Toddler Harness for the parks?

[PinKy]

Hi all,

We are planning our March vacation and considering getting a toddler harness for DS who will be "toddling around" by then so that he can explore some areas by foot. Does anyone have experience with using these? Do they work? Are they a struggle to use in the parks? And lastly....... is there a Disney one? We can't find a single one with a Disney Character on it. If anyone could recommend a brand/website that would be awesome! (would we be better off using one without the backpack attached?)

[Itchy]

Years ago 1989 before time started when my youngest was 5 we visited DW for the first time.

It was great except we were going to try the harness thing. Well! in June it is not only hot but crowded ( We did not Know Better at the Time ) we had the harness on for about 10 minutes. Great idea wrong place for it.

No one paid any attention to the fact that my daughter was tetered to either myself or her mother and kept getting tangled up.:mad:

I ended up carrying her most of the time.:(

I would assess the crowds in the park before I tried it. We never used it again.

Good luck.

I will be at the Happiest place on earth in 12 days.:mickey:

[Speedy1998]

We used it one when DS was 18 months old. What we found was it worked best for standing in line, where he could get under the chains for the que and we could not. For moving between attractions we got him a stroller.

[DizneyRox]

You mean one of those leash things?

I'd vote to NOT use it in the parks. There's way too much congestion and having someone trip over it, have to walk around, etc. It will certainly be more of a nuisance than anything else. Maybe not to you, but to others.

And then you've got the people who will sneer at the whole leash idea, etc.

[dolphinmickey9170]

First of all, they are a great idea. For those that sneer at us when we used one.....deal with it. Obviously you have NEVER had a child, who in the blink of an eye, has left your eyesight for a second. Not just in WDW but anywhere. Not all children want to sit in their stroller for 16 hours while we play in the parks. Yeah, you can take breaks from their stroller, but they can move fast and take off. So we used a monkey backpack with the tail as the strap. Our DGD loved it. She was 15 months old at the time. She was able to walk around and stretch her little legs and we were able to keep her with us and not just expect her to be holding our hand the entire time. No child wants to hold your hand all the time either. They are so unpredictable. You just never know. Fortunately, we have never been separated, but the anxiety of just the thought of it kills me. I do not want to take that chance. So it will be the harness for us.

I would rather have people look at me funny, than lose a child. What's funny is, those that snicker and sneer, don't have children with them. Those who make comment directly are usually those who wished they had thought of the idea and want to know where to purchase one. We got ours at walmart and I know target has them as well.

We also didn't use it in a huge crowd though.....we would only use it when there was ample room for meandering. Also, we didn't have the tail outstretched as far as it would go either. We kept it to a minimum length for comfort of walking and other peoples consideration.

Have a great time and enjoy the fact that your little one will not escape your eyes with this harness!! Oh, it has a pocket on it as well so we kept her a few snacks in it just so she could get to them.

[mickey&missy]

I wouldn't worry about what other people think about using a harness. I've seen quite a few people using them. I bought one to use on our trip in 05 for DS who was 2 and never actually did.

I'll tell you that people don't pay attention to kids. You'd think that, being at Disney World were there are a lot of kids, people pay attention to the kids and take care not to run them down etc. THEY DON'T. We've had people push past our kids while walking, try to push our kids out of the way to get a better view of the fireworks or parade etc. A lot of people just don't care. It's terrible!

If you do use one, they sell a cute teddy bear one at Target, try to keep your DS as close to you as possible to lessen the likelihood of a rude person knocking him down. You may consider trying to keep DS in a stoller, either from home or rented, for the walking and use the harness for lines, etc as a previoud poster said.

Not matter what you do, have a great time!!!

[BouncingTigger]

I'd say definitely do not leash yourself to your child. It's way too crowded at WDW. I think it's pretty inconsiderate when parents do this because they take up so much room - it's not just a parent and a kid, it's however long the leash is too! Also the kid is running around and making it hard for other people to get by without tripping or getting tangled up. It is just a huge hassle for other people to try to navigate and if someone trips over it, they're most likely going to take your kid down too (plus they will probably be mad).

[TexasPrincessAurora]

Here's a prior discussion that might be helpful...
http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=107628

[Strmchsr]

Moderator Note :cop:

We are not going to rehash the whole debate about who likes these things and who doesn't. Folks have strong feelings on both sides and it's been discussed in the link provided above. Please stick to the OP's question of how these things work in the park, not whether or not you like them.

This past November we used one with DS2 on a sparing basis. Most of the time we had a stroller, but 2 yr olds don't like to sit in a stroller all day so we had the attachment to allow him to walk around without the danger of him being gone in a flash. It is difficult to use in crowded situations, for both the toddler and the people around, but in a less crowded areas it works well and gives your child the chance to walk around without worry of a sudden disappearance. I haven't found any one brand to be better than any other. Just the cheap little wrist thing worked for me. I think the backpack version gives a little more control over the child as you're holding on with a harness and not just something around the wrist.

[kakn7294]

I found that I preferred to have my DD's in their stroller - my girls didn't mind sitting there for the most part. The harness just didn't work well for us. I didn't like that when the girls would attempt to take off, the "leash" would snap them back, sometimes causing them to fall. Occasionally, they managed to tangle up and trip other people. We generally only used them as a backup to hand-holding so if they wiggled free of our hand, we had another means to keep them from taking off. Ours looked like a fanny pack but had a plastic loop for the "leash" portion to attach to. We also had a wrist one but our younger DD figured how to take that off in just seconds, rendering it completely useless. My advice is to try one or more style of harness around home - at the mall, grocery store, Walmart (or similar) and see how it works for you before counting on using it at WDW.

[Mousefever]

I noticed many parents using these items in the parks on our past trips. None of them were using the harnesses in an inconsiderate manner. I was slowed down by more toddlers who were baby-sprinting away from their parents than by those who were tethered to their parents. If I were stopped by a harnessed child, I hope I've reached a level of maturity that I would not feel hassled by the temporary inconvenience that a more immature and self-centered person might react to.

Amy


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