Big Kid in a stroller (please don't flame me!)

It sounds like you have made up your mind already....

But I just wanted to say that we just did our first WDW w/o a stroller and it was great. My DD was six and she never complained about walking at Disney. She wasn't too dependent on the stroller though in prior trips.... so my experience may not mirror yours. When she was tired out, it just meant that it was either time for a break or time for the day to end. I actually think it was great because it forced my husband and I not to over do it. It was nice not dealing with stroller parking, navigating a stroller through crowds, and/or folding up the stroller.

Our family carries one backpack with our stuff and we take turns carrying it. So we didn't 'need' the stroller for storage.
 
Every family is different. For us, while it is helpful to have a place to store stuff, we really don't bring that much. We had a stroller on our last trip because DS was just shy of 2. He napped in it which was convenient because we didn't have to leave the parks for breaks and he wouldn't have napped at the hotel anyway had we done so. Also, at that age, kids are so small (can get lost or knocked over easy in a crowd) and don't understand not to run off. We had a small crossbody backpack with diapers, wipes, extra clothes, and snacks which was on our person at all times (since you never know when you might need it and the stroller isnt with you) and it didn't weigh much. We had a second bag under the stroller with DD7's autograph book and markers and some glowsticks. Any large souvenirs we wanted we waited until the end of the night to buy or had them sent (for free) to our hotel.

DD7 never once complained about being tired or sat in the stroller. We took breaks for meals and snacks and tried to alternate sit down shows with rides and it worked great. For us, we find that if she gets to the point of whining or complaining (anywhere), its time to leave. If she asks to take a break, that's totally fine, but if it gets to the point of complaining, then it's time to leave and relax at the hotel. She never got to that point on the trip. We spent on average 10 hours in the parks on the days we went and alternated between parks and water parks/pool for 12 nights. We never lost her in the crowd. When it was really crowded (mostly when trying to leave the parks), she held one of our hands or grabbed onto the stroller.

Our next trip will likely be right before DS turns 4 and DD will be 9 and I highly doubt we will use a stroller. By that point, we won't need to carry diapers/wipes, so really we will only have to bring one small bag with autograph book and markers, and a couple snacks. We could carry a couple water bottles too if needed, but we generally just get the free water at QS or an occasional slushie or something and it's not that big of a deal to carry it for 5-10 mins while we drink it, or sit and rest while we drink it. Like I mentioned before, with souvenirs, we can have them sent to the hotel or wait until right before we leave to buy them.

I'm looking forward to not needing the stroller because it's so much easier (for me anyway) to navigate the parks without the added physical space that a stroller takes up. It's far easier (again, in my opinion) to get through crowds when not lugging a huge stroller. We won't have to unload and fold it and hold on to it on the bus, or search for where the CMs moved it in stroller parking, or worry about bringing the rain cover and covering/uncovering it in the rainy afternoons and lugging around a wet rain cover. We will also get to experience the parks more from DS's perspective as he can walk around holding our hand and get excited by all the little things that are often lower to the ground that adults tend to overlook. On our last trip, we ditched the stroller several times in stroller parking and let him explore walking the parks with us. It was magical seeing the things he got excited about.
Obviously, with an older kid, they probably aren't going to get excited about some of those little things, but it is a special aspect of the trips for us.

At almost 4, DS will be completely potty trained so we won't need to carry those extra items. He will be old enough to understand not to run off and he's a shy kid anyway so frankly he stays rather glued to me anywhere we go. DD at that age no longer needed naps, and DS at 2 currently doesn't take them, but if he needs them on the trip, we will hit a show and he can sleep in my arms or if absolutely needed, we will go back to the resort for a break. My kids have far more energy and stamina than I do and can out walk me anywhere we go, so I don't forsee having to carry him except for my own convenience of not having him knocked over at the end of the night by people twice his height who can't see him. DD at 7 was 48" and while still shorter than adults, could still be seen so as not to get trampled. I don't think I have physically carried her anywhere since she was under 5.

The only reasons for me personally to need a stroller are 1) Someone who can't walk due to age or medical reason, 2) Toddler/ small child who naps, 3) Someone too short who other guests might not see walking, 4) Someone who doesn't understand not to run off, 5) Stroller space for carrying things. For us on the next trip, none of those will really apply. There's also the suggestion that kids have short legs/ get worn out, but for us, those are the times for shows and snacks and meals as mentioned above. For my kids, by the time they're too exhausted to walk, they're usually too exhausted all around to really handle much more of anything, so if a break doesn't cut it, then it's time to go. I'm sure DD would love to sit in the stroller and be pushed around (I would too!) but she knows that if she wants to be at the park, she has to walk. She gets worn out, as we all do, but understands that it's part of the experience if she wants to be in the park.

For me, if I was pushing a 50 lb kid in a stroller, I would get worn out so much sooner and need to cut the day short, which would mean having to leave early when she'd still be full of energy. That would leave her disappointed and too full of energy to want to rest back at the hotel which wouldn't be fun for anyone.

That's how we view things and what works for us. Not everyone will have the same opinion and different things work for different people. I just wanted to share an alternate perspective on the subject.
 
You know what's funny? Is that I LIKE pushing her around for exercise reasons. I know that sounds nuts, but I eat so much junk at Disney, while I'm pushing her around I'm literally like, YEAH GET IT GIRL. Like I'm pushing a Crossfit tire up a hill. LOL!!
Yeah, I'm into fitness so there's that.

After everyone's advice and opinions, I'm definitely bringing the stroller. I definitely plan on parking it in certain areas and just walking, because I'll admit I do find it to be a pain zigzagging around to get the stroller when I could just enjoy walking attraction filled nooks.

Plus, I don't want to carry around a backpack. I like leaving everything in the stroller.

And finally, I'd rather my DD have the energy to stay up late and enjoy the evening hours. I really don't want her to be cranky or fall asleep to early. We are both night people.

Thank you everyone, for making me feel so much better! I feel like I've seen so many people on this board complain about strollers (and they are annoying, I'll admit) and big kids in strollers and why are they in them, they can walk, blah blah blah. Strollers are the BOMB!!!
 
We took ds when he was six and I never thought about a stroller. That was 12 years ago, but you have to do what is best for you and your family. Go have fun!!
 
I'm so glad I'm a grandparent now and no longer give a rat's behind what anyone else thinks of anything I do. :)

We always rent a stroller for the grandchildren, who were 9 and six last time we went. They both hop in and out as they want to, and I don't care. If we get any "looks," I sure never notice. I'm too busy having a great time.

That being said, when my kids were young, it never even crossed my mind to put my 4 year old in a stroller. It would have come in handy to carry around other junk as well. I just didn't think of it. Thankfully, I got older and smarter.
 
I say don't take it and rent on if she really complains. That's what we did when DD was 5 and she never complained once. We did RD, midday breaks at the pool and our PM park. For a whole week and never needed a stroller once. But we went in with the mindset of if she needed one we would rent one.

If my kid still needed a stroller at 7 we wouldn't have been going to WDW. I'm one of those people that hates carrying or pushing things. I love going to the parks bag less. When we did our first stroller free and bag less trip I had so much energy. I didn't realize how much energy you drain pushing dead weight in strollers. We don't carry much of anything around the parks. When we buy stuff we have it shipped to the room. We take midday breaks so we never feel like we need to take a bunch of stuff into the parks.

Next trip I may have to take a small bag in for our portable chargers and maybe a sweater. But that'll be it.
 
We stopped using a stroller at 5 years old. It was great not having to deal with it and frankly, my girls refused to ride in one once they started school because they said a stroller was for babies. We just built in breaks throughout the day(which is a good idea for everyone) and never had any issues with them being too tired to walk, even at the end of the night. We travel with a minimum of things, we never bring a bag in and have never needed anything that could not fit in our pockets.
 


I have triplets. We stopped using strollers two trips ago, so they were 6 the last time we used strollers. At 7 and 8 they walked.

Our son is a big kid so we rented a disney double for him and the girls shared a double. I loved strollers simply for the ability to use them to push stuff around. The last two years I carried a giant backpack with water bottles, sweatshirts (the girls get cold in restaurants), sunblock, etc.

We were really concerned that the trips would be somehow worse once the kids had to walk on their own, but it wound up being totally problem free. We spent entire days at Epcot (walking the entire world showcase), AK and DHS and they were great. We live in NYC so they are used to walking a lot, which I think helped (that also applies to adults). I think it's harder for less active or people who live in areas where they need to drive everywhere to transition to long walking days at WDW parks. The kids actually seemed happier to be able to walk around and do their own thing to a degree once we ditched the strollers.

Every family and kid is different though and you should just do what works best and what you think would make the trip most enjoyable. But I do think this is an appropriate age to transition into more walking and having the stroller as a backup option for when she gets tired.
 
The City Jogger strollers fit up to 65lbs. We use this for our DS who has ASD.
 
I will be pushing my 8.5 and 6 year old daughters around in a City Mini GT double stroller this June, with no shame at all!

They certainly aren't going to complain about it (they are small enough not to be crowded in there), and our younger will surely fall asleep in the stroller at the end of very long park days, and frankly we can cover more ground without having to wait up for them!

This probably will be our last trip with a double stroller, though.
 
Our last trip with a stroller was when the girls were age 7 and 4. I knew the 4-year old needed a stroller and the 7 year old would have complained unceasingly to see her sister ride while she walked. So we loaded up the old double stroller and took it to Disneyland. We didn't use it a lot. Mostly we parked it for large parts of the day in the parks. I was very glad to have it, however, when we walked back to our off-site hotel at night. Neither of the two adults was physically able to carry either one of the girls due to medical issues. By the end of the trip, the stroller was toast and never used again. On our next trip 18 months later, both girls walked the entire time.
 
Honestly, I think the answer to this question is totally dependent on the touring preferences of the family plus the willingness/ability to carry tired kids. Some families return to the resort for afternoon naps or are willing to leave the parks when the kids get weary. No need for stroller. Others are rope drop to park close . Need for stroller. Some are able to carry tired kids on their shoulders when needed. No need for stroller. Others can't due to medical issues. Need for stroller. Some families like to take lots of items and food with them into the parks. Need for stroller to carry stuff. Others travel very lights and carry no bags. No need for stroller. There is not one size fits all answer to this question.
 
2 1/2. That was the only time we had a stroller with us. We don't haul in tons of crap, so no need to have a place to put it all. And it's downright fun to walk by people stuck with dealing with strollers to get in the show/on the bus before them.

My kids always had the endurance to last a full day at WDW, but I understand kids aren't that fit anymore, for the most part. If it makes you get more time in the parks, go for it.
 
My 6 1/2 year old will not be using a stroller for our trip this August. I'm open to renting one for the day at Epcot or AK, but we aren't hauling one from CA and we aren't renting one for the week from one of those companies. She does the SD Zoo, Legoland, and Disneyland all fine without a stroller. Yes, she is tired by the end of the day, but we all are. Knowing my DH we'll be taking a lot of breaks so I think it will be fine. We aren't rope drop to close people anyway.

I've done Disneyland both with a stroller and without and while it's nice to have a place to store your water bottle, it's even better being free from the stroller. I would HATE loading a bus from the resort with a stroller.
 
We still have a gear stroller. Since we pack our own food, the bag is extremely large and can get heavy. Instead of carrying it around, we stick it in the seat of the stroller. Works fantastic!

Would you mind giving some details how you manage this? We will be 4 adults and 2 kids. Just bringing 3 bottles/cans/juice boxes per person add up. Plus a few "this snack will tide you over" items. Not full meals. And this adds up to a good size cooler.

Do you have unpack the bag for security?
 
I'm not flaming you but you asked so here goes... I know I won't be popular but I refuse to take a stroller for a six year old. Unless they have a medical condition there is no reason a child of 6 can't walk. If it's just the two of you why not tour at her speed? We discovered years ago that traveling with kids slows down the whole process, yes you may not be able to cover as much ground as usual but so what? I've never understood why people feel they have to see everything for a successful trip. I never cared what people thought so this has no bearing on our decision to travel with a stroller. We carry minimum into the park so we really don't need a transport vehicle to haul our stuff. Enjoy your trip. One on one trips are so special.
 
No flames here at all!

Our dd is 9 now and has no issues with keeping up in the parks; therefore, we no longer use a stroller for her.

With that being said, we did use one until she was around 6 and would have continued if needed beyond that. Dd is big/tall for her age too, so we rented a double just for her as she was over the height and weight limit on most strollers and we no longer used one at home and didn’t see the point in buying one just for the trip. My in-laws joined us in September 2014 with our 2 nephews, age 4 and 7 at the time, and dd was 6 (our last stroller trip). My in-laws opted out of a stroller because our nephews were “too old and could walk” and I was given judgemental looks by the both of them for using a stroller for our 6 year old. Mid-day on the first park day, when it hit 95°, the boys were lagging behind and wanting to rest. They ended up taking turns with dd in the double stroller quite often from that day forward; however, each of them really needed a place to rest realistically. The in-laws still resisted renting one for the entire trip even after we offered to pay the cost. They ended up leaving a day earlier than planned and didn’t get much park time in.

Kids get tired. I get tired and would probably not hesitate a ride in one at the end of the day if I would fit and dh would agree to push me. Do what works for you and your family. Period.
 
I feel a little silly bringing a stroller for my younger kids at age 6 and 8, but they're only about 45 and 55 pounds, so they fit in our old single stroller. I KNOW they aren't going to be ok walking all day and I KNOW that at one point one of them will probably fall asleep when we sit down to rest.

Even if it's just to get them out of the park at the end of the day, it's worth not having to carry 45 pounds of sleeping child, especially one that's wearing a slippery princess dress.
 
We rented a stroller from an off site company when we went in 2015. DD was 6.5 at the time. She hardly used it. Our pace may be slower than some as I have CP and don't go as fast as most people but my stamina is fine. I walk daily as does DD in addition to competitive swimming and dance. We went again in March 2017 and she never asked for one or for daddy to carry her. As for our stuff. I bring a backpack with good straps and we share carrying it.
 
2 1/2. That was the only time we had a stroller with us. We don't haul in tons of crap, so no need to have a place to put it all. And it's downright fun to walk by people stuck with dealing with strollers to get in the show/on the bus before them.

My kids always had the endurance to last a full day at WDW, but I understand kids aren't that fit anymore, for the most part. If it makes you get more time in the parks, go for it.

:rolleyes2 Such passive aggressive nonsense...all of it. That's not a lot different than someone saying "It's downright fun to ram my stroller into rude guests who try to step in front of us as we're getting on a bus or into a show". And you do realize that for the shows, you park the stroller long before the entrance area anyway, right??

Would you mind giving some details how you manage this? We will be 4 adults and 2 kids. Just bringing 3 bottles/cans/juice boxes per person add up. Plus a few "this snack will tide you over" items. Not full meals. And this adds up to a good size cooler.

Do you have unpack the bag for security?

It's easy. Our fully loaded bag, especially with dinner, gets heavy. It's a fully dinner, drinks and all, for a family of 5 (including 3 growing kids). We put ice packs in the bottom, cold stuff on top of it...that could be several Tupperware containers full of food, 7 or 8 cans of soda, veggies, etc...snacks, dessert. I'd bet at the heaviest, the bag is 30lbs or so. As I said, it's a very large bag. I'd guess it's 18" long, 14" high and 10" deep. It fits very nicely in the seat of the stroller. The straps go over the handles of the stroller, which makes sure it won't fall forward out of the seat. Security doesn't make us unpack it. I open the zipper, and they may unpack the top layer sometimes, but then just rummage through it real quick. Usually only takes 30-45 seconds, it's not a big deal at all. Most of the time, we park it somewhere in stroller parking and just leave it there. When we're ready to eat, we come back for it. It's so much easier than you probably think.
 

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