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

[slappy magoo]

I'm going to straddle the fence and say there were fewer strollers back in the day, not really because we wanted to toughen kids up, but because parents just didn't really think about whether or not their kids needed strollers, and it wasn't until some parents or kid psychologists said "you know, 5, 7, 10 miles a day walking for kids on a vacation, that might be a bit much" that parents went "ohhhhh, yeah, maybe" and opened a demand for strollers.

But at the same time, having access to strollers makes it that much easier for kids to climb in and not walk at all, and perhaps it's up to the parents to decide how much the kids ought to walk (while pushing an unused stroller around for when it's needed) and when it's time for the kid to climb in and take a load off. Find that middle ground between an appropriate amount of exercise and not overexerting the kids. Problem is, in a crowded environment where you're trying to cover a lot of ground, I think a lot of parents also decide it's easier ON THEM to push the kids around everywhere, not have to worry about whether they're keeping up or wandering off.., to say nothing of the kids who are clearly tired but DON'T WANNA GO IN THE STUPID STROLLER FOR STUPID BABIES THIS IS THE WORST VACATION EVER (transcript from one of our kids on one of our trips).

And there's another variable, I don't know if it's been brought up by others - I don't know how expensive strollers were "back in the day" (whenever the "day" of any given reader was), they may have been more cost prohibitive. And I can imagine quite a few parents deciding they don't want to pack it, it's too expensive if it breaks, it's too big a pain to lug around, they would just opt to rent one at the park if/when the kid was finally throwing an exhaustion tantrum.

 

[larryz]

Please refrain from engaging in yet another parenting argument. Thank you.

Somebody please add "YAPA" to the acronym list.

 

[Gabe1]

And by the way, the reason most people have dogs on a leash is because they care about them and want to prevent them running into harm as well.

Hmpf. I don't think so. In most Urban and populated areas there is something called Leash Laws. All of the dogs I've had were trained over time to be off lead but were always on a leash on public property minus the Dog Park and Beaches where they were allowed to swim.

I've had many dogs over time and 2 children that are now adults and they had their first trips when they were 2 months old and the other at 14 months old. My first trip I was 18 months old and have gone to the parks ever since. I never found the need to leash my children nor did I ever have them run off nor did they ever get lost. My parents didn't need to leash my sister or me at Disneyland. And darn toot'n we rented a Disney stroller for my kids back in the late 80's and early 90's. No way was I going to carry kids at the parks, that is why Disney knew to rent them, there was a need for strollers just like there is a need for wheelchairs. To the best of my knowledge Disney does not rent Leashes for use on children in their parks as an alternative. I've seen the need for child leashes for a small percentage of children with Special Needs. I get that. Other than that I find it more humane to place a child in a stroller over tethering a child IMO but then again I don't detest strollers in the park, I find strollers a part of everyday life no matter where I am so I don't get worked up about them. Likely most people have accepted strollers since they have been around since the 1700's. Don't think they are going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[Tom P.]

Lets all sit around and debate the merits of coddling your children too much while on their top 1% premium family vacation to the largest kid-friendly resort in the world. WDW is the very definition of coddling your kids too much. I took out a 2nd mortgage to pay for this trip and its 100% more crowded than I thought it would be here. If I spot an opportunity for my child to not scream from exhaustion on the bus ride home and take the daggers of judgmental eyes because of it then I beg your forgiveness if I take it and push the limits of what might be an ACCEPTABLE age for a child to use a stroller. There is no perfect way to parent. No one knows the optimal plan because every kid is different. People judging other parents if their kids have a tablet in their hands, just stop. As the prices go up so does the desperation of mom and dad to make the trip perfect. This is once in a lifetime for 95% of people who go. The fan on my stroller isn't for luxury or status, its because this place is hot as $%## and I'm trying to keep Sally from throwing up her Mickey ice cream and chicken nuggets we made her eat all of (with these prices nothing is going in the trash except for the plate or wrapper) at breakneck speed because there is NO WAY we are missing our 1:15 PM fast pass for TSMM.

No parent in their right mind would choose the week of WDW vacation to draw the line on convenience/comfort for their kid(s) while trying to navigate a (usually) hot, humid, sprawling theme park. Is it about entitlement? Yep. I paid $6,000 and planned this dream vacation over and over in my mind over the last 6 months while pre-planning my rides and food and resort. I've had to run through this vacation hypothetically at least 20 times to make sure I choose the right options on where we will be and when just to plan things that make sense. When I get down there from Indiana and hit the parks, finally and for real this time, my absolute last concern is that my 5 year old should be walking the 7 miles per day right next to me and share in the blisters and sweat because society deems she is 'too soft'. Her stroller has a fan in it because WDW is usually a sauna and I worry about her overheating. Its not because she is the 2nd coming of Cleopatra and needs feel no discomfort while being transported. The whole point of taking a family vacation is to have fun and minimize the ways that fun can be sapped away. Parents know an exhausted child's mindset and strive to avoid it. WDW doesn't need to be a ninja warrior course for my kids. Parks are crowded, nerves are frayed, we all do the best we can to make the vacation the best it can possibly be. Tablets? Yep. Fans? Yep. Literally anything I think will make the vacation better. So I'm a poor parent because I let my kid learn from a tablet instead of my mouth or watch a movie while we wait in a 90 minute line. I know what makes my kid tick, you do not. Our Magic Kingdom day is running out of time and I'm desperate to find a magical memory before we have our first meltdown and have to go back to the resort for a nap. I got zero time to worry about your nonsense.

The original question was 'Why weren't there more strollers back in the day?' and my answer is, 'I have no idea.' I guess they are better now. You can fit things on them like drinks and diaper-bags. They have shade in parks where trees have been thinned out over the years. They are a resting place for kids when it feels like benches have been forsaken over the years. They are more like a pushable operations center for our family. We have used them each trip down with my kids. Single umbrella all the way to double stroller deluxe. Our vacations would have been worse without them. Mostly its because there are more people and more people using them means they are everywhere. They are a pain to get on the buses. Finding a place for them in the vehicle for the drive down isn't great. I hate trying to find it after we get off a ride. But this is a product of our own creation. I NEED that thing. As prices rise so do tempers in the parks. So do the feelings of NEED with regard to meeting THAT princess or riding THAT ride. For parents that want their kids to have the best of the best, that NEED is starting to have sharper edges as it relates to other guests. The price elevations are honing those edges into sharp things for a lot of those people. Sorry, to rant. VIVA LA STROLLER!

It is simply not possible for me to "Like" this post enough. Bravo!

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Just a little fun sidebar here. There have been studies done that show men at the same age a generation ago (1970s or so) were stronger than men today based on their grips.
https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19526832/grip-strength-weaker-today/
Why is that? Basically think of it this way, say, 40 years ago in 1978 how many more manual labour jobs were there? Lots more and that's why men were stronger.

Yes, we may have gotten fatter and more obese but we aren't stronger. Heck, I would have guessed that anyway. Texting on a phone or typing on a computer doesn't strengthen your hands. Working on an assembly line will.

I would even say that 40 years prior to that, say in 1938, that men were stronger than their 1978 versions on average. Just a hunch, and for the same reasons. We probably ate more meat then too, drank more milk, just guessing since there would be more vegetarians today.

So there you go, how is that for irony. We are ridiculously fatter but still weaker.

 

[GenerationX]

Back in the day, helicopter parents were rare. Now, they're the standard, mostly because of the nanny state laws that have been passed since the 70s. Utah just became the first state to pass a "free-range parenting" law that returns parenting back to what was considered normal behavior in the 70s. Until more states adopt similar sane parenting laws, strollers and leashes will continue to multiply.

 

[xdan0920]

Just a little fun sidebar here. There have been studies done that show men at the same age a generation ago (1970s or so) were stronger than men today based on their grips.
https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19526832/grip-strength-weaker-today/
Why is that? Basically think of it this way, say, 40 years ago in 1978 how many more manual labour jobs were there? Lots more and that's why men were stronger.

Yes, we may have gotten fatter and more obese but we aren't stronger. Heck, I would have guessed that anyway. Texting on a phone or typing on a computer doesn't strengthen your hands. Working on an assembly line will.

I would even say that 40 years prior to that, say in 1938, that men were stronger than their 1978 versions on average. Just a hunch, and for the same reasons. We probably ate more meat then too, drank more milk, just guessing since there would be more vegetarians today.

So there you go, how is that for irony. We are ridiculously fatter but still weaker.

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!!!!!!!!

 

[Goofyernmost]

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!!!!!!!!

Funny, I know some "geezers" born in the 40's that could still break your hand right off. Occasional, a few minutes a day does not compare to working with your hands all day long. You might want to be careful who you challenge. You might not be nearly as strong as you think you are.

 

[xdan0920]

Funny, I know some "geezers" born in the 40's that could still break your hand right off. Occasional, a few minutes a day does not compare to working with your hands all day long. You might want to be careful who you challenge. You might not be nearly as strong as you think you are.

I am confident I can easily beat any 70 year old in a grip off contest. I am squeezing an organic lavender stress ball right now. I can squeeze it so hard it pretty much disappears. I'd like to see a 74 year old do that.

 

[The Mom]

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.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I am confident I can easily beat any 70 year old in a grip off contest. I am squeezing an organic lavender stress ball right now. I can squeeze it so hard it pretty much disappears. I'd like to see a 74 year old do that.

And you can keep telling yourself that while you are getting splints put on your fingers. Lavender stress ball says it all.

 

[The Mom]

Younger people have no idea how difficult getting around with infants/toddlers used to be. And for those in wheelchairs. WDW in 1982 was one of the first places I visited that had restrooms without exterior doors, whereas now they're in most park, airport, etc. And built in (in most) changing tables with stainless steel tops in every women's room - now in men's also. I went before my first child, but thought "What a great family vacation spot - lots of restrooms, easy to wheel a stroller or wheelchair into them, and even a changing table!"

So the fact that WDW purposely designed their parks to be easily accessible to people with strollers, wheelchairs, and scooters attracted more people using them. You might as well ask "Why are there so many people in wheelchairs waiting at airport gates now than in the 80s & 90s?" Because the airlines have made it easier for people with mobility issues to travel.

 

[draybook]

There have been several good points made already. I'll add one more.

The age distribution of the typical WDW Guest was different back in the day.

I recall there being significantly fewer preschoolers at WDW back in the day, fewer children of stroller age. 8 to 14 year olds were much more prevalent than 1 to 7 year olds.

I'm guilty of this. Being a lifelong WDW fan, my DW and I were excited to take ours as soon as the youngest was out of diapers. At that age, a stroller was a must.

No graphs to support your statement? You're slippin!!

 

[Willmark]

Meh first trip as a family was in 2011 and my youngest was not quite 5, older child 6 and 1/2.

Made it around the park ok. If people decide to use strollers that’s personal opinion.

But the double wide, SUV rolling lockers? I mean c’mon.

 

[jaklgreen]

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

 

[Walt Disney1955]

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!!!!!!!!

You are 35-36 years old I take it? So slightly younger than me. Yes, you are likely to be stronger than someone who was your age in the 1970s......................because they are in their 70s now. But I get the joke you were doing.

There is less manual labour and more computer jobs. Therefore on average men are not as strong.

 

[Rebel_]

When my kids outgrew the strollers at about 5 years, we found a great thing for storage at the parks...LOCKERS!! I typically bring sweatshirts/jeans to change into later in the evening if we're there during the fall months. Love these things!!! I don't have to carry a backpack full of crap, just a lightweight one to put our camera stuff in, etc. And when we did tour the parks with the kids, we opted to leave the huge double jogger at home and took a very compact side-by-side double that folded up very slimly. We were so glad to leave those stroller days behind (and the car seat days were even sweeter)!

Glad that worked for you.
I’m not about to walk all the way back to a static spot to get something if I can wheel around with me.

Now I do agree with car seats.

 

[Lets Respect]

I know people have to use strollers but jogging strollers should be banned IMO

 

[Missymoe4]

My two cents: too many kids over the age of a baby/toddler are in a stroller. My parents were all about kids walking when they could walk. I think too many kids are thrown into a stroller (because it's "easier") when they really should be walking.

As a teacher we preach student advocacy and teach life skills. Sometimes that doesn't happen when a child is cruising in a stroller because "their feet hurt".

 

[21stamps]

My two cents: too many kids over the age of a baby/toddler are in a stroller. My parents were all about kids walking when they could walk. I think too many kids are thrown into a stroller (because it's "easier") when they really should be walking.

As a teacher we preach student advocacy and teach life skills. Sometimes that doesn't happen when a child is cruising in a stroller because "their feet hurt".

I think it depends. I have an extremely active kid, yet I rented a stroller at WDW (the ones at the park) during early September, when he was 5. We’d leave it parked in one land for a few hours, then retrieve later- rinse, repeat..staying til 1am.
I didn’t even own a stroller for the past few years prior to that time.. BUT- heat index was 106 degrees, I am a very fast walker.. we are not a “take it slow” family whatsoever.
Having the stroller when needed really helped on that trip. I wasn’t planning on renting one, but my friends and fam convinced me to, I’m glad I took their advice.

Had the trip been during the cooler months then I probably wouldn’t have rented it.