DOUBLE stroller or 2 SINGLE strollers? What Type / Brand to buy or avoid??

[cancer_survivor_06]

I have used two single strollers for my dd's but only b/c we had grandparents w/ us so if we seperated it was easier. I have often thought of bringing my twin strollers I have both graco duoglider and a Jeep side by side. I don't use my duoglider usless dh is w/ me it is hard for me to push my girls in unless my dd6 is in the back seat and it has been this way since she was 4. I use my side by side w/ no trouble at all and have really been considering bringing it to disney for our trip in sept since it will just be me and dh. As a pp said the duoglider is somewhat large even when folded and on the bus it can be a strugle especially at night. I would also go w/ a Mac especially one of the new ones since it holds a high weight the jeep stroller I have holds 35 pounds in each each dd3 weighs 32 and dd6 weighs 38.

 

[cheerbop]

What wonderful, helpful responses! Thank you!

We are still going round and round about this 2 strollers or 1 stroller situation.

I keep telling my husband that THIS is the most difficult decision of the trip--not which resort or ADRs etc!

Any more help is greatly appreciated! I am like hearing the stories and descriptions from others.

 

[amy1976]

We have the Maclaren Twin Techno and I love it. It steers easy and opens and closes easily. It also holds up to 55 lbs a seat. My kids are 3 and 5 months now and they fit comfortably and I have had no problems with it. I highly recommend it.

 

[cheerbop]

We have the Maclaren Twin Techno and I love it. It steers easy and opens and closes easily. It also holds up to 55 lbs a seat. My kids are 3 and 5 months now and they fit comfortably and I have had no problems with it. I highly recommend it.

This is one of the ones we have considered. HOw much does it weigh?
Could you tell me more about it, esp the things you like most and things that you don't like as well. Why did you decide on that one?
Just looking for more info..Thanks so much!

 

[amy1976]

I really liked that the seats held up to 55 lbs. Some I looked at only held up to 40 or 45. My 3 year old is 38 lbs now and I wanted something I could keep for a while. We also have the Maclaren single stroller and we loved that so that is why we considered the double. We have had the Peg Perego and the Chicco singles also and nothing beats the Maclaren for durability and steering, IMHO. I tried out a lot of doubles and I felt that the Maclaren was easiest to get around with. We have no trouble getting in doorways or in store aisles. It also has compartments on the back, 2 baskets and 2 cup holders. I hate when strollers don't have enough storage and cup holders are a must IMHO. The sun shades are pretty big and they have an extra tinted flap that comes down to block more sun. Big plus in hot Disney. My baby sleeps comfortably in the stroller and my 3 year old has no complaints. The seats fully recline which a lot of the doubles didn't or 1 seat fully reclined. My 3 year old rarely sleeps in the stroller but I wanted the option just in case. Anyway, I hope that helps you I know purchasing a stroller is stressful especially when you are spending a lot of money on it.

 

[davisdenyel]

When we go I will be bringing my dubble stroller (front and back). I need to bring 1 stroller rather than 2 because we also have a 7 year old. So my husband will be taking off alot with our son to do the bigger rides while I have the two little ones by myself doing rides with them. There will also be days where my dh and ds will go off and do something different than me and the babies will do. So I have to have 1 stroller. Otherwise if I were to have help I would choose 2 small strollers.

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

This is what I use when I don't have an extra set of hands around.

Very easy to pop on and off once you get the hang of it. That way you have the best of both worlds a double when you need it and 2 singles when they need it.

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

Since one of your kids is older than the other I would definetly go for a Maclaren, since this will last you a long time. Maybe you won´t use it all the time, but it will be really handy for the zoo, the mall and other trips.

The new Techno has a 65 lbs limit per seat. The seat extender is a must if you have a baby. I would definetly get the Techno over the Rally Twin or the new Triumph Twin (I think this is the name).

And if you split the older can walk some and the parent with the baby (and I bet the diaper bag) can keep the stroller.

Maclaren strollers push like a dream, even with heavy kids in them.

PP suggested a Combi. I have never tried a double, but made the mistake of buying a single for dd when she was 2.5 (about 33 lbs) and it was so hard to push that we decided to rent a huge stroller from abbf.com instead of bringing the Combi to the parks, it was so bad.

We now have a Maclaren Quest (dd weighs now almost 40 lbs) and it is very easy to push.

 

[MomtoEmIs&Ow]

We have the Maclaren Twin Techno and I love it. It steers easy and opens and closes easily. It also holds up to 55 lbs a seat. My kids are 3 and 5 months now and they fit comfortably and I have had no problems with it. I highly recommend it.

These sound like great options but SOOO pricey. I could never spend that on just a stroller Wish I could though. THat Maclaren sounds and looks good.

When we go on our next trip DS's will be almost 6 and almost 3. Older DS is pretty scrawny at only 32lbs right now and he is 4.5. So we will not get too much use out of a double. On our last 2 trips we just used our single stroller, because when older DS was in it I just worn younger DS in his sling. (He was 3 months and 10 months on the trips!) I was thinking of a sit and stand... Are they really not good? In an ideal world I would like a reclinable seat for both boys, with shade and a basket, but I don't know if this is possible? ANy cheaper, like under $120 suggestion? for that criteria? Thanks for any help!

Lee

 

[cheerbop]

I didn't want to spend over 150 myself till I started pushing some of them and playing with the seats, etc. They were hard to push and didn't really recline like I wanted. I don't want my 9 month old baby to not be able to recline at Disney and I also didn't want it to be hard to push for 7 days! That would be a pain,
Soooooooo we have upped our budget for this.
We have been looking at the Maclaren alot and right now the cheapest I have seen for it is about 269 I believe.
We will see.
I am so appreciating all this feedback. If we were driving we would bring a double and a single, but since we will be flying, I really don't think that is an option for us.
The extenders are something we may consider too, although we would have to pop them off all the time to go into narrower spaces.
Ugh, why does this have to be so difficult?! Like I said, the most difficult decision of our trip!

 

[dvcnewgirl]

We did 2 singles. Much easier to get around and in and out of crowds. I did not use an umbrella stroller because I am tall and it kills my back to push them a lot. I just used the 2 regular strollers that I had for them from their travel systems. A lightweight stroller would have been better but I was not investing in one for a week. ( My daughter was 3 also and does not use a stoller anywhere else). Good Luck!!

 

[katieandemismom]

Try Albeebaby.com or E-bay for some GREAT deals on the 2006 Maclarens right now. We just bought two single Quests for $130 each shipped. Those are normally $200 + strollers.

I'm so excited!!!!!!! Disney....here we come!

 

[klinkprincesses]

]

mommyoftwinfants-I couldn't really tell in the picture: Is that some sort of attachment to latch the two umbrella strollers together? It sounds perfect! Where do you get it? I will be taking my 2 dtrs (3 & 4yr) and definately think I need to have a seat for each of them.

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Lionhe...e=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1176832765&sr=8-1

I found mine on clearance at BabiesRus.

 

[klinkprincesses]

We are taking our dtrs (ages 3&4) to DW in September and would really like a lightweight umbrella stroller to use at the parks. The problem is my husband is really tall (6'3") and they KILL his back! Does anyone know of any strollers with adjustable handles or extensions? I don't want to be the only one messing with the stroller for 9 days!

 

[klinkprincesses]

Thanks mommyoftwinfants! I'll check it out!

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

We are taking our dtrs (ages 3&4) to DW in September and would really like a lightweight umbrella stroller to use at the parks. The problem is my husband is really tall (6'3") and they KILL his back! Does anyone know of any strollers with adjustable handles or extensions? I don't want to be the only one messing with the stroller for 9 days!

The Macs have adjustable handles the only option you would have w/ and umbrella stroller is purchasing a set of stroller handle extenders. I am not really sure how much they are but they are frequently on ebay along w/ the stroller connectors.

 

[KTMB]

The first time we went with both kids we took the double and I thought it was a big PITA. We have the Graco DuoGlider (it's a tandem) and it was too heavy getting off and on the buses. The second time we went we brought two single strollers (like someone else mentioned, the Chicco brand is what we have). It was so much better having two very lightweight strollers. We will never bring the double again!

I agree 100%. We have a DuoGlider and were planning to take that when we went 9/06, but decided to get 2 smaller strollers instead. Thank goodness we did that! We saw so many people struggling w/getting double strollers on the bus (especially after park closing). We bought 2 Britax Esprits (I don't think they make them anymore, but you may find some on closeout online), which are lightweight (a little more substantial than umbrellas, but similar). They didn't recline the 'whole' way, but enough for my then 4-month old DS. DD was 2.5 and it was plenty big for her.

We're going back 9/07, DS will be 15 months & DD will be 3.5. The strollers will still work for them. Our friends borrowed them to use at WDW in November with a 2.5 yo and 5 yo.

Hope that helps!

 

[cheerbop]

Still looking....
We are buying a double no matter what. We may use it at Disney, may not. But, we do want to purchase at least one new single.

Love all the advice. Thank you everyone!