What age no stroller

[Kimberly9701]

I should add that the stroller parking areas are great.. You can leave them there for a few hours. So your child still gets to walk around a lot. Just not from 7am-12am. My son will be 6 in April, and I will prob rent a stroller for our upcoming trip as well. I guess it also depends on you FP selections. We were seriously running from space mountain to big thunder railroad to mine train etc etc the 3 days we did MK. And then all of our dining reservations in between. Good luck and have fun!!

 

[beck00]

It depends on the child. My oldest (8) gets exhausted really easy, my 5YO can go all day long.

THIS!!! My 7-year-old used it a lot each day, my 3-year-old wanted to walk most of the time. We are go, go, go in the parks, so I knew there would be times they would rather ride along then me rushing them. They also napped in the strollers, so we skipped afternoon resort rests most days, and park-hopped more this time.

 

[caroline1851]

When my daughter was 2 (almost 3), she didn't want one and never used one. We returned when she had just turned 5 and she wanted one every day.

 

[lizzyb]

The last time we took one to the park my youngest was 4

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

First trip my boys were 5 and 7 and would have been MORTIFIED to be in a stroller. And for older kids it's usually more about the parents than the kids. I'd rather go at their pace, take breaks when needed, see what they want to see. Some favorite memories are walking hand in hand with the little one, pointing out things as he discovered them. Would have missed that if I was just pushing him along in a stroller.

 

[DisneyOma]

Only time we used a stroller was when the youngest was 2. The 5 year old got tired, but then we rested.

 

[jacksonsmom]

last time my son used one was 3.5 yrs old. After that age if he got tired that was time to take a snack break. We would go grab a snack somewhere and just rest for a bit. It worked for us and we loved not having to deal with a stroller.

 

[anniemae]

4.

We brought a small umbrella type stroller when DS was 5. We used it for a long touring day at Epcot. We decided to leave it in the room on our AK day just to see how we would do and DS was fine. We left it in the room for the rest of the trip, but it was nice to have if we needed it.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

I should add that the stroller parking areas are great.. You can leave them there for a few hours. So your child still gets to walk around a lot. Just not from 7am-12am. My son will be 6 in April, and I will prob rent a stroller for our upcoming trip as well. I guess it also depends on you FP selections. We were seriously running from space mountain to big thunder railroad to mine train etc etc the 3 days we did MK. And then all of our dining reservations in between. Good luck and have fun!!

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!

 

[piccolopat]

A lot depends on the child's physical fitness and how fast you go through the parks. My DH is 6'2" and I am 5'4". My fitbit said I took almost 30% more steps than his because if our height differences. If he didn't slow down for me I couldn't keep up. Consider the height of your child as well. I like the suggestion from others to use a stroller between lands only. Kids in general need more activity these days even if you have to slow down. I didn't have a stroller for DD past age 5 but we went once a year off season and adjusted our pace.

 

[msmama]

My son was 5 the last time he used a stroller at WDW (just turned 5, it was his bday trip).

For him, more so than for transportation, he needed it that long as a place to decompress. We had a citi-mini with a large sunshade that he could pull over himself to "get away from it all." He had some sensory issues (most of which he's grown out of) and the stroller allowed us to stay in the parks longer than he could've handled otherwise at that age.

At age 6, he got sick at Disneyland (not really sick, just slightly under the weather and kind of "blah"). I offered to rent him a stroller for the day and he said NO WAY and insisted he was way to old for a stroller.

 

[Mac30188]

I wonder if both amount of items brought to park and parents fitness is a huge factor.

This November is the first time I will have been since daughter was born. We are unsure, but probably will rent a stroller. The truth is the stroller is certainly more for my benefit than hers. I am sure she will walk most of the time and when she finally hits the wall, if there is no stroller, she will ask for mom or dad to carry her. This will be significantly more challenging if I am out of shape and carrying 20 extra pounds of gear. On the other hand, if I have a stroller, I maybe inclined to bring a couple more extra items that I wouldn't want to carry but would be quite happy to have them sit in the bottom of the stroller in case I need it. Therefore it is not just the child but the complicated evaluation of how long am I going, how much crap am I bringing with me to park, how long am I staying each day, the size of the child, and did I get myself in good shape before we left.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

It depends on your child and your touring style. We are rope drop to fireworks, go all day people. The last year we used one was when my DD was just turned 7. We didn't bring our own, and only used one a couple of days near the end of the trip that year. DD is a competitive athlete and was training about 10 hours a week at that point, but we averages 8 miles a day in Disney over a 12+ hour park day and by day 6 of that she needed it in the evenings. If you take afternoon breaks and take it easy your kid might be done with strollers much earlier.

 

[maarowak]

Not only that depends on your child's age, that depends on their activity level and when you are going, too. And the most important, if they like the idea of using a stroller.

Maybe before the trip, if they are not used with exercise and don't have a lot of stamina, take them on walks, getting a little longer everyday. It helps to build stamina for Disney-level walking (-:

 

[SnipsNSnails]

Last year at Universal my boys were 5 & 8 and we took one stroller. That was the right choice, my 5 yo rode in it a lot. I thought my 8 yo might take a turn but he did not. That was only 2 days in the parks. We leave for WDW in about 7 weeks and we are going to bring one again. This is a 9 days trip so I think my 6 yo will still want it sometimes, especially in the evenings. I have a feeling if we don't take it he will ask my DH to carry him, and though he's small for his age, 50 lb. is a lot to carry around if they are both tired! We have a Chicco Echo. It has a nice basket and sunshade, tall handles for my tall DH, reclines, and folds like an umbrella stroller. My 9 yo is also small for his age and can also still sit comfortably in it if need be, though I wouldn't anticipate him wanting to.

 

[goofy4tink]

Our first trip to WDW was back in '99, dd turned 6 during that trip. Now, granted, she was a tall kid for her age. But, she had no interest in being in a stroller! If I remember correctly, she told me, in no uncertain terms, that strollers are for babies, at the age of 4!! She was a fairly active kid at home, so we figured she could manage the parks. And she did. When she got pooped, we stopped and relaxed. Got a bite to eat, found a show to head to. I truly believe that if she had been in a stroller, she wouldn't have been nearly as ready to go to bed when we put her down. No, we didn't see and do everything. And that was 'supposed' to be our trip of a lifetime. She has now been to WDW many, many times!!!

It's up to each family to decide, for themselves, how they want to handle the 'great stroller issue'! An active child shouldn't have a big issue keeping up, as long as the parents aren't running to and fro.

 

[Donnainnj]

I have tall kids. We usually take 8-10 night trips. We pretty much stopped when they turned 6. For the little guy's first trip after turning 6 he complained a little on day 7 or 8 so we rented a stroller for EPCOT.

 

[cdnjason]

Our youngest is 3. We've never used a stroller. We simply walk the park at her pace. After all, vacation is about enjoyment. We see no need to rush from one attraction to the next.

 

[DisneyCAL]

We did stellar with our twins at 2.5 years, but they rarely wanted to use them. Next trip at 5, we did without. We spent the summer walking at the HS track or around our neighborhood to get them more used to walking long distances, and they did better than DH and MIL. Plus who wants to deal with them at the turnstiles, monorail, buses, or finding a place to park them?....

 

[GillianP1301]

Obviously this is dependent on the child and your personal choice. My personal experience was at 4 and 5, stroller was very handy. At 6, we had one, but it barely got used and in hindsight, we would've been fine without it. At 7, no stroller and no issues with fatigue at all and many days he was good to go for a log longer than my feet were.