Interactive fountains--is footwear required?

[HappyMommy2]

The recent thread about the "shoe police" in stores has made me wonder if there is a similar push for the use of footwear in the interactive fountains. On recent trips, my small children have gone into the fountains barefoot and no one said anything about it. They hate wearing flipflops/water shoes etc. but if they are going to be required to wear them in the fountains, I'd better get started getting them used to them now...

Can anyone comment on this?

 

[daisyduck123]

My DS7 has done both...kept his flip-flops on & other times gone barefoot. No one has ever said anything about him being barefooted but I'd rather he kept something on..you never know what could be on the ground.
He loves the fountains in Epcot & DTD.

 

[stm61]

the shoe police hadn't gotten to the fountains when we were there 9/9 thru 9/17. Maybe this is something new?

 

[HappyMommy2]

Thank you. I'm glad to hear a recent visitor didn't see the shoe rule being enforced. I think I will bring some flipflops in the diaper bag just in case but hopefully barefoot is okay. I do get a little grossed out by the idea of the kids playing barefoot in the fountains but honestly I think their hands (which touch everything in sight, and then often touch their faces and mouths, blech!) probably get more germy on the rides than their feet do in the fountains!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just be careful--foam flip flops can be a slip hazard. Water socks would be better--or a flip flop made of rubber with tread.

Been a while since my girls have played in the water--but they've done it barefoot. And mom--that's me....did that full on slipped on a banana peel fall and landed on my legs and butt perfectly seated and perpendicular to the ground. And i had shoes on...don't recall which ones though.

 

[Brygida]

Thank you. I'm glad to hear a recent visitor didn't see the shoe rule being enforced. I think I will bring some flipflops in the diaper bag just in case but hopefully barefoot is okay. I do get a little grossed out by the idea of the kids playing barefoot in the fountains but honestly I think their hands (which touch everything in sight, and then often touch their faces and mouths, blech!) probably get more germy on the rides than their feet do in the fountains!

Not so fast! We visited Pooh's Playful Spot in MK on 9/5/2005 and a CM was walking around the entire time shouting "It is WDW policy that shoes and shirts are required at all times!! blah blah blah"

I thought it was really stupid. They allow barefeet at Ketchakiddee Creek in Typhoon Lagoon... how was this different? In terms of safety, I would think that falls/slips are more dangerous on the concrete surfaces of KC play areas than on the padded Pooh's area.

But anyway.... I left my son's(16mo) socks on, but took his shoes off. He played for an hour. We ignored the CM walking around shouting. When we were done, we took everything off him and changed him into a spare outfit and put his sneakers back on.

Brygida

 

[100AcreWood]

I took dd's shoes off for the fountains and noticed most of the other kids had their shoes off too. Wow, do they walk out soaking wet!

That is interesting about Pooh's spot though. I read on another post from a mother who was told by a CM to put shoes on her sleeping toddler while he was in the stroller. I thought that was over the top.

 

[pjupton]

Not so fast! We visited Pooh's Playful Spot in MK on 9/5/2005 and a CM was walking around the entire time shouting "It is WDW policy that shoes and shirts are required at all times!! blah blah blah"

I thought it was really stupid.

I think it is really stupid too. Disney must KNOW by now that most parents take off the kids shoes and sometimes shirt or clothes. It's not like the new Pooh play area is the first interactive water fountain in all of WDW. If keeping shirts and shoes on is such an issue - why did they build more fountains? Why not just make it a regular playground without water?

 

[staci]

Not so fast! We visited Pooh's Playful Spot in MK on 9/5/2005 and a CM was walking around the entire time shouting "It is WDW policy that shoes and shirts are required at all times!! blah blah blah"


Brygida

Ok, Im just trying to understand this? So according to this CM, even if I brought my son's swimtrunks for the water, he would need to leave his shirt on? They expect kids to remain fully dressed to get soaking wet? I guess I can understand the water shoes deal, as a safety precaution, but the shirt?

 

[Schmeck]

I think they should require the kids to be toilet trained before they can play in the fountains! All those soggy diapers, dripping into the water, then getting squirted back up into the kids faces... Gross! That's much worse than the foot diseases like warts, athlete's foot, etc.

 

[rchristiansen]

The shoe police were out in full force at Pooh's Playful spot the week of 9/4 so I would bring sandals just in case.