A Missing Kid Story

[TDC Nala]

The last two days were ruined? After they found the kid?

Of course they probably don't feel like putting him back in the club, but ruined? To the point where they should get a full refund?

Is he alleging they were all looking for his kid and that is why they did not have time to properly "console" his wife? Or just standing there staring? Obviously they couldn't all leave with other kids in the club.

Would also like to know how the kid ended up with the friend. Was the friend in there searching too? It seems the kid never left the club and fell asleep under some chairs and they just didn't see him. What is the father going to sue for?

 

[justmestace]

The last two days were ruined? After they found the kid?

Of course they probably don't feel like putting him back in the club, but ruined? To the point where they should get a full refund?

Is he alleging they were all looking for his kid and that is why they did not have time to properly "console" his wife? Or just standing there staring? Obviously they couldn't all leave with other kids in the club.

Would also like to know how the kid ended up with the friend.

Each of my three kids have gotten away from us once.
They're now 31, 22 and 19 and I STILL will never forget that feeling and I may not have recovered from it for days.

 

[TDC Nala]

Each of my three kids have gotten away from us once.
They're now 31, 22 and 19 and I STILL will never forget that feeling and I may not have recovered from it for days.

But did you sue the place they got away from you at, or ask for a full refund?

This kid didn't leave the club. He didn't go anywhere. He crawled under some chairs and fell asleep, and nobody, even the dad, thought to look under those chairs. Now he wants a refund?

 

[justmestace]

Is it not true that if this had happened on another cruise line other than Disney, most of the people who have posted would have said this family should have a FULL REFUND and then some....along with maybe firing the club CM's and any number of other things????

Everyone would be saying "I'll NEVER cruise with them." Or "I won't LET my family and friends cruise with them".......

 

[gilsan]

I just read the account of the incident on his blog. Wow he over reacted big time. Running all over the ship freaking out at the staff. While I am sure it was upsetting it doesn't sound like he was helping the situation at all.

I also don't understand why they think that the cruise should be refunded. His child was exactly where he was suppose to be. Perhaps if he had kept a cooler head he might have helped find him earlier.

The couple seemed quick to plan what they should get for the incident vs just being happy with the fact that their child was safe.

They managed to go out to dinner at Palo's the next day presumably without the child. They couldn't have been that traumatized. Did they put the child back in the club while they were at dinner

Near the end of the meeting, the Cruise Director asked me what they could do to make it up to us. I told him I didnt have a specific remedy in mind, but something needed to be done, especially for my wife since this cruise had been booked to celebrate her birthday. What happened essentially ruined her birthday and spoiled the entire trip for her.

I mentioned that we had a dinner reservation for her birthday, and I thought to myself that maybe the Cruise Director or the Captain might come by to wish her a happy birthday and apologize to her in person. At least to show that they do value their customers and that truly cared for what had happened to us.

Later, I spoke with my wife and we agreed that the best outcome would be not having to pay for a vacation that was ruined. So I sent a note to the Cruise Director and then headed to the restaurant.
Dinner was alright, considering we were hardly in a mood to celebrate after what had happened. Disappointingly, no one came by to apologize or offer birthday wishes.

 

[TDC Nala]

Is it not true that if this had happened on another cruise line other than Disney, most of the people who have posted would have said this family should have a FULL REFUND and then some....along with maybe firing the club CM's and any number of other things????

Everyone would be saying "I'll NEVER cruise with them." Or "I won't LET my family and friends cruise with them".......

No, it is not true. Disney did nothing wrong here and if this had been a Royal Caribbbean ship, Royal Caribbean would have done nothing wrong in the same situation. Firing the CMs, seriously?

 

[justmestace]

But did you sue the place they got away from you at, or ask for a full refund?

This kid didn't leave the club. He didn't go anywhere. He crawled under some chairs and fell asleep, and nobody, even the dad and his friend, thought to look under those chairs. Now he wants a refund?

I couldn't sue myself or my husband...they each got away from US.


All I'm saying about ANY of this, is that if it had been any other cruise line, everyone here would be going bananas rather than defending and denying.
They'd all be out for blood.

 

[justmestace]

No, it is not true. Disney did nothing wrong here and if this had been a Royal Caribbbean ship, Royal Caribbean would have done nothing wrong in the same situation. Firing the CMs, seriously?

That's what Disney people would say if it happened on a Carnival ship.

 

[zippingalong]

I lost my very young daughter at Macy's on the Saturday before Christmas (she'd run off to ride the escalators). Maybe I should have asked them to fund my entire Christmas for the year?

 

[sabrecmc]

I'm not sure I quite follow everything...if the child was in the club/lab and the Dad could not find him and panicked, but the child was where he was supposed to be and where DCL said he was, then I don't see how that is at all on DCL. I do admit to having had a moment of panic when I couldn't find DD one time after searching all through the club, but it turned out she was in the restroom. I didn't immediately go running around the ship, since I knew she was in there somewhere, though I was definitely ready to lay eyes on her! So, I can understand how hard it would be in the chaos of kids everywhere having fun to find a child that has essentially hidden himself to nap.

If there was a problem at check-in or bracelet malfunction that failed to register the child as in the club, so the Dad drops him off but when he comes back, the computer says no kid is in the club/lab, then that is a problem and should be addressed. Perhaps not with a full refund, but, yes, that would certainly be hugely upsetting and not something that should happen. If that was the case, then some follow-up from DCL would be appropriate. Though, the parents must have managed to pull themselves away from their child to dine at Palo...?

I don't quite understand which version is correct.

 

[cgolf]

deleting

 

[TDC Nala]

This guy was looking for his kid, his wife was freaking out and they had a baby. He may not have done a lot of searching in the club before he went out running around the ship. Apparently while he was gone the child was located in the club.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

It seems like the dad had a lot of assumptions and is now contacting the media in preparation for a lawsuit.

From a child safety perspective, you should never make a public announcement about a missing child. You want to do this only internally or by a code word. In the event that this is an abduction, you want to avoid anything that tips off an abductor.

As for why the gangway staff didn't know, my best guess is 1) they're not going to let a 3-year old off the ship, as the dad implies and 2) the alert is likely given to those that can actively search.

This isn't my realm of expertise, but wouldn't the CD be the more appropriate person to speak to, rather than the captain? Unless the kid is on the bridge, of course.

I disagree, "Amber Alerts" get made all the time. The abductor KNOWS what they have done and it's only a matter of time before the authorities get involved or a search is started. Allowing the public to become aware and alert is a very key part of a successful recovery.

Secondly, while the gangway staff would hopefully be mindfully a small child trying to leave the ship on their own, they certainly wouldn't think anything was amiss if a child was leaving the ship with an adult. In this case, the parents fear is that adult would have been an abductor.

The parents obviously wanted to speak to the person of the highest authority on the ship...wouldn't that be the captain?

 

[TDC Nala]

An Amber Alert is a widespread alert, not in an enclosed and isolated microcosm of humanity like a cruise ship. I don't know for sure but they may have broadcast a coded alert for the crew.

The child would be unable to leave the ship without his or her KTTW card. Everyone is scanned off the ship, including children and babies. Do 3 year old children in the clubs carry their KTTW card? At any rate they would have been easily able to see if the child had left the ship.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Is it not true that if this had happened on another cruise line other than Disney, most of the people who have posted would have said this family should have a FULL REFUND and then some....along with maybe firing the club CM's and any number of other things????

Everyone would be saying "I'll NEVER cruise with them." Or "I won't LET my family and friends cruise with them".......

Soory, but thats a Cheap shot Stacy,a bit disappointed here

 

[JimmyJackJunior]

Is it not true that if this had happened on another cruise line other than Disney, most of the people who have posted would have said this family should have a FULL REFUND and then some....along with maybe firing the club CM's and any number of other things????

Everyone would be saying "I'll NEVER cruise with them." Or "I won't LET my family and friends cruise with them".......

Totally disagree. Disney and its staff did nothing wrong here. And it would not have been wrong on any other cruise line either. You have made the same point over and over but you are kind of crossing the line to trolling.

My almost two year old daughter got away from us on the magic right after boarding. We walked in to the buffet and she was short enough to walk under the tables. She did so and we could not find her. She got out of the back of the buffet and onto deck. First time she had ever bolted on us and it was very scary. But the buffet staff was absolutely awesome and one of them found her out on deck very quickly.

 

[maria-fan-22]

And of course they're going to tell the truth! Why is it that the father and the website can be lying or not believable, but DISNEY is ALWAYS right, and ALWAYS telling the truth????

While I would agree with you, the article does not state where the child was found… Only the DCL statement does, if there was discrepancy where the child was found, then I would look into it… I this case the article omitted crucial material and there is no fault on DCL's part.

 

[ItAllStrtdWAMouse]

The child would be unable to leave the ship without his or her KTTW card. do 3 year old children in the clubs carry their KTTW card?

I was just thinking the same thing about the KTTW.

Also since the child was sleeping under a stack of metal chairs.... The metal may have interfered with the RF signal. I am curious how many dead spots exist in the club. Most Children are running around and Disney probably never notices areas that loose signal.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

An Amber Alert is a widespread alert, not in an enclosed and isolated microcosm of humanity like a cruise ship. I don't know for sure but they may have broadcast a coded alert for the crew.

The child would be unable to leave the ship without his or her KTTW card. Everyone is scanned off the ship, including children and babies. Do 3 year old children in the clubs carry their KTTW card? At any rate they would have been easily able to see if the child had left the ship.

If they did broadcast a coded alert for the CM's, I don't see why they wouldn't have attempted to reassure his panic parents that they did so. The father maintains that he encountered CM's who claimed not to know anything about it.

I can't speak about a 3 year old, but my 4 year old wore her KTWC on her princess lanyard while in the club.

 

[adamsclan]

At port there have been times when we were leaving the boat and our youngest was separated from me by her siblings. The CM has always asked for her parents and won't let her off the boat until I tell them she's with me and they look at the screen again. Their system has a list of who the child is linked with. Even if the child has their KTTW card, I am certain they would not let her off alone, nor with a strange adult.