Double stroller or two singles?

[Disney_Queen34]

We will have a 1.5 year old and a 6 month old when we go on our next trip. Debating between getting a double stroller or just taking two singles. What do you think would be better? It will be six adults and the two kiddos.

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

With that many adults, I think 2 singles are better than a double, that way you can split if necessary and still have a stroller for both children.

Julie

 

[mollyseven]

Personally I myself can't imagine going to dw with 2 kids that age. It seems to be to be more effort than worth. Neither of the 2 will ever remember it and at that age they need naps and early beds and how much fun can that be. We just got back and it seemed to me that all the parents will these toddlers seemed to be stressed and not enjoying themselves and I think why spend thousands of dollars on a trip the kids won't have any memory of.??
I'm not judging you or anyone I just can't imagine doing this myself.
Why do people do this???
Anyhow the question ~ as long as you think you will do everything together then I would say go with the double. Only one needs to push and you get through quickly eveyone steps aside to avoid the giant stroller coming by.

 

[tms295]

Are all 6 adults going to be with the child... or will there be times with 2 adults and 2 children...

IF there will be multiple adults to help... 2 singles may be better... But if you have 2 adults and 2 children.... 2 strollers are more to juggle than 1 double

I will be traveling with a 3 yo and a 8 mth old in November to Disney world...
To answer the above poster... young children still enjoy themselves even if they don't remember the trip 10 years later... Disney is meant for children... most 10-16 year olds could care a less about Cinderella and Mickey mouse... They want thrills, games, and roller coasters.

 

[mom2bellaandlivi]

I have gone around and around about this. However, there are only 2 adults going in our house with your almost 3 year old and 11 month old. We are going with the double stroller. I found one at a garage sale for cheap.

 

[bartleby1]

I would opt for two singles because full size doubles are usually hard to push and bulky/heavy. Your 1.5 yr old is old enough to be ok in a light weight stroller (one that reclines with a sunshade) and then I would take a full size comfy one for the 6 month old. Of course, it depends on what you have and what you are willing to spend...

 

[zdesiree]

I took two single strollers. The only downside I found with a double is the doors, when we where going to take the monorail it was a little difficult with a single, with a double is impossible, you will have to close it in order to get it in the monorail, since the spaces in the monorail are divided in the middle, so with a single you can get it in open, one in one side and the other in the other side.

 

[KelleyGirl]

I think for my next trip I will be taking two single strollers, but I saw these great bands at Babies R Us that are meant to connect two single strollers side by side, making into a double stroller. If you have two comparable strollers, this may work, and will give you the best of both - convenience of one adult being able to push them, and being able to take them apart for the monorail, etc. I haven't tried them. I still need to go back and get the 2nd stroller! Right now we're using a front/back double stroller, and its just too big to take to wdw.

 

[brymolmom]

Personally I myself can't imagine going to dw with 2 kids that age. It seems to be to be more effort than worth. Neither of the 2 will ever remember it and at that age they need naps and early beds and how much fun can that be. We just got back and it seemed to me that all the parents will these toddlers seemed to be stressed and not enjoying themselves and I think why spend thousands of dollars on a trip the kids won't have any memory of.??
I'm not judging you or anyone I just can't imagine doing this myself.
Why do people do this???

You could put this logic to ALL vacations - most kids these ages wouldn't know the difference or care if they're at the playground next door or at the shore, at an amusement park, camping somewhere, visiting the wonders of the world...So if you do have kids, did you do NO vacations until they were old enouhg to remember it?? If you don't have kids, your question isn't as surprising.

Parents with young children still lead their lives whenever and however possible. I went to WDW once when I was a kid and I was six - I have maybe one or two actual memories of it (and they're foggy) - but it was still a family vacation and I still had fun.

Younger kids (like mine at ages 2.5 and 1 when I brought them) will still have fun seeing all the sights and the parents may have more fun seeing their kids reactions to WDW. And even if the kids are too young to react - the PARENTS will be having fun. At this age - it's not about a kid begging to go somewhere for vacation - it's about the parents deciding what THEY want to do. And I don't blame them - no reason to miss all the magic of WDW simply because you've been recently blessed with a new addition to the family.

 

[mollyseven]

Funny....
I actually have 2 kids dd11 and ds8 and this was our first trip to wd. We would've gona maybe 2 years ago but my son has a chronic/sometimes fatal immune deficiency so this was as soon as we could go actually.
I just personally can't imagine wanting to go if you don't have kids and if you do have them I wouldn't (personally) want to have to work my days around naps/early nights and feedings....especially for a vacation that cost us over $7000.00 in the end.
To each his own I was just baffled by the people there with infants or children too young to partake in any rides/activities and no other children. Just me apparently.
Have a magical day!

 

[7lords]

I think for my next trip I will be taking two single strollers, but I saw these great bands at Babies R Us that are meant to connect two single strollers side by side, making into a double stroller. If you have two comparable strollers, this may work, and will give you the best of both - convenience of one adult being able to push them, and being able to take them apart for the monorail, etc. I haven't tried them. I still need to go back and get the 2nd stroller! Right now we're using a front/back double stroller, and its just too big to take to wdw.

The stroller connectors kind of work. They work fine when no kids are in the strollers and probably with 2 kids under 2 but if they are over 30 lbs, they don't work well at all.

 

[brymolmom]

Funny....
I actually have 2 kids dd11 and ds8 and this was our first trip to wd. We would've gona maybe 2 years ago but my son has a chronic/sometimes fatal immune deficiency so this was as soon as we could go actually.
I just personally can't imagine wanting to go if you don't have kids and if you do have them I wouldn't (personally) want to have to work my days around naps/early nights and feedings....especially for a vacation that cost us over $7000.00 in the end.
To each his own I was just baffled by the people there with infants or children too young to partake in any rides/activities and no other children. Just me apparently.
Have a magical day!

Ok - much clearer now - THAT I can certainly understand. No way would I pay $7000 for something my kids wouldn't care about. We've always thought of Disney (especially with free dining) as an ALMOST budget vacation. We've never spent over $2500 I'd say and you'd pay that for a full week in many places with a family of 4.

Of course, you also say you wouldn't go with no kids. Many of us are Disney-loving adults. I went several times pre-kids and now I'm experiencing new and different aspects of it as I bring my kids 2 and 4 this year.

But I would definitely join in with your viewpoint if anyone asked me if I wanted to spend $7000 to bring my very small kids (or actually - even bigger kids) to go someplace.

Definitely a magical day! And a magical vacation!

 

[katyjeka]

We've taken a double(side by side) a couple times and single umbrellas twice. They have both worked fine for us, WDW makes stroller "pushin" easy. We have taken our girls since they were little, and I would not take a single moment back that we've spent with them on any of our vacations. We've cruised, hiked Great Smoky Mountain, and went to the Everglades. Of course, they have little memory of this, HOWEVER, they do enjoy the movies we've made and love to watch them. DH and I have memories that will stick with us forever. I'm not judging you or your opinion on young children at WDW. As a parent we have to do what works best for our family, and not always follow the norm. If waiting until your children were older to go worked for you it was a good decision to wait. On the other hand, if taking a vacation with young children works for others, it is the RIGHT decision for them. Happy Travels. Janice

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

My children are 1 year and 6 days apart in age. We always took two separate strollers, even when it was just the two of us or with extended family. We both did not mind pushing a stroller and we liked the convenience of being able to separate with one child each. Also, it gave them a break from being ontop of one another.

 

[bdklein]

Totally depends on whom you are with. If there will always be 2 people available to push the strolllers, then go with the singles. If there may be a time when only one person is available to push the stroller, then take a double stroller. Keep in mind that you should be able to get a front to back double stroller on the monorail, not a side by side double.

 

[nuzmom]

We have only used WDW double strollers a couple of times (because older child could walk) and have used a single for 5 trips. Because you have a nice number of adults, I would definitely opt for 2 singles. It's just so much easier to get around and to seperate if needed. Even simple things like using the restroom is POSSIBLE with a single (you know child sleeping, wheel it into a handicapped stall and you're ok) that just are way too hard with a double.

You may also find yourself waiting somewhere (like at a restaurant) and you can park the 1.5 yr old's stoller and let her stretch her legs and you only have to deal with parking 1 stroller when it's time to go in.

Anyway, my opinion - go with 2 singles, but keep in mind that my children are 5 years apart and have not been faced with your exact situation.

Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[Sal]

Wow, I am so excited to get to post advice on the family board!! I came here for advice on the trip we took two weeks ago, also a question about strollers. We have been to the world many times, but this time, we took our whole crew, including two year old twin grandchildren, our first time with little ones.

We took single umbrella strollers, inexpensive ones. We gate checked them and left them outside rides and restaurants without worrying about them. We also rented a WDW double stroller a couple of days. We also had six adults, so plenty of people to help push. The rented double was nice to have, but a little large at times, aspecially in AK. I also thought it was a little pricey at $18 per day. After two days, we opted to go with the singles and it worked well for us. Easier to get through the crowds and shops.

I have to comment on the "too young" issue. We waited for our girls to be 6 and 10 to make our "once in a lifetime trip" (7 trips ago) It was great. This trip, last month, was a belated (by two years) graduation trip for youngest DD. A wedding, deployment and new twin grand-babies got in the way. The deployment is over (yeah!) and no way were we waiting any longer for the trip. We knew that things would be different with two-year olds and planned accordingly.

It was an amazing trip. NO, the babies will not remember it, but WE will! My DH barely tolerates Small World. The twins have learned some sign language and when we got off the boat at the end of the ride, little Emma signed to her PaPA (DH) "more, please". You can bet we got right back in line for several more rides. I got teary eyed seeing how much she loved it. It was just the most precious thing. They had so much fun and we had so much fun showing them around. The parades, shows and fireworks alone were worth the trip. Brave Logan had his picture taken with Mickey and his favorite Buzz.
We took our DDs, son in law, boyfriend and the twins, flew, stayed eight days
and had the time of our lives. And for what it is worth, yes, we spent about $7000 to do it. $7000 is a ton of money to us. Was it worth it? Yup, every penny.

Sorry, I got carried away!

To the OP--ENJOY!!

Sal

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I think I'd take 1 really cheap umbrella stroller, 1 nice stroller and a baby carrier. That way you'd have a bunch of options. If you, your spouse and kids decide to split off you can put the baby in the holder, the toddler in the stroller and just leave the other one somewhere where you could get it later. On the other hand if they whole group is together you can have each child pushed by a separate adult. Also if you decide to split up (e.g. you and spouse go to do something romantic, taking baby because he's so little and leaving the older one with Grandma for some special 1:1 time) you can do that too.