What age no stroller

[JennaDeeDooDah]

We used a stroller when my daughter was 2 and 3, but all trips after that she just walked with us. She has absolutely no interest in riding in a stroller. Her cousin, though, who is the same age, still uses a stroller at 5. It's how she is most comfortable. Do what works for your kids. My daughter is usually pretty good about telling us when we are going too fast for her or when she would like to take a break either by just sitting for a minute, grabbing a drink and taking a break, or even going back to the resort. If she wasn't vocal about that and was more likely to just start getting cranky, we'd likely still have a stroller. Kids are different. Do what you think will work best for you and your family.

 

[Babydreamz]

My oldest (4) no longer uses a stroller at home, but we brought a double stroller (younger is 15 months) in December and while most of the day she walked she did like having the option to sit down. She even napped in the afternoon for a bit. Depends on the kid and if you plan for breaks and such.

You could always rent one at the parks if they get tired and want to sit.

 

[DVC-Don]

First trip without strollers was back in January 1998 and our daughter was 6, son was 7.

 

[Laura353741]

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

 

[mshanson3121]

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

So hard to say. Honestly, I could see the 5 year old still needing one.

 

[minnie mum]

I will agree that it depends on the child. Neither of my kids ever used a stroller at WDW ( they started going when the were 4/5). But it can also depend on your touring style. While we rarely did mid day breaks in those days, we weren't running from ride to ride to ride all day either. If someone needed a break, we took one. We'd grab a snack or a drink and find somewhere to sit and relax for a bit. Of course, this was back in the days when you could actually find a park bench.

 

[DSLRuser]

we kicked our kids out of the stroller at age 3. it was a right of passage.

 

[LSUfan4444]

We used ours up until our daughter had just turned 5.

 

[bumbershoot]

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

We only used a stroller for Disney (aside from the jogger we used for my jogging), and we used the Disney stroller (ranged from Disney rentals to this one thing that didn't last long and ended in a Volo umbrella stroller) as late as our trips to disneyLAND when DS was 5.

I didn't know how he would do at WDW at 6.5 so we brought the Volo and let him decide. It never even got opened and it jut sat there the whole trip.

That's our experience. No physical issues, no stroller use everywhere at home, and he was done at 6.

Should mention that during our last DL trip when he was 5 he/we only needed it at night. I was still letting the family convince us to do breaks and he was wiped out after those and got very whiny. I *could* carry him but didn't love to do so. Kid was and is tall and I'm not.

We also aren't good at slowing down to kid pace.

Ok I'm not good at slowing down to kid/husband pace. If I had been, the stroller might not have been needed by anyone at 5.

 

[Funfire240]

I agree with depends on the child. When DD was 5 we had a stroller for her but she barely used it except late at night so the next year we had one stroller for DS4 and DD6. DS used it during the day and even would take a short nap which worked good because then he was fired up late at night when DD would crash in the stroller for the ride back. There were a couple times during the day she was tired but refused to sit in the "baby chair" as she called it, until she was half asleep at night. This past trip, they were 7 and 5 and we didn't take any strollers. We went at their pace and when they were tired we would take breaks. We had some whining later at night but we were there in November this time so we weren't out as late as we had been in our past July trips. I enjoyed not having to deal with the stroller.

 

[wdw71]

My kids were I'm pretty sure 7 and 4 the last trip we used a stroller. The 7 year old didn't start out her day in it but a few times chose to ride. My 4yo loved the "new to him (rented) stroller" and wanted to ride all day in it. I loved having them in the stroller just to be able to keep an eye on them. I couldn't imagine having to constantly eagle eye my 3 or 4yo ALL DAY LONG in huge crowds of people. I would have been exhausted. I knew where they were when they were in that stroller and I could look around worry free. Plus IMO until the kids are old enough for their little legs to keep up with longer adult legs it just makes traveling through the parks so much easier. I just hate it when I see adults practically dragging small children by the hand walking way faster than their little legs can go.
That being said, our last trip was completely stroller free and I loved it. Walking without pushing something in from of you is priceless. But ultimately its up to you. Ya know- if you decide to go without it then realize you could use one you can always just go rent one in the parks or call up an outside vendor to rent one.

 

[JoeyEmmaMomma]

My daughter just turned 6 and we will still be using one this year. She is a wimp when she gets tired, so it's worth it for us. We have a double she shares with our 2 year old.
This is probably the last year for her though. I know at 7 my older son was walking.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We just got back and rented one from Kingdom strollers, the mini GT, for our 4 year old. The bigger size with a nice big canopy was perfect for him to relax in while waiting for a parade, show or character meet. And it was much more maneuverable than our cheap umbrella stroller we took last trip. We used the little soft cooler included in the rental to hold chilled bottled water for our park days and just parked it when we didn't need it. It worked out great, and with delivery and pickup right at the hotel we didn't have to deal with the stroller at the airport or wait until we got to the parks to rent one of the hard plastic Disney ones. This was especially great on early RD mornings and at the end of the night if your room is faaarrr from the hotel's bus stop as ours was. He even fell asleep in it one night. Next trip he will be 6 and our new LO will need a stroller, so we will probably bring our big one from home and I might get one of those little standing platform ride on things for older DS if we really need to hustle to an ADR.

 

[shm_helene]

Also think about when you are going. We went in July with really high heat indexes, my oldest had just turned 5 and youngest was days before she turned 3. They were a pain, but in the heat I can't imagine them being able to handle. We did occasionally "park" them and get them later, or if we were doinga short trip (evening or EMH) we wouldn't take them. FYI, we don't use a stroller at home for the older one, and rarely for the younger one. It is also good for carrying things (especially water, which kills my shoulders). Good luck and have fun

 

[ktlm]

DD gave up the stroller entirely at 12 months after taking her first step (no way no how would she ride in it no matter how much walking was involved), except for at WDW or DL. At 2, the minute she realized how big WDW was and that it got her places faster, she happily jumped in the stroller. We have gone to WDW every year since then. At age 5, we brought the stroller just in case, and wound up still using it quite a bit. We figured it would sit in the room, or be parked the whole time, but that did not happen. At age 6, we went without it and we do open to close days so there was a little complaining and tiredness towards the end of the week as she did not quite have the stamina yet. At age 7, she happily did the parks open to close for a week with no complaints. I would still have one for the 5 year old just in case- you might find you use it a lot more than you expected.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

In Nov I rented a double stroller at the parks for DS 5 &9. I ended up buying an umbrella stroller on site for DS5 since we would leave the parks late and he was HEAVY carrying from the parks to resort.

 

[Lisa R]

Totally depends on the child. We only used it one time with my daughter at 3 1/2 for the parade and Halloween party only. She always has had more energy than us We never used it after that and we go almost every year. Also - it depends on your touring style. If you can slow down and take breaks (which I find it preferable for both the very old and the very young) then you wouldn't need one. If you have a "commando" touring style that never lets up - you would need one at least for the younger one or you'll be miserable.

 

[pixarmom]

Agree with all who say it depends on the child. Our older boys used the stroller at Disney up to age 3. Our youngest son has disability-related issues and the stroller was necessary up to age 7 (and maybe once or twice in World Showcase at age 8) for sensory reasons. He's super tiny and some still guess he's like 5 years old, so he still fit in the Disney stroller very easily.

Also, I've noticed the stroller is far more necessary when traveling with multiple kids who move at different paces. When I went with our youngest alone (he was four years old at the time) we didn't need one because I was fine going at his pace or finding a spot for a sensory break. With multiple kids, more compromise is necessary, so that's where the stroller might come in.

The great thing about Disney is that the stroller rental is there if you need it. In the ending stages of our stroller use, our youngest would go most of the day without it and then knew that it would be available later if he needed it. From age four and up, we didn't bring a stroller, just rented one as needed.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I totally depends on your child and you. My DD will be 7 when we visit next and I'll still be renting a stroller from an offsite company. We normally tour the parks for 8 full days. When she's tired she falls asleep and I am unable to carry her for long distances. A stroller still works perfectly for us.

 

[supertinyluckycat]

I would bring it. I plan to bring one for my DD who will be 4.5 on our next trip. You can always park it somewhere for the day if you don't need it. I hate carrying things so I love to be able to put my stuff in the stroller. Snacks, drinks, etc