Outgrowing stroller? About This Page:

[LizCatMom]

We've got a side-by-side double stroller that we've used, but quite frankly, are hoping to graduate from it. ODD is nearing 5 years old and I'm wondering if we can downsize to a single for the upcoming trip to Tokyo Disneyland. I know there will still be some walking involved, but am thinking she might do okay.

For those with older kids, at what age if you remember did your child stop using or did okay without the stroller? Keep in mind, we will still have a stroller for use to stash things, hold drinks, have for YDD, but I'm hoping we can get away with just the single.

[HiddenMickey]

We never brought a stroller to WDW. Our first trip the kids were 4 and 6. You can do it!

[mfirst]

It really depends on the child - my oldest is 7 and he gave up a stroller at age 3, but did need one for WDW at 5. When we went to WDW this past summer, the boys were 2,4 and 7 and the younger two needed a stroller. My middle son is tiny and doesn't seem to have the stamina that his older brother did at this age. Half the time when we go to the mall or take long walks, he ends up riding in the stroller. Then again, maybe he ends up in the stroller because we have a double and therefore a seat for him.

I wanted to try to get away with only one stroller at WDW, but Coach talked me into a double. I'm glad we brought it along.

[Carousel96]

We used one when she was 2. Took one when she was 5, but found we parked it a lot and used it mostly to haul "stuff" (and for her to sleep on the way back to the bus at night! LOL!)
I remember renting one for our Epcot day when she was 6. That was the only park where we thought she might need one. We also were touring Epcot with my DB and DSIL and SIL was renting a scooter for the day so the stroller helped keep us all moving at the same speed. I don't know whether we would have rented had it been just the 3 of us, and as I recall we used it mostly for the "long transport" parts of the day -- getting from FW to WS, leaving at night and when we were trying to make time around WS because we wanted to catch something we'd missed.

Now I don't know the scale of Tokyo Disneyland, but I suspect you can go strollerless with a 5 year old.

[jlhill4444]

We switched to a sit and stand when oldest two were 4 and 5. DS(5 at the time) rarely used the stroller stand board, but it did come in handy when we were in a hurry or the crowd was really large. DD(4 at the time) did still use the stroller to ride and when we went back when they were 7 and 6 she still needed a stroller on occasion. I think each child is different. DS would not be caught dead in one after age 5 or 6, but DD would still ride in one today at age 8 if allowed. Is buying a stand board and attaching it to the back of a single stroller an option for you? If so, I would go that route.

[OneLittleSpark]

We brought one for our 5 yr old DD on one trip, and she flat out refused to ride in it.

[SARH7]

I think it depends on the kid and depends on your touring style. If your ODD will take a nap midday and you don't want to go back to the hotel, then the double may be useful. At that age my dd would midday lay down and take a nap when we were at WDW. We liked having the stroller for her at night when the crowds were thick and we were trying to get out of the park. It was nice to have it if we needed to move fast and get across the park for any reason. We are not go back to the resort type of people. We stay at the park all day, until nighttime. We're always on the go...so for us, the double came in real handy. DD was always small and we even took it when she was 7. She rarely used it, but at night, when she was tired and cranky, it was sure nice to have it. Could we have made her walk and dealt with her crabbiness and complaining about tired feet....sure...but I don't like being stressed and would rather have it and have peace Kids tire quicker than us and their feet get sore faster...and kids really just do not know how to keep their thoughts in their head. So if they're tired or sore, they're gonna let you know about it! LOL!!

As the above posted mentioned, the stand board may be a good option for you...but I believe the max weight is 45 lbs.

[nurse_mom]

this is our last trip with a stroller. I am struggling even bringing it along. Our youngest is 4. But she is BIG! She is almost the same weight as our 9 year old!! In fact I am only thinking of bringing it for Epcot and keeping it back for the rest, or if we are going to have a long touring day.

[Happymommy]

We brought a nice side by side comfy stroller when they were babies, but by the time my youngest was 3, we started renting the Disney strollers. I let them each use the stroller until they were 7 . After my oldest was 7, we stopped renting the double, and started renting the single. After my youngest was 7, we went without a stroller. I will say, the last time we rented the strollers, they were 1/2 the price they are today. It was $8 a day for a single, and $15 for a double. So, even though the 7 year old had somewhere to sit---most of the time they were walking, but we had lots of room to store our stuff. They could sit if they wanted or walk. I don't think we'd be as eager to do that today with the current cost of the stroller rentals. And, I also don't think we would have gone to the trouble of bringing stollers if they were 6. those rentals were so nice, and (I felt) reasonable, so our attitude was, why not? I know when I was 7, I didn't get in a stroller in Disney...but we really loved those big rental strollers. We didn't call them strollers to the kids...I forget what we used to call them lol. But they hopped in and hopped out. It made it easier for us since we always brought a cooler and backpack etc. At 5yo and 6yo--- my kids were fine walking the entire day in Magic Kingdom and MGM, but Epcot (world showcase) and Animal Kingdom---they got tired, and actually used the stroller. Never been to Tokyo, so I can't really say. I'm no help....sorry.

[LizCatMom]

Thank you for all of your replies, I really appreciate it! Fortunately, both Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are a good size, meaning you don't quite have as much ground to cover as you would with, say, Epcot.

I was mentioning this whole idea of ditching the double and using a single to DH and he was all for it. I mean, we've certainly got our use out of it, but we did notice on our last trip to Disneyland (Anaheim) that more often than not, I would be pushing YDD in the stroller while ODD would walk because she wanted to walk.

So, I think we are just going to go for it. We do like to take a break mid-afternoon and the Disney hotels/partner hotels are extremely close to the parks, so it won't be such a big deal to go back and forth.

Thanks again for your input!

[chia]

How old is the younger child? Would a temporary swap of who's using it work if the older child starts to get a little tired?