A Missing Kid Story

[justmestace]

I bet we aren't getting the whole story. I'm going to assume that while dad was running around the ship for half an hour, that during that time the CMs found him in the club. Then while passing his friend, the friend said, "Hey, they found your kid 20 minutes ago under the chairs." How long after he left the club the second time did they find him? The kid was probably with mom, having himself an ice cream on deck while dad was threatening Guest Services.
Also, I don't believe the bands have GPS so I don't get the "unreadable". Maybe the CM said something like, "It doesn't read his location". because it's not supposed to?
I think a good solution to the whole freaking out parents is to assign a CM whose only job is to talk to them and keep them calm and updated.

You didn't read the blog. But it IS true...the man could have just made this whole story up for no good reason. He's not suing....so I'm not sure WHY he'd make the whole thing up, and probably not many people even KNOW him, so therefore, not many people would read his blog.....so I'm not quite sure why he would make all this up...not sure what purpose it would serve...but I guess you could be right. I doubt it, but anything's possible.

 

[MrsScooby]

Here's what all the father said on his blog, and his responses to a few comments which should probably be obvious, just by his replies.

the details that were missing from before

I can understand why the dad is angry now, but I gather that this is not a common occurence. A fluke. If this had happened before I know we would have heard about it, let alone the CMs would have known where to look if this had happened before.

Sounds to me like the Dad is just so emotional about the whole incident that there was nothing short of a public announcement to the entire ship apologizing for the incident that was going to console him.

thankfully his son was found safe and sound

I lost my son in a store (the 2 year old decided to play hide and seek with us)and I know how frantic you get.
I also remember searching our neighborhood as a kid when my sister went missing (she was asleep in the house)-but still, we were frantic then as well.
DCL should have made it more clear what they were doing as far as procedure.
But I will still cruise DCL, I think this was an unusual occurence.

 

[MrsScooby]

He DID say where the boy was found, in his full blog.

I posted the full blog. He never has threatened to sue or anything. He was blogging his disappointment and fear, just like a lot of people do with their blogs or Facebook posts.

The dad did say where the child was found on his blog, but Consumerist chose not to report this.

A little slow here

 

[MrsScooby]

This. The issue isn't that the kid turned up okay, apparently in the kid's club. The issue is that the parents went to pick up a 3 year old left in DCL's care, and the CMs had no idea where the kid was for 45 minutes.

It sounds like some of this panic on dad's part could have been avoided if a CM had said with certainty that there was no way the kid could have gotten out of the club. But it sounds like the CMs thought the kid COULD have gotten out of the club, and that's the impression dad got, too. How is dad supposed to know how fool-proof the system is, if even the CMs are worried the kid got out? If even the CMs weren't sure if that was possible, I'm not sure how everyone on here is so confident that it couldn't happen and that the system "worked." A ship-wide alert went out looking for the kid.

Moreover, obviously no one had eyes on that child when he climbed under a bunch of stacked chairs (safe?) to take a nap for, well, at least an hour, it sounds like. No one went, "gee, where did the little boy in the blue shirt go? he was here a minute ago." Why was it dad who noticed that the kid was missing? How poorly was he being supervised within the kids' club that nobody noticed his disappearance until dad showed up? This is a 3 year old, I'd expect someone has at least a lifeguard-level of eye-scanning going on to keep an eye on these kids.

For that matter, was this child's bracelet functioning at the beginning? If not, why wasn't that addressed when he was dropped off? If it was, how can a bracelet go from registering inside the club/lab to "unreadable" without some kind of alert or something? Because the point earlier about the kid being at the bottom of the pool could be relevant - I mean, he could have fallen, hit his head, and drowned in a toilet or something, and the malfunction of his bracelet didn't even alert anyone to check. Someone could have disabled his bracelet to snatch him. There was apparently no alarm when he "disappeared" off the monitoring system inside the club, and no one was watching a screen to see his "blip" go away.

Ultimately, no, I don't think this is worth a free cruise, I guess, but it's not a non-issue, either. It's unacceptable that, having accepted responsibility for a 3 year old, the DCL CMs then lost him and had no idea where he was, that no one was keeping even a casual enough eye on the kids' comings and goings so as to notice when one disappears.

I am guessing that with the bracelets comes a certain measure of the CM's relaxing their guard
I know when I chaperoned field trips for my kids I was constantly counting and making sure I had every kid with me at all times. It was nerve wracking in places like an aquarium that was somewhat dark.
Hoping they learn from this and improve the system.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

This. The issue isn't that the kid turned up okay, apparently in the kid's club. The issue is that the parents went to pick up a 3 year old left in DCL's care, and the CMs had no idea where the kid was for 45 minutes.

It sounds like some of this panic on dad's part could have been avoided if a CM had said with certainty that there was no way the kid could have gotten out of the club. But it sounds like the CMs thought the kid COULD have gotten out of the club, and that's the impression dad got, too. How is dad supposed to know how fool-proof the system is, if even the CMs are worried the kid got out? If even the CMs weren't sure if that was possible, I'm not sure how everyone on here is so confident that it couldn't happen and that the system "worked." A ship-wide alert went out looking for the kid.

Moreover, obviously no one had eyes on that child when he climbed under a bunch of stacked chairs (safe?) to take a nap for, well, at least an hour, it sounds like. No one went, "gee, where did the little boy in the blue shirt go? he was here a minute ago." Why was it dad who noticed that the kid was missing? How poorly was he being supervised within the kids' club that nobody noticed his disappearance until dad showed up? This is a 3 year old, I'd expect someone has at least a lifeguard-level of eye-scanning going on to keep an eye on these kids.

For that matter, was this child's bracelet functioning at the beginning? If not, why wasn't that addressed when he was dropped off? If it was, how can a bracelet go from registering inside the club/lab to "unreadable" without some kind of alert or something? Because the point earlier about the kid being at the bottom of the pool could be relevant - I mean, he could have fallen, hit his head, and drowned in a toilet or something, and the malfunction of his bracelet didn't even alert anyone to check. Someone could have disabled his bracelet to snatch him. There was apparently no alarm when he "disappeared" off the monitoring system inside the club, and no one was watching a screen to see his "blip" go away.

Ultimately, no, I don't think this is worth a free cruise, I guess, but it's not a non-issue, either. It's unacceptable that, having accepted responsibility for a 3 year old, the DCL CMs then lost him and had no idea where he was, that no one was keeping even a casual enough eye on the kids' comings and goings so as to notice when one disappears.

I totally agree with everything you said.

If this were my child I would not be seeking a monetary compensation but I would absolutely expect not only an acknowledgement of about what occurred but a follow up on how they have taken measures it avoid something like this from happening again.

 

[lilpooh108]

I totally agree with everything you said.

If this were my child I would not be seeking a monetary compensation but I would absolutely expect not only an acknowledgement of about what occurred but a follow up on how they have taken measures it avoid something like this from happening again.

I would hope that they do this, for all our kids.

 

[KappaSigHero]

A little slow here

No problem.

I think the dad has legitimate reasons to be concerned, though not "full refund" concerned. I also think that the dad seems much more reasonable after the fact than the Consumerist article made him to be by selective editing.

 

[MaleficentRN]

You didn't read the blog. But it IS true...the man could have just made this whole story up for no good reason. He's not suing....so I'm not sure WHY he'd make the whole thing up, and probably not many people even KNOW him, so therefore, not many people would read his blog.....so I'm not quite sure why he would make all this up...not sure what purpose it would serve...but I guess you could be right. I doubt it, but anything's possible.

I read the blog. And while we get the impression that the child was missing for 45 minutes, because that's how long the dad was running around, how long after dad left the club the second time was the child found?
And I don't think this man is lying. I think some aspects may be embelished. Mainly because of this man's profession:

Brent Csutoras is a social media marketing consultant and entrepreneur, who specializes in social media marketing, content marketing, and viral content creation.

 

[FergusBC]

Really? The bottom line is this...the parents left the child in the care of the CM's who had no idea where the child was. They could not even say if the child was in or out of the club. Yet not only do you think the parents made a big deal out of it...but a 3 year old should be scolded for napping?

Not for napping. For hiding and napping. And no, I wouldn't have gone ballistic on my child or anything but yes, it would have opened a discussion on why you do not find a hiding spot to have a nap (or at least, tell someone before you tuck yourself away!)

My kids were taught from the time they could walk to stay in sight. Spontaneous games of hide and seek are no fun when mommy doesn't know we're playing hide and seek

So yes, I do think he overreacted afterwards. No doubt, I would have been just as freaked out during.

 

[justmestace]

the details that were missing from before

I can understand why the dad is angry now, but I gather that this is not a common occurence. A fluke. If this had happened before I know we would have heard about it, let alone the CMs would have known where to look if this had happened before.

Sounds to me like the Dad is just so emotional about the whole incident that there was nothing short of a public announcement to the entire ship apologizing for the incident that was going to console him.

thankfully his son was found safe and sound

I lost my son in a store (the 2 year old decided to play hide and seek with us)and I know how frantic you get.
I also remember searching our neighborhood as a kid when my sister went missing (she was asleep in the house)-but still, we were frantic then as well.
DCL should have made it more clear what they were doing as far as procedure.
But I will still cruise DCL, I think this was an unusual occurence.

You weren't slow on the uptake, at this point, it would take all day to read the whole thing.

I think that the dad wouldn't have even blogged about it....or maybe not been AS upset in his blog, if they'd had the Captain stop by on his wife's birthday like they said they would, or if they'd shown a little more compassion. At least, that's what I take away from it all.

Like I said in my very first post on here, when I had my accident (caused by a careless CM) I fully trusted the cruise line (and it doesn't matter AT ALL whether it was Disney or not)...I fully trusted the CM's onboard when they told me that the people shoreside would work with me to give me some kind of compensation. Further medical bills at home, whatever.
And it was the cruise director, the hotel director and the head of security onboard, who ALL told me the same thing. I love DCL...obviously, since I'm going to take cruise number 13 (or is it 14?) next year. I BELIEVED them when they said they'd take care of me. I honestly thought I had a reasonably close friendship with the CD onboard.
And I was devastated when I got home and the shoreside person told me "TOUGH LUCK TOOTS".

I did not post the story on here...what happened to me.....and I don't have a blog, so I didn't post it online anywhere. I've only recently mentioned it because it backs up a few things that people don't seem to understand....and maybe it will help someone in the future.

But I have to say, I DO believe this dad, because of what happened to me. And I totally understand how frustrated he is about the fact that while they basically patronized him onboard with promises of compensation once back home, he didn't even get an apology, or the acknowlegement that there might have been a malfunction of the bracelet, or the reassurance that they'd do their best to "fix" the problem. He was simpy shooed away like an annoying fly.
I've been there. I know that feeling. And it makes no difference what cruise line it is. I said that from the start.

But then everyone comes along not believing, calling the man greedy, saying he's lying or over-reacting....and it makes me upset, because if it did happen on one of the other cruise lines, there'd be very few DISers who would doubt the story. THAT'S the part that upsets me.

 

[justmestace]

I read the blog. And while we get the impression that the child was missing for 45 minutes, because that's how long the dad was running around, how long after dad left the club the second time was the child found?
And I don't think this man is lying. I think some aspects may be embelished. Mainly because of this man's profession:

But that's like saying all nurses are bad just because one or two have done something wrong.

 

[MaleficentRN]

But that's like saying all nurses are bad just because one or two have done something wrong.

Uhh...That is not the kind of similie I am making. He is a writer and a promoter. Isn't his job to make things more interesting? If he wrote in his blog, "We couldn't find my son and while I ran around the ship they found him and I was pissed off because I ran around like a nut for nothing." would we all be having this conversation?

 

[Jugglemom]

I have been lurking for a couple months on here in anticipation of our cruise on the Fantasy next month. I am so shocked by the responses on this thread that it pushed me into actually joining and commenting.

I am surprised at how many posters think the father overreacted or that he should be embarrassed at his behavior. On my cruise next month, I, too, will be traveling with a 3 y.o. And it has always been my plan to leave him and my 6 y.o. In the kids club occasionally. Perhaps I am unreasonable, but if I leave my very young child in the care if someone else I expect them to know where my child is AT ALL TIMES. Despite the fact that in his case the child was found safely, we seem to be missing the fact that for 45 minutes the people who were assigned to his care had absolutely no clue where this child was. That, in my opinion, is unacceptable and I am sure that if this were a daycare in any given town the relevant day care licensing board would take issue with "misplacing" a child.

A 3 year old needs significantly more supervision than an 11 year old and adequate provisions need to be made for that fact. At the very minimum the counselors should be taking regular attendance at regular intervals of the children that are in their care. If my child were missing for 45 minutes (specifically if I have entrusted their care to a childcare service) those 45 minutes would be the most horrific of my entire life. I would be thrilled that my child was safe but I would be out for blood. That the child was found safe was no credit to the counselors as they had no idea where he/she was.

 

[justmestace]

I have been lurking for a couple months on here in anticipation of our cruise on the Fantasy next month. I am so shocked by the responses on this thread that it pushed me into actually joining and commenting.

I am surprised at how many posters think the father overreacted or that he should be embarrassed at his behavior. On my cruise next month, I, too, will be traveling with a 3 y.o. And it has always been my plan to leave him and my 6 y.o. In the kids club occasionally. Perhaps I am unreasonable, but if I leave my very young child in the care if someone else I expect them to know where my child is AT ALL TIMES. Despite the fact that in his case the child was found safely, we seem to be missing the fact that for 45 minutes the people who were assigned to his care had absolutely no clue where this child was. That, in my opinion, is unacceptable and I am sure that if this were a daycare in any given town the relevant day care licensing board would take issue with "misplacing" a child.

A 3 year old needs significantly more supervision than an 11 year old and adequate provisions need to be made for that fact. At the very minimum the counselors should be taking regular attendance at regular intervals of the children that are in their care. If my child were missing for 45 minutes (specifically if I have entrusted their care to a childcare service) those 45 minutes would be the most horrific of my entire life. I would be thrilled that my child was safe but I would be out for blood. That the child was found safe was no credit to the counselors as they had no idea where he/she was.

First I want to tell you that I think what happened is pretty out of the norm, and even though I'm very vocal sometimes, I think your child will be safe and well cared for. And I hope you have a great cruise.

But I totally agree with you. You sound like a smart, reasonable, caring mom.

 

[lilpooh108]

A 3 year old needs significantly more supervision than an 11 year old and adequate provisions need to be made for that fact. At the very minimum the counselors should be taking regular attendance at regular intervals of the children that are in their care.

But they don't. There's a "schedule" but not really. Kids can choose to participate in activities or not. There's not real structure, and older kids can choose to be in the Lab, where the younger kids are. There's alot of running, and some 3YO may not be OK with that.

Think of it as more like a drop-in center, rather than a true daycare or preschool. Unless your child really bonds with a CM, they don't particularly get checked on.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

But then everyone comes along not believing, calling the man greedy, saying he's lying or over-reacting....and it makes me upset, because if it did happen on one of the other cruise lines, there'd be very few DISers who would doubt the story. THAT'S the part that upsets me.

Why? Let it go. This is the DIS. You will find DCL apologists. There are 2 reasons for that. 1. People love the product, and people tend to defend what they love even if they look foolish doing so. 2. People ignore certain things because they want to feel good about what they spend $1000's on. But, let's be honest. You are just as bad as the apologists. It seems you have an axe to grind because of your experience. You feel a certain way, others feel differently........No big deal.

 

[EDH Family]

Wow, it must be a slow day on DIS for this post to get 115 replies. Thankfully, it's not about a DU TA that won't replay, the Carnivale Triumph debacle or should I sue DCL for missing CC.

 

[gilsan]

Also, I don't believe the bands have GPS so I don't get the "unreadable". Maybe the CM said something like, "It doesn't read his location". because it's not supposed to?
I think a good solution to the whole freaking out parents is to assign a CM whose only job is to talk to them and keep them calm and updated.

I agree I think the dad wasn't hearing what was said because he wanted to find his son.

From what we were told the bands don't put out a signal but are used to check kids in or out like a fancy UPC code in a grocery store.

The kids clubs are very busy in my experience and I wouldn't expect the same sort of child care you would get in a day care. I think it would be very easy for a little kid to fall asleep in a corner and for the CM's not notice they left. Maybe they went to another area of the club or were checked out by a parent.

The CM's primarily seem to be running activities or observing large groups of kids. These are new kids every week or less. I doubt they would be able to keep a close eye on every single kid all of the time.

 

[JimmyJackJunior]

I am surprised at how many posters think the father overreacted or that he should be embarrassed at his behavior. On my cruise next month, I, too, will be traveling with a 3 y.o. And it has always been my plan to leave him and my 6 y.o. In the kids club occasionally. Perhaps I am unreasonable, but if I leave my very young child in the care if someone else I expect them to know where my child is AT ALL TIMES. Despite the fact that in his case the child was found safely, we seem to be missing the fact that for 45 minutes the people who were assigned to his care had absolutely no clue where this child was. That, in my opinion, is unacceptable and I am sure that if this were a daycare in any given town the relevant day care licensing board would take issue with "misplacing" a child.

If that is the level of supervision you are looking for then you need to leave your child in the Nursery and not the Clubs. I think three years old is kind of debatable for the Clubs anyhow unless you have a very mature child. The Club is far from one on one and I don't think it is reasonable to expect the to know where every kid is at every time. If you go at boarding for open house and see the layout I think you will she why that is. Or for that matter take the virtual tour at the disney website.

My last cruise I had to search the Club three times to find one of my kids. They were in a costume and that made it hard to pick him out.

I give my 10 year old daughter the right to check herself in and out but not my 7 year old son, so I expect him to be within the confines of the Club or Lab at all times and for them to know which one he is in but not to know where he specifically is within that area.

 

[5forDis]

I totally agree with everything you said.

If this were my child I would not be seeking a monetary compensation but I would absolutely expect not only an acknowledgement of about what occurred but a follow up on how they have taken measures it avoid something like this from happening again.

Totally agree. I would not expect any type of compensation for something like this but I absolutely would have expected a more seamless security system in place for a missing child. The parks have it. My daughter hid herself in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground at Hollywood Studios. I was very pregnant and could not keep up with her (or fit through all the crawl spaces ). She was 3.5 years old. I looked and had her 5 yr old brother looking for probably about 5-10 minutes, but I was starting to panic and was alerting a cast member. I finally spotted her way above going quickly through a tunnel. She's now 11 and I still remember the sheer terror I felt at losing her in such a crowded place. It was over quickly & was no fault of any one but me (and her---but she was 3 & I would never expect a 3 yr old to NOT HIDE---they do that because it is fun & they are too young to foresee the worry adults feel).

I also would not let something like that ruin my trip though it would probably have been the last time my child was left in the club. I'd need clear assurance from someone in charge to leave my 3 yr old in there again.

I can't believe people think this father overreacted. 45 minutes, 20 minutes...it is a long time to not find a 3 yr old with pools & an ocean all around. I am thankful my children are older (8, 11, 13) because I do think they fend for themselves a lot in the Oceaneer Club/Lab. My middle child was 10 the last time we cruised and she had a following of little girls who waited for her to arrive in the evening. She would read to them, play with them...basically a CM assistant. She loves that role & there weren't a lot of kids her age to play with her. My then 7 yr old had lots of children her age to play with.

I guess in April, I will make the CMs at the Oceaneer Lab show that my 8 yr old's band is readable . I'm glad to know this happened.

I love Disney but I think they make mistakes and do not always handle their mistakes well. Reading the reports from passengers on the Dream and Fantasy during Hurricane Irene (I think it was Irene), I am not under the illusion that DCL can do no wrong.