Stroller Advice for The World: Opinions Wanted

[PREMiERdrum]

We are 16 days from arrival (!) for a week of family fun at the happiest place on earth. We will be traveling with our daughter who just turned 3 (her 3rd trip), and our 9 month old son (his first). This will obviously be our first trip with a double stroller.

For our first trip after Avery was born, we naively took the huge Graco stroller that came with our travel system. While probably the most comfortable option for her, it was nearly impossible (and I mean literally, almost didn't happen) to board the parking lot trams, as we were staying in our timeshare, off property.

By the time our next trip rolled around, when she was 2, we took a Peg Perego umbrella-style stroller, which was a cinch to fold up and move around with, and still preserved a decent amount of comfort for her.

Now that we have 2 to tote around, we've been weighing our options:

Option 1: The obvious choice. Take the Quattro Tour Duo stroller we already have. It's the Cadillac of strollers, but unfortunately, it is enormous, even folded up. It would be a pain in the neck to get on and off the busses, and the heels of a few innocent bystanders may be run over.

Option 2: Rent. A City Mini through Kingdom Strollers would only be $55 for our stay, and they deliver to our resort. However, this would mean we would tackle both airports without a stroller. We could take a stroller strictly for airport use, but then we're battling 2 giant double strollers in the room for a week. No thanks.

Option 3: Get a bargain. I trolled ebay and Craigslist for a month, and finally found a deal. With a little bargaining, I was able to get a BabyTrend Expedition Double Jogger for only $75.

It needed no more than some air in the tires and a good cleaning, but it's all good now and working great. The seats recline individually, the shade is big enough to cover a small country, it has an mp3 hookup with speakers, and the pivoting 3rd wheel makes it turn on a dime. It folds top-to-bottom in half, and is a manageable size when folded down.

Parents: Has anybody tackled Disney with a double jogger? I'm a little worried not having a snack/drink tray for the kids, but the seats do have pockets on the insides for cups, etc.

 

[journ116]

We are 16 days from arrival (!) for a week of family fun at the happiest place on earth. We will be traveling with our daughter who just turned 3 (her 3rd trip), and our 9 month old son (his first). This will obviously be our first trip with a double stroller.

I can empathize with your stroller plight, because I've "been there and done that." For our very first trip to WDW as a family of 4 (had been there several times prior to that though), we took our Gracco double-tandem (exactly like the one pictured above) in May 2010 for our DD's who were 4 y.o. and 8 mos. at the time, and here's what 'we've' learned from that whole experience:

-Perfect for our DD's at that particular age, because the oldest could get out quite easily without disturbing her sister and loved having access to her own "cubby." As for our youngest, when the back seat is fully reclined, it acted as the perfect nap and diaper changing stations! I remember reading a tip from someone on this board a long time ago, to bring a beach towel to lay down in the back seat for several reasons...and I'm glad we did! I also brought along a gigantic gauze scarf, which acted as a nursing cover up and as an additional sun shade (I tied one end to the handles, spread it across the entire stroller and tied it off around the front cup holders)...my girls had a great nap environment...best $10 investment ever!
*Forgive the clearity of these pics...I couldn't find them on my computer and had to literally take a picture of a picture

DSC_0438 by journ116, on Flickr

DSC_0440 by journ116, on Flickr
(see what I mean about the scarf?)

DSC_0439 by journ116, on Flickr
(a stroller fan is a must if it's gonna be hot...we had 2, because the Mickey one's were pieces of junk)

DSC_0441 by journ116, on Flickr
(peacefully sleeping in her cocoon)

DSC_2182 by journ116, on Flickr
(uncomfortably sleeping, but none-the-less sleeping...they were 5 and 2 at the time)

-Storage and more storage! This point is both good and bad: good because as parents we could bring everything we could need for a baby without having to go back to the resort mid-day for "refills;" and bad, because we could bring everything we could need for a baby without having to go back to the resort mid-day for "refills!"

-Somewhat easy to maneuver. Our oldest DD was only 35-38 lbs. at the time, so she really wasn't weighing the stroller down...where my DH and found the challenge: crowds! To alleviate this madness, we simply waited out the crowds or left a park insanely early.

-Honestly, it was a monster to get on and off the park busses. My DH was in charge of this accomplishment and he would cringe if he saw a crowd by the bus...so, he would wait until the bus was almost full and then board, keeping the wheels toward his body. I just remember him saying, "I cannot wait until we don't need this thing anymore!"

We ended up taking that stroller with us to WDW 3 times, and seriously, it was what we needed for those 2 times, not the 3rd when our DD's were 5 1/2 y.o. and 2 y.o.. As our girls got bigger and older, a side-by-side double stroller was the best option...and we always rent from an off-site retailer (Kingdom Strollers and Magic Strollers are both very good options)! Those strollers are worth $400+ and are very nice to move around, both thru crowds and busses!

Oh, word to the wise: your stroller will probably suffer some bumps and bruises at the hands of the airline. We gate checked our stroller, and each time we arrived at MCO, we were missing a parent cup holder (which is only $6 + tax to replace). The gate check workers need to work quickly and don't necessarily treat your items with care...but we knew that going in.

Best suggestion, take it for a test drive either at a mall on the weekend, or a supermarket right before dinner time. If you can handle it there, you should be fine in WDW. Just remember to take your time. Also, I would highly NOT recommend taking that double jogger stroller, specifically because of the airport issue; instead, rent one!

Happy stroller hunting and welcome to the double-stroller club!

 

[journ116]

Oops, I forgot to address if you did decide to rent (which is also a very good choice), carry you littlest in some type of carrier (i.e. Baby Bjorn), and bring a cheap umbrella stroller (think less than $20) specifically for the airport.

We had so many strollers for different occasions that we could've started our own rental business in Central PA (at one point we had 5 strollers and a wagon!)!

 

[princessmommy]

I have always rented a city mini double from www.orlandostrollers.com or www.kingdomstrollers.com. they are the combination of comfy and roomy for.the kids and and lightweight /easy fold for parents. They also fully recline for naps and have a full sun shade. Plus you don't have to.worry about your personal stroller getting damaged in the plane.

Good.luck and have fun!

 

[PREMiERdrum]

We had so many strollers for different occasions that we could've started our own rental business in Central PA (at one point we had 5 strollers and a wagon!)!

I know the feeling... We have 2 doubles (Quattro Tour Duo and now the Expedition), 2 singles (Quattro Tour single and Peg Perego Pliko), and a wagon.

Thanks for all the advice, guys!

 

[stevehousse]

I didn't vote because my option didn't exist! I say go for convenience and ease with a nice umbrella stroller that has bottom storage to put stuff in. They are light for traveling and lugging on and off trams. They aren't too big and provide easy manuveuring around a crowded park.

We hav 2 umbrella with the storage and they work perfectly. We even have a small hook latch to "pin" them together in stroller parking so that when the cms move them, they don't get separated. We had this happen at HS before when we forgot to latch tem together and for sure thought one of out strollers had been stolen! It turned out the cms moved our one stroller ways away from where the other one was!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Can you bring an umbrella stroller for the infant in the airport and then rent a City Mini Double for the parks? We've rented from Magic Strollers and love them, but I know everyone has their faves.

 

[enlaycock]

Thanks for the info and the reassurance. I have that same Graco stroller (aka the Moon Rover) as well. I'm a little leery of transporting such a monstrosity through airports and buses. Luckily, I'm going in late October, so heat shouldn't be too much of an issue.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

Can you bring an umbrella stroller for the infant in the airport and then rent a City Mini Double for the parks? We've rented from Magic Strollers and love them, but I know everyone has their faves.

This was my option of choice until I found the deal on the jogger.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

Thanks for the info and the reassurance. I have that same Graco stroller (aka the Moon Rover) as well. I'm a little leery of transporting such a monstrosity through airports and buses. Luckily, I'm going in late October, so heat shouldn't be too much of an issue.

The single Quattro wasn't too bad on the bus, it was just the trams that caused a problem. I am way too scared to try to wrestle the Quattro Duo around that place!

 

[Missy_May]

We always take our big comfy stroller for our kids. I like having the best in park nap options for our kiddos and the buses are a bit of a pain, but it hasn't been impossible.

 

[jmorri26]

Last trip I saw more Baby Jogger double strollers than I did Disney rentals. TONS of people using them, they're lightweight, fold fast and easy and I think your best bet for 2 kiddos. I have the City Mini and it was perfect last trip for getting on and off buses or the plane. Mine has a seperate tray I bought, I'd assume the doubles do too.

The double strollers that have the kids front and back (or triple strollers sometimes!) always seem hard to manage when I've seen them. Depends on the type, I'm sure.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

The double strollers that have the kids front and back (or triple strollers sometimes!) always seem hard to manage when I've seen them. Depends on the type, I'm sure.

Our double is super comfortable for the kids, and has tons of storage, but it drives like a 1960 Cadillac. I struggle to get it around the mall, and the very thought of moving it around the parks gives me a panic attack.

I like the Expedition jogger because the three wheeled, pivoting front wheel configuration makes it so much easier to maneuver, even if it is a little wider.

 

[meyeet]

Last trip I saw more Baby Jogger double strollers than I did Disney rentals.

I think Disney has met it's match on stroller rentals. They are just so expensive and you can't push sleeping kids to the buses in theirs.

 

[docdebbi]

to change the whole face of the conversation..........we always take one stroller per child. well, to be accurate, last trip we TOOK two and RENTED a city elite for the four year old. we prefer this because not only do they fold and get transported more easily, they get through tight spaces (read as.....disney crowds and store aisles) more easily. also, we can separate with no ado and each head off where needed. my grandkids on the last trip were 3, 2 and 3 months. they got tired and cranky at different times, i could buzz off to a quiet area for a nap with one while my kids kept going with the others. we could take 2 different kids on two different rides in two different area without having to schlep one in our arms. and the double with two kids can get mighty hard to push, esp at the end of the day.
the reason we rented the one was twofold. first, we didn't have a city elite for the bigger kid. while he was not even four years old then, he was 56 pounds and 43 inches tall! we're growing a monster, regular strollers don't do well with that size. Also, it was one less stroller to fit into the rented minivan back and forth from the airport. we were happy with how it worked out.
since returning, i went out and got myself the city elite, man is that thing great! folds soooooo easily, one hand, and folds so small!! we are now city elite fans, but bigger fans of one kid per stroller.

 

[docdebbi]

I think Disney has met it's match on stroller rentals. They are just so expensive and you can't push sleeping kids to the buses in theirs.

i actually (almost) felt bad for Disney on our last trip. We noticed the same thing you did, we assume the majority were rentals. while Disney used to have the monopoly on stroller rentals, they are quickly losing a large chunk of income, and they really can't do anything about it.
They need a stroller that has few working parts, is very durable and can be cleaned and sanitized easily and quickly at the end of the day every day. That means hard plastic and not reclining. The outside rentals usually rent for a longer period of time so can afford to do a good cleaning after a week or two week rental.
and they can't even refuse to let you use these outside companies like they do with the golf carts at Fort Wilderness. When everyone started renting outisde because it was cheaper, they refused to allow them on their property. really not convenient to drive a golf cart all the way from the edge of the property to the campsite, but the stroller folks could meet you lots of places to drop off if Disney refuses to let them on property. they can't really stop it.
i'm sure we'll feel the change in higher prices for something else.

 

[bethymouse]

I wouldn't want the hassle of having a stroller on an airplane.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

I wouldn't want the hassle of having a stroller on an airplane.

To me, the hassle of having a stroller at the gate is easier than the hassle of tackling both airports without one!

 

[alissafalco]

I personally would not rent on site because the carriage can not leave the park and you have to return it and rent one every day which is a pain in the A$$. We always take our stroller with us and it is not a hassle at all! you wheel it up to the door of the plane and it is waiting for you at the door of the plane as soon as you get off and no waiting in any rent/drop off lines at the beginning and end of each day.

 

[olinecoach61]

We rented a stroller from kingdom strollers last summer and it was great. We didn't have to worry about a stroller on the plane or bus and it was waiting for us at our lobby. We will do it again!