The Best Stroller for a Baby and 5 Year Old? Our 5-Year-Old Chose for Us
We already had a wagon.
And our five-year-old liked it.
So when we got the Austlen Entourage, I wasn't necessarily expecting her to have a strong opinion about which one she preferred.
She did.
She absolutely loves the Entourage.
In fact, now that we have both, she likes the stroller way more than our wagon.
And watching her use it made me realize something I hadn't fully appreciated before.
When you're looking for the best stroller for a baby and 5 year old, the question isn't simply, "Where can I put two kids?"
It's also:
How does my five-year-old actually want to ride? And what's best for my baby?
At Five, She Doesn't Really Want to Be "In" Something
That's the biggest difference I've noticed.
A five-year-old isn't a toddler.
She wants independence.
She wants to walk when she feels like walking. She wants to ride when she's tired. And she definitely doesn't want me lifting her in and out of something every time she changes her mind.
That's what she loves about the Entourage Sit + Stand.
She can get on and off all by herself.
There's an integrated Platform Rider where she can stand, plus a real Jump Seat when she wants to sit.
If she's walking beside us and suddenly decides she wants a ride?
She gets on.
If she sees something interesting and wants to go explore?
She gets off.
There's no production involved.
For us, that has turned out to be a pretty big advantage of a Sit + Stand over a wagon.
"I Can See!"
There's another reason she prefers it that I wouldn't necessarily have thought about when comparing specs online:
She's higher up.
Our five-year-old loves that she can see more from the Sit + Stand.
She's not sitting down inside the body of a wagon looking out from a lower position. When she stands on the Platform Rider, she's upright and part of what's happening around her.
And when she gets tired, she still has the Jump Seat right there.
I think that's part of why the Entourage feels so different to her.
It's not just a place where we put her when she doesn't want to walk.
It gives her some control over how she rides.
A Baby and a Five-Year-Old Need Completely Different Things
That's what makes a bigger age gap so interesting when you're stroller shopping.
A baby genuinely needs a stroller with a lie-flat option and a spot for an infant car seat.
A five-year-old may only need a stroller sometimes.
For the baby, I want all the traditional stroller features.
The Entourage Primary Seat is rated from birth to 65 pounds, and its bassinet mode is built directly into the seat. We can also use a compatible infant car seat with the appropriate adapter.
For my five-year-old?
I don't need another traditional stroller seat.
I need somewhere she can hop aboard when her legs get tired without treating her like a toddler.
That's why the Entourage has become our best stroller for kids with a bigger age gap.
The two children can use the same stroller in completely different ways.
Why We Prefer a Sit + Stand to Our Wagon
I completely understand why families love stroller wagons.
We own one.
They can be fantastic for hauling children or gear, and there are outings where a wagon makes perfect sense.
But if someone asked me whether our family would choose a Sit + Stand or a wagon for this stage?
I'd choose the Sit + Stand.
Actually, my five-year-old already did.
The difference is especially noticeable when she's constantly changing her mind about riding.
In a wagon, riding is the main event.
With the Entourage, riding can be something she does for five minutes between stretches of walking.
There's no need for me to decide in advance whether this is a "she's riding" outing or a "she's walking" outing.
She can do both.
Entourage Sit + Stand vs. WonderFold W2 Elite Pro
The WonderFold W2 Elite Pro is a good example of why I don't think a wagon and Sit + Stand solve exactly the same problem.
WonderFold's current W2 Elite Pro is designed for children 6 months and older, weighs 45.2 pounds with its seats, has a 200-pound wagon capacity, and gives each of its two seats a 50-pound capacity.
The Entourage takes a different approach:
| Feature | Austlen Entourage 2.0 + Sit + Stand | WonderFold W2 Elite Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Basic design | Traditional stroller + integrated Sit + Stand | 2-seat stroller wagon |
| Newborn-ready without separate infant car seat? | Yes — Primary Seat is rated from birth with built-in bassinet mode | No — manufacturer lists age range as 6+ months |
| Younger child's traditional seat | Primary Seat: birth to 65 lbs | Wagon seat: 50 lbs |
| Older-child riding | Jump Seat for sitting + Platform Rider for standing | Traditional elevated wagon seat |
| Older-child capacity | Sit + Stand up to 75 lbs | 50 lbs per seat |
| Can older child independently alternate between walking, standing and sitting? | Yes — that's the point of the Sit + Stand design | Child can enter/exit through wagon doors if available, or must be lifted in and out; riding is seated inside the wagon only |
| Total kids + cargo capacity | 200 lbs | 200-lb wagon capacity |
| Weight with older-child riding setup | 38 lbs with Sit + Stand | 45.2 lbs with seats |
| As older child stops riding as often | Retract toward single-stroller footprint and let older child hop aboard only when needed | Remains a two-seat wagon |
| Airport scenario | Designed to carry kids AND substantial travel gear to accommodate even larger luggage and keep separate from kids; folds to just 33.5" × 24.5" × 19" with Sit + Stand attached | Can carry 2 kids OR gear inside the wagon; storage space competes with passenger space; substantially larger folded package to transport through the airport and check for a flight |
| Disney World | Yes — even fully expanded, Entourage is 24.5"W × 50.5"L, within Disney's 31"W × 52"L stroller limit | No — Disney World prohibits wagons and stroller wagons regardless of dimensions |
| Best fit for our stage | Baby who needs a stroller + bigger child who wants independence but occasionally needs a ride | Two children who benefit from riding together inside a wagon |
What I find especially interesting is that both have a published 200-pound overall capacity, but they use that capacity very differently.
For us, that's much more useful than simply asking which one "holds more."
It Starts as a Stroller for My Baby
The other thing I love is that the Entourage doesn't sacrifice the baby's stroller experience to accommodate my bigger kid.
Our younger child still gets a true Primary Seat.
It can be used from birth in bassinet mode, without buying a separate bassinet that we'll eventually have to store.
As our baby grows, that same Primary Seat converts back into a traditional stroller seat and continues all the way to 65 pounds.
And if our family ever needs a traditional double configuration instead, we can remove the Sit + Stand and use the optional Second Seat in that rear accessory position.
That's why I think of this as the best single to double to Sit and Stand stroller rather than simply a Sit + Stand.
We're not locked into the configuration we're using today.
And Eventually, It Goes Back to a Single
This is the part that really makes sense with a five-year age gap.
My older child is already spending more time outside the stroller than in it.
That's only going to increase.
Eventually, she won't need a ride at all.
When that happens, I'm not left pushing a wagon designed around two riders.
I'm also not left with a permanently long (or wide) double stroller.
We can remove the Sit + Stand, retract the expandable frame, and continue using the Entourage as a single stroller for our younger child.
The stroller can change because our kids are changing.
That's exactly what I want it to do.
Why It's Our Best Stroller for a Baby and 5 Year Old
Here's what makes the Entourage our best single to double to Sit and Stand stroller, best stroller for kids with a bigger age gap, and best stroller for a baby and 5 year old:
- A true Sit AND Stand, giving our five-year-old a Jump Seat for sitting and integrated Platform Rider for standing
- 75-lb Sit + Stand capacity, providing substantially more room to grow than many traditional stroller seats
- Independent access, so our bigger child can get on and off without needing to be lifted
- A higher standing position, which our five-year-old loves because she can see more of what's happening around her
- Primary Seat rated from birth to 65 lbs, giving our baby a true traditional stroller seat with exceptional longevity
- Built-in bassinet mode, so the newborn stage doesn't require a separate bassinet purchase or another bulky piece to store
- Infant car seat compatibility, giving us another option during the early months
- Patented expandable and retractable frame, creating room when our bigger child wants to ride and retracting when we don't need the extra space
- Sit + Stand stays attached when folding, so the bigger-kid option doesn't become another loose accessory to load into the car
- 200-lb kids + cargo capacity, including a 70-lb lower storage basket and included 30-lb Market Tote
- Optional Second Seat, allowing us to switch to two traditional stroller seats if our family's needs ever call for it
- A path back to a single stroller, which becomes increasingly important as our five-year-old outgrows riding altogether
The Five-Year-Old Has Spoken
I could compare dimensions and capacities all day.
But I think the most convincing comparison in our house is much simpler.
We own both.
Our five-year-old originally liked riding in our wagon.
Then we got the Entourage.
Now?
She chooses the stroller.
She loves getting on and off by herself. She loves being able to stand. She loves sitting when she's tired. And she especially loves being up higher where she can see everything.
Meanwhile, our baby gets an actual stroller designed to work from the newborn stage through the bigger-kid years.
That's why this combination makes so much sense to me.
A baby and a five-year-old don't need the same thing.
The Entourage doesn't make them.
And for our family, that's exactly what makes it work.
Image provided by customer is for illustrative purposes. To read their review and other customer reviews, click here.