Looking for experiences with Sit and Stand type strollers at Disney

[georgiaroots]

I know there are a lot of stroller threads, but I am looking to hear about specific experiences of those that have used a sit and stand type stroller at Disney. I know from reading some of the stroller related threads that renting a City Mini GT Double in Orlando might be a good option, but I saw a great price on a Graco Ready 2 Grow sit and stand stroller that would cost only $20 or so more than the cost to rent a City Mini GT double. And I could use it again at places like the zoo afterwards.

We will be driving so bringing the stroller with us will not be a big issue. I am mainly concerned about maneuverability of this type of stroller especially in a crowded park. It gets good reviews, but wanted some first hand Disney experience. Will the experience with a City Mini Double be significantly better than a sit and stand type stroller?

 

[hpsalb]

I don't really have any advice, but I'm looking at strollers for our trip too. It kills me to rent a stroller when I can buy one for just a little more, but I'm just not sure.

How old and big are the kids? We will be taking DS 3.5 and my niece who is 6.5. I need something big to fit them. I asked on another forum and got mixed reviews about the sit-n-stand type. I was worried about whether she would fit on the back part, but took DS to TRU the other day to sit in the front part of the sit-n-stand and realized that he won't really fit in the front so it won't work for us anyway.

I have a friend who has taken one with her kids, but they were 4 and 1.5, so it worked better for them.

 

[mcuoghi]

We have a sit and stand for dd4 and ds3. I do like it for trips to the zoo and local theme parks. However I knew that we would not be going back to the room to nap while in disney. The sit and stand isn't a good stroller for napping. For that reason I rented a city mini double from apple scooters. I'm renting again when we go back in September.

 

[star72232]

Having used a sit n'stand at the mall I can say I would never use one at Disney. Mine was hard to push, very long (so awkward), hard to fold and heavy. Plus, the sun shade was way too small and there wasn't any recline for the second seat (it was just a bench). And there wasn't any storage. Now, other brands may be different, but based on my experience with one, it's not a route I would choose.

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

I dont have a sit n stand but I've always thought they looked like it would be trying to steer a bus. I have a britax b ready and both my kids can nap with ample room and shade.

 

[bandksmommy]

I have a baby trend sit n stand and love it. It isn't at all difficult to steer (not any more than one of those bigger strollers that you can stick a carseat on). I'm sure pushing ANY stroller in a crowd is going to slow you down a little, but these aren't too bad. We haven't used it at Disney (going in July) but I just took it to the zoo with my 3 year old and a friend's 1 1/2 year old the other day. It was perfect for them, but it made me see it PROBABLY won't work for us with my 3 year old riding in the front and the bench seat for if my 6 year old needs a break. I'd make him walk without a problem but I feel like I'll end up carrying her if I don't have SOMETHING so we may take it anyway and let them take turns on the bench seat.

 

[ah1126]

We were in Disney about 3 weeks ago with our Joovy Sit and Stand. It worked great for my DD almost 4 and DS 15 months. It isn't the easiest to steer when they are both on it, but I can't imagine any stroller is when you have 65lbs of wiggly kids. It was great that my daughter could jump on and off the back, and that she could sit and rest, or stand and watch what was going on. I bought it second hand for the trip and have used it several other times.

The basket isn't huge, but I could fit our small soft cooler and snack bag in the basket, then our other bag hung on the back.

 

[BeckFam08]

We have a Joovy Ergo Caboose and took it with 1 child to Disney. It is LONG! Pushing was difficult and tough to navigate in shops. However, the canopy is huge, the storage is amazing, and our then 5 year old had no complaints. I felt that the seat to ground height on this stroller was much higher than others. We looked at the Baby Trend in stores at the time and the front seat seemed ideal for much younger children. There wasn't much leg room at all.

On the other hand, we rented a City Mini GT in Disneyland for our 1 year old primarily and small breaks for our 8 year old. Due to the time change of that trip I was regularly pushing the stroller with 2 sleeping boys at the end of the night and could do so with 1 hand. It also fits through standard size doorways even though it is a side by side.

 

[georgiaroots]

Somehow I knew that opinions were going to lean against the sit and stand. Looks like renting the City Mini Double will be a better option. My kids will be 2.5, 4.5 and 6.5 at the time of our trip in September. I anticipate there almost always being 2 kids riding so I definitely need something easy to steer. We are staying at BLT and plan to take mid-day breaks so just bringing our single umbrella stroller might be an alternative to consider. On the other hand, I am getting such a great deal on the villa by renting points that I probably shouldn't worry about $80 for a stroller rental!

 

[AshleeH]

We used the Joovy Caboose for two years and loved it! I sold it to a friend who is using it for her two kids now, and she loved it at Disney (I actually lent it to her for the trip and mentioned I would be selling it after she got back - when she got back, she handed me a check for it and said she would be buying it lol!). It was great - my kids were 7 and 4. The 4 year old used it all the time the first trip and the 7 year old had a place to sit for parades and snacks, and a place to sit or stand when the 5-7 miles of walking just got to be too much for him.

 

[Pamnkevin]

We used our Joovy Ultralight Caboose two years ago at Disney and it worked great for us. It's very light weight for a tandem stroller and we had no trouble maneuvering it through the parks

 

[georgiaroots]

Good to hear some good experiences with them. It seems like the difference may be a regular (i.e. heavy) sit and stand versus the ultralight kind. Of course that kind costs about $100 more than the regular one so I don't know that I would want to make that investment with the ages of my kids, but I will stay on the lookout for a good deal on a used one for sure.

 

[brockash]

We used a babytrend sitnstand when my dd was 17 months and ds was 6. I bought it specifically for Disney. My dh was deployed at the time so I was the one lugging it on/off buses etc. I thought it was fine and it was so nice to have somewhere to "put" ds when it was crowded, dark or if we had to get somewhere quickly. It's never fun having to deal with a stroller on the bus, but it was no different than the regular full size stroller I bring for just 1 child.

 

[Feberin]

We own a sit and stand but aren't big fans of it in general although we haven't taken it to Disney. We find it bulky when folded and that the storage basket awkward to reach stuff. We used it for Hershey Park and it worked well enough but the front seat barely reclined causing it to be a poor choice of napping.
We bought a Maclaren on Craigslist for Disney for $100. If you are interested in buying the stroller see what deals you can get on Craigslist because it might be close to the rental cost.

 

[reneaterry]

I've used a baby trend sit and stand multiple times and it worked great.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We bought a Joovy Caboose and used it on one trip to Disney. Our youngest was 18 months and our oldest was 5. I would never do it again. As pointed out, though, we did not have the "ultralight" version, so that probably makes a difference. I thought it was hard to push and maneuver in crowds, the front seat did not recline enough for my youngest to nap in it and his seat just didn't seem very comfortable. We used it a few times at home, but eventually sold it.