double or 2 single strollers?

[Jenny]

i can't decide whether or not to travel w/ 2 singles or 1 double (front/back-graco duoglider) stroller. shade,comfort, & storage aren't really an issue since each has these things. i'm thinking that the 2 singles will be easier to collapse since we'll be taking the bus everywhere in WDW. has anyone tried a double on the bus & regretted it? (my DDs will be 7 months & almost 3). (my mom may come so there'll be 3 adults). thanks.

 

[timandlesley]

I would do the double. We went with our 8 month old and 3 year old in June and we had the Graco Duoglider and it worked really well. It was easy to fold up, and we had the carrier part for my 8 month old, which was really nice at night. She would fall asleep and I would simply lift the carrier part out with her still sleeping and place her at my feet on the bus, while my husband watched the 3 1/2 year old and stood by the folded stroller. We would fold it up before the bus came so others weren't upset with us, but it worked well for us. The only thing I don't like about the duoglider is the manueverability, it is hard to push two in one, but at my daughters age it was nice for her to be able to fall asleep in the carrier at night and have them both in one stroller. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[TerriBelle]

We prefered the 2 single stroller approach. We have 6 year old twins and when they were younger we took 2 strollers. Some of our reasons were:

1) lighter easier to fold for bus and boats
2) easier to roll and fit on momorail.
3) easier to use in the stores and tight spaces
4) could separate the kids when they started bothering each other - this might happen more with twins then different age kids but sometimes spending too much time in the same stroller created "issues". We hade both the side by side and the front/back.

Good luck

 

[hellooothere]

We brought 2 single strollers to Disneyland when our twin daughters were 2 yrs old.The problem was on rides that the older children could go on one of us (DH or DD) would have both strollers. Of course just at the point of no return when DH and older kids could no longer be spotted one of the little ladies would have to go potty. Picture Mom or Dad pushing both strollers through Disneyland in pursuit of a washroom. A little stressful...This time I'm going for the double.

 

[JinniLynn33]

Yet another mother of twins here I hate the double stroller it was always a crisis on wheels and didnt drive well or fit anywhere. I vote 2 singles

Virginia

 

[Annette_VA]

Originally posted by TerriBelle
We prefered the 2 single stroller approach. We have 6 year old twins and when they were younger we took 2 strollers. Some of our reasons were:

1) lighter easier to fold for bus and boats
2) easier to roll and fit on momorail.
3) easier to use in the stores and tight spaces
4) could separate the kids when they started bothering each other - this might happen more with twins then different age kids but sometimes spending too much time in the same stroller created "issues". We hade both the side by side and the front/back.

Good luck

ITA!!

 

[Jenny]

thanks for the input - i'm leaning towards the 2 singles only b/c i struggle to navigate the double & collapse it just getting around my town - let alone daily bus or boat trips. the only negative is that i wouldn't be able to leave the 2 singles w/ my mom in the parks, etc but it was probably an unlikely scenario since we're going for the kids & all activities will revolve around them anyways. thanks again.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

I think a big part of this decision depends on your family's style at the parks. We have brought a double on all of our trips because of the way we handle a lot of things. We do lots of "you head straight for Dumbo at park opening, I'll get us fast passes for Buzz and then walk over and get ready to get in line for Pooh. Meet me there as soon as you are done with Dumbo." and things like "you go order lunch, we'll ride TTA one more time and meet you when we're done." sort of things so it is more helpful for one person to be able to take both kids in one stroller. Other people seperate more often so 2 strollers makes more sense. We rarely seperate and take the kids on different things and if we do it's for things that are right together like DH will take our 4 year old on the Indy Speedway and I'll take the 2 year old on Buzz or TTA so they are right in the same area and it's no big deal to have one hop out and walk.

Other reasons to consider a double...do you have one kid who will want to get out and walk some? If you are both pushing a stroller, who will hold his/her hand? What about on the busses, will they stay with you without you having to hold on tight to them or will they try to wander? If they won't stay right with you it will be tough if both of you are holding on to strollers and no one is available to hold on to the kids without having to worry about the strollers.

As for transportation. Honestly, I haven't had a problem taking my doubles on busses, boats or the monorail. I use a side by side double because my kids are big and my front/back one just got too heavy with them in it. It also folds a little more compact. If the double makes sense for your family's needs and touring style then the slight inconvenience you may have with a bulky double are worth it. You are on busses for maybe a maximum total of an hour a day but you may be in the parks for anywhere from 6 to 10 hours a day. Go with what (1) your kids will be most comfortable in and (2) will work best with your family's touring style.

 

[2dogmom]

I just did 2 sincle strollers on our trip, but we also had stroller connectors so one person could push both strollers easily. It worked out very well for us. It also helped when one of us left a park early and stayed with the other child.

 

[Brian Noble]

I second the stroller connector vote. When both of our kids were in strollers, we had two umbrella strollers, usually separate, but connected when one parent had both kids.
Traveling light is a huge win for us, and we carried one small backpack for diapers, etc. etc.

 

[VictoriaT]

We have a Schwinn bike trailer that doubles as a stroller. It fits two children easily. Will they let us use it, or do we need an actual STROLLER?

 

[Jenny]

i'll have to look into the stroller connector - i'm not familiar w/ that but it sounds ideal. i assume it connects 2 umbrellas - i have 1 umbrella that has storage, cup holder & reclines - i THINK my 7 month old (feb. 05) will be comfortable in that - then i can bring our regular umbrella - they don't have to be identical do they?

 

[metivier]

Link to the stroller connector

 

[swilphil]

Originally posted by VictoriaT
We have a Schwinn bike trailer that doubles as a stroller. It fits two children easily. Will they let us use it, or do we need an actual STROLLER?

I think they will let you use it, but does it fold it up? If it doesn't you won't be able to take it on the bus. Our bike stroller is also very wide. I don't know if it would fit on the monorail or even the boat from MGM to Epcot.

 

[MateasMom]

Duo Glider! Absoultely. I wouldn't even consider the 2 stroller thing with kids that age. With older kids I would go two strollers (or one stroller taking turns) but with little kids I think one stroller is best. The Duo Glider is a great stroller though and not much more difficult to navigate than a single stroller. I find it easy to collapse too.

 

[2dogmom]

About the stroller connectors, they say that they should be identical, but I have 2 similar Graco strollers and it worked fine.

 

[tmfranlk]

Originally posted by VictoriaT
We have a Schwinn bike trailer that doubles as a stroller. It fits two children easily. Will they let us use it, or do we need an actual STROLLER?

My main concern would be the width. I took a friends Kangaroo (or something like that) bike trailer to DisneyLAND one time and it was too wide for the wheelchair/stroller gates. They had to go open a HUGE middle gate to let me in with my DD and her DS (they hadn't taken it before so it was a surprise). I seem to recall hearing that WDW won't/may not allow a stroller in if it's too wide for the gates.

The other concern is, as mentioned, whether it folds. If not, then you wouldn't be able to take it on any Disney transportation.