You're not designed to ride them for 2 hours, they're not toys...You're designed to use them in lieu of walking to destinations. Disney is kind of an exception because you will spend 2 hours walking through disney, but in normal city usage you wouldn't spend 2 hours walking anywhere.
I think they would be popular on the west coast, but not in the northeast. You can't use them in the snow without the rough-terrain tires, and even then it's really dangerous if you hit a patch of ice, because your tires will just spin around, and if you try to get off, you're going to be on your ass...