Stroller recommendations needed

[lepidop]

I'm going to need to rent a stroller for our next WDW trip, my son has outgrown our old stroller, and I don't want to buy another one at this point. I would love a few recommendations from those who have used a stroller for an older child.
Some background: My son is 7 years old, but small. He's under 48" tall and just under 40lb. He's got some sensory issues and walks on his toes, so he gets fatigued when walking long distances, but can do lots of short bursts so he'll need to be able to easily hop in and out of the stroller as needed. We'll also need the stroller to have a large sunshade/ awning so that he can retreat if he's feeling scared or overwhelmed. Certain sounds or touches freak him out and people looking at him make it worse, so we found it to relieve a lot of stress to use the stroller as a wheelchair for lines when we went last year. The other consideration is that he's a twin, so we've always used a double stroller. My daughter is fine with walking for most of the day, but I like having the option for her to ride, especially after a long day. It also gives us a good place to stash our bag, since we have to carry some medical supplies.
We recently borrowed a BOB double stroller for a day trip and it was great for the kids, but a huge pain to fold and take on a bus. It also took up a ton of space in the car. I have also tried a Maclaren double, and though it folded up smaller than the BOB and fit great in the car, my shoulder complained all day from pushing it. The Maclaren is also on the verge of being too small for the kids, and certainly will be this winter.
Are there double stroller options for older kids that have the features I need? IE: large sunshade, fold easily/compact-ish, comfortable for the kids, easy to push.

 

[fairymum]

We've rented the double citi mini jogger and loved it. My 35-40 five year old DS and my 28 month old DD loved it. Good shades easy fold and it fit thru the door of our room at the Poly unfolded. Basket isn't the best but I fit plenty in there.

 

[lepidop]

Also, I don't know if it's really relevant, but I'm under 5' tall. I haven't had problems with strollers before, but also haven't used many that are better for bigger kids. I don't know if any of them have taller push bars that would be uncomfortable for me.

 

[lanejudy]

The double-strollers I've seen for rent are the "standard" baby strollers -- most have a max weight limit of 100 lbs (for 2 kids) and recommended max height suggested at 44-48 inches. Most rent the City Mini stroller. I would assume if you want to use the canopy you'd need to take that height suggestion into serious consideration. I'm not sure that I've ever seen a "big kid" double-stroller, unless you consider the sit-and-stand type.

There are some stroller rental companies are noted in the disABILITIES FAQ sticky. You might start there. A common rental for special needs kids (older/bigger than standard baby-stroller size) is the Liberty Pushchair. Another special-needs stroller I've seen on the rental sites is the Special Tomato Jogger. Both of these are singles so the kids would have to share, and are likely to be much bigger and more cumbersome to lug when folded.

When DD outgrew her regular baby stroller, we ended up purchasing a used Maclaren Major Elite stroller for DD. We only use it for vacations, not everyday use, but the cost was equivalent to a weekly rental. It is also a single, but folds very compactly like an umbrella stroller and easy to carry on the buses -- though if you want the canopy that is an add-on and must be removed to fold the stroller.

In-park rental might work if you really want a double. I'd suggest bringing towels or a blanket to make it more comfortable. It still might be cramped with both kids in it -- I can't seem to find dimensions or height/weight limits for the in-park rentals, but I have seen older kids using the double.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[jmartinez1895]

My son is small for his age and before we got his wheelchair we used the citi mini. It fold with one hand, there is a strap that you pull and the thing just folds, it is easy to fold out and very light weight and easy to drive. I only used the single, but a friend of mine used a double and loved it. Before I bought ours I took my son to Toys R Us and they had one on display. I did not buy it there, but I got to play with it and to to see if it fit him. Maybe you could do something like that before you rent one to make sure it will work for you.

 

[lepidop]

Oh! I didn't realize that the City Elite was available at Toys R Us. I'll definitely take the kids there to try it out. I saw the Special Tomato jogger, and it looks really nice, but the canopy seems small enough as to be ineffective. The City Elite canopy is great! My son is only 45" tall, so I think he'd fit in it pretty well. His twin sister, however, is 47.5" tall, so it would be difficult for her to fit with the canopy closed, but I think she'd be ok with it open. She usually prefers it that way anyway. They are both well under 50lb.
There is a special needs equipment lending library where we live, and I've made inquiries about their strollers to see if they have something I can borrow and see how the sizing is.

 

[SteveMouse]

Call before you go to confirm its in stock at your desired location.

 

[Gracie09]

Oh! I didn't realize that the City Elite was available at Toys R Us. I'll definitely take the kids there to try it out. I saw the Special Tomato jogger, and it looks really nice, but the canopy seems small enough as to be ineffective. The City Elite canopy is great! My son is only 45" tall, so I think he'd fit in it pretty well. His twin sister, however, is 47.5" tall, so it would be difficult for her to fit with the canopy closed, but I think she'd be ok with it open. She usually prefers it that way anyway. They are both well under 50lb. There is a special needs equipment lending library where we live, and I've made inquiries about their strollers to see if they have something I can borrow and see how the sizing is.

Also check but buy baby if you have one near you. They also carry the city elite

 

[lepidop]

Call before you go to confirm its in stock at your desired location.

I will! And, I'm pretty sure we do have a buy buy baby here too.

 

[BeveMom]

Make sure you have him sit in it. DS was 6 last summer when we were at WDW and I rented a City Elite. He was just shy of 46", and was bordering on too tall. And this summer, he was DEFINITELY too tall for the BOB jogger we rented in San Diego. I guess we have to start investigating push chairs soon, but luckily, we really only need something when we travel.