Have you ever lost your child at Disney?

[kakiegirl]

DD is 6 and she will be going to Disney this year for the first time stroller free. I have this fear of losing her for she is bad about stoping to look at something or if she gets intrested in something forgetting all about us. I just wonder if anyone had ever lost their child at disney. I do not handle things like that very well I lost her in Chuck-E-Cheese when she was three and I was hysterical. I let her go through the playground area and she didn't come back sent a friends older child in to find her and they could not find her. I was crying and screaming her name. They were not stamping hands that day and a child abduction had just been on the news that morning. I was trying to look for her at watch the door to make sure no one took her out at the same time. Needless to say what seemed like hours was just minutes and actually my friends 4 year old son found her and came and pulled on my leg and said I found her she was watching some older girls play a game and had not even missed me or realized she was lost I know the other mothers thought I was crazy , but what was sad was no one offered to help us. If I saw a mother that upset I would try to help.

 

[Nora94]

The book I read Walt DisneyWorld & Universal Studios with kids by Kim Wright Wiley said this about lost kids,
"If you do get seperated and your kids are too young to understand the idea of a meeting place, act fast. Disney employees are well-briefed about what to do if they encounter a lost child, so the odds are good that if your preschooler has been wandering around on his own for more than a couple of minutes, he's been intercepted by a Disney staff member and is on his way to Baby Services. Flag down the nearest person you see wearing a Disney nametag and ask them to call Baby Services and see if the child has been reported found.

In real emergencies - when a child is very young or disabled, or when you are afraid she's been nabbed - bulletins are put out amoung employees. So if you lose a child, don't spend a half hour frantically searching on your own. Contact the nearest Disney employee and let the system take it from there."

Never been there with kids but I wouldn't worry!
Nora
only 3 more days!!! till fly day!!

 

[dizluvr71]

I've never lost my child, however I got lost in DL when I was 6. I was walking along holding my aunts hand and too busy watching Splash Mountain and then all of sudden I realized I wasnt' holding her hand anymore. I went to grab the hand nearest to me and when I looked up there was a man looking down at me. I looked around me and could not find either one of my aunts or my brother and began to cry. When we first arrived at the Park my grandma took me up to a CM and basically told my brother and I that they were an employee and that it was ok to talk to anyone in the park that was dressed like them and they would help us if for some reason were got separated. One of the CM's noticed that I was crying and alone and came up and asked me if I was lost. She took me to an area with other children (about 10) that were lost and needless to say, my grandma was good and knew exactly what to do, because not more that 2-3 minutes she was there to find me. I felt bad for the other kids that were still sitting there waiting for someone.
I took my son last year for the first time to DL and he was 6 (almost 7) when we went. I did the same thing my grandma did when we arrived at the park the first time, I also made sure he knew my cell phone #, my name and the hotel we were at. I quizzed him every morning on our way to the park about what he would do if we were to get separated, lucky for us that never happened.
All I can say is you know your child best and all you can do is give them the best preparation possible. Be sure she knows who she can talk to if she were to get separated from you and has someway of knowing where you are staying and a phone number, whether it is by memory or on a piece of paper in her pocket. And for you to always carry a recent photo with you and take special note of what she was wearing that day. Also, just remember that not everyone is bad and if I saw a Mom who was looking around frantically I would stop and ask if I could help.

 

[disneyfamilyof5]

We were at Disney World in 2003 and I lost my 9 year old son for a brief 30 seconds but it was the longest 30 seconds in the world and everything was a blur during that time. I was screaming and crying at the top of my lungs and panicking. All the cast members there were very helpful in trying to calm me down but I could not calm down. (there's no reasoning w/me when my children are in danger ) The people in the parks were also so very helpful in stopping what they were doing to help me out and calling out the name of my son as well. I'll never forget this one lady pushing a stroller saw the terror in my eyes and started yelling for my son for me!!! I was so grateful to her!!! My husband found him within 30 seconds, thank goodness!!! BUT this year, I am thinking of taking wrist leashes for all 3 of them so this does NOT happen again as well as little walkie talkies.

 

[oogieboogie]

DTD, September 2004. We went from Once Upon a Toy to the Pin Trading store across the way. I thought DH had DS2. DH thought his brother had DS. BIL thought I had DS2.

DS2 was with a CM who found him and was walking him back to OUaT. He had gotten confused and was walking back to the one building he recognized. I don't blame him for getting confused. DTD is a zoo with so many people going back and forth. But he knew enough to go to a CM who then walked him back to OUaT.

That was a scary thing to happen. Now when we go to DTD, one person is in charge of him at all times and he is to hold our hands at all times. We watch him like a hawk now.

 

[meandtheguys2]

I lost DS5 for about 5 minutes in January. I was hysterical inside. Calm outside. I had explained to him to go to a CM or a Mommy if he was ever lost. He found a mommy. Thank God. We were outside, BTMR, we gave her and her family (her husband was irritated for the delay) our FPs and went home. I am so thankful for her, and checked this thread to see if she was on here reporting a poor crying boy coming to her in a crowd, seperated from the 5 other people who should have known where he was!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I was separated from DD6 on our last Disney cruise for about 40 minutes. It was a nightmare. The pool was very crowded during the Sailaway Party and I just went to put my feet in the water with her. She saw the empty table and panicked. Another parent took her to a CM even though I was right there. (Wished they'd hung around for a couple of minutes). They took her to the kids club (which I didn't know they do; luckily we'd already registered her) and I didn't hear my beeper going off because the noise level was so loud and I was in full blown "find her" mode, LOL. She was safe but we all cried when we met up at the kids club.

At WDW I put hospital bracelets on our kids with our cell phone #s on them so if they get lost we can be reached right away.

I've read on the board here that the security cameras are so sophisticated, if a child appears in distress numerous CMs appear right away.

 

[kakiegirl]

Thanks for all the good advice. I will definently make sure she knows mine and dh's cell phone #'s and to go to a cast member. Thanks for sharing your experiences also it eases my mind some to know that Disney is so on top of things training their CM's in this area. I also am thinking of taking a leash we still have one from when she was smaller and using it if the parks are really crowded. Of course I'm not planning on losing her but what parent does?

 

[meandtheguys2]

Don't forget the "mommy rule". Which one of us wouldn't walk the extra mile for a lost little one?!

 

[Maureenmouse]

I'm a bit nervous too as I know my DD2 wouldn't know what to tell a CM. My 5 yo DD might, but I bought them cheap digital plastic Disney watches. I plan to write our cell phone #s on the inside of the band with a Sharpie. Hopefully if one of the girls get seperated from us, they'll show a CM the #s. I will remind them every day about going to a CM if they get lost.

 

[lilyprincess]

Last may my DS was almost 4 when we lost him at Typhoon Lygoon. That's right a *#$#$ water park. We had only been there for about 20 minutes. Just long enough to find some chairs and park our stuff in the sand. We were walking around exploring the area when DS sees a kiddie slide directly to the left of the big wave pool. My husband, with then 1 year old daughter in his arms brings him to the short line that leads up the stairs to the slide. I wait at the bottom of the slide. DS never comes down the slide. I finally start thinking I must have missed him. I then gaze to my right at gigantic wave pool and recall DS insisting he didn't require a life jacket at the ripe old age of almost four. I alerted the the life guard while my husband and two very nice women start calling his name. I just stand there paralized in fear waiting for security. After what seems like hours a security guy with a head set asks me what he looks like and what color his swim trunks are. Then over all the loud speakers in the park booms, "Lost child lost child, His name is....." Thank God almost immediately my husband comes walking up with the "Lost Child". He had chickened out on the slide and had made his way behind My husband and I, through the wave pool, was knocked down by the waves (got two bloody knees and the skin scratched on the top of his foot). He then made it out of the water and was sitting back at OUR chairs with OUR stuff crying his head off when another mom spotted him and was about to alert a cm, then my husband showed up. We immediatley put life jackets on both kids and they kept them on the rest of the day. I still feel incredibly guilty about the whole episode. Throughout the rest of the day, which could only go up from there, we heard 7 Lost Child calls over the loud speaker but I still felt like the worst mom in the world. DS did stay super close by for the rest of the week though and he is still really good about hanging onto the stroller or a hand in crowded situations. At least we all learned a valuable lesson. I just wish it hadn't involved water, with giant waves.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I just wish it hadn't involved water, with giant waves

That's how I felt, too, with the pool incident. The feeling I had running back and forth scanning the bottom of the Mickey and Goofy pools I never want to experience again. I was sure she must have had an accident in the water - or worse that someone had abducted her. I kept thinking, though, "we're on a Disney cruise, it can't be" - we hadn't even left port yet!

I can't imagine the strife parents feel when things happen for real.

 

[bjscheel]

My DDs will be wearing their cell phone bracelets- a lady on eBay made them, they have each number on a bead plus pretty beads too. They clasp on and are too snug for the girls to remove. Makes me feel a little better!

 

[SonofShine]

well i (as a kid, not parent) got 'lost' in WDW. Our general rule was to go right back to the last place you saw the family and that worked pretty well

 

[DsnyGrl]

Cast members are well aware of how to handle lost children. The child is usually terrified, so they will keep your child calm and ask them for information. They will immediately notify management and security. The most important thing for you to remember is that the cast member will remain in the same location with your child. They will stay put for at least 10-15 minutes after that they will take further action. So remember when/where you last saw your child and the things that you have passed. More than likely your child will go back to the familiar things. I have seen parents stick address labels or pin business cards to the clothing. I even saw a child where his mom had written his name/phone number on his belly with a Sharpie! Just make sure your little girl is well informed in what to do if she ever gets lost.

 

[ckckc2000]

OMG-YES!!!! We lost my DS when he was almost 4!!!! We were at DL and we were in line for POTC-when the line shut down-we had a bunch of people back up into us and my BIL had my DS-I had my 18 month old DD in my arms-so when we get to the strollers-I look at my BIL(well he was right there a minute ago ) and notice my DS is gone-I start shouting his name-no DS-gone vanished!!-We all set out and for 22minutes (by now I'm really losing it!!!! )my DH finds him and now has to find me to let me know-I cryed for an hour-I've never been that scared!!!! And the CM's at DL said they couldn't help me but that if they found him they would have him walked to the Lost Child area-where's that I ask-on the other side the Park No security was called no help was offered-It was just a nightmare!!!!! So hopefully our next attempt at Disney will be better DS is now 11-A little harder to lose Oh we figured that DS got caugth up with the crowd and swept up into the Swiss Family Tree House-very much out of site!!!

 

[stemikger]

DD was 8 when I lost her on its a small world. She was never found again, one of the CMs said that she has become one of the dolls. I found out after that it is a strange thing that happens every once in a while. If the child is secretly wishing that they could live there, they may get there wish and become one of the dolls.

 

[ladydancer]

We are arriving @ WDW on Monday. My grown children and grandkids are going with us. I bought tags for the grandkids at the pet store and put there parents cell # on them and attached them to there shoe. Also we have those wrist and body harness for a couple of the kids. Those are for the 16 mo. old and the 6 year old autisic boy. I'm so worried about losing them.

I found a little girl in the gift shop at Epcot last year. She was about 20 months old I would guess. I had her for about 3 minutes when her father showed up in a panic. Of couse she didn't have ID. I would have called her parents with my cell phone if she had there number on her person.

 

[blizzard]

Just a quick idea for those of us with digital cameras. Take a quick picture of your child in the morning before you head for the parks. Then you have a recent photo of your child in the clothes they are wearing that day. If necessary, the photo could be downloaded by Disney in a heartbeat and sent wherever need be for ID. Something that would only take 30 seconds, but could prove invaluable if you were seperated.

 

[ducklite]

We tried to lose him last year...

It didn't work.

Of course he was 18 at the time LOL!

Anne