Can a 4 y/o go to Disney World and not use a stroller?

[Cupcakesmum]

Bring an umbrella stroller. It's just as much for you as it is for them. There is stroller parking. The chances of your stroller INTENTIONALLY being stolen is probably 1:5000. We've never had a stroller stolen and there are tons of high end strollers parked without a 2nd thought.

The sheer amount of walking is insane. Even if you are fine with leaving when your child is tired the walk from the back of the park to the front of the park is far. It's also nice to have somewhere to put them so you can keep track of them.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I'm going to bring the stroller, a little banana one that we have. It'll be easier that way.

Yes they could do it, but why would you want them to? What is your aversion to renting one? We LOVED renting one. It's nice not to have to deal with it on our flights and it's just ready when we get there.

I don't have an aversion to them, more like having them swiped by other people. I think if we don't rent and just bring ours, plus put an identifying marker on it, we'll be fine. As been pointed out by maxiesmom, we can have our purchases sent to our room so I don't have to worry about that.

 

[KateMW]

At 4 there is zero way we could have made it without one. The next year at 5, she was fine. Now she's almost 12 and would probably love if I'd push her again.

 

[Enna]

We went on an extended family trip the week my DD turned four. She made it all day walking on her own, until she fell asleep standing up in the Astro Orbiter line. She took a step forward, leaned on me, and was sound asleep. I carried her out through the gate and sat, holding her, on a bench under the Tommorrowland Transit Authority track. A woman in her mid-40s walked by with a look on her face that clearly said, "But they grow up SO quickly...." And instantly, I was sobbing, sitting on that bench under the TTA, because she's FOUR. She's all grown up and this is probably the last time she'll ever fall asleep on my lap like this ever again. She was my baby, and now, she's FOUR and all grown up and next year she'll be in KINDERGARTEN.

After a few minutes, an older lady sweeping the area stopped to check on me, and came back with a soda and reassurance that even though my daughter was four, she'd always need her momma.

This has become a favorite Disney memory.

There's no way my all grown up four year old would have cooperated with a stroller, and even if she had, she still would have called asleep waiting in the hot, slow-moving Astro Orbiter line.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

We went on an extended family trip the week my DD turned four. She made it all day walking on her own, until she fell asleep standing up in the Astro Orbiter line. She took a step forward, leaned on me, and was sound asleep. I carried her out through the gate and sat, holding her, on a bench under the Tommorrowland Transit Authority track. A woman in her mid-40s walked by with a look on her face that clearly said, "But they grow up SO quickly...." And instantly, I was sobbing, sitting on that bench under the TTA, because she's FOUR. She's all grown up and this is probably the last time she'll ever fall asleep on my lap like this ever again. She was my baby, and now, she's FOUR and all grown up and next year she'll be in KINDERGARTEN.

After a few minutes, an older lady sweeping the area stopped to check on me, and came back with a soda and reassurance that even though my daughter was four, she'd always need her momma.

This has become a favorite Disney memory.

There's no way my all grown up four year old would have cooperated with a stroller, and even if she had, she still would have called asleep waiting in the hot, slow-moving Astro Orbiter line.

What a wonderful story, thanks for sharing. Sorry you had that sad moment, but it turned out to be a great memory.

 

[Mchurchill96]

We're going in August, and our youngest ds will be nearly 2 months shy of his 6th b-day. We no longer have our strollers, but I think we'll really want one for the parks, if nothing else. What are people's opinions on the park strollers you rent and leave at the park when you leave vs renting a "real" stroller? Pros and cons?

 

[brhodes]

We're going in August, and our youngest ds will be nearly 2 months shy of his 6th b-day. We no longer have our strollers, but I think we'll really want one for the parks, if nothing else. What are people's opinions on the park strollers you rent and leave at the park when you leave vs renting a "real" stroller? Pros and cons?

We have never rented from the park so I can' t say much about that….but just from seeing them last time we were there, they look sooooo uncomfortable and heavy to push around. We rented a Bob from Kingdom Strollers and it was fabulous especially for bigger kids. It was so easy to push and I really did not get tired pushing a 4 year old around in it. He took naps in it and it had great storage underneath. We are taking our DS again this year and he will just turn 6 and we are renting again from them and requesting a BOB. Also the stroller was very clean and in great condition. I don't know how well they clean the park strollers daily?

 

[Betty_Baylor99]

I had long since sold off our baby gear as it had been a couple years since my 4 1/2 yr old sat in a stroller. When I brought her to Disney last April, I bought a new Maclaren Volo (lightweight umbrella) on sale- I calculated it was cheaper to buy that than rent for 4 days. We used it at every park and she fell asleep napping in it every day by mid-day.

My stroller was bright pink, and not a popular color so it stood out. We didn't leave anything expensive in it anytime we parked it and it did not get moved/stolen the entire trip.

We are going with her older sisters (7 and 9) this August and honestly, I'm contemplating bringing that same darn stroller to use primarily for holding stuff and to have as a fall back option for either girl to hitch a ride since they both fit within the weight limits (which would save on renting the Disney stroller). I don't care if I get side eye for pushing my 7 year old around in a stroller. This is their first visit to WDW. It is a lot of walking that they are not used to.

 

[paceyswife]

I think it really depends on your child. My son was three and refused to get in and he did fine. We also did not take any breaks in the day other than eating or having a snack. We barely even carried him. Took him the next year to Disneyland and he was non-stop. He would happily hold our hand and walk all day. Maybe it's because we did lot of things here at home w/out the stroller and he always wanted to be like his big brother? but he kept up...probably better than my husband and me!!

 

[ml sumner]

I wouldn't dream of doing Disney with my 5 year old son and not taking a stroller! By the end of the day I wish I was in the stroller too!

 

[AshleeH]

I think I will. That'll be a great way for the kiddo to nap during the day. And as others have said, mark it up so we know it's ours.

Our first family trip, we actually bought a "Disney stroller". It was a Joovy Caboose, Sit and Stand (my oldest was 7 at the time, so the caboose seat was great for him at random times - especially when we stopped for snacks/ice cream) and I picked the Lemon Yellow color. It was so great - no matter where the stroller was moved while we were on a ride, that lemon color popped in a sea of black and we never had trouble finding it. Sadly, the Joovy was sold to a friend since my boys are older now, but my daughter is still in a stroller, so I just bought her a new one earlier this year and got a bright pink with Disney in mind .

 

[scrapquitler]

I'll be heading down next year with the family, a first for me, and my DD will be 4 when we go. My DD hasn't used a stroller in a long time, so when we go out she walks, or we will sometimes carry her, although she's getting too big for that. I know I'm not going to rent a stroller, just won't do it, and I prefer to not have to take one down and use it. What happens when we all go into a ride? Someone might walk off with it. I'm not saying steal it, but it might look like theirs and that person will walk off with it. Just saying. So is it possible for a 4 y/o to do Disney without a stroller?

Take your four year old for a 8 mile walk in 95 degrees and see if she might be happier with a stroller. And then repeat it for 4 or 5 days. Trust me. You want a stroller.

When you go on a ride, you park your stroller in a stroller parking area. Yes, I'm sure that sometimes strollers go missing, but in about 8 trips with a stroller, it never happened to us. But maybe having a brightly colored ribbon and a sign with our name on it to make it not look like every other stroller helped.

 

[robinb]

We used a stroller until my DD was 6 and she wanted to continue to use one because she was ... well ... lazy. Take the stroller and try to use it only in the evening after your afternoon break.

 

[Cajun_country]

We just got home a little less than a week ago, and our 4.5 year old was kinda doing a run to jump in the stroller at times, because he was tired of walking. He definitely learned that it was nice to have momma and daddy push you in the crazy crowds. He walked some too, and anytime we go places he walks, but since it was Disney and May/June we decided to use a stroller. He walks and holds our hands, etc. but between all the people on scooters and other strollers, and people just stopping, I preferred to have him in a stroller than walking. My son also fell asleep at nights and it was nice to push him in the stroller instead of carrying him (until we got to bus stop). We often had to wait at bus stop for several buses to be loaded, and that would not have been fun to hold him up while waiting for bus and then again on the bus also. Our strollers did have a canopy and small basket and cup holders that I liked. If my son would wear hats, I would have probably had gotten him a simpler umbrella stroller. Some people order from Amazon and have things delivered to their resort, if you don't want to carry it with you. We made signs for our strollers. One year I brought a fan that clipped on to the stroller but it broke pretty quickly. The fan was also a good way to distinguish our stroller along with our sign.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I had long since sold off our baby gear as it had been a couple years since my 4 1/2 yr old sat in a stroller. When I brought her to Disney last April, I bought a new Maclaren Volo (lightweight umbrella) on sale- I calculated it was cheaper to buy that than rent for 4 days. We used it at every park and she fell asleep napping in it every day by mid-day.

My stroller was bright pink, and not a popular color so it stood out. We didn't leave anything expensive in it anytime we parked it and it did not get moved/stolen the entire trip.

We are going with her older sisters (7 and 9) this August and honestly, I'm contemplating bringing that same darn stroller to use primarily for holding stuff and to have as a fall back option for either girl to hitch a ride since they both fit within the weight limits (which would save on renting the Disney stroller). I don't care if I get side eye for pushing my 7 year old around in a stroller. This is their first visit to WDW. It is a lot of walking that they are not used to.

And that's the key, to mark it as your own so no one will mistake it for theirs. I talked to the wife and we're planning on bringing one. Initially it was me who didn't want to take one. Now after reading all these stories I have no problem taking one.

 

[brockash]

I'll be heading down next year with the family, a first for me, and my DD will be 4 when we go. My DD hasn't used a stroller in a long time, so when we go out she walks, or we will sometimes carry her, although she's getting too big for that. I know I'm not going to rent a stroller, just won't do it, and I prefer to not have to take one down and use it. What happens when we all go into a ride? Someone might walk off with it. I'm not saying steal it, but it might look like theirs and that person will walk off with it. Just saying. So is it possible for a 4 y/o to do Disney without a stroller?

Of course it's possible, it's possible for a baby to go without a stroller, however that doesn't mean I would do it. If you're totally against strollers then yeah you could do it, just know that you'll be moving at a 4 year olds pace and will probably have to breaks often. We always take a stroller through age 5 at Disney even though at home we hardly use them after 2. Disney's big, crowded and I don't want to have to be at a 4 year olds speed or carry them, so I'd def. do a stroller to make life easier. We've also never had an issue with anyone walking off with it.

 

[J.Casto79]

On our trip in April, we averaged probably 7-8 miles of walking a day with anywhere from a low of about 6 miles to a high of 11 miles. Not many 4 year olds can do that. Mine sure couldn't. Prior to our trip he only napped in a stroller like twice. He crashed every single afternoon.

 

[Coconut8473]

We live in the city and walk everywhere, so my DC definitely had the walking stamina and ability to stay close/follow foot traffic properly at that age... But that said we've ALWAYS used a stroller at Disney, not so much for the bulk of the day, but more for the evenings when the kids are exhausted. Disney trips are really for the whole family, and frankly we love to have the option to stay out a little later than we do in "real life" rather than rushing back to the room at 7:00. We tend to stay at Epcot area resorts, so it's wonderful to be able to have the kids relaxed and dozing off in a stroller during the fireworks, then have a nice mellow walk back "home" - maybe grabbing an adult drink along the way! Have never had an issue with stroller theft in 7 years of traveling with kids, and have brought our MacLaren, Bugaboo and Snap & Go with carseat on various trips - all untouched/unharmed, even with diaper bags left on them (no valuables, of course - just diapers, wipes and those sorts of things).

 

[marivigi]

He could, but in my opinion, it's no fun to have to drag a tired, grumpy child, when the solution is so easy.

 

[apartyof5]

We picked up a cheap umbrella stroller for our 4 year old last trip. I wasn't sure if she would use it or if it would just hold everyone's stuff. By the end of the trip-the 9 year old was wanting to ride in it! (Heck I would have let someone push me in it if I'd fit ) I would say take it. It's nice to have the ability to give them a place to rest and ride when they need it.