Ages of your kids for Stroller use?

What Age do people stop taking a stroller for their children?


  • Total voters
    53
I continued to use a stroller for my DS until he was almost 6. On a trip, two months shy of his 6th birthday, I had rented a stroller and he refused to use it and walked the entire time. There is no once-size-fits-all answer to this question. IMHO, if a stroller is useful for a family in order to navigate WDW, then they should use one.
 
Your ages are too high for me to vote.
The ages in this poll are way too high!
Your choices were too high for me to vote,
The ages are too high to vote on.

Ditto x4

DS's first 3 trips were at ages 1, 5, and 7.
  • On the first, we brought our own, familiar stroller.
  • On the second, we rented a Disney stroller on some of the days.
  • On the third, he didn't need one.
Now, I have no problem with a 6 or 7 year taking a quick turn in their younger sibling's place when the other kid wants a break out of the stroller, but I would certainly not bring one for them (unless it was a "stroller as a wheelchair" or other special needs situation).
 
I originally was imagining a 5 year old tied to your chest, facing you. This sounds like he's on your back. It still feels awkward to me, just knowing how independent my older child was at 5 years old.

I physically would not be able to do that. I could not even use those baby carriers because it pulled on my shoulders too much and was very uncomfortable for me. I am not sure I would want to use one of those at WDW either with the heat. 2 human's body heat next to each other does not sound like fun to me. I rather have them in the stroller so they can move around a bit. Plus taking them in and out of the carrier and stowing for every single ride sounds like a hassle.
 
At what age do people bring their strollers for their kids. My good friends our travelling down with three kids, two of them are young girls who definitely need a stroller. The other child is a ten year old boy and his parents believe that he can do the whole trip walking. I simply warned them of the amount of walking that occurs at WDW.
SO I ask everyone at what age do ya'll stop bringing a stroller for?? I know, I know every kid is different and different abilities but whats the mean age.

I could not vote in your poll because my answer was not included.
We took a trip when my youngest was about 18 months old and brought a stroller. Our next trip, he was almost 3, and we did not bring a stroller.

So my answer would be about 2/3 years old as the age we stop bringing a stroller.
 
At what age do people bring their strollers for their kids. My good friends our travelling down with three kids, two of them are young girls who definitely need a stroller. The other child is a ten year old boy and his parents believe that he can do the whole trip walking. I simply warned them of the amount of walking that occurs at WDW.
SO I ask everyone at what age do ya'll stop bringing a stroller for?? I know, I know every kid is different and different abilities but whats the mean age.
We took my oldest to Disney at just turned 5 and brought a stroller and used it rarely. We just took our youngest ones to Universal at age 6.5 and did not bring a stroller at all. We just pace out our days so they can walk. We don't do rope drop to park close daily, just not our pace. My children aren't particularly fit or out of shape, I would say about average.
 
I physically would not be able to do that. I could not even use those baby carriers because it pulled on my shoulders too much and was very uncomfortable for me. I am not sure I would want to use one of those at WDW either with the heat. 2 human's body heat next to each other does not sound like fun to me. I rather have them in the stroller so they can move around a bit. Plus taking them in and out of the carrier and stowing for every single ride sounds like a hassle.
There are a lot of differences among carriers and often small adjustments to a carrier can create a huge difference on how it feels on a person. I've been a babywearing educator off and on for many years and wish I could help everyone become comfortable!
We're going in February and live in the south as it is, so definitely not worried about over heating. It actually takes me about 10-15 seconds to get a toddler/preschooler in or out of a buckle carrier. I don't expect most Americans to wear their toddlers and preschoolers. I get it - it's still not the norm here.

I AM surprised that some don't expect an older typical functioning elementary kid to be able to walk Disney. I would expect some to need more breaks to rest than others, but the same can be said about adults too. I figured if we get to the point in the park where my two older kids can't go anymore even with breaks, we need to call our day done because we've pushed too hard.
 


I think the last time we used a stroller was 4. My daughter is 9 and would never be seen in a stroller. Yes it is a lot of walking, but think how much kids are active and play outside. We do lesson to the kids though when they need a break from walking. Stop on a bench or bricks and rest as needed. Yes it might take a little longer, but WDW without a stroller is AMAZING!!
 
My vote is 9-10.

Don't worry what anyone else does. They're your kids. I'm not worried what someone else thinks of whether or not I let me kids use a stroller at WDW.

They aren't even OP's kids, they are her friends and they don't think their 10 year old needs a stroller.

Question- do you bring a stroller for your 9/10 year olds because they need it or because you want the to need it?
 
They aren't even OP's kids, they are her friends and they don't think their 10 year old needs a stroller.

Question- do you bring a stroller for your 9/10 year olds because they need it or because you want them to need it?

Yes, I know they weren't OPs kids. I was speaking broadly.

My kids are now 15 and 13 year old twins, so the only stroller we have now is for carrying our giant food bag. However, to answer your question for when they were that age, neither. WDW is huge, our summer trips are really long. We preferred them not to wear out just because of walking. DW and I are exercise fanatics, so we liked the exercise it gave us. They were happy with it, we were happy with it. Win/win
 
For my kids, your choices are way too high. Even the one who was more laid back and more willing to just be pushed along in life gave up on strollers in any situation earlier than your options. (I think around 5-ish, perhaps? I recall kindergarten being the last time we even bothered to bring along a stroller for them---and that was mainly a "just in case" situation.) And my younger one----he pretty much gave up on strollers when he learned to walk! ;)

Now, that's not to say that other kids might like them longer. I recall one of my siblings trying to take over the stroller of whoever was the youngest in our family until the stroller (which were all sad little umbrella strollers at the time) simply couldn't hold her anymore. 😄 She was probably 8 or so, I'd guess.

And for certain children with special needs might require some sort of stroller for much longer.

But I think a lot of kids reach a point where being in the stroller simply isn't fun, no matter how exhausting the parks can be. That's why oodles of people suggest building "quiet-spot" breaks, midday resort pool recharging time, or even actual naps into your Disney plans. :)
 
We used a stroller at just shy of 3 and 5. At 8 and 10 they were great, no issues at all other than needing some breaks (as did I!). The 8 year old did better than the 10 year old. Our next trip will include little brother and he will be 5 1/2. I don't plan on using a stroller really but may bring one in case we need it here and there (especially walking around WS at Epcot).
I don't think there's one right answer to this but I can't imagine my kids willingly getting into a stroller after age 5 or so, even at Disney, but none of them are really stroller kids. They were all pretty much done with them in all but scenarios but super long days at around 2 (in part because I'd rather have them walk and tire themselves out!). I don't really care what other families do but I can't imagine trying to talk someone into bringing a stroller for a 10 year old. My daughter is 10 and in middle school!
 
What I am planning to do with my 5YO and almost 3YO is to bring a stroller to help navigate rope drop crowds and park exits crowds (without being scared that my kids will not be able to hold my hand because they get pushed by someone), then we will park it somewhere strategic (ex.: Fantasyland in MK, entry of TSL in HS, Land pavillon in Epcot Future World...) and have them walk between attractions.
I think it will be useful when they are exhausted at the end of the day or around nap time, as a "crowd control" strategy, as a holder for our stuff (shirts, snacks, water bottles etc) or even for the kids to have a bench to sit on while waiting for fireworks, parades, etc.
When we went last year my non-napping son fell asleep in the stroller while we were leaving the park - we were in shock! But I think Disney is so stimulating that it's nice to have the option!
 
Last August I had a double wide umbrella, with kids age 6 4 and 1.5. The 6 yo used it a little bit, but not much. We'll see again when she's 7.
 
We stopped at about 7 and were only using it for AK, Epcot and evenings.
 
We brought a stroller when my youngest was 6 and that was only for my own fear of being without it. Realistically the kids would have been fine without it after about age 4.
 
Let me start with I am VERY PRO-STROLLER at Disney. My kids do sports, etc. but it's vacation and they aren't weaving in people and i know where they are in a stroller. Especially when it gets dark.

10? Unless this child is in the 5th percentile, how would anyone even find a standard one that they can fit in. We did a double with kids 1 and 5 and it was a stroller/storage area. When the 5yo did sit in it (we rented from Magic or something) the stroller was clearly struggling, and it was hard to push. I'm 100% certain she was over the listed weight. My oldest DD JUST turned 8 and is 4'7" and 78 lbs. I think She's the tallest in her grade at school of over 100 kids, but she couldn't fit into a stroller if she tried.

Maybe you should clarify touring style with these friends, you may differ.
 
I think it's simple. If your kid can fit easily and it's not a massive burden to someone to push then go for it.
 
6. We stopped bringing one for my daughter right after she turned 6. She's kind of lazy in normal life but did great and rarely ever complained. I have zero desire to push around larger/heavier kids, I'd rather rest when they need to rest.
 

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