When Kids Are Too Big for the Stroller - What to Do?

[DisneyFamily123]

Next trip (probably Dec. 2010), our DS4 will be 5 and may not want to be ride in the stroller, thinking it is for babies, and he is a "big boy". He barely fit into our stroller on our last trip in Oct. 2009. I'm sure he will tire out fast if he has to walk all over the parks, and will be too big for me to carry much.

What do you do?

• Do you just skip the stroller and force rest periods?
• Are there "big boy" strollers or other wheeled alternatives that Disney permits in the parks?
• Are the Disney park strollers bigger? We always used our own.

If no stroller, what do you do to help children last in the parks. I imagine a mid-day rest will be more important, along with changing socks, having comfortable shoes, and using moleskin on hotspots to prevent blisters.

 

[turkeymama]

First things first, you'll get a wide range of opinions on this.

Second, I think the Disney strollers will be big enough, but they're very expensive to rent.

My son will be 6 on our next trip and we'll be facing the same dilemma. He has low muscle tone and tires easily. In addition, he is very tall. We have a Maclaren Volo which accommodates taller kids. There are swaps on the Disboards, maybe you could look into one of those as an option.

Your other option is no stroller with lots of breaks, but you may have to slow your pace so he can keep up.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[tzolkin]

My kids never use strollers at home (we had to buy them for our first Disney trip), but they have been more than willing to use them at Disney.

I think they just thought that young kids were supposed to use a stroller, so they just went with it. When we exited an attraction, they would happily hop back into their strollers to head to the next area of the park.

They probably could have walked (except in the evening... they usually fall asleep between the bus and the room), since we only go to a park for 3-4 hours at a time and take a long afternoon break. But without the strollers, it would be a much different pace for DH, older DD, and I. We like to get to the parks at rope drop, and DH likes to walk very quickly when we have a specific destination in mind. (I'm usually "power walking" and weaving around people to keep up with him.) He's convinced that the kids will be old enough that we can ditch the strollers the next time we go, but he's really going to have to learn to slow down. I think we may bring strollers to use for some days when we want to hit certain attractions and leave them in the room the days we want to explore the parks at a more relaxing pace.

This May they were just over 5 and just under 3. We have two Maclaren Volos and they fit comfortably in them. A double park stroller would accomodate a larger kid, but they're very expensive to rent (depending on the length of your stay).

 

[tmarquez]

It's been my experience that it's not the walking that "tires" them out at that age. It's the standing in line and waiting.

We stopped bringing the stroller dor DD when she was 5. She was fine...as long as we used fastpass and kept the standing around doing nothing to a minimum. As soon as we got in a line that was more than 20 minutes, her legs started "hurting". Yet when we got back to the hotel her legs would be good for 3 hours of swimming.

So we've learned to really utilize fastpass and the morning hours for rides and save the rest for later on.

The biggest pain now is not having the stroller to lug around our "stuff".

 

[crisi]

When our kids were that age, we'd rent as needed. MK is easy without a stroller - its pretty compact and the stroller is parked much of the day. Epcot is a LOT harder. But still, kids often astound you with how much energy they have to get through Disney.

Another thing is to do a touring plan that keeps walking and standing to a minimum. Don't criscross the parks if you can help it. Do attractions in the order they are in front of you, even if that doesn't mean an ideal touring plan in terms of lines (although, I agree, that lines are bad, lines are where your kids notice they are tired - and have time to whine about it). Pace in some sitting attractions like shows. Avoid standing in lines. Have a fastpass runner in your group so the whole party isn't going for Fastpasses.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I'd bring it just in case. Leave it in your room or car, and after the first day, you'll know if you need it or not.

I say if the stroller accommodates the child, it's nice to have your own (Maclarens are great for this). Disney is a tiring vacation...lots of walking. Plus the strollers can hold some of mom and dad's stuff, too.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Thanks for the great advice!

I'll check out the MacLaren's. But the more I think about, if I follow some of your advice about minimizing walking, Epcot might be the only park we would really use a stroller (maybe just rent a Disney one there).

We spend a lot of time at Magic Kingdom -- and it is compact with lots of nice resting areas and WDS Railroad helps get around. Hollywood Studios didn't seem too bad and we would probably only go there 1 day next trip. Epcot would probably be just one day, and maybe another evening for dinner. At Animal Kingdom, we want to walk because there's lots to see.

Now that we have been to WDW twice, I think we can take a slower pace next trip without having to do everything. It would really be nice to have more down time at the resort to relax and swim.

We also liked starting the day early and coming back to the resort to relax before dinner. Some nights, we had dinner at one of the monorail resorts then just came back to the Polynesian to watch the MK fireworks from the beach. That was nice, and if we were tired, no big deal. It can be stressful staying out late at the parks with tired DS4... He was often too tired to enjoy anything.

Staying at the monorail resorts really helped to make it easy to come back to the resort when we wanted.... and Disney's discounted specials helped to make it affordable... hopefully Disney does the same discounts/free dining in 2010!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Start family walks a few months before your trip. We got our younger DD able to walk 3 miles when she was 3. Start out a mile or so a day, gradually work up to 3-4 miles. Consider it Disney conditioning for the entire family.

I wouldn't bring a stroller, but maybe budget to rent one for your Epcot day. Epcot is so spread out, your little guy may decide he wants the break. I think you'll be okay in the other parks, based on their size/layout and your touring style.

My youngest will be 5 on our next trip to WDW (not until 2011). I don't know what we'll do without a stroller, it's been since 1992! We do carry a backpack for our crap.

 

[Judy in Texas]

Read up on the Maclaren strollers before you buy one. There was a big recall recently because some kids had parts of their fingers cut off. I don't know the particulars.

 

[Cedarmom]

You know, I took everyone's advice here about bringing a stroller for our bigger kids (3.5 and 6.5) and ended up leaving the second stroller in the room (we took one for the baby as well so we did have one in the parks). The 3.5 yo only rarely rode, even at Epcot. He was just too excited to want to sit. I think he was probably only in it once or twice and those times were forced by us.

At age 5, I wouldn't bother w/ a stroller from home. I'd rent as needed. I did notice that by day 7 in the parks, the big kids were starting to slow down a bit, but they were still fine to walk for the most part. And while we did try to minimize walking in the parks (we took the train from Frontier land to the front of the park, did all of FutureWorld before hitting the WS, etc), we didn't do anything special to prepare them for all of the exercise. They were fine. We were, too, for that matter, and we aren't what you'd call exercise fanatics.

And now the 3yo wants to pick out smilies.

 

[nemofans]

We are bringing our stroller for the baby & will rent a disney stroller as needed for our 4.5 yr old. We will be taking afternoon breaks so we'll just see how he does.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Our son used his stroller for the last time when he was four. After that we moved at his pace and took breaks back at the resort to swim and nap. Rejuvenated all of us so that we were able to back to the parks later in the day and have fun. We never commando the parks. so we are sure to enjoy our visits.

When he was little and no longer using a stroller, when he got tired, we headed back to swim or nap.

 

[happymommy]

I agree that you will get advice that varies tremendously on this question. Many kids can walk a great deal, and parents don't bring or rent strollers.

From my experience, when my DD was 7 I still brought our lightweight fullsize one with us. It was very good and durable (Peg Perego). I had it since DS was born - it cost my about $350 and was worth every penny.

My DD tires easily. My DS has asthma and hypotonia (poor muscle tone) like a PP's child does. I found it was great to have, as I never knew if one would tire out. It really was helpful the last time I took it, as both my kids ended up getting sick - DD had a high fever one afternoon, and fell asleep in it. I was glad to have it, so I pushed her back to our room at the Dolphin (and called the clinic that sent a doctor to the room, which was great as she had strep throat, so needed antibiotics which they also brought!).

Yes, there were times that no one was in it, but I was glad to have it.

Even when she was 8, I rented one a couple of days, and she fell asleep in it.

For my kids, also not just the walking tired them out, but the whole trip I think.

Renting is expensive, so I personally would opt for bringing one for a 5 year old. My kids hadn't used one at home for many years, but we kept the stroller around for Disney! I'd rather have it in case, than need one and have to pay alot.

 

[Melrosgirl]

Read up on the Maclaren strollers before you buy one. There was a big recall recently because some kids had parts of their fingers cut off. I don't know the particulars.

Maclaren will send you a repair kit that goes over the hinges. (Not sure if the new ones are already fixed or not.) I only saw one other Maclaren at WDW last week that had the repair kit on it (besides mine).

 

[NMAmy]

Start family walks a few months before your trip. We got our younger DD able to walk 3 miles when she was 3. Start out a mile or so a day, gradually work up to 3-4 miles. Consider it Disney conditioning for the entire family.

I wouldn't bring a stroller, but maybe budget to rent one for your Epcot day. Epcot is so spread out, your little guy may decide he wants the break. I think you'll be okay in the other parks, based on their size/layout and your touring style.

My youngest will be 5 on our next trip to WDW (not until 2011). I don't know what we'll do without a stroller, it's been since 1992! We do carry a backpack for our crap.

This is what we did with dd--we took her the first time when she was 4. Frankly, it never even occurred to me to get her a stroller. I'm pretty sure she would have balked at riding in one, as well.

Just take it slow, rest and eat when anyone gets tired, and take a break at the resort. I always tried to remember that we didn't have to try to do EVERYTHING and, since we wanted dd to enjoy herself, then we'd vacation at her pace.

Soon enough, you'll all be older and your teenagers will be leaving you in the dust and you'll wish you could fit in the stroller. Okay, maybe that's just me.

 

[delmar411]

we're going stroller-free this coming spring and aside from the fact that my boys still sleep in the stroller when they are tired and my 5yr old likes it to escape from all the chaos, we feel it's just time. We're going to just take it at the youngest's pace (he'll be just turned 4) and follow his lead. If that means going back to hotel to swim instead of going on every ride then that's what we'll do. The commando touring will be put up on a shelf for the time being and maybe we'll get to take in a bit more of the magic if we're going at a 4yr old's speed.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Soon enough, you'll all be older and your teenagers will be leaving you in the dust and you'll wish you could fit in the stroller. Okay, maybe that's just me.

No, it's not just you! I think my older kids owe me, big time! Where's my stroller...

 

[learnhome]

My username picture says it all! My dd was 6 years old the last time we went to Disney (actually, 6 1/2) I bought a cheap ol' umbrella stroller from toys-r-us for about 15 bucks. At first, everyone was poo-pooing me for bringing the stroller, but it was a lifesaver! First, when she had the energy during the day to walk, it held our pal-mickey, bags and some snacks....then, in the evening when she was exhausted from walking, she was happily sitting in it!! And, because it was so cheap, I just left it at our hotel and didn't even bother bringing it back on the plane trip home! So, I would definitely bring a stroller! And, if you have two young ones, I would buy the clip so you can clip two cheap umbrella strollers together and instantly have a double stroller. You won't regret it!!!

Chrissy

 

[WantToGoNow]

I wasn't planning to take a stroller for dd5 two weeks ago (she has now turned 6) but I took one of our Mac Volos for my cousin's dd4. I am so glad I did because dd crashed on Wednesday and refused to walk another step. Had we not had the stroller, I would have had to pay the very high Disney prices for their rentals. She was way too big for it but squeezed her hiney in there and didn't complain at all. My cousin just squeezed her dd4 into the wheelchair holding her dd2 - their ds5 walked the entire 9 days and didn't complain one time.

Of course, dd's breakdown happened the same evening at MK that my ds passed out walking through Fantasyland - we were walking along and I heard "mom..." and down he went. I guess since it just came back to mind, I need to call his doctor and have him checked out.

 

[Hannathy]

They walk!!! Mine never used the stroller past 4 so I never had that problem. There was no way we were going to be bothered with a stroller for a child that was in school/kindergarten. Kids have much more energy than adults. A healthy child can run and play outside all day long in the summer so if I can walk at Disney so can they. We never had any trouble and we go morning till late at night. There's a lot of walking at Disney but there is also a lot of standing, sitting and riding.

If it is expected of them kids will do it, what other choice do they have if it is never suggested, there is no child who would even think of being in a stroller at 6 and up if the idea isn't given to them.