Wheelchair Fakers

[Randy B]

Great Idea!! till some SG's kid falls on his butt, then it will be sue sue sue!! Cause their little darling SG kid couldn't follow the Rules, cause he has---(fill in the blank) and cannot be made, or expected, to follow ANY rules or regulations, even if they are for safety reasons!!

(that is a great idea, kind of like a "mini" cattle grate!)

Well I DID say put the channels down the entire slope. That would stop them at the beginning of the "glide" before they got up speed. If the channel was only just at the bottom of the slope it would be just to let them get up a nice bit of momentum before sending the feet off at an angle, causing the wheels to snap off, the feet to twist until joints seperated, and chin (as well as other facial features) get a good intimate aquantance with the hard paved surface. But since the heelies are not allowed in the park any injury obviously didn't happen if the injury could be attributed to heelies use.

Check my train of logic. Device "A" is illegal. Since device "A" is illegal it obviously is never used illegally. Thus any personal injury attributable to use of device "A" never happened.

Actually I think that if the management stressed the rule forbidding the use of heelies in the parks and backed up enforcement (including confiscation of the wheel units from the shoes) it wouldn't take long for the problem to go away. But as with many other rules in and out of the parks, if it isn't enforced it doesn't exist.

As to the "mini cattle guard", That was my original idea (discussed here a few months ago) but I think we could reduce it to one or two "drainage channels" without severely reducing effectiveness. Or if it was even more obviously a drain with a grating over the drain channel with precisely spaced and sized slots. Think of how many people were caught by storm drains on roads when riding a bicycle. They can see it, they can avoid it, but they think they can make it, so the front wheel drops into the slot and the entire bike comes to an abrupt stop. If the drain goes all the way across a walkway and is just wide enough to prevent an easy last min hop over it, and the slots are designed to be ok for chair wheels but disasterous for heelies, this would make them less attractive. And the presence of these drains would make a good reason for the ban when a parent becomes beligerant. :D:

Randy

[Planner]

Randy Im not sure I agree with the idea that the damn heelies would ever go away even if Disney cracked down after all we are dealing with SG here and oodles of folks who have never been to Disney. Compound the problem with folks who do not do any homework before showing up and BAM SG with heelies.

My guess is your average first time family is too wrapped up in the excitement to notice signs about the rules and do not read the packets of info given out at check in until AFTER the trip.

Could the rules be stressed at resort check in, yup but I feel bad for the front desk folk then, never mind the gobs of folks who do not stay on site then show up with brats on wheels.

Don't get me wrong I think the things need to be banished from this earth but I don't forsee it anytime soon. :mad:

[Theme Park Where]

They read the items handed out at Check in AFTER the trip? I didn't think they read them at all! :D: They certainly don't learn from them!

I hate the kids (and the parents who let them) who use the heelies to get on rides they are otherwise too short to ride. I've heard parents whisper to their kids just before approaching height check "pop your wheels so you're tall enough!" Of course, those wheels aren't going to keep them from sliding under the lapbar or out of the restraint system when they're actually not tall enough to ride!

I work part time in the mall (at a Waldenbooks) and I was helping out with our holiday calendar kiosk one afternoon, giving that person a bathroom break. A woman and her very young son came walking down the mall, and the woman (mother or much older sister most likely) was chastising the son because she'd just bought him heelies and he was too afraid to pop the wheels in the mall. Sure, a crowded mall during the busy holiday rush is ALWAYS a good time to sprout wheels, especially when you're new to them. I'm always tempted to call family services when I see a parent actually encouraging that kind of disruptive and dangerous behavior.

Dad works at WL, and he talks about the kids heeling through the lobby at top speed, hitting the point where the floor materials change from wood to stone, and falling flat on their faces. So far I don't believe they've had a serious injury at that location (they have elsewhere on property) but they've had a lot of close calls.

[DisneyMom]

I had a kid come into the clinic the other day, had diarrhea for several days so the protocol is to take blood pressure laying down and standing to check for orthostatic changes...Then I see the kid is wearing Heelys. He starts to roll around after I ask him to be careful not to fall while I'm checking him(potential blood pressure drop), to Mom's credit, she told him to stop.
*Sigh* We are never going to get rid of those things! :(

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I know where Randy B and others are coming from, but the sad fact is that at some point, there is going to be some sort of lawsuit concerning this, as the litigious society we live in will not "rest" until it has it's day in court!! (and some lawyer will need to get some publicity!)

I do find it interesting that if you go to the main web site of Heelies, you find that there is a contest, and most of the prizes are Disney related (High School Musical)

And that they have Heelies for men and women!

Maybe DW and I could get a pair, fall down at the mall, and get "compensation" so that we can go to WDW five or six times a year!!! (hehehe)

[Randy B]

Randy Im not sure I agree with the idea that the damn heelies would ever go away even if Disney cracked down after all we are dealing with SG here and oodles of folks who have never been to Disney. Compound the problem with folks who do not do any homework before showing up and BAM SG with heelies.

My guess is your average first time family is too wrapped up in the excitement to notice signs about the rules and do not read the packets of info given out at check in until AFTER the trip.

Could the rules be stressed at resort check in, yup but I feel bad for the front desk folk then, never mind the gobs of folks who do not stay on site then show up with brats on wheels.

Don't get me wrong I think the things need to be banished from this earth but I don't forsee it anytime soon. :mad:

You are probably right that they wouldn't go away, but if the first time the wheels are extended on the first day a CM or a security CM stopped them and let them and their parents know that these are not allowed in the parks and the wheels must be removed now (yes the wheels do pop out), the problem would be reduced. Sure there will be those who will go around the corner and re-offend but I still think that the majority would not. And if by stopping someone once it keeps that individual from continuing to be a hazzard for several days.

I did see some kids with heelies in Oct who just used them to keep up with parents. They glided while holding a parent's arm and so were not moving any faster or dangerous than the walking parent. I had no problem with this. But I suspect that if these people were informed of the rules they would stop using them. But the ones who race around dangerously will continue to do so in all parks, and resorts for the entire length of their stay and will probably effect each and every Park CM and many guests. It would only take one to generate many SGT sightings. So if it was possible to reduce (never eliminate) the re-offenders it could make a big difference.

JMHO

Randy

[February]

Whoever invented those shoes with skates built in should be shot, no wait, that's too good for them. Part of the problem with my back was that I kept getting run into by kids on skates. That, or I had to dodge them or stop short as they cut me off. When I was in the wheelchair, they'd zip right in front of me, then their parents would give me dirty looks when they hit me, or I accidentally hit them because I couldn't stop in time.

UGH! My chair was cut off by a kid in hellies (typo intentional) every single time we tried to go down the monorail ramp at MK last trip! We were there for 9 days so I could not BELIEVE it happened every time. It got to the point where we wondered which would happen first, DH having to yank back on the chair to try to save SG hellie kid from the impact- or his heels getting run up on by a Stroller Stormtrooper behind us when he had to protect SG hellie kid from the impact!

His ankles were shredded by the end of our trip and even my kid got hit once by a stroller because we were cut off by another stroller.

Can't people just slow DOWN a little?? You're supposed to be on vacation!!!

It's the same thing with women who come up behind me with their carts in Target and nearly run me over when I'm ambling around on my forearm crutch. Yes, I move a trifle slower but I do move. I try to smile at them and then move out of the way so they can get on with their Important Business which is so much more important than not running over the Amazonian Disabled Lady.

Sheesh!

I call them 'heel clickers'- people who think that they are just so much more important than you that they can't possibly wait for you to get your shampoo from the shelf before they get theirs! They're usually talking on a cell phone at the same time too. . .

[Ms. Matterhorn]

UGH! They're usually talking on a cell phone at the same time too. . .

OMG! This could start a whole new thread! I hate people who talk really loud on their cell phone, especially in a foreign language or use profanity!

[hobie16]

It's the same thing with women who come up behind me with their carts in Target and nearly run me over when I'm ambling around on my forearm crutch.

I enjoy standing in the cashier line at the grocery store and have some bozo nail me in the ankles with their cart. I give them two shots and on the third, back up a step forcing the push handle into their torso. The resulting "Uuuffffff" is music to my ears. :twisted:

[Big Wallaby]

kid in hellies (typo intentional)

Typo... typo... I don't see any typo. I think you're the first person ever to spell that word correctly. :p: