Stroller for almost 8-year-old??

We will be in the same situation next time we go. We took a stroller last time for my 4 year old, but he will be 6 or 7 next time and too old for a stroller. We have six kids, so the "stuff" we need is usually much more than one backpack. My solution will be to rent a locker for our picnic foods and extra clothing, and to also pack less. Planning to get free water at quick service and water fountains instead of bringing in water bottles, for example. Hope that helps!
 
arminnie said:
A few years ago I was standing in line somewhere with an elderly woman who had a stroller. I mentioned something about her having a grandchild and she said no she just used it to carry stuff.
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I could see us doing that. My DH walks better with a stroller. We use a wheelchair at WDW now, but a few years ago, if we were at disney with the grandkids, DH would be pushing. It helps with balance issues. But also, with getting older we seem to be more sensitive to temperature changes. Going out at 3 pm with sun shining in Nov, it feels nice. Come 7 pm, we are cold. A few years ago, we had a tiny issue with bag check. It was about 80 degrees, we had jackets with us. The guard questioned that we had them, since it was so warm. We had stayed for Fantasmic, sure enough DH was cold. Cold enough to use the hand warmers I brought along.
 
Don't give any thought to what anyone here, myself included, says. Do what's right for you and your family.

Our personal situation, we used strollers until our kids were 8 or 9 and I'm darn glad we did. It was the right thing to do, I have no doubt about it. We still bring an umbrella stroller to carry our food (and no, the squirrels won't get it and the birds won't poop on it if you just use a bit of common sense). We don't find it to be inconvenient at all, it's actually remarkably easy. But that's just what works for us. If you think you want to bring it, bring it. If you wind up not using it, so be it. If you want to go without it, I'm sure you'll be fine.
 
Not having a stroller is so freeing! My kids, niece and nephew are all teens now. Every time we go to wdw together my sister and I comment on how nice it is to be stroller free. No manuvering in crowds. We carry a small backpack with a few snacks and sunscreen. We have taken another niece at age 8 and our taking our twin niece and nephew this summer (age 8) and we will still be stroller free.
 
Maybe ask your daughter if she would want one? Leave it up to her? You can always rent one when you are down there - Orlando Stroller or Kingdom strollers can still deliver you one the next day if you decide.

Will she still comfortably fit in one still? We went last year when my son was 7 and it was the first time we didn't use a stroller and he was fine without it. I missed it for carrying stuff but it was actually easier to not have to find a place to park it, fold it up on the bus, etc. Plus I told him he was too big in size for a stroller. He was over the height limit and his head and legs would be hanging out. I think the height limit for the city mini rentals is 47 inches and even then you can't close the canopy without their head popping through the top. My son is 8 now and 53 inches tall so no way would he fit. So make sure to check the size limits since they make not fit!
 
At 8 years old I think you can go stroller free. We were so happy to get rid of the stroller once our 2nd was older than 5 but then came baby #3 so now we're back to the stroller again! It's nice to have it for storage but it's also a huge pain in the neck lugging it around, finding parking for it etc. I would go without and see how the first few days go. You can always rent one at the parks if you decide you need it.
 
I’m a mom of 5 who once had 3 in diapers, at home I never even used a diaper bag, my purse was a wristlet. I just left supplies in the minivan. I celebrated not having strollers anymore, and I’m willing to live dangerously and not carry everything but the kitchen sink with me.
 


As others have said, do what works for your family.

For us ... my 8 year old walked this year, and when he was 7, and when he was 6, and most of the year he was 5. As have his older sisters. When he was 5 and 6 I might have heard a few complaints and maybe a couple of carry me's. But not a peep from him the last two years at least. I usually wear out before the kids :-)
 
No one can say someone is 'too old' for a stroller, that decision is yours to make. There are so many variables at play that its impossible for anyone here to say what will or will not work. There is a contingent of people within these boards that believe as soon as a child is able to walk they ought to frog march with 55lbs of backpack and fluid lol... apparently its a sign of good parenting and a right of passage?!? lol

OK, well maybe that's exaggerating a little! A stroller is a tool, it is a tool to help a situation. This 'help' could come in many forms but only you know what it is it will help with. If the stroller will help make your life a little easier and be beneficial to you then rent one or take one and use it. If you feel you can go without then go without. I wouldn't worry what other people would say or perceive from your 8yr old being in a stroller. My wife would get in it if I could push it! haha

For some its a burden, for others its a godsend. Just decide what your priorities are and what is good for you and see where it fits.
 
Smittolis said:
No one can say someone is 'too old' for a stroller, that decision is yours to make. There are so many variables at play that its impossible for anyone here to say what will or will not work. There is a contingent of people within these boards that believe as soon as a child is able to walk they ought to frog march with 55lbs of backpack and fluid lol... apparently its a sign of good parenting and a right of passage?!? lol

OK, well maybe that's exaggerating a little! A stroller is a tool, it is a tool to help a situation. This 'help' could come in many forms but only you know what it is it will help with. If the stroller will help make your life a little easier and be beneficial to you then rent one or take one and use it. If you feel you can go without then go without. I wouldn't worry what other people would say or perceive from your 8yr old being in a stroller. My wife would get in it if I could push it! haha

For some its a burden, for others its a godsend. Just decide what your priorities are and what is good for you and see where it fits.
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I quite regularly see an exhausted looking parent with no stroller struggling to carry a sleeping child towards the end of what was obviously a long and tiring day in the park, and wonder why they didn’t just get a stroller; more comfortable for the child and much more comfortable for the parent’s back, and also somewhere to store all your stuff. Still, to each their own.
 
I think it also depends on the crowd level. We have a 10, 7 and 4 year old. For our August trip we will only bring the stroller to MNSSHP since we don't leave until around 12:30-1am and that's just to help us get our sleepy 4 year old to the bus at closing. For our Christmas trips during Christmas week we bring it to the parks every day all day. The crowds are nuts and it is just much easier for us to account for everyone when 2 of our 3 kids are in the double stroller when we are entering or leaving the park.
 
Thank you all for all of your responses! I don't think we will rent a stroller for the very first time. I know we will be fine. We will take a backpack or two into the parks and have a great time. I just like hearing from all you :)
 
If you do use a stroller to carry food be very careful in Epcot. Near the building where Coral Reef is a notorious gang of squirrels. Two trips ago I observed one find an unsecured stroller filled with chips/popcorn. They went out and came back with about 7-8 friends and looted the thing. As to an 8 year old needing one sometimes. Only you know what you need and you should do whatever makes you happy.
 
We brought our double stroller for our kids (5.5 and 8 on our trip). Our 8 year old barely fit but we figured we'd rather have it just in case. He really only sat in it when it rained. (He'd ridden in it just fine on our trips to DLR, at age 5.5 and 6.5). On our last park day (MK) we went stroller-free and both kids were fine. We won't bring ours again!
 
My older child was 7 on our last trip. We brought along our city elite stroller for our younger child with the idea that older one could sit in it to take a break .
As it turned out, she sat in it once and could have done without that.
You know your child better than us so if you think she would do better with one, go for it.
If you need a place to stash things, bring a backpack. I bring a backpack everywhere when on vacation.
 
suggestion - every member of my family carries a camelbak backpack. It keeps us hydrated (they have water pouches with tubes to drink from), the cold water keeps us cool, and the backpacks provide enough room for each person to carry the items they deem necessary. My kids have all worn camelbak backpacks at disney since they were 4, and they are now 11, 13, & 16. Win win. Nobody brings things they don't need since they have to carry their own things.
 
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