ANYONE BUY heelys for there kids in Disney??!

[TESTRACKLOVER92]

DID ANYONE BUY HEELY'S FOR THEIR KIDS??

I WANT STORIES!!

 

[Inside Ball]

We bought some in Orlando after seeing lots of kids with them in Disney.We did have to search high and low for them and found them on the last day so my DS is going to be trying them out this year.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm wondering if this is a very good idea. Given that the parks are pretty crowded, where would kids use these without getting tangled up with other guests?

 

[Tissa]

I don't think it's a good idea either.

 

[FOV]

I am going to watch this thread because my DS-8 is begging for these and so far DH and I have not purchased them. I guess we have had too many encounters with kids in heelies at the mall! Let's just say it was NOT good!

I bet Disney is crawling with heelies! Are there heely-free zones? I have noticed "No Heely" signs cropping up more and more - kinda like the "No Skate Board" signs. They aren't allowed in school, our ice skating rink has just banned them and now one of the local malls has banned them.

I'm looking forward to the responses you get!

 

[Angileyze1]

I found the answer to this on another board. They are NOT allowed at WDW at all.

 

[Principessa1284]

They are 100% NOT ALLOWED in the parks at all. They are considered skates. Most CMs will give you a warning, but some will TELL you to take out the wheels and call security if you don't comply. They are a danger to the kids who have them on and everyone around them.. the ground is almost never even and it's so crowded! A friend and fellow CM saw a kid who wasn't paying attention and litterally cracked his head open and had to be rushed to the hospital. So please leave them at home!!!

 

[disneynutt1225]

I don't know what genius invented these shoes, but they're an accident waiting to happen. Thankfully, most CM's will make the kids take the wheels out in the parks.

 

[brittsmum1998]

Forbid my DD(8) to get these. Why can't kids walk anymore? I too am seeing signs everywhere forbidding heelies. Our church even has signs posted now (wondering what parent would let there kids wear them to church ) I think they are extrememly dangerous also JMHO

 

[littleladykaty]

Oh please let me tell you a story about these wretched shoes...at the mall, very crowded...child in heelies weaving through a crowd...he gets bumped and falls quite hard into another person who was able to hang on to her husband and didn't fall, but the child couldn't stop and fell quite hard onto the ground...the woman behind him was talking to her friend and didn't really see him fall and she tripped over him and her friend went down as well trying to keep her upright...child BROKE HIS FRONT TOOTH OUT, woman had a very obviously dislocated elbow and to leave in ambulance along with her friend who hit her head so hard on the ground she was knocked out for a few seconds. It was so awful. The mall posted a "NO HEELIES" sign at every door after that. They were terrified of being sued I imagine.

These things are the WORST things to descend upon this country in a long time. They are so dangerous and they are a hazard to anyone around the child wearing them...it's the same dang thing as skateboarding through the mall!!! There is a time and place for toys with wheels...like on a large blacktop area away from large crowds of people....preferably with helmets and elbow and knee pads.

THANK GOODNESS Disney has the intelligence to say NO where so many parents just don't see the problem!

of course this is my very mild and humble opinion ...(seeing that huge mess at the mall was very traumatizing) and when I told my step daughter in no uncertain terms she could NOT have heelies EVER until she was 18, she wanted to know why. I very simply stated "Because I love you and I wouldn't let you drive a car through the mall either!" She asked for a pony then...I told her we'd think about it as long as she wasn't intending to ride it through the mall!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I can not stand those shoes, and my DS will never be allowed to wear them. He hasn't asked for them, which is good, because the answer would be NO!

I have yet to see a well behaved child wearing them. They are a menace. I sincerely hope Disney enforces the ban on them. I think they are dangerous for the child wearing them and everyone around said child. It is totally ridiculous to try to skate through any crowded venue - the mall, Disney, or anywhere else. If a child can't manage to walk then perhaps a stroller is in order?

 

[kaytieeldr]

They are a danger to the kids who have them on and everyone around them.. the ground is almost never even and it's so crowded! A friend and fellow CM saw a kid who wasn't paying attention and litterally cracked his head open and had to be rushed to the hospital.

What? And it DIDN'T make the national news?? As for the ground not being even - for starters, there's the tracks on Main Street. I've gotten a wheelchair stuck there before, and wasn't moving at nearly the speed a heely-er would.

 

[rhiannonwales]

I gotta agree, these shoes are evil and my kids will never have them!

Even if your kid is a very well behaved child, one of the things i have noticed in my neighborhood is that kids forget they are wearing them and fall down!When you are wearing heelys, you must always walk on the ball of your foot when not rolling.Kids often forget, put down their heel and WHAM! Down on their butt they go!

I also think that this promotes VERY poor walking patterns and posture, and could cause problems later on.

As far as using them to cut down on walking in i have 2 points:
1: These shoes are innapropriate for kids under 6 or so, and if theyre younger than that GET THEM A STROLLER for the park!
2: If your kid is over the age of 6, there is no reason why they cant walk the park like everyone else, as long as you take breaks, which you should be doing anyway.Why promote lazy behaviour?Its no wonder the child obesity rates are skyrocketing when we as parents are allowing such lazy behaviour.

Now before someone says i am too strict, my 7 year old has a skateboard and a scooter and performs tricks and jumps all the time - with the right saftey gear.I dont however allow him to use his board as a replacement for good old fashioned walking - its not allowed in stores, or indoors.

 

[DisneyFan06]

I found the answer to this on another board. They are NOT allowed at WDW at all.

Odd, are you sure about that? I was at Walt Disney World [Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot] yesterday and noticed several children with these. In fact, I noticed them being used at Cosmic Rays, and other such places and the castmembers have not stoped nor said anything to the children. I am not sure if that answer is correct or not; however, I would tend to think that there is no restriction after seeing the large amount yesterday.

But, I do think that they should NOT be allowed in the parks. Yesterday, I got ran over on more than one occassion and they gave me a dirty look - acting like it is my fault they ran into me. I am sorry, but I personally believe they are dangerous especially at the parks.

 

[taximomfor4]

I researched these for a mini-project. Here is a quote from an interview from the Heelys corp itself...

Heelys' Chief Executive Officer Mike Staffaroni said, "As with any sporting equipment, Heelys should be enjoyed with proper precautions, including training, safety gear and awareness."

Here is more from a specialist in Singapore:

The widespread sales of Heelys have spanned from South Africa to China. In every large city, we see children whizzing by in the trademark “Crocodile Mouth” stance. It looks something like this > ; a toppled over “V” on one tip. The other reason I call it the “Crocodile Mouth” stance is when an incoming kid cannot stop in time! I assure you – your abdomen feels exactly like it has been gorged by a crocodile!

Unfortunately, the real high risk victims are our little children. They can look forward to the following problems after prolonged use:

1) Neck & Upper Back Injury
2) Lower Back Injury
3) Hip Injury

Neck & Upper Back Injury

The natural skating position of the Heelys forces the neck to push the head outwards to balance a body that is now poised to fall backwards. The neck and shoulder muscles are strained to push the head forward to counteract gravity. However, our neck muscles were not made to hold our head out on a horizontal plane. This is a stop gap measure by our body to prevent us from toppling. Sadly, the damage is not going to be stop gap nor temporary.


Back Injury

The skating position of the Heelys compels the lumbar curve of our backs to flex AGAINST its natural curve, creating a flat lower back instead of a concave one.

To be fair - the skating can be done with a natural curve but it takes great effort; and I certainly do not see children doing it!

Fortunately, in the walking mode, genuine Heelys allow you to take out the wheel but parallel brands usually do not. Remember to always get your child to take out the wheel. Do not allow them to be lazy!

Constant walking on shoes that pivot on rollers (now that wheels have taken the place of the heels) conditions our gait muscles to walk in a manner contrary to natural stride patterns. This leads to knee, shin and foot injuries later in life.


Hip Injury

Balancing in a forward motion on one back wheel is no easy task! Hence, our children’s natural sense of balance intervenes by skating with one foot in front of the other. The centre of gravity effectively expands along the diagonal axis, creating a more stable base to balance on.

In other circumstances, this would be a beautiful celebration of the human body’s ability to adapt. Unfortunately, in this case, it is a predisposition to a life of agony.

Modern children spend most of their time seated behind desks and computer. The rare minutes of movement they have in a day will be constrained by the muscular requirements for the precarious Heelys balancing act. Their hips will be locked in an awkward skewed fashion, having to constantly compensate for the imbalance.


The Long Run

Occasional postural stress on our human bodies is not a problem. It only becomes a critical problem when it involves children in their formative years. Prolonged exposure to un-natural stressors on our posture forces our body to evolve by strengthening those incorrect, temporary function, muscles. In the absence of postural rehabilitation, this is the only defence mechanism, albeit temporary. These reinforced muscles become a ticking time bomb waiting to fail.

It is our children’s future that we hold in our hands. This article may not have been written based on a field study but it is definitely based on fundamental anatomic principles. Yes, I may not know what exactly constitutes prolonged use; but let’s try looking at it inversely. What are the unique benefits of wearing Heelys that would justify this lifelong risk?

In a nutshell, dump the Heelys

Even Heelys corp is careful to say that these are a sporting good, like roller skates or skateboards. Those are certainly not used in crowded theme parks (or malls, etc....but I digress). Oh, and Heelys corp also is adamant that wearers REMOVE THE WHEELS and put the plug in, for walking.

HTH some. OH. And we asked at Epcot last time we were there (August). We asked at Guest Services while we were there getting dd's bday pin. The CM said that ALL skates, roller blades, etc are banned. That means yes. Whether it gets uniformly enforced, probably not. Many rules don't ...like smoking out of designated areas or rolling backpacks. Also, just because kids are still rolling around on Heelys doesn't mean different Cms had not asked them to stop, walked away, and....you know the rest!

 

[sammielynn]

I sa several kids using them when we were at Disney in May?? I don't think they should be allowed.

 

[rhiannonwales]

BTW guys, after find this Heelys question asked no less than 5 times in one day on different boards by the same poster, i realised that the OP is only 14, so dont get too crazed about it.
Sherrie

 

[taximomfor4]

BTW guys, after find this Heelys question asked no less than 5 times in one day on different boards by the same poster, i realised that the OP is only 14, so dont get too crazed about it.
Sherrie

Lol, may OP's parents said "No!:

 

[littleladykaty]

BTW guys, after find this Heelys question asked no less than 5 times in one day on different boards by the same poster, i realised that the OP is only 14, so dont get too crazed about it.
Sherrie

makes sense...I was wondering what kind of parent would in good faith allow their child to run loose at WDW in those wretched things. I'm sure that all sorts of kids are able to sneak past the gates without even having to sneak. There are so many people coming in to the park that it may not even register with the CM's that children are coming in with those ugly clunky demon shoes on! It annoys me how unwilling some CM's can be when they see people breaking rules (I too heard that heelys were not to be allowed in the parks) b/c they are also pressed to please the guest at all times. Hmmm...it's like smoking...when other people's pleasure encroaches upon the safety of others it needs to stopped.

Hmmm...I wonder if the smoking smilie ( ) realizes how unhealthy his bad habit is and how it effects those smilies around him! Disney needs to take action!!

 

[lenshanem]

This thread made me laugh when I saw it. My DD8 just the other day told me she wanted a pair. She said they'd be great for Disney. (She obviously knows how to work me! ) I told her no, they would be too heavy and she needs to stick to her Crocs. She walked away bummed.