Anyone ever had their own stroller stolen? (not a rental)

[PiperPizzaz]

Just wondering since I was reading the thread of the rental stroller theives. I was going to buy a $110 stroller but, have now decided on a cheaper one; I still don't want it stolen! I think I'll definitely write our name on it in marker do you think that would help? Maybe I should just give up and rent one. Problem is Ds will be 12 months old and those strollers don't look comfy for a baby.

 

[o2bacelt]

Our brand new Mac was just fine in March, the only people who touched it were the CMs sorting strollers out. I think the problem is worse with rental strollers because they all look the same. It was so much easier to find the lime green canapy on my stroller, it was the only one we saw the whole time we were there, so if someone took it I would have been able to see it quickly.

 

[Mr.BsMom]

We had an umbrella stroller taken a couple of years ago. It was a very common design with nothing on it that really stood out, so I'm sure it was taken by mistake. Luckily, it was just an umbrella stroller (cheap!)... We had used it prior to that for many different visits with no problem.

We're going back in September for Jake's first trip (he'll be 13 months ), and taking his "big" stroller. I think what we'll do is tie something bright and unique to the handle so it stands out and I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[pooksma]

Had ours stolen (also umbrella) during our first trip. Last trip we rented as needed and plan to do the same next time.

 

[Karrie Davis]

We also had no problem with a brand new maclaren but the year befor someone took my sisters cheepo one and left theirs behind(the same but worked even better). I think it could happen by mistake so just make yours different by putting something noticeable on it. It will help you find it in the stroller sea even better at the least. We do thins when we travel with our juggage why not with a stroller

 

[glass slipper girl]

We've taken strollers on all of our trips and had different strollers on each trip (the most expensive was about $250 and was fairly new) and we've never had problems with them. I saw plenty of $300+ strollers parked out there and no one was bothering them. I'm sure it happens occasionally but it is rare and I would guess that most of the time it is a case of mistaken stroller identity. My best friend in college was a CM for a while and worked in Fantasyland for a little over a year. Before our first trip I asked how often that happened and her response was that she saw it happen twice in the time she was there with non-rental strollers. Both times it was with $10 umbrella strollers so people were more irritated at being inconvenienced not having their stroller than mad about the stroller itself.

On our most recent trip in May, they had little umbrella strollers it looked like you could buy at the rental station. Maybe they've always had them but I just noticed them b/c it was my first time renting.

 

[wrldpossibility]

I wouldn't rent one at your child's age. They are hard and don't recline. There was a thread a while back about strollers, and lots of people had ideas for deterrants for theft. Some people even lock their wheels with bike locks, but I know I'd be too impatient for that. Other ideas are to simply lock the wheels (just with the regular stroller lever), because it stops people just long enough to take a good look at the stroller and maybe realize it isn't theirs, or to put colorful bows or ribbons on the handles.

We have a lime green canopy too, so I hope that stands out. I may put something on the handle, too. But this IS the reason I got the $100 stroller instead of the $250 stroller. It would really ruin my day if it got stolen.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

Locking the wheels is a good idea. I think the one we will get is a very light blue color so kind of unusual looking.

 

[bopper]

I think we bought an umbrella stroller that reclined, had a sun shade, and a basket for that age when we travelled. It was like $50...it was difficult to find one that was not super cheap, but not top of the line either. If you end up with one that is a common color/model, then attach something like a bandana or something that marks it as unique.

 

[WAHMto5]

I reallly would not worry about someone stealing your stroller, it is VERY rare. The last 2 trips, we have taken our double Peg Perego and have never had a problem. There are tons of high priced strollers there. If you are worried, I would purchase a cheep umbrella with a canopy just in case

 

[jayhjay]

Some people even lock their wheels with bike locks, but I know I'd be too impatient for that.

FWIW, we have never had any trouble and have always brought good quality strollers. I have used the bike lock approach at places other than WDW and it works well if you know you can leave your stroller in one place the whole time. At WDW, I would check with a CM b/c so many times they have to move/rearrange strollers and it will be a pain if your is locked up.

Honestly, I would guess 99% of the time it is mistaken identity. But it can't hurt to be careful. JJ

 

[trulygoofy]

I never had one stollen, but one family apparently had one that looked like mine and took it by mistake. It was a little odd because the one they left had an airplane tag on it and it was grungy. I would have thought they would have noticed. The funny thing is that a couple hours later they were on a ride we were going on because there our stroller was. We switched back. I still wonder if they ever noticed.

 

[mommyceratops]

We have taken Mac and Peg Pergo never had them stolen. I do tie something to the handles to try to prevent someone stealing it but it is also easy to find if someone steals it!

 

[luvthatduke]

I was told a on a thread last year the CM's need to be
able to move the strollers no matter what,
so they want you to leave the front or back wheels mobile
if you decide to bike-lock the stroller.
Some people said they used a bike lock in a way that prevented
the stroller from being folded if it was taken,
but once we got to the parks DH and I felt just fine leaving ours "open."
We had no problems at all, and our Graco is fairly common.
We left our cooler in the bottom and nothing was ever touched
that we know of.

 

[GoofyGirlnPrincessV]

she had a very common stroller. Someone had taken her brand new one and in it's place was the same model and color and obviously older and beat up.

I have a navy stroller and on the canopy I used the squeeze bottle fabric paint and put our last name on it. I used Lime Green glow in the dark paint and never had a problem finding it when we come out of attractions...

Washing the canopy in the washing machine will take off the paint if you don't want it on there forever.

 

[java]

We came out of Mexico to find our stroller gone- but the exact same one (except with someone's name written on it) right in the place where I left ours. So I am sure it was a case of mistaken identity. I went to guest services to leave where we were- and we had their stroller- but never heard anything. We actually upgraded- theirs was in better shape than ours- not much but just a little nicer.

 

[Aidensmom]

Ours appeared to be a victim of mistaken identity a few weeks ago. I usually don't even take the stroller, because my son is almost 5 and doesn't really need it, but he and I took a trip without DH for Star Wars weekends and I took it just to carry some stuff in. We were at the "Jedi Training Academy" and when the show was over, we went to grab the stroller and it was gone. I was not worried about the stroller, but DS's Star Wars costume and brand new t-shirt was in the back! We actually found it in another part of the park about 15 minutes later (too far away I would think to have been moved by a CM). Whoever took it must have realized they got the wrong one, and left it.

 

[all4fun]

We took four trips to WDW between the time ds was 13mos - 23mos. All in all, that was about a month at WDW over the course of the year. We never had any problems with either stroller we took. I did put a brightly colored bandana around the stroller handle just to make it look a bit different and easier to spot in the sea of strollers (especially when you're coming out of Festival of the Lion King or off of the Safari ride, the strollers are always not where you left them).

Really, I would not worry about it. The way I look at it, if the stroller goes missing on one of our trips it will be an inconvenience, but with all the times we've been, we would have spent about 8x more on rentals so we've definitely gotten our money's worth out of it!

 

[mammoth_fan]

We had our stroller stolen at DisneyLand. Once we got over being indignant, which took just a few minutes, we were left wondering why someone would steal a $16 umbrella stroller that was well-used (i.e, stained as heck). We went to lost and found the next day, but no one turned it in, so I don't think it was a case of mistaken identity.

 

[QueenGoblin]

Ours was either taken due to mistaken identity or borrowed for the evening. It was a fairly common inexpensive umbrella stroller so it is possible someone took it by mistake and when they realized it they just left it somewhere else in the park. Or maybe someone just decided to borrow it for the night? It showed up in the lost and found a couple of days later.