Anyway, I recommend that you never travel to Disney with a 3 year old and 1 year old without your significant other! My parents and sister were with us, and although my sister was an amazing stand in husband, and my parents adore my children and help in anyway that they can, sometimes you just need your partner.
For example - being the only person in your party that knows how to work your ginormous double stroller...not so great. Just sayin'. This blog is NOT called "Stuff Mom finds incredibly frustrating and aggravating" so I won't bash my stroller too much, but let's just say, after this trip, Mama's in the market for a new one. Preferably one that is MUCH easier to fold, unfold, & carry.
I've always been obsessed with strollers, but Disney is like the Mecca of stroller viewing. You can't go more than 5 feet without having to move for one, be hit be by one, or trip over one left in the way. They are EVERYwhere! So, I spent a good portion of the trip watching other people push, pull, fold, carry, and maneuver their strollers to try and figure out if there really is a stroller than you can easily travel with...especially to a place like Disney where you are lugging it on planes, trains, monorails, boats, buses and automobiles, every few hours.
Here's what stood out to me.
First, let me tell you that in Disney you can rent these beauts for around $20/day or get an equally beautiful double stroller for around $30/day.
They look about as comfortable as they are stylish. :/ Let's just say I passed on those. I'm not even sure how parents who need a double stroller made it in to the park in the first place! I would die without my stroller in the airport! It's the only thing that keeps my kids restrained!
So, one of the first strollers that I saw in abundance was the City Mini Stroller by Baby Jogger.
I have always been intrigued by these strollers, and the City Select is very high on my list of potential replacements. These strollers were everywhere! I was chatting with some parents on one of our many boat rides who had the single City Mini and I was asking them how they liked it. They had a 2 year old, and one on the way. They told me that they were in love, and that they were planning on buying the double for the new little one arriving shortly. Apparently, they had rented the stroller from a company in Orlando and had decided that they needed one of their own. Watching how easy it was for them to fold and unfold the stroller made me extremely envious. I also loved the sun protection that they shade offered and that the rear was vented. It was hitting about 112 F when we were there, so anything I could do to keep my kids cool when they were napping would have been welcome! Granted, I did not get to try the stroller with my kids, but those parents pushing their Baby Joggers around looked a heck of lot less annoyed than I did. :/
I also saw a lot of strollers that I had never seen before. One that really stood out to me was the iCandy Apple stroller.
Surprisingly, I only saw one person pushing this stroller on our trip, but it definitely caught my eye. Isn't she pretty?!? iCandy is certainly an appropriate name. I love how this particular one is called "Grape" and is part of their "flavour" collection. :) I didn't get to learn very much about these strollers as the mama who was pushing this did not speak very much English, but, I will be researching this more and I'll share any info I come across.
I also saw a Zooper double for the first time, and a few Cybex umbrellas that are on my list of strollers to check out. I have read up on the Zooper line before and it is another contender for a permanent possition in our house. :) I will share all that I have learned about these two in another post. And of course, pics of our trip to come. My hour of quiet is almost up, and I have yet to go back to sleep like I planned. Stay tuned...
Ooo, and don't forget to comment and tell me what stroller you can't live without! Oh man - just heard the hubs car pull in...time to pretend I'm sleeping!
So we have a BOB double stroller that drives like a DREAM! The kids are always so comfortable in it and I have never had one complaint about it. BUT...it is a heavy stroller and even though it folds super easy, it's a little heavy to carry. That makes me nervous with the in and off the plane stuff. Also, the BOB is by no means a cheap stroller and some people told me that there is a lot of stroller theft at Disney. Is that true? I would just hate to lose this thing. I thought about taking two single strollers instead but that seems like an even bigger pain. What do you suggest? Take our super nice, comfy, easy to handle BOB, or two umbrella strollers that I don't care if something happens to?
ReplyDeleteJen - we have never had a problem with leaving our stroller and it is not a cheap one either. Will you have a rental car in Disney? If so, bring the BOB. The hardest thing would be carrying it on and off the busses. You don't have to carry the stroller on the plane. You push it to the plane door and then they gate check it for you and when you get off they bring it to you at the gate. We always leave our diaper bag and all kinds of stuff on our stroller when we go on rides. I take a little cross body purse or wristlet with my ID, park pass, room key, and credit cards on the rides and that's it.
ReplyDeleteThis weekend upstate in the Adirondacks we went to Fort Ticonderogoa with our friends and their 6 month old. They had the City Mini Stroller. It was sleek, accessible and moves nicely. He sat comfortably in the stroller and the sun protector was great when we were in the open gardens and walking around. This one is something I am going to keep my eye on.
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