Double stroller on buses

[tanyaandallie]

I would highly recommend you leave the car seat in the hotel room. It will be a huge pain in the rear. We took dd for the first time at 5 mos and she was fine in the stroller. We kept it mostly leaned back for her and she was great.

If you don't have a good baby carrier, I would strongly recommend one. At that age my ds spent more time in the baby carrier than in the stroller. For us it was far easier to leave him in the baby carrier than to put him back in the stroller then pull him out again at the next ride. PLUS, he preferred it.

When you get to the bus stop you can pop in baby in the baby carrier, fold up the stroller and be ready to go.

A double on the bus is a pain. We did it many times. But, it's totally doable and nothing to stress too much over. You will be fine!

 

[brymolmom]

DH and I had it down to a science by the time we finished with strollers. Here's what we did:
First of all - put an empty shopping bag at the bottom of your stroller basket - just leave it there under everything else all day (think 99 cent grocery store bag). At the end of the day as you're approaching the bus stop - there will likely be 'things' that accumulate in the stroller during the day (half empty popcorn buckets, wet socks, hats or sunglasses) - grab the shopping bag and toss EVERYTHING into it. This makes it MUCH easier for the parent in charge of the kids to hold everything in one hand and then have one hand for 2 of the kids (or one arm to hold one of the kids).
I would then grab the kids and dh would be in charge of the stroller - he would either enter at the back entrance or walk immidiately back there if able. He would always stand at the back door and lean the stroller against the pole there.
When we got there - he would hop out first, pop the stroller up and be ready to grab the kids when I got off the bus with them.

A pain, yes, but worth it when the kids are young.

 

[Schmeck]

Any chance you could budget for a rental car if you really have to have the carseat for the baby? Christmas crowds are starting to pick up down there, and Pop is a pretty big resort - there's a chance that you wouldn't be able to get a seat on a bus, especially at peak travel time. Two little ones, a big stroller, and bags, without a seat makes me nervous...

 

[lmcmanus1795]

I agree with many of the other on here....carry as least as possible, send purchases to resort and have everything ready to board. We never made sure we left early but what we did was if it was our turn to load the bus and it was full we opted to wait for the next bus and then it gave my husband lots of room to get on the bus without hitting anyone. We stayed at POP and never had to wait long for a second bus. We set out specific rules before we even left for Disney....DH main job was to manage the stroller on on off the buses while my only concern was the backpack and 2 kids. We just said it doesn't matter if we are together or not on the bus and once we got off the bus we just met off to the side of the bus AWAY from the door to prevent being in the way of others. It worked out great.

 

[Hockeyman]

Just got back from our trip last night.

The lesson I learned was never again lugging that huge double stroller around with us at Disney again or for anywhere we travel lol. We did end up leaving the car seat back in the room and had the lil lil one in the stroller seat with no problem, in fact she loved having more freedom and space. She also spent half of the trip in the baby carrier walking around, which she loved also.

The 1st few days it was just my wife and I with our 2 girls and that was a handful trying to get both of them, diaper bag, stroller, my camera bag and any thing we bought onto the buses and we did manage to handle everything but wasnt easy or relaxing lol. I will say it was very nice and refreshing all the help that we received from other people staying at Pop and riding the buses with us. Really helped us out a ton.

The last few days my brother stayed with us so having that extra set of hands helped us a lot. We are going to buy some sort of small folding umbrella stroller, either 2 singles or a double for our next trip that is for sure lol

@brymolmom - we pretty much had that same formula. After the first bus ride we figured out a plan on how to manage everything better. I had a back pack and shoved what ever we bought in there. Everything else went into the diaper bag or pockets of my cargo shorts lol. I even would stand at that back door and lean against that same pole lol. So much easier for me to stand there and get out as soon as we got back so i could set up the stroller fast

 

[Stubbzilla]

What did you do for restaurants with the baby without a car seat? Is the baby old enough for a high chair?

I took a large sit n stand to Disney last time and it was awesome, but we were on the monorail and only road the bus three times total.

 

[mom2maggie]

I'm glad you had a good trip at least! I wondered if you would change your mind about that stroller. I've seen it in person, as a friend has it, and compared to the Baby Jogger City Mini, the Kolcraft is roughly the size of a submarine.

Lots of people recommend taking two single strollers instead of one, in case you want to split up. My family is all or nothing - we don't really split up, so the double has worked great for us.

 

[chekhovgirl]

I'm glad you had a good trip at least! I wondered if you would change your mind about that stroller. I've seen it in person, as a friend has it, and compared to the Baby Jogger City Mini, the Kolcraft is roughly the size of a submarine.

I agree, that's one of the biggest double strollers I've ever seen. I don't know how you handled it while you were there!

 

[Hockeyman]

What did you do for restaurants with the baby without a car seat? Is the baby old enough for a high chair?

I took a large sit n stand to Disney last time and it was awesome, but we were on the monorail and only road the bus three times total.

Believe it or not just about all the restaurants let us bring the stroller in since we had the 5 month in it and a lot of the times was sleeping when it was our ADR time. They usually put us in the back or on the side out of the way of every one. We ate at Ohana, Trex, Via Napoli. Also ate at Liberty Tavern but wife decided to bring the lil one in with the baby back back and that worked out perfect.

 

[Hockeyman]

I'm glad you had a good trip at least! I wondered if you would change your mind about that stroller. I've seen it in person, as a friend has it, and compared to the Baby Jogger City Mini, the Kolcraft is roughly the size of a submarine.

Lots of people recommend taking two single strollers instead of one, in case you want to split up. My family is all or nothing - we don't really split up, so the double has worked great for us.

You arent kidding about it being a submarine lol. We never really had an issue with the size of the stroller all during the trip, in fact it was great having the storage space under the seats for all our bags and stuff. Only time it was a hassle was getting on and off the buses lol. Oh and Osborne lights too, but just walking around without a stroller was like being in a sardine can lol.

Next time I am getting a double umbrella stroller that folds up nice and tiny and not dealing with the super stroller tank lol.

 

[Hockeyman]

I agree, that's one of the biggest double strollers I've ever seen. I don't know how you handled it while you were there!

It wasnt all that bad once we got off the bus. We are used to walking around crowds with it so that wasnt an issue. Just having to deal with it getting on and off the buses was enough for me to invest in a small double umbrella stroller lol

One plus side to the big stroller was having it during Mickeys Very Merry Xmas party parade and using it for our own little bit of crowd control lol. Helped us so nobody squeezed in our little space or got right on our backs.

 

[twinboysmom]

Hockeyman, I woukd highly recommend a double maclaren if you haven't purchased a double umbrella yet. It handles well, has a high weight limit, good recline for an umbrella, and is stable with a 10-12 pound bag handing off it. Found mine on eBay for half price but you might want to check crags list. It folds small and has a handle to carry. I have several other strollers but we use this for our WDW trips.

 

[Hockeyman]

Hockeyman, I woukd highly recommend a double maclaren if you haven't purchased a double umbrella yet. It handles well, has a high weight limit, good recline for an umbrella, and is stable with a 10-12 pound bag handing off it. Found mine on eBay for half price but you might want to check crags list. It folds small and has a handle to carry. I have several other strollers but we use this for our WDW trips.

Thank you. When we go to buy another stroller it will be as cheap as possible. We have our Kolcraft for every day use so this umbrella would be for those times we travel. Couldnt justify spending $300 on it lol

 

[chekhovgirl]

Sorry, what I meant was I couldn't imagine dealing with that stroller on the buses.

I'm a big craigslister when it comes to strollers. Double Maclarens are usually found easily and pretty discounted around here. I'd just keep an eye out. I'd rather buy a used higher end stroller than a cheapo stroller. We're not a fan of side by sides because we've always had a Phil and Teds Sport (Now Explorer?) stroller. I bought a double City Micro off of CL specifically to take to WDW and my husband vetoed it because he loves the P&T. We'll see how it goes!

 

[dumbo_buddy]

you've already received alot of great input here so i'll just 2nd (and 3rd and 4th) some of the things i'd recommend too...

skip the infant car seat. you can lay the stroller seat back and the baby will have plenty of support. most strollers are ok for infants once they are 3 months old.

put the baby in the sling/bjorn/whatever you're using when you get to the bus stop. that way you're hands free and can take a bag or the other kiddo's hand when you get on the bus. we brought our first son to WDW at 6 months old (he was VERY small but was still totally fine in the stroller sans car seat and was carried in the ergo and bjorn for the attractions and bus rides).

what i didn't see mentioned was to take your time and don't let anyone make you feel rushed to get the stroller and the kids on the bus. we were in WDW in september when i was 30 weeks preggo and we had our 2 year old. we were struggling a bit (too many packages, cranky kid, and i was dying of the heat) and some "lovely" man already on the bus (who hadn't moved all the way to the back of the bus, i might add, grr) sad something nasty about how we were wasting his time. rather than get flustered, just take your time. the bus driver will wait and your kids' safety is more important than saving a few seconds of time.

have a wonderful time! disney is the BEST place to bring the kiddos! we will be there in may with our son who will be almost 3 and our second son who will be 5 months old

 

[dumbo_buddy]

well if i had read the whole thread i would have seen that you already went on your trip. duh!

glad you had a good time. i find that we learn new lessons after each trip! sounds like you'll be bringing a lighter stroller next time! the citi minis seem to be a big hit at the parks and that's why we bought one too.

albeebaby (dot) com has the citi minis on sale if you buy last year's model. we did that (had to buy the orange one but i actually like it!) and we saved almost $200 on it!!!

 

[Hockeyman]

well if i had read the whole thread i would have seen that you already went on your trip. duh!

glad you had a good time. i find that we learn new lessons after each trip! sounds like you'll be bringing a lighter stroller next time! the citi minis seem to be a big hit at the parks and that's why we bought one too.

albeebaby (dot) com has the citi minis on sale if you buy last year's model. we did that (had to buy the orange one but i actually like it!) and we saved almost $200 on it!!!

Lol yeah we already went, came back now planning our next trip, but thank you for your input : )

We learned so many lessons that week and will do some things different next time but for the most part we knew going in it was going to be a handful so we did what we had to do and juggled everything and had a blast. We tried to be prepared when we got to the bus stop to have every thing ready and for the most part got onto the bus rather quickly but never felt rushed and everyone we encountered was rather nice. I myself dont like to keep people waiting so I made sure we were ready. I told my wife for our next trip i want the cheapest double umbrella stroller we can find hahaha

 

[M5ward]

just my opinion... skip the carseat and use the regular 2nd stroller seat. And there's nothing like a carseat going MIA...

We used a City Mini double in November with our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter and our 5 month old grandson. I bought a pad with support for his head to put in the stroller; he was reclined but not all the way. He spent some of his time in the Baby Bjorn too. We could never have managed the car seat too...and we traveled light. There were six adults, two toddlers, an infant, and two strollers (a single and the double). My husband travels in an ECV so he was out of the picture as far as helping to much as we boarded buses. That City Mini double is a treasure.
Good luck and have a great time.

 

[North of Mouse]

There are double strollers, and then there are DOUBLE strollers that are huge with 12" wheels and impossible to get on busses without hitting people as you go down the isle. There are regulations, but they never seem to be enforced. I have been hit by them many times, and even though there are "excuse me's" it still hurts . I can understand the need for double strollers at times, but please people, keep them as small as possible - preferably the inline ones as they are also more manageable in the stores and parks. Been there, done that!

 

[watkinsme]

There are double strollers, and then there are DOUBLE strollers that are huge with 12" wheels and impossible to get on busses without hitting people as you go down the isle. There are regulations, but they never seem to be enforced. I have been hit by them many times, and even though there are "excuse me's" it still hurts . I can understand the need for double strollers at times, but please people, keep them as small as possible - preferably the inline ones as they are also more manageable in the stores and parks. Been there, done that!

you are probably describing one like ours. Its a schwinn double jogger. It's huge - but its the only double we have and I am not buying another. HOWEVER - there are size regulations for strollers at WDW and ours meets the size restrictions.

MY thoughts are we are on the bus twice a day - for 20-30 minutes each time, but we are in the parks for 6-12 hours...and I'd much rather my kids be comfortable, and my husband be comfortable pushing it (it is real easy to push compared to other strollers) We travel with a ECV too and when we fold the stroller we place it between the ECV and the wall out of the isle...