baby stroller lock...has any heard of a stroller lock to prevent walk offs??

[despina]

I never worried about it before....but sister has a nice one and is concerned. wants to put lock on wheel....never heard of one.

 

[Bev J]

I really think your sister does not need to worry about someone taking her stroller. Sometimes you think it has been taken because CM's move them around in the 'parking area' for strollers at each attraction. We have even left our diaper bag in the stroller and no one ever touched it. Something about a personal item tied to the stroller keeps people away from it.
Even if she were to find a wheel lock I think CM's would not be pleased if they needed to move it and could not.

Bev

 

[despina]

thanks Bev, I showing what you wrote right now.....

 

[CarnotaurDad]

We have used strollers at all four parks for five years now. We have never had our stroller taken. Maybe we are naive, but we have left diaper bags, backpacks, fanny packs, balloons, stuffed animals and many other things in the strollers and never lost a thing. Could something happen? Sure, but it hasn't yet.

 

[bcsmom]

A friend of mine also was worried about her stroller. She brought one of those small bike chains with the twist lock, & she would thread it through the two front wheels. It looked like a pain to do at each ride. You could still move the stroller, because it was not chained to anything. I guess noone would take it though, because you would look silly dragging a stroller if the front wheels were sort of locked.

 

[mmmears]

We used a bik lock and locked ours to things like low fences.

This was about 6 years ago, and it was a very expensive stroller back then, and we needed it for the airport and way home and we really didn't want to lose it.

 

[aurorasleeping]

bcsmom - that's a great idea

As a castmember for over 3 years, I helped guests who had their personal strollers disappear 4 times (not a wdw rental). Each time it was a "cheap" umbrella stroller...I never actually heard of anyone having their expensive stroller taken...I'm not saying it couldn't happen...but it's actually pretty rare I think.

Also, when working at attractions, if we saw a guest trying to "lock" (with a bike chain, or similar) their stroller to a low fence, or other stationary object we were supposed to stop them. (CM's need to be able to move the strollers, for a variety of reasons without having to call engineering to come and cut off a lock or a chain...and some people lock them in the most insane places...)

However, bcsmom's idea, would work great, because cm's can still move the stroller if they need to...and it would be very difficult for someone to steal it...or even accidentally take it, because it looked like their's.

 

[jsp2000]

I would reccommend a different approach. A small, canvas "umbrella" stroller is a lot easier to handle in the parks than the big plastic car seat/strollers. Usually small strollers are available at stores like Wal-Mart and Target for $10-$15.

When you get to Disney World, you'll see hundreds of strollers just like yours, so it's a good idea to mark yours some way. We put bright green tape on one of the handles and our "Happiest Celebration" luggage tag on ours to make it stand out in the crowd.

The great thing is, if you do lose your stroller, you are only out a little bit of money. And, it's a fairly cheap stroller, awash in a sea of identical strollers...not something that would be a "favorable" target. Usually walk-offs with these umbrella strollers are accidents rather than thefts. If you can mark it well, it probably won't dissapear.

We used our cheap stroller just in the parks. It worked great. We actually grew to like it better than our expensive one. DD was 2 at the time.

 

[utilidor]

8 trips in 4 years with strollers and the only menace we've had with strollers happened during our last trip. My wife got a chocolate crossoint at the France bakery to eat for breakfast the next morning. We were parked outside Figment, and when we got done with the ride, we had a stowaway in the basket underneath the stroller. A squirrel had decided to hop into the basket, open the bag, and eat her breakfast! After some mild shrieking, on her part, I shaked the stroller and he hopped out. We ditched the bag and moved on.

Other than that, our strollers have been moved plenty of times by CMs, but we've never lost a thing. I'll occasionally leave the camera in the stroller, too, if I am sick of carrying it. As long as it's not in plain view, I don't think people are going to snag anything.

 

[Grumpy_Disney_Dad]

if your stroller has spoke type wheels you may aslo want to think about a short cable gun lock. Its great for keeping the wheels ffrom moving , and can also be used to loop around the handle to lock it to things

 

[Skroops]

We have one of the nicest ,most expensive strollers available (it was a gift!) and it has yet to be stollen at WDW. Sometimes we even leave things in it while we have it parked and no one has touched it (except CM's move it sometimes). I would never leave valuables in it, but I really think your stroller would be fine. It sounds like more of a hasstle to lock your stroller.

 

[FluffyPumpkin78]

I have a $300 stroller, although I paid a little less than half of that on eBay, and have never had it or anything from it stollen/taken. I don't keep valuables on it though. I take my wallet and camera with me when we park it, but usually have other stuff on and in the stroller.

We usually go 3 or 4 times a month, except for during the summer, and never had anything bad happen to it.

IMO, it would be a major PITA to keep locking and unlocking it. If I was that worried about it, I would just get a less expensive stroller (you can get some pretty good deals on certain Chicco's and Maclaren's on eBay, like less than $50) and then donate it or give it to a friend after the trip.

 

[horseshowmom]

Well, I'm going to have to be the voice of dissent here.

DD is 19 now and well out of the stoller stage, but we had not one but TWO strollers stolen when she was little. When she was younger we used to go at least once a year and sometimes twice.

One stroller was a very nice large one, and the other was an umbrella stroller (bought because I didn't want to lose another expensive one). We had decorations on both of them to make them very obviously ours, and that didn't stop the thieves at all. (Nope, they weren't just moved - the other strollers were still in the same place.)

I started bringing my own, because I got tired of people taking the ones I was renting (yep, had the name on them too). While it's true that you can get another one with your receipt, you may have to walk quite a distance to get it.

I finally started doing the chain thing (and never lost another one after that). I think the idea of putting it through the two wheels is a great idea.

Good luck!

 

[rhiannonwales]

I actually read on a thread here somewhere (but i can't find it because the new search stinks) about someone having a bugaboo stolen from WDW.

I had a combi last time i went (nice but not extravagant) and we had a bike lok that looked like the things that men use to clip their keys to their pants. It was easy and quick to put it on one of the front wheels. CM's could move it but no one would steal it because it rode crazy with the lock on one wheel.
There was a time where i would have no fear of having my stroller stolen at WDW, but with all the stories of theft ive been hearing recently it has made me rhink twice. Someone had stuff stolen at the WL pool, and another at TL.

 

[surfer_ed]

I would reccommend a different approach. A small, canvas "umbrella" stroller is a lot easier to handle in the parks than the big plastic car seat/strollers. Usually small strollers are available at stores like Wal-Mart and Target for $10-$15.

We been twice with a stroller and it was never stolen but I often thought think this would be a big hassle on your trip. We too have left diaper bag etc with no worrys but I would make sure nothing valuable was inside. If someone really wants to steal diapers well...

One wheel lock might be a good idea if you have an expensive stroller with you.

I like the above approach but cheap "unbrella" stollers are pretty much impossible for anyone over 6' to push. We took one on the Cruise to conserve space and DW ended up pushing most of the time or I would end up with pretty bad back pain. Too bad they don't make these strollers for tall people.

 

[jsp2000]

I like the above approach but cheap "unbrella" stollers are pretty much impossible for anyone over 6' to push.

This is a good point. If I remember correctly, on our trip with the elcheapo stroller, I ended up carrying the diaper bag most of the time while DW pushed the stroller.

 

[ssleblanc]

Thankfully (or not - depending on how you look at it, now I have to CARRY the kid's stuff), my kids are now too big for strollers.

But I just wanted to chime in that my favorite idea to avoid having a stroller taken by mistake (I read this here on the boards) is to take a disposable diaper, pour some coke on it, stick it in a plastic bag, and tie it to the handle. No one will want to touch it. And they won't confuse it for theirs because they'll KNOW they didn't leave a "dirty" diaper hanging on the stroller.

 

[AmyBWV99]

We've been to WDW 3 times since our first was born. We've got a nice stroller ($400 range) and leave it each time we go on a ride. We've never had any issue. Now airline gate check damage is a different story all together...

 

[mom_of_5]

Sounds like a hassle to me before and after each ride. I believe it is rather rare for a stroller to be taken. I was worried I admit bringing my expensive stroller but after leaving it a couple of times I lightened up.

 

[Karnak]

Someone once suggested a way to keep people away from your stroller. Just get a large rag, or even a diaper, spill some root beer on it, and put it in a spot on your stroller where it can be seen easily. No one will bother it.

Enjoy.