when he was 2.