Any Children Abducted at Disneyworld?

[we3luvdisney]

I'm not talking about alien abductions.

I know this is a silly question, but I'm trying to ease my SIL's mind.

She said that she heard a story that there was a child/children abducted at WDW. I told her that I've never heard this before and I would ask the members of the DIS. I informed her that Disney likes to keep things hush hush, but an abduction would require the notification of the police.

So, does anyone know if a child/children have been abducted at WDW?

 

[MonkeyPants]

never heard of it, and yes Disney does like to keep this hush hush if possible, but that isnt something I think they could keep all that quiet. I also think it would difficult with the security systems in Dinsey for an abduction not to be caught on camera

 

[TDC Nala]

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/parental/kidnap.htm

 

[BlindTyldak]

Not that I've ever heard, and I did find this on another site . . . can't vouch for its accuracy 100% of course.

"Contrary to Urban Legend there has never been a child abduction at WDW or DL. On the contrary, a mother left one of her kids at DL a few months ago!!!!! Came with 2---left with 1."

 

[Jakesmom1]

I live about 50 miles from Disney and not heard of this, was this recent?

I have not seen anything about this on the News or in the paper. I know Disney likes to keep negative issues out of the News, but I doubt they would be able to keep this quiet.

Bad things happen everywhere, even at Disney.

We are going in 6 days and I have a 12 yrold DS. I will keep an eye on him at Disney as I would anywhere, but we are still planning on a great trip.

Let your Sil know that Disney is as safe as any other theme park, if not safer imho.

 

[cherylp3]

I have not heard of any abductions either. I can tell you this, if they suspect that a child is missing the gates are closed. No one is let in or let out.

Cheryl

 

[sha_lyn]

a "brownie" mother swears up and down that she was there when the snopes rumored little girl was abducted. You know the whole urban legen that her hair was cut, dyed and she was dressed like a boy.
I finally gave up arguing with the mom. There was not way she was going to believe that it didn't happen.
You know the funny thing is when ever you hear this story, people know how the kidnappers got the girl out of the park, but not if the girl was found (either alive or dead).

 

[mjmcca]

I lost my DD who was 3 at the time last summer at the AK as I was calling her name not one but 3 CM 9one was a security guard) came over to me and started asking me what she looked like what was she wearing and how old she was. We found her in a few minutes. They are very much on top of kids getting lost in the parks. A CM found her wandering alone and stopped her. I was in the park with my freinds kids and her mother and she went looking for DD while i was talking the security guard. She is the one who found her with the CM.


If you lose your child they will have it over the radio in a matter of minutes.

 

[BlindTyldak]

You know the funny thing is when ever you hear this story, people know how the kidnappers got the girl out of the park, but not is the girl was found (either alive or dead).

Hahaha, isn't it always that way with urban legends? Everyone knows every minute detail of the occurance but never the really relevant details. Someone I went to college with insisted that it was his roommate's best friend's grandmother who blew up the poodle trying to dry it in the microwave, but couldn't answer simply if so many people know the story, was she ever taken in on animal abuse charges.

 

[we3luvdisney]

I live about 50 miles from Disney and not heard of this, was this recent?

I don't know when this was suppose to happen. I told her that I didn't believe the story, because I've never heard about it and if it was true the police would have been notified.

 

[sha_lyn]

on the subject of urban legends.... My mom swears that the terrorist threat on malls for Halloween 2001 was real. That it had to be because her boss sent her the email, and his wife was born in California. Since the rumor was suppose to come from someone in California, then my mother insisted that the bosses wife actually knew the person that sent the original e mail

 

[pearlieq]

Not to be cynical, but would it really change anything if the story were true?

Child abductions are a tragedy, but they can happen anywhere, at any time. You can take reasonable precautions, but at a certain point, what's going to happen is going to happen and there's nothing any one of us can do about it. I would daresay you're probably safer at WDW than you would be at the mall. The only way to have 0% risk would be to barricade herself in the house for the rest of her life.

Does anyone really think WDW would welcome millions of guests a year if it were a hotbed of child abduction? If, God forbid, your child were abducted, do you think there would be anything that the Disney corporation could do that would make you keep quiet?

Sometimes I think people just like to get themselves worked up.

 

[Deb & Bill]

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/parental/kidnap.htm

Snopes.com is the best site for verifying these types of rumors. Just got one of those e-mails from friends today about a missing girl from PA. Typed in her name in the search and, sure enough, it is a hoax.

 

[ZIPBAGS]

Not a Disney.. But, my younger daughter has Apraxia (a form of Autism) and she could utter a word until she was 3 1/2. When she was 2 1/2 we went to Hershey Park. When we were leaving the Dolphin show my wife and I got seperated and we each thought the other had her. We met up a couple of minutes and were in a panic about her being gone...We were with some friends and we all fanned out. We found her about 5-10minutes (although it felt like hours) later. She was a few hundred feet from where we were wandering. Worst feeling in the world...especially since she couldn't communicate.

 

[aspcamhreditor2]

My husband and I are some of the most cautious parents in our group. We won't even consider traveling with some friends who have suggesting doing a joint trip to WDW because of some differences in parenting style. (Our girls are 4 & 7). However, we love WDW as a family destination. At no time have I ever been concerned or felt unsafe or threatened at WDW.

Yes, WDW certainly likes to keep bad news quiet. However, in today's world, child abductions are BIG news and a key to dealing with them is dissemination of info, very public Amber alerts, etc.

When you consider the MILLIONS & MILLIONS of kids who have gone through the park since it's opening and we can't come up with much in terms of concrete facts on this, I think it's fairly safe to say that .... in addition to being the "happiest place on earth" ... WDW is one of the safest.

AHR

 

[philaround]

There may have been some custodial situations, which in most cases are kept fairly private. Most, if not all, states that have Megan's law will not even post a notice of a custodial situation unless they are sure a state border has been crossed. As for a true kidnapping, any reports caliming this have been debunked as urban ledgend.
As to temporaily missing children, this happens on a daily basis as it does in any large park or shopping center. It is real easy to temporaily lose sight of people under 4ft.

 

[JPN4265]

Never heard of this at WDW before.

 

[Evil Queen]

Gotta love those legends.

Yes, I could see how it could happen, just as it could happen anywhere.

I feel safer if my DS10 wondered off at Disney then I would any mall, possibly even neighborhood.

 

[dakyak]

if i remeber correctly, whileon the Keys to the Kingdom tour, the tour guide mentioned if a child was ever lost/missing, the park goes into lockdown mode...all the cm's start looking for the child...

 

[Rella Bella]

I don't think Disney would put a child at greater risk by trying to hush up an abduction. That would be worse publicity than having it happen in the first place.

I did just see this device -- an interesting idea for peace of mind.
http://www.myguardian911.com/