Which stroller to rent?

[renae0118]

We will be coming down in about 2 1/2 weeks and will need to rent a stroller. I've made a list of my options and wondered if anyone has any experience with any of them and could give me suggestions. It would mainly be for my 3 year old, but may also carry my 7 year old occasionally if he needs a short ride. He is 48" tall, but weighs about 49 lbs. All of them have weight limits of 65 or 70 lbs, so we are good weight wise, but I am unsure how it will be with his height. My stroller options are:

City Elite

Bob Revolution

City Mini GT

Phil & Teds Classic

Any experience, reviews or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Also any info you have on how easy (or hard) they are to fold and carry on the buses would be great too!

Thanks!!
Renae

 

[renae0118]

anyone have any info on the above strollers?

 

[Ariel8676]

I have a City Mini..i love it. It it very easy to push, is lightweight, and it folds completely flat (in half) all you do is pull the strap that is in the seat. I use it for my 2 1/2 year old son (34 pound, 36 1/2'') and its great because he can lay almost flat if he wants to nap. Also my girls can sit in it comfortably (almost 11, 9 and 6..lol)

 

[Scrappygrrl]

I used the Phil and Teds last Nov with my 3 and 7 year old. Loved the steamlined "single stroller" profile vs a wide stroller.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

May I ask what company you are renting from? We are planning on renting one for our petite 7 year old (currently about 35 lbs. and 43 inches), just in case she needs to rest. We had heard that TRU rents, but I am always open to other options.

 

[hollypoast]

We have rented the city mini for my daughter in the past from magic strollers and it has worked well. I plan to again for our trip in sept... She is 5, almost 6, about 46" and weighs about 40 pounds. Very nice stroller and good service.

 

[shillee]

We have a double BOB we use for our Disney trips (I bought it just for that purpose as it was cheaper to purchase one used than rent for the trips we would be doing). It is great to push, storage is okay for all we need. It is a large stroller and big still when folded. We rent a vehicle so don't have to worry about the bus. It isn't easy to have to carry so that would be a concern.

I tried the City series before getting the BOB and thought that even though the 'dimensions' are supposed to be the same it appeared smaller when I put my girls in it. I think it is because the BOB seats are more naturally reclined and hence appear deeper. I also thought they didn't push as well as the BOB but that was a few years ago and they have newer versions out now so that may not apply.

As for sizing, when we bought our single BOB (yes, I am partial), the saleslady actually got into it. She is basically my size (5'2" and about 100 lbs). You can fit in that size so you oldest would be fine.

I just looked at the City series and it looks like the GT ones have a shallow spot for your feet so would your oldest dangle more and perhaps get near the wheels?

I think they both weigh around the same but looking at a demo the City series probably is easier to fold than BOB.

Now, if your oldest may not use it much, a P&T may work as they 'stack' so you can use the lower section for all your stuff and let you youngest sit in the top part. If you oldest wants in, then you need to clear out the bottom section as there is nowhere to store anything.

Not sure I have helped but hopefully that gives you some ideas on what priorities you want.

If I really only mainly needed it for one, I would potentially go for P&T since it is smaller overall. But I am not sure how it folds when it is set up for two. I think you have to take the bottom seat out if I remember correctly for that.

 

[PeanutButterMom]

Being a gear nerd, lol...

I would go with the BOB, because I would be worried the older kid would be cramped in the others. PB is 45 inches and fits in the BOB but not the City Mini. I haven't tried a P&T in a long time but when I did a few years ago she didn't have a lot of growing room height wise.

Also (and this is just me being honest, and kind of amounts to stroller battery, lol), but with our BOB, PB would sit in the seat part and hang her legs over the sides, and Jelly would sit in the "foot area" PB rode like this all the time when Jelly was a baby, but her legs got too long, hence the reason why they switched places. She's 45" but has LOOOONG legs (size 6 pants just fit for length).

We may rent a BOB for our stay, but will most likely bring our Mac + buggy board.

 

[kkandaj]

We rented the City Elite (double) from Kingdom Strollers in May. DD is 47 inches/48 lbs and she fit with no problem. They dropped off at the resort and picked it up. They also included a small soft sided cooler and stroller rain cover (thank God because it poured!!!) for free.

As for folding...I am sure a double is definitely different than a single. That double was no joke. It was like a cadillac for the kids...and seemed to be as big as a cadillac when trying to fold it too.

We loved having it though!

 

[renae0118]

Thanks for all of the responses. I think my older one will not be using it much, but maybe towards the end of the week as his legs get tired. Mostly it will be for my DD.

Basically I need it to be able to hold both kids (one at a time, not a double) and be easy to fold and carry on the bus.

I'm not exactly sure where I am getting it from yet. I have looked at Kingdom Strollers, Orlando strollers to Go, Baby Magic and a couple of other places. They are all pretty even as far as prices go and I haven't really found any negative feedback on any of them.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Thanks for all of the responses. I think my older one will not be using it much, but maybe towards the end of the week as his legs get tired. Mostly it will be for my DD.

Basically I need it to be able to hold both kids (one at a time, not a double) and be easy to fold and carry on the bus.

I'm not exactly sure where I am getting it from yet. I have looked at Kingdom Strollers, Orlando strollers to Go, Baby Magic and a couple of other places. They are all pretty even as far as prices go and I haven't really found any negative feedback on any of them.

Have you looked into TRU? They rent and deliver also. Would be curious if any other posters have experience with their rentals.

 

[markjc13]

All of this will be very helpful for our 16 month old daughter when we go in June '13.

 

[Charitycase20]

We rented a City Mini Double in January from Baby Wheels Orlando.
1. I cannot say enough good things about them! The stroller was emaculate, in wonderful condition, we got lots of freebie accessories to go with it. And they were cheaper than anyone else I priced. WITH insurance! When we checked into Fort Wilderness, it was there waiting for us!!
2. Lets just say if my kids weren't 4 and 6, we would be buying a City Mini. Even my husband LOVED pushing that stroller. Our 6YO is tall but our 4YO is a little guy, and it pushed great. Even when it was just DS and our bag cooler underneath!