Planning a Trip ... Need a Stroller ...

[akamom]

I have a Maclaren Quest Sport and LOVE IT!!

 

[Desnik]

I used my Peg Pliko P3 from birth to about 3 years with DS. He is almost 4 and really only uses a stroller at WDW. Now I use the Mac Triumph for him and it is great, but I would never had bought that for him as a baby. The Peg I have I feel has been so versatile. And the full recline feature we have always used for DS when he would fall asleep in his stroller. As an infant I was able to use the Peg Prima Viagio carseat with it as a travel system. Then as DS got older we used it by itself. I even had him in it with out the car seat when he was an infant. It was always perfect! It folds so easily(and it stands on its own when folded) and has a carrying handle. I never thought it was too bulky or heavy and we have taken it to WDW many times. I used that stroller to death and have been really hard on it. We still use it when needed, DH keeps it in his car incase DS doesn't feel like walking if we go to the mall or something. I really love the other features such as the canopy that I mentioned in a previous post. Ever been to the mall then come out and it's raining and have to make a mad dash to your car? Well it's happened to me more than once and with my Peg I just put the canopy over DS, it covers your child completely and is waterproof!!! I think that is awesome!LOL One other thing is it never tips!! I have had a ton of things hanging from the handles and it never tipped!! As for the harness, it was never an issue for us because we never used it!
Good luck!
Have you gone to the stores and tried any of them?

Oh, for those interested in the Mac Triumph. Check your local Marshalls. I just saw one, the one I have which is I believe last years model, and they had it there. I don't remember how much it was but I do remember it was alot less than I paid! I really love this stroller too!

 

[jdg345]

I would not buy a stroller based upon the full recline feature. That feature generally is only needed for the first 3 mos of life -- you will use the stroller for another 3 years after that, at least. During the time you need the full recline, most likely you will be keeping the baby in the car seat bucket and you can use a Snap N Go. If you are buying this stroller for your baby now and with an upcoming trip to Disney in mind, I would give up the ghost of trying to find a stroller that will work equally well at birth as it does for a toddler -- for mall shopping and for traveling.

In your shoes I would get a MacLaren Triumph or Quest now -- it will work great for your trip and for your child from here out. In the event you have another baby, I would get a Graco Metrolite (or one of the Peg Peregos if you prefer). Or you may get by fine with a baby with just a Snap N Go.

Just like you don't wear dress shoes for running or running shoes with a dress, no one stroller fits all scenarios. I think most people need a minimum of two strollers (a minivan model for when the baby is very little and a more streamlined one for older babies/toddlers).

IMHO, especially for travel, I can't overestimate the importance of a lightweight, compactly folding stroller.

Also, make sure you go to stores where you can actually test drive the stroller you are thinking of. I made the (expensive) mistake of buying a highly rated stroller (Combi) online without ever trying it. Combis are terrible for all the adults in my family. We kick the tires (and curse the stroller) every time we use it. Now I won't buy a stroller without first trying it out (with my child, or at least 15 lbs of weight in it) to see how it steers, whether I kick the tires when I walk, and how easily I can fold it up.

Good luck!!!!

Thanks! It's not just the recline though, it's the snack tray that I was thinking would be important until year 2-3. The Quest cant take the tray, nor can the Inglesina Trip -- but both can have car seats attached IIRC.

This should be way easier.

 

[jdg345]

My DH thinks I'm a stroller addict, so maybe I'll be able to help you on this issue too!

I have a Peg, a Combi, and an Inglesina Trip. We also had the Maclaren Global Buggy that you posted a link to on the first page. DO NOT GET THAT ONE!!!! Last summer, I read on this board that they had the Maclaren Global Buggy on sale at Costco, so I got one for about the same price you listed. I barely used it before our Sept. trip to WDW. DH, who is an engineer, hated the stroller from the get go. It was heavy and didn't fold up well at all. It also had this weird piece of fabric at the bottom that kept unfastening and flopping around. However, the kicker was on day 7 of our 10 day trip. I was literally walking down Main St. at MK when the stroller started collapsing. My DD is on the heavy side for her age, but she was only 32-33 pounds (a good 20 pounds under the weight limit). When DH took a look at it, the base of the stroller had cracked on one side and was on the verge of cracking on the other side. DH and one of the MK maintanence guys managed to patch the stroller up well enough with zip ties for the rest of our trip. Costco gave me a full refund when we got home. My guess is that there was something wrong with the stroller, but it left me with a bad impression of Maclarens. If you check out the reviews on Babygaga.com (http://strollers.baby-gaga.com/maclaren-global-buggy/review.html), they report others having similar problems.

On to the other strollers...I have an older Peg that is huge (Atlantico). It's a great stroller for around the neighborhood and walking to the grocery store, but not for travel. It's held up extremely well and I would not hesitate to buy another Peg. I personally didn't get the P3 because I don't like the basket.

I LOVED my Combi, especially for travel. I think that the Combi is a great bang for your buck. It reclines well, has a decent sunshade, a decent basket, and it folds up great. It's super lightweight and has a shoulder strap. Unfortunately, my DD is just getting too big for our Combi. It's getting difficult to push and she now tries to drag her feet along the wheels.

I just bought my Inglesina about a month ago. I went with the Trip rather than the Zippy (which I also think is a fabulous stroller) because I needed a lightweight stroller for traveling to replace my Combi (and the Maclaren). The Trip is a newer stroller, but seems to be getting good reviews. So far, I really like, but the true test will be next week when DD and I venture to WDW by ourselves. It seems pretty full featured and a lot sturdier than the Maclaren or Combi. It also has an easy fold and is pretty lightweight. I was able to find it online for about $145 shipped.

Thank you! That Global Buggy is off the list! I like the Trip, it just doesn't have the tray ...

Would you mine posting or dropping me a PM when you get back from your trip to The World? Would like to hear how it faired.

Thanks again!

 

[justhat]

Since you've had hands on with both the Pliko P3 and the Techno Classic, would you say they are hugely different in size, comfort, and steering?

No, I wouldn't. I think they're both pretty similar. The way the Pliko folds, the snack tray bends in the middle so it is smaller folded than you'd think. Oh, and our Mac had a carry handle too, so even though it collapsed to the ground when folded, it automatically locked and then you could just grab the handle and pick it up. I even took my daughter to WDW alone when she was 9 months old and I was able to get on/off buses with her, the diaper bag, and the stroller by myself without any trouble so that should tell you how light and compact the Macs are. Haven't tried it with the Pliko, but I'm sure that it's doable too cause it felt light and folded easily when I've tried.

As far as comfort goes I'd say they're about equal, though the Pliko might have a slight edge. My daughter slept in the Mac all the time though so she must have been quite comfortable.

Steering seems around the same to me too. I've even pushed the Pliko with my daughter standing on the bar in the back and didn't have a problem at all. And that says a lot cause we tried some of the sit n' stand type of strollers (Joovy and Fisher Price) and they were not easy to manuver with my daughter on them-and she's pretty light, around 27 pounds.

About the snack tray-we pretty much never used any of our snack trays. My daughter never used bottles or sippy cups so we use spout top water bottles so I just toss them into the basket when she's not drinking. If she had used sippys or bottles I don't think I would have done that cause they can leak so maybe that's why. Never used it for snacks either though as I'd give her a Ziploc or small Tupperware cup and she just held it. We use the snack tray on our huge Graco now though, but as a seat for my daughter-our Graco travel system is the kind where the seat can reverse to face you or face out and I keep it facing me with the baby riding in it and my daughter sitting on the snack tray. That's about the most use it's gotten in the almost 3 years we've owned it. So I wouldn't use the snack tray as a make or break item in your search.

The one thing I forgot to mention about our Mac is that after the wheel broke off in WDW I found out from others on this board that apparently there was a batch of "bad" Technos made in 2003 or 2004, and ours fit into that timeframe according to when it was manufactured, and we bought it in NJ and most of the complaints were from NY. So I'm guessing it was just a part of that bad batch and we could have sent it for free repair, but then the handles both broke off just a couple of weeks later so there was no point. I didn't read anything about the handles having problems so I guess that was just due to the super cold weather and taking it on an airplane and their handling. It was weird cause the metal frame of the handles just snapped in half-and both of them too, within minutes of each other.

BUT...I still would have bought another Mac Techno to replace it, the only reason we didn't was that we were going on another flight in a month, and several more in the months after that, so we were afraid if we shelled out the money for another Mac, and that one got damaged on one of the flights we'd be super annoyed. That's why we got the Chicco C5 instead, which I will say is an excellent cheapie Mac. And I'd still get one now, but the Pliko has that ride on bar for my daughter which the Mac does not.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Well, my first piece of advice is do NOT get a travel system. If your child will be 8 mos old at the time of your trip he (she?) will not want to sit in the hot car seat all day long. Your baby is going to want to be sitting up in the stroller and looking out at the world. Not to mention that most infant car seats that attach to a travel system max out at 20 lbs so it's very likely your little one will no longer be in the infant car seat then!

We went to wdw for the first time when my dd was 5 mos. I had the huge Graco and knew I didn't want to cart that thing with me across the country. I bought the Peg P3 and have LOVED it. The great thing about it is that it has all the features of a full size stroller but folds down almost as small as an umbrella stroller. I still use it with no. 2 and no. 1 rides on the step in the back. It's a great stroller, very high quality, not too heavy or bulky. Very well made.

I just bought my first maclaren stroller (it's a double) and I like it as well but it is much heavier than the pegs.

 

[jdg345]

I would not buy a stroller based upon the full recline feature. That feature generally is only needed for the first 3 mos of life -- you will use the stroller for another 3 years after that, at least. During the time you need the full recline, most likely you will be keeping the baby in the car seat bucket and you can use a Snap N Go. If you are buying this stroller for your baby now and with an upcoming trip to Disney in mind, I would give up the ghost of trying to find a stroller that will work equally well at birth as it does for a toddler -- for mall shopping and for traveling.

<snip>

btw, what is this 'Snap N Go' that I've seen referenced? Who makes it? Is it like a universal carrier thing?

 

[jdg345]

Well, my first piece of advice is do NOT get a travel system. If your child will be 8 mos old at the time of your trip he (she?) will not want to sit in the hot car seat all day long. Your baby is going to want to be sitting up in the stroller and looking out at the world. Not to mention that most infant car seats that attach to a travel system max out at 20 lbs so it's very likely your little one will no longer be in the infant car seat then!

We went to wdw for the first time when my dd was 5 mos. I had the huge Graco and knew I didn't want to cart that thing with me across the country. I bought the Peg P3 and have LOVED it. The great thing about it is that it has all the features of a full size stroller but folds down almost as small as an umbrella stroller. I still use it with no. 2 and no. 1 rides on the step in the back. It's a great stroller, very high quality, not too heavy or bulky. Very well made.

I just bought my first maclaren stroller (it's a double) and I like it as well but it is much heavier than the pegs.

Thanks for the input! Which Maclaren Double did you buy? I saw the Peg P3 weighs in at about 15.8 lbs whereas the Maclaren Technos are around 13.9 lbs and the Quest is 12.2 lbs ...

When you travel, do you take the double? Is it easier with both No1 and No2 ? I would imagine you take the double instead of the double and the P3?

Thanks again!

 

[justhat]

Snap n Go is a frame that only holds an infant carseat, there's no seat or anything. I think Kolkraft (or some spelling like that) and Graco make some.

 

[amarberry]

Thank you! That Global Buggy is off the list! I like the Trip, it just doesn't have the tray ...

Would you mine posting or dropping me a PM when you get back from your trip to The World? Would like to hear how it faired.

Thanks again!

I'll let you know how it goes. We return on 12/18.

Before DD was born, we spent A LOT of time looking at strollers. I think that we spent far more time looking at strollers than we did looking at cars before I bought my last car! We seriously considered the P3 and the Zippy. I really liked the Zippy's one handed fold, but in 2004 the Zippy didn't have a snack tray. I abandoned both strollers once I decided that I needed a bigger basket. The baskets on both of these strollers and the Macs are pretty useless.

 

[justhat]

Thanks for the input! Which Maclaren Double did you buy? I saw the Peg P3 weighs in at about 15.8 lbs whereas the Maclaren Technos are around 13.9 lbs and the Quest is 12.2 lbs ...

When you travel, do you take the double? Is it easier with both No1 and No2 ? I would imagine you take the double instead of the double and the P3?

Thanks again!

I know you weren't asking me, but like I said in my post at the end of page 3, we looked at Sit n Stand strollers (where there's essentially 1 real seat, then a base to stand on for an older kid, and jump seat for them to sit on, but it doesn't recline or anything and basically can't be used when the little one's seat is reclined) and doubles as well. They were very hard to push, turn, and were bulky and heavy folded. I would love a Peg Perego Aria Twin cause it's light, easy to push, and not too huge when folded, but I know I'm not gonna want to push it around after awhile with the weight of both kids. My friend has a Mac Double and she likes it a lot, and it's not so huge and heavy when folded, but she and her husband take turns forcing the other one to push it after awhile cause it gets heavy (and her kids are 23 and 6 months old-about 30 and 18 pounds, so not super large yet). So that's my only thing with the double, and so far, 4 months we 2 kids, we haven't really needed one yet so I think I can get away without buying one and just letting my daughter use the ride on bar on the Pliko.

 

[kdzgon]

I'll let you know how it goes. We return on 12/18.

Before DD was born, we spent A LOT of time looking at strollers. I think that we spent far more time looking at strollers than we did looking at cars before I bought my last car! We seriously considered the P3 and the Zippy. I really liked the Zippy's one handed fold, but in 2004 the Zippy didn't have a snack tray. I abandoned both strollers once I decided that I needed a bigger basket. The baskets on both of these strollers and the Macs are pretty useless.

Hmmm -I don't know which model it was, but I found the baskets on the twin MacLaren to be very usable (and the "girl scout" in me ensured I packed for many contingencies...). It didn't have a snack tray, but that wasn't really a problem with two 3 1/2 yr olds. The other thing I liked about having the stroller was it helped us "corral" the boys. If we were in a crowded area, the rule was they rode - it allowed me to know where they were and maneuver more easily and more quickly without worrying about "losing" one of my DGSs. (I'm sure there will be thoughts/comments about how well behaved others' children are, but these 2 cousins ramped up one another with excitement, and they could get rambunctious. I'll concede "better behaved" to whomever by default. ) The MacLaren was borrowed - my next stroller to try will be the Ditto Dreamer - I'm not sure if it will be better or worse, but we'll see!

Laurie

PS: I eliminated all face-to-face and step ride-ons from consideration, the first because of shared leg area for longer legs and the second due to 2 of same age, so choices were more limited than for some here.

 

[bellarella]

Thanks! It's not just the recline though, it's the snack tray that I was thinking would be important until year 2-3. The Quest cant take the tray, nor can the Inglesina Trip -- but both can have car seats attached IIRC.

This should be way easier.

Oh, yeah it should be easier!!! My poor DH rolls his eyes everytime I want to try a new stroller.

Personally, the no snack tray thing isn't a big deal for me. My Metrolite has one, but I really never use it and actually find it to be a pain because it is more difficult to get my DS in and out now that he is getting bigger (14 mos). The snack tray, for us, is just a place where DS takes food and proceeds to throw it on the ground, resulting in us leaving a trail of cheerios or goldfish in our wake. I find giving him one of the snack cups with the lids works better. The parent tray is nice, but, for us, doesn't outweigh the compactly folding issue.

For us, I have found after 3 kids that I just need two kinds of strollers. I need one that can fold down very small, and one that has the big basket. I'm getting the MacLaren Triumph, and have the Graco Metrolite. The two serve different purposes for us. I tried repeatedly to get something that would work well enough in both situations but found, going back to my shoe analogy, that I wound up with ugly dress shoes that weren't all that comfortable So I've resigned myself to having both a sneaker and a stiletto. LOL.

You may have better luck in finding a stroller that does well enough for you in both departments. Good luck!!!

Oh, and the Snap N Go is made by Baby Trend and Kolcraft makes something similar. It is a frame with a basket and parent cup holder that the car seat snaps into. If you have a Graco Snugride, the Metrolite is actually a pretty good "minivan" stroller that would also accommodate your car seat.

 

[jdg345]

Snap n Go is a frame that only holds an infant carseat, there's no seat or anything. I think Kolkraft (or some spelling like that) and Graco make some.

Like the Maclaren Easy Traveler?

 

[justhat]

Like the Maclaren Easy Traveler?

Yep, just like that one.

 

[jdg345]

I'll let you know how it goes. We return on 12/18.

Before DD was born, we spent A LOT of time looking at strollers. I think that we spent far more time looking at strollers than we did looking at cars before I bought my last car! We seriously considered the P3 and the Zippy. I really liked the Zippy's one handed fold, but in 2004 the Zippy didn't have a snack tray. I abandoned both strollers once I decided that I needed a bigger basket. The baskets on both of these strollers and the Macs are pretty useless.

Thanks! Did you find then that the Trip had a larger basket than the Zippy/P3? Which Combi did/do you have?

 

[jdg345]

I know you weren't asking me, but like I said in my post at the end of page 3, we looked at Sit n Stand strollers (where there's essentially 1 real seat, then a base to stand on for an older kid, and jump seat for them to sit on, but it doesn't recline or anything and basically can't be used when the little one's seat is reclined) and doubles as well. They were very hard to push, turn, and were bulky and heavy folded. I would love a Peg Perego Aria Twin cause it's light, easy to push, and not too huge when folded, but I know I'm not gonna want to push it around after awhile with the weight of both kids. My friend has a Mac Double and she likes it a lot, and it's not so huge and heavy when folded, but she and her husband take turns forcing the other one to push it after awhile cause it gets heavy (and her kids are 23 and 6 months old-about 30 and 18 pounds, so not super large yet). So that's my only thing with the double, and so far, 4 months we 2 kids, we haven't really needed one yet so I think I can get away without buying one and just letting my daughter use the ride on bar on the Pliko.

Thank you so much! There is so much great information in this thread and everyone has been so helpful. I'm sorry as I'm getting sometimes confused with who I want to ask what ... Thank you again for your input! I really appreciate it!!

 

[amarberry]

Thanks! Did you find then that the Trip had a larger basket than the Zippy/P3? Which Combi did/do you have?

I honestly can't remember the specifics of the Zippy's basket, and as I said before, I was looking at this stroller in 2004. I glanced at the Zippy recently before I bought my Trip, but decided I didn't need that much stroller this time around.

I happened to be at Babies r Us this evening and took another look at the P3 to remind myself what I didn't like about the basket. The basket has a metal bar in the shape of an X running through the middle of it. That's what turned me away from it. It also looks like you can really only access the basket from the front of the stroller. Baskets are important to me (my Peg is basically the bigger version of the Aria, so it has a nice large basket), but if it isn't a huge issue for you, I think that the P3 is a great stroller.

The Trip's basket is similar to the baskets on the Quest or Techno, but maybe a little bigger. It's not a great basket, but you can put a few things in it. However, if your child is asleep in the recline position, you have no access to the basket.

I can't remember the name of the Combi that I have. We bought it in 2004. It's pretty much the same one that is sold at Babies r Us currently for about $100, but it's a different color. That basket held more than I thought it would by looking at it.

 

[becca-becca]

I have a question for you all. I have browsed through this thread. Our 3rd (and most likely last) daughter is 3 1/2. We have to have a stroller for WDW. I don't want to rent one because I really want to make use of a basket underneath and I need one at the airport. I don't want a typical umbrella stroller because our backs hurt becuase of the handles. I also don't want to spend much money because we don't use one much anymore. We havea GRACO that I purchased for about 30-40 dollars, but I can't find one that cheap anymore. Any suggestions?

 

[justhat]

Chicco C5 (which I've described above) is a good choice. Steers well, reclines, has a basket, canopy, small pouch on the back, good handles/height, and it's fairly cheap, I think ours was $70.