Has anyone pushed a double stroller with 100 lb of kids in it???

[3littlecuties]

I am still debating on whether my youngest will need a stroller. He will just have turned 6 and I was thinking he would be fine without it but then a friend whose child is the same age told me that her daughter had a hard time because of the heat. Since we are going in August, this is definitely a factor. My middle child is 8 and has Down syndrome so she definitely will need a stroller but if I get a double stroller, it will be 100 lb worth of kids! Plus a backpack attached. Yikes! I really hate to deal with two strollers so it's either a double stroller or just get a single for my daughter.

Any input?

 

[Gorechick]

Start training your 6 year old's walking stamina by going for long walks locally. I took my twins in August 2012 when they were 7 and I told them before hand how much walking we'd be doing and we started training in April/May with long neighborhood walks. I'd make a game of it by telling them from this corner to that sign is like walking from Main St. to Adventureland, etc... They loved it and did fine once we were at the parks.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I would just do the single for your middle dd. You might even look into renting a stroller that is designed for older children with mobility limitations. Those strollersame are designed to be comfortable to push with larger child in them.

The Disney strollers would be a tight fit for an older child. Dd is 3 and we used a single stroller from the parks and it was a it cramped.

 

[3littlecuties]

I would just do the single for your middle dd. You might even look into renting a stroller that is designed for older children with mobility limitations. Those strollersame are designed to be comfortable to push with larger child in them.

The Disney strollers would be a tight fit for an older child. Dd is 3 and we used a single stroller from the parks and it was a it cramped.

Thank you. We definitely plan to rent offsite and I will probably get a special needs stroller if I do a single. If I get a double, it would probably need to be a bigger double like a BOB.

 

[tink9702]

How active is your 6 year old? And how willing are you to take breaks if he gets tired? Those are the two factors that should tell you whether he will need a stroller. I have a not that active (compared to my 7 year old boy) 5 year old & don't want to take many breaks so we are bringing a stroller for her. In your situation I would probably not rent a stroller for the 6 year old.

 

[piccolopat]

Don't forget to take a lot of breaks to cool down and re-hydrate. We use longer, inside shows like Mickey's Philharmagic, Country Bear, Tiki Birds and Hall of Presidents to get some air conditioned breaks and follow that with a cold drink. You might also give your son an incentive to walk all day - give him a few extra dollars to spend as he wishes or an extra half an hour in the pool. I do not suggest you try to push two kids in the August heat. If you daughter can walk some of the time, I would encourage that as well.

 

[Klayfish]

I am in WDW right now and do it every day, did it last year and in 2012. You'll have to make your own personal judgment call on whether you want the younger one riding in the stroller or not. People will have strong opinions both ways. My twins are now 8, and we're a very active family. All 3 of my kids play sports and my wife and I are into bodybuilding. My son plays football and lacrosse and his twin sister is a lacrosse player. Having said that, WDW is a HUGE place and we do tons of walking every day. It's hot, darn hot. We're here for 17 days. When we did our 3 or 4 day quick trips, we didn't bring the stroller. But reality is that on a trip this long, they're going to wear out. In fact, as I type this, my twins are taking a nap in their room (we stay off property). I'd much rather have people look at me funny and have happy kids than force them to walk and have them run out of gas and be miserable. Fact is I see plenty of sub-10 year old kids in strollers here. So for me, yes, we use a double stroller.

Strongly recommend getting a jogging stroller with a pivoting front wheel. Last year we had a double umbrella stroller with smaller front wheels. It was darn heavy and in spots was a major pain (the trolley tracks in Main St in MK). This year, we have a double jogging stroller with pivoting wheel. It's SOOOOO much better. I'm pushing something like 160-170lbs of weight, and it's really easy. Only downside is that it doesn't fold compact, so it's a pain to get on/off the tram.

I also would never rent from Disney. Buy one used and either donate it or sell it when you leave. I'm not even sure what the WDW rental prices are, but I think it's something like $20/day for a double. I bought our stroller from Craigslist here in Orlando. Picked it up the day we arrived, paid $70 for it. I plan to use it for our two weeks here and then either resell it or try to find a family coming to WDW who could really use it and "pay it forward".

 

[2009CAN]

I think if you will be there in the summer, getting a double is the best way to go. If you were taking a 6-year-old in the fall, then I think you could manage.

 

[gorkt]

We did that when the kids were little. Well, maybe they weren't 100lbs, but it was probably around 80lbs with the two of them. It was heavy and tiring, but DH and I took turns. I am all for having kids walk whenever possible but Disney is a LOT of walking, even for a grown up. Even a 6 or 7 year old will get tired. We took the double when the kids were 2 and 4, then went to a single for 5 and 7, and the two of them took turns. Single is SO much easier than a double. Can your other child take turns with the younger one?

 

[Villians4me]

It's totally doable, I do it because we have an intense schedule and the kids need a break sometimes....I would recommend a sit and stand though with the stroller part in front for your DD and your son can sit or stand on the back. It is very difficult to get a double wide stroller maneuvered around the World. Good luck and you are not alone

 

[Klayfish]

It also depends on how you plan. We don't literally run or power walk, but we try to be "efficient" when we're in the parks. Still winds up being a ton of walking...I'm in darn good shape and even I get tired at the end of the day. My kids have shorter legs than I do, so they take even more steps.

 

[gap2368]

I would stop by GR and ask about a stroller as a wheel chair tag for your DD.

 

[Trip planner]

I am in WDW right now and do it every day, did it last year and in 2012. You'll have to make your own personal judgment call on whether you want the younger one riding in the stroller or not. People will have strong opinions both ways. My twins are now 8, and we're a very active family. All 3 of my kids play sports and my wife and I are into bodybuilding. My son plays football and lacrosse and his twin sister is a lacrosse player. Having said that, WDW is a HUGE place and we do tons of walking every day. It's hot, darn hot. We're here for 17 days. When we did our 3 or 4 day quick trips, we didn't bring the stroller. But reality is that on a trip this long, they're going to wear out. In fact, as I type this, my twins are taking a nap in their room (we stay off property). I'd much rather have people look at me funny and have happy kids than force them to walk and have them run out of gas and be miserable. Fact is I see plenty of sub-10 year old kids in strollers here. So for me, yes, we use a double stroller.

Strongly recommend getting a jogging stroller with a pivoting front wheel. Last year we had a double umbrella stroller with smaller front wheels. It was darn heavy and in spots was a major pain (the trolley tracks in Main St in MK). This year, we have a double jogging stroller with pivoting wheel. It's SOOOOO much better. I'm pushing something like 160-170lbs of weight, and it's really easy. Only downside is that it doesn't fold compact, so it's a pain to get on/off the tram.

I also would never rent from Disney. Buy one used and either donate it or sell it when you leave. I'm not even sure what the WDW rental prices are, but I think it's something like $20/day for a double. I bought our stroller from Craigslist here in Orlando. Picked it up the day we arrived, paid $70 for it. I plan to use it for our two weeks here and then either resell it or try to find a family coming to WDW who could really use it and "pay it forward".

Any chance you are leaving on Friday? We decided to bring our double stroller for our DS -8 and DS-5 for the same reasons (the kids get hot and tired and CRANKY) but it is not a jogging stroller and it is hard to push now that the kids are older. DH and I joke that we still will get our workout in will in WDW.

 

[GillianP1301]

When my son was 6, we used a stroller, but I think we would've been fine with out. It was my first trip solo with him and I didn't want to end up having to carry him, so I was cautious. It ended up parked more than not, but it did come in handy for the longer walks between locations when I was in a hurry. At age 7, he went no stroller and we had no issue at all, not one complaint of fatigue. Both of those trips were in August. Most 6 year olds should be fine without, but you know your child best. You need to be prepared to build in breaks and cool down time.

 

[amycakes]

We brought umbrella strollers for my 5 and 6 year old. Parked them in stroller parking when they were not using them. They were a godsend to get back to the room at night. They were always falling asleep.

They are both athletic kids... play hockey all winter. The heat withered them away...we also traveled in August.

 

[Mikie]

Since your kids are a little older, I can't remember if the Disney double would work, but I do know my 5.5 year old fit in it better than she fit in a Disney single. On that trip, I decided I could do without a stroller for her (the 5.5 year old) and we just used a single for my almost 3 year old. Near the end of the trip when we had been in the parks daily and were headed to big ol' Epcot, I rented a double that day and the 5.5 year old was able to pop in and out of it as needed. Those strollers are actually really easy to push (IMO) and wasn't too tough for the day. It was nice, really, because sometimes we were all looking to sit for a snack or drink and there weren't always benches (or enough benches) and they could sit in the stroller. I was glad to have the double on that day only and not have to wrestle it the other days (when we simply used our own single for the younger one.)

Definitely, though, we had a fairly laid-back style and had a "go at the kids' pace" mentality. If we were trying harder to rush from one thing to the next, the 5.5 year old may have wanted a stroller more often.

 

[TJA]

We used a double jogger with that much weight in it, and it was quite easy to push. Baby Jogger City Series double. I will say, though, that my girls were not in it very much once they were those ages, but we never regretted having it along for those moments when needed such as in a rush of people and we were trying to get from A to B quickly.....or later at night when the kids were just plain tired out.

As a side note, if one or both seats were empty, we'd used them to put our backpack, etc. Also, some mornings we'd leave it in our room and just take it out at night. Our first trip that we didn't take it, we surely missed it a lot!

 

[lennyd]

I did it with a 7 -and 8 yr old they loved it made my my life easier too, couple things I liked about it the are covered from the sun , hard to loose them they won't wander off,a lot of waiting at disneyworld

 

[gtpoohbear]

I think it depends a lot on what your touring style will be. We have done both.

DDs first trip, she was 4 and we were there for 9 days in the summer, never even considered a stroller and she was fine. But we were taking our time and enjoying the experience more than racing from ride to ride. And we took long afternoon breaks.

When DS was 4, we did get a stroller because that was a much less relaxing trip- even though it was cooler temps, we did long park days with no break, and I knew he would at least need it for a nap.

Personally, I would probably opt not to push a 100 lb stroller if I didn't have to. That's going to be both heavy and bulky to work through a crowd.

 

[bumbershoot]

We had a jogging stroller for jogging, but other than that the umbrella stroller was ONLY used at Disney. When we first went to WDW DS was 6.5 and we brought the Volo. We let him decide if he wanted or needed it. It stayed folded up in the entryway to the villa. I would lean towards having the two separate strollers, and let him decide if he wants to use his.

it will be 100 lb worth of kids! Plus a backpack attached.

I wouldn't let the stroller be the place for the backpack. Make sure you can carry the backpack, because you won't want to leave it on the stroller for rides, so you might as well be used to carrying it. Theft happens, even at WDW! And if you pack it so it can be carried, you won't overpack.