Are strollers ever stolen?

[LizL]

We will be going to WDW in January with our 11 month old. I have a great stroller that folds easily and I would love to bring it. But I am concerned about it getting stolen from the stroller parking lot outside of the rides. DH uses a power wheelchair, that we have left several times and no one has touched it, but it is a little harder to manuver than a stroller. Has anyone had any problems? Would it just be better to rent a stroller at the park? If so, do I need to worry about getting there early to get one?
We are staying on-site (DVC member) and driving, so I will be bringing the stroller anyway to use at the resort.

 

[Del]

rented and brought from home. We never had a problem renting one--they never ran out of them. I did bring brightly colored bandanas from home to tie onto them so i could easily pick it from the others---never had one stolen. I also brought the bandanas for the one that we brought from home because it was a common umbrella stroller and didn't want people to take mine. That would be my #1 tip for Disney. It saves you so much searching time in the stroller parking areas. Good luck in your choice.

Del

 

[BevS97]

I would take your own - I have never heard of them being stolen - moved sometimes but not stolen.

The rental strollers are not great for an 11 month old, I wouldn't even consider using one for my dd who will be 14 months on our next trip.

Bev

 

[daisylove]

I just got a maclaren volo and I am a little worried that it will be taken just because it is the fisrt time in a long time I broke down and got an $$ strooller. (Others were gifts, consignment store etc)

However, one time we decided to rent in May and there were no more. Trust me One time was enough to always bring our own. That and that my DD will push herself the whole day and collapse on bus to getting to room with unconscious child can be tough without a stroller to deposit her in.

 

[dina7]

We bring our own stroller every time we go and we have never had it stolen.

 

[winniedapooh]

While I have heard of people here saying they had theirs stolen, we have never had that problem. I agree with previous posters in saying to tie something to it so you can easily locate it. Only problems we had once was it was moved and I thought we did lose it!

 

[NotUrsula]

It's not completely unheard of, though outright theft of a personal stroller from inside the theme parks is quite rare. The most likely problem is mistaken identity, which is usually not a problem with higher-end strollers, as there just are not that many in circulation in the US.

Theft happens most commonly with rental strollers, which can sometimes mysteriously lose their nametags. (If a rental disappears, you can show the receipt to get a replacement at no charge.) When personal strollers really disappear (as opposed to just being moved by CM's) the odds are it has been taken as a "free rental" and will turn up later, either in the same park or at another park.

The only significant theft risk area for high-end strollers is at Downtown Disney, especially outside the restaurants at night. There have been reports of certain brands walking off from the stroller-parking areas there.

The best advice is to clearly mark your stroller with hard-to-remove ID; this will deter mistaken identity and also thwart would-be thieves, b/c they are not going to bother with an identifiable stroller when it is easier to take one that is not obviously marked. Don't bother with the fake-diaper trick; everyone knows it. I use several address labels stuck to the underside of the frame, plus a profusion of metallic curling ribbon wound around and frothing over the handles. Some people swear by bringing plain mylar balloons from home and getting them inflated w/ helium at WDW; they write their name on the balloons and tie them on.

 

[Nschur]

We have been many times in the last few years with no problems.
Last year we attached bike tags with the kids names on their strollers. We got thse at test track. Zip ties work great to attach them.

 

[TINKTWINS]

I have 4yo twins and have brought my own strollers specifically bought for a trip 2 years ago, several times with only one theft, but it was stolen by DH and his cohort as a joke when I was exiting the Beauty and the Beast show. I went nuts, they watched me from a far and just thought it was SOOOOO funny, until I went looking for a cast member, then they came clean. Real cute huh! I bought these bright yellow strollers so I could spot them easily, you should have heard me. Now that time has passed, I will only admit here, it was a good joke, they got me good. But other than that one time, never any issues. You really need your own for times like walking to the car, even walking to your room when your really tired.

 

[sconnell]

We have lime green ribbons tied to our stroller handles. I still haven't taken them off from our May trip! It makes it very easy to find. I would suggest not using the basket for much though. It saves time when you don't have to dig through it to find something.

 

[SuzieQMomof3]

My sister's stroller was stolen on the second day of her trip. It was a full-size stroller and she never saw it again.

The resort (Boarwalk, I think), arranged for her to have one for the remainder of her stay, but it wasn't as nice as the one she lost.

We usually take an umbrella stroller for the little one and rent a double stroller in the park if we think we'll need it. The rentals are pretty big, so any of my other kids would fit in it, too.

 

[daisylove]

So what other tips are there to prevent your stroller from being taken. I have a brand spanking new maclaren that I will hate to get stolen or even borrowed.

 

[dkal95]

I just bought a new Maclaran for our trip too and asked this exact question a month or so ago. I think what I am going to do is go to the fabric store and buy some not so common colorful ribbon to tie to the handles of our stroller so we can easily spot it.

Someone else suggested even laminating a sign with your last name on it to hang on your stroller

I've also heard some people say that they brought a lock and locked the little mechanism that you put your foot on to close the stroller so that no one can close it... sort of lock it open, if that makes sense? Someone will be less likely to take it if they can't closet it.

I've also heard of putting a "dirty" diaper in your stroller (not necessarily dirty, just the appearance of a dirty diaper).

HTH!!!

 

[all4fun]

We took our Jeep Liberty all-terrain stroller last May and never had a problem. I think it's actually fairly uncommon to have happen, however I'm sure that there are unscrupulous (or just plain clueless) people everywhere. If you have a stroller that is fairly common that would make it easier for someone to take it by mistake. Your best bet is to put some identifying object on it. We used an orange bandana tied around the stroller handle. You can also put your name and other identifying info in an inconspicuous place so that if someone does take it and you happen upon it, you can prove that it's yours. (I've actually heard of this happening to someone).

SuzieQMomof3, I'm curious as to where your sister was when her stroller was taken? That was nice of the boardwalk to give her one, even though it wasn't as nice as the one that was taken. I hope it didn't put too much of a damper on her trip. I know I would probably have been bummed the rest of the time.

I think inside the parks it probably doesn't happen very often but when you're at downtown disney or any of the resorts, you probably want to keep a closer eye on these things. I have heard of stroller theft being more common in those places.

HTH,
Cheryl

 

[Twigs]

A few days ago someone posted on the Theme Park thread that their personal stroller was stollen at Epcot. But they had left a back pack and their souvenirs in it. The stroller was found later on, but of course all their things were gone. It is probably wise not to leave anything in it that would attract a would be theif.

 

[daisylove]

dkal95 I think that the diaper trick is so known that it would not work. I am thinking of buying a little bike lock and in the morning lock the back of the stroller and forget about it until the night. As long as it can be moved by the CMs and pushed by me it will be ok but then no one else could close it. I bought the Maclaren because the Aprica that has been my WDW stroller was just too small. My DD was terribly uncomfortable. The aprica I did not really care if it broke or was taken becasue I got it at a consignmnet store for $30. By the way great stroller for disney as long as dd fit in it. If we have another I will probably still use it there. But now that I paid for a Maclaren I am nervous.

 

[SuzieQMomof3]

All4fun, my sister's stroller was stolen in one of the parks-I can't remember if it was Magic Kingdom or Epcot. It didn't ruin her trip, it was just a big inconvenience, especially in the airport on the way home when she didn't have any stroller.

On the plus side, it let her go shopping for a new one when she got home!

 

[MateasMom]

We visit DisneyLAND often and leave our stroller (nice Graco duo glider) all over the place. No problems so far. -- One thing that did happen to us at WDW. Their 'Stroller Parking' Nazis. If you don't leave your stroller in a designated area, they'll move it for you. We did think our stroller had been taken once because of this....but when we walked past the designated stroller parking later and saw our stroller parked there, we realized we were idiots

 

[daisylove]

Something tells me that single lightweight strollers are taken more than others. Easier to blend in, carry etc...

We also thought our stroller was stolen outside of Small world our 1st trip with baby. Nervous already taking our smal baby and now the stroller was gone. I panicked but we soon found it had been moved by CMs.

 

[long4disney]

More strollers are taken because someone spots a diaper bag or backpack in the basket or hanging from the stoller handles. That's what some of the Disney reps have told us. Sometimes the stroller will be taken to a different location in the park just to take the bag and they will leave the stroller behind. It is very important to mark your stoller with your name and cell phone number. We couldn't find ours one time, thinking it had been stolen, but just moved and when the park closed and they were cleaning up, someone found our stroller and called us on our cell phone to tell us it would be at guest services the next morning. What a relief to know it wasn't gone. If your stroller is marked in permanent marker with your name and cell number, most people would not want to take a stroller with your name on it. If you just tie a ribbon or balloon on it, they can just take it off. As long as you don't care, and don't intend on re-selling your stroller, just mark it and you won't have to worry! Also, since we learned from a previous mistake, we do not take a diaper bag any more. We just put my DD's diapers and wipes and changing pad in a zip lock bag, and carry our money and passes in a waist pack. This has worked out much better for us! If you bought any items at the shops, most shops will have your packages delivered to your resort for you if you are staying on property. Very helpful indeed!