how old is too old for strollers? LOL

[liamandcaili]

Thanks for all your opinions.

Here is one more -- last year my son was 9 and there were times we got him a stroller. At MK, AK and Studios, he always walked, but the day we did Food and Wine at Epcot and walked around the World several times, we got him a stroller. We also would get one at night so he would have a place to sit for the parades. He is tall and thin (and involved in plenty of activities) so he looked a little funny scrunched up in the stroller, but he wasn't complaining. We won't get one for him this year at 10, but we will happily get one for my daughter who is about to turn 8. She is petite and very athletic, but she is pooped by the end of the day at Disney.

You should do whatever makes the trip the most enjoyable for your family.

 

[happy.family.of.6]

happy.family.of.6:

The strollers at WDW are like the ones at Denver or CMZOOs, You can get 3 in there if you have too (in a double). BUT they are expensive I would check allears on prices for the week to see if you want to rent or bring your own. ALSO I suggest packing some sort of decongestant pollen and hummidity can really do you in down there coming for our dry climate ( not so dry with all our storms recently right?)

DD has issue when ever we leave to go east.

Thank you for the hint! I was wondering about that. And, yea, where did our summer go???? It feels like Oct/Nov here!!

 

[happy.family.of.6]

If they are tired of walking and need a break, sit on a bench.

I agree with the majority of the other posters. 9 is wayyy to old for stroller. Were talking 4th graders here!!! Totally irks me to see a chubby older kid in a stroller with ice-cream dripping down thier chin. Gimme a break.

My son is 2 and he walked more than he rode in the stroller. Partly because it was his choice and partly because we wanted him to walk around! Its good for them!

I'm sorry you are able to feel that way about children. I know there are statistics for a reason, but it is totally uncalled for to make judements like that, as I am sure you do not know individual circumstances. I'm sure there is something that someone can find about your parenting or your children that irks them. No one is perfect, but they are still children.....and even though they are chubby, they just might be wonderful children. And, I have some of the tiniest, skinniest kids I have ever seen and all 4 of them wear slims and my one daughter is nothing but muscle-only 9 year old I have ever seen with a natural six pack-but I can promise you they will ALL get tired walking that much in one day from morning till night. Sitting in a stroller is not a sign of weakness. Period. I was only asking out of "do you think it would be worth the money or not" curiosity - NOT "what would people think of my children if....."

And thank you for all your help. We have settled on getting one double stroller. We will only be there for 4 days, and I want everyone to be comfortable (and as speedy as possible)

 

[portia9]

When we went our kids were 10,7,5 and 3.5 and only the 3yo used a stroller. We were there for 10 days so we did a lot of walking but the boys coped fine.

 

[kehlyrsmom]

Hi I am new to the site but not new to disney. We have an upcoming trip in Sept 5-12 it is the 4th year in a row for us as a family. My kids are 7 & 9 and I have always gotten them a stroller in the past and will plan on at least getting a double stroller this year for them to take turns in. Both of my kids are on the Autism spectrum as well as having sensory issues neither of them have the stamina that a typical 7 & 9 year old have. Also they both have a tendency to wander off. My daughter is not as slim as she used to be due to some meds she is on for her autism - but that is no fault of her own. I overheard several comments last year in regards to her riding in a stroller that upset me greatly.

Please think twice before you judge a family and make a comment as we might over hear you especially as you do not know the family's indivudal circumstances - neither of my children's issues can be seen on the outside. We have enough things to deal with in our daily lives and want to enjoy our vacation and we know our children best and what works for us. So far using the stroller has enabled us to have a magical vacation the last three years and we are looking forward to having another magical vacation in 13 days.

 

[turkeymama]

Hi I am new to the site but not new to disney. We have an upcoming trip in Sept 5-12 it is the 4th year in a row for us as a family. My kids are 7 & 9 and I have always gotten them a stroller in the past and will plan on at least getting a double stroller this year for them to take turns in. Both of my kids are on the Autism spectrum as well as having sensory issues neither of them have the stamina that a typical 7 & 9 year old have. Also they both have a tendency to wander off. My daughter is not as slim as she used to be due to some meds she is on for her autism - but that is no fault of her own. I overheard several comments last year in regards to her riding in a stroller that upset me greatly.

Please think twice before you judge a family and make a comment as we might over hear you especially as you do not know the family's indivudal circumstances - neither of my children's issues can be seen on the outside. We have enough things to deal with in our daily lives and want to enjoy our vacation and we know our children best and what works for us. So far using the stroller has enabled us to have a magical vacation the last three years and we are looking forward to having another magical vacation in 13 days.

Thank you for you well-thought out post. My 5 year old son is on the spectrum, is very tall, and has almost no stamina. He also tends to wander, especially when there is something pretty to look at (lots of pretties at WDW ). I agree with you that using the stroller has enabled us to really enjoy our trips on a level that would not have been possible without the stroller.

To the OP, it sounds like you have made your decision. I hope ya'll have a great time.

 

[CLR4321]

You will probably have trouble finding a stroller that will accommodate the 9 year olds to begin with. There are some that have a 75 lb weight limit, but you'd have to get 2 of them plus a double for your other 2 kids. If I were you, unless your 9 year olds have special needs, I would have them walk. If you think they won't be able to handle walking around a park all day, you could always stop and take breaks as needed.

 

[tjbaggott]

You will probably have trouble finding a stroller that will accommodate the 9 year olds to begin with. There are some that have a 75 lb weight limit, but you'd have to get 2 of them plus a double for your other 2 kids. If I were you, unless your 9 year olds have special needs, I would have them walk. If you think they won't be able to handle walking around a park all day, you could always stop and take breaks as needed.

I think she is talking about the stroller rentals in the Disney parks. Those are more like wagons or carts with a handle at the back, they are low to the ground and much bigger than your typical standard stroller. I think the double ones would be perfect for her 7 & 9 year olds.

 

[Lisa0620]

We went in June with our DS's 4 and 7. Because we were staying at an Epcot resort and I knew we would be doing a lot of walking to/from EP and DS we bought a new GRACO Ipo stroller just for the trip, rather than rent one. It was in the high nineties every day that we were there and by the last day both kids were exhausted, so I rented a single Disney stroller for DS7 and we pushed them both around the World Showcase. It was SO much easier to push my very tall 7 year in the Disney stroller than to push the younger one in the brand new Graco! We did get lots of disapproving looks about the 7 year old (who looks 9.) Oh well. Every kid is different. I probably wouldn't have rented a stroller for my older son if we had gone when he was 4, but I would rent one again for my younger son if we go when he's 5. He's the type that gets really S-L-O-W when he's tired. I would rather push him around and move at OUR pace. I recommend renting the Disney stroller for sure, they're expensive but worth it imo. Hauling a stroller through the resort and on/off the buses was a pain.

 

[DonnaBelle06]

My 9 1/2 yr old had to have a stroller last week due to him being sick the ENTIRE TIME we were at Disney. He was too weak to walk long periods of time. He's almost 54' tall and 60 lbs.

His sister is about 52" tall and closer to 100 lbs. - she fit in the stroller with ease and it pushed like a dream.

I say its not a bad idea..esp if you are doing a lot of walking.

 

[maxiesmom]

You will probably have trouble finding a stroller that will accommodate the 9 year olds to begin with. There are some that have a 75 lb weight limit, but you'd have to get 2 of them plus a double for your other 2 kids. If I were you, unless your 9 year olds have special needs, I would have them walk. If you think they won't be able to handle walking around a park all day, you could always stop and take breaks as needed.

Once again, it depends on the child.

I have two nieces. When one was 10 the other was 5, and they were both the same size! The older one was a twiggy little thing and the younger one was a robust girl! Right before our trip my sis had had the oldest to the doctor for her yearly check up. She had been complaining about leg pains, and the doctor said it was just growing pains. A normal thing, but it made walking thru Epcot not too much fun for her. So when she got worn out and her legs hurt too much, she just hopped in the stroller with her younger sister.

I think it is silly to state that by a certain age kids should all be able to walk around the theme parks. Every child is different. So every parent should make the choice that works best for their family, and not be so quick to judge what other parents do.