Strollers, require an age limit?

Post by **spaulo** » Mar Fri 16, 2007 3:24 pm

Keri wrote:rented a stroller for her 7 year old because he got tired of walking around. Sorry, but that wouldn't cut it in my family!

This just ticks me off. Like... the childless, trying-to-be-adult part of me says "Now now, Steve, it isn't your place to judge how someone raises their child" while the other side of me... the know-it-all, I'll-be-a-great-dad side... says "GOOD LORD WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING TO THE NEXT GENERATION?!"
... A stroller at 7?! That is ridiculous... unless your child has a serious physical ailment, that is inexcusable...

Post by **sockfire** » Mar Sat 17, 2007 9:00 am

Everyone is in too much of a rush in the parks. Strollers help make the day easier. Why restrict their use because a few people don't know how to say "excuse me". In other words, don't generalize all stroller users because you had an unfortunate incident. 8)

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Mar Sat 17, 2007 2:50 pm

spaulo wrote:
Keri wrote:rented a stroller for her 7 year old because he got tired of walking around. Sorry, but that wouldn't cut it in my family!
This just ticks me off. Like... the childless, trying-to-be-adult part of me says "Now now, Steve, it isn't your place to judge how someone raises their child" while the other side of me... the know-it-all, I'll-be-a-great-dad side... says "GOOD LORD WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING TO THE NEXT GENERATION?!"
... A stroller at 7?! That is ridiculous... unless your child has a serious physical ailment, that is inexcusable...

Seriously!! If I ever got tired at age 7 my dad would look at me and count, That got me moving very quickly. And besides you can stop and rest when on the rides and when you eat a meal. Of course if I had a kid I wouldn't subject them to the amount of exercise I do now when I'm at the parks, that would just be cruel and maybe illegal.

AKLRULZ · Post by **AKLRULZ** » Mar Sat 17, 2007 3:32 pm

spaulo wrote:... A stroller at 7?! That is ridiculous... unless your child has a serious physical ailment, that is inexcusable...

Totally agree.

So since we're on the subject - I've heard both sides of the argument about overweight people abusing the wheelchair system - any thoughts on that?

Post by **js3901** » Mar Sat 17, 2007 5:26 pm

Dr. Ravenscroft wrote: Of course if I had a kid I wouldn't subject them to the amount of exercise I do now when I'm at the parks, that would just be cruel and maybe illegal.

hell, I'm still hurting from the December trip, and I'm not even your kid.. hehe. just kidding. I'm good to go now, and know to wear the comfortable shoes next time...

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Mar Sat 17, 2007 10:24 pm

js3901 wrote:hell, I'm still hurting from the December trip, and I'm not even your kid.. hehe. just kidding. I'm good to go now, and know to wear the comfortable shoes next time...

HAHAHA!!! sorry about that I learned how to walk that fast, which was actually slower and less maneuvering than I actually do....really, from back in high school. I used to walk a mile and a half (1 1/2) to school and the same back. Usually I was late in the mornings, and do to the same speed on the way home. The maneuverability was learned from the hallways of high school. I don't think you have seen that yet, maybe glimpses here and there but not the crazy stuff I have done. Even my brother who had to do the same stuff during high school doesn't go as quick as me.

AKLRULZ wrote:o since we're on the subject - I've heard both sides of the argument about overweight people abusing the wheelchair system - any thoughts on that?

I'm not touching that one unless I see the mood head in my direction. Lets just say I'm 6'1" 165 with little body fat, I workout everyday, you can guess where I stand.

disneyinfopage · Post by **disneyinfopage** » Mar Mon 26, 2007 3:01 pm

Dr. Ravenscroft wrote:I say ban the jumbo strollers, and let the smaller ones stay. The jumbo ones really get my goat. I hate how big they are and the fact that people think that because they have a stroller YOU have to get out of THEIR way, HA. They need to yield to pedestrians like cars, I my Opinion.

While I don't agree with "banning" strollers, I DO think that the jumbo ones should be reserved for TWO children... as opposed to one over-sized child or one child and the rest of the family's STUFF. You should have to show evidence (i.e., haul your kids up to the stroller rental line) and show that you've got TWO kids who will BOTH use the jumbo stroller.

Judy

Post by **spaulo** » Mar Mon 26, 2007 4:32 pm

AKLRULZ wrote:So since we're on the subject - I've heard both sides of the argument about overweight people abusing the wheelchair system - any thoughts on that?

OK here's my take, agree, disagree, loathe me or love me, whatever.

First, my situation: I am 6'3", 300lbs., and in much better shape than that sounds (i wear 38" waist jeans). Yes I'm big, yes I have a gut I can't ditch, but I'm built more like a football player than a football, if you catch my meaning.

That having been said, I still move my weight all around Disneyland or WDW for hours a day, days at a time, without help of a wheeled device. While I won't pretend that Disney could ever get away with telling these people they do not have a disease/"true" ailment and therefore cannot use the ECVs/wheelchairs, I think it has a lot to do with us living in a victim society.

We are all victims! Our situation is not due to our actions, but to the hand we were dealt!

Believe me, if I stopped downing the cheeseburgers and got back on the weights and the treadmill, like I was in college, I'd be back down to 235 and loving life... I know that my choices shape my situation, and I take responsibility for those choices. Obviously, not everyone does.

Now, the thing is... morbidly obese people should still be allowed to enjoy the parks, and I'm sure that simply isn't possible without help moving about. I don't know what to do about the situation, but I know how repulsed and saddened I am, simultaneously, when I see people who apparently only need an ECV/wheelchair because their caloric intake has exceeded their expenditures by leaps and bounds for years/decades/etc.

kgmadorin · Post by **kgmadorin** » Mar Mon 26, 2007 8:31 pm

I worked in Magic Kingdom Guest Relations for three years, and no topic was as hotly debated among front entrance managers and more criticized by guests affected one way or another than this issue of strollers and wheelchairs. The bottom line is that Cast Members--even managers--cannot make the determination if a guest has "special needs" or not. We had to take their word for it. And many times parents will go to stroller rental when their children are somewhere else in the park. How does the Cast Member know how old/what size their children are? It's true that the double strollers are life savers for single moms with two children in tow.

I CAN tell you this: hundreds and hundreds of guests every day would come to City Hall requesting a "front of the line pass." This pass does exist, but only for extreme circumstances, which usually need to be proven with documentation, etc. 98% of the time, all they received was a "Guest Assistance Pass," basically alerting the attractions Cast Members that they had special needs. VERY, VERY FEW people actually received a golden ticket to bypass the lines. And nothing made me happier day in and day out to tell people, "You'll be happy to know that almost all of our queues are wheelchair accessible, so you can still use the main entrances."

dinosaur33 · Post by **dinosaur33** » Apr Mon 02, 2007 5:42 pm

Any child over 5 shouldn't be able to use a stroller. I can't tell you how many times I've seen 8 year olds in strollers.

kgmadorin · Post by **kgmadorin** » Apr Mon 02, 2007 7:52 pm

dinosaur33 wrote:Any child over 5 shouldn't be able to use a stroller. I can't tell you how many times I've seen 8 year olds in strollers.

Once again, how would you police that? Like I said before, many times parents will go to stroller rental when their children are somewhere else in the park. How does the Cast Member at stroller rental know how old/what size their children are? And if you told a parent they couldn't have a stroller because their child was over the age limit, be prepared for a customer service battle.

tergiversate · Post by **tergiversate** » Apr Thu 05, 2007 12:05 am

not only are strollers a hazard while walking, when they all line up outside someplace it almost seems a fire hazard!

however, while I was waiting in line in The Land, there was a stroller suddenly beside me with a6-7 year old in it. I was LIVID - 'til I saw that he had prosthletic feet. what was weird is that the parents were using a Disney supplied stroller.

csquare77 · Post by **csquare77** » Apr Thu 05, 2007 8:26 am

Man kids must be lazy, when I was 7 or 8 I would be embarrassed to be in a stroller, maybe a hight restriction, lol

Tergiversate, Thats interesting, I wonder why they did not use a wheelchair?

tergiversate · Post by **tergiversate** » Apr Thu 05, 2007 10:18 am

csquare77, I'm not sure why. the kid looked on the small and young side (but older than kindergarden) and adopted. I think he would have been too small for a wheelchair, and it might have been easier to get out of a stroller. I think he could walk some, but not to traipse all around Epcot.

PudgetteD · Post by **PudgetteD** » Jul Sat 14, 2007 7:03 pm

I'm not totally against strollers, having used them on many trips to WDW. I do think that stroller users should have to bring their own. I think that not renting strollers @ the parks would greatly cut down on misuse.