Double stroller question

[bangzoom6877]

We are seriously considering renting a double stroller from a baby rental company in Orlando (Baby's Best Friend) instead of the Disney strollers at the park. I have a few questions about this, from anyone who uses their own double stroller at the parks (and stays on property) or rents one as I might be doing:

-Is a side by side double stroller better, or a front to back one? I am concerned about fitting the stroller around the park, including in the stores and the outdoor seating at counter service restaurants.
-How bad is it to bring a stroller into the bus? Would it be better for us to just drive from the hotel and park the car? Only thing is, it will be July and the car will be super hot when we get into it, so I was thinking the bus might be more comfortable, but not sure.
-Could we find parking close to the entrance gate at the theme parks so we don't have to lug the stroller onto the tram?
-Is Baby's Best Friend a reputable company, for anyone that has experience with them?
-We will be arriving at around 11 AM at our hotel to check in, although the room is not guaranteed until 3 PM. Will the rental company still have the stroller ready for us there when we arrive so that we could go right to Magic Kingdom?


It looks like we might go this route, as long as the company is good and their equipment is clean. I want my kids to be comfy enough to nap if necessary, especially the little one who will only be 14 months when we go.

Thanks,
Bonnie

 

[TinaLala22]

I've never rented a stroller from on outside place - I've always rented from Disney themselves.

With that said I would recommend that you get a back to back and not a side to side stroller. You definitely won't be able to get around the stores and you'll have a difficult time down the walkways with a side to side stroller. All stores have to have 36 inches between their aisles however most double strollers are larger then 36 inches.

Plus when it's hot or even after a long day kids don't want to be next to anyone.

 

[TJA]

Well, we took a tandom (front to back) when our twins were babies until around age 2ish. Then we switched to a side-to-side double jogger because we needed something more heavy-duty to push the weight around. Personally, we like the jogger better as we feel it's easier to maneuver than the long tandom front-to-back stroller was. It's really a matter of personal taste, I suppose, and you may not know until you try. We do not take our jogger into stores -- we just park it outside a store just as we do for a ride. We have no problems getting around in WDW with the jogger; in fact, we much prefer it over any other stroller. I should also say we stay at the Epcot resorts or monorail resorts so we don't have to deal with a bus or a car, so we normally just walk/boat/monorail to the parks. My opinion may be different on the whole double stroller issue if we stayed at a bus resort. Here is a thread so you can read about a lot of opinions re double strollers in Disney.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1648284

 

[rk5798]

-Is a side by side double stroller better, or a front to back one? I am concerned about fitting the stroller around the park, including in the stores and the outdoor seating at counter service restaurants.

We are taking our front to back stroller when we come in a few weeks between Christmas and New Year's. I don't love having to bring it but I feel it would be way worse to not bring it since we have a 3 yr. old and an 8 mos. old. We just plan on "parking" it outside an attraction and then leaving it there while we do all that we want at other attractions nearby. We usually never bring any strollers into any of the counter service eating areas. It is way too much of a pain. Usually DH goes to get the food while I take the kids and wait to "jump" on a table opening up. It is a pretty good system that works for us.



-How bad is it to bring a stroller into the bus? Would it be better for us to just drive from the hotel and park the car? Only thing is, it will be July and the car will be super hot when we get into it, so I was thinking the bus might be more comfortable, but not sure.

We always drive from the resort to the parks. It is just easier for us and then we don't have to deal with the lines waiting for busses at the end of the day. We may have to walk a little more but the kids just fall asleep in the stroller and we are in pretty good shape so it isn't that bad. Way better than dealing with crowded busses.



-Could we find parking close to the entrance gate at the theme parks so we don't have to lug the stroller onto the tram?

I don't think they will let you park closer unless you have some kind of medical reason. Too many people coming with stollers and in that case, everyone would want closer parking. Like I said before, we just plan on walking rather than attempting to fold everything up to get on a tram. It really isn't that bad if you are in decent shape. The only lot that could potentially give you a really long walk would be the MK and we usually plan on getting there really early anyway.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Thanks for the tips! We are in good shape so walking is not a problem for us and the kids will be sitting in the stroller so it won't take forever from having to walk at their pace. I think we are going to rent the side by side one since it is 30" wide so it seems as though it would fit where I need it to fit. Plus my husband doesn't usually come into every store with me anyway and usually waits with the kids outside of a store and plays with them.

MK will be a problem for us on the day of arrival since it seems that people tell me that one is the furthest entrance from the car. We will be in Boca Raton for 4 days before heading to Disney, and it is about a 3 hour drive up to Orlando from Boca, so we anticipate getting to the park around lunchtime when all is said and done (getting the kids up in the morning, quick breakfast at the hotel in Boca, checking out of the hotel in Boca, driving to Orlando, getting our tickets and dropping off our luggage at the Pop Century, and going to MK). So lunchtime is pretty realistic for us, around a noon arrival at MK, judging by my kids' normal wake time and morning routine (we will be visiting family in Boca so that will be a very relaxing 4 days with the kids in their normal bedtime routine...they will be well-rested, I hope!).

Now, any tips for the heat in the car? Fortunately we have a minivan with the cloth covered seats and the seats are light beige, although the exterior is very dark red. Not sure if these things even make a difference in July Florida heat! I remember being at WDW in 1985 in August! I was 8 years old, and I remember having to sit on towels in the car but of course we had vinyl seats back then, far worse than the cloth kind!

 

[rk5798]

I don't really have any tips for the heat in the car other than cranking the air as soon as you get to the car. Maybe someone know of something better than me.

 

[princesspwrhr]

Someone had given us a tandem (front/back) stroller for our girls and they HATED it, not to mention, I hated it also partly due to the way they behaved in it. My little 2 are 11 mo apart and practically joined at the hip, so when we had the front/back my middle was in the front & the infant seat was in the back. Middle kept trying to climb on back and check on the baby, I was constantly having to stop and rebuckle her, get her to sit back down etc. So first we stopped bringing the infant seat thinking if she coudl just turn her head and 'see' that baby was fine she'd be good - no go, she wanted 'her baby sister' with her. The tandem was also long and akward to steer, couldn't go around corners very well, was a pain in stores and it was HEAVY.

We purchased a side by side that isn't extremely wide. I've only had problems in a couple of doors and usually it's becuase a wheel is turned sideways. The stroller is only 31in wide (It's a Graco DuoRider) has great storage, both seats recline fully, it's not as light as the Peg Perego but a third of the price and it's a LOT lighter and less bulky than a tandem. The best part is that my girls loved it. They're 3 adn 4 now and pretty much done with it, but it was great while it lasted.

We've taken it to Disneyworld once when the girls were 1 & 2 and we didn't have any problems with it in any of the parks, it folds flat and we slid it under the bus seat or held it in front of us, it was a LOT easier than a tandem to sit with on a tram or the train around the MK, and I don't recall any problems with it in stores at WDW, though I know sometimes it was difficult in stores at home - however, those are the same stores where it's difficult to push a shopping cart between racks.

The next year we went to Disney we took two umbrellas and connecters. We did that becuase my middle was starting to outgrow being in a stroller, both girls were completely potty trained and we don't carry around much actually in the parks so didn't need the storage of the basket anymore as well as we had my neice with us, so having the separate umbrella strollers helped alleviate disagreements between her and my oldest daughter over who would push the stroller.

Another advantage for a side by side or two umbrellas is for parade or firework viewing, each child has their ow seat and isn't trying to look over the other childs head. Parents or older siblings can sit in front of the stroller, one each side or stand behind it and see just fine.

If you get to each park early enough in the morning you shouldn't have a problem walking instead of using the tram. But if you're staying onsite, just use the buses.

If you do drive, vent your windows a little bit. I don't know how much it will help in reality, but it seemed to help some when we went during record heat one May. You don't want to open them to much though because of the daily afternoon showers in July (another reason to just take the bus - oh and an adult poncho covers a side by side perfectly, not sure about a tandem).

Whatever stroller you choose we've found it easier to just park the stroller at a central location in each 'land' and walk between attractions instead of doing the constant in out in out in a small area.

 

[avamadison]

We have 1 and 1/2 year old twin girls and we highly recommend a side by side. With this - there are no fights with who wants the front and who wants the back. We purchased a Peg Perego side by side before the trip. It folds up really fast and hardly weighs anything. We are going again in April and are either going to use the side by side or each use a single one. I don't think a front to back is a good idea - at least for us. They don't usually fold up as well either and are more bulky. We were able to go into stores just fine. And if not - we just left it outside. Have fun!

 

[zalansky]

We had a MacLaren side by side and I hated it. For me, it was horrible to try and get through crowds at the parks. We did it one time and vowed never again. Since then, we always take two umbrella strollers. One is a MacLaren and the other is one we bought in Disney, Chicco I think. It is so much easier to steer them seperately. And easier to fold when you have to. BUt that's just my preference.