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

[geekza]

How about those metal bike pedals with the saw-tooth edges? Murder those things were on the shins...

Lawn jarts were another favorite.

We bring out the lawn darts when my family gets together for cookouts. What can I say? We're hardcore.

 

[jloucks]

They may have a stroller or whatever, but, they, like you are still pedestrians and there is no such thing as automatic right of way

There is no such thing as right of way because.... it is a flipping sidewalk!!

Not really a great spot for motor vehicles. And, I am pretty sure, on sidewalks, pedestrians actually do have the right of way.

Oh, what? A scooter is not a motor vehicle? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and rams people causing injury like a duck, it might be a duck.

 

[GoofGoof]

I haven’t got an issue with prams(strollers) or scooters but I have an issue when you get hit by them or they block everywhere up.
Perhaps they should have an designated area where you could leave them get your children out for a bit then go back later if needed to collect it. So if nap needed etc. Those little ones and scooters that were needed would have more room as well as the walkers.
A bit like a parking area for prams away from the main thoroughfare.

That is pretty much what they have. There are stroller parking areas in most of the lands in MK for example. In Fantasyland you can’t (or at least you are not allowed to) just park your stroller next to Small World or Peter Pan. There’s a giant stroller parking area near the carousel and Philharmagic. If you bring a stroller to Fantasyland you are expected to park it there and then have your kid walk or be carried around that part of the park. The other parks also have some of the same with designated stroller parking. EPCOT is probably the least organized but it’s also huge so less congestion in general.

I think where the congestion is felt is on Main Street especially during busy times like park closing or fireworks. Disney Springs can also feel congested with strollers at busy times.

 

[GoofGoof]

I have a problem with people that are so entitled that they think that everyone else has to watch out for them instead of being proactive and making sure they don't put themselves in harms way. I have been going to WDW for over 35 years. Never have I been run into by a stroller or scooter. I have been hit by more then one of those 'I brought my whole household with me' backpacks though. The reason why I have never been hit by the others is that I know where I am walking and what is behind me. To me it is the same as crossing the street without looking to see if someone is coming or not. You step in the way and then complain that they ran into you when in reality YOU ran into them. I've seen it over and over. They may have a stroller or whatever, but, they, like you are still pedestrians and there is no such thing as automatic right of way. Look where you are going, check for danger and avoid ever getting hit by anything other then pivoting brain dead backpackers.

This is a valid point. Similar to driving in traffic and pulling your car into the small space in front of an 18 wheeler. If you do that there’s a very good chance you will get hit. The reason that truck and the person with the stroller leave some space between them and the person in front of them is so they can stop if needed and to avoid contact, not to save a spot for you to cut in front of while weaving in and out of traffic. Back in my stroller days it would amaze me to see how often people would just step in front of the stroller in a crowd and then stop. They would be walking next to the stroller and then step diagonally forward in front of the thing because they could see a small open space. You really had to focus on not hitting these fools or spend time apologizing for something that really wasn’t your fault. Of course when you did they probably ran to a thread in forum like this and moaned about the person with a stroller who hit their leg . There are 2 sides to every story...and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle

 

[Goofyernmost]

There is no such thing as right of way because.... it is a flipping sidewalk!!

Not really a great spot for motor vehicles. And, I am pretty sure, on sidewalks, pedestrians actually do have the right of way.

Oh, what? A scooter is not a motor vehicle? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and rams people causing injury like a duck, it might be a duck.

I'm thinking a thing that looks like a road, has noises like a road and has a trolley car track right up the middle of it is a road of some sort. And if you step in front of the trolley car you would be considered an idiot. A dead one perhaps but, and idiot none the less. No one intentionally rams anyone and anyone that thinks they do needs to get some counselling to over come that paranoia. Btw, anyone pushing an object on foot or using a vehicle designed for pedestrian transport is still a pedestrian. Or are we all falling into the Truth is not the Truth mindset to protect our tender little egos.

 

[GoofGoof]

In a lot of states a person on a mobility device like a scooter or electric wheelchair is considered a pedestrian not a motor vehicle so they are allowed on the sidewalk and have to follow the same rules as a pedestrian on foot. A scooter would need to meet certain basic requirements in order to be street legal and even if it did you can’t go fast enough to be safe on many streets.

 

[jloucks]

I'm thinking a thing that looks like a road, has noises like a road and has a trolley car track right up the middle of it is a road of some sort.

All the road vehicles of "some sort" can fill up here with "some sort" of gas.

 

[Goofyernmost]

All the road vehicles of "some sort" can fill up here with "some sort" of gas.

I believe those particular pumps only contained atmosphere in gas form. And that is just to keep the pedestrians moving along.

 

[thomas998]

How about those metal bike pedals with the saw-tooth edges? Murder those things were on the shins...

Lawn jarts were another favorite.

I have to say I think part of the decline of America was the banning of lawn darts.. think about it someone stupid enough to throw a heavy pointed dart up in the air above their head was basically admitting that they were too stupid for society and was eliminating themselves from the gene pool... lawn darts helped to cull the herd of complete idiots. With the overly safe society of today there aren't many ways left for idiots to take themselves out of the gene pool, so they end up spreading their stupid genes all over the place.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I have to say I think part of the decline of America was the banning of lawn darts.. think about it someone stupid enough to throw a heavy pointed dart up in the air above their head was basically admitting that they were too stupid for society and was eliminating themselves from the gene pool... lawn darts helped to cull the herd of complete idiots. With the overly safe society of today there aren't many ways left for idiots to take themselves out of the gene pool, so they end up spreading their stupid genes all over the place.

And they all must be incredibly randy because you cannot swing a dead rodent without hitting a stupid.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Without getting into a battle with each other, what is the main cause for the spike in strollers in the parks? Is it just more families, lazier kids, enabling parents, a younger crowd than years gone by?

Take a Google at what actual physical strollers looked like 50 years ago. The "modern" portable strollers didn't really take off until the 80s and 90s.

Far too many people reproducing.

I know this is a joke, but the opposite is actually true. We're in a borderline fertility crisis.

 

[Dave B]

I honestly think if Disney wanted to make the “stroller situation” much less of a problem they could very prominently list size restrictions for strollers when booking and buying tickets and then actually enforce them. IMHO the volume of strollers isn’t as a big of an issue as the size of some of these things. To combine our plans maybe go the way of the airlines with an oversized bag. If you want to bring in a reasonable stroller it’s free but if you bring an oversized one there is a sizable upcharge (something well in excess of the rental cost should discourage almost anyone).

The real issue is I’m not sure Disney a) sees strollers as a problem and b) would ever consider confronting guests over it even if they did. On point A Disney has gone out of their way to widen paths and build larger stroller parking areas. They see strollers as allowing guests with really small children to visit and those with smaller children the opportunity to stay in the parks longer which of course leads to more spending. On point B Disney added chips to drink cups to avoid confronting guests who were committing a crime and stealing soda from machines at the resorts. They absolutely have no interest in empowering front line CMs to confront guests on pretty much anything that’s not directly related to safety so they will never regulate stroller size.

Committing a crime and stealing soda, I love it

 

[GoofGoof]

Committing a crime and stealing soda, I love it

A lot of people don’t look at it that way, but how many people would walk into the gift shop at the hotel and take a 20oz bottle of coke and just walk out without paying? How about a candy bar or a pack of gum? Taking soda from the machines in the lobby of a hotel that you didn’t pay for is the exact same thing but somehow a large group of people decided it could be justified because soda is so cheap anyway and Disney makes so much money.

 

[John park hopper]

Fair points on skiing and cars, but keep in mind seatbelts and airbags are required for cars as well as many other auto safety features, mostly mandated from the manufacturers side instead of the consumer side. Skiing doesn’t require helmets, maybe it should or maybe it’s too niche of a market for the government to get involved. I think that’s probably the case with both motorcycles and skiing. Not enough of a problem to move the needle.

Banning buffets is not the same thing as requiring safety gear. Banning motorcycles altogether or skiing would be the equivalent of banning buffets.

On the cost side hospitals are required to treat anyone with a life threatening injury even when they have no insurance or are underinsured. That cost is socialized to everyone. If you do have insurance and make a claim that cost to the insurance company is socialized to everyone with policies in the form of higher premiums. Even if a person has medical insurance or coverage through their auto policy that only covers medical bills and maybe a minimal amount of lost wages, if a person becomes permanently disabled and cannot work the rest of their life they are entitled to social security disability which covers lost wages to some extent. The only way it would have no impact is if the person had no insurance but was independently wealthy so were willing and able to pay for all costs out of pocket.[/QUOTE

Yes hospitals have to treat the injured just as they have to treat anyone who has a heart attack as result of poor eating habits. Any one going to the hospital with a diabetic episode as a result of poor eating habits must be treated, any one with HIV etc. It is not just injury that has to be treated. Therefore the case could be made if the government is going to mandate safety they can mandate what you eat. Both a very slippery slope. Personally less government in my life not more

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I know this is a joke, but the opposite is actually true. We're in a borderline fertility crisis.

Exactly. The birthrate has been horrible for the last 40 years. Post-war in 1946 the birthrate was 3.8, meaning the average family had 4 kids more or less. Today it is about 1.7 or 1.8. Even less in Europe which explains so many of their problems overall. You need 2.1 to replace yourselves and it hasn't happened in about 40 years. In the 1970s people started believing that the world was going to be overpopulated (it wouldn't have been) which is why 2 kids became the new norm and then less than that. The reason the population keeps growing is because the boomers from 1946 onwards are still alive. In 20 years they'll be dead, or most of them, and we'll see a drop in the population at a very steady level.

The good news is the lines will be shorter! No, seriously people, children are a joy, have them or else we're goners.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Exactly. The birthrate has been horrible for the last 40 years. Post-war in 1946 the birthrate was 3.8, meaning the average family had 4 kids more or less. Today it is about 1.7 or 1.8. Even less in Europe which explains so many of their problems overall. You need 2.1 to replace yourselves and it hasn't happened in about 40 years. In the 1970s people started believing that the world was going to be overpopulated (it wouldn't have been) which is why 2 kids became the new norm and then less than that. The reason the population keeps growing is because the boomers from 1946 onwards are still alive. In 20 years they'll be dead, or most of them, and we'll see a drop in the population at a very steady level.

The good news is the lines will be shorter! No, seriously people, children are a joy, have them or else we're goners.

We may not be goners, but, we will not be able to go to places like WDW without enough people to pay the admission fee to get in. Business will fold. Not only will it not be affordable to go, it won't even exist. Insurance that depends on many people signing on, to cover the cost of paying for care will also fold because they need the steady income to pay the bills. Yes, it is a very necessary ponzi scheme. That is how it works in spite of the genius statement made by Paul (brain dead) Ryan. In other words, we all will be cutting back as the population decreases. Fewer people to pay the cost of military protection, police protection, school teachers and infrastructure. It will be a place with a lot of room, but, no place to go. We really do need to be careful about what we wish for.

 

[ChrisFL]

My take on this:

Several factors all intertwined:

- Families spending more time, longer days and more days at the parks...using less time to rest and let their children rest
- Commando style park planning, made worse by having set schedules for fastpass, reservations, etc.
- Families bringing their kids when they're much younger than before (Disney marketing may be also to blame for this)
- Idea that since the parks have high prices for food, etc., using the stroller and backpacks to bring their own food and drinks
- Not wanting to have kids walk slower, would rather push them around
- "If everyone else is doing the stroller thing, maybe it's a good idea"
- Strollers keep kids cooler, in the shade which is good in the summer when it's severely hot out

 

[Animaniac93-98]

My take on this:

Several factors all intertwined:

- Families spending more time, longer days and more days at the parks...using less time to rest and let their children rest
- Commando style park planning, made worse by having set schedules for fastpass, reservations, etc.
- Families bringing their kids when they're much younger than before (Disney marketing may be also to blame for this)
- Idea that since the parks have high prices for food, etc., using the stroller and backpacks to bring their own food and drinks
- Not wanting to have kids walk slower, would rather push them around
- "If everyone else is doing the stroller thing, maybe it's a good idea"
- Strollers keep kids cooler, in the shade which is good in the summer when it's severely hot out

I would also add that families can bring in their own strollers so they don't have to pay Disney to use one.

 

[The Mom]

Please take the off topic Political/Social Issues discussion to the correct forum. Thank you.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

We may not be goners, but, we will not be able to go to places like WDW without enough people to pay the admission fee to get in. Business will fold. Not only will it not be affordable to go, it won't even exist. It will be a place with a lot of room, but, no place to go. We really do need to be careful about what we wish for.

Hmmm..........never thought about that from a Disney perspective or come to think of it other things I enjoy like sports. I was just thinking that someday soon in my lifetime we will see a lot of empty houses with no one living in them. But something like Disney..........yeah. I can see that. Less people going eventually because there are less people. Layoffs happen, maybe certain rides close because they can't afford to run them. Who knows.