Originally Posted By srgitzel I am pretty sure of the answer to this but with 2 mothers breathing down on me I told them I could get the professional answer here. We will have 2 six year olds and an 8 year old. the 2 sixes are kind of at that age where they are too big (about 48" tall )for strollers but you know they are going to be whining after a few hours in the park. I have never seen one in the park but could you bring a wagon in and if not what are the disney rules for size or type of child transportation. They must have some rules otherwise we would all be stealing Costco shopping carts and dragging the kids around in those. Also does anyone have any ideas or experiences that could help us out in this potential problem. Thank You!!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss No, sorry; wagons are not permitted in the parks. You *could* rent a wheelchair for the kids. Or you could just be sure to take a couple of relaxing breaks during the day so they won't get so worn out as to whine.
Originally Posted By kennect The only whining I did at the age of six was the idea that I wanted to go to Disneyland....Had my parents taken me I would have been the perfect child while there....They never took me and they listened to my whining about the issue for many years to come...
Originally Posted By ssWEDguy >> but you know they are going to be whining after a few hours in the park. << My kids would be whining too. But it would be about not moving fast enough rather than riding. I'm wondering. Why does a wagon work for you and a stroller not?
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: Kids is just too dang spoiled these days! They git treated like prima donna's all the time! Heck back in the 60's kids had ta WALK if'n they wanted ta go places. Over time they's been treated like invalids. I say let 'em sit down 'n rest when they gits tired between walks. No need ta make 'em think walkin's such a bad thing when they's young. Maybe they won't grow up ta be lazy like so many other brats ya see out there!
Originally Posted By srgitzel Thanks We do plan on afternoon rests back at our rooms and in between. Its just we will be 7 days in the parks and at 4 -6 miles a day even the most active kids might get a little run down. We are in Orlando for 13 days so we wont try to do all 7 in a row. I was just curious if anyone had any experiences handling a similar situation. We where just wondering if there was an alternative to strollers because they are kind of big and as ORGOCH says I dont want them to grow up "lazy like so many other brats ya see out there!" Thanks again
Originally Posted By -em First advice- get them moving before you get on vacation. Start family walks etc, take long trips to a mall etc where there is lots of walking Then build times to rest- Ie shows (Tiki Room, Philamagic) parades, even longer attractions (Pirates, Jungle Cruise) where you are sitting down I would think that most kids 5 and up should be able to make it through a day at the parks walking. If you plan your day like first 3 hours walking/attractions the lunch and a show then 2-3 more hours of walking then a parade/show a few more hours then another show etc also keep the backtracking to a minimum (ie dont plan to do R n R Coaster then Lights Motors Action then Tower because they arnt close at all...) -em
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <First advice- get them moving before you get on vacation. Start family walks etc, take long trips to a mall etc where there is lots of walking < we are an active family yet we still do this -- for weeks before WDW we walk a 2 mile round trip in the neighborhood every night to get in shape. ( for walking a lot more than that) -- I guess I am lucky, my 2 kids never whined about that as they were out of the strollers by 18 mos- years... maybe moe than a coincidence they are both athletes today at 21 and 12 ? kids today get squat for exercise so as ORGOCH states, we end up up a generation of escalator riding, non exercising, TV - viseo game couch potatoes... we owe them more than that... But definitely plan breaks -- for food, for swimming at the resort , etc....that is absolutely the right thing..at any age. And since you are there 13 days you have the best of all worlds -- if you have a hoppers plus- sprinkle in those water parks between park days...
Originally Posted By TDLFAN No wagons allowed in the park. I saw some Amish folks being told they could not bring it into the park at EPCOT's parking lot.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Cute TDLFAN, but seriously folks. My youngest was 6 when we first went and it never occurred to us that walking was an option. It never occurred to them either. She never said anything or gave even the slightest indication that walking around WDW was a problem. We were not the most physically active family on the block either. Just average folks. I, for one, was probably selfish but the last thing I wanted to do was push (or pull) my able bodied kids in a cart. They had far more energy then I did.
Originally Posted By disneydad109 We were in line last Christmas time waiting to see the candlelight show with two plus size folks in their electric chairs in front of us. The man got up and walked over to get two of the awful smoked turkey legs. He could not get the chair to make a sharp turn with the leg in hand and put it in his mouth and then picked up the chair to carry it around the corner of the line. One of the high points of the trip.
Originally Posted By disneydad109 they make me think of fred flintstone I don't like food with bones still inside of it.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Our daughter was 7 when we took our first trip to WDW and she had no problem walking. Minnesota has one of the largest State Fairs in the country with the fairgrounds covering 360 acres compared to Epcot's 300 acres and the Magic Kingdom’s 107 acres. My wife and I have been to the fair every year except one since we've been married. We always took our kids with us and once they were three or four (can't remember which for sure) they WALKED. Saying kids get tired doesn't cut it in my opinion. The kids get tired; you sit down and rest for a while.
Originally Posted By MinnieSummer So, my daughter, who is very active, (in dance, figure skating, cheerleading, drama, and various other activities such as rollerblading and biking) is being considerred lazy and I am a bad parent because I get a stroller for her? I'm sorry but by the end of the day I am tired as well and it is easier to push her around in a stroller all day and have her have the energy to walk to the bus rather than listen to her complain about her legs hurting. Of course she has JRA and that makes a difference but I see no problem with a stroller if it keeps everyone happy and makes the trip more enjoyable. I believe it is in everyones best interest to avoid a predictable situation that might make everyone miserable -- and I've read several posts from you all about kids whining in the parks and the parents yelling at them etc. and how if the parents had control of them to begin with there wouldn't be a problem. Well, using a stroller will eliminate many of these problems, and hopefully the legs that I bang the stroller into will belong to one of you who are tellingme that I am letting my daughter be lazy by using a stroller. Sorry, I just had to get that out.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<So, my daughter, who is very active, (in dance, figure skating, cheerleading, drama, and various other activities such as rollerblading and biking) is being considerred lazy and I am a bad parent because I get a stroller for her? >> You haven't told us how old your daughter is so it is difficult to comment. Is your daughter lazy? I don't recall anyone saying that. Are you a bad parent? I don't recall anyone saying that either. I will say that (depending on age) I hate seeing it happen. Just as I hate seeing people using ECV's when their only 'disability' is being so darned fat that they would rather not walk. Without turning this into another CCJ blowup, I think all of us need to get more exercise. Exposing young children to physical activity is a great thing. If your child is that beat by the end of the day perhaps you should have gone back to the hotel a bit earlier. That applies to adults too… I’ve seen people in the parks towards the end of the day who are cranky and have clearly been there too long.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 < Well, using a stroller will eliminate many of these problems, and hopefully the legs that I bang the stroller into will belong to one of you who are tellingme that I am letting my daughter be lazy by using a stroller. < well most of the kids who misbehave do so in and out of the stroller - usually while hurtling themselves out of it anyway <If your child is that beat by the end of the day perhaps you should have gone back to the hotel a bit earlier. That applies to adults too… I’ve seen people in the parks towards the end of the day who are cranky and have clearly been there too long. < gee - common sense - where did that go ?
Originally Posted By MinnieSummer My Daughter is 7. And yes the comment was made that children are too lazy and shouldn't have to use strollers. No the statement wasn't made that parents are bad but the implication was there. I really just don't get the whole problem with people using strollers. They are there for the convenience of everyone. My daughter will try to go the day without one and then we all pay for it at night when her legs swell and she is in pain. No we don't stay in the parks too long, in fact I don't think we have ever been there from opening to closing. We either go in the morning and leave midday or go midday and leave at closing. We take frequent rests so that is not the issue. My point is that everyone on this thread is so quick to point out that kids don't get enough exercise and that the parents treat them like prima donnas (a quote) and none of you are considerring the benefits of using the stroller which I feel far outway the "the child should be able to walk around the park" argument. It would be nice if everyone was healthy and the correct weight and had great muscletone and strength but that is not the case -- many times through no fault of the person (OK the guy with the turkey legs is the perfect example of what is wrong). I guess this is a sensitive issue for me as my daughter would love to not be in the stroller or wheelchair as was suggested but we have no choice and it angers me that when people see her in the stroller they can't help but roll their eyes or make snide little comments loud enough for me to hear. Get over it, it is noones business who sits in that stroller or wheelchair. This thread was a question about whether they could bring a wagon in for their children. The answer is no but you can rent a stroller that will accomodate a 48 inch child at each park.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 here's why: <a href="http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/22/606/FINALfactsandfigures2.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.iom.edu/Object.File /Master/22/606/FINALfactsandfigures2.pdf</a> Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children 2 -5 and tripled in kids 6 -11 -- over the last 3 decades. the first reason listed: urban and suburban designs that discourage walking and other physical activities. no reason to expand on...
