Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[englanddg]

I don't understand people who have huge strollers. They always look miserable maneuvering them (because they are clunky, heavy, and difficult to push).

A lightweight el-cheapo unit works fine. You can pop curbs with it (which the kid will adore at any age), it's foldable to a reasonable size (for busses / monorails), etc. My little sister spent quite a bit of time touring Europe in one when she was 2 - 5...no issues. If it gets broken / lost / stolen...no biggie. I just don't get people who buy $200 strollers (just like I don't understand "toddler beds"...)

If you have two kids...use two strollers.

<shrug> I dunno, just always got to me. I didn't use a stroller much for the kid once she would walk. I'd either shoulder her or let her work off those chicken nuggets and fries she just ate. Kids (at least mine) always fell for the "lets race" scheme. Keeping her moving wasn't an issue (as long as you didn't push her to the edge)...

All that being said, I could care less if people choose to use them (though parking them is, as @flynnibus pointed out, a direct impact on other guests...not to mention people who think having a stroller gives them right of way or what it does to the parade landscape / wishes)...but, I do sortof laugh at them. They are just so cumbersome!

 

[englanddg]

Though, when I do see a stroller parade at Disney, this pops into my head...

 

[GoofGoof]

Because their unnecessary stroller has a negative impact on the experience of everyone else in the park.



Because we don't live on an island... we must share public spaces. And people's selfish decisions lead to situations like this...

How do we know that all of these strollers belong to obese kids that are too old to be riding in strollers? I'm assuming that is who you are referring to when you say people's selfish decisions or do you just mean anyone who brings a stroller to MK?

 

[flynnibus]

How do we know that all of these strollers belong to obese kids that are too old to be riding in strollers? I'm assuming that is who you are referring to when you say people's selfish decisions or do you just mean anyone who brings a stroller to MK?

The stroller parking situation happens because lots of unnecessary strollers... if its due to lazy, fat, or whatever is not relevant to the point. Strollers there that don't need to be impact everyone.. not just the person who has made a family choice to use one for whatever reason they chose when they know it's not really necessary.

 

[raymusiccity]

Because their unnecessary stroller has a negative impact on the experience of everyone else in the park.



Because we don't live on an island... we must share public spaces. And people's selfish decisions lead to situations like this...

....and, it also leads to strollers being stolen...but, that's a whole other problem.

 

[stevehousse]

I think this stroller issue is a war that neither side will ever win in a debate...those that like to use strollers are all adults with children, and mainly those against the strollers are non parents...

For those non parents who hate seeing strollers everywhere, I think 99% of you would change your mind about it if you had to deal with a young child or toddler...

Seeing as how my kids are 5 and 2 for our upcoming trip, the 2 year old will most Definately have his umbrella stroller to tag along for the ride. For my 5 year old, we are bringing a stroller for him, but only just incase he needs it. This will be our first year with him no using it, but we really don't know what he will be like at the end of the day without it, so we are playing it by ear.

I will say that I think 5 and under is appropriate for stroller usage, but any age older than that, that's when it becomes rediculous! But don't judge parents on the issue(especially if the child falls into te 5 and under range) as us being bad parents, or neglecting our children!

And by the way, both of my boy are not obese and I think its silly to say that strollers cause obesity! That's just laughable and also an unintelligent answer...

 

[lazyboy97o]

I think this stroller issue is a war that neither side will ever win in a debate...those that like to use strollers are all adults with children, and mainly those against the strollers are non parents...

And yet a good many people discussing what they do/did with their children...

 

[The Empress Lilly]

And by the way, both of my boy are not obese and I think its silly to say that strollers cause obesity! That's just laughable and also an unintelligent answer...

What the kids gain in weight by not walking, the parents lose by pushing them in their massive strollers. Strollers are calorie-burn neutral. In fact, the extra weight of the stroller means more calories are burned than if parent and child both walked.

In a way, strollers are a sign of fit parents who can take a 25 kilo kid in tow instead of making it walk by itself.

But there is a price to pay. The kid is taught at a young age that mobility equals mechanised transport. When you are strolled around Disney as an eleven year old, odds are you will take an SUV instead of a bike to school at sixteen.


Edit: Also, discussion is not war. The goal is not convincing, never mind winning, but sharpening your own opinion and learning to understand those of others.

 

[englanddg]

Edit: Also, discussion is not war. The goal is not convincing, never mind winning, but sharpening your own opinion and learning to understand those of others.

No...this...is......SPARTA!

 

[GoofGoof]

The stroller parking situation happens because lots of unnecessary strollers... if its due to lazy, fat, or whatever is not relevant to the point. Strollers there that don't need to be impact everyone.. not just the person who has made a family choice to use one for whatever reason they chose when they know it's not really necessary.

In reality the people most inconvenienced by unnecessary strollers are the people there with strollers. Try finding your stroller when it's been moved 3 times and is "parked in" by some of those monster strollers. Whether a stroller is unnecessary is highly subjective. I guess some people might think its unnecessary for my 3 year old since he could walk on his own, but we are still bringing it.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I support anything that kills Woody and Toy Story. Can't we sell that to UNI?


edit: dammit goof stop sneaking in posts

 

[GoofGoof]

Edit: Also, discussion is not war. The goal is not convincing, never mind winning, but sharpening your own opinion and learning to understand those of others.

Words to live your forum life by. A lot of heated arguments could be avoided if everyone lived by them.

 

[Fractal514]

I think this stroller issue is a war that neither side will ever win in a debate...those that like to use strollers are all adults with children, and mainly those against the strollers are non parents...

For those non parents who hate seeing strollers everywhere, I think 99% of you would change your mind about it if you had to deal with a young child or toddler...

Seeing as how my kids are 5 and 2 for our upcoming trip, the 2 year old will most Definately have his umbrella stroller to tag along for the ride. For my 5 year old, we are bringing a stroller for him, but only just incase he needs it. This will be our first year with him no using it, but we really don't know what he will be like at the end of the day without it, so we are playing it by ear.

I will say that I think 5 and under is appropriate for stroller usage, but any age older than that, that's when it becomes rediculous! But don't judge parents on the issue(especially if the child falls into te 5 and under range) as us being bad parents, or neglecting our children!

And by the way, both of my boy are not obese and I think its silly to say that strollers cause obesity! That's just laughable and also an unintelligent answer...

Why is 5 ok, but not 6? Is it because your child is 5 and still needs it? Be careful with the logic.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I know why you can play outside all day long and still get fat. This is because your food is poisonous junk. Unlike your grandparents, who ate healthy traditional American food, so they suffered no such problems.

It's as simple as that. But Americans don't want to hear it. The food lobby has spun obesity from a public health issue into one of personal weakness, rendering any criticism of obesity rates a personal issue to Americans, an insult.

Although I know you would like to believe it is as simple as that, you would be wrong. What we eat is only part of the story. There is also the question of quantity, physical issues (thyroid and metabolism) and social issues. To say that the food is poison is just not realistic. How is it a public health issue turned into a personal weakness, how is it not that, when I have the freedom to choose what path I take. You must have a very low opinion of the intelligence level of the American public. Sorry, but that's my decision and, I will not be very happy if the government steps in and starts to tell me what I can and cannot eat. That's carrying the roll of government to levels of power that are just plain unacceptable around here. I won't argue that a lot of the stuff that we have available to us in this country is not the healthiest things we could be pursuing but seriously do you think we just all gather at McDonald's three meals a day, everyday? We all have stoves in our homes and we use them.

As for me...you do know that I am 65 years old don't you. When I was a kid they didn't even have such a thing as McDonald's. I am the "your grandparents" that you are talking about. All meals were home cooked and without many preservatives or "poisons" as you are so fond of saying. Yet I had weight issues. I guess it was something other then "poisons" that did me in.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

For those non parents who hate seeing strollers everywhere, I think 99% of you would change your mind about it if you had to deal with a young child or toddler...

I would never take a toddler into a theme park to begin with. That kind of thinking is completely foreign to me and my family. I can wait until they are 5 or 6.

 

[Nemo14]

I grew up on a farm with 4 brothers and 2 sisters. we grew/raised all of our own food, and with that many mouths to feed, we sure didn't have large portions at any meal. We worked hard, played hard, and didn't sit around all day - ever. But even so, I always battled a weight issue, as did one of my brothers, while the other 5 of us did not. same food - same lifestyle, different outcomes. It happens.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Because their unnecessary stroller has a negative impact on the experience of everyone else in the park.



Because we don't live on an island... we must share public spaces. And people's selfish decisions lead to situations like this...

So what percentage of those strollers are Disney rentals. Who is it that is making selfish decisions really. Those that use what is available to them or those that enable?

 

[GoofGoof]

Why is 5 ok, but not 6? Is it because your child is 5 and still needs it? Be careful with the logic.

I would never take a toddler into a theme park to begin with. That kind of thinking is completely forgein to me and my family. I can wait until they are 5 or 6.

This is exactly why I was saying its highly subjective. Everyone has their own thinking and their own reasons for doing what they do. Every kid is very different even within the same family. It's a slippery slope when we start judging other people based on our own opinions and lifestyles. Who gets to make up the rules?

 

[Californian Elitist]

And I thought the stroller situation at Disneyland was bad... I need to tell my CM buddies to quit complaining. Wow.

 

[doctornick]

And I thought the stroller situation at Disneyland was bad... I need to tell my CM buddies to quit complaining. Wow.

Oh, there are far more strollers at WDW than DLR, it's not even close. But, IMHO, due to the space limitations at DL, the impact is just as bad. WDW has abundant stroller parking that generally is not interfering with walkways or access to attractions, where DLR tends to shoehorn them into tighter locations and they can be more of an obstacle. Especially during times like shows/parades when the walkways become even more tight.