Stroller abuse

[teachingmykids]

I'm putting this message in the strategies forum as more of a plea to be considerate when using strollers. Over the past week I observed strollers piled high with everything from purchases to ice chests and picnic baskets.
I am not talking about small children who need them or special needs. Of the many I saw, the parents COULD NOT have carried all that stuff if the kids had really needed to ride in the stroller anyway. It was clearly used for carrying around stuff.
To top off all the frustration I felt my daughter nearly got her ankle sliced off when a mom who couldn't see my dd over the junk on her stroller ran into her. The bottom of the stroller caught my dd in the back of the ankle and stuck. Had that plastic been any sharper it would have cut her tendon.
I wish WDW would have a policy stating that only younger kids or special needs could rent.

Thanks for letting me vent and please consider others when renting strollers as baggage carriers.

~~g.

 

[jennymouse]

uh oh...here we go again.....

 

[peachgirl]

Anyone want to take bets on how long this thread lasts this time?

Seriously, I'm sure that wasn't pleasant for you or your daughter. It would be nice if everyone tried to be a little more considerate of others but it's not likely to happen.

 

[PKK/MJK]

teachingmykids--

I couldn't agree with you more!!!!

 

[PhotobearSam]

Me too....

( now running for cover...)

 

[teachingmykids]

I'm so sorry that I've obviously brought up a touchy subject. I've been reading this board for several months and have never seen this mentioned.

I can't imagine why this would be controversial, but it clearly is, so let's not go any further.

~~g.

 

[seashoreCM]

The first and best teacher is a schoolteacher. Due to cutbacks on the part of the local government and/or apathy on the part of the students, effective teaching this way is often compromised.

The second and second best teacher is a policeman/-lady.

The third and worst teacher is you or I. Sometimes at WDW the only available person to teach good manners is in this category.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

If it had happened to me or my DD or my DS I would have _____
(This blank should be left to the imagination and not filled in using further replies on this thread.)

 

[peachgirl]

No need to apologize. As for me ( and I'm sure the other posters as well) my post was just a little good natured kidding. You're welcome to bring up any topic you want. If people only brought up subjects that have never been discussed before we'd have nothing to talk about. The stroller issue, along with smoking and multiple reservations, are issues that are often discussed but seldom civilly. Gosh, the topic of microwaves in the room even got a bit out of hand! Maybe we'll get better with practice! Other than your daughter being attacked by a heel eating stroller, I hope your vacation was wonderful!

 

[Snow Brite]

I wanted to say that the strollers almost did me in on our trip. We rented one for WS for my 5 year old DS but that was the only time we had one. And that day we really needed it. I tried to be considerate with it, but they are a bit hard to manage.

But at MK after Specto and before the fireworks on the only night they had either that week, I thought someone was going to be seriously injured by or becasue of, a stroller. And was upset at WDW for allowing such an UGLY situation to develop at their park. There was one teeny tiny path for people who wanted leave the park to get by as everyone else was standing in the hub waiting for the fireworks. And the stroller folks were getting frantic that they couldn't get out and a few were ramming the folks in front of them to move faster, who got upset...

I think stroller folks need to be considerate of others and that frankly Disney should limit the number of strollers in their parks at a given time. The same way there is a upper limit of the capacity of the park, there should be a limit on the number of strollers allowed in at any one given time.

Which is not to say that whoever wants to go to Disney shouldn't be able to. But there were a couple times when it was hard to WALK through the maze of strollers and I just thought there were way too many of them. Disney's strollers are also way too big and would take up so much less room and be so much more maneuverable if they were more like umbrella strollers.

Just my two cents...

Jennifer

 

[Snow Brite]

I wanted to say that the strollers almost did me in on our trip. We rented one for WS for my 5 year old DS but that was the only time we had one. And that day we really needed it. I tried to be considerate with it, but they are a bit hard to manage.

But at MK after Specto and before the fireworks on the only night they had either that week, I thought someone was going to be seriously injured by or becasue of, a stroller. And was upset at WDW for allowing such an UGLY situation to develop at their park. There was one teeny tiny path for people who wanted leave the park to get by as everyone else was standing in the hub waiting for the fireworks. And the stroller folks were getting frantic that they couldn't get out and a few were ramming the folks in front of them to move faster, who got upset...

I think stroller folks need to be considerate of others and that frankly Disney should limit the number of strollers in their parks at a given time. The same way there is a upper limit of the capacity of the park, there should be a limit on the number of strollers allowed in at any one given time.

Which is not to say that whoever wants to go to Disney shouldn't be able to. But there were a couple times when it was hard to WALK through the maze of strollers and I just thought there were way too many of them. Disney's strollers are also way too big and would take up so much less room and be so much more maneuverable if they were more like umbrella strollers.

Just my two cents...

Jennifer

 

[poober25]

I'm sorry, but at the risk of getting blasted myself, I have to say this. I agree that some people with strollers are a bit on the aggressive side, but on the other side of the coin---often people are not watching where they are going and will walk right in front of a stroller or a wheelchair/scooter. There were numerous times when we were in the parks 2 weeks that I did nearly hit someone with our stroller simply because people (mainly children who not being properly supervised) would just walk right in front of me giving me no time to stop. And people really don't pay attention to scooters. My mom nearly hit a couple of hit for the same reason, just people not paying attention.

Totally off-topic, but since I'm venting--Not to mention the fact that my Mom's $400 camera was knocked out her hand by an unsupervised pre-teen who didn't even bother to stop.

In conclusion, Please watch where you're going. Both stroller pushers and pedestrians.

 

[hookedup]

I think it is huge pain to have to use a stroller. If it werent for the fact I have a 2 year old I would never use one. They are a pain in the rear to push around, get on an off the busses and use in general. In crowds they are a nightmare. I try to be careful but there are always kids and adults who aren't paying attention running into me.
Why anyone who would use one that didn't have to is beyond me!
Having said that I will also say there is no way I could imagine going to WDW or DL with my DS and NOT having one - they are a MUST with a small child!

 

[travelitis]

I've had people step right in front of me and stop when I'm in a wheelchair or ECV. These are adults! I think the general population does try to be considerate, but there is so much to see at Disney that we all get caught up in it at some time. I don't believe for a second that even those of us who really try to be considerate haven't inadvertantly stepped out in front of someone or accidentally bumped someone. The difference is that the considerate person acknowledges their blunder and apologizes.

While I really respect teachers, in my book they are number 2. The most powerful teacher is the parent's example. That's where consideration or the lack thereof is taught. Stroller capacity control won't address this issue.

 

[poober25]

Travelitis

I just wanted to second your comments on the teacher thing. Parents are children's first and best teacher. Anyone else is second, especially, IMO a schoolteacher. I have great respect for schoolteachers, don't get me wrong. But when my children need to know something about anything, they need to understand that I am their primary source of information. It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children well. Thank you Travelitis.

 

[abaldacci]

MY DS is 5 and I will not make him walk around the park all day. The parks are to large to walk for his little legs and everyone need to watch where they are going.

 

[Waggy182]

Dittos to Travelitis and Poober25 regarding the PARENT being the number one teacher in childrens' lives (or should be). I have a deep affection for all school teachers, and God Bless them, but my child learns from the daily life examples of me and my DH, first and foremost.

Snow Brite, while it's a nice thought in a perfect world, the stroller limit policy is unrealistic and most likely could not be enforced. We do not even rent our stroller at Disney, we get it from A Baby's Best Friend rental in Orlando, so we arrive at the parks with it. If they were to try to enforce a limit under this circumstance, the Disney people would have a much larger problem on hand than a few scuffed ankles.

Stoller drivers are no different than highway vehicle drivers: You have some great ones, and you have some extremely poor ones.

I, of course, am one of the great ones, in both categories! (humble? - of course!)

 

[Sharper]

These are my two huge personal pet peeves from the parks. Again this is my PERSONAL opinion. If your child is so exhausted that they need a stroller then they likely need to leave the park. In the grey area where they are tired (but not passed out from exhaustion) then I could tolerate a small, umbrella type stroller. Those huge monstrosities for rent are just too difficult to manuever and take up too much space. I have had children there at ages 23 mos., two, three, four and five (they are now 7 and 14). I rented a stroller on ONE occasion when my daughter was four but returned it in less than an hour. I would rather carry her or leave than try to deal with a stroller there. But much more annoying and what I experienced on the last trip was several people who put on rain ponchos, it stopped raining and they still wore them, indoors, after the rain had long since stopped, and repeatedly brushed up again others, getting them wet. If it is not raining or if you are indoors, take off the stupid wet slicker! How hard is that to understand? I was amazed at the number of adults who did not and were surrounded by complaining people but just ignored the mess they were making.

 

[Ratpack]

Banning strollers would definitely not work. If you do that, you might as well ban people over 6 foot so they don't block the views of other people. Where would you draw the line. However, I agree with not having a stroller to push around like a shopping cart. Use one only if needed. I can't wait until our kids are old enought to not have to lug one around. But I think the biggest thing is don't blame strollers, blame the people pushing them. Most likely these same people would push you out of the way WITHOUT a stroller. Also, remember that some stroller incidents are truly accidents. Just my opinion.

 

[travelitis]

If we were restricted to no stroller or umbrella stroller, (can't stand those) we'd vacation elsewhere. I'd never try to maneuver the parks with young children without a stroller. We don't have tired, cranky kids because we use a stroller, so ours aren't the ones screaming and crying interrupting your dinner or drowning out the narrator during attractions. If being unable to walk the parks were the benchmark for needing to leave, I guess I wouldn't be permitted in WDW.

My dh tries very hard to be considerate with the stroller, and I'm dodging people in the ECV. The non-stroller crowd can be just as rude as those with "big rigs". I sustained a bruise the size of a baseball from 2 people pushing me in a wheelchair and my 6' dh into a wall and railing. My dh tries so hard not to bump into people, but those without strollers need to watch where they are going, too. The real problem is people not paying attention. We can't change how they act, we can only change how we react.

 

[Poohbearmom]

Being rude & inconsiderate is certainly not limited to people with strollers. I have seen plenty of childless adults practically run down small children in their attempt to get somewhere. As the mom of a 3 year old, I know there is no way we could attempt WDW without a stroller. How could anyone expect a 3 year old to manage to walk 8-10 miles a day?? As for the previous suggestion to just leave the park if a child is unable to walk, I have no intention of spending a $4,000 vacation staring at the walls of a hotel room. The bottom line is that Disney is, essentially, a child's fantasy land. If you go to Disney, you should expect children and strollers...lots of them. (JMHO).