Stroller for 6.5 year old dilemma - any tips?

First of all, how do you spell dilema, LOL!

We will be visiting WDW next week and I am struggling with what to do about a stroller. Our DD is 6.5, 48 inches tall, just about 50 lbs and has basically grown out of her strollers here at home. While she is going to want to walk at the parks, I also know my DD and she will get tired due to pace, heat, excitement etc and I really think we need to have the option of a stroller for her.

I have never rented a stroller at the park and it would be my preference to not have to rent one each day at whatever park we are at for the day due the hassle and time. Can you rent a stroller for the week rather than having to rent each day? I am thinking no as I have never seen any of the park strollers on the buses etc.

I researched a company online that will rent for the week but they only offer City Mini jogging strollers and say that the limit is 50 lbs/45 inches.

It is not a cost issue, just need to find a stroller that she will fit into and would like to avoid having to rent each day and/or carry DD on shoulders :).

If you all could share your experiences of what has worked with your kids that would be great. Thanks!

If you think your daughter will need one, then I say get it. We took our DD6 last year and used our old Graco stroller and it really helped. By end of day, she was tired and wanted to sit. Also, it helped us move from one side of the park to the other faster when she was sitting in stroller. Plus, it helped her conserve energy so she was able to last longer throughout the day. You can rent buggy type strollers in the park, but if you have an old one or can borrow one from someone for your trip, I say do it. You will thank yourself later. We loved having the stroller too for holding our bags, cooler of cold drinks, and souveniours!

Thanks Tara. Absolutely agree that the stroller is a must for all the reasons you state, just wondering what she will fit in! I am not crazy about the strollers I have seen at the parks - low to the ground, hard plastic, I have never seen the buggy kind. Also, I really want to avoid the time **** of renting each day if possible.

The last time we took a stroller for our older son, he was 7 years old. We just took an umbrella stroller. It was easy to maneuver and lightweight. You can also fold it up and take it on the Skyway.

Oops, that isn't an issue anymore.;)

Purchase the Maclean (sp?) umbrella stroller. It is around $90, holds up to 70 pounds. Folds easily. You will never regret the money you spend on the stroller. If you rent one in the park, you don't have it for getting that tired little one from the bus stop to the room.
For the price of a good pair of tennis shoes, you will have the knowledge that your little one will enjoy the trip so much more.

We rented from magic strollers, when our double broke the first day of our trip....excellent quality, delivered clean and with a rain cover (and boy did that come in handy). Very easy to fold and I'm sure your DD will fit.

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Originally Posted by sara114

Purchase the Maclean (sp?) umbrella stroller. It is around $90, holds up to 70 pounds. Folds easily. You will never regret the money you spend on the stroller. If you rent one in the park, you don't have it for getting that tired little one from the bus stop to the room.
For the price of a good pair of tennis shoes, you will have the knowledge that your little one will enjoy the trip so much more.

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I second this post. Maclaren makes a great stroller that is about $100. Fits a child up to 70 lbs, reclines back for naps, foldable roof to keep the sun off them. and folds up very small when its time to get on the bus. Babies R Us carries them. We have an 8 and 4 DD and love this stroller for WDW.:thumbsup:

You can always buy the umbrella strollers from Disney. We had to purchase two last year because our stroller broke. They are $50.00 bucks and are built well. My 7 and 6 year old boys who are big for their age fit in them well.

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Originally Posted by crltkcagle

You can always buy the umbrella strollers from Disney. We had to purchase two last year because our stroller broke. They are $50.00 bucks and are built well. My 7 and 6 year old boys who are big for their age fit in them well.

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And with the outrageous price of renting now, it will save you money over the course of the week and it is really cool! I wish my kids were little enough to get one! :mickey:

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Originally Posted by LovinWDW

I second this post. Maclaren makes a great stroller that is about $100. Fits a child up to 70 lbs, reclines back for naps, foldable roof to keep the sun off them. and folds up very small when its time to get on the bus. Babies R Us carries them. We have an 8 and 4 DD and love this stroller for WDW.:thumbsup:

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We use the Maclaren as well for our 3 year old. If spending 90.00 for a child that would only use it once is not in the budget you can also get a very cheap umbrella stroller at Walmart. We did this for our 5 year old son that was the exact same size as your DD. Believe me...they need one. We would have truly regretted not having it if we did not bring it. btw...the airlines do not charge you to bring your stroller with.

One more thing. I have seen the strollers that they sell at Disney and they are very nice...in fact I think that they even have a cup holder for your refillable mugs. Can you tell I love my coffee??? :mickey:

We rented a stroller for a week for my daughter back in 2010 and she was 7 1/2 !!!! It was a double City Mini jogging stroller for her and my 4 yo son. They used it when they needed it! It was always there for them. It was VERY useful at the end of the night, heading toward the monorails to get back to the hotel. I wasn't carrying heavy sleeping kids. It was a god-send. I highly recommend Orlando Stroller Rental. They are fabulous. They delivered the stroller right to our hotel and they picked it up from there too. The stroller they provide is super easy to fold and carry. It was really fantastic. The stroller was very clean and we had MANY people ask us about them in the parks. Don't hesitate to rent a stroller. If you have it, you will definitely use it!

The double strollers you can rent at the parks are fantastic...they're open enough that size of the child isn't an issue. We rented one when my twin granddaughters were 6.5 and it was a godsend. They SO welcomed the chance to crawl in and take a short nap or just rest their legs.
I'm pretty sure you can only rent them by the day, but I don't recall it ever really being a hassle.

Deb

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Originally Posted by sara114

Purchase the Maclean (sp?) umbrella stroller. It is around $90, holds up to 70 pounds. Folds easily. You will never regret the money you spend on the stroller. If you rent one in the park, you don't have it for getting that tired little one from the bus stop to the room.
For the price of a good pair of tennis shoes, you will have the knowledge that your little one will enjoy the trip so much more.

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Totally agree about the convenience of having a stroller heading out of the parks at the end of the night. We also take a Maclaren umbrella stroller to the parks for our DDs, even though they never use one anywhere else but WDW. They are both around 50 inches and over 50 pounds, and while it may not be as comfortable as when they were younger, they appreciate the chance to take turns resting their legs here and there. And the stroller serves as a nice pack mule, too...

Thanks Intercoters, I concur! It was never a question IF we needed a stroller but the best options for getting one for a child that might have "outgrown" a stroller. We brought my DD's McClaren as some suggested last year and her feet were dragging on the ground the whole time and my DH said it was really hard to push along with our backpacks etc (no cup holder). So, I went with renting one via Kingdom Strollers (Orlando Strollers were sold out). I will let you know how the service is in case others want to also look into them. Now off to pack, leaving in 2 days - :mickey:

Back when our kids were young enough to worry about this we either rented a stroller from the park or pack the umbrella stroller because of its easy to fold and does not take up a lot of room.

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Originally Posted by LovinWDW

I second this post. Maclaren makes a great stroller that is about $100. Fits a child up to 70 lbs, reclines back for naps, foldable roof to keep the sun off them. and folds up very small when its time to get on the bus. Babies R Us carries them. We have an 8 and 4 DD and love this stroller for WDW.:thumbsup:

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Ditto!! Absolutely love ours and works great for both DD's 8 and 10. Not so much our 10 year old now but if it's there and we are just hanging out eating ice cram, she'll sit down.

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Originally Posted by crltkcagle

You can always buy the umbrella strollers from Disney. We had to purchase two last year because our stroller broke. They are $50.00 bucks and are built well. My 7 and 6 year old boys who are big for their age fit in them well.

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Where at Disney can you buy one? Is there any place I can find a picture of one?

I saw them in quite a few places; WL gift shop, CR gift shop, Epcot & DHS entrance to name a few. Quick search came up with name Kolcraft Sport Umbrella Stroller. You can google it for photo and reviews.

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Originally Posted by VWL Mom

I saw them in quite a few places; WL gift shop, CR gift shop, Epcot & DHS entrance to name a few. Quick search came up with name Kolcraft Sport Umbrella Stroller. You can google it for photo and reviews.

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Thanks for the info I'll check it out!