Our personal stroller - STOLEN in MK!

[Colleen27]

I think it sounds like a lot of trouble to me. lets say it takes 30 seconds to lock your stroller, and you leave your stroller 30 times a day. Thats 30 min a day (lock and unlock) spent on your stroller. That's 5 hours on a 10 day trip just locking and unlocking your stroller. Not to mention that locking your stroller is going to cause a lot more work for CMs that manage the stroller parking lots.

Yeah, it seems like a lot of hassle to me too, which is why I'm still on the fence about getting a lock. I don't know that I want to bother with it, but on the other hand I'd hate to lose my stroller, even if it wasn't terribly expensive (second-hand).

 

[chwilk]

Thank you for this information. On my November trip (we're driving) I'm planning on bringing my nice stroller (not super nice but more comfy than an umbrella) AND my OK umbrella stroller. That way if one gets stolen I've got my back up. It's really sad that this sort of thing happens anywhere but appreciate you letting us know about it so we can be prepared.

 

[ty_n_cy]

That sucks... I'm sorry that happened to your family. Right before we visited for the first time back in May of this year, we read a similar thread... and we decided we needed to take some preventative measures.

It was kind of a pain to do it all week (especially when it was POURING and we wanted to move the stroller in a hurry) but we bought a cheap bike lock... one with the vinyl/plastic coating on the links and a 3 digit combination... and we put that through the rear wheel and we locked our diaper bag as well by putting the bike chain through the shoulder strap. If someone was going to steal our bag or stroller... they were going to have to take BOTH plus they were going to have to do it with three wheels.

It annoys me to no end to think that this happens ANYWHERE... but it really bothers me when things like this happen in Disney.

Our friends nearly had a brand new Phil & Ted stroller stolen at Hershey Park back in August... we were eating dinner at a restaurant in the park... and no strollers were allowed in the restaurant, but we got a seat by the window. We both parked our strollers underneath the window. Ours is a cheaper Graco double stroller... but we had the chain locking it there too. We looked out and noticed a young woman kept stopping and looking at the P&T stroller. Finally, she grabbed the bag that was hanging on the stroller, dropped it and began pushing the stroller away.

My friend and I leapt up and chased after her. She played it off real well, saying she believed it was hers, etc. But we told her we saw what had happened and how she pulled the bag off the handle. Security intervened... and they escorted her from the park... but what we couldn't figure out is WHY this young woman had such an interest in the stroller and what or who she was planning on pushing around in it.

Again... I'm sorry to hear you had such a poor experience and I'm upset you had to deal with it during your family vacation.

 

[yrdlyprincess]

Oh my gosh-I feel so bad for you. I will definitely keep a better eye on mine this next coming trip and make sure that I don't have anything in the stroller that I would care if it is there or not....someone gave me the suggestion of 2 things- 1 tie a ribbon around the handle of your stroller-like a thick,wide and BRIGHT color ribbon. Also to a diaper (clean one) take a chocolate pudding cup (yes I know this sounds gross-but NO ONE ever touched her stroller) and smear the whole cup in the diaper- put it in a bag a tie it to your stroller (the handle bar-or where you put your coffee) Just a thought. Hope that you have better memories from your trip even though it didn't start off good!

 

[mchelle77]

If Walmart stroller sales are up, maybe they have employees going in and nabbing all these strollers

I jokingly say this about Disney employees when all movie stores lose their Disney movies a month or two before they come out of the vault. I could NOT find Snow White anywhere for the past 3 months .. made me go preorder it!

Anyway, back on topic - I'm in a stroller swap, but I think I may use my lock while there, just in case. Pop it around the back wheel and not have to worry too much about it. I'd hate for it to get stolen while I have it (although, it's only for 4 days - I'll be renting the other days)

 

[chloelovesdisney]

LOL, chocolate pudding diaper, now that's a new idea in stroller theft deterrants.

 

[Tiffany_PartyOf7]

Agh! We are going for a day trip and while I've taken my phil & teds double a million times, I've always been afraid to take my Valco TriMode Twin with the jumpseat. I was going to take it tomorrow - its just my mom and me going since my husband is moving my moms furniture to her new place tomorrow and we need to get the kids out of the house so they aren't in the way LOL. Anyways, I figured a triple would be a better bet than bringing a double and a single (we will only have 3 of my 5 kids - the other 2 are at the mother-in-laws for the weekend) but now I'm rethinking LOL. I can't afford to have my valco stolen haha. So I think I'm going to bring my cheap-o Graco Quatro Duo (or whatever it is called haha) and a single stroller and my ergo carrier and stuff. LOL

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

I have been tossing around the idea of either bringing out Maclaren Volo or the Bugaboo Cameleon. I know the cost of a Bugaboo is outrageous and I would be beyond PO'd if I came out to find it not there. But the comfort for DD outweighs my concerns. Therefore I can do the following:

- Use a lock through the rear wheels.
- Take the front wheels off
- Remove the seat fabric and keep it in the back pack.
- I like the chocolate diaper idea!

Even if doing all of this takes 5 minutes 20 times a day for 6 days (10 hours of our trip if my math is right), I will have piece of mind and our stroller at the end of our trip. Another thought, I plan to replace/order new fabric for the Bugaboo when we get back from WDW as the set I have on there now is getting dingy, so maybe some personalization/defacing is in order

I'll be locking my Macleren Techno for sure. Sorry to any potential stroller thieves out there - mine won't be an option for ya!

Here are some new products we may see in the future:
- Stroller Lojack
- Strollers with removable wheels or handle bars
- A "boot" for strollers
- Stroller alarms that sound like your child's crying
- Fake baby vomit so the stroller is super unattractive to would-be robbers
- Smelly diaper pail for strollers

The front wheels come off fairly easy on my Bugaboo

 

[luvthemouse71]

Sorry this happened to you, OP..I remember reading somewhere that sometimes, local theives target WDW because people have their guard down.Lots of poolside thefts etc. It's sad that there are such people in the world. At least you are not letting this experience keep you from going again.

Regarding why the young woman in one of the PP would steal a stroller...people apparently resell stuff like that and can make some decent money on Craigslist, ebay etc.

 

[mefordis]

I'm so glad you caught that woman in the act! Good for you! Yeah, she probably knew it was expensive and was planning on selling!

That sucks... I'm sorry that happened to your family. Right before we visited for the first time back in May of this year, we read a similar thread... and we decided we needed to take some preventative measures.

It was kind of a pain to do it all week (especially when it was POURING and we wanted to move the stroller in a hurry) but we bought a cheap bike lock... one with the vinyl/plastic coating on the links and a 3 digit combination... and we put that through the rear wheel and we locked our diaper bag as well by putting the bike chain through the shoulder strap. If someone was going to steal our bag or stroller... they were going to have to take BOTH plus they were going to have to do it with three wheels.

It annoys me to no end to think that this happens ANYWHERE... but it really bothers me when things like this happen in Disney.

Our friends nearly had a brand new Phil & Ted stroller stolen at Hershey Park back in August... we were eating dinner at a restaurant in the park... and no strollers were allowed in the restaurant, but we got a seat by the window. We both parked our strollers underneath the window. Ours is a cheaper Graco double stroller... but we had the chain locking it there too. We looked out and noticed a young woman kept stopping and looking at the P&T stroller. Finally, she grabbed the bag that was hanging on the stroller, dropped it and began pushing the stroller away.

My friend and I leapt up and chased after her. She played it off real well, saying she believed it was hers, etc. But we told her we saw what had happened and how she pulled the bag off the handle. Security intervened... and they escorted her from the park... but what we couldn't figure out is WHY this young woman had such an interest in the stroller and what or who she was planning on pushing around in it.

Again... I'm sorry to hear you had such a poor experience and I'm upset you had to deal with it during your family vacation.

 

[mefordis]

Yeah, I plan on getting the wheel lock for our stroller, but I'd also like to do something else to identify the stroller clearly as mine. Something that is permanent. Any ideas?

I have been tossing around the idea of either bringing out Maclaren Volo or the Bugaboo Cameleon. I know the cost of a Bugaboo is outrageous and I would be beyond PO'd if I came out to find it not there. But the comfort for DD outweighs my concerns. Therefore I can do the following:

- Use a lock through the rear wheels.
- Take the front wheels off
- Remove the seat fabric and keep it in the back pack.
- I like the chocolate diaper idea!

Even if doing all of this takes 5 minutes 20 times a day for 6 days (10 hours of our trip if my math is right), I will have piece of mind and our stroller at the end of our trip. Another thought, I plan to replace/order new fabric for the Bugaboo when we get back from WDW as the set I have on there now is getting dingy, so maybe some personalization/defacing is in order



The front wheels come off fairly easy on my Bugaboo

 

[mefordis]

Why not just get the wheel lock?

Agh! We are going for a day trip and while I've taken my phil & teds double a million times, I've always been afraid to take my Valco TriMode Twin with the jumpseat. I was going to take it tomorrow - its just my mom and me going since my husband is moving my moms furniture to her new place tomorrow and we need to get the kids out of the house so they aren't in the way LOL. Anyways, I figured a triple would be a better bet than bringing a double and a single (we will only have 3 of my 5 kids - the other 2 are at the mother-in-laws for the weekend) but now I'm rethinking LOL. I can't afford to have my valco stolen haha. So I think I'm going to bring my cheap-o Graco Quatro Duo (or whatever it is called haha) and a single stroller and my ergo carrier and stuff. LOL

 

[mefordis]

1. I will gladly spend a couple of minutes to lock my stroller to keep the thieves from stealing it. Gives me peace of mind, as well so I can have more fun. Think of the time it would take out of my vacation if we had it stolen. Much more time than locking it would.

2. I think by now CMs know that guests need to take precautions to protect their valuables, so I don't think they will mind wheeling the stroller on two wheels as opposed to four.

I think it sounds like a lot of trouble to me. lets say it takes 30 seconds to lock your stroller, and you leave your stroller 30 times a day. Thats 30 min a day (lock and unlock) spent on your stroller. That's 5 hours on a 10 day trip just locking and unlocking your stroller. Not to mention that locking your stroller is going to cause a lot more work for CMs that manage the stroller parking lots.

I spent 100 bucks on a decent folding stroller for this trip knowing it could walk.

Main thing is bad things happen to good people on vacation. If you don't let it get you down then it wont. If you get upset then its going to bug ya.

OP, sorry this happened to you and I hope you still have some good memorys of this trip.

 

[mechteach]

I have been tossing around the idea of either bringing out Maclaren Volo or the Bugaboo Cameleon. I know the cost of a Bugaboo is outrageous and I would be beyond PO'd if I came out to find it not there. But the comfort for DD outweighs my concerns. Therefore I can do the following:

- Use a lock through the rear wheels.
- Take the front wheels off
- Remove the seat fabric and keep it in the back pack.
- I like the chocolate diaper idea!

I would think that putting a lock through the rear wheels would be more effective than taking the front wheels off. It's still pretty easy to roll a stroller around on the rear wheels, and most stroller thieves would probably recognize a Bugaboo and know that the cost of replacing a couple of wheels is much less than the resale value of the stroller!

 

[kaytieeldr]

LOL, chocolate pudding diaper, now that's a new idea in stroller theft deterrants.

And it won't work any better than the ubiquitous Coke-stained diaper. First, this suggestion has been around for over fifteen years, so it's unlikely to fool anyone. Second, realistically, WHO would walk around with a soiled diaper displayed on their stroller? Nobody, right? So why would any determined - or even accidental - thief be expected to be fooled? Nope, a lock makes much more sense... plus, the milk in the pudding will go bad in the heat.

 

[aidtrismommy]

I have read on other stroller posts like this one that people intentionally steal nice strollers and then sell them on ebay and such. That is probably why that persons phil and ted stroller was targeted at Hershey Park. It was expensive and newish and could be re-sold for $$ online. So while I believe a lot of strollers are moved and owners cannot find them (especially at POTC, they move strollers there ALL the time), or some are confused with others, I strongly believe that many strollers are stolen because they can be sold or the person is "trading up". Don't be naive, pudding or coke diapers DO NOT WORK. Buy a lock. When one person is taking your kid out of the stroller, another person can lock it up. It won't waste time. Or when one person is gathering up the diaper bag and such, the other person can unlock. And vice -versa.

 

[Mike2023]

1. I will gladly spend a couple of minutes to lock my stroller to keep the thieves from stealing it. Gives me peace of mind, as well so I can have more fun. Think of the time it would take out of my vacation if we had it stolen. Much more time than locking it would.

2. I think by now CMs know that guests need to take precautions to protect their valuables, so I don't think they will mind wheeling the stroller on two wheels as opposed to four.

in my mind the chances of your stroller actually getting stolen are 1 in 1000. So budgeting 5 hours of my vacation to protect against this is not worth it. And even if my stroller was to get stolen it would not take me the 5 hours to deal with it. Maybe an hour to report it stolen and 10 min to pick up a new one from one of the stores. So I still would be ahead of the game.

And as a guest I would never leave anything of any value with my stroller. It all comes with me in my backpack or shoulder bag.

If getting your stroller stolen would be a huge deal to you and could kill your vacation then by all means do whatever you feel is necessary to ensure your trip goes well. I am not saying anyone is wrong for wanting to protect your stuff. IMHO time is more important to me then the stroller when on vacation and taking the wheels off and seat off and locking it up is just not something I would be willing to do.

To each his own.

 

[lovesdumbo]

And as a guest I would never leave anything of any value with my stroller. It all comes with me in my backpack or shoulder bag.

The only thing I leave in the stroller is a clear zip lock bag with ponchos. I don't leave any bag that looks it that "might" have something of value in it. I think some thieves would take the stroller in the hopes that there might be something of value in the bag.

 

[PEIslander]

Do you know if you can rent a stroller at the parks? If yes, how much $$$

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

Yeah, I plan on getting the wheel lock for our stroller, but I'd also like to do something else to identify the stroller clearly as mine. Something that is permanent. Any ideas?

I am thinking of putting a big iron-on design on the seat, maybe the front, maybe the rear - maybe even the hood! As stated, we're purchasing new seat fabric when we return as ours is starting to look grungy.