JUST BACK :( Stroller& Personal Space PROBLEM

[Lorelai]

Dyna -

Sometimes kids just stop short. I don't think he did it intentionally to tick you off. Adults need to realize that children think like children, not like adults. Especially a toddler. Yes, maybe the mom should have tried to move him along a bit quicker, but maybe she didn't anticipate someone rushing up behind him. To have kicked his toy, you couldn't have been coming from a great distance or you would have seen him.

It's not only parents who need to make sure they are aware of their children in Disney (or anyplace else for that matter), but others also need to be aware that they are in a theme park, not a club or a bar. Respect the little people in Disney. They're just kids. Don't ever take anything out on a child just because the parent made an unintelligent decision.

 

[Carrie772]

A Testimony: I have been many times and have strolled many children. I have never been knocked down nor knocked anyone over. My family is a family that waits and has no problem with being last. There are no bad seats or bad days at WDW.

 

[Hodder]

i think "hey they must be lost" , reve up my ecv and knock those newbies into tomorrowland as I yell "no speaka de english" as their pitiful little bodies fly over my head

 

[kaytieeldr]

My mom (81) dad (67) husband (43) and I (34) I go to Disney the first week of Christmas every year. My parents are Cuban but speak perfect English. My husband and I were born in the U.S. We were coming out of the Main Street Bakery one behind the other. My mom turns around and asks me where we are off to next in Spanish all of a sudden I see this huge man with red hair - overalls and rainbow suspenders screaming at me saying "SPEAK ENGLISH"!!!!! I thought that was hilarious! Not even in Disney World is this poor soul happy - you gotta feel bad for him and his family - imagine living with that guy???? AGH!

You know how you always think of the perfect thing to say thirty seconds too late? I'd have loved to have been your mom in that situation. I'd have looked at the jerk and said, "Excuse me, I don't understand what you said, I don't speak English".

The whole "no brakes" and "it takes quite a distance to stop" means you really need to be even that much more vigilant in your attention. It should not be an excuse to use your vehicle (car, shopping cart, stroller, wheelchair, feet) as a battering ram.

I resent that, as I'm sure do many ECV, stroller, shopping cart, etc operators. We can be as vigilant as possible, following all the rules of the "road", knowing how to operate our vehicles and STILL not be able to stop for the idiot who steps or drives across our path. I don't mean the group we're following, because we really ARE trying to stay a safe distance behind those people. It's the ones who in effect cut pull out from a cross street, or decide we've left too much space between us and the group in front of us - those are the ones, no matter how vigilant we are or how hard we try to predict their actions, we most likely can't avoid hitting.

 

[Lizzybee]

I am as American as anyone else, but I'm also bilingual (Spanish/English) and I have taught my kids to understand some Spanish and so I sometimes speak to them in Spanish. How is that any different than anyone else? For those who wonder 99% of the time, they are NOT talking about you, I know because I understand them. Anyway, I have always thought to myself if anyone DID say that to me I'd just say "Oh you're just jealous that you're not as culturally well rounded as I am. Say why don't I teach you how to say "go away you smell like POOP" in Japanese so you can either walk away or broaden your horizons?" (I had a Japanese roommate in college). It's unfortunate some people can be so ignorant about that, especially in a resort where people come from all over the world. I used to be a court interpreter and a Latino lawyer looked at me and said "wow I've never met a blond interpreter before" and rolled his eyes, I told him "Hey want to make a full day of it, we have a red head and an African American interpreter too. I could take you to meet them" Then I rolled MY eyes.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

We were just in WDW 8/24 to 8/29, the crowds weren't bad at all, but I did notice more "trash" there than ever before!!! Line cutting, gutter mouth trashy people!!!

A lot of FAMILIES were cutting in line (attraction and character) and then complaining/arguing when the CM's made them get out and go to the back of the line. The lines weren't even that long!!! Five to ten minutes tops!!! I've never seen people cut like this before!!! What WONDERFUL examples they are setting for their kids!! It just makes me CRAZY!!! Why do they think they get to get in front of others??? I just don't get it!!!

Ahhhhh! That felt good to get off my chest!

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

My view is that good driving skills shouldn't be abandonned when pushing strollers in the park. When I learned to drive a car, I was taught that I should always leave a safe stopping distance between myself and the vehicle in front. This distance should allow for reaction time (the distance travelled in the half second it takes before you react to the person in front stopping), plus stopping distance taking into account the weight of your vehicle (momentum) and road surface conditions.

If you can't stop without hitting the person in front, you are travelling too close. In an accident the fault always rests with the person behind. When I am in the parks, I always look to the front. I don't have eyes in the back of my head. I don't have mirrors. How am I to know someone is tailgating me? I would never cut in front of someone else, any more than I would suddenly change lanes and cut in front of someone else on the highway.

And yes, I do sometimes stop to read a map look in a shop window or take in a view. After all, I come to WDW to relax and enjoy myself, not to rush around like a commando trying to do everything in one day. If I get rammed, I will certainly tell the person who rams me that I don't approve. If I am hurt, surprise and anger may well make me express myself forcefully.

Andrew

This post (and several others along the same line) really made me cross! I've been to WDW both as a 'walker' and last year as a 'stroller pusher' and what this post says is just ridiculous!

The poster may not 'cut in front of someone else, any more than I would suddenly change lanes and cut in front of someone else on the highway' but I can assure you that there are plenty of people who DO! Several times last November I left a 'suitable' gap between the front of my stroller and the person in front - to avoid hitting them. Only to have some ignoramous step OVER the front of the stroller to fill the gap. On one occasion a guy did this, then pulled his wife/g'friend thtough as well who ended up almost sitting on my sleeping DD's lap! The guy then started cursing at me as though I'd caused it!

Having walked in both lots of shoes, I can assure you I had a lot more problems WITH the stroller than without.

And for the poster who said that stroller were a fire hazard or something similar, small children have as much right to be in the park as you do - they are not physically capable of walking all day so will need strollers - get used to it or find somewhere else to vacation!

 

[SammieG]

Another time I was walking into the bathroom following a preschooler who suddenly stopped right in front of me to LAY DOWN HIS TOY ON THE FLOOR oh WAIT the kid rudely stepped in front to me then stopped. His momma wasn't to happy when I accidently kicked his toy better the toy than the kid.

OMG.. are you THAT intollerant? Its a child! They stop.. they are not being rude... they are just being a child!

 

[babar41]

I resent that, as I'm sure do many ECV, stroller, shopping cart, etc operators. We can be as vigilant as possible, following all the rules of the "road", knowing how to operate our vehicles and STILL not be able to stop for the idiot who steps or drives across our path. I don't mean the group we're following, because we really ARE trying to stay a safe distance behind those people. It's the ones who in effect cut pull out from a cross street, or decide we've left too much space between us and the group in front of us - those are the ones, no matter how vigilant we are or how hard we try to predict their actions, we most likely can't avoid hitting.

I'm sorry if you resent what I said. If you had read my other posts you would see that the point I was trying to make is people need to take responsibility for their own actions, regardless of their form of transportation. I also acknowledged that accidents happen. If you are being vigilant, being responsible and someone jumps in front of you and you hit them... your hitting them was an accident caused by the person jumping in front of you.

The scenario you painted happens everyday in every form or transportation. When driving a car if you attempt to leave the DMV recommended distance between you and the car in front of you I guarantee 3 cars will pull in front of you.

BUT... the fact that others will and do push their way in front does not mean I should ram them. I have to take personal responsibility for MY actions. When I am driving a car, pushing a shopping cart, stroller or wheelchair, or walking.

I stand by what I said. Braking distance should not be used as an excuse to ram people. People should still try and avoid accidents, if they can't avoid the accident then be gracious, appologize and move on being more careful.

 

[jann1033]

"go away you smell like POOP" in Japanese so you can either walk away or broaden your horizons?" (I had a Japanese roommate in college). :

hmm shall i ask why you learned that particular phrase...better not

 

[jann1033]

And for the poster who said that stroller were a fire hazard or something similar, small children have as much right to be in the park as you do - they are not physically capable of walking all day so will need strollers - get used to it or find somewhere else to vacation!

that would be me....the reason i posted that was obviously in a congested situation they are hazardous or they wouldn't be outlawed. imo that should make someone be more vigilant. i do wonder if some people are tripping rather than stepping over strollers ( i'm sure not in all cases) for example if you are looking at something in a store and glance around you might not see the stroller there since it isn't at eye level, move and fall over the stroller. to keep from crushing the poor kid you might try to step over it. let's face it, all you parents that need strollers now will probably not remember to look for one everytime you move in 20 yrs or so..now it's part of your daily reality , then it won't be.

if you had read any of my other posts you would have seen i have said i don't have a problem with strollers used in the normal manner at wdw in general i do have a problem with parents who use them to shove through the crowd and if you read the rest of this thread you'll see some( the minority) do use them that way...
btw i have as much right to be in the park as children so guess since i am responsible and try not to get in their way parents should show me the same consideration and set a good example for their kids in the process.

 

[justplaingoofy]

People never cease to amaze me....
People have to remember to pay attention to their surroundings. How about the people when they go through airport security that stop right in the middle of the aisle to put things away instead of pushing off to the side?

 

[vfb2girls]

I have to admit that I was one of those people who stopped suddenly when I was in Disney and yes I was rammed with a stroller but when the woman apologized for ramming me I told her it was by no means her fault, it was my fault. I was so in awe with being at the world that I kind of forgot about everyone else around me and just would stop and just gaze at things. So I am apologizing to anyone that I suddenly stopped in front of, if you rammed me well it was my own fault. Also I use to be one of those mom's who pushed around a stroller with my girls and let me tell you it is no easy thing. It is especially hard when there are so many people, it really can be stressful. Yes there might be a few people who do use their stoller for a battering ram but when you take in the huge amount of people at Disney I have found that the majority of them are polite people.

 

[kizmac]

I have to admit that I was one of those people who stopped suddenly when I was in Disney and yes I was rammed with a stroller but when the woman apologized for ramming me I told her it was by no means her fault, it was my fault. I was so in awe with being at the world that I kind of forgot about everyone else around me and just would stop and just gaze at things. So I am apologizing to anyone that I suddenly stopped in front of, if you rammed me well it was my own fault. Also I use to be one of those mom's who pushed around a stroller with my girls and let me tell you it is no easy thing. It is especially hard when there are so many people, it really can be stressful. Yes there might be a few people who do use their stoller for a battering ram but when you take in the huge amount of people at Disney I have found that the majority of them are polite people.

YES! great post.....nice to see someone that sees both sides of the situation and reacted in an appropriate manner when the stroller "accident" occurred. I think a lot of people irritated with the strollerpushers, ecv, wheelchairs, etc. don't realize it is stressful and not easy to navigate in the crowds. Especially when everyone around them wants to get in front of them. The majority of the people are polite and considerate. The handful that aren't probably are just rude with everything they do.

 

[SammieG]

well I have never ever rammed into anyone at WDW nor ever been rammed in to by a stroller... and we spend 5 weeks a year there...

 

[foolishmortal]

Hey there guys. Just back from our trip and even while I was walking on Main Street I told my DH that when I got home I was getting RIGHT ON THE COMPUTER to address this issue. I, MYSELF, am a stroller pushing MOMMY!!!! I have seen SOOOO many threads about RUDE people with strollers!!!
Let me tell you my story. Had DD (2) and DS (6) sitting in the stroller!!! The couple that were ahead of me JUST STOP!!!!!!!!
It took all that I could do!!! Being the NICE STROLLER MOMMY that I am to keep from RUNNING them OVER!!!!! Then they just continue to stand there and admire their MAP!!!!! and look at me like I fell out of the big tree at the bottom of the bridge coming out of Adventure Land!!!! when I said excuse me!!! It was crowded, not to mention that my ankles just got CRACKED by the stroller behind me!!!!
Somewhere on this board, there has to be someone that will agree with me that NO MATTER how considerate YOU try to be with your stroller there will always be someone that you WANT to run over!!!!!!
I always try to be nice with my stroller. I do not want to be know as the "STROLLER DEMON!!!"
Also can we make a RULE that states DO NOT CLIMB OVER ANYONE'S STROLLER!!!!!!!!!! ? People have a stoller because USUALLY there is a CHILD in there!!!!

OK. The personal space issue. I understand that at WDW I am THROWN into a melting pot!!! I understand TONS of different culture and I respect that. . . UNTIL my 14 year old sister looks at me. . . RED FACED. . . I ask what is wrong and she tells me that the lady behind us in line for SPLASH MOUNTAIN is rubbing all over her. I look back, nice looking older (grey hair) lady. So I tell sis to step in front of me. Thinking that she is over-exagerating (u know how 14 year olds are). BOY WAS I WRONG!!!!! Every time we stepped forward this lady would walk until her breast was touching my back. Then she would fiddle with her "fanny pack" which was on MY FANNY!!!!! I NEVER said anything because she and her husband never spoke any engish behind me. . . . but I became so uncomfortable that I decided to stand with my hands on my hip and turned sideways. Then everytime she stepped forward my ELBOW was BETWEEN her breasts BEFORE SHE STOPPED!!!! Then I felt bad, what if she is blind? Ok. Told myself to deal with it until she started trying to get into the little "cabinet" with the jars in it. All in all we had a WONDERFUL TRIP!!!!
It did seem that there were MORE rude people than I remember the last time we went, but it was also HOTTER!!!!

Any questions?

I'll post a trip report later!!!!!

Gotta get this PIXIE dust off so I can go and face the land of the WORKING tomorrow!!!

O. CROWDS WERE GREAT!!!!!!

I laughed so hard when I read this because I got back on Saturday night and one thing I made sure to put in my review was just that....if you don't want to get hit by a stroller then don't get in front and then stop.

I was always reading on here about people getting mad at stroller pushers for ramming them, so I made sure to watch myself, but also other stroller pushers and much to my amazment every single time I seen someone get hit it was thier on fault not the stroller pushers!!

They act like they need to squeeze into the 6 inches in front but get mad when there is no room.

 

[jann1033]

I laughed so hard when I read this because I got back on Saturday night and one thing I made sure to put in my review was just that....if you don't want to get hit by a stroller then don't get in front and then stop.

I was always reading on here about people getting mad at stroller pushers for ramming them, so I made sure to watch myself, but also other stroller pushers and much to my amazment every single time I seen someone get hit it was thier on fault not the stroller pushers!!

They act like they need to squeeze into the 6 inches in front but get mad when there is no room.

maybe i had a totally different experience than anyone else ever had at wdw but
i can't say for anyone else but my experience at Ak was i ended up walking with my back to the outside of the path( sidewards) because everytime i walked normal( frontwards) with in a few moments i would be rammed in the ankle or see them coming out of the corner of my eye and have to literally jump off the path to get out of their way. this wasn't just my impression it was husband's also and husband is the type that looks 10 times to make sure he is not stepping in front of someone. we were both amazed at how many times this happened and started joking we must be invisible or something. time and again this was 2 dads( not the same 2 dads, didn't see too many moms doing this) pushing as fast as they could walk, stroller to stroller so blocking most of the path(looked like extra wide WDW strollers unless they are just bigger than a normal stroller, half the time the kids weren't even in them so it was hard to tell but I don't think they would be that hard to stop or slow down empty,) and the rest of the families trooping along behind.
also when they did ram me cause i didn't see them fast enough it was because they were walking to fast for the crowd as we were walking there first, i didn't cut in front of them. ie after the parade, the whole group walking enmass and they continually rammed me or i had to hop around to try to get out of their way by walking side ways

i realize this is no big deal for most but for me it is ..the sores i got from disney rammers put me in the hospital for a week, on bed rest for another 2 weeks and basically out of commission for 2 months.( sores wouldn't heal and i got abad infection)..my health problems are not the rammers fault but that's why i am more careful than most as far as walking with strollers around and why i know the ramming wasn't something i did or encouraged cause i was watching carefully not to get in their or any one elses way. accidents happen and are expected but that is not what my complaint is about. it's the few intentional rude people who do bodily harm

so in other words i was not jumping in front of them,i was jumping out of their way and was not stopping in front of them either. they were just being rude.

 

[sbelyo]

I am a stroller pushing father and I have been bumped many times. I don't mind at all because :

1. I'm in a crowded place

2. I'm in the happiest place

3. I know it's tough to push them in a crowd

I usually say "don't worry about it". You can tell if they are trying to force their way.

What I can't stand are the people that step right out in front of you or stop dead and look. I can't stop short too well as I am handicapped. I usually give them a look like "have a little common courtesy". The only thing I have seen with a stroller that ticks me off is when people stop on the edge of the sidewalk ramp. I can understand stopping on the sidewalk but don't stop where other people have to use it.

 

[foolishmortal]

maybe i had a totally different experience than anyone else ever had at wdw but
i can't say for anyone else but my experience at Ak was i ended up walking with my back to the outside of the path( sidewards) because everytime i walked normal( frontwards) with in a few moments i would be rammed in the ankle or see them coming out of the corner of my eye and have to literally jump off the path to get out of their way. this wasn't just my impression it was husband's also and husband is the type that looks 10 times to make sure he is not stepping in front of someone. we were both amazed at how many times this happened and started joking we must be invisible or something. time and again this was 2 dads( not the same 2 dads, didn't see too many moms doing this) pushing as fast as they could walk, stroller to stroller so blocking most of the path(looked like extra wide WDW strollers unless they are just bigger than a normal stroller, half the time the kids weren't even in them so it was hard to tell but I don't think they would be that hard to stop or slow down empty,) and the rest of the families trooping along behind.
also when they did ram me cause i didn't see them fast enough it was because they were walking to fast for the crowd as we were walking there first, i didn't cut in front of them. ie after the parade, the whole group walking enmass and they continually rammed me or i had to hop around to try to get out of their way by walking side ways

i realize this is no big deal for most but for me it is ..the sores i got from disney rammers put me in the hospital for a week, on bed rest for another 2 weeks and basically out of commission for 2 months.( sores wouldn't heal and i got abad infection)..my health problems are not the rammers fault but that's why i am more careful than most as far as walking with strollers around and why i know the ramming wasn't something i did or encouraged cause i was watching carefully not to get in their or any one elses way. accidents happen and are expected but that is not what my complaint is about. it's the few intentional rude people who do bodily harm

so in other words i was not jumping in front of them,i was jumping out of their way and was not stopping in front of them either. they were just being rude.

I understand what you are saying and it probably wasn't your fault in your occassions, but from what I read on this website before making my trip last week I made sure to watch out and watch others, and what I personally saw myself was the stroller was never at fault.

Again that was just 1 week, maybe the other 51 weeks are different or I just saw the few uncorteous people without strollers, but I made sure to ALWAYS watch out and I hit more than a couple of people myself, so you are speaking from your side and experiences, but I am always speaking from my side and experiences.

It would help everyone if the stollers remember they are used for transportation not for extra help in fighting crowds, and the walkers need to remember there are kids who can't walk all day and they need help getting around so when you need to stop or get across somewhere watch where you're going. It goes both ways I understand but I found it really amusing when my own eyes seen 1 way (not just myself but other stollers as well), but yet the walkers seemed to always thnk they were wrongly hit.

what I did to help was have my 9 year old son walk in front that way they wouldn't try to get in from of parent and child.....boy was I wrong!!!! people act like the store is going to close or the food cart is going to go away if they don't trample as many people as they can. I thought maybe the kids would be kids and that is who would be getting hit, but I never seen a kid get hit it was always a rude adult (men and women both)

 

[Pedler]

Before the flames start I have two boys 6 & 8 and it wasn't that long ago that we were pushing a stroller.

We were in WDW at the end of August and one observation I would like to make is that the strollers at WDW, and maybe other rental strollers elsewhere, are huge. They are the Hummers of strollers. While we were never hit by one I did find myself constantly having to reassess the spacing around people with those strollers. Note, this is not a knock on using them it is just an observation.

I think that you need to allow for more space with the rental strollers than any standard stroller you would have at home. I realize why people need to rent them and I kinda understand why they are built to be as durable as they are but I think people are not used to dealing with strollers that size. Both the pushers and the people that do try to zig zag around them. Also if you "see" a person pushing a stroller but don't look down to see what the size is you would normally just assume that it is your normal stroller size and you need to allocate a normal amount of space. At WDW that is not the case, or at least it doesn't appear to be.

Just my .02