We get asked often – and I see asked in many Disney groups:
“Should YOU bring a stroller to Disney?”
Let’s chat about how to make the best decision for you, your kids and your family.
We are obviously going to be using a stroller for many years to come at Disney with still having such young kids; but Chance & I have already dreamt of the day we no longer need to be lugging a stroller all around Disney!
Minimum Age
Until your child has reached a minimum age of about 5 or 6 – YES you need a stroller.
If you have a child under that age range, and an older child between ages 6 to 10, you should just go ahead and get a double stroller. Whether or not you use it for storage, to give the older child a break, you have the option. A double isn’t much more effort than a single.
Do You Bring A Lot of Stuff to the Parks?
We try to be minimal with what we bring – as much as we can at least with 3 kids.
But if YOU prefer to bring more to the parks or buy a lot at the parks, you’ll want a stroller to keep all of your stuff in.
The More Kids You Have, the Longer You’ll Likely Need a Stroller
With more kids, naturally comes more stuff. LOL Plus, there’s a good chance that 2 out of the 3 or 4 kids will always want to ride. You can let them switch out who rides throughout the day.
How Annoyed Are You by Folding and Unfolding the Stroller?
On and off buses, on and off parking lot trams, going through security … how annoying is it to YOU to have to take the stuff out, fold it up, etc – that’s something that only you can decide for yourself.
When the kids are younger, you sort of have no choice but to suck it up and deal with it. It’s part of the trip & the journey. But the more years you do that and the older your kids get, the less willing you are to suck it up HAHA
How Does Your Family Do Disney?
Do you rope drop till park close? If you want to be at the park for 12 hours, your kids will definitely need a stroller.
Are you later to arrive and leisurely enjoy the day? Maybe your 6 year old can hang.
What pace do you keep overall? Kids just have shorter legs. They walk slower and have to do multiple steps for each one of yours, so they truly get tired more quickly.
Honestly, when we need to get clear across the park at a fast pace, Hunter – who has always been a fantastic walker & never complains – still hops on the piggyback board if we have it. A lot of times we’ll beg him to hop on if we parked that day (because he’s a big boy now y’all & he reminds us of that fact) because it’s way faster still and we don’t want him draining his energy before we’re even inside.
You’re not frustrated that they’re walking slowly, and they’re not whining that they’re legs hurt.
Ultimately, you know your child the best. You know if the addition of the stroller will make or break the trip.
Hunter is our amazing walker and I would have easily stopped bringing a stroller at 5 if it were just him. Gage, on the other hand, is more stubborn and complains often that “you’re walking too fast,” so I think he’ll be in a stroller longer.
Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about this since he’ll be way older by the time his younger two siblings no longer need a stroller.
DO WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR CHILD & YOUR FAMILY TO HAVE AN AMAZING TRIP
DON’T LET THE STROLLER BE THE THING THAT RUINS YOUR TRIP – whether that’s because you’re aggravated having to deal with it or your child is complaining because they really did need it.
And remember, all of the Disney parks do have strollers that you can rent once inside the park. At a minimum, it eliminates the need for all of that folding/unfolding on transportation. It is first come, first served. But it’s a decent fall back plan if it’s 1pm and your 7 yr old is already complaining – just go rent the stroller and enjoy the rest of the day.
I also want to add that if you’re flying, and you don’t want to travel with your stroller, it’s SO EASY to rent one from a third party company once you arrive. We do this because it’s just one less thing to bring to the airport with us – more kids, more hands needed y’all (and you can read more about how we turn a car seat INTO a stroller for the airport in this post here).
There are a few options in the Orlando area, but we’ve used Kingdom Strollers multiple times and recommend them. The last time they even started offering stroller pickup at the airport. The minute we were off the plane, we picked up the stroller first and had arms again in no time.
Only YOU can make the decision that’s best for YOUR family but these are some considerations that I recommend you think about when making the final decision. Don’t let anyone make you feel judged or bad for the decision YOU make.
YOU DO YOU AND ENJOY YOUR TRIP
