Attack of the Strollers!

[TheBigE]

Last time I was there it was out of control And then what is even more frustrating is when they have the childern push the strollers and they keep running into you. Slowly stepping of soapbox.

 

[wicked.witch.of.wdw]

I was at MK a few weeks ago, and the park was open until 1 AM, but Wishes was at 10. So, after the show, I was fighting the crowds trying to exit so I could get back into Liberty Square and do some more rides with short lines. I walked past a woman who was ACTIVELY USING HER STROLLER AS A WEAPON to get people out of her way. She was swinging it everywhere, swearing at everyone in front of her, her kid was crying because her crazy mother was scaring/hurting her... it was ridiculous. Some people.

Also, you need a medical bill/special driver's license to drive scooters. Those things drive me up a wall.

 

[dandydad12]

I just got back and do not understand how parents can allow what I saw at Epcot on evening . I was waiting by the Canadian pavilion for diner as I watched a 3 year old pushing a stroller well ahead of her parents who thought it was so cute . What wasn't cute was the poor girl whose ankles she kept on hitting . Finally the girl turned around and stopped , the little girl stopped . It was then the little girls mother started yelling at her daughter . Really

Maybe worse then that I was on the DME to the YandBclub and a couple got off there when I did with two young children . They were walking fine maybe a little over-weight but not Obese . That night I went to bed woke up early to play and the hallway I was in had several scooters in it and one room had two stacked togeather narrowing the hallway , mentioned this to the front desk . Upon returning it was then I found out they belonged to that very couple from the bus . When the got on the elevator they had the kids jump on and they carted them all over all week . I overheard the guy tell his wife that people were crazy to walk all over the place .

Sorry so long but I have to agree they need to change the policy for scooters
use , Medical use only and no additional riders and make them much slower .

 

[EvilQueenT]

I think it all comes down to basic common courtesy. there are just some people who are rude (both those with and without strollers) no matter what. when i go on all adult trips in particular i avoid ankle biter alley (aka fantasyland) during peak little kid hours. i also watch where i'm walking and when i do have a stroller i watch where i'm going. i also don't let a child push a stroller in a crowd (hate that). i hate it when people with our without strollers just stop dead in the middle of the walkway...read the map off to the side people and if you do bump into someone with our without a stroller at least act like a decent human being and apologize.

 

[Enjoying Life]

They should teach those babies to walk already!!!

 

[rubysparkles]

There are far too many people who use strollers as weapons in any of the crowded areas of Disney World. What was worse was once I was in the stampede for Soarin' and a woman used her baby to push me out of the way to get on the escalator before me! I was so shocked I think I just stood there until someone behind started pushing. That stampede for Soarin' was pointless anyway. May as well have gone on Test Track then waited for the crowd to clear to grab some later fastpasses. Oh well. So many of these experiences really do make you feel invisible, don't they?

 

[nblake05]

I think it really all boils down to a sense of entitlement. I live in an area south of Tucson, AZ where the average age is 70 (seriously)... you can't go the grocery store or Walmart without being attacked by electric scooters. the general attitude seems to be "I'm in a scooter... I am entitled to have the right of way and mow you down..." You see it everywhere with strollers, scooters or just bad behavior in general... the mall, airports. I think sometimes people are so wrapped up in their own lives that they feel they are special in some way and entitled to do what they like. At AK last year we were waiting for the parade, we sat down VERY early to get a good seat. Shortly, before the parade started strollers started bumping into my back, like they were trying to push me forward! Then someone's child actually sat in my lap! No kidding! And the attitude was like "well he's a child and therefore more deserving to see the parade then you, so deal with it." I was appalled by the parents attiude but I let the kid sit there because he was cute and so excited to see the parade. When I go to WDW I know we're going to be around kids... I expect it, therefore it doesn't bother me as much as in a restaurant or movie theatre for example. But still, people need to respect each other. Every one is entitled to a safe and fun experience. Perhaps, if people could step outside themselves and their sense of entitlement, the world would be a better place. Ok... stepping down off the soapbox now. Thanks for letting me rant!

 

[going/again]

but I think Disney needs to rein in the use of the scooters, maybe require a doctors letter or something.

They are not allowed to by law

 

[going/again]

Also, you need a medical bill/special driver's license to drive scooters. Those things drive me up a wall.

No you dont.

 

[roxysmum123]

Maybe the scooters should come with a crash course in driving them? I think maybe the biggest problem is people over-estimate their manoeuvring and breaking capabilities. I know if I was injured or ill and needed the use of one for a trip, I'd be very appreciative of being taught how to properly use it if it was something I did not normally use/need.

 

[Shih-Tzu]

We had to rent an ECV when we took my (then) 84 year old mother to WDW - it wasn't until I drove it a little bit at the resort to get it manouevered into our room for her that I realized that they do NOT have brakes...you had to let up on the "gas" (I put that in quotation marks as they run on electricity) at it takes them a little bit to stop....
It was that experience that made me realize
(1) why the ECVs don't stop on a dime
(2) people who wouldn't normally drive one all of a sudden have to out of necessity (sheer size of WDW) and therefore aren't experienced
I drive over 40,000 km/year in a van and can parallel park it no problem, but when I had to get an ECV onto a Disney bus for my mom and get it in the slot to be tied down, it was a real eye-opener...and of course when you start to have a problem, and you KNOW that everyone is waiting and watching, then you get nervous, and it gets worse...and then they're watching more, and you get more nervous.....the closest I ever came to a Disney meltdown was trying to get that thing onto the bus at Epcot after Illuminations....with an audience of hundreds (probably the most famous I'll ever be )

As far as the strollers - they most certainly have gotten quite large (when my kids were small the umbrella stroller was what most people used). I noticed that the ones that Disney (and outside agencies in LBV) rent seem to have a longer front on them than the ones most people buy or would own at home. I'll admit that there are some people don't pay attention or care, but I suspect there's a few that are just misjudging and it is accidental (think of what it would be like to drive a Lincoln Continental if you were used to a Honda Civic...). I have to agree with OP that it's not a good idea to allow the kids to push the strollers around (as they can't even see over them) - but that happens a lot in our local supermarket too with parents letting kids push the shopping carts (and they hurt worse than strollers).