Which accessories for City Mini for a Disney trip?

[olive]

Our son will be a little less than 2 months shy of 4 years old when we go to Disney this spring for his second trip. Last time we had our Maclaren, but he has since pitched that down our front steps and broken it. We now have a City Mini. The quicker fold should be helpful for using the Disney buses, which is a plus. As far as accessories, the existing shade seems more extensive, so no need for a larger shade. We have the rain cover (definitely necessary for spring in Florida!). I was thinking of getting the snack tray/cup holder for him to use and maybe the cooler bag that attaches underneath. Has anyone used that? Think it is worth it or not? We were planning on getting a bunch of items from Garden Grocer, and that way he could have cold apple juice instantly when he wants it instead of waiting on line somewhere. What else do you recommend?

 

[luckylady131]

Get the Sunshine Kids Buggy Buddy for the stroller. I have 2 of these (one on my City Mini, and one on my City Classic!). It's the best $10 you'll spend. They are sold at babies r us as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Kids...ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1295040764&sr=8-1

I have the Baby Jogger cooler as well, though I don't have it on the mini. I keep it on my classic. It would probably interfer with the fold of the mini when full, probably not too much when empty. I can get 6 water bottles in there, so just juice boxes and snacks are fine. I use ours when we go to the zoo.

STROLLER HOOKS!! I have these (again on both strollers) and use the all.the.time!! LOVE them. Seriously. Hang bags, diaper bags, camera bags, etc from these things. They are swivel hooks, so you can hang something on them and then turn the hook inward so it would very difficult for someone to walk by the stroller and take a bag off. http://www.amazon.com/Hook-Stroll-S...s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1295041033&sr=1-1

But necessity wise - I suggest the Sunshine kids buggy buddy console and the stroller hooks. Hands down.

I also purchased some stroller locks, but ended up not taking them because we ended up renting a double stroller while there instead, so I can't give you experience on those. BUt I got these:
http://www.amazon.com/Buggyguard-B-Hook-Stroller-Black/dp/B0036SGC8C/ref=pd_sim_ba_7

http://www.amazon.com/Buggyguard-Retractable-Stroller-Lock-Monkey/dp/B002QBDMDI/ref=pd_bxgy_ba_img_b

I also have the belly bar and snack tray for the city mini. But with a 4 year old, I wouldn't bother with either of these. If you ever have another child, then I would suggest the belly bar.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I have the Sunshine Kids Stroller Accessory Buggy Buddy on my City micro and that it. That honnestly all I needed and I travelled with 4 yo dds. The less on the stroller and the better it is for the buses. Oh don;t forget to remove stuff from the back pockets before folding or everything will fall off. I did that too many times . I have installed velcro on those pockets to keep them closed LOL

 

[Cinder-Belle]

I just ordered some things last night from Amazon

I got the Sunshine kids Buggy Buddy ($10), a new set of snack traps ($5), straps in a two pack to hook snack cups, etc on. ($2), sun shade extender, and I will be getting two clips from Home Depot.

I was going to get hooks, but all the ratings were bad. Wish I had just gone on, but I will get clips instead....

I already have a cooler pack.

We are taking our Maclaren and our 4 year old DD.

I am glad to see that I was on track with my purchases. I was up late shopping. I just kept adding things, but I hate being unprepared...

Enjoy your trip!

 

[olive]

Thanks so much for these suggestions, everyone!

We already have the belly bar. I should have mentioned that. My husband definitely wants to get some hooks! Velcro to keep things closed is a good idea, too. I can just imagine how frustrating it would be to fold the stroller to get on the bus and have everything come tumbling out while a line of people steps over you to get on board.

I'll google all of the suggested items. This board is wonderful!

 

[~Kristina~]

I have the snack tray, but need the parents pack thing that goes across the handle, and need a rain cover.

 

[blessedby3]

I have the snack tray for the front of the stroller (our dd is 3) and the sunshine buggy board for the top of the stroller. I also have a huge mommy hook on the side as well as a smaller hook on the other side of the stroller. The BJCM is the rental stroller for a couple of compaines in FL, so we also made an 8 x 10 sheet of paper with our family name and some character clip art on it and had it laminated. Then we hung this on the back handle of the stroller with zip ties (no one can rip it off). We also made 2 smaller signs (cut an 8 x 10 paper in half) and put the smaller sign on both sides of the stroller with zip ties. Worked well for us and it was easy to spot.

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

Ok this is my list of accessories that use on all of my strollers and i have lots so everything has to be universal.

First I have two mommy hooks they are black carabiners I have purchased generics b/c I like the other colors better but they didn't fit on the stroller. The mommy hooks make it easy at the end of the night to just unhook and leave all of the bags attached.

I have two valco baby universal cupholders easy to put on they hold my disney mug and they are adjustable. I did buy two munchkin cupholders they don't really work for me but they were awesome for my dd to use as a cupholder and they pop right off so again they are not in the way of folding the stroller, this works great b/c I have the mini that I can use the tray or belly bar w/ but my city classic doesn't take those accessories b/c it is older.

the bag use is the skip hop. I have the duo dash and the spark from target works great and its the cheapest you will find a skip hop that isnt used. If I am using a stroller that doesn't have a cupholder the skip hop works great.

Now I will admit that i say two of everything mostly b/c I have OCD and everything has to be in even numbers,lol. My dh hates it but then there are lots of times he is so grateful for it. Plus the extra cupholders work great for other family members who might need a place to put a drink. the mommy hooks I only used one this past trip. the trip before that I used two but I used one for the backpack that we had and the other was for bags that we accumulated during the day.

choosing between the belly bar and the snack tray I would go w/ the tray simply b/c your ds is older he will be getting in and out more the bar has to be completely removed where as the tray you simply undue one side and it rotates. the other thing that was nice about the mommy hooks is since my dd is disabled she stays in her stroller and if I didn't want all of our bulky bags hanging off in the pics it was super easy to pop the hooks off set them down and pick them up and hook them back as we were walking off and the same for buses. I know they have other stroller hooks but by far the mommy hooks are definitely more convenient. Sorry to go on for so long and this is just my opinion but it is what works for me if you have any questions feel free to ask away.

this is a pic from our trip in 2008 you can see the valcobaby cup holder and you see no baggage thanks to the mommy hooks,lol.

this was after we got back you can see how the cupholder is adjusted for the stroller when I need to fold it. you can also see how far the canopy comes down to the tray.

My dd was 5 at the time this pic was taken and she is a bit small for her age.

this is a pic of my skip hop spark and skip hop saddlebag attached.

 

[olive]

I was finally ready to order our bits and pieces and now I have a couple more question.

1. Cancer survivor - did you just hang the skip hop bag on the stroller or did you use something to attach it? In the picture it looks like it might be attached to something (maybe the mommy hooks?).

2. I find the City Mini rain cover to be really annoying in that it doesn't fold out of the way nicely and is a little cumbersome to take on and off. Since we are going late May/early June, I have a feeling it will rain daily so we will need to be using this lots. Is there a universal rain cover of some kind that fits and is easier to use? Also, if I get the cooler to use under the stroller, will the rain cover fit under there?

Thanks!

 

[MistressMerryweather]

We love the cooler. It was really great to bring yogurt snacks, etc.
We have the belly bar as well, but last trip, it just got in the way. I'm pretty sure we will probably leave it home this time around. We had to constantly keep taking it on and off so our 22 mos old could climb in and out on his own.

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

I was finally ready to order our bits and pieces and now I have a couple more question.

1. Cancer survivor - did you just hang the skip hop bag on the stroller or did you use something to attach it? In the picture it looks like it might be attached to something (maybe the mommy hooks?).

2. I find the City Mini rain cover to be really annoying in that it doesn't fold out of the way nicely and is a little cumbersome to take on and off. Since we are going late May/early June, I have a feeling it will rain daily so we will need to be using this lots. Is there a universal rain cover of some kind that fits and is easier to use? Also, if I get the cooler to use under the stroller, will the rain cover fit under there?

Thanks!

the large skip hop is attached by its own two hooks. I looked through my pics to see if I could find a better pic but didn't see any you can see clear pics on the skip hop website how they attach. The one in the pic is the spark sold at target but I also have the duo in uptown stripe which is very similar. I do use the mommy hooks on my baby joggers usually at least two. As for the rain cover I personally use the cheap ones I just push the front up over the canopy when I am not using. We used one everyday in dec b/c it was cold and really windy during our trip.

this is similar to the rain cover that I have.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Jeep-Deluxe-Stroller-Weather-Shield/10339075

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

this is actually the rain cover that I have.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Jeep-Baby-Products-Premium-Stroller-Weather-Shield/11355058

 

[olive]

this is actually the rain cover that I have.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Jeep-Baby-Products-Premium-Stroller-Weather-Shield/11355058

And that cover fits pretty well? If so, I may get it, too. I like the way it zips open and we can still leave it on the stroller. That should be helpful for May/June!

 

[mommy2paisley]

I realize this is an old post, but subbing as I just got a City Mini that we'll be taking to Disney this year and am in need of accessories for it!