Need stroller solution for 2 toddler boys (airport friendly)...

I'm still looking for something for my almost 4 year old and 1 1/2 year old for two upcoming trips (on airplane), one trip is to disneyland. Originally I was going to bring our two umbrella strollers (Esprit Sunspeed and Maclaren Volo), the more I read I've considered the Joovy Ultralight (not sure my son would like it, no where nearby has one to try out) and today at the recreation centre I saw a woman with a Valco with a toddler jump seat. I've never seen that before, it looks really cool. If I did something like that they the boys could take turns if they needed to lay down and the other could sit. My almost 4 year old mostly walks...but seems to be getting lazy. I'm afraid if I get and Joovy Ultralight then they may want to lie down and we will have no where for them. Also I'm second guessing the two stroller idea because if I want to go with them on my own then I will end up with my little one in the stroller and me carrying the older one. I've read lots of horror stories of people getting their strollers damaged by airlines so I'm not too thrilled to spend a ton of money on a stroller and then fly with it and it gets damaged. Anyways, the Valco toddler seat is good to 45 pounds which would be perfect, there is only one for sale used on local craigslist in Canada for $450 with jumpseat which still seems high (there's a pink one too but I have two boys). I'm wondering if Valco is too bulky to fly with anyways. Am I over thinking this all too much...my head hurts DS#1 - turns 4 in May - 34 pounds, 39 inches and DS#2 27 pounds, 1 1/2.

Have you considered the baby Jogger mini double? I have read raves about if for travel and Disney (we're taking a single to WDW in 2 weeks) The fold is so easy and the security people can use the wand if they need too. I think gate checking will be fine, remove the hood and through them in the luggage and maybe toss it in a bag or even clear trash bag at the gate to keep it clean.

Or check the BJCM and use the Volo to get DS #2 through the airport and have DS#1 walk?

I know the head spinning feeling too. We are spending a few days at Disney and at over $1200 just for the passes I want it to be perfect.

Have a great trip

I would not consider the Baby Jogger City Mini as airplane friendly. It does not latch closed and may come open when picked up because it is THAT easy to open.

I decided mine (I have the single)w as too expensive to risk on the airplane so got a different, more "traditional" stroller for the airplane (That I won't mind if it gets messed up). It latches closed and doesn't open so easily even when not latched. If I was taking the mini on the plane, I'd definitely put it in a sturdy bag and probably bungee-cord it shut as well.

I travelled with my BJCMD and just put it in the travel bag. Works well. No bungee cord needed. I don't worry about it opening, but don't want any stains

I have a valco - the stroller is pretty large and heavy - so, I don't know how friendly it would be to travel with.

What about getting a double umbrella stroller -

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3028965

I paid $200 for my Valco (used) but I am in the US. The toddler seat is $80.00 new. So -your price seems high, but maybe that is in the US.

It is a great stroller - don't get me wrong - I just would not want to fly with it.

The BJCMS does latch, it is hidden under the skins near the handle....I would assume the double does too but maybe not. I bought a bag for my to fly with in 2 weeks but before that I read lots of reports of people over on Dis Boards flying with them no problem.

Oops I guess it is further down than the handle but here are the pics. Front wheel is popped off here because otherwise it hits the parent console.

Thanks everyone for your input. I love the looks and reviews of the Baby Joggers but I don't think I have much use for a double stroller like that after our trips so it's a lot of money to fork out.

After lots and lots and lots of surfing and thinking and over thinking and then discussing with my husband we came down to two options:
1. Joovy Ultralight (I found a video clip someone posted online showing all its features so I feel more like I've seen it in action now); and
2. Combi Sport 2 that Costco.ca has on sale right now, here is the link:

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product...ng=en-CA&Sp=C&ec=BCCA-EC2675-Cat20373&topnav=

I didn't mention it before but we did have a Baby Planet Twin Side by Side when my 1 1/2 yr old was born and even then my DS#1 never really wanted to ride in it (we had it for a few months and thankfully sold it for what I paid for it!). I think if we would buy the Combi Sport 2 that we would use it for our trip but then sell it right aways (because we have no need for it at home - we have a Wike (bike trailer stroller) for outdoor activities. I think if we go the route of the Joovy Ultralight hopefully my son likes it and it is something we can continue to use in our regular day to day activities. And for disney we plan on taking our time and going back for naps so I'm hoping that will be good for that too. My DS#2 never sleeps in the stroller and he hates being reclined so I don't think that will be an issue for him (if he's really worn out I think he would just fall asleep). I just hate pushing a double side by side stroller around with one kid in it all the time, and even though they do fit in standard doorways they are still tight pushing around in shops, etc. There are so many great reviews on the Joovy Ultralight so I think my minds made up and that is what I'm going to do. Now the only thing I'm wondering is should I find a bag to stuff the Joovy Ultralight in to gate check it?

I have a baby trend sit and stand and a combi.

i have the combi sport one in red and i love it. We used it for sesame place last summer and it worked well for us. The only problems i have are there is not alot of storage, but we managed. There are pockets on the back that actually do old an ok amount. and also the small basket sort of the thing on the bottom. But dd was 4 at the time of the trip so she didn't sit alot, so we used that seat. And when she did we just carried the stuff or made them hold it on there lap. I definately think it was worth it. She got tired at times and there were also times we wanted to rush to somewhere and easier to throw them both in the stroller. I use it at the mall alot and surprisingly it fits through single doors. It also folds up amazingly small. And another huge plus is the carrying strap so if you need to carry it into somewhere or on a bus it worked out great.

I wold definitely definitely take a double umbrella stroller... and the baby jogger city mini would do the task perfectly, especially as it is a BREEZE to fold at the gate.

get a bag to put it into (baby jogger sells them) and you won't have to worry about locking it.

We bought a Maclaren Twin Techno specifically for the airport and Disney and it.

Little tip... Craigslist in the LA area has lots of them for under $260 (brand new condition). I got mine brand new off of Craigslist, the owner met up with us at a restaurant next door to our hotel on the first day of our trip.

Two years later, I sold it for slightly less than I paid for it ($50)... pretty darn good investment for two years, even if I only ever did use it for two weeks at Disney (2 separate trips) and 1 week in Nova Scotia.

ETA: Even if you just dropped by a store to buy one new on the first day, you could turn around and sell it for a profit once you get home. That same stroller brand new here (Canada) sells for close to $600.

Thanks everyone for your input. I did go ahead and purchase the Joovy Ultralight and a travel bag from JL Childress so I'm set to go. I'm a little confused about the stroller weight - the box it came in says 23.5 pounds but all over the internet (and on Joovy's site) it says 21 pounds. Don't know why the difference. Also one feature I was looking forward too was that the toddler jump seat is supposed to have little straps on it to keep it in place. Mine does not so I called Joovy this morning and was told that to get the stroller into Canada they had to modify the frame and the straps no longer fit. His suggestion - believe it or not was to try hockey tape! Um...thanks but no thanks...I buy a nice new stroller and I'm going to use hockey tape on it - why not duct tape - duh. I'm going to try and see if there is someway I can make my one strap and attach it (unfortunately my sewing machine is outta commission but I likely could figure out something by hand. Thanks again all, I used it today and my almost 4 year old LOVED it! Hopefully it will do the trick while we are away, I guess worse case if we need something for one for naps at disney then we go buy something there or rent. From what I see I think the concept will work so much better for my kids. My 1 1/2 year old even loves to sit on the jump seat (and it has a seat belt so he just sits there). Oh one last thing because storage is so limited, I also bought the skip hop saddle bags that were on sale on amazon.com last week for $15, I got two so we will have a place for the kids drinks and misc while we are at the park (cause I am not carrying a diaper bag at disney - no way).

a 4yr old usually doesnt' need the 3-point harness... that doesn't hold most kids past age 3, anyway.

it's really more for the younger ones (2.5yrs and up) who have to sit and need to be contained and won't just stand and stay on instead when they tire of sitting.

still... I agree it's silly that they didn't include the strap.

weight difference may be shipping weight (box does add a couple pounds usually)

Hey there,
Sorry I guess I wasn't clear, the jump seat does have a 3 point seatbelt (which my son insists on doing up everytime by himself), but I was referring to the jump seat slides forward and backward and on the US version it has little straps to give you the option to keep the jump seat still in one spot if you want which gives you easier access to the basket below. The Canadian version does not have those straps. I'm thinking I might be able to figure out a way to add my own straps to do it myself.

I called Joovy to find out about the weight difference, I know it doesn't make a difference but I find it a little annoying that they advertise ONLY 21 POUNDS everywhere and then the product weighs 2 1/2 pounds more. The box says: Gross Box Weight: 28.2 and Net Stroller Weight: 23.5. No one at Joovy Canada's rep had an answer for me (they said maybe the prototype weighed a different amount) so I had to call the US and they said the strollers are weighed without the wheels on them. Now I have my answer. I took the stroller out again today and my boys are very happy in it, I must say my only complaint is that they can bump heads which DS#2 thinks is funny but DS#1 does not. I might have to figure out some type of barrier to stick inbetween there. I'm very happy with the stroller so far and people are always asking me about it (what it is? where I got it?)

I got the skip hop saddles bags and they fit perfect (they are kinda small but I think they will be great for diapers and wipes, water bottles for the boys and change of clothes for DS#2, etc. I also got a travel bag, which arrived today, haven't had a chance to use it yet, I'll have to try it to make sure it fits (from JL Childress Dual Stroller bag), they told me the Joovy Ultralight fits in it so it better!

Rockafeller said:

Thanks everyone for your input. I did go ahead and purchase the Joovy Ultralight and a travel bag from JL Childress so I'm set to go. I'm a little confused about the stroller weight - the box it came in says 23.5 pounds but all over the internet (and on Joovy's site) it says 21 pounds. Don't know why the difference. Also one feature I was looking forward too was that the toddler jump seat is supposed to have little straps on it to keep it in place. Mine does not so I called Joovy this morning and was told that to get the stroller into Canada they had to modify the frame and the straps no longer fit. His suggestion - believe it or not was to try hockey tape! Um...thanks but no thanks...I buy a nice new stroller and I'm going to use hockey tape on it - why not duct tape - duh. I'm going to try and see if there is someway I can make my one strap and attach it (unfortunately my sewing machine is outta commission but I likely could figure out something by hand. Thanks again all, I used it today and my almost 4 year old LOVED it! Hopefully it will do the trick while we are away, I guess worse case if we need something for one for naps at disney then we go buy something there or rent. From what I see I think the concept will work so much better for my kids. My 1 1/2 year old even loves to sit on the jump seat (and it has a seat belt so he just sits there). Oh one last thing because storage is so limited, I also bought the skip hop saddle bags that were on sale on amazon.com last week for $15, I got two so we will have a place for the kids drinks and misc while we are at the park (cause I am not carrying a diaper bag at disney - no way).

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Hi, Do you mind telling me which bag you bought that fits the joovy ultralight in? I need one but have no idea which one would fit?
Thanks in advance

The bag I got is made by JL Childress "Standard and Dual Stroller Travel Bag", (Amazon has them for $26 but it won't let me put the link here for some reason - I paid $32 in Canada plus shipping and taxes there are no local stores that sell it near me) the dimensions of the bag are slightly smaller than the stroller "on paper" but I contacted the company because they also make custom bags and was told that the Joovy Ultralight fits because it is a soft carrier. Anyways, I got the cover yesterday but I haven't tried it yet, I'll do it tonite and report back if there are any problems. I did hold them up to one another and it looks like it will fit, I'm thinking the sunshade for sure has to come off and not sure if the front table/tray might have to as well.

hi, thanks for info. would love to know if it deffo fits. please let me know. cheers

Hey there,
I had a chance to try the bag and it does fit (you have to detatch the sunshade and child tray but they fit in there too), I'm not sure it's that great of quality (the zipper was a little messed up my hubby played with it and fixed it for the time being). Hopefully it last for my 2 trips (4 flights).

Thanks.

Please let me know how your trip goes with it.

Well, I'm back from one vacation and thought I would update the status of things. First off, I am soooooo super thankful that I bought the Joovy Ultralight, it's great, DS#2 loves to sit in the front and people watch (he's never slept in yet which I was hoping he might do) and DS#1 loves to sit and/or stand in the back. It was especially helpful at the airport and shopping...easy to push, love the adult consol.

We brought our two Radian's and were refused to use them because they are Canadain seats and we were flying out of the US and it didn't approved for flight on them (but they are). Anyways, my hubby was very upset that he dragged the seats through the airport and then we weren't allowed to use them. We gate checked them (we were planning on checking one and using one so we had a bag for one but not the other), no damage that we can see.

Update on the Stroller bag. I wasn't sure of the quality of the JL Childress "Standard and Dual Stroller Travel Bag" because the zipper didn't cooperate from day 1. The fabric however is nice thick material. We flew to Phoenix and the zipper was busted open on one side when we got the stroller back. Then same thing happened coming home but this time there was some minor damage to the arm of the stroller (which holds the child tray). Also the bag has a couple small holes in the fabric now too probably from the airlines dragging them but they are pretty minor. Anyways, I was choked because that is the whole point of the bag to protect the stroller (can't imagine what would have happened without a bag). Anyways, it really wasn't the airlines fault, so I contacted JL Childress and told them what happened and I must say their customer service was amazing! I told them I was taking another trip at the beginning of May (which I am) and they said they would authorize the company I ordered my cover from to immediately ship me a new replacement bag (as it would be quicker then them shipping to me) and that this shouldn't have happened as they use top quality products, zippers, etc. I had a new one in my hands within 5 business days (even over Easter longweekend). I will update and let you all know what happens with bag #2 - I'm hoping it works better