4 yr old, 8 mo old, 1 stroller - doable??

[lindzegurl]

We are headed to WDW next week for our first trip with kids!!!!

We will be traveling with our 4 yr old and 8 mo old. I borrowed a friends double stroller/also converts to a sit and stand, thinking it would be just perfect. I took it for a trip to the mall yesterday with both the kids to test drive. My son hasn't been anywhere in a stroller for over a year. He loved it but it seemed sooooooooooo bulky to me, too long, and awkward to push.

With just a week to go, I am considering doing the trip with just a single stroller. (been reading up on the chicco liteway) They baby still loves being in the Beco & Bjorn carriers, so I'm thinking she could be carried there, if my son needed to go in the stroller to rest---or to keep track of him at parades/fireworks.

What do you think....is it better to be "1 up or 1 down" in the stroller department?

Also, are locks used for when you need to leave the stroller somewhere?

 

[wdw71]

In my opinion I would not try to use one stroller you will get tired of carrying the baby at some point and at least for my DD4 year before last it was just too much to ask her to walk in all those people. We use Orlando stroller rental's double and it is great. Of course you could always take one and if you need a second then rent a disney stroller.

 

[disney_fan1972]

We are headed to WDW next week for our first trip with kids!!!!

We will be traveling with our 4 yr old and 8 mo old.
What do you think....is it better to be "1 up or 1 down" in the stroller department?

Also, are locks used for when you need to leave the stroller somewhere?

First, have a great time!

Second, I've never seen someone lock up their stroller, I don't think Disney would appreciate it and possibly cut the lock. Sometimes cast members move strollers to make more room or to a more appropriate 'parking spot'. I've used cheep strollers (won't any more) and super pricy models at WDW. I've always come home with it. Not to say it will always happen, I figure there is always a possiblity it could walk away without me. I've personalized our BMW of strollers with a big "C" on the sun shade (out last name starts with C). Helps people from taking it by accident.

Third: I've done the 1 single stroller 2 kids thing. Worked ok for us because DS would still go in the baby carrier. That said, my DD was 7 at the time (her 1st trip without the stroller!) and could handle the volume of walking. I really wouldn't try it with a 4y/o and a 8m/o. 4 is pretty young to walk all the time and boy oh boy does that little one get HEAVY in even the most comforatable carrier. We had the super duper wow model with the lumbar support etc, etc, etc, and it was great for the grocery store, the mall, the park. ... but Wow, at WDW... just draining!

If you are looking at purchasing one, there are several models that are side by side (my personal pref) but fairly compact... they fold to a big umbrella stroller size.

 

[MinnieGi]

My kids have about the same age span as yours and although they are now 9 & 5 we did a trip when DD was 4 and DS was 5 months. We did use just one stroller as DS was carried for most of the trip in a Baby Bjorn carrier by my DH. Now at 5 months he was almost 20 lbs so not sure how that measures up with your 8 month old and if it would be doable carrying the baby in a front carrier for your trip. Both my kids preferred the Baby Bjorn carrier as babies than a stroller even on trips to the mall etc. At times DS did nap in the stroller, but that was about it, he much preferred to be eye level with everyone and see all the excitement for himself!! Let me tell you it was one of our easiest trips!!! It was easy to ride with DS in the front carrier also rather than having to pull him in and out of a stroller all day long. 4yo DD walked a bunch too, so quite a bit our stroller was just a pushcart for the baby bag!

However I have to follow this up and say the next year when they were 5 & 1 we did borrow a double stroller for our park trip and was so glad we did. With DS over one and extremely mobile the stroller was a better option. And although 5 yo DD didn't sit in the stroller much at all it was nice after a bunch of walking or when we wanted to get to an attraction in a hurry and I really used it for any parking lot as they were then both confined. Yes, the double in big and bulky and I hated that part of it, but they could both fit in when needed. That same year we actually ended up doing two trips as my DH had a conference down in Orlando at the JW Marriott, so I would take the kids to the parks myself and that double stroller became invaluable since when I needed both kids to be confined in one spot they could be!

Good luck on your decision. I think it could work either way in your case.

 

[brockash]

We are headed to WDW next week for our first trip with kids!!!!

We will be traveling with our 4 yr old and 8 mo old. I borrowed a friends double stroller/also converts to a sit and stand, thinking it would be just perfect. I took it for a trip to the mall yesterday with both the kids to test drive. My son hasn't been anywhere in a stroller for over a year. He loved it but it seemed sooooooooooo bulky to me, too long, and awkward to push.

With just a week to go, I am considering doing the trip with just a single stroller. (been reading up on the chicco liteway) They baby still loves being in the Beco & Bjorn carriers, so I'm thinking she could be carried there, if my son needed to go in the stroller to rest---or to keep track of him at parades/fireworks.

What do you think....is it better to be "1 up or 1 down" in the stroller department?

Also, are locks used for when you need to leave the stroller somewhere?

No, locks are not used when you leave a stroller, and actually are not allowed. As far as the single stroller thing. If it were me, there's no way I'd only take a single stroller with a 8 month and a 4 year old to WDW. I actually bought a sit n stand just for WDW when my dd was 17 months and ds 6, just so he'd have a place to sit when he got tired, or if we had to get somewhere quickly and it worked especially well at closing when it was dark and crowded. For me the baby trend sit n stand is a little longer, and when getting it on the buses it's a little heavier, but I really had no problem pushing it with both kiddos in it. It collapsed to be just a bit larger than a collapsed full size single stroller. If you don't want to take the double, what about getting a cheap umbrella stroller, and taking 2 strollers? I'm not fond of umbrella strollers by any means, but I still think it'd be better than only taking one. I will say that I was never one to "wear" my kiddo on me. I tried it once (when dd was 4 months old) at DL, and I just felt like ppl. were bumping into me/her and it just kinda freaked me out. I'm also not sure how heavy the baby would feel after a while or how hot you'd get, so maybe if you're used to "wearing" the baby and are fine with that, maybe it would work, but for us, we'd always take the sit n stand.

 

[hmacmahony]

yep, COMPLETLY doable!
Our first trip we had an almost 3 year old, almost 2 year old and a 6 week old.
We brought, ONE SINGLE stroller, and it was fine.
Someone wore the baby probably 85% of the time, and the other two walked a great deal of the time, the 3 year old walked probably 99% of the time.
We took it at their speed, and enjoyed it, no need to rush from place to place.
They were fine.

 

[spel]

We also have that convertible sit & stand stroller and a 1 year old and an almost-4 year old. I will not bring that stroller to Disney. It's great for the mall & I've even brought it to Sesame Place in PA. But it's heavy, tough to push, very long, and the front seat doesn't recline very much. For us, it's totally impractical at Disney. At first we were going to rent a side-by-side double stroller for $125 for the week, then decided to purchase a maclaren twin triumph (side-by-side umbrella) for $200 w/free shipping off of ebay new. I'm also bringing a Ergo baby carrier for when we are waiting on lines with the baby. Even though my older DD doesn't often use a stroller, there's no way she'll be able to keep up with our pace at Disney & I don't want to be constantly worrying about holding onto her. Into the stroller she'll go! I won't want to hold the baby in the carrier for 5 days with all that walking.

Best of luck & have fun!

 

[Princess Roo]

Does your eldest mind walking? If you expect that he will be willing to walk a good chunk of the time, I think one stroller will be easier.

We used one stroller for our trip when DS turned 3 and DD was 4 mos (DD was in a sling a lot of that trip and DS alternated between walking and riding) AND one stroller for our trip where DD was 23 mos and DS 4.5 (DD rode most of the time and DS walked most of the time).

 

[lindzegurl]

Our Chicco Liteway arrived today and I love it! I think it will be great to alternate between the baby and my 4 yr old. She will be held or in the Beco Baby carrier while he is in the stroller - but we expect him to walk quite a bit too!

I just found out that there isn't a fee to fly with the strollers....so am bringing my firends double stroller as well. We will check it with our luggage and have the ME pick it up and bring it to the resort. Then we will have it in our rool...(just in case!!) or for nights when we head out after a long day of walking and to keep track of the kiddos for fireworks/parades.

Thanks for all of the advice! Still hoping we manage most of the week with the baby carrier and the new stroller.

 

[Sazuburns]

I did it with a 2 year old and a 4 year old and one stroller. Most of the time my eldest was ok walking, but if he needed to ride I put my younger one in a carrier (I had a Baby Trekker at the time, it goes on the front or on the back and you can carry a child up to the age of around 3).

The only one time I had an issue was getting back on a Disney bus at the end of a long day. My eldest was snoozing in the stroller, my younger son was asleep in the carrier (on my front) and I had to get my older one out of the stroller so I could fold it to put it on the bus. Dh has back problems and he and his scooter were already on the bus. However, although everyone was tired and had tired, grumpy children, the Disney spirit shone through and one kind person took my eldest from the stroller and sat him on his lap, and another kind person took my stroller and carried it onto the bus for me.

Actually, having a double stroller wouldn't have helped in this situation anyway!

 

[AirGoofy]

Our children are only 2.5 years apart and we did a front/back double stroller. The back seat could lay down, where an 8month old could nap and the front seat slightly reclined, where the older child could sit in comfort.

As for locks, that is not necessary. You will find a few threads about missing or missplaced stollers, but typically, there are not a lot of people will to pay Disney prices to make a profit off stolen strollers. We've left ponchos, coats, and even merchandise in a stoller while we did a ride.

 

[djp0630]

No way! We went in Sept with DS1 and DD3 and we needed a double stroller. I mean, DD3 NEVERS wants to be in a stroller at home, but she stayed in it a lot in WDW. I told her I wasn't carrying her, and there is a LOT of walking in WDW for a little kid. There is so much walking that you will get sit of carrying your 8 month old around all the time. Where is the baby going to sleep? DS took most of his naps in the stroller. I didn't push the double stroller around much, DH did, and it was a pain, but it was convenient. I was not going to carry my kids around WDW. I definitely think you will be thankful to have the double stroller.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Many trips with two kids, 3 years apart, and never needed more than 1 stroller...

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I agree with PPs. Take the double and split time between the stroller and sling. It is a lot of walking at WDW, so you need to preserve yourself some of the time too.

We did both with DD. She was 6 mo old when we went (DS was 2.5). We split the time between a sling and the stroller and it worked like a dream. If you are worried about using the public transport, just don't load up the undercarriage before you get on and off busses and trams. If you can get it folded as the tram/bus pulls in, you'll get on and off that much faster.