Need double stroller for older child

[wendylovesdisney]

Okay so here is my dilemma. My daughters are 7 and 9. They are the smallest kids in their classes. Weight is about 45 and 55 pounds. I need to use a double stroller. When they were younger it was not an issue. But now they are bigger. The Disney rentals look uncomfortable. My older daughter needs to be able to retreat and hide if need be. She suffers panic attacks and anxiety. I always get a stroller as wheelchair sticker. We don't need a stroller at home, but Disney is a long day, with no "familiar" place to retreat. She literally needs a refuge. Soooo... Any advice on what to rent? I used to get Orlando Stroller Rentals Double Citi Mini. That was 1 year ago. We go in September. I don't know that they will still fit?! I get a double because no way will the 7 year old walk and let the 9 year ride!

 

[wendylovesdisney]

Would like to add that the stroller works as a barrier for keeping people from getting too close. I know it seems like a contradiction to have a child who suffers from anxiety and gets overstimulated to go to Disney, but she loves Disney.

 

[livndisney]

Okay so here is my dilemma. My daughters are 7 and 9. They are the smallest kids in their classes. Weight is about 45 and 55 pounds. I need to use a double stroller. When they were younger it was not an issue. But now they are bigger. The Disney rentals look uncomfortable. My older daughter needs to be able to retreat and hide if need be. She suffers panic attacks and anxiety. I always get a stroller as wheelchair sticker. We don't need a stroller at home, but Disney is a long day, with no "familiar" place to retreat. She literally needs a refuge. Soooo... Any advice on what to rent? I used to get Orlando Stroller Rentals Double Citi Mini. That was 1 year ago. We go in September. I don't know that they will still fit?! I get a double because no way will the 7 year old walk and let the 9 year ride!

My dd is about the same size as your 9 year old. I have not really found a regular stroller that she would fit in. The "biggest" would be the hard plastic doubles they rent at the parks, but the older would need the whole thing to herself I would expect. The "nice" thing about them is you can throw a cover over them for a "safe" place. But you are right they are not comfortable.

Have you considered renting a special needs stroller? I know Mclaren has a bigger single, not really a place to retreat-but maybe you could attach a canopy?

Picture of the Mclaren-
http://mobilityequipmentrentals.com/land_baby_stroller.htm

Would the 7 year old accept a glider board?

 

[deegack]

Have you thought about a city elite? A couple of the companies rent them. They are a bit bigger than the mini and have bigger wheels (easier push) but the same easy fold. Buy buy baby carries them so you can try one out in the store.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

Is that the elite by baby jogger? I saw in the Orlando Stroller rental web site that it was saying a bit bigger then the citi mini.
I'm not sure if that's enough. Maybe so?

 

[cgncga]

My dd is about the same size as your 9 year old. I have not really found a regular stroller that she would fit in. The "biggest" would be the hard plastic doubles they rent at the parks, but the older would need the whole thing to herself I would expect. The "nice" thing about them is you can throw a cover over them for a "safe" place. But you are right they are not comfortable.

Have you considered renting a special needs stroller? I know Mclaren has a bigger single, not really a place to retreat-but maybe you could attach a canopy?

Picture of the Mclaren-
http://mobilityequipmentrentals.com/land_baby_stroller.htm

Would the 7 year old accept a glider board?

There is a canopy for the Maclaren Major, but the stroller, footrest and canopy are all separate pieces. The stroller folds well, but there is no way to fold the very akwardly shaped canopy or the hard plastic footrest. I also haven't found a good bag for carrying those pieces. At home, we keep all three pieces in the trunk of the car, but we haven't tried it at Disney and on the Disney buses or a plane yet. I suspect it will be much more difficult to use in those situations.

Catherine, Mom to an 8 year old with epilepsy, low vision, and low muscle tone

 

[lanejudy]

There is a canopy for the Maclaren Major, but the stroller, footrest and canopy are all separate pieces. The stroller folds well, but there is no way to fold the very akwardly shaped canopy or the hard plastic footrest. I also haven't found a good bag for carrying those pieces. At home, we keep all three pieces in the trunk of the car, but we haven't tried it at Disney and on the Disney buses or a plane yet. I suspect it will be much more difficult to use in those situations.

Catherine, Mom to an 8 year old with epilepsy, low vision, and low muscle tone

We were at MK 1.5 weeks ago with a Maclaren with the footrest and canopy for our DD7. We keep a drawstring-style backpack on the back of the stroller to hold the footrest when folded, that seems to work great both when traveling and at home. The canopy is a little more cumbersome, but we managed fine on the Disney busses - my husband carried the stroller (and our daypack) while I carried on the canopy. It attaches/detaches easily enough, but you are right it doesn't fit in a bag for easy carrying. For airline travel, we didn't use the canopy but I packed it in the bottom of a suitcase. We were definitely glad to have the canopy at MK to create that "personal space hideaway" - it was worth the effort.

To the OP - the Maclaren Major will definitely be more comfortable than any double stroller considering your girls' ages/sizes. Maybe they could share and take turns riding - letting the 7 yr old ride when the 9 yr old isn't feeling overwhelmed? I had looked into rentals about a year ago when we started to plan our trip and it wasn't much different price than renting a traditional stroller - at least a couple of the links in Sue's sticky rent the Maclaren, look at wheelchair rental companies more so than baby stroller rentals. If you think you may have use for such a stroller for other trips, we decided to purchase a used on and got a really good deal (new is $$$). Good luck!

 

[SueM in MN]

Would like to add that the stroller works as a barrier for keeping people from getting too close. I know it seems like a contradiction to have a child who suffers from anxiety and gets overstimulated to go to Disney, but she loves Disney.

Don't worry about it - that is actually a very common reason people on this board use a stroller.

With the ages and weights, I don't think there are any double strollers that hold more than 100 pounds total ( including any bags, etc). They may just make that, but the seats will be very close.
A park double stroller will hold both children, but they will be cramped if both ate in it. A double stroller from the park is better for one older child.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

We always bring out own double, so I can't help you there. I just wanted to say though that we use a stroller for our daughter for the same reason. She is younger so I still have not perfected figuring out what does and does not make her anxious. She too loves Disney and does wonderful there. Often she surprises me and does things that I would not have expected. It is tough sometimes though because others don't always understand why I am toting the stroller along if she is walking alongside.

 

[ain0004]

You could try a site and stand stroller. This is what we use for our oldest she can stand and sit and still have that safe feeling

 

[dclfun]

Do you think your 7-year old would understand why her older sister needs the stroller and agree to try walking? I'm thinking it would be a real challenge to find a double stroller that fits both of them safely and comfortably. Many 7 year olds no longer use or want a stroller, but I can see how it would be tougher if the older sibling is using one, so she would have to be understanding. I've seen many people happy with the Maclaren Major. You may want to have her ped recommend and order something for her that will be covered by insurance. When we had one of our foster boys, as he got older we had a Pogon buggy with canopy and footrest- I'm not sure if they even make them anymore, but it was like a large umbrella stroller. It had a seat insert to make it more comfortable, but of course then you have to haul all those pieces. We used it though in the mall at home and for any longer distance travel and it worked out well. He had younger siblings who had to walk though- they knew Eric was disabled and had to "ride".

 

[wendylovesdisney]

I have to say its always so nice to have people understand.

Normally all people want to see is a nice cute little Chinese girl. Even people who SHOULD know better judge her on that. I dress her cute. She looks cute. She's "different" because shes obviously adopted, etc. she appears physically healthy.
But the meltdowns. And the wailing like a wounded animal. No one sees that, at least not initially. I always feel bad getting a GAC. That is, until I'm sitting somewhere in the park in tears because my sweet baby is tortured by some demons inside her that I can't always calm.

So... Anyway. Thanks.

 

[livndisney]

I have to say its always so nice to have people understand.

Normally all people want to see is a nice cute little Chinese girl. Even people who SHOULD know better judge her on that. I dress her cute. She looks cute. She's "different" because shes obviously adopted, etc. she appears physically healthy.
But the meltdowns. And the wailing like a wounded animal. No one sees that, at least not initially. I always feel bad getting a GAC. That is, until I'm sitting somewhere in the park in tears because my sweet baby is tortured by some demons inside her that I can't always calm.

So... Anyway. Thanks.

sending you a PM

 

[Lisa71]

My son is 63lbs and our daughter is 40. We can do a City Elite even though they are a bit out of range for the 100lbs total. We carry our own backpacks and they like to be together. Hugs to the princesses!

 

[Mom2six]

You should never feel bad about getting a GAC. That's what they are for! This September will be the first time I take my soon to be 4 year old to Disney and we will be getting a GAC. He has autism and suffers from a lot of anxiety and over stimulation. He too uses his stroller as a retreat so we will get the wheel chair as a stroller sticker too. Do whatever you need to do to make your trip a success for your family and to help your daughter as much as you can. Again, don't ever feel bad about doing it!

 

[saffsmom]

My son is 63lbs and our daughter is 40. We can do a City Elite even though they are a bit out of range for the 100lbs total. We carry our own backpacks and they like to be together. Hugs to the princesses!

my dd5 is around 48lbs and dd2 maybe 27lbs
our plan is to rent a double for our trip in the fall

your post has reassured me that my girls will fit nicely into a citi elite.
thanks!