Need a good umbrella stroller for parks

[Septbride2002]

My daughter is 3 but only about 27 lbs - the umbrella strollers we have are okay - but we want to upgrade to something a little strudier and I refuse to rent the strollers in the parks for the crazy amounts they want. Anyone have any reccomendations for a more sturdy stroller? Also my husband is 6' tall - any that avoid him having to hunch over would be a plus.

TIA!

~Amanda

[Imagineer1981]

My wife and I just bought the Graco IPO from Target and love it. It has a sun shade, basket on the bottom and I am 6' 2" and have no hunching problem

[diz_girl]

I'd recommend the Maclaren Triumph. It has a lightweight aluminum frame, it folds easily, and has a convenient strap for carrying. The one that we have also included a rain cover. It also has a canopy for shade, storage underneath and reclines. Even better, the stroller has higher handlebars, so you are not hunching down pushing the stroller. And to top it off, because of the higher handlebars, the back wheels are set a little more forward, so you don't keep kicking the back wheels when you walk.

The only drawbacks are price (about $150-$175retail), no cupholders and the storage underneath is a little on the small side. You can usually find some last season styles on sale. We got ours at Babies 'r Us about 18 months ago. It was originally $150, but because it was a previous year's style, it was on sale and we had a 20% coupon, so we paid under $120 for it.

[daisyhead]

Macalaren Volo! It doesn't recline, so it' s a bit cheaper than the Triumph. Check out ebay. I ended up getting a deal less than 100 bucks last year! We tried it out last trip and it was unbelievalbe how great it was. Awesome rain shield, super easy and quick to fold up and carry onto the transportation. If you do check ebay adn don't care about color so much, you can find a great price!

[Disney Doll]

We have a Chicco C5 which we love! It's an older model, but very similar to the Chicco Liteway they sell now. It is an umbrella with extras...decent sized storage basket, cup holder, multi-position recline, rain shield, canopy with peek-a-boo window, light weight aluminum frame, carrying strap, holds up to 40 lbs, plus it is taller than most umbrellas so no stooping. It honestly has everything I could want and you can often find it for around $100. Ours has made 2 trips to WDW and it will be making many more.

[Imagineer1981]

Oh, the Graco IPO also reclines and has high handles. The storage is smaller, but it folds up great and is very very light, also only about 80 bucks. Its so popular Target has trouble keeping them in stock

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Maclaren! I found some strollers have terrible steering with older kids in them, but are great with babies. Maclarens steering is awesome and my DD is 38 pounds. I had a Combi Cosmo as my travel stroller and as soon as DD hit 15 pounds the steering was horroble.

Somtimes you can find last year's colors at Marshalls or TJMaxx. Also look online for 2008 models if you want to save.

Here is the Maclaren overview:
Volo- Super light, carrying strap, no recline but kids sit deep in it and don't flop over when napping. This is a big favorite of people with preschoolers.
Triumph- Lightweight, reclines, I think a carrying strap. Just kids don't sit as deep in this model. If the child has long legs, test it out first.
Quest- Reclines enough for a 3 mo old. No carrying strap. More for younger babies.
Techno- Full recline for newborn and up. Weighs the most. Adjustable handle hight, but even at 6' tall the other strollers have tall enough handles! My friend lives in NYC and her husband is over 6' and uses a Quest.

I have a Techno and a Volo and love both! If I had to do it again I would have gotten the Quest over the Techno since it is lighter. Now DD is 3.5 and I use the Volo 99% of the time.

[LittleRoosMommy]

Here's another vote for the MacClaren Triumph. We've had ours for 5 years now and it still looks like it's brand new. Not to mention that you can steer it with one hand, it folds up easily and has a great carrying strap for getting on/off the buses. The seat reclines enough for my 5 year old DD to take a nap if she wants while DD2 has a little free time to walk around and stretch her legs. The storage under the stroller can accommodate bags, blankets, etc. Also, McClaren makes a stroller bag (sold separately), but adds some extra storage and 2 cup holders.

All, in all, it may be more on the expensive side, but well worth the money!! Hope this helps!!

[TikiGoddess]

Another vote for the Maclaren strollers. I just bought a Mac Volo on ebay for $60, including shipping. It was advertised as 'very gently used'. We have a Mac Triumph I bought for about $100 a couple of years ago (previous year's model) and we LOVE it. It is lightweight -- less than 10 lbs -- and very easy to fold and carry. The handles are a little higher than normal strollers so that would work for your husband.

So now we have two Macs that we're bringing to the World --- and yes, our kids are 4 and 6. They still fit in them! We were only going to bring the Triumph but I just don't want to listen to "Is it my turn to ride yet?" or "She's had a long turn...." Our trip is in August and we're staying for 10 days... I think these strollers will save us many an argument and tired, hot, grumpy children.

Kathy

PS plus Macs have great resale value when you're done with them...

[dani226]

Here's another vote for the Maclaren Triumph! My son is 2 and 30lbs. When I compared other umbrella strollers, I thought they were too narrow and he didn't look comfortable in them. We've travelled with the Triumph and loved it! He's fallen asleep in it too, so I guess he's pretty comfy. My mom also has one for my almost 7-year-old neice (who is tall and skinny) for their upcoming Disney trip. My neice says it's very comfortable for her.

[diz_girl]

One other difference between the Triumph and the Volo is that the Volo seat is a mesh fabric, while the Triumph is solid cloth. This makes a difference if you ever plan to use your stroller in cooler climates. The Triumph will keep their bottom warmer.

[Septbride2002]

Thank you for all the suggestions! We are going to "test drive" them to make sure there is no hunching.