# Babies at Disneyland... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2000, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458 "2000-03-06T15:45:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![A\_girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@A\_girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_girl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/1 "2000-03-06T15:45:00Z")
Can anyone explain this phenomenon? Every time I go down there, there are loads of people with these little tiny babies… I could understand if there were older siblings and things, but a lot of times it’s just the parents and their very new-born. Or a newborn and a two-year old and a very, very big stroller…hmmmm… Sounds like a lot of work to me. A girl ---
**Author:** ![okatym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/76d3ee/32.png) [@okatym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/okatym)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/2 "2000-03-06T16:03:00Z")
Yea, I know what you mean. Too damn many baby strollers jam the place up. I’ve also thought there are too many kids there. They really get in my way. ---
**Author:** ![A\_girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@A\_girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_girl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/3 "2000-03-06T16:09:00Z")
And anyway, why not take them during the week when they’ll get more out of it instead of a weekend. It’s worth taking the day off to miss the crowds. A girl ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/4 "2000-03-06T16:51:00Z")
It is a lot of work, but if they’d just gotten the chance for an Orlando or California vacation, they’ll do the work in order to enjoy seeing Disney world/land. Just two months ago, my wife and I brought our three kids, 3 and under, to Orlando. I won’t pretend it wasn’t tough, but we’re very glad we did it. * * * Chaim Mattis Keller [ckeller@kozmo.com](mailto:ckeller@kozmo.com) “Sherlock Holmes once said that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible. The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it that the merely improbable lacks.” – Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/5 "2000-03-06T17:28:00Z")
Of course, many of them could be annual pass holders who are just out for a stroll. ---
**Author:** ![H8\_2\_W8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c77e96/32.png) [@H8\_2\_W8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H8_2_W8)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/6 "2000-03-07T06:22:00Z")
We’ll be taking our 7 month old son to DisneyWorld at the end of this month. Can he go on rides? No. Can he have fun? Yes. He loves bright colors, people’s faces, his Mickey and Pooh Bear toys and so on. Plus I get to spend more time with him than I normally do. I have a conference in Orlando and we needed a vacation, so that is why we’re taking a baby to Disney. The trip isn’t for the baby, but that doesn’t mean he won’t enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/7 "2000-03-06T19:42:00Z")
It could be that they’re using the kid as a cover to enjoy Disneyland themselves. 'Cause you know, grownups aren’t _supposed_ to go by themselves and have fun. :rolleyes: I’m still my mom’s designated “little kid” to cover for her wanting to go, and I have a college degree. Going to have to equip her with a grandkid or something. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/8 "2000-03-07T04:23:00Z")
I agree with A Girl on this subject. The thought of packing up and hauling all the stuff required for a small child would wear me out before I left the hotel room. Then the thought of walking around with a hot, sweaty kid in the unrelenting sun while touching all those germie handrails and things is totally not appealing. Then I think about the shit load of money I paid to get into the park just so I can not ride any rides at the same time as my husband because one of us has to stay with the children. Then I think about the missed nap times ( kids and mine), the temper tantrums over why you won’t buy that sombero that is the size of Rhode Island and the overstimulated child/ren who then won’t fall asleep in the hotel room and the parents who are dead on their feet and burnt like a lobster. Yeah, loads of fun. I’ll pass, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![crackwise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@crackwise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crackwise)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/9 "2000-03-07T04:55:00Z")
I said I’d never go to DisneyWorld again. Then I had a kid. Ms. Crackwise insists we go at some point. He’s only 16 months now and neither one of us care to take him now. Way too much trouble. I think we’ll all enjoy it more when his legs are stronger and you know, he can speak English (he talks mind you, but it’s pretty much gibberish). I can’t imagine being around those thousands of people with an infant. I can barely stand the mall when I’m pushing a stroller. * * * I am large, I contradict myself, I contain multitudes. ~Walt Whitman ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/10 "2000-03-07T08:22:00Z")
I can still remember this, our youngest is Billy, and he was only 4 at the time we went. The kids that were around us were cranky and crying. One parent got on their knees in front of the stroller and put their face close to the child, ‘you WILL have a good time! And NO we aren’t going yet!’ It seemed as if everyone needed a nap!! Perhaps that could be a new attraction!! ‘SNAP A NAP’ “Everyone here’s your kinder mat, hand them back in to Miss Gertie when you wake up and put back on your smiley face!! Now, anyone for the Dumbo ride??” * * * “It’s hard to avoid reading because ever wheres we go, reading is there.” ---
**Author:** ![A\_girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@A\_girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_girl)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/11 "2000-03-07T20:38:00Z")
I’m surprised they haven’t been sued for false advertising with the “happiest place on earth” slogan. 🙂 Lately with all the construction and confusion, everybody’s in a bad mood, yelling at their kids… doesn’t make for very good memories… A girl ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/12 "2000-03-08T03:20:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by phouka: > **It could be that they’re using the kid as a cover to enjoy Disneyland themselves. 'Cause you know, grownups aren’t _supposed_ to go by themselves and have fun.** No, we’re supposed to go to Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry Farm. That’s where the BRAVE ones go! 😉 I’d rather see babies at a theme park than at the movie theater. * * * When all else fails, ask Cecil. ---
**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/13 "2000-03-08T03:32:00Z")
We went to Disney World last fall for our honeymoon. There were a lot of kids that were too small to go on the rides, and some that shouldn’t have been on certain rides. Only three things I would have liked to have said to some parents: 1. If your kids are miserable and screaming and want to go home/back to the hotel, then GO! Don’t make them unhappy in such a fun place. 2. Certain rides are not for little ones. I know that you want to go on the Alien Encounter ride. Your child does not. Do you hear the crying and the terrified screaming? Get out of here. Go on the Dumbo ride. 3. Keep an eye on your children. Do not stand in line, let them run around, and then scream for them when you can’t find them. Never, ever let your children out of your sight while you’re in such a big place. Otherwise, we had a great time 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/14 "2000-03-08T03:37:00Z")
This isn’t anti-baby, just a caveat from a jaded veteran amusement park worker… Most of the big theme parks are priced by day, so people shell out lotsa bucks to get in and feel like they have to get their money’s worth. So it usually means a long day, and babies aren’t usually geared for that. FWIW, I still have scars on my ankles from being rammed by exhausted, irritated folks propelling strollers. But I’d a whole lot rather see a baby in a stroller _with a sun shield_ than the poor hot, sunburned, miserable tykes hauled around in arms or slings. At least in a stroller the baby can be shielded from the sun and fall asleep, and the parents aren’t exhausted from carrying around the diaper bags, bottles, etc. The stroller is a vehicle, and the parent is responsible for operating it courteously. Like I said, I still have little scars from being bashed and gashed by “stroller-rage” parents, but they were the exception. As far as being obstructions, IMO there just ain’t a whole lot in life that’s so damned pressing that you can’t step around or pause for a little kid. It’s a sense of proportion and priorities. Adults watch over those who are weaker or smaller, period. Veb ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/15 "2000-03-08T04:02:00Z")
I remember being about 4 or so and going to Disneyland on Christmas eve. Our parents took us every year. It was wonderful, but I think 3 or 4 is about the right age for a kid to _really_ start getting something out of Disneyland. Any younger than that, and things can get miserable. I guess it’s up to the parents to decide how to work that out, in order to not make the kids miserable, and/or everyone else at the park miserable. I do remember recently, waiting in line for the Dumbo ride. Waiting in a _long_ line for Dumbo. And seeing these kids (maybe 5 or 6 years old or so) just pushing ahead through the line - cutting in. We noticed what we assumed was the kids _mom_ prompting the kids to do this - she was outside of the line, sort of following along aside them. We didn’t let the kids push ahead of us. One of the friends I was with confronted her, said “We know what you are doing - urging your kids to cut in front of everyone.” The mom pretended she didn’t hear us (I think she was pretending she didn’t understand English) and the kids just weaved around us, and kept on pushing ahead in line to the front. _THESE_ are definitely the kind of parents I don’t want at Disneyland! ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-at-disneyland/14458/16 "2000-03-08T04:23:00Z")
I took my son to Disneyland/Universal Studios just before he turned four. He loved it, and so did I. The only thing he didn’t like was the Backdraft thing–the fire scared him. I think, though, that it wouldn’t’ve been nearly as much fun if he had been a year or more younger. I took him to Disneyworld/Universal in FL when he was six. He still talks about the Terminator. And he liked the Alien thing. Hm. We need to go back.