The Stroller Dilemma

[scanne]

OK. We have two kids. DS4 and DD2. Both are quite capable of walking and most of the time insist on walking.

We have a double stroller. A graco. It's a MONSTER. But, it has a cup holder for me and one for each kid and a decent basket underneath for storage and stuff.

But did I mention it's BIG!? And heavy?! And we're staying at the WL where the rooms are not as big as the Polynesian (where we stayed last year).

I don't know if I want to bring the monster.

I DO know that I don't want to rent a stroller.

Do I buy a couple of cheap strollers? Get a couple of $20 umbrella strollers?

I need suggestions.

Yes - they will sleep in the stroller, but I am planning on being back at the resort most afternoons for naps.

What would you do? I'm at a loss here....thanks!

 

[santonucci]

Unless you like carrying the 2, you'll be glad you brought it. My 2 older kids are great walkers, but at the end of the day (or the middle if you run back for the pool), it's nice to have them jump in. If you still have diaper bags, you'll be happy to have the storage.

When my daughter turned 3, we stopped bringing the stroller. She'd get a few minutes of piggyback, but walked the rest of the time.

Steve

 

[ZuZugal]

Maybe you can get some cheap ones at WM and just leave them behind for someone else when your trip is through.

The parks also offer discounts on multiple day stroller rentals.

Or, try a day w/o strollers. We went to WDW in May, and this is the first time we did not take a stroller for my 3yr old. We rented one at EPCOT only since the park is so big. It's always nice to have somewhere to put everything.

Good luck!

 

[Gabby&Liv's Mommy]

We recently decided to go with two double umbrella strollers at our local zoo because we are so sick of bringing our monster double stroller with us. It drove me nuts. Every time either my husband or I wanted to run to get a soda, go to the bathroom, etc, we had to leave the other one alone with two strollers to manage and two kids that did not always stay in the strollers. Kids running in two different directions, two strollers and one adult is not a fun time.
Before that we were trying to decid what to do in our upcoming trip in Dec when our DDs will be 2 & 4. I don't want to rent either.
After our fun zoo trip I ran out to Toys R' Us and bought a double umbrella stroller for $70. We will be taking that on our nex trip with us.
Good luck!!!

 

[dismom301930]

When we went to Disney for the first time with our two oldest daughters (2 and 3.5 at the time) we brought two Graco umbrella strollers (nice ones with sun shades and storage baskets underneath) that I got at Target for $30 each. I really love these strollers, and we still use one of these as our main stroller for our third daughter, now 2. This worked very well for us, and I didn't think it was too much of a hassle having two strollers. We really liked how easy they were to fold and how small they were to transport.

But I recently purchased a Sit and Stand Stroller (again from Target for about $120) with our upcoming Disney trip in mind. My DD2 sits in front and DD4 can hop on and off in the back. She is probably too old to ride all the time, but she will need to rest now and then. The Sit and Stand is perfect for this. My DD6 can also take a break if she needs to (she is thin, about 45 pounds). It is smaller than a traditional double stroller, and it has a nice storage basket underneath and two cup holders for the parents. We really love it. (Friends of ours just bought a Joovy Caboose, which is pretty much the same thing but a little smaller. They really like it as well)

Hope this helps a little! Good luck.

 

[webshark3]

Eddie Bauer Transit Tandem Stroller

Folds Umbrella style, and the easiest to manuever front and back tandem I've ever used. We were even able to navigate it through the tightest spaces in Target. It's a really neat design. Large for a umbrella, but tiny for a tandem. $140 (I know you don't want to spend that, but it's an option worth looking at.)

 

[crl]

I second the Jeep umbrella at Toys 'r us. You can actully get it at babyage.com and a few other places. We love ours and it folds pretty small.

 

[imp&pixie]

I am waffling so much on this whole stroller issue as well. My kids will be almost 6 year (DS) and 27 months (DD) when we go to Disney in Sept. I have pretty much decided to just get two cheaper umbrella strollers from Babies 'r' Us. They are only $20 each and they are really light and easy to fold/carry. It is a bit of a stretch to push my 6 yo in it but it works in a pinch (he only weighs about 37 lbs.) I just have such a hard time justifying spending a bunch of money for a week long trip.

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

I posted almost this same message a month ago. Dh didn't want to deal with the monster Graco either. I couldn't bring myself to rent one for $72. Plus we want to tour the other resorts. My kids are 2 and 4 and both under 35 pounds so we bought the Jeep tandem umbrella from Wal-mart online. The kids love it. What is nice is that when the 4 year old wants to get in and out she can do it by herself instead of one of us trying to get them out and dealing with scraped knees on the snack trays. We bought the Jeep one for $80 including shipping.

 

[kstinw19]

But I recently purchased a Sit and Stand Stroller (again from Target for about $120) with our upcoming Disney trip in mind.
QUOTE]

Do you find this stroller heavy and hard to turn? We bought this stroller last year when ds (now 1) was born and I hardly used it b/c it just didn't turn well and I found it really heavy when lifting into the car. I had the Graco double stroller before that and loved that but wanted the sit n' stand option.

Just curious...

 

[dismom301930]

I'm new to this and I'm not sure how to copy previous posts (in the light yellow box), so I am just going to copy and paste. (Please let me know how to do this!) Sorry!


QUOTE=dismom301930]
But I recently purchased a Sit and Stand Stroller (again from Target for about $120) with our upcoming Disney trip in mind.
QUOTE]

Do you find this stroller heavy and hard to turn? We bought this stroller last year when ds (now 1) was born and I hardly used it b/c it just didn't turn well and I found it really heavy when lifting into the car. I had the Graco double stroller before that and loved that but wanted the sit n' stand option



I actually really like it. We used to have the Graco double stroller too but my DD4 is now too big for it. I do agree that the Graco turned better, but I am now used to the Sit and Stand and I think the steering is okay. I'm not sure if you had an older model, but Baby Trend made some changes last year (added the parent tray, etc.) and maybe they also did something to improve the steering. I don't find it too heavy, but then again I am used to carrying my 34 pound DD2 around! For me, the ability for my DD4 to hop in and out (without being in a "baby stroller") makes this stroller worth it.

 

[vassar36]

We just got back from Disney and I have a 4 ½ year old DD and a 2 ½ year old DD. Both usually don’t sit in strollers anymore, so I didn’t want to spend a lot of $ on a stroller we would probably just be using for Disney. We also have the graco double at home and it is big and heavy. What we did was buy 2 cheap umbrella strollers, with the sun shade. Also I bought them in colors, pink, so it was easy to spot our stroller when you park it at the stroller parking. Also since it was umbrella they folded up easy and were easy to take on/off the buses with the kids. Anyway it worked out great, and I am really glad we did it.