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

[GoofGoof]

None of our 8 year old's would have had any interest whatsoever in riding in a stroller. In fact, they'd probably be pretty disappointed if they could not be free to walk when visiting WDW or Universal. As far as capability, a normal, healthy 8 year old has zero trouble touring commando style. I think what we run into a lot of times is normalizing what isn't normal at all. It's not necessarily "good" just because someone out there happens to want or prefer it.

I don’t know if there’s really a “good” or “bad” to this topic. It’s all a matter of preference. Although, I will say if someone is forcing an 8 year old into a stroller that’s probably not going to go well.

 

[GoofGoof]

Another plug for the Graco Roomfor2 sit-stand stroller. It's a compact double that accommodates baby and big brother/sister (up to 4ish). Small enough to fit through the TSA security scanners, which even our standard-sized single stroller couldn't do.

We had a very similar stroller...maybe even the same one. I do miss the cup holders but now that the straws are paper you really have to finish your drink before they melt into mush anyway

 

[disneyfireman]

Well, it's simple....Lazy parents and parents that literally baby their kids...We have 2 kids. 13 yo son and 11 daughter. They went for the first time at 5 and 3. NO stroller allowed. They did just fine. Heck, we always open and close the parks.. I have seen 9 year olds in strollers....insane that is.
But like a lot in life now...kids are babied so much its nauseating. Oh, and if they misbehave? Lets not discipline them, lets medicate them.
Oh, and lets not talk about the kids on a leash...Thats even more insane.
a 1 year old...yeah i understand a stroller...or of course a child thats truly disabled. Thats completely understood and i have empathy for any kid with a physical disability...breaks my heart. but, just to be easy on the kids? come on.

 

[disneyfireman]

People are lazy and bad parents today. Give the kid a cell phone, game console and ignore the kid.
When we were kids we walked or Mom carried us.

YEP!!!! I carried daughter on shoulders...she loved it..great work out!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Well, it's simple....Lazy parents and parents that literally baby their kids...We have 2 kids. 13 yo son and 11 daughter. They went for the first time at 5 and 3. NO stroller allowed. They did just fine. Heck, we always open and close the parks.. I have seen 9 year olds in strollers....insane that is.
But like a lot in life now...kids are babied so much its nauseating. Oh, and if they misbehave? Lets not discipline them, lets medicate them.
Oh, and lets not talk about the kids on a leash...Thats even more insane.
a 1 year old...yeah i understand a stroller...or of course a child thats truly disabled. Thats completely understood and i have empathy for any kid with a physical disability...breaks my heart. but, just to be easy on the kids? come on.

You opened and closed the park with a three year old? Y tho?

 

[GoofGoof]

Well, it's simple....Lazy parents and parents that literally baby their kids...We have 2 kids. 13 yo son and 11 daughter. They went for the first time at 5 and 3. NO stroller allowed. They did just fine. Heck, we always open and close the parks.. I have seen 9 year olds in strollers....insane that is.
But like a lot in life now...kids are babied so much its nauseating. Oh, and if they misbehave? Lets not discipline them, lets medicate them.
Oh, and lets not talk about the kids on a leash...Thats even more insane.
a 1 year old...yeah i understand a stroller...or of course a child thats truly disabled. Thats completely understood and i have empathy for any kid with a physical disability...breaks my heart. but, just to be easy on the kids? come on.

Just curious, how did you know the kid was 9 years old? Was it someone you know that you were there with?

 

[disneyfireman]

Just curious, how did you know the kid was 9 years old? Was it someone you know that you were there with?

As parent... They we're close to 9 Its not too hard to tell. Been a Firefighter Paramedic for 25 years...you learn to guess ages very accurately.

 

[disneyfireman]

You opened and closed the park with a three year old? Y tho?

Open at 9 left after fireworks. Every time. All other parks normal close time.. NOT midnight like MK will stay open too at times...or later. I should have said open till Wishes. so lets go with 0900-2200at the latest..

 

[xdan0920]

Well, it's simple....Lazy parents and parents that literally baby their kids...We have 2 kids. 13 yo son and 11 daughter. They went for the first time at 5 and 3. NO stroller allowed. They did just fine. Heck, we always open and close the parks.. I have seen 9 year olds in strollers....insane that is.
But like a lot in life now...kids are babied so much its nauseating. Oh, and if they misbehave? Lets not discipline them, lets medicate them.
Oh, and lets not talk about the kids on a leash...Thats even more insane.
a 1 year old...yeah i understand a stroller...or of course a child thats truly disabled. Thats completely understood and i have empathy for any kid with a physical disability...breaks my heart. but, just to be easy on the kids? come on.

Luckily all kids are the same so we can all just go off your parenting book. I am sure as a...um...fireman, you are quite the expert. I bow to your angry knowledge.

 

[disneyfireman]

Luckily all kids are the same so we can all just go off your parenting book. I am sure as a...um...fireman, you are quite the expert. I bow to your angry knowledge.

Ah, i used my profession to aiding me in guessing an age..thats all.
You must be one of THOSE parents....lol kidding..
Why so defensive about another opinion?....usually that equates guilt in a given subject.
Unless you are a cop...us fire guys don't get along with cops..lol

 

[FettFan]

I'm wondering whether back in the day strollers (or prams as we call them) weren't made to be folded up and put in cars? There definitely were far less of them when I was a kid 40 years ago.

I seem to remember that as well. They would fold up nice and flat and took up very little space.
Nowadays you have these rolling monstrosities that are Jeep-branded and have ATV wheels and an integrated life-support system.
And cup holders. I kid you not they have strollers with cup holders.

Because god forbid you or your spawn should have to go a while without ingesting something.

 

[FettFan]

We did it in the snow!

Holla.

 

[disneyfireman]

Holla.

I wanna see a kid in a stroller do that!! lol

 

[Tick Tock]

I know this isn't the popular opinion around here, especially in today's "everything must be PC" world that we live in... But in many cases, shock collars can be the most effective method for child control and safety. They take up far less space than strollers, thus relieving the parks and other guests of the cluttered-up walkways which have been such a hindrance in recent years. Just a simple strap goes around the neck, one parent is all that's required to operate the small remote control, and presto! Better behavior and less obstructed sidewalks.

For those claiming such methods are deemed "inappropriate" or "inhumane", consider that some of the most affordable collars contain electrodes with as low as 400 volts, which are perfectly suitable for the smallest of offspring. You can adjust to higher voltage levels for children as they age, or for traveling with elderly family members who can sometimes become ornery.

As a child, for my first visit to WDW back in the early 80's, I used anywhere from a 1,500 to a 3,000 voltage collar depending on my attitude and park shenanigans. Other guests never became aware of what was actually going on, as many simply assumed I was a normal kid like any other, who'd just have sudden break-dancing episodes for a few seconds periodically.

Disney could even capitalize on this method of child correction by selling themed shock collars at various gift shops throughout the parks. Have different characters and whatnot on the collars / parental remotes for guests to collect over the years.

Forgot to mention: From past experience, I would strongly advise against using these collars AT ALL when the recipient(s) of the shock is dining or partaking in any sort of beverage. It creates quite the mess.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Open at 9 left after fireworks. Every time. All other parks normal close time.. NOT midnight like MK will stay open too at times...or later. I should have said open till Wishes. so lets go with 0900-2200at the latest..

How long are your trips? Our girls are up for rope drop easily but they do much better with a nap and decent bed time. We typically do 8 nights.

 

[disneyfireman]

How long are your trips? Our girls are up for rope drop easily but they do much better with a nap and decent bed time. We typically do 8 nights.

sat-sat and ill get a 6 day ticket. MK three days the rest one each.

 

[Paper straw fan]

I guess there’s no one right way to handle going with young children obviously. If I say “people shouldn’t take kids until X age” it’s more my general opinion based on what I’ve seen and the times I’ve been w young kids. For most I think 2-3-4 it can be too much for them, but there’s kids that are fine at that age. Plus like I’ve said before I know the window is small in the grand scheme and you aren’t gonna get those years back.

But I also think some people know, whether it’s from taking their kids to local fairs and outings, if things can go south fast, that they should at least step back and take a realistic look w their spouse and determine if it’s too soon or not. Not for my sake, I may eye roll or think something to myself but I’ve been the victim of stroller hit and run and it doesn’t really bother me. But for a fam that’s shelling out a small fortune, since this is a place for opinions, mine is just be realistic and assess your situation before hitting ‘book’ on that WDW vacation

 

[Gabe1]

I don't want it to be a big argument as there are people on either side of the debate who are strong willed about it. But we'll stick with strollers because in my opinion a lot of the debate about scooters is that we've gotten fatter and lazier over time and it has become normal (yes there are genuinely handicapped people who need it today and in 1971 of course). But let's keep it to strollers.

Old pictures pop up and just like today there were kids at WDW. I went in 1991 but was old enough to be out of a stroller (I was 10). I know full well there were kids when I went too. Families and such were all around us. But looking at old pictures not only is the park less busy, there are clearly tons of less strollers. So what do you think changed? To me it is kids being as lazy and obese as they have ever been and parents being as lenient as they've ever been. Which is a bad combo. We went in November 2017. My kids were 6, 3, 18 months. The only one who was in the stroller was the 18 month old. Our three year old is pretty light and at the end of the night she just slept in my arms for the final hour (even through Haunted Mansion). So if we didn't have our 18 month old there would be no stroller at all for us. Our kids can walk just fine. Plus it is a nuisance parking it and un-buckling a toddler over and over.

We probably are going in October of this year. This means my kids will be 7, 4 and 2 and a half years old. Chances are I am going to go without the stroller (there are other family members who will likely stay back at the resort and gladly take the youngest for the day). Even with her though, I am thinking of going without it. It likely won't be needed. She'll be bigger by then, that's 7 months. It was such a pain in the neck getting the stroller collapsed and up into the tram taking us back to our car.

Anyway, that is my take, so what is your take? 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?

I had my DS at WDW at 14 months the day before he walked for the first time. Yes we had a stroller cause he could not walk the distance. My DD made her first trip 4 years later at 2 months old. We had a tradition of WDW vactions by then and at 2 months she could not walk. Stroller. This was between 1988-1992. Smaller Disney Strollers, $5 rentals, $1 back when returned. Bringing strollers on transportation only esculated with the sharp increase and profits of renting at the Parks. Did it, saw it. Parents in general have opted for the large athletic strollers, no judgement as a family choice. They obviously won't buy a different strollers for Disney. As seeing how it worked prior to the ridiculous price increase for strollers Disney alone is responsible for the Tanks that now invade the parks. A fare price would have avoided what we see now. I experienced the opposite renting strollers from Disney. Virtually nobody had strollers on Disney transportation when my kids were small decades ago. There were hordes of strollers but they took less space, dramatically. No wider than we were and not nearly as long. Disney could if they chose to enforce the width and length of strollers allowed. They do not. What they allow does not accommodate the seating on buses. A management decision. Now allowing the Keen Wagon Strollers is more mind boggling. Set and enforce perimeters and the guest must follow. Set a price where Disney doesn't pay for the strollers in 3 days outright and the guests will rent like we did in yesteryear. Until then guests will bring what they own.

 

[draybook]

We're going to use our strollers until the little guys don't need them anymore. I don't care what anyone thinks, just as I won't judge others using theirs.

 

[GoofGoof]

I guess there’s no one right way to handle going with young children obviously. If I say “people shouldn’t take kids until X age” it’s more my general opinion based on what I’ve seen and the times I’ve been w young kids. For most I think 2-3-4 it can be too much for them, but there’s kids that are fine at that age. Plus like I’ve said before I know the window is small in the grand scheme and you aren’t gonna get those years back.

But I also think some people know, whether it’s from taking their kids to local fairs and outings, if things can go south fast, that they should at least step back and take a realistic look w their spouse and determine if it’s too soon or not. Not for my sake, I may eye roll or think something to myself but I’ve been the victim of stroller hit and run and it doesn’t really bother me. But for a fam that’s shelling out a small fortune, since this is a place for opinions, mine is just be realistic and assess your situation before hitting ‘book’ on that WDW vacation

I agree it’s something that people need to judge individually. There is no hard and firm rule. The other thing that factors in is the number of kids in a family. Younger siblings tend to do things at a younger age because they have older brothers and sisters. Some people decide they won’t take the family until the youngest is at least 5 or 6 and that’s a perfectly reasonable plan but if you have 3 kids 3 years apart then the oldest is 12 for the first trip. Not a big deal to make them wait, but as a parent I can say that the experience is different at different ages. It’s fun to see a toddler’s face when he sees his favorite cartoon character walking around. A 12 year old is likely to still love the parks, but some of the magic is lost at that age. You just have to set realistic expectations when traveling with younger kids. Where some of the horror stories come from is people who push too hard to do too much. You have to know going in that the whole group may need to either slow down or separate.

Another factor is you are taking a “family” vacation and mom and dad are part of the family. It’s OK to do something that they like too. I’m not suggesting taking a 2 year old with you to Vegas for a long weekend of drinking and gambling but WDW is perfectly appropriate for kids of all ages. Even if the youngest kid is too young to remember the trip the parents will and so will the older siblings.