Double or two single strollers

[Chrislovesdisney]

Dds will be 3.5 and 6.5 years, both lightweights for their ages. Is it easier to have a double stroller or two singles? We may be staying at boardwalk, so buses and the friendships would be part of the transportation equation.

 

[Anthony Vito]

We haven’t done a double stroller, but that being said, we think two single strollers is the way to go. We’ve done trips with them at 2.5 and 4 (they’re 20 months apart), 3.5 and 5, and 4 and 5 yr 8 mo., and brought 2 single strollers each time.

We find it to be much more versatile than what it seems a double stroller would be (and from observing others at the park, I’d stand by this). You can walk next to each other, or you can switch to single-file when it’s crowded or if in a rush (need to make an ADR or Fastpass), or even split up a bit to make your way through crowds. You also have the option to split up completely at times, especially if you’re taking the older one on rides the younger is too small for (our 4yo is very small for her age, she couldn’t even ride 7 Dwarfs when we went for her 4th b’day in April, so we did a lot of splitting up to take her to rides she could do when riding bigger rides with him).

Also, I think it seems easier to fold up two smaller strollers for the buses/boats (we stayed at Wilderness this last time and rode the smaller boats to Magic Kingdom) than a double stroller. Additionally, since you’re staying close to a couple parks, you may decide if you’re going in for a shorter time or just going somewhere to eat, you could decide to leave one of the strollers behind based on how things are going.

Just be aware, one of the biggest issues we’ve had with the two strollers is actually them fighting over which stroller, or more commonly, over who was pushing which kid (“I want Mommy to push meeee!”).

We’ve brought our own strollers each time - they’re free to bring on the plane and they can be nice to have in the airports. We brought our good Britax stroller each time. The first two times we brought a cheap umbrella stroller. That was nice because when it folded up, we could actually hang the curved handles over the handlebar of the Britax, so it was great for parking them in crowded stroller parking areas. That got kind of beat up though and was a bit small for our son, so this is what we bought for this past trip: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B017ERMTUK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1 We got one in a damaged box through the Amazon Warehouse deals, so only paid $42 for it, which was worth it. It worked okay for both kids size-wise and still folded relatively small. I saw the suggestion elsewhere to, rather than renting strollers, buy a cheap one(s) and leave it there - still cheaper than renting them. Obviously we weren’t doing that with our good one, and we’d rather just bring them back. We’ve really only used them for Disney anyway now for a while.

 

[maxiesmom]

I would go with a double, just so you can take turns pushing. There are some super lightweight ones that are easy to fold.

 

[kwdw]

How about a single for the 3.5 yo?

 

[gatormom2tots]

We have done both- different for different kids. If they have the same interests in rides- get a double. If you think you might seperate them for rides (mom takes one and dad takes the other for a different ride) get 2 singles. I often go alone with my younger girls so I would always rent a double. But with my older kids were younger, their interests were varied so we always got 2 singles to allow for some splitting up.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

Our kids are roughly the same ages. We debated this one pretty hotly, and ended up renting a double. We were glad we did. That said, our younger is an excellent walker, so it was used mostly for the long hauls - we'd get to a zone and park the stroller, and then they both walked the area. We stayed at BLT so we used it to/from MK and Epcot...your Boardwalk to Epcot walks would similarly benefit (also if you walk to DHS). They were on the same schedule for being awake/tired and about the same stamina levels (my oldest is petite and my son is a big boy). We would usually have one parent take the kids and the other wrestle all the stuff (stroller/backpack).

The trip we took when my son was just over a year and my daughter was 3 we did two singles, and that worked better for that trip. They were on different schedules, my son had his usual stroller, plus we had lots of extra adult family members to take turns with everything.

 

[mjkacmom]

I had 5 kids in 6 1/2 years, I always preferred a double (or triple) if more than 1 was riding, that way we both weren’t pushing. If you split up, I imagine a first grader will manage some walking without a stroller.

 

[stace1214]

We've done it both ways and preferred having a double.

 

[rg35]

At 6 yrs old our identical girls shared a double, and their fraternal triplet brother who is much bigger had a double to himself.

You should just ask if the kids can sit in a stroller and see how comfortable they are, and then decide what to do from there. Your 6 y.o. may want to walk more anyway.

 

[Smittolis]

The good doubles are only about 5 inches wider than singles, so not a huge difference. Extra carrying capacity, only one to push and easily contained. Downside is you cant split up! Lol

 

[Dis703]

I've always found a double to be the best option for us. But we occasionally split up for short bits with one person taking the kids so it wouldn't make sense to have 1 person pushing 2 strollers.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

2 singles. More storage room, easier to get thru crowds and parents can split up if need be. A double is just too cumbersome for the crowded parks IMO.

 

[YesterDark]

I've done both. I don't think there is much of a long list of pros and cons that actually make a difference. The "I want mommy to push me" could be a thing maybe?

Granted, I've not used a monster double stroller, just an umbrella style one. Your millage may vary. I'd vote double so one parent can take a break or only one parent is needed to push in case one parent needs to do something somewhere. Like one parent is getting food/whatever and the other needs to move the strollers to another table/area/whatever.

Or one parent and kid are on a ride and the other parent wants to move into the shade while you wait. It's hard to do with two strollers, but with one it's not an issue.

Now that I think of it as I'm typing this, definitely double.

 

[MomOTwins]

I've never noticed any difference in maneuverability in the crowded parks between our double and our single stroller (we have twins, and a baby, so now need both, and my DH and I sometimes switch off). We got a double umbrella stroller that folds up very small so is convenient WDW buses. We actually had to buy the same one twice because my DH without asking me gave it away thinking the twins were old enough to walk and boyyy was that a mistake (they couldn't, and we had to get a WDW rental; those things are expensive and horribly bulky), so we bought our umbrella stroller again and love it. https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Childr...=1-2&keywords=delta+children+double+strollers

 

[monorailsilver]

We have done both.

When we had 2 kids, I had my 4 1/2 yo in the Jeep umbrella and my 22 month old in the graco medium sized light weight stroller. It was nice because my dh liked to push, I liked to push and my parents were with us and my dad liked to push/hold onto something. The graco had the cup holders which was great! This is going back to 2005. They were both small enough that we could handle the buses. I probably took the 22 month old and the Jeep or I took both kids, stroller bag and my dh took both strollers.

With 3 kids, I bought the joovy sit and stand. All 3 kids rode it at various times and sometimes all at the same time. My older 2 who were 7 and nearly 5 were both light weights. It was heavier but we managed.

I would probably pick 2 strollers and one a good umbrella one (not the $10 ones) so you both can push and as long as they are light weight, one person could handle both.

 

[MooseBucks]

We prefer the double incase one grownup ends up with both kids there is only one stroller to worry about