Double stroller question

jvz82

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 28, 2013
My kids will be (almost) 2, 4, 6 and 8 at our Disney trip. We have a double stroller, it's a side by side stroller that is more or less a double umbrella stroller. We took it on our last trip and I guess it was ok. There's hardly any storage space underneath though, and it's not super comfortable, and there's no canopy thing for shade. Plus being side by side it's just such a pain. Would we better off renting something else? I want my almost 2 year old to be able to possibly nap in the stroller and I don't know that he'll be able to do that in this stroller. I found a cheap double stroller where one sits in back and one in front that I could get for like 10 bucks too. Has anyone taken a stroller like that to Disney? Is it easier than the side by side?
 
My kids will be (almost) 2, 4, 6 and 8 at our Disney trip. We have a double stroller, it's a side by side stroller that is more or less a double umbrella stroller. We took it on our last trip and I guess it was ok. There's hardly any storage space underneath though, and it's not super comfortable, and there's no canopy thing for shade. Plus being side by side it's just such a pain. Would we better off renting something else? I want my almost 2 year old to be able to possibly nap in the stroller and I don't know that he'll be able to do that in this stroller. I found a cheap double stroller where one sits in back and one in front that I could get for like 10 bucks too. Has anyone taken a stroller like that to Disney? Is it easier than the side by side?

There are going to be a ton of people telling you to rent a double from the offsite companies but I'll go against the grain. If you don't like your current stroller and can get a different type so cheap, I would buy it and test it out at home. What's considered "easier" is relative to each family's needs and preferences. See how well it works for you on an outing somewhere local and go from there.
 
My oldest are twins and my 4th and 5th are 14 months apart. I have owned 4 double strollers LOL.

I really disliked the one tandem (front to back) stroller we had. It was big and difficult to steer and and didn't fold very compactly and once my son (the younger of the 2) was sitting up no one liked the back seat because their view was blocked.

Our favorite double was the Combi Twin Sport. It was lightweight, had decent storage, reclined, and folded fairly compactly. That one made quite a few WDW trips.

Umbrella strollers never worked for us because we are tall.
 
Agree with pp - 5 kids in under 7 years, 11 strollers, did not like my tandem double or triple. I preferred a good compact side by side (combo for me too, but it was 10 years ago).
 
We have the britax b-agile double and it's one of my life necessities. I'd recommend buying one since you're driving and by the time you pay for a rental for everyday you're there, you'll like have spent the purchase price.

This one is a side by side but fits through all doors. It has a big canopy for each seat and the seats can lay down. Plus you can maneuver it with one hand. It also has big storage underneath. I bought a "mommy hook" that i hang bags from when we are out. It's the best stroller ever, and definitely passed the disney world test many times! There's a YouTube video for it where a mom "tests" it out.
 
Devil's advocate here. When thinking of strollers at WDW I mainly base my decision on getting on and off the bus. We're going with two lightweight, reclining umbrella strollers that are super easy to close and carry rather than a double. The last thing I want is to have to carry a huge double stroller onto a packed bus, with my kids in toe. Also, my husband and I can split up and still have a stroller each. I am against renting as I want to have the stroller at MCO for sure.
 
Thanks for the feedback!!

I like the two umbrella strollers idea, however my husband is 7 feet tall and he can't push one. He really can't comfortably push most strollers, but an umbrella stroller is just impossible.

I ended up buying the 10 dollar used tandem one. It's not perfect and I'm not totally set yet on bringing it. I like that the back seat reclines all the way down and can be pretty much totally covered so my youngest could nap there. I don't like that he won't be able to see in front of him as well. It's also a little small for my 3 year old, but he doesn't seem to care. I think I prefer it to our side by side umbrella stroller because at least baby can nap in this one, plus it's not as wide so I won't be plowing people over! I'll keep my eyes open for other deals there.
 


We have a double bob, it's a side by side. Worked great for our last trip, will be using it again in Dec.
 
I too, prefer side by side over tandem (the snap n go when they were babies being the exception!). The tandem is just harder to maneuver, especially in crowds. The PP who brought up going ahead and buying the tandem for $10 has a good point. If that were to suit your needs, that's certainly the cheapest option! Although the last time we went we rented the double city mini and it was fantastic. Handled our heavier kids much better than our SBS joovy groove.
 
I too, prefer side by side over tandem (the snap n go when they were babies being the exception!). The tandem is just harder to maneuver, especially in crowds. The PP who brought up going ahead and buying the tandem for $10 has a good point. If that were to suit your needs, that's certainly the cheapest option! Although the last time we went we rented the double city mini and it was fantastic. Handled our heavier kids much better than our SBS joovy groove.

I bought the $10 one and took my kids for a walk. I want to love it but I was seriously exhausted pushing it to the park and back!! And I'm in good shape, I lift weights lol. So crap, back to square one.
 
I too, prefer side by side over tandem (the snap n go when they were babies being the exception!). The tandem is just harder to maneuver, especially in crowds. The PP who brought up going ahead and buying the tandem for $10 has a good point. If that were to suit your needs, that's certainly the cheapest option! Although the last time we went we rented the double city mini and it was fantastic. Handled our heavier kids much better than our SBS joovy groove.

Where did you rent the double city mini from?
 
My oldest are twins and my 4th and 5th are 14 months apart. I have owned 4 double strollers LOL.

I really disliked the one tandem (front to back) stroller we had. It was big and difficult to steer and and didn't fold very compactly and once my son (the younger of the 2) was sitting up no one liked the back seat because their view was blocked.

Our favorite double was the Combi Twin Sport. It was lightweight, had decent storage, reclined, and folded fairly compactly. That one made quite a few WDW trips.

Umbrella strollers never worked for us because we are tall.


We had a single Combi for our DD's first Disney trip. I wish I could find a double for our next trip! :( We LOVED the Combi!
 
We've rented side by side double strollers both times we went with a 1.5 and 3.5 yo, then a year later. We have a double Bob at home and I love it, just no room to take it with us on the trip so we rent! We are going next year, with an almost 3 yo, 6 & 8, and I will likely rent a double again. My 6 year old has flat feet so needs to sit more often. I had an inline double once and hated it- it was like pushing a hot dog cart.
 
We've rented side by side double strollers both times we went with a 1.5 and 3.5 yo, then a year later. We have a double Bob at home and I love it, just no room to take it with us on the trip so we rent! We are going next year, with an almost 3 yo, 6 & 8, and I will likely rent a double again. My 6 year old has flat feet so needs to sit more often. I had an inline double once and hated it- it was like pushing a hot dog cart.

Where do you rent from?
 
I have a maclaren double that I bought specifically for Disney (it is side by side) It reclines, has a canopy, and a rain cover. we love it. I would say anything that folds easy (if you are taking Disney transportation) is a plus. I wouldn't get anything too cheapy, because usually those are just not as nice to stroll (have to hunch over because the handles are lower, or the angles are bad, so normal walking makes you kick the wheels, etc.)
 
My kids will be (almost) 2, 4, 6 and 8 at our Disney trip. We have a double stroller, it's a side by side stroller that is more or less a double umbrella stroller. We took it on our last trip and I guess it was ok. There's hardly any storage space underneath though, and it's not super comfortable, and there's no canopy thing for shade. Plus being side by side it's just such a pain. Would we better off renting something else? I want my almost 2 year old to be able to possibly nap in the stroller and I don't know that he'll be able to do that in this stroller. I found a cheap double stroller where one sits in back and one in front that I could get for like 10 bucks too. Has anyone taken a stroller like that to Disney? Is it easier than the side by side?

I found a used city mini double that I bought specifically for Disney. I love the side by side so that the kids can each see out plus it's easier for them to get in And out of themselves. I never found it a pain to get through crowds and it folded up really easily for the bus. It doesn't have much storage under it but we also bought a parent caddy and some hooks to hang the diaper bag from. It also has amazing shade covers!
 
I found a used city mini double that I bought specifically for Disney. I love the side by side so that the kids can each see out plus it's easier for them to get in And out of themselves. I never found it a pain to get through crowds and it folded up really easily for the bus. It doesn't have much storage under it but we also bought a parent caddy and some hooks to hang the diaper bag from. It also has amazing shade covers!

I second the Citi Mini Double for all the reasons stated above. I have the GT that I bought when they were switching out inventory for the next year's model so I got it on a great sale. We use it exclusively for our Disney trips and wouldn't pick anything different. The shade covers are AWESOME, which helps keep most of the sun and rain off the kiddos. We have 5-year-old twins that love the freedom to hop in (and out...) on their own and the ability to see both in front of them as well as each other. Now that they're 5, we don't have a lot of stuff that needs storing but I do keep a carabiner clip on the back of the seats that will hold a light bag or water bottles if needed.
 
I second the Citi Mini Double for all the reasons stated above. I have the GT that I bought when they were switching out inventory for the next year's model so I got it on a great sale. We use it exclusively for our Disney trips and wouldn't pick anything different. The shade covers are AWESOME, which helps keep most of the sun and rain off the kiddos. We have 5-year-old twins that love the freedom to hop in (and out...) on their own and the ability to see both in front of them as well as each other. Now that they're 5, we don't have a lot of stuff that needs storing but I do keep a carabiner clip on the back of the seats that will hold a light bag or water bottles if needed.

Ooooooooo! Wish I had the GT version ;)
 
We prefer to rent the Citi Mini Double as well - we have one at home and it works for us. We don't care about storage underneath (as it barely has some and you have to haul it all out when you fold it up for buses) but we have a skip hop duo diaper bag that clips onto the handles so we use that for storage. We take a single umbrella for the airports for the youngest (mine is now almost 3) and have the other older children walk...once we get there we have the double to use for parks. I also like renting because you get a rain cover, which we don't have at home. The other reason I prefer the side-by-side is that the children are always facing forwards together - so it is much easier to take pictures of them :)
 

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