Stroller Debate

[2dogmom]

DH and I can't seem to come to an agreement about strollers at WDW. Here is what we have...

- a Graco single with tray, canopy, reclines, under storage
- a big heavy single reclining seat with a seat on the back for the older kid to sit facing backwards or a place to stand
- a front/back double. Morgan can't fit comfortable in the front, and if she is in the back, her feet take up half the basket

DH thinks we should only bring the lightweight one we used last time at WDW. I think we need something for DD4, especially since our flight out is at 7:10am and I'm sure she will be tired. He doesn't want me to buy another stroller ( although Sears has a cute Princess Stroller on sale this week) I keep saying something like this is cheaper than renting a stroller for 7 days. I can also get stroller connectors to pushing both so that won't be a problem. The other option is to rent a single or double down there from ABBF or something like that.

I know DD4 will use it when she is tired. Of course we have to take a bus to get to downtown Disney, MGM, and AK, so we have to consider that also. And if we have a late night at the halloween party, she would probably fall asleep. I don't want her to be tired and cry that she wants me to take DD2 out so she can sit down. That HAS happened before!

So, should we buy one ($35 + $12 for connectors), rent at the parks ($7/day = $49 ) or rent from ABBF ($70 for side-by-side ) or tell DD1 to suck it up What do you experts recommend???

Also how difficult is it to lug 2 strollers and 2 kids on the buses? I know we had our hands full when DD4 was 2.

Thanks for your 2 cents

 

[bartty]

I just bought the kolcraft double umbrella stroller. It has 2 mesh bags for some storage, and a cup holder. This will be our official disney stroller. It $52 at walmart.com

Hope this helps....

Bartty

(It took me and dh forever to decide on this!!!!! Who knew finding a stroller for disney is so difficult)

 

[Lollipop Mom]

We brough the sit and stand in December. It was OK but not great.

pros:
-not as long and bulky to steer as the front/back double
-the "jump seat" slides over the basket at the bottom and kind of hides stuff that is in there. We could leave our bag in there (no valuables, just diapers, wipes etc) in it and slide the seat so you couldn't tell there was a bag in there.
-could roll right on to any car on the monorail

cons:
-a royal pain in the @$$ to fold and lug on the busses
-the basket isn't protected when you fold it so you have to take everything out of it when you fold it up
-the "jump seat" slides over the basket at the bottom...a pro when you are in an attraction, a con when you need something out of the bag and a kid is sitting in it.
-DS4 didn't like that if he wanted to sit down, he had to face backwards
-when they are tired, if DS4 was sitting on the jump seat, DS2 couldn't lay down and go to sleep like he wanted to.


We elected not to bring that one in April. I bought a side by side double at a garage sale for $8. It was FANTASTIC. It was an ooooooold one in really tacky bright colors...which turned out to be a pro b/c we could spot it quickly in the stroller parking lot jammed with navy blue strollers. It was GREAT for that trip but it has since started falling apart. I liked it so much I bought a newer used one at a consignment sale for $20. I was worried about it fitting through shops and stuff but I had no problems at all. It was no wider than an ECV and they make sure those can manuver through all the shops and stuff.

Pros:
-BIG basket underneath that you don't have to move a kid to get to.
-folds flat. It's still wide but it folds nice and flat so it was easy enough to bring on busses, it felt a lot less bulky.
-both seats recline independently so they had the option of laying down. Only once did the both nap in it but letting them do it allowed us to have a nice quiet (almost kid free) lunch at Mama Melrose's at MGM. We couldn't have reclined both of them in the sit and stand or the front back one.
-since they were side by side rather than front back they could both sit in it to watch parades.
-having the double kept one of us free to hold a hand if one of the kids was refusing to sit. If we had 2 singles we'd both be pushing strollers.

Cons:
(besides being ugly )
-The only one was that if we wanted to roll onto the monorail w/o taking the kids out we had to do it in one of the handicapped equipped cars. Never a problem doing it, you just had to ask where to stand. In those cars that divider bar thingy is only on one side rather than both.
-no snack tray/cup holders. Isn't an issue for us b/c they boys would rather hold a box of popcorn than have a snack tray anyway. They hold their drinks too. I just bought those cup holders you can attach to the handle for us. (this stroller may have come with a snack tray, but neither of the used ones had it when I bought them)

I'd say do something to be able to have a double. Either bring your front/back, rent a double or buy a cheap one. I didn't want to bring my front/back b/c it's very bulky, I thought it would be tought to manuver in crowds being so long and the front seat is not tall enough to let them recline and still be able to have their head fit on it. If you are both pushing strollers, what happens if DD4 wants to walk? Will she stay with you with no one holding her hand? Do you know anyone who has used those connectors? I haven't tried them personally but I know one of my friends tried them and said with 2 kids of different weights they didn't work well at keeping the strollers together. We saw a couple having a big fight over the strollers and actually throwing away their connectors at WDW. Their kids looked to be a fair difference in weight so they may have had a similar problem. I'd want to avoid 2 kids and 2 strollers on the bus though. I know we need one person in charge of the stroller and one in charge of DSs.

Have you considered buying a lightweight double? The one I have is this one and if any churches or organizations around you have consignment sales, check them out. I see this stroller all the time for $20-$25 used. Strollers4Less has this double umbrella one for under $70. Or Baby Universe has this one for $70 and thier shipping is only $6.95.

 

[SouthFLMommy]

Lollipop Mom, I am looking at the stroller you have! Actually, I am looking at the DuoLite, which is exactly like yours and a Graco, but it's one handed folding and has 2 canopies instead of 1.

I hope I can find one used, I've been looking but so far no luck. We are going for Labor Day weekend so I need to find one soon.

Thanks for the review!

Nicole

 

[Disney_1derland]

I bought the Avalon at Baby Depot for $59. Side by side, decent recline, good baskets and big enough for my four year old. We LOVE This stroller and the price is way less than renting. It also folds really small and is easy to get in/out of tight places like the buses.

http://www.bcfdirect.com/IWStoreBCF...ection_Id=9553&pcount=&pn=1&Product_Id=300126

Good Luck!

 

[2dogmom]

Thanks for the links. I will have to check them out.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Originally posted by bartty
I just bought the kolcraft double umbrella stroller. It has 2 mesh bags for some storage, and a cup holder. This will be our official disney stroller. It $52 at walmart.com

We did the very same thing. We bought the exact same stroller. So far, we have used it for 2 WDW trips. It will get the third trip in January. When not at WDW, it sits in our basement.