Heelys Questions

[GBHost]

My 6 year old just got Heelys for his birthday. He hasn't really had the weather here in Michigan to try them out much. He's tried them on a few times and, needless to say (so why am I saying it?), he hasn't come near to getting the hang of them.

We have a 9 day trip planned for WDW starting on 5/4/07, and he wants to wear his Heelys. A couple of questions: Will he be able to learn how to use them in 10 or 12 wearings over the next 4 weeks? Are the parks appropriate for Heelys? Are these shoes comfortable enough for walking around for 10 hours or so?

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

 

[Indy's Girl]

Heely's are NOT allowed in any of the WDW parks. If a CM sees them they can confiscate the wheels, give a warnign, or I have even heard of fines of up to $150!!! If your son doesn't even have the hang of them yet just leave them at home, there won't be a lot of places to use them and he could be a danger to others and himself. Have a fabulous trip!

 

[mommyseven]

As the previous poster stated, Heelys are banned at WDW for many reasons. To avoid any problems, I would suggest leaving them at home.

Also, the parks are very crowded. I would find it a safety issue to not have my six year old next to me. With wheels they can get out of sight (it doesnt take much to lose sight of them) very quickly.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Even if they were allowed I wouldn't think they would be comfortable to walk around in for an entire day.
It talk my 10 yr old stepson quite a few tries on them to get the hang of it, and still lost his balance a little after that.

 

[mousiemom]

A lot of negativity on this subject huh? My 6yr dd is getting hers for Easter this Sunday and that is all she has talked about. We are taking ours to WDW in May but we are letting her wear them around the resort only, I think. I just don't see where they would be comfortable to walk in around the parks. We took our dd's scooter last Jan. and she loved doing it around the resort and up to the food court.

 

[RoxyJ]

I'm tryng to offend anyone, but I don't think that Heelys are appropriate in any crowded places. If it's not an appropriate place to skateboard or ride a bike it's not an appropriate place to wear wheels on your sneakers. (For example I certainly wouldn't ride my bike in the mall or go roller blading in Walmart it's rude and dangerous, but I see kids on Heelys there all the time. Not appropriate at all IMO)


That being said, I'm sure that there are places in WDW where riding a bike would be appropriate (walking trails?).

 

[KKB]

MIL wanted to get them for all the grandkids for Xmas, but luckily was unable to get all the sizes she wanted....

Then there was an alert of the 10 most dangerous kids' toys ...heelies were #1!!!

Kids should be wearing helmets & pads with these, just like w/ bikes, skates, scooters & skateboards. It sure seems that these precautions aren't taken as seriously as they were a couple of years ago....

 

[DIS4MYGIRLS]

I have seen kids wheeling on these heelys everywhere...malls, stores, church and yes even Disney.... I feel that they do not belong in any of these locations, it is just plain rude to everyone else around them. Use in Church is down right disrespectful.

 

[CleveRocks]

Kids should be wearing helmets & pads with these, just like w/ bikes, skates, scooters & skateboards.

Amen.

My wife is a pediatrician. Unfortunately, Heelys fund a large portion of our WDW trips, if you know what I mean. She would gladly earn less money and have fewer injured children.

WDW does a surprisingly poor job of publicizing its ban on Heelys and similar items. It's written deep in a list of rules somewhere in a dark corner of their website. There's no signage at the parks, and nothing obvious in their literature; it's also relatively uncommon for CMs in the parks to enforce the rule.

Although I hate Heelys, I feel badly for the parents who have NO WAY OF KNOWING about the ban and who are comfortable with their kids' use of them, but then are among the few people told at the parks that they are doing something against the rules and that the wheels need to be removed. They totally unknowingly set their kids up for disappointment.

 

[GBHost]

WDW does a surprisingly poor job of publicizing its ban on Heelys and similar items. It's written deep in a list of rules somewhere in a dark corner of their website.

My original post was to inquire particularly about the comfort of Heelys for a long day in the parks. Thankfully I asked, for I would have had no idea that these things were banned.

And it's just as well, as I really wasn't looking forward to adding that level of complexity to our touring.