double stroller options

[sharibrat]

DD is 3.5 and DS will be 8 mos when we travel. I have the sit and stand stroller, but borrowed a side by side double in case DD wants to nap in the park.

I borrowed a side by side where both seats recline thinking this would be nicest for the kids. I tested it out at Sesame Place a few weeks ago. I had some trouble fitting it through bathroom doors and in gift shop areas. The sun shades didn't cover quite as much as my single stroller either - which only concerned me because our baby is only 4 months old now and can't wear sunscreen.

Anyway, just wondered what others have thought of taking a side by side? Did it work ok going in stores, etc?

 

[glass slipper girl]

I have taken 3 different doubles with us.

Sit and Stand - nice idea, not ideal for our family. It was an older model than the ones out now. The child in back has no choice but to stand if the one in front reclines back, child in back can't sit facing forward without twisting or putting his feet in the basket, child in back has no sunshade, and does not have an option to lean back themselves.

Graco Duorider - I think it's the duorider. Not the glider, that is the front/back one...this was the side by side one. This was a garage sale purchase just for the trip b/c my boys didn't really "stroll" anywhere but WDW. Both seats reclined. One big sunshade rather than 2 individual ones (I prefer individual but not a huge deal as we always used it during the day no matter what). One big handlebar which is nice because you can sort of steer it one handed. I liked that the way it folded, it covered anything in the basket so you could leave stuff in the basket and not worry about it falling out. Biggest drawback was that when it is folded, it folds wide so bulky to carry on the bus. No problems fitting through anywhere.

Chicco Citta Twin - This is a double umbrella. I bought this one new b/c the Graco fell apart after we got home and I was taking my kids by myself so I had to have a double. Worked well for our needs. Decent sunshades, each seat reclined individually, more compact fold but still bulky and HEAVY. The stroller weighs like 30 lbs. Add in 75 lbs of kid and that's a lot to push around Epcot! LOL This one was the widest but I really had no problems with anything. I had to make sure that the wheels we all aligned straight before going in to our room at the Poly to be sure that none of them "caught" on the door as we went in but other than that, it fit fine. We didn't find any doorways or walkways we didn't fit on.

Remember that Disney is really conscious of designing things to be handicapped friendly so doorways and aisles are big enough to easily accomodate scooters and wheel chairs (even the big wheen chairs) so strollers fit through without much of a problem. With both of the side by sides we took, we could roll right on to the handicapped car of the monorail no problem and we could roll right on to the boats as well. We couldn't walk all the way down the aisle on one or two boats but we could roll on then park the stroller out of the way at the front or back and not worry about being able to walk all the way down.

 

[Em_in_FL]

Well we just got a Chicco Twin and I LOVE it...
My requirements were for it to fold up SMALL, and it's really great about that....
It's a side by side, and both seats recline... sun shades are good (although I did get an additional shade extender by Kiddopatumus... great for the FL sun!)... and I didn't want to spend a fortune... (it was ~$200)...

It can fit through my front door... which is rather narrow, so I'm impressed with it's width...
Here's the one we got...

 

[mistaroo]

Graco Duorider - I think it's the duorider. Not the glider, that is the front/back one...this was the side by side one.

I have the DuoRider too and LOVE it. I've taken it on several trips to Disney with no problems. It turns on a dime and steers like a dream- even better than my single! This stroller is the same width as a standard wheelchair. Also, it has just two sets of wheels which I strongly prefer over the doubles with three sets (I always kick one set in the center).

 

[rt2dz]

When DS#1 was 4 & DS#2 was 15 months, we went to WDW taking our double jogger. Right now there is a 100 people saying, "don't do it!" But I've gone with light umbrella strollers, the travel system, the sit-n-stand, and the double jogger. By far, the best decision I made was to take the double jogger.

1) My oldest DS is very tall for his age. My middle DS is a peanut. Not many strollers will hold the two of them. DS#1 hasn't napped since he was 2 or used a stroller since 3, but at WDW he does both. It is just a whole 'nother world.

2) It is always nice (and much better for any child 2 & under) to have a stroller you know and our comfortable with on a trip.

3) Plenty of storage space when needed.

4) In those crowds, it's better to have them closer to me rather than farther away as in a tandem.

5) It was only slightly more difficult on WDW transportation (actually easier than the sit-n-stand); not anywhere enough of a bigger hassle to make up for the wonderfulness of having it in the parks. And remember, I'm speaking from experience here and not just speculation.

6) We were able to use it out of the parks--in parking lots, on boats, on the monorail, DTD, in the hotel. etc, etc. Looks & comments of envy were plenty when we'd be wheeling our children around sleeping.

7) It was no wider than the double rentals (but much more convienent/comfortable) and fit everywhere fine. Although, it was a tight squeeze getting into the MK turnstiles.

8) Our jogger has the wheel under the footstand, so no problems there. Each seats reclines seperately. Stroller doesn't expand when one child is laying down. Lots of storage space. Extra seat padding that can be removed for cleaning. Our wheel has the swivel & locking option. Ours folds really well. It has only a single shade, but it covers really well. We also have the sun shade cover (WONDERFUL!!) and the rain cover (useful).

If you have an specific questions, please feel free to PM me.