Any tips on how to prevent stroller theft?

[cooniez]

I think I will be bringing my own stroller to DL this June, and since it will only be DH & the girls coming with me I don't have anyone on stroller duty Has anyone ever had their stroller stolen or does anyone have any tips to offer on how to prevent stroller theft? I've read one tip where someone "faked" a dirty #2 diaper hanging on a plastic bag of the stroller handle Any others?

 

[rentayenta]

We used a worn out tube sock- clean but ugly.

 

[LavenderPeach]

We bring our stroller all the time. I do worry a little bit about it being taken but obviously I don't worry enough to leave it at home. You can lock the wheels and turn it around so it's facing the other way. That will at least make it more difficult for someone to take it since they would have to try to manuever it around with the wheels locked before they could run off with it.

Just don't try locking the stroller to something else since the CMs sometimes have to move the strollers. I've heard some people use a bike lock to lock the stroller wheels together. I'm not sure if they actually end up doing this at DLR or if it just sounds like a good idea until they get there. Seems like it would be sort of a hassle.

Also, don't leave anything valuable in the stroller. We have all the stuff we need in a bag that we grab each time we park the stroller to go on a ride. We sometimes keep an extra diaper and extra water bottles in the bottom of the stroller but it wouldn't be a huge deal if they were taken.

You could also look into buying a semi-cheap stroller to bring with you so if something happened to it, you would still have your good stroller at home. Don't get one of those super cheapie umbrella strollers (hard to push around all day) but they have ones that are sort of like fancy umbrella strollers that you could probably get for $50 or you might be able to find a used one.

Or some people use the cheapie umbrella strollers to get their kids to the park. They then rent a stroller to use in the parks since those are easier to use.

 

[imp&pixie]

I don't think stroller theft is a huge problem at Disneyland. We have brought our Maclaren Volo on both trips and it is always right where we left it. We even sometimes leave the stoller at the front of the park in the morning and don't come back to it until the end of the day. We don't do anything to make it less appealing. We do have it well labelled with our name.

 

[LuLusApple]

It's simple don't bring your nice expensive one.
We leave that at home and bring an older model from a yard sale. No one would want to trade up to it lol and if they did I would be angry but not out $$$

 

[Shelebeen]

Our friends had theirs stolen quite a few years ago, but not inside DL, it was parked outside of Rainforest Cafe..

 

[munchkinsmom]

We had our MacLaren Twin Traveller stolen from Disneyland several years ago during a Labor Day weekend trip. Not a very fun experience.

My mom and dad came with us on this trip and took the kids to ride Small World while DH and I rode Space Mountain. After we got off, my dad call me in a frantic saying that they couldn't find the stroller they parked in front of the Small World ride. We rushed over and found that it was indeed taken. My dad felt so bad. He rushed over to the front of the entrance and stood there for over an hour looking for anyone who had a stroller similar to ours. He also kept looking out for the stroller during the next two days we were there. I felt really bad for him.

Another bad thing about it was that my folks had left the diaper bag in the stroller which contained my daughter's Epipens, so my DH had to drive all the way home that night (we live about two hours away), pick up extra epipens and our single stroller.

After that incident, we always locked our stroller in public places using a small, skinny cable lock that was portable and easy to store. These locks are similar to locks used to secure skis: http://www.buckmans.com/store/Burton-CableLock-OSCARItem_605=2000.aspx. We would thread the cable through the tires so that it would be very difficult to push but easy for CMs to move if they had to. The stroller couldn't be closed up either. Another thing we would do is park in places that wouldn't require CMs to move our stroller.

The likelihood of a stroller getting stolen in minimal and many will say it's overkill to lock your stroller, but after the experience we had, we couldn't be convinced otherwise. Our kids are now past stroller age, so we don't worry about that anymore.

 

[bumbershoot]

We leave nothing in the stroller anymore. Had two things stolen on different trips, and that's enough. They weren't even expensive items...one thing was free, and the other thing was replaced 2 days later by a kind CM who heard DS's tale of woe about "bad pirates" who took his hat (we didn't want him not liking fellow guests and didn't want him worried about the Disney pirates (obviously this was when they were wandering around), so we came up with "bad" ones). But just the violation of someone taking things was enough.

For the stroller itself, lock the brake, turn it around so it's hard to get (hard for us, too).

Some lock the back wheels together. Makes it really awkward to move, but it's still possible for CMs to move it.


If you find your stroller isn't where you left it, don't panic yet. Look ALL around. Get a CM to help if you can. One of their jobs is to keep traffic flowing, and traffic changes throughout the day. So a spot that seemed perfect when you dropped off the stroller for an hour going on Splash and Pooh, shopping in the store and snagging lunch at the Hungry Bear might not be so perfect when you come out, and you might find it in a very different place. So don't panic initially.

 

[specialks]

We haven't had any problems with stroller theft and we leave our diaper bag with basic stuff inside (nothing expensive). We do bring an older stroller that I don't think anyone would want to steal so that might help. I think some of the "thefts" are actually oblivious people who grab the wrong stroller. One thing you could do is tie colorful ribbons on different parts of the stroller and maybe even have luggage tags with your name & cell # on it in a place or two. That way if someone does want to steal it, they will have to have a pair of scissors handy and work quick so no one see them cutting all the identifing ribbons off it.

 

[L2S2C]

We always take a stroller, whichever will work best for our needs that day, either the sit and stand, the peg perego, or the double, and have never had anything stolen, messed with, etc. I'm sure it does happen though. With the smaller strollers I turn them backward and lock the wheels. I also park them in crowded areas, not off to the side alone where it would be easy to snatch and walk off like nothing happened. I like it crammed in there if possible. I keep purchases covered by sweaters or the baby's small blanket so nothing looks good enough to bother with and we take our backpack on rides with us that has wallets, cameras, etc.

 

[cooniez]

My toddler's a peanut so I'm still wearing her in a toddler carrier so we don't own a stroller currently. I actually bought a stroller just for this trip. I got a great deal on a Graco Ipo (only around $62 shipped), so that's the one I'll be bringing. While it's not the most high-end/expensive stroller around I'd still like to try to prevent it from getting stolen. Plus I'd have to dish out more $ to rent one if anything does happen.

 

[briangl]

As someone else said. Just bring a cheap one. I bet many of the so called thefts are people just taking the wrong stroller. Even if someone was looking to steal strollers what would it get them? I wouldn't imagine they are easy to unload for cash.

 

[tholczer]

In all the years we've been going to DL as AP holders, we've never once had anything stolen from our stroller, let alone the stroller itself. And I've never known anyone to have had theirs stolen either. I suppose it happens, but I'm assuming rarely.

That being said, if you think you will worry every time you leave your stroller, then you should probably do something to lessen that worry. Above all, you want to have a worry-free good time!

Tracy

 

[holden]

How much is it to rent a stroller in DL and DCA? We are going to the parks for 2 days, so I don't know if it's worth it to bring our stroller with us.

 

[carolinamama]

My experience is limited to WDW, but I've never had a problem. I NEVER leave stuff in my stroller other than something like diapers. I accidentally left our camera in the top storage near the handles while we were on a ride, and we were lucky that it was still there.

I've always heard and read that one thing you can do is try to make it personal, less of a generic stroller. I have a cheap scarf I bought at AC Moore just for this - I tie it to the stroller handle. It also helps me find it. I also at times take a diaper and just fold it up as if it was used and leave it in the seat.

 

[DisSarahK]

We had no problems with our Inglesina Zippy--it was always right where we left it. We never left it to go on multiple rides though--we always moved it between rides and we always left it totally empty when we parked it.

 

[californiamomof4grls]

I have a pretty expensive double jogger. We bought for our first trip almost 2 1/2 years ago. I have forgotten my wallet and camera right on top and had nothing stolen.
I will say though we go off season and I could see how that may make a difference. The more crowds of people the more I could see stuff like that happening.
I think it would be neat if they stroller vallet!! LOL!! So say you go into FL and you bring your stroller to the vallet get a number and you're all set!!!! No more issues! Strollers are safe! A girl can dream right!!

 

[glendalais]

I think it would be neat if they stroller vallet!! LOL!! So say you go into FL and you bring your stroller to the vallet get a number and you're all set!!!! No more issues! Strollers are safe! A girl can dream right!!

To an extent, this already happens. I know when I worked on the Submarine Voyage, we did it all the time. Guests are happy because they don't have to deal with parking it, and we can put them in nice, organised rows, making them easier to retreive later.

A corollary to that, if a Cast Member offers to park your stroller for you, that's great. Indeed, you can even ask them to park it for you, and most CMs will be happy to oblige (makes our job easier). However, please do not "roll" your stroller at a Cast Member and expect them to do it automatically. This was a particularly big problem at Nemo in the mornings, when you had Guests running from the Main Entrance to beat the two hour lines. I swear I felt like a soccer goalie at times, lol.

 

[MG3G]

I was REALLY worried about having our stroller stolen too when we went last month. What I ended up doing was renting one from a travel company in the area instead of bringing my uber expensive one from home. (We went with an outside company so we could use it to and from the parks and at the hotel etc) I can't believe how many people had the exact same stroller so we made sure to mark it well with something obvious. We hung a back pack full of non- essential items off the handle. (Spare coats, food, shoes) We had another back pack full of very important things that we took with us on rides. (Medication, ID, Camera etc) Also if you do decide to bring one from home and have travel insurance your insurance may cover it - our policy would have if I decided to bring ours.

 

[chrissiecutie]

IMO DL does not have a problem with stroller theft. The only thing I've really heard about is that souvenirs have been taken when left in plain site, and this is rare.

For our trip, I made a laminated sign and hung it from the handles. It read, "This Carriage Belongs to the Mead Family" and had a picture of Mickey and the Gang and our phone# on the reverse side. I also wrote our name and phone# in sharpie on the side of our Maclaran in case the sign came off.

We kept our cooler and a few souvenirs in the pocket underneath. However, the souvenirs were always in the bag and usually not easily visible. I never left our camera or anything, but mainly because it was always with me to take pictures.

The only real issue you may have is a CM moving your stroller to aid in traffic flow. So if you park it somwhere and come out of a ride and find it missing, just look around the the entrance/exit and general area of the ride and you should find it.

So, YES! Take your good, expensive stroller that you love!! IMO, you will NOT have any problems. Keep things out of plain site and you'll be fine. You don't need to resort to disgusting "keep away" tactics...I mean, c'mon! Do you really want to push a stroller around with a fake dirty diaper attached? How embarassing!

As far as renting one, I'm not sure on the price. But I do know if you have a Disney credit card, you can rent one per day for FREE! However, I would caution you against doing this....it's like a sea of these things out there! It's difficult to try and find your rented stroller when so many folks have one and sometimes another family might accidently take your rented one without really looking to make sure it's theirs. Plus, I've heard they aren't really comfy and don't work for infants or older kids. They are a jogging stroller style, and my son was 3 at the time and he would never have fit comfortably in one of these!