Kid Lost - Tell them to go to a CM and ask to use their cell phone?

[DisneyFanSince71]

I am headed down to Disney in less than 4 weeks. We have 6 in the family, but only 5 cell phones. I want to tell my kids that if you get lost (and they should never be alone) just go to a CM and ask to borrow a cell phone. Do CM's or Disney make phones available for "lost" kids to call their parents?

 

[Jaimee]

I don't know if this is the "norm" but a CM did let DS 11 use her cell phone in February. It was just DS and I and we were at AK. We went on EE twice and DS wanted to go one more time and there wasn't a wait, so he went again alone. I was waiting outside, but decided to move inside the gift shop where the ride unloads and we missed each other some how. A VERY nice CM noticed DS looking for me and offered her cell phone.

 

[squirrel]

Not sure, but lots of people put a phone # on their child somewhere.

We happened to be at AK talking to a CM when a boy a little older than my niece came up to the CM and said he lost his parents. My niece went to the stroller and grabbed bubbles from the bag that had a bunch of things for her to give to other children. We left so I don't know what the CM did. I know she was asking him where the parents were when he last saw them. The CM was working in the Kids Discovery Club spot alone, I don't know if she had a phone or walkie talkie. I'm sure if she needed me to get another CM she would have asked.

 

[dburg30]

Show them what the CM's look like, and their name tags, if they get lost WDW CM's will follow whatever rules WDW has put in place for lost parents (remember, kids dont get lost at WDW, only parents do). Make sure all the children have your cell number on something other then just in the cell phone in case something happens to the phone. Also put your first name on the card with the cell number.

 

[lexmelinda]

I put a business card with our names and cell phone number in my childs pocket and gave him strict instructions not to talk to anyone but a CM. Thank goodness he never got lost.

If you have an old cell phone at home, take it to your provider and see if they can offer a pre-paid option for your trip. We are with t-mobile and I was able to do this for DD for about $20. You just buy the SIM card a small prepaid balance. Voila...an extra phone for the trip.

 

[chartle]

Others have posted that they show their kids what a CM looks like and tell them to go to them when lost.

The CM then has been trained to handle the situation. I'm sure if the kid is old enough to ask to use a phone they will find a phone for them.

I have read two specific things about "lost parents" situations.

One, the CM that your child approaches will stay with your child until the parents are found. In other words, they won't pass your kid to another CM.

And that they will not search your child looking for information. So either your child knows your cell # or you must train them to pull out the info to show the CM.

 

[jb01]

Thats a good idea. I'm sure if a CM doesn't have a cell they can get one fast.

 

[DisneyAngie]

I would be surprised if CMs are generally encouraged to let people (including children who have lost their parents) to use their personal cell phones. We're not even allowed to do that where I work. I'm sure Disney has a very detailed plan in place for when something like this occurs, but I don't think CMs can usually let others borrow their phones. You'd be better off (in my opinion) teaching your child to recognize the CM name tag and to just tell the CM that they are lost and then let the CM take it from there.

 

[tjmw2727]

I taught my kids to stay where they were when they realized we got separated as I will always go back and re-trace my steps. If we are supposed to meet then they are to stay in the meeting spot and just assume I am late or had to go to the bathroom etc.

When they were young my dd's wore a "dog tag" on a shoelace with my cellphone number just in case. Now they have their own cellphones.

Since it sounds like your travling with a group you could also assign buddies. Last trip we had all the cousins and all the older kids had a younger cousin for a buddy. It was fun for the kids and helped make sure that more eyes were on the younger kids.

 

[MickeyNicki]

When we took our nieces (age 6 and 12.5) we taught them to memorize DH and my cell phone numbers and if "we" got lost from them to go into any gift shop or gift stand and tell the Disney CM with the name tag on and the costume on and they would help them find us

Didnt have to worry too much about that because the little one had one of our hands in a death grip the entire time and the older one was stuck to our sides like glue

 

[disnut8]

When we took our then five-year-old granddaughter to Disney World for her first time, we picked a very friendly Cast Member when we first entered the park (it's easy to do in the morning) and showed Marlie what the Cast Member name tags looked like. We told her that if we ever lost her, to find someone like that and tell them we were lost (kids never get lost, adults lose them). The Cast Member we picked agreed with us and told Marlie that any Cast Member would be able to help her find us. That's really all you need to do. Have your kids go to a Cast Member and let them handle it. Disney World has a great system in place for lost parents. Make sure all kids in your party have ALL cell phone numbers. Don't just give them one as you might have the phone turned off or not be able to hear it. Marlie had three cell phone numbers on her. She also had her name, her mother's name, and her resort name (NOT the room number). Remember that little kids will sometimes get really flustered when you have lost them so it's not a bad idea to have their names printed somewhere.

Also, if you have a digital camera, take a picture of each child before you leave in the morning. It'll be easy to show that to a Cast Member instead of trying to remember what your child(ren) wore that day.

 

[cathyd]

very good information, thanks

 

[StreamMaster]

I am headed down to Disney in less than 4 weeks. We have 6 in the family, but only 5 cell phones. I want to tell my kids that if you get lost (and they should never be alone) just go to a CM and ask to borrow a cell phone. Do CM's or Disney make phones available for "lost" kids to call their parents?

Wow , sounds like a great family get together. So do you plan on spending any time together as a group?

 

[pickles]

my kid wasnt lost per se, but one halloween night she got confused and turned around and couldnt recall where we were suppose to meet.(she was having a fit about wanting to do some things on her own, and in her case I finally let her so she could see being with the family was a bit more enjoyable ) I had included a paper in her candy bag with our phone, hotel and also our meeting spot.
When she realized she needed help she handed her paper to a CM. They did try and call us, but the phone didnt ring thru. So, when it was time to meet i checked my messages and there was one there from disney. They held her at child care services, where we went and picked her up.
The good thing is, she never mentioned again wanting to be by herself at the park, so that solved the fits we were having for the rest of the trip!

So, I guess what i am saying Disney has a system and unless your kid actually leaves the park with a stranger, you wont actually "loose" your kid. he will just be misplaced for awhile and will be found by park closing.

In cases where your kid actually becomes separated from you..always teaxh them to choose a female..females are less likely to be predators, and we also teach our kids to just stand still, we will retrace our steps and find you

 

[TillyMarigold]

Thats a good idea. I'm sure if a CM doesn't have a cell they can get one fast.

Um, you do realize that there is a regular landline phone for the CMs' use about every 10 feet hidden somewhere, right? There's no need to use a cell at all.

 

[RabFlmom]

When we took our then five-year-old granddaughter to Disney World for her first time, we picked a very friendly Cast Member when we first entered the park (it's easy to do in the morning) and showed Marlie what the Cast Member name tags looked like. We told her that if we ever lost her, to find someone like that and tell them we were lost (kids never get lost, adults lose them). The Cast Member we picked agreed with us and told Marlie that any Cast Member would be able to help her find us. That's really all you need to do. Have your kids go to a Cast Member and let them handle it. Disney World has a great system in place for lost parents. Make sure all kids in your party have ALL cell phone numbers. Don't just give them one as you might have the phone turned off or not be able to hear it. Marlie had three cell phone numbers on her. She also had her name, her mother's name, and her resort name (NOT the room number). Remember that little kids will sometimes get really flustered when you have lost them so it's not a bad idea to have their names printed somewhere.

Also, if you have a digital camera, take a picture of each child before you leave in the morning. It'll be easy to show that to a Cast Member instead of trying to remember what your child(ren) wore that day.

And all lost parents should remember that the CM does not have to go out physically walking around a park to find your child. They are assigned a spot and cannot leave that area for safety reasons-especially in the water parks. They have to watch their water, but they will radio or phone in and then you will have the eyes of every guard, slide op, ticket taker, restaurant server, coordinator and manager watching for your lost child. I have seen parents screaming at CMs that no one did anything to help find their child when the motions were in play and working.

 

[tink22]

Um, you do realize that there is a regular landline phone for the CMs' use about every 10 feet hidden somewhere, right? There's no need to use a cell at all.

Although I am sure some do, policy is that CM's are not allowed to have a cell phone on them during their shift. So the odds you find one with a cell might be slim. As written here, there are land lines everywhere for CM's to call a specific number for lost children.

 

[3_disprincesses]

Wow , sounds like a great family get together. So do you plan on spending any time together as a group?

So what part of that post made you think they weren't spending time together as a group?

 

[yrdlyprincess]

I am going to put a "tag" with the kids everyday-- it will go in a plastic bag (small) in their pocket-- it will have their name, where they are staying and both mine and DH cellphone #'s --I told them that if they get seperated from us to show it to the CM...hope that works if they do.

 

[hart6066]

I heard this years ago and I use it with my kids. I tell them if they ever get lost, no matter where we are, go up to "a Mommy" and ask for help. When the kids were little, we talked about how you'd know someone was a "mommy"--pushing a stroller, holding a baby/child's hand, etc.

The rationale for this is that with all of the rent a cop type people out there, this in many ways is safer than trying to teach a young child what a policeman, etc looks like. The thought also is that the chances of your child finding a mother who would harm rather than help them is pretty low.

We attach little id tags with all of our cell numbers and tell the kids to ask a mommy to call us and we will find them.

At Disney it also helps that it'd be pretty hard to look around and NOT see "a Mommy"! Just another idea.