Stroller for Kindergartener?

[aliwolly]

This probably gets asked and answered all the time, but the search is not my friend tonight!

I'm trying to decide on renting a stroller for my kid in December. He'll be turning 6 a month after our trip, and is 44" and 49 lbs. I'd rent the Citi Mini GT from Kingdom Strollers if I *do* rent one, but I can't decide if I want to bother.

He hasn't ridden in a stroller in years - probably not since the last time we were at WDW when he was almost 4. He definitely passed out in it a few times then, but he's two years older now, never takes naps, and our touring plans this time involves midday breaks (although we're staying at the BC, so I'm sure he'll want to be in the pool...).

The $85 to rent it definitely isn't going to break us, but I'm wondering if it'll be a waste. What would you do/have you done?

My almost-4-year-old passed out in the stroller in 2015...

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Haha, love that pic. We dropped the stroller for DS at 5 and it was wonderful. However, even now (he’s 7) I will sometimes make a game time decision and rent one at the park, mainly at Epcot but sometimes at AK too.

I like the flexibility to make the choice right there - I can judge his stamina, our plan, etc - and see if it’s needed. Sometimes my rationale at Epcot is a little selfish on my part since I find I can get more World Showcase mileage out of him if I’m pushing him around.

Like with all kids, YMMV, but that’s what works for us.

Have fun!

 

[akfan513]

I vote stroller! Although, we just brought our own small collapsible when my daughter was 5. That way we saved some money. We have never regretted allowing our kids to have fresh legs!

 

[Metz172]

We ended up renting a stroller in the park on the 4th day of our trip for our 6 yr old daughter. After 3 days her little legs were too tired to keep going. She didn't need it before or after that, just one day to rest. You might be better off just getting one when you need it. Renting in the park was nice because you don't have to lug a stroller in and out of a car or a bus. It's been a few years and the strollers might be different now but the other great thing was that the stroller design was such that her legs were flat inside the stroller like a bed almost and she even took a nap waiting for the parade.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

I think on one of our trips the fit bit said 12 miles for the day. Kids can get tired and being tired can take away a lot of the magic for everyone including them. I don't think they would even recognize that they are tired. He doesn't always need to ride in it but it would seem like a good use of money to me. We have used the stroller to hold/carry and extra backpack and lighten our loads at times.

 

[twoolle]

Consider that DS6 will not want to ride in the stroller much and will do a lot of walking, especially if he doesn't ride in one at home. So you would be pushing around an empty stroller a lot which I think would be annoying. And you won't need it at the resort and transporting it on the bus every day is a pain. So maybe just rent at the park on a day you think you might need it?

 

[aliwolly]

You all make a lot of great points! I think I'm leaning toward renting one at the park on any days that we think we need it. I definitely can see him needing it occasionally, but probably not enough to merit getting one for the entire week that we'll need to push around empty most days.

 

[loves to dive]

We have been going since my son was just shy of 3. The first trip we would rent a stroller mid-day if he was too tired but didn't want to go back to the room but I think we only did that twice. Otherwise we just went on his schedule. We walked slow, went back to the room if he got cranky and the buses and monorail were great for short naps. The next trip he was close to 5 and you couldn't have forced him in a stroller if you tried. He hated them even at 3. He did fine and most of the time I was the one who needed the break not him. Just go with the flow and see how it goes and don't fret it.

 

[piglet1979]

We got a double stroller when my daughter was 6 and my son was 7. My daughter used it much more then our son. He is very active and didn't take naps. My daughter though hates walking and she took a few naps in the stroller. I would get it just in case. We did park it more though. Like at EPCOT we would park it on one side of future world, do all of those attractions before get the stroller again.

 

[emilyrachael]

It depends a lot of your touring plans - even with the midday break. Are you willing to go at a bit slower pace or take more breaks when his legs get tired? Or will you be zig-zagging across the park a lot to make fastpass times?

 

[aliwolly]

It depends a lot of your touring plans - even with the midday break. Are you willing to go at a bit slower pace or take more breaks when his legs get tired? Or will you be zig-zagging across the park a lot to make fastpass times?

Oh, I'm a ninja fastpass planner LOL! We shouldn't be zig-zagging and we'll be there for 9 days with my MIL, FIL, and SIL with her family, so I don't think we'll be going anywhere fast. At least, I will have to keep reminding myself of that!!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I say yes to the stroller. Our girls never rode in a stroller but they fought over who got to sit in it on our first trip that they can remember, they were 8 and 6 at the time. I will say we run all day though with very little breaks at the park from open to close. We just used our umbrella stroller. Plus and a big plus, once you go strollerless you have nowhere but a backpack to carry all your stuff. The only negative to a stroller to me is when you park it for a ride/attraction and a CM relocates all the strollers while you are in there. Other than that, there are no negatives to having one.

 

[CanuckGirl78]

I'm not an experienced mom at WDW, but we're taking our almost-6yo son and 2yo daughter this December for the first time. I was debating for a long time to rent a single stroller or a double one at Kingdom Strollers as my son hasn't sat in a stroller since he was 3 -1/2 years old! I eventually opted for the double one for a few reasons:
1. I didn't want them to argue with each other as to who get to sit in the stroller when they're tired.

2. We're going for 5 days and basically going to spend 8-10 hours every day walking or standing in line, and I know after day 1, they're going to be tired and their feet are going to be sore. So rather than us having to deal with a cranky child and/or stopping so he can rest and/or giving him a piggy back, I'd rather give him the option to get in a stroller and us continuing to move to the next attraction.

3. It's a great place to store their snacks, ponchos, etc. so you don't have to carry everything in a backpack all the time!

But I am going to tell my son after we leave Disney to not expect the convenience of a stroller again and that it's just for his little sister!

 

[srwarden1928]

You may decide in a park that you want to rent a stroller--no harm done. But I wouldn't plan on one for your month away from 6 yo son.
1. Dealing with a stroller was such a hassle for us that my niece chose not to bring one to Epcot for her 2.5 yo. He rode in the Tula all day. We can't get in line yet because we have to park the stroller. Do we want to move the stroller to the next attraction or not? Wait we have to go get the stroller. Over and over and over again.
2. The first trip I had to WDW as a child I was one month shy of being 6. I wouldn't have been caught DEAD in a stroller at that age. I probably would have looked at my parents as if they had grown an extra head if they had suggested it.

Certainly you have to do what works best for your family. Many families on the boards would use a stroller in this situation. Many would not. I just noticed you seem to have gotten a lot of Pro-stroller answers, and wanted to point out that NOT using one may well work better for your family. Only you can decide.

 

[JessicaW1234]

I agree with your thinking of renting in the park if you need one. At that age, ours still got tired from the walking, and needed the break.

 

[33Legend]

We brought strollers for our 2.5 and 3.5 yeat olds in our group. The 6 and 8 year olds also took turns and if we did it again one of the strollers would have been a double so the 6 year old could ride more often.

 

[KrazeeK120]

You may decide in a park that you want to rent a stroller--no harm done. But I wouldn't plan on one for your month away from 6 yo son.
1. Dealing with a stroller was such a hassle for us that my niece chose not to bring one to Epcot for her 2.5 yo. He rode in the Tula all day. We can't get in line yet because we have to park the stroller. Do we want to move the stroller to the next attraction or not? Wait we have to go get the stroller. Over and over and over again.
2. The first trip I had to WDW as a child I was one month shy of being 6. I wouldn't have been caught DEAD in a stroller at that age. I probably would have looked at my parents as if they had grown an extra head if they had suggested it.

Certainly you have to do what works best for your family. Many families on the boards would use a stroller in this situation. Many would not. I just noticed you seem to have gotten a lot of Pro-stroller answers, and wanted to point out that NOT using one may well work better for your family. Only you can decide.

Stroller parking isn't really that big of a hassle. It doesn't take that much more time to park a stroller than to get a kid in and out of a carrier for each ride. The stroller parking areas are very convenient. I was surprised at how convenient they are!

Carrying a 31+ lb kid around all day isn't going to be comfortable for a lot of adults (yes, I realize there are exceptions). Plus, I think a lot of toddlers aren't going to want to be attached to someone else in 90 degree heat (again, I realize there are exceptions).

Plus, the OP is asking about a kindergartener. That kid would truly have to be abnormally small to fit in a carrier, and I can't think that any 6 year old would want to travel that way anyway.

I think there are probably some 6 year olds who would want a stroller and some who would not. I think if you're not sure, try not renting one and see how the kid does. You can always rent a Disney one in a pinch.

 

[Surgie2]

We will be taking 4 grandkids so definitely renting a double one for the 13 month old and 4 year old. For the two who will be 5 1/2...it will be a day of decision each day as to rent one in the park or not. The park ones don't look like they provide as much shade (from the pics) as the Citi Mini from the stroller rental companies and this could be an issue for us going in early May (where last year daily temps were well into the 90s with little rain). So it's possible we will have a second stroller delivered to our resort a few days in if needed.

I would probably rent one from an off-site company but find out if you aren't really using it, can you return it early and get credit back?

 

[Jessirip]

Are you able to do a test run of sorts? We went to Dollywood over the Summer to be sure our kids (at 2 and 5) were into theme parks and wouldn't be miserable after a long day at one. We took just the umbrella stroller, which the 2 year old slept in and the 5 year old coveted. She kept saying how tired her legs were and would frequently steal it. For this reason we plan to rent a double at WDW. They'll be 6 and 3 when we go in April, and honestly I think 6 is old for a stroller, but I also now know my 6 year old and what she'll need.

If a theme park isn't an option near you maybe even just a full day of wandering the mall? Etc.

I'm not looking forward to the hassle, but would rather deal with the stroller then an overtired kiddo on day 3 of a week long vacation.

 

[Surgie2]

I'm not looking forward to the hassle, but would rather deal with the stroller then an overtired kiddo on day 3 of a week long vacation.

Exactly! If anyone gets cranky, I'd rather it be something that is out of parent/grandparent controls...tired legs we can be proactive about and try to prevent!