stroller as battering ram - We couldn't believe it!

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

Strollers just freak me out and I'm always trying to be aware, but there is always someone getting into the backs of your ankles!

 

[Mysteria]

IMHO, People who stand around to read a map are not even close to being in the same league with the man & woman purposefully using the stroller as a battering ram. Although it may be rude, they are not purposefully being mean and nasty. They probably don't even realize it.

Jackie

This I agree with. We all need to lighten up a bit when it comes to this. Yes it is nice when people move to the side to read maps and/or don't stop abruptly in front of you but they aren't trying to annoy you (or worse hurt you) on purpose. Disney can be overwhelming for those of us who have been often and know our way around. Imagine what is is like for a first timer. Especially a first timer who hasn't had the benefit of the Dis. They are likely just awestruck or totally lost and not really thinking about where they stop. Did you not stop in your tracks in total awe the first time you saw the castle for example?! Just a thought. I'm sure we are all guilty of this once in awhile. I know I've done it on ocassion. Let's cut people some slack.

Myst

 

[Dznefreek]

Use your cell phone and call 911 if you wish.

You're kidding, right?

Stroller bumping it not an emergency and you are not going to get them to come to the park for it not to mention it is a huge waste of a law enforcement resource.

 

[Laz]

My family and I refer to it as a new WDW ride: "STROLLER DERBY"!

It does seem like those who do push and shove seemed to have no plan of attack for the parks and are not having fun. I try to refer as many people as I can to the DIS. My family and I always relax, take are time, have fun, and try to be extra courteous. It reduces the feeling of being hot and crowded. It also makes those around us a little more friendly. A group in front of us stopped right before the entrance to Buzz, and an ederly man got out of a wheel chair and went in front of them. I stopped and told my DD to "let this man go in front of us, because he doesn't need to be out in this heat!" The lady in front of us turned and thanked us because it was her father. She and her family waited in line while her father waited in the shade and breeze. It was a GOOD FEELING to be generous in a place where you should have nothing but good feelings.

Be friendly and generous and it will spread like wildfire among those around you. It's the WDW way!

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

ITA that strollers shouldn't be used to push your way ahead. We've had strollers our last two trips. We try to be extra careful to avoid hitting anyone with our stroller. We carry our own, so they don't have hard plastic, Disney stroller bumper to ram people with anyway. But what frustrated me on our last trip were the number of people who would step over my DS3 while he was in his stroller. Yes, when everyone is leaving a park at closing, it is very tight. But just because he's little, doesn't mean he should be stepped over. I was afraid someone was going to step ON him one night leaving the MK.

Just to say that courtesy goes both ways.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

knocking kids over on purpose with a stroller is unbelievable...Is there any way to get these people charged with assault? Some of these stories go beyond just being rude.

Yes, it is simple battery. If someone deliberately knocked over my child, I would make a citizen's arrest. I would literally grab her by the arm (I know some fantastic locks; martial artist here) and drag her over to the nearest CM to call the police. But I guess that's just me.
Bottom line: she didn't have any legal or moral right to do what she did. It's a crime and I think people like this should be punished. Even if the case isn't pursued because it's not "serious enough", I would still humiliate the B by having the police come talk to her.
Maybe that makes me a bad person...I dunno.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

I don't know about anyone else, but if someone hurt or knocked my DS4 or DD9 (on purpose, not accidently), they wouldn't be walking away. I would grab them and knock them down until a CM came over or my DH would. I would so whatever possible to press charges.

I have used a stroller on my last 3 or 4 trips, and have always been careful of hitting others, but it happens, and we apologize. Whenever we stop to look at a map, we pull over, or my DH yells at me to pull over .

I just posted nearly the same exact thing, JoiseyMom. I am 100% with you. NO ONE messes with my family. Period. And the only other alternative would be to kick her butt, which of course I would never do.

 

[gonga]

This is a sore subject with me as well. I have noticed the stroller battering ram everywhere, but in Disney there is just a higher concentration of them. It's almost like the stroller gives them an alter ego to be more agressive. I'm quite sure the woman who gets me in the ankles at an uncrowded shopping mall is the same type of person to use the stroller as a human crowd rocket.

When this happens to me, a simple "excuse me" does not work. Someone of this nature needs more of a shock. I kindly say" If you hit me with that stroller one more time you will be pulling 4 wheels and a woobie out of your a$$." Kindness does not work with rude people, they just need a verbal taste of thier own medicine. I have found the boorish person with the big stroller does not have a comeback, but maybe they will think twice next time.

 

[disneyfreak74]

I have been on both sides of the topics mentioned in this post. I have been ran over by stollers AND wheelchairs. I make sure that I am the one pushing the stroller if we get in a crowd so that I can be the one responsible if any ankles get hurt. People can look at me and see that I am very sorry (if the words that are pouring out of my mouth don't convince them). And I have had people CLIMD over my 6 MONTH OLD IN her stroller because there was no where for me to go after the parade.
It is a shame that children LET ALONE ADULTS think that it is ok to act this way in public!!!! or ANYWHERE!!!!

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

It is also just as rude for an entire family to be standing around looking at a map while people are trying to walk by. If you need to stop please move to the side.

Ya know, we tried and tried to move out of the way when reading our maps. But it didnt matter where we stopped or moved to we were still getting shoved and getting griped at for being is someones way.

It has to work both ways. Yes I think its rude to just stop in the middle of a crowded walkway, but its just as rude to shove and gripe at people who have tried to get out of the way.


I have to admit I did a very rude thing while at MK after Wishes one night. We were leaving and our 6 yr old crossed Main Street in front af a horde of people, she was distracted by the balloon guy and wasnt paying a bit of attention. My fault I know. Anyway, I had to get across the street to get her, so I just cut in and went across "traffic" I had people cussing me, and I dont blame them, but I had to get to my DD. I appologized all the way across, but Im sure if it would have been reversed I would have been angry too.

 

[mill4023]

ITA...
I think in the OP's story the man was quite rude....purposefully getting through the crowd.

I for one, never use the stroller as a battering ram - but I have hit people on accident...those that are walking and just STOP to see something or pull out the map or something....sorry but hey if you were driving a car and just stopped you are going to get hit from behind...strollers are not that easy to stop on a dime, especially doubles...

If you are driving a car and stop and someone hits you from behind, it is THEIR fault, not yours. Even when the traffic is bumper to bumper, you are responsible for making sure you are going slow enough and have enough space that you can avoid hitting people in front of you. While I agree that it is irritating when people stop in the middle of a pathway and don't make an attempt to move aside, that doesn't give you the right to run into them.

 

[Lorelai]

I get so nervous pushing Disney's double strollers. Yet they are great for the kids & it's sooo much easier (for us at least) to rent, rather than drag your own double from home and try and cart in on and off the parking lot trams and monorails.

Yet I worry that if I accidentally bump someone, that they are going to go off on me in front of the children for being a careless driver. People really do get snarky when they see a mom/dad coming their way with a double stroller.

For Disney World stoller peace perhaps the cm's should give renters a handout on "stroller etiquette" to prevent barreling thorugh the parks. On the flip side, there should be some tolerence for those pushing others through many miles of hot sunshine and crowds - cause it's not easy!! Fun (sometimes), but not easy.

Advocate for stoller peace

 

[dreams4disney]

We have had three trips with a stroller to Disney and I never once ran into anyone by accident or on purpose and I have never been hit. However I think it is all out of fear that someone would rip my head off if I did accidently run into them. This past June I kept seeing the posts about the Crazy people with the awful strollers from the DIS boards running through my head.

I have seen people not pushing a stroller walk into the person in front of them so I don't think it is just us crazy stroller pushers.

Accidents do happen I just hope they don't happen to me or because of me.

I can not believe what the man on the OP did. That was very rude.

 

[novastar]

lol, this stuff is funny (as long as no one gets hurt)

 

[thelittlemermaid]

During our trip last year we were at the MK watching Wishes. DD doesn't like to be very close to fireworks and even though she had ear plugs in, they still were bothering her. So DH starts heading to the exit of the park to get a head start since she is in a stroller and to get her as far from the fireworks as possiable. Well Wishes ends so DS and I start heading out. Problem is we have no idea where we are since this is our first time in the MK and DH left with the map. Luckily we saw some people and followed them and they were heading for the same place, Main Street.
To make a long story short, DS and I made it to our bus stop and were 4th and 5th in line, but no sign of DH and DD. About 10 minutes later DH and DD show up. The people that were line behind us I asked them if it would be alright if my DH and DD could come up with us, they had no problem with it what so ever. They expressed how gratefull they were that I asked cause so many people don't care and just butt right on by. Why DH and DD were so late getting out was they got lost and then when Wishes was over with people crowded around DD's stroller so much that they almost knocked it over. DH said there was one guy that got in such a hurry that he jumped over DD in her stroller. For that guy it's a good thing I was not around cause I am the one with the mouth and by the time I got done with him I'm sure I would have ended up in Disney Jail.
If that would have happened I would have had to put a shout out to any fellow DISner's who might have been at Disney at that time to come and get me out. LOL!!!!

 

[WDWorBUST]

Strollers in Disney. Pre-stroller days - people made me crazy when they acted like them having a stroller gave them the right to just butt in front of people and just "take" their space. First trip with stroller - I was absolutely amazed at the number of people who either because of rudeness or just not being aware would step right into/in front of your moving stroller. And I mean walking in the flow of "traffic" and someone just cut in front of you from no where. It's no wonder some people get hit by strollers. On the flipside....there are still many people who abuse using a stroller....but I'm more aware now of the number of people who are just oblivious to them or think they should go in front of you because you aren't moving fast enough. So stroller user - no stroller user.....there are just some really rude people out there.

 

[blueiis99]

we are going in 58 days I certainly hope I do not run into these people you have all descibed....

I know that if someone said excuse me and rammed myself or one of my kids, I KNOW I would take the stroller and push it into them and tell them "your not excused"....

I am in such awe of the deplorable behavior you have described. Wish me luck, or I may be the first person in disney jail.

 

[WDWorBUST]

Oooooh.....the other thing that just gripes my butt.....people who think that saying excuse me gives them license to just run over you. The number of people we ran into this last trip that did that about made me ntus. And there seemed to be so many children with this attitude (old enough to know better) - I don't know how many times I just wanted to say - "There is no excuse for you or your behavior" - but being nice and polite I kept my mouth shut.

 

[SEC]

We were watching the fireworks one night on main street and left the park right after the fireworks and a woman deliberately used her stroller with here 4 year old in it to ram my husband a couple of times. I couldn't believe the rudeness! He just stepped onto the sidewalk and we let her pass since it was clear she was going to keep ramming him, she said she had to keep up with her husband! I was amazed!

 

[seashoreCM]

You're kidding, right? (Dialing 911)
Stroller bumping it not an emergency and you are not going to get them to come to the park for it not to mention it is a huge waste of a law enforcement resource.

Mowing down people causing injury is serious business and is in desperate need of law enforcement resources.

Policemen are on average not good teachers but your typical Joe, and I, are on average even worse.