double stroller or two strollers?

HunnyPot

Member
Original Poster
Hi all! We're planning a trip to the World in February of 2013...I'm very excited to get my package booked next week! Anyway, we'll be traveling with 6 kids 5 and under. My husband and I have two of the kiddos, ages (at trip time) 2.5 and 5. We expect our 5 year old to walk some, but we also realize that she will get tired and will want to ride in a stroller some. Should we take our big double stroller? It's front and back, not side to side but it is bulky. I saw on another thread about taking a small umbrella stroller and carrying it around in a camping chair bag. What do you all think? Just grin and bear the one huge one or try for two smaller ones? Thanks!
 

NYwdwfan

Well-Known Member
We always did two singles. Easier to maneuver, great when splitting up and a LOT easier to push 40-50 pounds of stroller as opposed to 90-100 pounds of stroller. Since there are so many kids there will be days you could just take the one stroller to the parks and the older kids can rotate as they get tired.
 

journ116

Well-Known Member
I have been in your shoes (well, not your shoes), so I can offer what I learned from my experiences.

May, Sept., & Dec. 2010:
After paying $200 for our Gracco tandem (front/back) stroller, we weren't going to let that money go to waste. I have to say, as the oldest DD got bigger, the stroller was that much harder to push. In Dec., our oldest DD (4 3/4 y.o. & 15 mos. @ time of travel in Dec.) only weighed around 35 lbs., which made pushing the stroller easier. However, after folding that thing up and carrying it on & off the Disney busses was "becoming a nightmare" (to quote my DH who was always in charge of this part).

March 2011:
We decided to give renting a try. We rented a City Mini Double stroller from Magic Strollers: parents loved the ease of pushing/folding it up (much lighter than the tandem), but oldest DD didn't like sitting next to her sibling (5 y.o. & 18 mos. @ time of travel). If we could've afforded it, we would have bought a City Mini Double and ended our time with the tandem (that's how much we liked the side-by-side).

Oct. 2011:
Since we didn't have it in our budget this time, we opted to bring our tandem, again. By this point, DD's were 5 1/2 y.o. (41 lbs.) & 26 mos. (backseat weight is negligible for our tandem), and we ended up telling the oldest "to get out and walk" because it was too hard to push. In fact, the only time she sat in the stroller was to take a quick snooze or if the crowds were too much. Also, myself or DH would walk in front of the stroller for fear of clipping a strangers heels & feeling the "stroller wrath" rained upon us. With the side-by-side, we could gage our distance better and didn't feel the need to walk in front of it.

Nov. 2012:
Renting a double stroller from one of three sites. I know my DD6 won't really sit in it as much (as evident from last trip), but there will at least be an option for her. If we only brought a single, the girls would fight over it.

My DH and I thought about bringing two singles (similar or not) and tying them together. But after pondering it for a bit, we didn't really like the idea of having to fold up two strollers & oldest DD was too big for any lightweight umbrella stroller anyways (plus, heaven forbid one parent was left with both strollers to navigate).

FYI: Disney does have a size limit for strollers, which cannot exceed 52" in length & 36" in width (although many doubles out there exceed this by a couple of inches), & must be able to collapse.

CONCLUSION (finally): If it's in your budget, rent a side-by-side. However, I would take a single stroller for airport use (if you're flying). You have a while to decide and test out your tandem in a crowd.
 

HunnyPot

Member
Original Poster
I have been in your shoes (well, not your shoes), so I can offer what I learned from my experiences.

May, Sept., & Dec. 2010:
After paying $200 for our Gracco tandem (front/back) stroller, we weren't going to let that money go to waste. I have to say, as the oldest DD got bigger, the stroller was that much harder to push. In Dec., our oldest DD (4 3/4 y.o. & 15 mos. @ time of travel in Dec.) only weighed around 35 lbs., which made pushing the stroller easier. However, after folding that thing up and carrying it on & off the Disney busses was "becoming a nightmare" (to quote my DH who was always in charge of this part).

March 2011:
We decided to give renting a try. We rented a City Mini Double stroller from Magic Strollers: parents loved the ease of pushing/folding it up (much lighter than the tandem), but oldest DD didn't like sitting next to her sibling (5 y.o. & 18 mos. @ time of travel). If we could've afforded it, we would have bought a City Mini Double and ended our time with the tandem (that's how much we liked the side-by-side).

Oct. 2011:
Since we didn't have it in our budget this time, we opted to bring our tandem, again. By this point, DD's were 5 1/2 y.o. (41 lbs.) & 26 mos. (backseat weight is negligible for our tandem), and we ended up telling the oldest "to get out and walk" because it was too hard to push. In fact, the only time she sat in the stroller was to take a quick snooze or if the crowds were too much. Also, myself or DH would walk in front of the stroller for fear of clipping a strangers heels & feeling the "stroller wrath" rained upon us. With the side-by-side, we could gage our distance better and didn't feel the need to walk in front of it.

Nov. 2012:
Renting a double stroller from one of three sites. I know my DD6 won't really sit in it as much (as evident from last trip), but there will at least be an option for her. If we only brought a single, the girls would fight over it.

My DH and I thought about bringing two singles (similar or not) and tying them together. But after pondering it for a bit, we didn't really like the idea of having to fold up two strollers & oldest DD was too big for any lightweight umbrella stroller anyways (plus, heaven forbid one parent was left with both strollers to navigate).

FYI: Disney does have a size limit for strollers, which cannot exceed 52" in length & 36" in width (although many doubles out there exceed this by a couple of inches), & must be able to collapse.

CONCLUSION (finally): If it's in your budget, rent a side-by-side. However, I would take a single stroller for airport use (if you're flying). You have a while to decide and test out your tandem in a crowd.

Thank you for sharing your experience! Weight isn't much of a issue for us right now...DD (5) is only 35lbs and she gains weight really slowly. Unless she has a very unexpected HUGE growth spurt, I doubt she'll be at 40lbs at trip time. I think my DH would balk at the cost of renting a stroller since we have our own. If we're not renting, from what you said, do you think it would still be easier to just grin and bear the big one as opposed to having 2? We took it in 2010 (DS was only 6 months at the time and it was the best choice then) and we didn't have any issues with it's size by Disney size limits. I was just thinking it is awfully bulky to bring for a child who wouldn't be riding the entire time. I know DD will walk a lot.
 

HunnyPot

Member
Original Poster
We always did two singles. Easier to maneuver, great when splitting up and a LOT easier to push 40-50 pounds of stroller as opposed to 90-100 pounds of stroller. Since there are so many kids there will be days you could just take the one stroller to the parks and the older kids can rotate as they get tired.

Thank you! Was it a pain having 2 strollers to lug around on the buses?
 

NYwdwfan

Well-Known Member
Thank you! Was it a pain having 2 strollers to lug around on the buses?

My parents came with us, so most of the time we had 4 adults and 2 children. My husband and I each folded a stroller and my mom held the kids hands. When we were without my parents, we just each took responsibility for the kid in the stroller we were pushing. As we waited for the bus we folded the stroller and grabbed the bags beneath and then just held the stroller with one hand and the kids with the other as we got on the bus. It took a few times to get it down but by the end of the trip we were like a well oiled machine!
 

journ116

Well-Known Member
Thank you for sharing your experience! Weight isn't much of a issue for us right now...DD (5) is only 35lbs and she gains weight really slowly. Unless she has a very unexpected HUGE growth spurt, I doubt she'll be at 40lbs at trip time. I think my DH would balk at the cost of renting a stroller since we have our own. If we're not renting, from what you said, do you think it would still be easier to just grin and bear the big one as opposed to having 2? We took it in 2010 (DS was only 6 months at the time and it was the best choice then) and we didn't have any issues with it's size by Disney size limits. I was just thinking it is awfully bulky to bring for a child who wouldn't be riding the entire time. I know DD will walk a lot.

My DH and I preferred to deal with one stroller, even the tandem one. DD6 could hop in out (since she sat in the front) & DD2 liked the "cocoon" feel of the back (keeping her more contained). Like I wrote before, the thought of dealing with two strollers is overwhelming, at least for me. Also, there isn't a single umbrella stroller that would fit my DD6 (5 1/2 y.o. @ the time we traveled to WDW last). And we could not not bring a stroller for her, because we're like a locomotive when we do Disney, we just keep chugging along! At some point she was bound to get tired and need to rest, while my DH and I would like to keep moving...it's just our style. (SIDE NOTE: neither of my DD's gain weight fast, but that 5 lbs. made a difference when DD6 sat in the front.)

You mentioned you took your tandem in 2010, so you can remember what it's like folding it up, lugging it on the busses, and pushing it around. If the thought doesn't make you fold over in two, I say, "Why not? Bring it along again, possibly for the last time!" Taking 6 kids under the age of 5, someone else is bound to sit in the front OR the other stroller (if you take the 2 stroller route).

You know your family dynamics best, so I am sure whatever you and your DH decide will be fine!
 

LizC

Well-Known Member
I have twins also. I am planning on bringing two single strollers that can be connected. This way we can use them as single or doubles, and they are easy to lift. I have never actually done this at Disney, but we have been to our local zoo many times and it works very well. It is also nice if we want to split up.
 

Mr. CPA

Member
Big strollers are wonderful once you get into the parks. All that extra room is great. The problem you run into is traveling using the Disney busses. Also, how you're going to get to DisneyWorld is going to affect your decision. We just don't have room in our vehicle for a big double Cadillac. So, that's ruled out for us.

If you're planning on staying at a monorail resort and spending most of your time at MK and EPCOT, bring the biggest double stroller you can find. You can just drive it right up onto the monorail and it's great. You may get tired of pushing it. But, if you share strolling duties, you should be okay. I would also recommend this if you were staing at say the Boardwalk or Beach/Yacht Club and spending a lot of time at EPCOT and DHS.

If you're planning on using the busses a lot, here is what I would do... Bring a smaller single stroller (bigger than an "umbrella", but smaller than a Cadillac) from home and rent a second stroller in the park(s). The 5 year old will probably like the rented stroller better. It will come in very handy. Then, you only have the smaller stroller to deal with on the busses.

I have a 2.5 year old and a new 6 month old. So, I've been thinking about this subject quite a bit lately in preparation of my trips later this year.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Our girls were 5 and about 2.5 on their last trip and we rented a CIty Mini Double. We haven't tried it the other way around but it seemed like a royal pain to have 2 smaller vs. 1 big. We were very happy with our decision and will be going this route in Nov.
 

HunnyPot

Member
Original Poster
Thank you all so much for the replies! I'm still not 100% sure what we're going to do, but I have some time. Someone else mentioned a Sit and Stand....anyone used one of those before? We're staying at POFQ so we will be using the buses daily. DH is in charge of the stroller once on the bus...but I personally don't like lugging it on. I feel like it makes things more crowded and inconvient for the other guests and I hate feeling like that!
 

mpeters

Active Member
i also have twins and we take our side by side every year we go. its a peg perego. the thing can literally be picked up by my pikny alone when its folded up. Its not huge so its quite easy to manage. Plus its great to store all of your stuff instead of carrying it. i also like to put a plow on the front of it and run straight at the Brazilian tour groups when i see them...........ahhh the memories.
 

lovetheears

New Member
We have used our sit and stand last visit to Disney (with 3 kids, 5 1/2, 3 and 11 mths) it was a great option for the parks as it was more light weight then our double stroller. Horrible on the bus because it folded up so long, however it was well worth it for in the parks as all three kids could fit, babe in the front our tiny 3 year old on the seat and the 5 year old stood. Then after we returned from our nap break we would bring an umbrella stroller for the 3 year old which fit under the seat of the sit and stand. Again horrible on the bus with 2 parents 3 kids and 2strollers but well worth it!
 

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