Three kids and a Disney World trip

[LisaAndThree]

We're going to be going to Disney World for a week. I have 3 kids (daughter, 3; son, 6 going on 7; daughter, 13).

A friend has offered to lend me a double stroller (Maclaren Twin Techno), but I was wondering whether it would be necessary.

The 3 year old will certainly need a stroller, I have no doubt about that.

The 6 year old is usually a good walker, but I've heard that you can travel as much as 10km a day. Even if he were to manage this for a day or two, I have my doubts about whether he would do it for the entire week. I would much prefer it that he enjoys himself, rather than succumbs to tiredness partway through the day (and makes his transformation into Oscar the Grouch. :D).

Oh, and I imagine the 13 year old will be fine. I jokingly extended the offer to her that she could swap with her brother at times if necessary, but told her that the same rules would be applied to her as the other two - if she rides in it then she rides buckled in, and she rides in it for long enough at a time to have a proper break (15 - 30 minutes), no matter who we happen to run into.

I've heard that the Maclaren has a buckle that's particularly child-proof, so she'd have no choice but to sit in her seat until I let her out again if she couldn't figure it out. 

Anyway, joke aside, for those of you who have done Disney World with toddlers and young children: What was your experience like?

At the moment I'm leaning towards accepting my friend's offer, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't out of the norm or anything like that first.

EDIT: I've just realised that this section isn't centered around multiple children so much as it is twins/triplets. Could someone please move this topic if another section is deemed more appropriate? Sorry.

[AdinaL]

I moved this over to Parenting. :)  

[Peony]

I'd do the double, you really do walk and walk and walk there. I had a double last summer with a 7,3, and 1y and DH and I ended up wearing the 1y alot (so miserable in the heat) to allow the 7 to sit and rest. She is a very hearty, active child as well and she was sitting down whining her legs hurt. Heck, I walk a lot in the summer and my feet were killing me!

[OGirlieMama]

I'd definitely bring the double or rent one of the Disney strollers. We were just there 2 weeks ago with my almost-5-year-old twins, who haven't ridden in a stroller in well over a year. My husband, at the very last minute, talked me out of bringing our Aria Twin stroller, because he didn't want to deal with it in the airport and stuff. I was frazzled and he was adamant so I said OK. Then he talked me out of renting a double stroller at the Magic Kingdom our first day. By the end of the day I wanted to strangle him, but I couldn't because I had a 40-pound child riding on my shoulders and so did he. 

The next 3 days we rented the Disney double stroller and it was fine. One of my kids did say it wasn't very comfortable when it came to trying to actually sleep (they don't nap but boy were they tired by day 3 or 4) but they were perfectly happy to ride around in it. I think it was $15 for a single, $30 for a double per day. The upside is you don't have to deal with a stroller on the plane, in your hotel room, etc. The downside is you have to leave the stroller in the park and we were stuck carrying them again on the monorail/walk back to our hotel. We stayed at the Polynesian and it was a long walk from the main building to our building, and I considered offering someone 10 bucks to borrow their stroller just to walk my kids back to our room one night. 

[MamaKickyPants]

I just wanted to say, if I had to bring a stroller on the plane, it would be a McLaren - they fold up nice and small and have a shoulder strap for carrying. I'm not sure how much the double XT actually weighs, but it's strong, you could use it to carry some of your luggage and/or children around the airport as well, and then gate check it. From pp, it sounds like you won't regret it! Have fun!!!!!

[RaeDyCo]

Bring the double or rent one!  Even if only one kid ends up using it, you can always use the other side to carry water, snacks, bags, etc.

Have a great trip!

[Drummer's Wife]

We've done Disney with four kids 7 and under, and I'd say either bring the double or bring a single and plan on renting on at the park if need be. Even if your middle child doesn't need to ride much, the extra seat can hold bags and such, so you'll probably be glad you have it. Now, if your single stroller has decent storage, then that might work well, too.

[Cutie Patootie]

Take the double stroller or rent one.  I can't imagine going without it.  Just went this past April and Sept with 1.5yo, 5yo and 7yo.  Next time we go, we will bring our City Mini Double and a single umbrella stroller.  There are several times that I can pinpoint where I wish I had a stroller for myself.

[bnhmama]

I'd rent a double at WDW.  Then you won't need to lug one on the plane and if someone snatches it while it's parked, you can easily get a replacement and not be out any money. 

Yes, sad but true, there's a whole thread at the WDW boards I visit devoted to how to deal with "lost" or stolen strollers. :(  When we were there in July, my cousin's umbrella stroller was stolen while we watched Fantasmic.  Then they had a rented one and that one was "moved."  We think someone snagged it and we just happened to see it parked at another parking area with our name still in it and one of my cousin's things on it.

I also highly recommend not leaving ANYTHING on your stroller while you park it.  NOTHING. 

Maybe you could even just rent the single the fist day or two and then upgrade if your 6 year old seems to be needing to ride for awhile.

[snoopy5386]

Take the double!!! Renting is really expensive, $30 a day from disney. There are a few outside companies that rent Baby Jogger City Mini's if you want to go that route, it is cheaper than renting in the parks (Magic Stroller and Orlando Stroller rentals are the two I know of). We go to Disney every year and this will be our first year with a double. We've got to rent one because our double and our luggage won't fit in our car to get to the airport, so we are renting from Magic Stroller. And stolen strollers are a small problem, but a problem, but it can happen anywhere, we got ours stolen at the zoo.

[LisaAndThree]

Hi everyone, just wanted to say thank you for the advice. It was absolutely worth taking the double stroller for the trip.

Even DD13 rode in it once or twice near the end of the week because she had sore feet (the harness is indeed very childproof ), and I wish I could have had a stroller LOL. I don't think I've ever walked so far before!

Merry christmas to you all, and happy new year for when it comes around.

[Smithie]

I bought a Chicco double stroller 4 years ago when dd1 was born. My husband said, "We'll never use this."

Well, guess where we finally used it? Last week at Disney! That thing was a lifesaver - I could NOT have carried dd1 or dd2 any length of time without expiring, and ds (6.5 y.o.) took the occasional ride as well. And the cost of it was more than covered by what we saved on rental fees. 

[MovingMomma]

We did 4 days at Disney World a couple of months ago w/4 yr old and 7 yr old DDs, and I'll be the lone dissenting voice.  We didn't take or rent a stroller, and we didn't need one.  Yes, we walked a ton (easily 7+ miles per day), but the kids kept up just fine.  Most of the walking is in shorter bursts; it's not like you hike all 7 miles at once.  We kept our days to a reasonable length, returning to our hotel for dinner each night, and DH carried the 4 yr old literally a handful of times.  But we'd usually get off the monorail at the Polynesian and the girls would run the whole mile back to Shades of Green at the end of the day.  The 7 yr old in sprints and walks, but the 4 yr old in a steady jog.    I couldn't imagine having to deal with lugging a stroller around everywhere and trying to find parking for it all the time.  But YMMV...if your kids can't walk a mile straight w/out complaining then they may need the stroller.  

[pixie89]

I would definitely take a stroller. Disney World can get pretty hot and it is definitely a lot of walking. I went without a stroller once and it was a huge mistake. My youngest was complaining about walking almost the whole time! The next time I went to Disney with one more baby in tow, I was worried about getting my stroller stolen but knew I had to have something the kids can relax in. Renting one for a week can be pricey, so I asked a few friends of mine what they did. They told me about a stroller lock called Buggyguard which allows you to lock your stroller to itself so it won't be stolen. If you're worried about getting your stroller stolen then this is definitely the way to go. 

[rightkindofme]

I just spent a week at Disneyland (which of course isn't as big as the entirety of Disney World) with my 2.5 year old and she refused to sit in the stroller the whole time.  It was impressive.

[alexsam]

Originally Posted by MovingMomma 

We did 4 days at Disney World a couple of months ago w/4 yr old and 7 yr old DDs, and I'll be the lone dissenting voice.  We didn't take or rent a stroller, and we didn't need one.  Yes, we walked a ton (easily 7+ miles per day), but the kids kept up just fine.  Most of the walking is in shorter bursts; it's not like you hike all 7 miles at once.  We kept our days to a reasonable length, returning to our hotel for dinner each night, and DH carried the 4 yr old literally a handful of times.  But we'd usually get off the monorail at the Polynesian and the girls would run the whole mile back to Shades of Green at the end of the day.  The 7 yr old in sprints and walks, but the 4 yr old in a steady jog.    I couldn't imagine having to deal with lugging a stroller around everywhere and trying to find parking for it all the time.  But YMMV...if your kids can't walk a mile straight w/out complaining then they may need the stroller.  

 It's funny, because the dynamics of the kids ages make a big difference... If my 5 yr old is keeping up with neighbor friends, there is no stroller in sight or need for one. But if his toddler brother is riding... well, let's say there is a lot of whining! And my kid is a hiker- We live in Colorado and the little guy does some serious outdoor walking. We took a "single" stoller to Disney, but I wished I had a double or at least the single jogger where he can "catch a ride" on the front footrest. I also must say our hotel was a mile away, so we walked to and from Disney in addition to the walking there... We also kept our days reasonable and did all that, but the bottom line is there is a lot of walking, a lot of "stuff" and it can be downright hot (even in California).

I could see not taking one in a 4/7 combination, but not a 4/2 combination, YKWIM?

[ollyoxenfree]

We did DisneyWorld when DS was 8 y.o. and DD was 5. It never occurred to me to rent a stroller for DD, lol. We were there for a week, she walked everywhere, she was fine. If she was tired enough to need a break, then usually we were all pretty tired and wanted a rest too. We were pretty careful about pacing ourselves. We mixed up the heavy physical activity with sitting in movies, meal breaks, taking it easy at the water parks etc. Until I read this thread, I never thought about whether we should have had a stroller  . At the time, it would have been about 3 years since she'd been in one. YMMV. 

[mumm]

I'm heading to WDW this week with 4 kids ages 10, 7, 3 and 3.  We haven't used a stroller in years but are gong to bring two single strollers.  Then we at least have the choice of using them.  At the end of the vacation I'm going to drop them at a goodwill so I don't have to schlepp them home.  I doubt I'd ever use them again.

I hate disney so I'm working really hard to be smiley about this!