Strollers and what I learned yesterday...

[java]

Well after spending a day at Hershey Park yesterday with 2 strollers for ds(2) and ds(2months) along with the other 2 children, we decided to go double stroller for Disney. It was a huge pain to keep track of the stroller for the 2 year old who was constantly getting out of the stroller to jump on a ride. My DH would follow after him(without the stroller) I would have the baby and the other 2 children and head off to another ride and then we would have to search for stroller for 2 year old. So, fo us, we decided keeping them in one stroller would be easier for us. Now to find a double stroller......

 

[PrincessasMommy]

Thanks Java.

We have a double jogger but after reading alot of posts here we were considering 2 singles - but now seeing my concern become your reality - I think it'll be easier with the 1 too!

How was Hershey? We live in Toronto and are considering that for our next vacation considering we can drive there. Did the kids love it? I'm so interested in the chocolate bubble baths I saw on a TV show here once featuring Hershey!

Thanks!

 

[oogieboogie]

Just rent a double stroller at Disney. You can rent it for the whole day, and if you park hop, as long as you have your receipt you can get another one at another park free with your receipt.

You can also get multi-day discounts on your rentals.

Beats lugging a stroller on the bus/trams/monorail.

 

[java]

Thanks Java.

We have a double jogger but after reading alot of posts here we were considering 2 singles - but now seeing my concern become your reality - I think it'll be easier with the 1 too!

How was Hershey? We live in Toronto and are considering that for our next vacation considering we can drive there. Did the kids love it? I'm so interested in the chocolate bubble baths I saw on a TV show here once featuring Hershey!

Thanks!

Hershey is fun. It is a ton of walking up and down hills. But they spread out the kiddie rides so if you have children that are old enough for the bigger rides- of which there are plenty(I think about 7 rollercoasters maybe even more!) the little ones have stuff to ride on as well as opposed to just sitting in the stroller waiting around. They have quite alot of kiddie rides. I can think of 18 just off the top of my head. If you have only smaller children there is also the Dutch Wonderland with about 45 minutes of Hershey-a nice add on to the trip. Another little kid amusement park that is pay as you ride-cute dragon princess theme(nothing like disney though of course) If you want the spa stuff that is at the Hotel Hershey( a huge rip off in my opinion-I mean come on it is Pennsylvania and they are charging over $300 a night we stayed there once and that was enough) There are lots of less expensive nice hotels nearby. Embassy suites have kitchens. But the Hershey Lodge is actually fun(although not great rooms) they have a great indoor outdoor pool and free mini golf. How long of a drive is it from Toronto- we would love to go to Canada for a vacation next year. We live in NJ but just over the PA border.

Oh and we would rent a stroller but our little guy is going to be too little for those rental ones I think-

 

[mjmcca]

Just rent a double stroller at Disney. You can rent it for the whole day, and if you park hop, as long as you have your receipt you can get another one at another park free with your receipt.

You can also get multi-day discounts on your rentals.

Beats lugging a stroller on the bus/trams/monorail.

I think it would depends on how old the younger child is when they go. Those Disney strollers arent for babies.

 

[oogieboogie]

I think it would depends on how old the younger child is when they go. Those Disney strollers arent for babies.

Ah, I didn't even notice the age of the baby. You're right there. I'm thinking for that age, maybe a single stroller and and a baby harness/backpack thing.

 

[java]

Ah, I didn't even notice the age of the baby. You're right there. I'm thinking for that age, maybe a single stroller and and a baby harness/backpack thing.

about the baby carrier. The"baby" weighs 15 pounds at 7 weeks I can't imagine what my dainty eater will weigh in three more months. I guess I could get DH to wear it

 

[oogieboogie]

Wow! Big baby! Mine didn't hit 20lbs until he was about 10 months old! You're right, get the hubby to carry the baby!

 

[eeyore0062]

If you go to Downtown Disney, just a reminder... they have a very limited amount of strollers and do not have doubles at all.

 

[mjmcca]

OK i had one of those he is 4 now and he is still very big. because of him i went through 2 double strollers they kept breaking. I finally caved and bought an expensive one. I use it mostly for Disney and other big trips now because he is older. His younger sibling still needs a stroller ( she just turned 3) and he wants to ride if she is.

 

[sus]

Java--
Happy to hear you were supporting my local economy in Hershey. I live in Lancaster County (Amish Country) very close to Hershey. It is a nice, family friendly area.
Definitely rent the double stroller.

 

[PrincessasMommy]

Hershey is fun. It is a ton of walking up and down hills. But they spread out the kiddie rides so if you have children that are old enough for the bigger rides- of which there are plenty(I think about 7 rollercoasters maybe even more!) the little ones have stuff to ride on as well as opposed to just sitting in the stroller waiting around. They have quite alot of kiddie rides. I can think of 18 just off the top of my head. If you have only smaller children there is also the Dutch Wonderland with about 45 minutes of Hershey-a nice add on to the trip. Another little kid amusement park that is pay as you ride-cute dragon princess theme(nothing like disney though of course) If you want the spa stuff that is at the Hotel Hershey( a huge rip off in my opinion-I mean come on it is Pennsylvania and they are charging over $300 a night we stayed there once and that was enough) There are lots of less expensive nice hotels nearby. Embassy suites have kitchens. But the Hershey Lodge is actually fun(although not great rooms) they have a great indoor outdoor pool and free mini golf. How long of a drive is it from Toronto- we would love to go to Canada for a vacation next year. We live in NJ but just over the PA border.

Oh and we would rent a stroller but our little guy is going to be too little for those rental ones I think-

Thanks for the info. For $300.00 a night I think I'll skip the chocolate bubble bath! I had no idea a room in PA would go for that! With 3 kids Embassy Suites and a kitchen sounds much more practical. So, you enjoyed it? Recommend it? We have 3 dd's, 9, 2 & 8 months, we love to take them to see things but WDW is only in our budget once every 2 years.We've been looking at places to drive that are within a day. We've looked at Cape Cod and PA recently. Toronto to Hershey is 7 1/2 hours.

BTW, we just bought the Baby Trend Double Jogger for our WDW trip and LOVE it! The girls are so happy in it, they love to look at each other! Only thing is it doesn't fit in alot of stores/doors in malls. We also have the Evenflo Take Me Too Premier Tandem Double Stroller - great stroller - folds with one hand, is light (in comparison to the others) and is great for the mall! Both are about $300.00 Canadian FYI. I know they are imported from the US so thought I'd share.

 

[erinch]

Have you done Cedar Point?

We live in western PA and have gone to Hershey once. It was nice--but we so much appreciate Cedar Point as "our" local amusement park in non-Disney years. Lot's of stuff for kids there, and if you can afford one of the onsite hotels you can have a resort/beach experience as well.

 

[hezreck]

Java--
Happy to hear you were supporting my local economy in Hershey. I live in Lancaster County (Amish Country) very close to Hershey. It is a nice, family friendly area.
Definitely rent the double stroller.

We were in Hershey for vacation last summer. After 2 days there, we went to Bird-In-Hand. Stayed there for 3 days, did the Strasburg Railorad, the One Room Schoolhouse, ate at the restaurant in the railcar in Strasburg, and also did an Amish buggy ride. We stayed at the Bird-In-Hand Family Inn. That is a really nice place. Not expensive at all and they have indoor and outdoor pools. Also went to Kitchen Kettle Village.
Were are from Western Ohio, so on the way home, we stopped in Mill Run to go through Fallingwater. That is a great place to visit too.

 

[hezreck]

Have you done Cedar Point?

We live in western PA and have gone to Hershey once. It was nice--but we so much appreciate Cedar Point as "our" local amusement park in non-Disney years. Lot's of stuff for kids there, and if you can afford one of the onsite hotels you can have a resort/beach experience as well.

I live an hour from Cedar Point, it's on our list of things to do at least once a year. We live close enough, that we go the week they open, while kids are still in school. There are no lines at all. Except for Millenium Force and Topthrill Dragster. There are ALWAYS lines for those, but I won't ride them anyway. I'm too chicken for those 2. My favorite coaster there is Raptor.

 

[auroraarielella]

Back to the stroller discussion, double strollers are heavy to fold and lug onto DIsney Transportation if you bring your own. And the treck from where the busses drop you off to where you can rent a stroller at the parks (or the reverse at night) can be quite a distance. (Especially Epcot).

I use two umbrella strollers. The two umbrellas work well with a "stroller connector" kit I bought at Babies-R-Us. I found a photo on the web of the connectors:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/bestbuybaby/prlistco.html

But I bought them at babies-r-us.

Then, in the park, I could connect the strollers, but if we wanted to take the younger one back to the room, we just disconnected the strollers and split up. And it was much easier folding and lugging the umbrella strollers onto busses etc.

In my opinion, it was the best of both !