kids? spoiled?

[DisneyFr33k]

MAYBE IF YOU SMILED FIRST THEY WOULD SMILE BACK!!!!!!

I've tried on multiple occassions to make eye contact and smiled when I did.... the only response I got was a half smile and a quick look away. I get your point, really I do. But in actuallity, there is much more going on, IMHO.

[Disney Hungarian]

I've tried on multiple occassions to make eye contact and smiled when I did.... the only response I got was a half smile and a quick look away. I get your point, really I do. But in actuallity, there is much more going on, IMHO.

I have bit my tongue as long as I can now. I feel I must stand up and give another side to this story. I took my mother who is physically and mentally disabled. She was in a car wreck 2 years ago. I am her 24/7 caregiver. I sold my company and have not worked in 2 years. I took mom to WDW because she asked me to. She knew the Alzheimer's and Dementia were going to take her mind away. I have to say that WDW went out of their way to give her as close to an able body experience to her as they could. The only thing that didn't work was the buses. I can tell you that I did not smile, and thank others for waiting. For that I must apologize. I was far to embarrassed to look others in the eye for having them wait 3 minutes while I got her wheelchair loaded and strapped in. I felt so bad for mom when she cried and asked me to take her in the car because she could not stand riding the bus and how uncomfortable it made her. Getting her in and out of the car is much harder on her than riding the bus. Yet, she could not face the people in the lines. I can not speak for everyone. I do not know what their situation was. I do know that we did not want to hinder anyone. We did not want special treatment and we did not want to make people wait.

[Sunshine1010]

I see no problem with the kids in the strollers. To each his own.....It's none of my business.

I don't mind waiting on people on strollers or ECV's or wheelchairs.

[DisneyFr33k]

I have bit my tongue as long as I can now. I feel I must stand up and give another side to this story. I took my mother who is physically and mentally disabled. She was in a car wreck 2 years ago. I am her 24/7 caregiver. I sold my company and have not worked in 2 years. I took mom to WDW because she asked me to. She knew the Alzheimer's and Dementia were going to take her mind away. I have to say that WDW went out of their way to give her as close to an able body experience to her as they could. The only thing that didn't work was the buses. I can tell you that I did not smile, and thank others for waiting. For that I must apologize. I was far to embarrassed to look others in the eye for having them wait 3 minutes while I got her wheelchair loaded and strapped in. I felt so bad for mom when she cried and asked me to take her in the car because she could not stand riding the bus and how uncomfortable it made her. Getting her in and out of the car is much harder on her than riding the bus. Yet, she could not face the people in the lines. I can not speak for everyone. I do not know what their situation was. I do know that we did not want to hinder anyone. We did not want special treatment and we did not want to make people wait.

You situation is certainly not what I am referencing and I offer my apologies to you and anyone else in you and your mother's shoes that I might have offended. I would gladly wait as long as it takes to load anyone in your mother's situation. I am referencing obviously different sitations. Ones in which it is obvious the people are abusing the scooter system.

[minnie04]

There is a very simple solution to this ...If you don't like to see children of any age in a stroller LOOK AWAY!!! If you don't want to wait for the bus to be loaded DRIVE YOUR CAR!!! Maybe I feel different about these thing because I grew up with a handicap sister in a wheelchair, and to have people give nasty looks and not understand what we were going through really makes me angry to hear that people just can’t wait five minutes or look the other way when someone is doing something that works for their family...

WALK A MILE!!! You’d be surprised

[LibertyTreeGal]

There is a very simple solution to this ...If you don't like to see children of any age in a stroller LOOK AWAY!!! If you don't want to wait for the bus to be loaded DRIVE YOUR CAR!!! Maybe I feel different about these thing because I grew up with a handicap sister in a wheelchair, and to have people give nasty looks and not understand what we were going through really makes me angry to hear that people just can’t wait five minutes or look the other way when someone is doing something that works for their family...

WALK A MILE!!! You’d be surprised

I am sorry you have had to deal with this, however, if you look at the posters in this thread and then look at the special needs forum, you will find that many of us have walked a lot more than a mile in those shoes, as parents, siblings, spouses and as the children of handicapped folks. No one is attacking anyone who is special needs. We got the diagnosis, in utero, on my son almost exactly ten years ago. It isn't easy, it isn't fun, it is so totally worth it.

But this thread is about older, non handicapped children in strollers, who are indeed adding a lot to the general congestion, and if I were to turn my head everytime I saw it, I would probably trip over too many people And most folks are not so blessed as to be able to drive there.

So please take a deep breath, no one is attacking special needs people here. It would be wrong to vent at them for minor inconveniences, but it would also be wrong not to be able to voice frustrations with the system.

[minnie04]

Trust me I get exactly what is being said in the original post. The only thing I’m say is it’s not up to use to view families from a far and try to understand what they might be going through in their lives which might require a Stroller/scooter. God Bless the children that walk the whole park in a day without sitting. God Bless the special need children that walk it too. Again, I mentioned safety in my earlier post stating that many families just want their kids to be as close as possible to them in a park such as Magic Kingdom...To say its just lazy or they are spoiled IS judging them. Big deal if a child over 5 is sitting in a stroller at MK, or any other park. Think about it, it only makes their day worse if it’s not for the right reasons because then they have to be inconvenienced trying to park those strollers/scooters. as the rest of us "walk" by. I'm not tsking this too personnal I know this is a post just put out there for opinons. I was just expressing mine.. its all good !!

Just remember we are there to have the best family vacation we can with our children. Don't let other people ruin that even with a thought. It's too expsenvise to waste time on that...

[DisneyFr33k]

So please take a deep breath, no one is attacking special needs people here. It would be wrong to vent at them for minor inconveniences, but it would also be wrong not to be able to voice frustrations with the system.

And, express frustrations at those who abuse this system that was designed for those that truly need it.

[divinedi]

There have been several posts like this in the past, and I was very ashamed to admit that I was one of those people that got a little impatient to see wheelchairs at the bus stop knowing that it would take longer to board the bus and would think to myself 'how is it fair that I have to wait' until someone pointed out the wheelchair occupants point of view 'how is it fair that I have to sit in this chair while others can easily walk up to the bus and get on'. As was pointed out, I'm sure those that are wheelchair bound would gladly trade places with you and be able to walk on the bus, but can't.........and on top of that know that some that are standing waiting are getting impatient, I probably would feel a little intimidated and not look at anyone too. Be thankful that you can walk onto the bus, I know I am, and am glad to wait patiently for those that can't to be helped onto the bus.
Okay, off my soapbox now, thanks for listening.

And as far as the strollers are concerned, unless you are walking in their shoes, we never really know someone elses situation. I'm at DW to enjoy myself, and try not to worry about stuff I have no control over and try not to bother anyone else!

[jpH/keD]

We rented a double stroller for our two kids DS4 and DS6 at the time. Mostly it was because my DH said that at the end of the day when the kids were tired he did not want to carry either one of them all the way to the bus line and hold them in line while waiting for the bus! So hence, the cumbersome double stroller! We live in VA and go to BG Williamsburg often. Our kids are now 7 and 9 and we do NOT rent a stroller anymore! They walk from morning til night! And all the way to the car in the parking lot! We waited patiently in lines at WDW for handicapped folks to be loaded and we found things to chat about amongst ourselves to pass the time! If I were in a wheelchair and had a severe disability I would want every chance to enjoy WDW just like anyone else! I hope those waiting could see the bright side of things around them as well! Cheers and magical trips to you all!

[ftwildernesskid]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I really don't think it's anyone's business if someone's older child is in a stroller. My kids have all walked after about the age 5 or so because they're all tall and a stroller is no longer comfortable. However, I don't blame kids for being tired at the end of the day. I'm tired at the end of the day! If parents want to push heavy kids around, let them. There's no rule against it. I think it sounds like a bigger pain for the parent, but that's not my call to make. I try not to judge other parents if I can help it. I never know what their circumstances may be on that particular day in that particular moment...Heaven knows I've had a moment or 2 of less than perfect parenting I wish I could take back! There's just too many other things to worry about in the world than big kids in strollers...in my opinion.

[Joannelet]

i would consider a stroller maybe more for a means to avoid the bag search at the parks... many a times I saw strollers packed to the brim allowed to pass through the security checkpoint unhassled at the "no bags" entrance.

Perhaps they kids don't need a stroller, the parents just realized its away to bring bags in without being stopped and search.

This is no longer allowed. All strollers must go through the other entrance to be checked.

[LibertyTreeGal]

Just got back!!! Loved Asimo and ElecTRONica, but have a new stroller pet peeve.

On our way out of the park at closing we saw that a child in a wheelchair was holding PERRY THE PLATYPUS!!! So I asked where to get one and went to the Emporium and the isles were utterly blocked off with strollers. Couldn't even get through. I mean really, do strollers have to be parked at an angle in the isles?

And I am glad they do bag checks on strollers, that was an utterly ridiculous oversight and if I had nerfarious goals in mind, I would not hesitate to pack a stroller full of nasty stuff (I mean, other than dirty diapers lol).

[TikiGoddess]

On our last trip, my girls were 5.5 and 7 yrs old. We were at WDW for 6 days and did parks every day. And yes, we had strollers for both of them.

My kids are very active. They play outside every day at home -- do running club at school during recess -- and are healthy, normal kids. But at WDW -- in the middle of the summer heat -- I had NO problem pushing them around in a stroller for part of the day. We usually used them for half of the day, went back to the hotel for a nap in the afternoon, and then either used one stroller or none in the evening. We couldn't have made it through without one for my 5 yr old. My 7 yr old would have been fine without one, but then they would have been fighting over sharing the one stroller, and I don't want to listen to bickering children during a vacation. The strollers also provided a great place for us to carry water, ponchos, etc.

I personally don't care what other people think of my parenting choices. I know that I am happy with the choices I have made as a parent -- and the only person I judge harshly in this world is myself. I try to not judge others, as you never know their situation or their beliefs.

I am in the process of selling my two strollers, as the time has come. Anyone interested in two Maclaren strollers? They hold up to 50 lbs...
Kathy

[BrerGnat]

Just got back!!! Loved Asimo and ElecTRONica, but have a new stroller pet peeve.

And I am glad they do bag checks on strollers, that was an utterly ridiculous oversight and if I had nerfarious goals in mind, I would not hesitate to pack a stroller full of nasty stuff (I mean, other than dirty diapers lol).

So, you just got back from DLR? I just want to point out that they have ALWAYS required strollers (along with everyone else) to be searched at the bag check station. The person who referenced using the strollers to "skip" the bag check were talking about WDW, not DLR. I've been using strollers at DLR for six years, and have always had to stop and remove stuff from the bottom of the stroller and let them look underneath. I am FINALLY free of strollers now! Yay!

And, I hear you on the blocking of the aisles. Drives me nuts too!!!!

[southerngirl]

Just keep in mind that some kids look a lot older than they are. Our 2 yr old is very tall and has a lot of hair, so he is often mistaken for a 3 or 4 year old. So, maybe some of those kids who "look" to be 6 or 7 are maybe 4 or 5. Now, my DS is an exception to the stroller "rule." He really doesn't like to sit in one, and last Christmas, he walked virtually everywhere in WDW (even from Future World across World Showcase at Epcot). We still take the stroller just in case we/he need a break. I sometimes feel sorry for people walking around us, because he walks so much slower than an adult, but we do try to stay out of everyone's way as much as possible.

[candace flynn]

Parental Laziness = spoiled rotten kids.

Really, so everyone is judging me. Just like I thought. I get that after reading this. ANd I don't even use a stroller any more. So where is the advice, the help, anything! I'll be there in August, feel free to judge me to my face. I try so hard to make sure my kids don't disturb people around them. But after reading these boards I get so sad. I don't care if they kick me off. I'm posting this anyway.

[Stu29573]

Parental Laziness = spoiled rotten kids.

Really, so everyone is judging me. Just like I thought. I get that after reading this. ANd I don't even use a stroller any more. So where is the advice, the help, anything! I'll be there in August, feel free to judge me to my face. I try so hard to make sure my kids don't disturb people around them. But after reading these boards I get so sad. I don't care if they kick me off. I'm posting this anyway.

Huh? I don't see anyone judging you. In fact, I don't see that you've even posted on this thread before.... I'm confused....

[KylesMom]

****MODERATOR ALERT****
The original post was asking opinions on 10 year olds in strollers. As they pointed out, they are not a parent and were looking for comments on what others thought.

We ask that everyone keep an open mind and while voicing your opinion not lash out at each other. What clearly is seen in the eyes of one as "spoiling" may be necessity for another.

[candace flynn]

Huh? I don't see anyone judging you. In fact, I don't see that you've even posted on this thread before.... I'm confused

....


I haven't posted, but I have been reading it for sometime.

I'm just crazy and paranoid that everyone is judging me, just ignore me and I will go away
I just needed to rant