Can this be true, or another "Disney Legend?"

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Mistakes hapen... the most watchful of parents/caregivers can lose a determined child. But this:

Got in the park without a ticket, huh?

Yeah, that happens all the time.

and this:

It's the uncaring CM that make it less then believable to me. I've seen them go into major "find child mode" just seconds after a parent said "hey ... where's little Jimmy..." It's done quietly, but with intensity.

It would also be all over the news, right? Any chance to get on the news and say how terrible the Big, Bad Disney Corporation is...

make this impossible in my mind. Disney takes a lost child seriously every time. And letting anyone in without a ticket? Ha. Never gonna happen.

 

[TunaSled]

Did. Not. Happen.

I would like to take this moment to point out my favorite post in this thread:

Likely? No. But still probable.

No offense intended please but this is just great

 

[GAN]

For me the biggest sign in this story is that a child wearing a sticker that says Autistic, gets on a bus by themselves and not one person notices the child might be alone. Even on a crowed bus I've got to believe that at least one parent showed some concern. I just can't buy the whole story.

 

[Schmeck]

The only thing that rings true about this fable is that the creator blames everyone else for not doing the parent's job. That I believe! The rest, nah...

 

[chartle]

For those playing along, the OP is back and is 100% behind her story.

 

[shalom]

So that part I can believe - perhaps more perception in your panic - but definitely possible to feel that way.

That was my thought as well. And the mom could be mistaken about the person who saw her child get on the bus, etc. etc. I'm willing to believe there's a core of truth to it, probably that the child got away and got on a bus and mom was in a good panic for a bit. But the details like "Disney didn't care" and "she got in the park without a ticket" I'm finding a lot harder to buy.

Autistic kids vary in their tolerance for noise and ruckus and strangers, so I don't find the idea of the child seeking out the parks by herself hard to believe.

 

[chartle]

I've read a lot of "How not to lose your kids threads" and I think I have kind of found a flaw in Disney's lost kids procedure, sort of.

Its seems that the way it works boils down to:

• Kid is missing
• Parent finds out and finds CM who calls it in
• Kid realizes they are lost and finds CM or kid looks lost or is in distress and either a CM sees the kid or a Guest alerts a CM. Either way CM calls it in.
• The "call center" connects the two together and "lost parent" is found.

This procedure assumes that either the kid looks lost and/or wants to be found. If this story is true this kid didn't think she was lost and didn't look lost to a ton of people.

 

[Hannathy]

The only thing that rings true about this fable is that the creator blames everyone else for not doing the parent's job. That I believe! The rest, nah...

100% agree!


It is Disney's fault not hers (according to OP). Personal responsibility folks, at least own up to not doing your job because if you had then Disney would't have had anything to do.

 

[WedgieSock]

100% agree!


It is Disney's fault not hers (according to OP). Personal responsibility folks, at least own up to not doing your job because if you had then Disney would't have had anything to do.

Exactly. I am 100% responsible for my child no matter what the situation is.

 

[WedgieSock]

Sorry but I have to weigh in again ... if indeed this story is true, there is nobody to blame but the caregiver. She is obviously well-versed in Autism as she is the parent of an Autistic child. I know a bit as my God-Son is higher level Autistic. So, if I know, then she should know, that Autistic children are very prone to bolting.

My God-Son has his hand held at ALL times when in a busy or unfamiliar place. If he is not in the mood to have his hand held, then his Mum basically hovers behind him (and yes, sometimes it looks like she is in a soccer goal, shimmy-ing side to side) so that she can keep an eye on him EVERY second.

The story is either an urban legend or the caregiver needs to stop whining about Disney and accept that the blame lies solely on her. Harsh, but a simple reality.

 

[Emteach]

Sorry but I have to weigh in again ... if indeed this story is true, there is nobody to blame but the caregiver. She is obviously well-versed in Autism as she is the parent of an Autistic child. I know a bit as my God-Son is higher level Autistic. So, if I know, then she should know, that Autistic children are very prone to bolting.

My God-Son has his hand held at ALL times when in a busy or unfamiliar place. If he is not in the mood to have his hand held, then his Mum basically hovers behind him (and yes, sometimes it looks like she is in a soccer goal, shimmy-ing side to side) so that she can keep an eye on him EVERY second.

The story is either an urban legend or the caregiver needs to stop whining about Disney and accept that the blame lies solely on her. Harsh, but a simple reality.

Exactly! If this were true it is solely the caregivers responsibility not Disneys but I REALLY cant see a child getting through without a ticket. I know my brother, when he was in the stroller, didnt have to scan his finger but we ALWAYS had to scan them.

 

[mjp12831]

Just read the story again.

It's kinda like an episode of "Touch" - Just needs an overly dramatic Kiefer Sutherland running around WDW saying "Jake"

 

[Disney Doll]

I don't believe it.

Several years back, DH & I wer at WL. We decided to walk the little wooded trail from WL toward FW. We were training for arace and decided to go that way to add some distance.

So we're going along for about 10 minutes and suddenly up drives a Security guard on a golf cart. Very jolly and he says to me in a kidding sort of way "Do you know this fella ma'am?". I say "Yes, he's my husband." So then he says "You folks enjoying your stay?" I say yes. He asks what we're doing on the trail. I say training. He then gave a cheery wave and off he drove.

So DH says to me "You know what that was right?". I'm like "Yes, it was a security guard". He said "It was a security guard who saw us on some camera somewhere going into this rather secluded path so he decided to take a ride to make sure I wasn't someone who had kidnapped and was dragging you out here to molest/kill you. You notice, he conversed pretty much with you and talked to you long enough to ascertain that you felt no danger".

So, I'm guessing the story's fake.

 

[minnie mum]

I think the debate about the responsibility of the caregiver is moot. I don't believe this story for one simple reason. I simply cannot believe than an unaccompanied child of this age could simply stroll through both security and the entrance gate without a CM noticing. It just strains credulity too much.

 

[LSUfan4444]

My bet is that it is a gross exxageration. Maybe the kid wandered off, maybe they even made it to the bus, maybe they even made it on the bus, but my guess is everything after that is just embelishment.

No, the ride was going so fast it literally almost took my head off. I had whiplash for a week after that.