Stroller Help

[rachael95]

I had been planning on taking my Jeep Cherokee Sport stroller to Disney, but the last few weeks, it's been taking spells where it refuses to fold all the way. Since I'm not risking it doing that on Disney transportation, I want to have a good stroller for doing Disney and I figured this was an opportunity to get a stroller that will last for several years. DS is going to be 18 months when we go so I'd like something he can nap in.

I have a Chicco Cortina Keyfit 30 stroller already. I was thinking about bringing that, but it's a bit bulky. This stroller doesn't fit in my car (a Kia), but it does fit in my DH Subaru. We don't jog, but we do use this stroller for walking around our neighborhood and the wheels are starting to get a bit raggedy and squeaky from being on pavement. This could be fixed with a can of WD40 and I think they sell replacement wheels which I could buy if need be.

I keep seeing people with cool jogging-type strollers and talked to someone at the zoo the other day who was going on and on about being able to push it one-handed over bumpy pavement.

We'll be driving, so don't have to worry about airports.

So what should I do? Suggestions?

1. Bring the Chicco and make this stroller work?
2. Buy a Baby Jogger City Mini
3. Get a BOB stroller - if so which one?
4. Get a Jeep Liberty Limited Urban Terrain Stroller (a little leary of this just because my cheaper Jeep stroller started having problems after having it a couple months).
5. Get another stroller - suggestions?

Am I just suffering from stroller envy and need to keep the Chicco until he's too big for strollers? Someone on another thread mentioned how nice it was on the City Mini that it lowered down far enough to the point she could do a diaper change. I really liked that idea. Do the others do that? My chicco does not.

How small do these other strollers fold? The City Mini seems to fold fairly small. My Chicco doesn't fit in my car because the back stays straight. But it looks like the City Mini might fold in half? Do the others?

Thanks!

 

[tms295psu]

How much do you use a stroller in general?

I'd love to have a citi mini or b-agile but the reality is... My son 2.5 prefers to walk, and I only use the stroller when I need to confine him. I also don't want to spend money on another stroller to get beat up by the airline or bleached out by chlorine water when we go to our local waterpark.

I also don't like air filled jogger strollers... Always seem to need air at the most inconvenient times! And they take up soo much trunk space.

 

[rachael95]

We use a stroller fairly often. We try to walk around our neighborhood or on walking paths fairly often and our son is not able to keep up yet. Plus, since we're doing it for exercise, we'll walk at least a mile or more and he won't be able to do that for a while.

We also try to go to the zoo and mall fairly often taking the stroller with. Plus, we'll be doing Disney for a week later this year.

So my answer would be fairly often actually!

I'm looking at the City Mini GT too. I wonder if that would be better than the regular City Mini just because of the wheels. That is the main thing on our Chicco that I wish we'd thought about when we got it. The wheels are just getting so raggedy from walking on our neighborhood streets.

 

[tms295psu]

Baby jogger has the folded dimensions on the website. I think the citi mini is about 30" x 24" x 9"

 

[rharper1496]

For the amount of walking you do I would get air tires. Grab a small bike pump and toss it in the basket so it's there if you need it.

I've owned more strollers than I care to admit and my 2 bike tire ones (Baby Trend expedition (?) and InStep double jogger) were by far my favourite. One handed over gravel was a breeze. 8" of snow and ice was a little more challenging but we still made it through fairly easily. My expensive Graco cried at the sight of snow. The plastic and rubber tires tend to wear down if you're doing a lot of walking on pavement.

One caveat, they are bulky. The City mini's are probably smaller than the two I had but almost all of the bike tire ones I've seen do take up a bit of space. Still, we did HS with the double jogger and we managed.

 

[epsmith921]

Check out the websites from the different companies. They have all the dimensions.

We selected a city elite because of the nicer tires (our travel system stroller had zero tread on the junky plastic tires) and the bigger weight and height limit for our 95th percentile kid. She loves this thing.

The gt might fit your needs though. Both the gt and elite have foam wheels covered in real tires. So you get the tire but no need to fill. Admittedly the elite is heavy. The gt and the mini are both lighter and smaller in general.

You may want to get a tape measure out and head to your trunk.

We find the elite to work so much better than our old stroller ( we put that poor thing to the curb) and while heavier and a bit bulkier, it pushes so much better and can go through snow and all kinds of stuff. We use it all the time for walking around the neighborhood and the downtown area of the city we live in.

 

[rachael95]

I think the Elite would be too big for my little car, but the GT will probably fit. Though, maybe this is a reason to get a new car. but alas, we have a rule of keeping our cars until they're at least 10 years old and this one is only 7 years old.

I think I've got DH talked into the GT though.

 

[epsmith921]

You will love it. My sister has the GT for her baby boy and really loves it. She lives in a warmer climate than us and does a fair amount of walking as well.

My in laws used our elite and just brought it in our house unfolded figuring they weren't dealing with whatever new contraption we'd bought. My husband said his dad was shocked when he folded it in front of them! Awesome!

I'm always on board for a new car!

 

[rachael95]

Thanks, I'll let you know. Debating if I should wait until I can find the 2013 models or if they won't be out in time for our trip.

Now to just find a good stroller fan.... Seriously considering getting one of those 5" D battery powered numbers and using a C clamp to clamp it to the stroller since so many of the little foam fans seem to not put out much breeze. Our little guy is extremely hot natured and I can just imagine him sweltering when we go 1st week in September.

 

[epsmith921]

Let me know if you find a good fan. I think my kid could use one in September as well but she also freaks out sometimes going "it's too windy!" Not sure how she'd like the fan. I think it might be a good idea but I'm not sure how much I want to push it after my husband agreed to getting ponchos!

 

[tarak]

I've taken a lot of strollers to WDW over the years. My hands down favorite was the Baby Trend with the air tires. They did get a bit deflated after the week (I didn't think to bring a pump, which would have been brilliant). It was a double and very bulky. But in the parks, it was fantastic. I despise those little plastic wheels that always seem to get caught or don't swivel right when you need them to. I think having that single wheel in the front makes turning so much easier. I can steer the Baby Trend with one hand, even when it's loaded with kids. There might be others out there that are nicer - I just think the style of the Baby Trend worked well for me. The GT looks really nice - but if I bought another stroller, my husband would stage an intervention, I think.

 

[Tara1988]

The only stroller I've ever taken to Disney was a $60 graco lightweight. It was perfect. Child tray, parent tray, large basket, and the seat reclined enough for diaper changes. I would never pay as much as a city mini or BOB costs because they don't have the extras that I love so much. I need to find a good double stroller for an infant and toddler now that doesn't cost a fortune.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We use a stroller fairly often. We try to walk around our neighborhood or on walking paths fairly often and our son is not able to keep up yet. Plus, since we're doing it for exercise, we'll walk at least a mile or more and he won't be able to do that for a while.

We also try to go to the zoo and mall fairly often taking the stroller with. Plus, we'll be doing Disney for a week later this year.

So my answer would be fairly often actually!

I'm looking at the City Mini GT too. I wonder if that would be better than the regular City Mini just because of the wheels. That is the main thing on our Chicco that I wish we'd thought about when we got it. The wheels are just getting so raggedy from walking on our neighborhood streets.

For what you're looking for, the City Mini (GT or regular) would be a great stroller. I love our CM! The fold is super simple and it fits in my car's trunk pretty easily (a Pontiac Grand Am) - though it does take up a decent amt of the trunk. It's fantastic for getting on and off buses and walks around the neighborhood. We frequently take 2+ mile walks with it, and it's holding up great.

If you're not sure you want to spend the money on owning one yet, you could always try renting a CM for your Disney trip. Apple strollers is still doing their free stroller rental promotion (only pay for insurance, so it's about $35-40), and Kingdom Strollers is a great rental place as well.

 

[imchatti]

I love our maclaren quest .... one hand fold .... lays flat .... full sun shade .... i have folded it and gotten onto the bus with a ten month old in one hand and a large diaper bag on my shoulder. i received a round of applauds! lol

 

[rachael95]

I love our maclaren quest .... one hand fold .... lays flat .... full sun shade .... i have folded it and gotten onto the bus with a ten month old in one hand and a large diaper bag on my shoulder. i received a round of applauds! lol

That hilarious.

 

[tigger51276]

I must say I love the Baby Jogger line. I'm on my 2nd one now because I had the micro the first time around and wanted something with a bit more to it. I would go with the GT and get the all terrain wheels. That being said I also loved my Jeep All Terrain stroller. I also had two of those (one with each kid) and have traveled to Disney World with them both and it would actually be my stroller of choice if not for needing to get on and off the buses with it. It's a large and heavy stroller but the one hand push, comfort for my girls and super large storage basket always made it a win for me. Now that my girls are a bit older, I can get away with the smaller basket on the City Mini.

 

[rachael95]

Well, I'm just about ready to order the Mini GT.

But the cheapskate in me is keeping me from doing it until I can get SOMETHING off the total price. Since I found out that I can't have Babies R Us ship it to the store and use the 20% off in store purchase coupon and Target doesn't sell that version to get the 5% with my Target card, I think I'm going to at least go get some Amazon gift cards from Krogers and use the fuel points off that. lol At least I'll get a few of tanks of gas at a $1.00/gallon off that way.

Now, I do need to check out to see if the rumor is true about Target giving the 5% back on Disney gift cards so I can pay for our trip that way....

 

[kim532]

We own the city mini and love it. Best purchase ever. We went to DL and rented for my older a the city GT. It was awesome! You won't regret getting a baby jogger. They are great!

 

[Heart82381]

Hands down, city mini.

 

[Crazie4daMouse]

For what you're looking for, the City Mini (GT or regular) would be a great stroller. I love our CM! The fold is super simple and it fits in my car's trunk pretty easily (a Pontiac Grand Am) - though it does take up a decent amt of the trunk. It's fantastic for getting on and off buses and walks around the neighborhood. We frequently take 2+ mile walks with it, and it's holding up great.

If you're not sure you want to spend the money on owning one yet, you could always try renting a CM for your Disney trip. Apple strollers is still doing their free stroller rental promotion (only pay for insurance, so it's about $35-40), and Kingdom Strollers is a great rental place as well.

Thank you so much for the tip! I just reserved a Baby Jogger City Mini stroller from Apple Stroller for 7 days for only $42.60!! They will have it at our resort when we get there and pick it up the morning after we leave. Happy dance! Now I'm just hoping my 4 year old won't be too big for it. He's 40" tall. Has anyone had any experience with this type stroller and a 4 year old?