One little, two little, three little strollers.....

[PatricenPete]

DH is ready to kill me.

I have bought TWO strollers in preperation for Disney, both lightweight travel strollers - one is a Chicco and the other a Combi.

Now that our trip is approaching, I don't want to bring either. I want to bring my big Graco with the huge storage basket, the front tray for DS and the full recline.

Convince me as to why I should bring the smaller stroller......

 

[prplcrzy]

It's much easier to deal with a smaller stroller. Having to fold it up and carry it on trams, manuever through crowds, etc..

I switched to a smaller stroller and it was much easier. Our trip next month, I'm not bringing one and will rent them there. (hoping we don't have to lug a tired/sleeping child through the park).

Nancy

 

[DisneyPhD]

Unless you had a new born I wouldn't bring the graco. We have a combi and we love it. We bought it for WDW and used it many other places. We took it to WDW 3 times I think (until we needed a double stroller.)

Expect for the basket combi has the comfort you need, hand a bag of the back. Besides you have to take things out of the basket before you fold it right? (ours has a bar across the frount, with cup holders and it reclines just fine.

Combi, all the way.

 

[stacy6552]

Cant help you. I would bring the Graco. No question. The combi is short and can get uncomfortable after long periods of time and it holds nothing. I dont know which chicco you have, but the graco with cup holders, basket and full recline is totally the way to go. Return the others.

 

[Bambismama]

How old is baby? Only newborns really need to stretch out right? But also think about how easy it is to maneuver the various strollers.

 

[PatricenPete]

DS will be turning 1 during the trip.

I am obviously not planning to be running from morning until night. We will be returning to the resort every afternoon for a nap and a swim, so I don't anticipate too many naps in the stroller.

My big complaint with either stroller is no front try. DS loves to eat puffs while sitting in his stroller or have a drink, etc, etc, etc. If I buy another stroller, DH will KILL me, so getting another light weight stroller with a tray is NOT an option......

 

[stacy6552]

Your Graco should be fine! Return the others and make your husband think that you are trusting his instincts on this. Manipulation, my new-mom-friend, is a beautiful thing.

 

[stacy6552]

woops and I almost forgot! Theres a great rain cover for the Graco. Get it, use it love it!

 

[BlondeAlligator]

I would take the big Graco one. You don't plan on naps in the stroller, but your son might just konk out on you when you least expect it and if you have the Graco you can just recline him, put up the canopy & stay on in the park. That way you can enjoy some rides (one at a time, of course) or just get a Dole Whip (or some other tasty treat) & enjoy a quiet moment on a bench while baby sleeps.

My DD is 3 and we are taking our big Evenflo stroller (she is 40" tall and it's the only one I have found to accomadate her lengthy legs)...yes it's big, but she is so uncomfortable in others that I know she wouldn't stay in them at all. Plus, if you have to lug around even a backpack full of kid gear you're gonna be hurtin' by mid-afternoon...a big basket is a must!

Sorry I couldn't vote for the small ones. Have a great trip!

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

I have to agree with returning the others and taking the Graco. We took our big stroller with our two year old (and when she was a baby) and the full recline was a life savor. She took about 2 naps a day in it. The large basket and cup holders were a must for us. I couldn't imagine trying to do the parks without it.

The only down side for us was getting on and off the bus. That isn't fun but the use we got out of it in the parks makes it well worth it.

 

[DisneyPhD]

What resort are you staying at? If it is a mod or value, that is another consideration for the smaller stroller. Those busses fill up fast, often have standing room only, making the big stroller a lot harder.

Deluxes are smaller resorts and I have found the busses much less crowded (only times standing only is closing.) Mono rail resorts you don't always have to fold up the stroller so that might help, but a graco may not fit in it (I know my double only fit in the HC car.) The combi was fine.

Maybe it is just me, but I don't like my big stroller and only used it when I had the car seat on it. Even around home I use my combi in the car for the mall and other places.

 

[PatricenPete]

We will be staying at Old Key West - I liked it for the quiet atmosphere, which I thought would be nice with a toddler.

I think that I am wearing DH down. It looks more and more like we will be bringing the larger Graco!

 

[GEM]

We always take our big Graco - and I wouldn't do it any other way! It's the Quattro Tour model. We also have several other smaller strollers, but we don't take them to Disney.

Things I like abou the Graco:

Right height for comfortable pushing.
Huge basket for storage.
Bigger sun canopy.
Tray for snacks and drinks.
Seat reclines more for stroller naps.
Seat also sits straight up - which my little guy likes when he's awake.
Two cupholders and a parent storage tray for sunglasses, etc.
Easy to steer, even with one hand.
One handed fold and open - very easy and quick!

It's pretty big, but we've never had any problems with it on the busses. For us, the comfort it gives Paul (and us) in the parks is well worth lugging it on the busses. Paul and that stroller will be making their fourth Disney trip together in December! I know he's much happier for extended periods in that stroller than he would be in a smaller one - and a happier baby/toddler means happier parents and a happier trip!

 

[amarberry]

I vote for the Combi. That's what we brought on our recent trip and it worked great. It folds up so nicely and is super lightweight...perfect for the buses. I would have hated to drag our full size stroller in and out of the buses.

My daughter (14 mo. old on our trip) is a puff addict, so I understand where you are coming from regarding the tray, but we just gave her the wagon wheels (which she could hold on to) instead of the puffs when she was in her stroller. Honestly though, she wasn't very interested in eating on our trip, and this child never turns away food!

On the nap issue, my DD took 2-3 hour naps, usually at the park, in her Combi with no problems.

 

[Lulu's Mom]

We brought our big stoller for our DD of 16 months and regretted it right away. She never was a big sit in the stroller kid of baby..... most of the time she walked or we were holding her.... she did nap in it but her travel light weight stroller, reclines just as much as the big one.

Lugging it around was such a pain.... especially with the buses... thank God for my DH lugging it everwhere.

You need to bring what you feel you need and learn from that... we thought we needed the big stroller and we learned never again will we bring a big stroller.

Have a great trip

 

[DisneyPhD]

We will be staying at Old Key West - I liked it for the quiet atmosphere, which I thought would be nice with a toddler.

I think that I am wearing DH down. It looks more and more like we will be bringing the larger Graco!

OK more advice for you. The busses at OKW aren't the best, but they aren't really crowded. They are slow actually because it takes 10 to 15 min just to go around to all the stops at the resort. You don't share with any other resort and that is good. It is a good central location too. (close to almost everything.)

It can be a long walk to your room at OKW. We were warned to have a rental car and we didn't. After all we never had a rental before and we were fine. We regreted it. I won't go to OWK again with a rental car.

Ok another thing. Request a 1st floor room, or at least one of the few buildings that have an elevator. Call a week ahead, ask around the DVC board and find a good building to request. This is very important. We had a poor location and a 2nd room floor with a 23 month old. Carrying that stroller up the stairs (that aren't covered so it was often in the rain.) was a major pain in the butt, and this was the small combi stroller.

I don't want to turn you off to your choice or resorts, just let you know what we wish we had ahead of time when we were there with a todler. It is a nice resort and you todler should love the pool and play area. (bring sand toys and pool toys. When we were there blow up toys were allowed, but there wasn't a life gaurd then.)

What combi do you have? Does it have the removable bar with cup holders? That really helps, we just put snacks in one side and her drink in the other. We hung clips off it to help us atacth things to it too.

Have a good trip.

 

[dazzled]

We took our Graco stroller with us when my youngest DD was just 1yr and my oldest DD was 3 1/2 yrs. It worked out great for us. She could nap comfortably and be covered well from the sun. We had lots of room in the big basket and when my other DD got tired we could fit them both in the same stroller. This year when we went in May the girls were 6 and 3 and we opted for our smaller stroller and rented one at the parks when we my oldest daughter got tired of walking.

Have a great vacation!

 

[tjmw2727]

I would take whatever you, ds and your dh are comfortable and familiar with. You want ds to be as comfortable as possible and you don't want to be bending over to push a small stroller or fooling with the folding etc of something new.

My sil took her full size graco on our last trip for DN who was 18 mos and it worked out well. Especially since you have 2 parents and 1 child one can take the child and the backpack while the other takes the stroller.

I recommend a backpack instead of a diaper bag and keeping things pretty much packed up. The only "issues" my sil had was when she forgot about all all the stuff the was just piled in the basket and needed to fold it. It only took once though and after that we just got things out and put them away as needed.

There is a chance he could fall asleep in the evenings in the stroller giving you and dh a chance to walk world showcase or have a nice dinner. Maybe that is another advantage to having a full size reclining stroller.

I know you didn't ask but if your son isn't walking or walking well consider bringing a sling or snugli for lines and some attractions. Some of the indoor pavilions like the land don't allow strollers and this can make for a difficult time with a baby/todller.

Have Fun
TJ

 

[macrosswife]

Another vote here for the Graco!
DS was 9 months old when we went, and I loved having the Graco!
We purchased a stroller carry bag for the plane ride (gate-checked it), as well as the rain cover. Was sooooo glad I had it!

Which stroller does your little one usually ride in? I originally had the same concern others have voiced: Graco is too big and bulky. So, a friend let me borrow her high-end umbrella-type stroller (not sure the brand) for a day trip to the zoo. Quickly discovered that neither DS nor I liked it at all! So-if your little one likes the Graco, then use it, but *definately* don't use the other ones unless you've "test driven" them with your little one first!

Have a great trip!!
~Kimber

 

[LaraK]

Having a double Chicco I know that even the more compact strollers are a pain on the busses, we'll be driving as much as possible this time, even though we are staying on property...we just found ite easier.