***UPDATE IS AT THE VERY BOTTOM***
My husband and I do Love this stroller but we've realized there are some major things missing that other strollers have. To some, it might not be a big deal but to others it will be. We've been using this for over a year with twins(started using them when they were 5 months & they're now 17 months)
CONS
*No Food Tray-this was something I never thought about when I was pregnant & looking for strollers(1st time parent) but there have been many instances where having a food tray would have really helped. Like we just took a trip to the Zoo and there were no highchairs or anything and since their seats didn't have a tray we had to hold them on our lap(it was not an easy task) 2 of our friends went with us and both their strollers had trays and their kids(same age as ours) just sat in theirs and happily ate. It doesn't state that there is a feeding tray so I can't be mad about it, I'm just trying to let people who probably don't think about things like that know. Had I known what I know now, I would have gotten a stroller w/ the feeding trays...and a place for them to have a cup would have been nice too.
*You can't change a diaper in these seats. Another thing we never thought of. There are many places you will go where there is no convenient or clean place to change a baby. My best friends stroller folds completely flat so you can change a baby, we ended up using her stroller to change our girls at the Zoo.
*The front canopy takes up the back passengers space if it isn't up all the way. We always put the bigger of our girls in the back and she's constantly kicking the canopy since it falls on her legs. Not a huge deal but certainly annoying for the back rider.
*They always have to be strapped in which makes them really hot. This wasn't as big of a deal when my girls were smaller and couldn't hold themselves up as well but now that they can they don't like to be strapped down, they end up getting really fussy because they get really hot. Again, my best friends seat has a bar between the legs so she doesn't have to be strapped in. I started just strapping the waist & crotch strap on them instead of the arm straps too. I tried not strapping them in but the way the seats are they just fall right out the bottom.
PROS
*Turning the seats any direction is really handy, especially if it's really sunny out, you can turn them away from the sun. (it would be even more handy if you didn't have to take the seat off to do this, if you could just swivel the seat w/them in it)
*Reclining Seats. They don't recline so you can change a diaper but they do recline so they can take a nap. You just pull on the handle at the top of the seat and easily recline them. My girls have taken many naps in this, definately a plus. A sleepy baby is not a happy baby and I think a stroller w/ reclining seats for naps is a must. BOTH of these seats recline the same and have several different levels of recline, a lot of double strollers only have 1 reclining seat or 1 just barely reclines so one kid gets a comfy reclined nap and the other wouldn't.
*All Terrain Wheels. We've had this on every kind of terrain and its usually pretty darn easy to push, gravel, grass, hills, woods, nothing has been a problem yet. We've been on trails in the woods where other people w/ strollers were, they were struggling to push theirs and we were easily breezing right by.
*Durable. This thing is solid & very durable, both the frame & the material. Definately something that will last a very long time. We did have the parent tray crack & fall off after a couple months of use(thats kind of cheap) but I sent the company an email and they sent me a replacement at no charge to me & w/ no hassle.
*It looks nice. We get compliments on this all the time. And pushing a bright red double stroller w/ twins will definately get you noticed...so if you don't like attention, you might not want to get this ; )
Overall, its a great stroller but you need to think what your family will be using this stroller for. In our case, not having the feeding trays and having to strap them in all the time are the biggest cons & the main reason I took off 2 stars.
My message to Kolcraft: This would be the perfect stroller with just a few changes/additions. I've noticed with the new Contours Options II that the seats are supposed to be roomier, thats a plus. And also that there are now cupholders for the kids seats, another plus. Also that the umbrellas adjust, another plus. Now if you would just make a feeding tray and have a strap/bar between the legs so older babies/toddlers didn't have to be strapped in, you would have the Perfect stroller...at least in my opinion :)
Let me know if you have any questions about this and I'll try to help you out : )
***UPDATE***
As I am writing this(Jan 2012) update my girls are 3 years old and we no longer have the stroller because we sold it at a garage sale last summer. I just really did NOT enjoy taking it places because it was SO long and my girls normally complained when they were in it(from lack of being able to see mainly)
After having 'been there, done that' I can tell you 100% if I had to do it all over again, I would have bought a side by side stroller. The main reason I started looking at tendems is because I wanted to make sure it was narrow enough to fit it aisles and doorways(yes, first time Mom, ALL of it was new to me, rookie mistake, lol)
But since they make side by side strollers that CAN fit thru doorways and aisles, plus they have lots of other great features of a single stroller, how can you go wrong? Not all side by sides are made the same but I have found several that are narrow to fit in doorways/aisles, have a food tray/cup holder, BOTH seats can fully recline and you can have them reclined at different levels(like newborn reclined flat, toddler sitting up) roomy seats, don't have to be strapped in all the time, has storage for diaper bag, not as long as a limo ;)
And another great, great thing about a side by side, the kids would be side by side! One of them doesn't have a better view than the other, they both have a great view. They can share snacks, talk, share toys, etc. With a tandem, at least one of them always has a crappy seat, unless you have them face eachother, then neither of them get to see anything besides eachother, and although they are probably really cute(I'm sure the cutest kids on earth ;)) I think kids would probably rather be able to look out and about rather than at eachother the whole time.