So why weren't there many strollers back in the day?

[hanwill]

Also, There was only one park at the start, and you didn't walk 8.5 miles per day for a week straight.... I have a 6 year old that we used a stroller for. No, we are not obese- just the opposite. We want to walk all day, and his little legs cannot keep up. We mostly use it to move from large area to area (mostly used in Epcot, not MK) and at the end of the day when we are leaving and have to wait for the bus... It's his last year with it... but he is little and we are really tall with long legs and he would have to run to stay with us all day....

 

[jimbo mack]

We have 2 kids(teenagers now). Started taking them when they were 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 years old. We used a stroller for them up until the youngest was 4, then we were done. And we were glad to be rid of it. Strollers are great for little ones but really are a pain. There is no way we would have used one longer then necessary. Plus there is no way our kids would sit in a stroller once they started school(strollers are for babies).
I want to say that parenting is hard! And it is constant. When your children are that young, you can not take your eyes or your attention off of them. Especially at a theme park. I think the problem is that some parents now still want to live their pre-child life. You can't, your child has to have your focus now. I am not talking about your whole life revolving around them, I mean when they are little, you have to be aware with what is going on with them. There have been so many times that we have witnessed parents that are so involved in their phones, or each other to see that their child is in need. I have actually caught a child sitting at the next table when that child fell from the chair. It was a toddler and I saw it coming a mile away and was waiting for it. The Mom was on her phone. I think parents have lost most of the "common sense" that parents of past had. It is like they have no deductive reasoning anymore. Parents do not listen to their elders anymore. You obviously are not born knowing how to raise kids, but you WON'T LISTEN to anyone else. Children need discipline and structure. You can tell your child to not scream their heads off in a restaurant, in fact you should. And if you build those basics up when they are young, it sticks with them. There is a reason why kids are growing up to be school shooters now. The parents never taught them respect or self control. Letting your kids be entertained by a phone or I pad instead of letting them learn patience and how to use their imagination is bad for them. Don't even get me started on the bad diets kids have now. Just feed them normal food please. You are what you eat. And a lot of "behavioral" issues can be helped by a healthy diet. Just gonna leave you with this. https://www.parenting.com/blogs/sho...ngcom/junk-food-diet-linked-lower-iq-children

I have been at WDW the past 10 days and your post has summed up my thoughts all in one!

I’ve only been struck by a stroller once , not bad going in 10 days. The death stare I gave the stroller ‘pusher’ meant they weren’t going to try twice. I always say to them ‘it’s a stroller , not a weapon!’ - they never know where to put their faces. They do usually have the decency to apologise however.

 

[graphite1326]

Nonsense. I was born in 1982 and I have a stronger grip then any geezer born in the 70s. I'll have a gripping contest right now if that's what it takes to put this #fakenews to bed.

I lift weights!!!!!!!!

LOL you are funny. I live in farm country. Those 70 year olds now (born in the 40's) are laughing at you. You don't have a prayer.

 

[graphite1326]

I have been at WDW the past 10 days and your post has summed up my thoughts all in one!

I’ve only been struck by a stroller once , not bad going in 10 days. The death stare I gave the stroller ‘pusher’ meant they weren’t going to try twice. I always say to them ‘it’s a stroller , not a weapon!’ - they never know where to put their faces. They do usually have the decency to apologise however.

My last trip I was struck twice. One we were the only ones walking up the path from Asia (in AK) to Dinoland. She ran right over my foot trying to get ahead of me. I don't know how she did it but she must have been gawking around and turned right into me. For heavens sake we were alone. Didn't get an apology either. The other, I was walking down Main street and the people behind me ran it right up onto the heel of my foot from behind.

Now here is the thing. Neither stroller had a child in it. The first I didn't see a child anywhere. The other I know it was empty but didn't see the child. He/she was probably there but I was to mad to really say anything to the perpetrators.

 

[John park hopper]

Maybe Disney should start charging a stroller fee $25 a day (like resort parking fees)to bring them into the park, Some are as big as golf carts and take up alot of room on the walk ways when parked. I agree it seems most don't have kids in them. It hurts llike H_!! to have them hit the back of your heels and never an apology.

 

[Goofy213]

I haven't read all the post and don't know if it has been brought up, but could one of the reasons for all the strollers is from the lack of shows? Seems to me that twenty years ago there use to be longer rides and more shows at the parks, creating more resting places. We would walk around and ride some of the big rides then we would catch a show or one of the longer tour rides. A good example is World Showcade at Epcot. Start at Mexico and go to American Adventure. By the time you get to the American Pavillion you have stand in line for two rides, stood watching a film for a half hour and walked half way around the world. A long film, a soft seat and air conditioning feels good at that point. Future world is hoing to be worse now with another quick ride in place of UoE. Add that to the long relaxing Studio Trams, LMA stunt show, and TGMR and there will be no where to sit and relax at the studios. With no where to sit relax and entertain children for at least a half hour every two or three hours parents seem kind of forced to use strollers. The loss of the new theater in Magic Kingdom may have just made things worse, and if rumors of country bears and tiki birds leaving are true you may as well build a stroller parking deck in the parks. The solution is more benches and shows in the parks and only WDW rental strollers allowed then they can regulate the sizes and number of strollers in the parks. Sorry for the rant just my observation.

 

[wagner1225]

Over the years I have noticed more and more older kids in strollers at Disney, on our last trip I noticed one who harley fit with knees up to the chin, but the volume of More I believe is just a lot more people are going there...

 

[John park hopper]

I haven't read all the post and don't know if it has been brought up, but could one of the reasons for all the strollers is from the lack of shows? Seems to me that twenty years ago there use to be longer rides and more shows at the parks, creating more resting places. We would walk around and ride some of the big rides then we would catch a show or one of the longer tour rides. A good example is World Showcade at Epcot. Start at Mexico and go to American Adventure. By the time you get to the American Pavillion you have stand in line for two rides, stood watching a film for a half hour and walked half way around the world. A long film, a soft seat and air conditioning feels good at that point. Future world is hoing to be worse now with another quick ride in place of UoE. Add that to the long relaxing Studio Trams, LMA stunt show, and TGMR and there will be no where to sit and relax at the studios. With no where to sit relax and entertain children for at least a half hour every two or three hours parents seem kind of forced to use strollers. The loss of the new theater in Magic Kingdom may have just made things worse, and if rumors of country bears and tiki birds leaving are true you may as well build a stroller parking deck in the parks. The solution is more benches and shows in the parks and only WDW rental strollers allowed then they can regulate the sizes and number of strollers in the parks. Sorry for the rant just my observation.

Could not agree with you more: back in the day there used to be benches to sit on and more shaded areas. In the 80's when my boys required a stroller it was the umbrella kind fit one kid and not much more, could be folded in a minute and easily carried. Probably take some flake for this. It was so anoying our last vist waiting for the buses and people had these huge strollers-- took them forever to fold them up and when they did it took up half the bus (silght exaggeration-- get my point)

 

[AdventureHasAName]

I didn't read the thread, but in my opinion, the proliferation of strollers is not because of the kids, it's because of the moms. At some point, every family needed to buy a Nimitz-class stroller and, whether the kid needed it or not, mom was going to bring it to the park as a mobile shopping cart to hang 47 bags/blankets/jackets/sweatshirts/food coolers on. The kids didn't need a stroller that size; mom wanted a stroller that size so she could lug a suitcase worth of crap around the park all day.

Now, part of this is Disney's fault by over-inflating their prices to the point where this is something every family now considers. If it wasn't so expensive to buy a sweatshirt, or a bottle of water, or a soda, or a bag of chips (or even to rent the Disney stroller itself), these moms wouldn't try to bring it with them into the parks.

 

[slappy magoo]

WDW made it easier for those with infants and small children to visit - think changing tables in every women's rest room, and a baby center in every park! I grew up in a time when they didn't exist, and even when my daughter was an infant in the 80s, they were hard to find, unlike when my son was a baby in the 90s, so more people started coming with younger children and infants. Just as they made it easier for people with mobility issues to visit - the numbers increased as word spread.

Devil's Advocate - is it possible that as WDW has "evolved" (or at least "grown" I won't argue whether they've actually evolved into something better and start a flame war with a WDW Originalist), they also started coming up with more things for parents to do with small children? Think about it - how many posts have we all read on this very board where someone asks "Is it ridiculous to bring my (Insert infant age) to WDW?" And most of us have responded along the lines of "you have to temper your pace and accommodate for feeding and naps but sure, go, there's lots to do at WDW with a baby AND lots of ways they accommodate people with babies." Between all the meet and greets and character meals and shows and attractions that don't have a height requirement, there are plenty of things to do with a baby or toddler, so more people don't wait until their kids are old/tall enough to go on (almost) every ride and can tell time and can be trusted to do their own thing and "we we meet at this statue of Walt and Mickey at 2:45 sharp, if you're late, you're grounded." Lots of us have been going since we were kids, we've been going as adults before we had kids, we plan trips more than the av-uh-rage bear and we're not gonna let some pipsqueak with baby cankles ruin it for us with their lack of stamina.

I didn't read the thread, but in my opinion, the proliferation of strollers is not because of the kids, it's because of the moms. At some point, every family needed to buy a Nimitz-class stroller and, whether the kid needed it or not, mom was going to bring it to the park as a mobile shopping cart to hang 47 bags/blankets/jackets/sweatshirts/food coolers on. The kids didn't need a stroller that size; mom wanted a stroller that size so she could lug a suitcase worth of crap around the park all day.

Now, part of this is Disney's fault by over-inflating their prices to the point where this is something every family now considers. If it wasn't so expensive to buy a sweatshirt, or a bottle of water, or a soda, or a bag of chips (or even to rent the Disney stroller itself), these moms wouldn't try to bring it with them into the parks.

I will be honest - this next will be the first that technically we probably don't need a stroller, and we're not packing our own. But nonetheless my wife wanted to rent a stroller so we had a place to leave our "stuff," backpack with emergency changes of clothes, ponchos in case of rain (or water rides), our bottles of water, OTC medications like Advil and Pepto Bismol...and if it so happens that our youngest (6) needs to crash, she has a place to crash. And honestly there will probably be more crashing because this trip, instead of a couple of hours each day at a park followed by down time and pool, we're planning 1 day park commando, 1 day "off" just hanging at the hotel or Disney Springs as much as possible, lather rinse repeat until near the end of the trip where it's like "we're going home in a few days, ride everything, omit nothing!"

But yeah, we're bringing a stroller. It's either that or cocaine for the kids. And quite frankly, after paying for the trip, who has money for cocaine?

Oops, did I type that out loud?

 

[jaklgreen]

Devil's Advocate - is it possible that as WDW has "evolved" (or at least "grown" I won't argue whether they've actually evolved into something better and start a flame war with a WDW Originalist), they also started coming up with more things for parents to do with small children? Think about it - how many posts have we all read on this very board where someone asks "Is it ridiculous to bring my (Insert infant age) to WDW?" And most of us have responded along the lines of "you have to temper your pace and accommodate for feeding and naps but sure, go, there's lots to do at WDW with a baby AND lots of ways they accommodate people with babies." Between all the meet and greets and character meals and shows and attractions that don't have a height requirement, there are plenty of things to do with a baby or toddler, so more people don't wait until their kids are old/tall enough to go on (almost) every ride and can tell time and can be trusted to do their own thing and "we we meet at this statue of Walt and Mickey at 2:45 sharp, if you're late, you're grounded." Lots of us have been going since we were kids, we've been going as adults before we had kids, we plan trips more than the av-uh-rage bear and we're not gonna let some pipsqueak with baby cankles ruin it for us with their lack of stamina.




I will be honest - this next will be the first that technically we probably don't need a stroller, and we're not packing our own. But nonetheless my wife wanted to rent a stroller so we had a place to leave our "stuff," backpack with emergency changes of clothes, ponchos in case of rain (or water rides), our bottles of water, OTC medications like Advil and Pepto Bismol...and if it so happens that our youngest (6) needs to crash, she has a place to crash. And honestly there will probably be more crashing because this trip, instead of a couple of hours each day at a park followed by down time and pool, we're planning 1 day park commando, 1 day "off" just hanging at the hotel or Disney Springs as much as possible, lather rinse repeat until near the end of the trip where it's like "we're going home in a few days, ride everything, omit nothing!"

But yeah, we're bringing a stroller. It's either that or cocaine for the kids. And quite frankly, after paying for the trip, who has money for cocaine?

Oops, did I type that out loud?

The freedom in not having a stroller is finally figuring out that you do not need to bring all of that stuff with you. After 30+ trips, many of which with our kids, we go with nothing that does not fit in a pocket. And we have not needed anything in all of those trips. I bring my small pocket wallet(yes I am a woman), phone, small baggie of ibuprofen, and a little lip balm. If it is especially sunny I can even bring a tube of sunblock. If you don't need diapers then chances are you will not need a bag(unless you need medical stuff of course). It took my husband some convincing in the early years that we did not need to bring all of that stuff but he finally saw the light after several trips of him lugging a backpack full of stuff we never used.

 

[NickMaio]

The last time we went to the MK we walked just over 15 kilometers just in the park. That is a lot of ground to cover for little legs. Also to the OP's question; we have more strollers because we have 1 MILLION TIMES the number of guests through the park doors compared to the 70's and 80's. The yearly numbers are staggering now - 30+ million people just in the MK alone in 2017. That is A LOT of people for 1 park.
more people / more families - I honestly do not think it has anything to do with social behaviors or spoiling.
Some children need to take 3 and 4 times the number of steps their parents take just to cover the same ground. Strollers have always been a courtesy to our little people, in such a HUGE place.

That's all I have to say about that......

 

[Goofyernmost]

The last time we went to the MK we walked just over 15 kilometers just in the park. That is a lot of ground to cover for little legs. Also to the OP's question; we have more strollers because we have 1 MILLION TIMES the number of guests through the park doors compared to the 70's and 80's. The yearly numbers are staggering now - 30+ million people just in the MK alone in 2017. That is A LOT of people for 1 park.
more people / more families - I honestly do not think it has anything to do with social behaviors or spoiling.
Some children need to take 3 and 4 times the number of steps their parents take just to cover the same ground. Strollers have always been a courtesy to our little people, in such a HUGE place.

That's all I have to say about that......

I have always either had a small "fannie pack" or just used my pockets, sometimes with extra pockets, but, most of the time without. I have never needed anything that I couldn't easily get in the parks and therefore made it unnecessary to carry the household with me.

I went with a girlfriend once that got mad at me and gave me the silent treatment all the way through the drive down from Vermont. Enough clothing for a month when we were going for a week. Snack food for the road trip that would have gotten us around the world... twice! I told her to cut it in half because we didn't have the room in the car for all of that and also that we were not heading for a desert. Orlando had stores where we could buy snacks and clothing if needed and so did many of the towns we were passing by on our way down. She was over it by the time we got to Florida. I say over it, but, forgotten it was not! Heard about it for years.

 

[jaklgreen]

The last time we went to the MK we walked just over 15 kilometers just in the park. That is a lot of ground to cover for little legs. Also to the OP's question; we have more strollers because we have 1 MILLION TIMES the number of guests through the park doors compared to the 70's and 80's. The yearly numbers are staggering now - 30+ million people just in the MK alone in 2017. That is A LOT of people for 1 park.
more people / more families - I honestly do not think it has anything to do with social behaviors or spoiling.
Some children need to take 3 and 4 times the number of steps their parents take just to cover the same ground. Strollers have always been a courtesy to our little people, in such a HUGE place.

That's all I have to say about that......

While it is a lot of walking in the theme parks, it has been this way for many many years. Yet we still see an increase in strollers and also the age the people are putting their children in strollers has also increased. Are you saying that an 8 year old now is physically incapable of walking but 20 years ago they somehow had the skill to? I have kids that are teens now and have been going annually for since they were 1 and 2. We stopped using a stroller for them when they were 5. I think the bigger problem is that parents do not want to adjust to the walking style of their children. You need to take is slower, have more breaks, and eat more often as they burn through energy faster. But people don't want to change their "lifestyle" when they have kids. If you were travelling with a senior that could not walk as much, would you still push grandma to go go go just because you are physically able to? That is extremely selfish. The group is only as fast as it's slowest person. So what if some of your trips you do not get to do every single thing while the kids are young. In the past parents realized this and actually where more concerned with their child enjoying themselves then worried about "doing everything". Kids that have a normal healthy lifestyle and eat good food should have no issue walking for most of the day when given the right circumstances like more breaks and good energy foods. The kids have not changed, the parenting has.

 

[NickMaio]

While it is a lot of walking in the theme parks, it has been this way for many many years. Yet we still see an increase in strollers and also the age the people are putting their children in strollers has also increased. Are you saying that an 8 year old now is physically incapable of walking but 20 years ago they somehow had the skill to? I have kids that are teens now and have been going annually for since they were 1 and 2. We stopped using a stroller for them when they were 5. I think the bigger problem is that parents do not want to adjust to the walking style of their children. You need to take is slower, have more breaks, and eat more often as they burn through energy faster. But people don't want to change their "lifestyle" when they have kids. If you were travelling with a senior that could not walk as much, would you still push grandma to go go go just because you are physically able to? That is extremely selfish. The group is only as fast as it's slowest person. So what if some of your trips you do not get to do every single thing while the kids are young. In the past parents realized this and actually where more concerned with their child enjoying themselves then worried about "doing everything". Kids that have a normal healthy lifestyle and eat good food should have no issue walking for most of the day when given the right circumstances like more breaks and good energy foods. The kids have not changed, the parenting has.

-
Do you actually have data to back this up -Yet we still see an increase in strollers and also the age the people are putting their children in strollers has also increased. -
Or is it an observation?


Why on earth would you change your "lifestyle" just for a trip to Disney?
Children have never wanted to sit still - in any decade - unless they are sleeping.
Children need frequent breaks - but not standing or sitting still. They still want to move and see different things - strollers provide them with this opportunity.

-Kids that have a normal healthy lifestyle and eat good food should have no issue walking for most of the day - There is so much wrong and judgmental with this statement I won't even bother.

Ok I will - Disney is not the same as playing in the street for a few hours...... In WDW you have massive crowds that most kids never really experience, noise and music all the time, rides, screaming, yelling, crying, laughing, ect, ect........ From the moment you park your car its 100% sensory explosion and immersion. Even without all the miles upon miles of walking, their minds are being exhausted at a rate you do not really experience anywhere else.

Come on people - 100% of the strollers you see for babies, todlers and children of all ages are 100% necessary, especially in WDW!

Not to mention the fact that children have many different issues that may not be observable to you watching them for 1-2 mins as you pass by.

Cut these little people and their families some slack - WDW hopping is not a stroll in the local park, by any means!

 

[OneofThree]

-Kids that have a normal healthy lifestyle and eat good food should have no issue walking for most of the day - There is so much wrong and judgmental with this statement I won't even bother

In what universe? Please. @jaklgreen actually gave you the benefit of the doubt, suggesting that parents have to slow down in order for their kids to keep up. This isn't always the case, necessarily. I recall my sister and I (then 8 & 9) trucking all over WDW just about running the entire day and night without any sort of problem. Sometimes I'd even be pushing the stroller, for my 2-year old sister. Imagine that. No, people didn't stuff their 8-year old's strollers back then. This is what we like to call common knowledge. I've had 4 of my own 8-year old's, and I can tell you that they can easily keep up, or outlast the majority of adults.

 

[Goofyernmost]

-
Do you actually have data to back this up -Yet we still see an increase in strollers and also the age the people are putting their children in strollers has also increased. -
Or is it an observation?


Why on earth would you change your "lifestyle" just for a trip to Disney?
Children have never wanted to sit still - in any decade - unless they are sleeping.
Children need frequent breaks - but not standing or sitting still. They still want to move and see different things - strollers provide them with this opportunity.

-Kids that have a normal healthy lifestyle and eat good food should have no issue walking for most of the day - There is so much wrong and judgmental with this statement I won't even bother.

Ok I will - Disney is not the same as playing in the street for a few hours...... In WDW you have massive crowds that most kids never really experience, noise and music all the time, rides, screaming, yelling, crying, laughing, ect, ect........ From the moment you park your car its 100% sensory explosion and immersion. Even without all the miles upon miles of walking, their minds are being exhausted at a rate you do not really experience anywhere else.

Come on people - 100% of the strollers you see for babies, todlers and children of all ages are 100% necessary, especially in WDW!

Not to mention the fact that children have many different issues that may not be observable to you watching them for 1-2 mins as you pass by.

Cut these little people and their families some slack - WDW hopping is not a stroll in the local park, by any means!

For young children under the age of 6, I whole heartedly agree. The parks were the same size they are now when I first brought my children there and they walked all day. By the end of the day they started to complain that their feet hurt, they wanted to leave, they were tired and all the universally known cries of anguish that children are prone to spewing. Eventually we would head back to the hotel. The kids butts dragging the ground, whining, threatening to call Child Services, you know the same noise you get when you take them anyplace they don't want to be.

Then back at the hotel it was a miracle. The first sight of the pool brought them back from their zombie state and with miraculously rejuvenated energy they ran to the pool, and swam for hours, showing no signs of slowing down. It was a good thing because by this time their parents were dead to the world. If anyone needed the strollers, it was the parents. So in the future get one with lower handles so that they can push you around for a while.

 

[jaklgreen]

View attachment 282725 In what universe? Please. @jaklgreen actually gave you the benefit of the doubt, suggesting that parents have to slow down in order for their kids to keep up. This isn't always the case, necessarily. I recall my sister and I (then 8 & 9) trucking all over WDW just about running the entire day and night without any sort of problem. Sometimes I'd even be pushing the stroller, for my 2-year old sister. Imagine that. No, people didn't stuff their 8-year old's strollers back then. This is what we like to call common knowledge. I've had 4 of my own 8-year old's, and I can tell you that they can easily keep up, or outlast the majority of adults.

I think we are saying the same thing. Kids under 5 should use a stroller, of course. Older kids, barring a medical issue, should have plenty of energy to walk all day. If someone feels like their kids are getting tired, instead of shoving them in the stroller, sit down and rest for a bit. That is what I am saying.

 

[NickMaio]

I think we are saying the same thing. Kids under 5 should use a stroller, of course. Older kids, barring a medical issue, should have plenty of energy to walk all day. If someone feels like their kids are getting tired, instead of shoving them in the stroller, sit down and rest for a bit. That is what I am saying.

---- Older kids, barring a medical issue - - -
My point was - how do you know the kids over 5 do not have medical issues?

People assume that all parents that shove their 6+ year old into a stroller are doing it because they want to make everything easy, or some other convoluted notion.
Where has the world's empathy gone - especially concerning kids. Stop focusing on the parent's and being quick to throw out judgement - think about the kids, maybe just maybe there is a reason for the stroller beyond what you can see.

 

[Goofyernmost]

---- Older kids, barring a medical issue - - -
My point was - how do you know the kids over 5 do not have medical issues?

People assume that all parents that shove their 6+ year old into a stroller are doing it because they want to make everything easy, or some other convoluted notion.
Where has the world's empathy gone - especially concerning kids. Stop focusing on the parent's and being quick to throw out judgement - think about the kids, maybe just maybe there is a reason for the stroller beyond what you can see.

We don't have to know, only the parents have to know. What we have to do is mind our own business and do our own thing and stop trying to be judge and jury for the entire population.