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

[crxbrett]

I've heard so many people say, but my 5, 6, 7, 8 year old can't walk that much. What??? In the 80's no one that age was in a stroller. We all made it through Disney just fine. They also didn't make strollers big enough for kids that old. Once you were out of the umbrella stroller, you were out.

I can understand 5-year-olds in a stroller maybe. But 7 or 8? I'm not even sure there were strollers 30 years ago built to be able to hold a 7 or 8-year old?

Why are you lecturing me so much? Please stop.

I don't agree with the stroller issue being related to obesity. Also please read the whole post before you start to lecture on something I already said was true. It's kind of annoying. I originally quoted you because you said there were no obese people in that video and there were. I'm not sure why you were taking such offence to what I am saying because of that.

Not sure why you think I am taking offense to anything at all. lol Again, not saying strollers in abundance is only because of obesity. What I am saying is that social trends in the US the past 25 years have changed, and one related to this topic is people relying way too much on strollers and people letting kids sit all day long instead of being mobile or active. Thus contributing to a problem with obesity in youths and eventually adults. Sorry if you felt being lectured lectured by me. But I am very much into statistics (baseball, movie box office, attendance at DW, obesity rates, it doesn't matter what) and wanted to share them.

Anyways, for those interested in seeing the huge differences in stroller use, go to Widen Your World on Youtube to really see how many less strollers and there were in the parks back then.

I honestly am trying to remember when the stroller use became so extreme. Maybe very late '90s or around 2000. I know on my visits in the mid '90s there weren't near as many around. And I don't remember ever seeing huge sterller lots like there are now.

I noticed a spot near The Land and The Living Seas pathways last summer that was being used as a huge stroller lot. I won't lie, it kind of ruins the aesthetics of that area and was sort of a major choke point for people walking by. Anybody know the area I am talking about? It's near the ponds.

 

[crxbrett]

You should go back to the 80's or 70's. The brutal days for children.

Back when I was a kid in the 70's the children were expected to walk themselves around as early as they could, strollers were for babies and I don't think many people headed to the park with a baby. I don't see the point to this day of bring a baby unless you have older children. Back then you would use the older children to carry around the smaller ones if needed, that's what older children were expected to do and house work, yard work etc. There was no time outs, more direct approaches to discipline were used.

No one brought bottled water or food or anything else. It was a brutal time of forced marches, drinking out of water fountains or an occasional soft drink. No bottomless cup either. You get one, make it last. Maybe a bag of nuts or something like that but not more then would fit in a purse.

Parents would have been directly shamed for having their kid on a leash. Either direct verbal abuse/shaming or Damming looks.

Look at some 70's videos and the people were simply in better shape. Period. People use to get fat shamed, it keeps you lighter. Find a 300 pound person in this video or for that matter find someone much over 200. Average guy weight back then was probably 150-160 pounds.

I believe it. I was born in '78. My parents stopped letting me jump into the stroller my younger sis was being rolled along in by the time I was 3 or so. We walked all day long and night lol Or my Dad picked me up. We didn't have a stroller by the time my sister was 4. I am shocked people actually have children in a stroller as old as 7 or even 8 now. I know when I was a kid, I wanted to be running around and exploring. So much so that I was always keeping my mom busy chasing me down lol I hated being in a stroller from what she has told me.

But I think technology is a big reason/blame for that. Now parents throw a phone or tablet to the kid and the kid just sits and does that now instead of playing or walking around. The reliance on strollers for storage as well as making it easy on the kids is compounded by the fact that phablets and phones are used to basically calm or keep a child distracted now. But it's becoming an issue now since kids don't feel the need to be active. And if a parent doesn't make their kid get up, then the kid surely won't with a tablet in their face.

Technology always is a double-edged sword.

 

[crxbrett]

It's such a silly discussion. Who cares? Disney has made it easier and easier to accommodate young families. That's why you see more strollers.

There are far far more young kids of appropriate age in strollers than older ones.

But the question is why have they become more accomodating? What changed between say 1993 and now to make Disney do that? Like I said, it's a change in society's attitudes. Strollers are used now as rolling lockers and a wagon for kids. I don't blame Disney as much as I do society to be honest.

What I think Disney should do is maybe limit strollers to a specific size like how luggage is at an airport. If your stroller doesn't meet that size requirement, you can either rent a Disney one or pay an extra fee to get in.

Do they even make streamlined, small strollers now like we had 30 years ago? Just curious. Most of the strollers I see in the parks today are overkill and pretty unnecessary. They're like tanks.

 

[crxbrett]

Alright, we'll see if my opinion is shared here. We took our three kids last year. They were 6, 3, and 20 months. I wouldn't even dream of asking my 6 year old to be in a stroller and he never asks either. He'd look ridiculous. Our three year old was 3 years 9 months at the time. Call me cruel, but she was walking pretty much all of the time. She got tired at the end of the night on the last couple of rides and literally just buried herself into my shoulder. Our 20 month old was the one in the stroller. Our three year old was only in the stroller at the end of the night because she passed out and I just put her in there because she is heavier to carry than the baby.

My honest opinion here is that a stroller is a nuisance. It got in the way, and it gets in the way of other people. It's bulky and you have to park it everywhere. If we didn't have our 20 month old with us I would haven't even gotten one. No need to have one for a light three year old that is used to walking and is easy to carry if she is tired (I did it the last hour of the day).

So do others share my opinion here? My three year old is now 4. She's permanently out of a stroller. Our now 2 year old is on her way out and it will be pretty borderline whether she is in one on our next trip in October when she'll be 2.7 years old.

That's really good! Your stroller patterns sound like what I grew up with. By 3, my siblings and I were walking. I think if more people were like you, we'd see a lot less strollers for sure. You're doing good by doing that, though. Don't feel bad for making your kids walk at all. That is part of the problem today. People somehow think making a kid walk for 5 or 6 hours is cruel. But babying a kid can actually do more harm than good. Of course you don't want a 4 year old walking 15 hours in the Florida heat. But like everything, moderation and good judgement is key. But I think a lot of people lack good judgement now days for whatever reason.

 

[Starlight67]

But I think technology is a big reason/blame for that. Now parents throw a phone or tablet to the kid and the kid just sits and does that now instead of playing or walking around.

This is absolutely true! Though I think kids also became more sedentary as our world got more (at least seemingly so) unsafe. As a kid we were 'let loose' every summer day and parents encouraged this. Maybe go home for lunch, or to a friends. Days were spent roller skating, bike riding, and playing random games with rules we made up with our pals.( Calories were burned just by running around and doing kid stuff, keeping all us kids at a healthy weight too. )As long as we were back for dinner we were good to go and parents encouraged us to be out all day. God help that kid who sat in the house and said, 'I'm bored.' The parent answer was, 'go outside and find something to do or I will FIND something for you to do!' (which involved cleaning the basement, vacuuming or other crappy chores.)

I'm probably wrong but in my memory I think the start of the change was when Adam Walsh was abducted from the Sears store in the early 80's. This case was covered in the news (network news-no CNN!) every night. I think parents started to keep their kids a little closer somewhere around that time.

 

[MaryJaneP]

I2B2T2L2

The reason could be that in the past, most strollers were used only when needed to provide a service that was actually existing, as opposed to now being more of an emotional support device. But perhaps this is not an accurate understanding.

 

[Lets Respect]

Do they even make streamlined, small strollers now like we had 30 years ago? Just curious. Most of the strollers I see in the parks today are overkill and pretty unnecessary. They're like tanks.

Yes, they do. They make lovely small strollers, umbrella strollers, all types. People are deliberately choosing the tanks

The one thing that would improve the situation the most in my opinion would be limiting the sizes of the strollers. The fact that people can roll gigantic jogging strollers through such a crowded place is ridiculous

 

[beertiki]

Years ago, a stroller was just a tool to move very young children who could not keep up. Now we have these fancy, expensive, status symbol strollers, when you pay $500 for some plastic with wheels, you bring it everywhere.

I also think people are having kids later in life. At 26, I remember having my daughter on my shoulders all the time. At 35, that might have been too much.

When I used to work at an aquarium, it used to infuriate me how some parents would park their stroller in some corner, blocking off half of a tank. Stroller parking at Disney is a mess and I am sure that the CMs who have to try to keep it organized get very tired of the same selfish parking jobs day after day.

The biggest blame is the rental companies, it used to be, a stroller was too big and difficult to bring, now, it's waiting for you at the resort.

 

[JD80]

But the question is why have they become more accomodating? What changed between say 1993 and now to make Disney do that? Like I said, it's a change in society's attitudes. Strollers are used now as rolling lockers and a wagon for kids. I don't blame Disney as much as I do society to be honest.

What I think Disney should do is maybe limit strollers to a specific size like how luggage is at an airport. If your stroller doesn't meet that size requirement, you can either rent a Disney one or pay an extra fee to get in.

Do they even make streamlined, small strollers now like we had 30 years ago? Just curious. Most of the strollers I see in the parks today are overkill and pretty unnecessary. They're like tanks.

You're being incredibly offensive by taking your own personal experiences from 35-40 years ago as a 5 year old and laying them over everyone else's experience. You're using anecdotal evidence and a random youtube video to call everyone fat and lazy.

You also don't seem to have any kids yourself. You should chill out man.

 

[ParentsOf4]

No matter when you ask someone, people are always lazier now than they used to be; whether it's in 2018 or 1965.

That's a lazy argument.

America's Greatest Generation survived the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, McCarthyism, Segregation, recessions, the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the oil crisis, and Stagflation. They experienced multiple World crises and accepted self-sacrifices that we simply have not had to face.

Until relatively recently, strollers were mostly for the very young. Yesterday I observed an 8-to-10 year old jammed into a Disney stroller being pushed around by (presumably) her Dad. After they parked the stroller, she had no problem jumping up and sprinting over to get into line at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

It's kinda hard to argue that we don't have it easier than generations past.

 

[JD80]

Who said it was any harder now that 20 years ago? 50 years ago? We have the internet, cheap power, abundant food etc. It's human nature to find better ways to doing simple tasks, so if we succeed as a society we're always getting better while also finding new challenges.

For every 8-10 year old you see being lazy in a stroller you'll find 100+ 8-10 years walking and having their Dads kick their butt out. I won't magnify the marginal anecdotal story to blur the lines of what is reality.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The old Guest Assistance Cards would to that, but a wheelchair or scooter would only get you to the front of the line if you had to go through an alternate entrance.

Even when that was the only way, it really wasn't the front of the line. It was quicker, yes, but back in the glory days some of the rides, I remember WoM specifically had special cars where you could push a wheel chair directly on and the wheels dropped into groves in the floor. It didn't even stop. That ended with scooters and extra wide wheelchairs. Even then, though, there were only a certain number of challenged people allowed on the ride at any given time. That was, of course, due to any emergency evacuation that might be needed. So, sometimes the wait was almost as long as the standby line.

 

[OneofThree]

You're using anecdotal evidence and a random youtube video to call everyone fat and lazy.

Do we really need to provide you with the litany of studies indicating America's epidemic, historic, and biblically-proportioned problem of "fat and lazy"?

so if we succeed as a society we're always getting better while also finding new challenges.

I guess my picture of "success" for a society in general doesn't involve a phenomenal increase of preventable disease and hundreds of millions on anti-depressants. To think our choices have been any better for our children as of late seems quite unreasonable -and the evidence backs that up as well.

 

[raven]

I’m on the boat as well about Parents not wanting to take babies into the parks. We left my sister st my grandparents house on our first 2 trips to Disney because I guess my parents didn’t think she would even remember it and not have to deal with the hastle of bringing a child that young.

 

[Tom P.]

It's such a silly discussion. Who cares?

You're going to break the Internet with that kind of attitude.

 

[OneofThree]

You're going to break the Internet with that kind of attitude.

It's incredibly ironic that you afford yourself the opportunity to so frequently forward this same opinion (over and over) by following along and participating in these discussions.

 

[Master Yoda]

Even when that was the only way, it really wasn't the front of the line. It was quicker, yes, but back in the glory days some of the rides, I remember WoM specifically had special cars where you could push a wheel chair directly on and the wheels dropped into groves in the floor. It didn't even stop. That ended with scooters and extra wide wheelchairs. Even then, though, there were only a certain number of challenged people allowed on the ride at any given time. That was, of course, due to any emergency evacuation that might be needed. So, sometimes the wait was almost as long as the standby line.

Quite correct.

Back when we were hitting the parks 10-12 times a year all 3 of my girls were in martial arts and it was not uncommon for one of them to have to use a wheel chair for a tweaked knee, ankle, etc. My mom also needed to use one when she came with us.

Given the option of with or without, I would always choose without. It seemed like for every attraction that we saved time on, there were two that took longer.

 

[Tom P.]

It's incredibly ironic that you afford yourself the opportunity to so frequently forward this same opinion (over and over) by following along and participating in these discussions.

My reply was intended as a joke.

None-the-less, I do participate in these discussions from time-to-time, but lately I've started to realize that my opinions and approach to things are just never going to gel with the vast majority of the posters here. I love Disney, my experiences at Disney over the last couple of years have been no less magical than years prior, and I don't think the company is in a downward death spiral. In fact, I see many things on the horizon to view as positives. The constant drumbeat of why Disney today sucks compared to the Disney of old does tend to get a bit tiresome, whether that's talking about the latest upcharge event or how there are too many strollers.

 

[jloucks]

Strollers are synonymous with babies and toddlers. There were not as many babies and toddlers in the parks back then. I know my parents waited until all the kids were old enough to walk well before we went to the big international amusement parks. As did I, with my kids. Strollers are not only a pain to navigate through crowds, but kids of stroller age don't create any lifelong memories anyway. So why suffer the stroller and drag the kids along on a high dollar trip they won't even remember? I think that is the interesting shift in society we are seeing. Parents are spending big bucks on kids that don't really appreciate the trips.

That being said, I don't mind strollers. They don't get drivers auto line cuts, bus cuts, or any other perks.

 

[jloucks]

Parents would have been directly shamed for having their kid on a leash. Either direct verbal abuse/shaming or Damming looks.

Look at some 70's videos and the people were simply in better shape. Period. People use to get fat shamed, it keeps you lighter. Find a 300 pound person in this video or for that matter find someone much over 200. Average guy weight back then was probably 150-160 pounds.

Shaming is an extreme form of peer pressure. Peer pressure works. Sometimes too well.

Now we are in a new, and often surreal, "acceptance" era. There is nothing good about being obese. Nothing. Yet it is defended, enabled, and even promoted. It is a costly burden on society and makes us a bit of a joke globally. We just can't stop eating. And no, blaming obesity on other health issues doesn't work when you look at global figures. You have to ignore those completely to blame obesity on this-or-that. I am speak nationally, not individually. There are exceptions.

Ironically, if you shame something nowdays, you are shamed by non-shamers for being a shamer. Hypocritically, even the most tolerant have their limits, and at some point, will also shame. So everything blurs into opinion, and away from fact. --like obesity is bad, please put down the bacon double cheese burger--