A Lesson learned at AKL

[jeni1072]

I just wanted to point out that no one said this.

.

And I just want to point out, yes they did. So I hope thats your own computer you're banging with your smiley.
Now have a Merry Christmas!

 

[maxiesmom]

There is no post that I can find that says "How dare you not want to mess with travelers checks." That is what I was saying.

Is it horrible that the OP was robbed? YES! But by either using the safe provided or by buying travelers checks it could have been prevented. I'm not sure why people pointing that out is considered offensive. I'm sure the OP didn't put a sign out "money in suitcase, rob me please", but by not taking the time to help prevent these things she made herself an easy target. Robberies do happen at Disney World. To think they don't and you have no need to take care of your stuff is just crazy.

 

[Viki]

Wow! I am so trusting. I travel frequently - certainly not as much as many - but still lots, for my career and pleasure, and I have never, in 20 plus years, had anything stolen. Guess I've just been lucky.

Actually, it's funny. I've never even worried about losing money - but I DO worry about someone messing with my many, many MEDS!!! (Some of which might garner some interest). I wonder if anyone has ever experienced that sort of thing ?

 

[ducklite]

Wow! I am so trusting. I travel frequently - certainly not as much as many - but still lots, for my career and pleasure, and I have never, in 20 plus years, had anything stolen. Guess I've just been lucky.

Actually, it's funny. I've never even worried about losing money - but I DO worry about someone messing with my many, many MEDS!!! (Some of which might garner some interest). I wonder if anyone has ever experienced that sort of thing ?

Some of the meds DS has been on in the past had a "Street Value" and we kept them locked in the safe.

Anne

 

[ImprovGal]

I stayed at AKL last year. One of the days I decided to walk to the end of one of the Savannah-view wings to see animals. On the way, I saw a few rooms with doors held open with the deadbolts, and no housekeeper ANYWHERE in sight. I'm sure she was around somewhere, but I didn't see her or hear her. I could have waltz into any room if I wanted, no one was watching. I even walked slowly down the hall, and I never saw the housekeeper emerge to "guard" all these rooms left open.

I already knew not to ever leave anything valuable in my room, and seeing how housekeeping just leaves open doors, just confirms how easy it can be to steal from rooms. The housekeepers do what's convient for them to do their job, which is opening many rooms at once, I guess. I seen this practice at POR, too. I bet theft happens all the time - Disney isn't that removed from the real world, sadly.

.... and sometimes housekeeping forgets they left the door open.

I checked into POFQ on 12/7 around 10:15pm and made my way to my assigned room only to find that it was left propped open by the deadbolt latch. I have no idea how long it sat open before I got there.

 

[Viki]

Some of the meds DS has been on in the past had a "Street Value" and we kept them locked in the safe.

Anne

Good to know. Thanks Anne!

 

[cassie]

I'm really sorry chirurgeon about the theft. This was a hard lesson many of us have learned. I'm very forgetful too, but I leave my airline tickets also with money in the safe. So far I haven't forgotten to check the safe. On one trip I forgot to empty one of the bureau drawers I called Disney after getting home and the mousekeeper had bagged my clothes and returned them to lost & found. No problem, Disney sent them back to me free postage.

I also put any purchases in a suitcase and lock it. There are locks that you can use that are TSA approved which I love. I don't like to leave unlocked luggage going through the airports checked baggage. If security needs to check the bag, they can unlock it, and relock it.

 

[daisyduck123]

After reading the first few replies on this thread....I think the next time we go to a hotel or on a plane, that I'm going to pack one of those "springy snake thingies" in each of our suitcases. If a CM or airport employee opens one of our suitcases - he's going to get a startling surprise!!!!

 

[Questforthemouse]

We have been trusting the safe in the room with our wallets and have had no problems. I was just reading a post above this one that had a family staying at ASMU that had her wallet stolen from the safe.

I also just read the post about someone staying at the All Star Suites who had a wallet stolen from the safe in her room. Her safe was actually broken into and the wallet stolen. They had a mess.

Let's be careful folks. The above 2 quotes from this thread are not accurate. The guest discussed in the previous thread did not have their wallet stolen out of their locked safe at the ASMU Family Suites. Disney personnel removed the wallet and placed it in the safe at the front desk. A previous guest had called to let ASMU management know that they had accidently left their wallet in one of the two safes in the room upon departure. When Disney personnel went to retrieve the wallet they had to break into both safes (there are 2 in the family suites) to get the wallet the previous guest left behind. They now had to replace both locks on the two safes. They left the new key for the new locks in the lock on the one safe and took the current guest's wallet to the front desk safe. Unfortunately (major oversight), front desk did not leave a message for the current guest letting them know what happend and that their wallet was safe. Therefore, the current guest thought their wallet was stolen. Nonetheless, it wasn't. Disney removed it for safe keeping. Don't mean to pick on the two posters but I think it is important we understand the the safe was not "broken into" and the wallet was not stolen.

Cheers...

 

[ducklite]

We have been trusting the safe in the room with our wallets and have had no problems. I was just reading a post above this one that had a family staying at ASMU that had her wallet stolen from the safe.

I also just read the post about someone staying at the All Star Suites who had a wallet stolen from the safe in her room. Her safe was actually broken into and the wallet stolen. They had a mess.

Let's be careful folks. The above 2 quotes from this thread are not accurate. The guest discussed in the previous thread did not have their wallet stolen out of their locked safe at the ASMU Family Suites. Disney personnel removed the wallet and placed it in the safe at the front desk. A previous guest had called to let ASMU management know that they had accidently left their wallet in one of the two safes in the room upon departure. When Disney personnel went to retrieve the wallet they had to break into both safes (there are 2 in the family suites) to get the wallet the previous guest left behind. They now had to replace both locks on the two safes. They left the new key for the new locks in the lock on the one safe and took the current guest's wallet to the front desk safe. Unfortunately (major oversight), front desk did not leave a message for the current guest letting them know what happend and that their wallet was safe. Therefore, the current guest thought their wallet was stolen. Nonetheless, it wasn't. Disney removed it for safe keeping. Don't mean to pick on the two posters but I think it is important we understand the the safe was not "broken into" and the wallet was not stolen.

Cheers...

It was already in safe keeping!

Actually, technically it was stolen. It was taken from their locked safe without thier permission. Unless it was done by police with a valid search warrant, a theft occured. When police execute a search warrant and no one is home, they tape a copy of the warrant to the door of the premesis. It's the law that they are required to do so.

The hotel had absolutely no legal right to take an item from a guests safe. And the guest now has the potential of having thier credit score impacted due to having to cancel credit cards.

That family additionally got such a run around by the staff at the resort that I think they were all talking in different languages to each other. Frankly the wife sounds like she went a bit overboard and didn't handle it in the most constructive way, but nonetheless, please do not blame the victim here. Disney was wrong to open that safe without the current occupant of the room being present, and was criminal in removing the wallet from the safe--without even verifying it was the wallet they were looking for!

A guest who locks thier valuables in a safe provided by a hotel has every right to believe that safe will not be broken into by hotel staff.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

After reading the first few replies on this thread....I think the next time we go to a hotel or on a plane, that I'm going to pack one of those "springy snake thingies" in each of our suitcases. If a CM or airport employee opens one of our suitcases - he's going to get a startling surprise!!!!

TSA (airport workers) has every legal right to open and inspect you bags for any reason. You do not need to be present, they do not need to ask your permission.

And if you purposely "b00by trap" a suitcase, you will probably not like the end result when some very serious people remove you from your flight for questioning.

Anne

 

[ekball]

TSA (airport workers) has every legal right to open and inspect you bags for any reason. You do not need to be present, they do not need to ask your permission.

And if you purposely "b00by trap" a suitcase, you will probably not like the end result when some very serious people remove you from your flight for questioning.

Anne

Really????? Would packing a "springy snake thingy" get you yanked off of a plane for questioning? Man, I better be very careful which of my children's toys I pack for our next trip. We have no play guns, knives, bombs around our house, but we have plenty of talking toys that may give an agent a bit of a startle. I guess talking luggage in general may be a bit of a fright.

 

[ducklite]

Really????? Would packing a "springy snake thingy" get you yanked off of a plane for questioning? Man, I better be very careful which of my children's toys I pack for our next trip. We have no play guns, knives, bombs around our house, but we have plenty of talking toys that may give an agent a bit of a startle. I guess talking luggage in general may be a bit of a fright.

Well, there's a difference between having toys in your bags and purposely putting something into the bag in a way that it was meant to startle a TSA agent who might open the bag. Yes, I do believe that if they felt you were purposely trying to startle them, they might take you off the plane and have some words with you.

Anne

 

[ekball]

Well, there's a difference between having toys in your bags and purposely putting something into the bag in a way that it was meant to startle a TSA agent who might open the bag. Yes, I do believe that if they felt you were purposely trying to startle them, they might take you off the plane and have some words with you.

Anne

Gotcha.

 

[Lewisc]

I'd think Disney policy as well as applicable FL inkeeping laws would cover this situation and not permit what Disney did. I wonder what Disney's liability would be if the guest insisted they had thousands of dollars of cash in the safe.

It was already in safe keeping!

Actually, technically it was stolen. It was taken from their locked safe without thier permission. Unless it was done by police with a valid search warrant, a theft occured. When police execute a search warrant and no one is home, they tape a copy of the warrant to the door of the premesis. It's the law that they are required to do so.

The hotel had absolutely no legal right to take an item from a guests safe. And the guest now has the potential of having thier credit score impacted due to having to cancel credit cards.

That family additionally got such a run around by the staff at the resort that I think they were all talking in different languages to each other. Frankly the wife sounds like she went a bit overboard and didn't handle it in the most constructive way, but nonetheless, please do not blame the victim here. Disney was wrong to open that safe without the current occupant of the room being present, and was criminal in removing the wallet from the safe--without even verifying it was the wallet they were looking for!

A guest who locks thier valuables in a safe provided by a hotel has every right to believe that safe will not be broken into by hotel staff.

Anne

 

[ericafny]

I've pretty much read all 4 pages of this thread and have to put in my two cents (or I wouldn't be a Diser )

DBF and I ALWAYS put anything that has any kind of value in the safe. I think its because we live in NY and are just trained to be overly-cautious.

I can see how the OP would think by leaving her cash in a zippered pocket in a closed suitcase it would be safe. Unfortunatly, if a thief is in your room, they WILL go through things to get what they are looking for.

To the OP-I hope your letter to Disney brings you some kind of retribution, if not acknowledgement that this is a problem.

To anyone else-like the OP said, consider this a warning

 

[Cool-Beans]

I don't lock anything up, but I don't take anything I couldn't part with or replace. Nobody has stolen anything yet.

I'm sorry your money was stolen, that totally sucks. Locking it up is a good idea, but it is too bad you had to learn your lesson the hard way.

 

[Questforthemouse]

It was already in safe keeping!

Actually, technically it was stolen. It was taken from their locked safe without thier permission. Unless it was done by police with a valid search warrant, a theft occured. When police execute a search warrant and no one is home, they tape a copy of the warrant to the door of the premesis. It's the law that they are required to do so.

The hotel had absolutely no legal right to take an item from a guests safe. And the guest now has the potential of having thier credit score impacted due to having to cancel credit cards.

That family additionally got such a run around by the staff at the resort that I think they were all talking in different languages to each other. Frankly the wife sounds like she went a bit overboard and didn't handle it in the most constructive way, but nonetheless, please do not blame the victim here. Disney was wrong to open that safe without the current occupant of the room being present, and was criminal in removing the wallet from the safe--without even verifying it was the wallet they were looking for!

A guest who locks thier valuables in a safe provided by a hotel has every right to believe that safe will not be broken into by hotel staff.

Anne

Hi Anne,

As you can see, I'm fairly new to these boards. As a matter of fact, the DISBoards are the first and only boards I've ever posted to. Thus, I'm still learning how to use the features properly. I would have liked to have broken your quote into sections and responded to each section separately but I don't yet know how to do this (maybe someone could explain to me?). Nonetheless, I'll have to mush it all into one response. One more thing...I recognize it is hard to understand/get a true feel for the tone of any poster through the keyboarded word. My tone is one of respect. I've read many of your posts previously and you come across as articulate, intelligent and open-minded.

1) "please do not blame the victim here"...

Anne, at no time in my previous post did I blame the victim. I neither explicitly nor implicitly blamed the victim. I have been the victim of theft, including returning home from WDW last January to find my car broken into, items stolen and the ignition keyed in an attempt to steal the car (see, not everyone in Canada is friendly ). My wife and I felt violated and for the next few months everytime we heard a noise at night we got up out of bed to check if someone was trying to steal our car again. My beliefs/values would not allow me to blame the victim but rather fight on behalf of the victim.

Before I respond to anything else I should make it clear that I am not a lawyer nor do I have any formal education in any areas of the law. All that I have leraned about criminal law I've learned from New York D.A. Jack McCoy on Law & Order (great show IMHO).

2) "Disney was wrong to open that safe without the current occupant of the room being present, and was criminal in removing the wallet from the safe"...

I am not a criminal lawyer and specifically not a criminal lawyer in the state of FL. I do not know if Disney was criminal in removing the wallet nor do I know if they could even be charged with the crime of theft. I'm fairly comfortable in stating that no judge nor jury would convict Disney of theft in this case. In order to convict, both motive and intent would need to be taken into account. I think Disney would have no problem proving they neither corporately nor individually had motive or intent to steal. Let's look at two examples to make this clearer...

A) My daughter desperately wants a dog. I've told her she can have one. I then find myself out of work and tight on cash. This doesn't seem to matter to my young daughter who believes she should have a dog. I go out for a walk to clear my head. While walking down your street I notice a dog at the front window in your house barking. I notice there are no lights on except the one on the porch and there is neither a car in your driveway nor in the car port. I decide to walk up to your house, break a window, take your dog, give it to my daughter and never return it.

B) One night while out for my healthy evening walk I'm walking past your house and notice a dog at the front window in your house barking. I notice there are no lights on in the house and no cars in the driveway. I then smell smoke, see smoke coming out of the house and see light flickering through the window. As I approach your house I see flames inside and the room the dog is in is filled with smoke. I pound on the door and ring the doorbell and don't get a response. I break a window, take (rescue) your dog, call 911 on my cell phone. Not knowing if you are out for the night or away on vacation, I take your dog home to keep it safe with the intent of returning it to you within a short time after you arrive home.

In both cases I broke into your house and took your dog but the motive and intent were different. In example A the motive was personal gain whereas in example B the motive was the well-being of a neighbour (in this case the neighbour's dog). In example A the intent was to steal whereas in example B the intent was to protect/safeguard. Example A would be criminal. Example B would not be criminal. Was Disney's motive their own personal gain or the well-being of former and current guests? Was Disney's intent to steal or ultimately to protect and safeguard? Disney entered the room in order to retrieve the wallet of a previous guest. As both safe's work off the same key, both locks needed to be replaced. The current guest's wallet was removed for "safe keeping". Could Disney have dealt with this in a better way? Most likely. Could Disney have communicated far better? Most definitely. Was Disney technically criminal in their actions? I don't know but possibly. Would Disney be convicted of the crime of theft in this case? I don't believe so.

Having said all of this, I really only had two points to make in my previous post and obviously I didn't articulate them clearly enough.

Point One: Let's be accurate when using these threads (i.e. let's not tell people that a previous poster "blames the victim" when they did nothing of the sort).

Point Two: My primary concern was that most people reading this thread (having quite possibly not read the previous thread) would read the two comments about the guest having their wallet stolen out of the locked safe in their room in the two previous posts and most likely assume that another resort guest, a non-resort guest or a devious CM got into the room, broke into the safe and stole the wallet, when in fact a Disney employee under the authority of Disney management removed the wallet in order to further safeguard it. Did Disney bungle this big-time? Definitely. Was Disney possibly criminal in their actions? Maybe. Is there a need for DISers to be worried that someone is running around busting into rooms, cracking open safes and stealing the contents? Generally speaking, no. This was one of those one in a thousand things and most likely is going to be dealt with very differently in the future as a result of how this was bungled.

Hope I haven't offended anyone. Thanks again for your comments Anne.

Cheers,

John

 

[TDC Nala]

It was already in safe keeping!

Actually, technically it was stolen. It was taken from their locked safe without thier permission. Unless it was done by police with a valid search warrant, a theft occured. When police execute a search warrant and no one is home, they tape a copy of the warrant to the door of the premesis. It's the law that they are required to do so.

The hotel had absolutely no legal right to take an item from a guests safe. And the guest now has the potential of having thier credit score impacted due to having to cancel credit cards.

This is not legally stealing, as there was no intent to permanently deprive the guest of their property. It was negligence to the extreme, but not stealing. If it were to go to court, it would probably be in a civil action, rather than criminal, as the requirement for intent to commit a crime was not met.

(I am a lawyer. In the interest of full disclosure, I don't practice, but I am one)

And I agree with just seeing the statement that "a guest had their wall safe broken into and their wallet stolen at ASMU" does not even begin to describe what actually happened.

 

[ducklite]

John,

They had no legal right to break into that safe that had been provided for guests vaulables without the guest present. The criminal act of burglary isn't remediated by the safe keeping of the spoils of the crime, although as TDC Nala points out, there was no intent to commit a crime.

Think about it this way--even though the previous occupant claimed to have left the wallet (and by the sounds of it, no such wallet was found!) what difference did it really make for Disney to force open the safes, rather than wait until the guest returned with the key? The current occupants would have already discovered the wallet if it had been left, so what was the urgency?

In your scenario, the first piece is obviously a crime. The second piece might actually be, although I can't imagine anyone prosecuting for it. The difference is that no emergency existed, and the guest was never notified that their belongings had been taken.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your previous post, it seemed that you were implying that the guest was somehow at fault in the situation. And I like Law & Order as well!

Anne