Because of recent threads on theft what are you doing different during your stay?

[Savin4Disney]

Since I have been reading about different theft at the World what are you going to do diffrent?

1. I am staying at POP and will not be staying on the first or second floor if I can help it.

2. I have about 200.00 in Disney Dollars. I was going to put them in the safe but now I am thinking it might be better to do:
a. put most of them down and use my room key to charge
b. lock them in my suitcase

3. At night put the camera and other valuables in the safe or locked in my luggage.

4. Get some travel checks instead of having 300.00 in cash. I will now have 100.00 in cash and the rest in traveler checks.

What are you going to do different?

 

[bdcp]

Do what I always do no matter where I stay. Lock up everything of value in the safe and lock the laptop in a suitcase, as well as check the locks on doors and windows. I've said it before, just because it's Disney doesn't make it immune to the rest of the world. You can't think it will never happen at WDW. It can, it does and it probably always has, just now with online boards, etc. you're hearing about it. Disney has always held back negative info. (i.e., illness, ride accidents, etc.).

 

[dahess]

We always have rental car & we lock up stuff in the trunk. Dh's laptop, camcorder, etc..... Anywhere we ever go on vacation we do it.

 

[AJKMOM]

Depending on the weather, we leave stuff locked in the trunk of the car, and make sure the car is locked. We're lucky in a way, there are 5 of us, and you know how expensive a trip for 5 to Disney is! We don't have a lot of valuables to steal.

 

[LvsTnk]

We had our rental van broken into at MGM a few years ago so we have been extra careful since then. It sure was an eye opener, it was like they had a key and were watching us. Disney wasn't surprised at all.

 

[NJBlackBerry]

I make sure we don't walk down any dark alleys at the Magic Kingdom.

I took normal precautions before (used room safes; made sure outside doors, including balconies are always locked); don't carry or ever flash excessive cash (especially when villains are around) and continue them today.

 

[robertchance]

i will not do anything different then i already do. common sense tells me that the thefts are few and far between. if it does happen, my insurance policy with cover it

 

[Disney Doll]

I am a cop's daughter, so I have always been security conscious. There is only so much you can do to prevent theft...unfortunately the bad guys are always figuring out new ways to rip people off.

I lock anything of value in the room safe, although I tend not to bring anything of great value(such as expensive jewelry) to WDW. IMHO, there's only 2 groups of people who have access to the WDW safe in my room...my travelling companions and the WDW staff. Since I don't tend to travel with thieves, if anything is missing out of it, I'm blaming the WDW staff, unless there's evidence that someone tried to rip the thing out of the wall. My camera...well, if it get's stolen, I'd replace it either personally or through insurance. Same with the laptop if we bring it. I am not sure what the point of locking it in a suitcase is...if someone figures out there's a laptop in there, they'll just steal the whole suitcase, & it probably wouldn't arouse a whole lot of suspicion to see someone with a suticase at WDW. Locking stuff in the car...well, the car can get stolen or broken into too. As far as $$$...we do mostly everything with credit, have very little cash. I usually put some cash into our special savings account which we can access with our ATM card, so if we do need cash, we take some from an ATM. I'd rather pay a couple of bucks of "service fees" than lose a whole wad of cash.

As far as personal security...I lock doors always, even if someone is in the room. People prowling the hallways of a hotel aren't necessarily always looking to rob you, you know. I check the windows...if they have a locking mechanisnm, I lock it. I check the balcony doors before we leave the room to make sure they are locked with all locks available on the door. At night, I put all the locks on the hotel room door that they have...the bolt lock and the flip lock thing. I use common sense walking the grounds...don't wander in dark places alone, stay in the more corwded, well-lit areas, lock the car door if driving around.

I know that people think "it's Disney, what's going to happen here?" and I also think that people tend to be a bit "nicer" overall at WDW (maybe pixie dust gets 'em???? ) but it is still a hugely crowded public place and while I think their security is good, there is no one that can offer 100% security, because there is always some lowlife out there who will figure out a way to beat a security system.

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

Nothing different, same things I have always done:

- lock doors, always
- don't leave valuables in the open - lock them up

Michael

 

[Savin4Disney]

I did not mean that because it is Disney things would be okay. I have not traveled much so not sure how things always work.

If I put things in the safe and they are stolen. Does Disney replace them. I know only 3 sets of people can get in the safe. Me, DS and Disney Staff. I can guarantee me or DS won't be stealing!.

All I am taking that is valuable is our money, portable DVD player for plane ride and camera. The camera will always be with me. The money (most is going on the room key)

 

[CharlesTD]

We always lock the TC's and cash in the safe and carry the cameras with us. Honestly if somone wants your stuff bad enough they will get it no matter what type of precautions you take. Just make sure to not leave things in teh open and keep your curtains closed to keep prying eyes from viewing the things you have with you. A thief will only come in if they know there is something worth going after so don't leave things in clear view and always check to make sure the doors lock behind you.

 

[tjmw2727]

I travel alone with my dd's so I ALWAYS use the extra lock on the inside of the door- even if we are just running in to the room for something quick. I request a balcony instead of a patio and always use the locks when the doors are closed.

I carry a cc'd, bank card, cash and not much else of value for the trip. Dd's gameboys and our travel doc's go into the safe as well as the cc'd used for the room charge. I have the numbers in another place so it can be voided and replaced if necessary. I carry the room key with charging, my license come cash and my bank card with me. I use the room charge for purchases and then hit the ATM and pay off the balance at checkout. The camera and the girls pin lanyards goe in the safe when not in use. I always lock the safe even if we are hitting the pool and the room has already been cleaned. DH isn't in this habit and it bugs me I also tend to keep the room fairly tidy so I may notice more easliy if something gets moved around.

So I try and minimize any potential loss of things and concentrate on keeping myself and dd's safe. Its easy to let your guard down esp at Disney but as anywhere esle things can happen.

TJ

 

[DMRick]

i will not do anything different then i already do. common sense tells me that the thefts are few and far between. if it does happen, my insurance policy with cover it

We have a deductable, so since the items we had stolen were under that deductable, we would have been out the loss. Once Disney checked our key use, and our past record of no complaints, they actually refunded us our lose. Now everything we have of value goes into the safe.

 

[Lewisc]

Always use the deadbolt and the chain (or equivalent) when you are in your room.

Lock your camera and other valuables in the safe even if you're just going to the pool. Very expensive stuff and/or stuff that won't fit in your room safe should go in the hotel safe. Better yet don't bring those items. Leaving stuff in your car trunk isn't that safe. Cars get broken into. Don't give items like cameras to the bellhop.

 

[Jasminetigger]

Just thought I'd share my story to show there are still honest people in the world. We were at WDW at WL this past June. I kept our cash in the room safe in a bank envelope. Each morning I would take what I needed and lock the safe. On our second day there we were at MK. We were just about to get on It's A Small World and my face turned white as a ghost. I don't know what made me think about it, but I realized I forgot to lock the safe and forgot to close the closet door. The safe door was still wide open. I stayed with the kids while my DH ran back to the reosrt. I have never been so miserable on a ride in my life. There was a lot of money in the safe. We were only on day 2 of an 8 day stay. When my DH got back to the room, it had already been cleaned by mousekeeping. The money and the rest of our valuables were still there. The closet door was now closed and the safe door was closed but still unlocked. There was a message on the phone from mousekeeping. Our mousekeeper noticed our safe wide open with all our valuables. She wanted to let us know she closed the safe door and the closet door but she said she felt uncomfortable locking the safe door and leaving the key somewhere. She also reminded us to be careful. Needless to say, this could have turned out differently. Our trip would have been ruined. I made sure her supervisor knew what she did and how grateful we were.

 

[amwhitaker]

i will not do anything different then i already do. common sense tells me that the thefts are few and far between. if it does happen, my insurance policy with cover it

If you have State Farm Insurance ~ forget about that idea! My husband had his camera stollen on a trip and we had paid over $700 for it. I called S.F. and they said we could put in a claim under homeowners, but if we had another claim for anything else in the next 3 years that our insurance would go up $500 a year! I was ticked to say the least. We did not continue with a claim needless to say. So we are out $700!! I used to think the same thing that if I lost something I would just turn it in to insurance, better check your policies!!

 

[Sammie]

I will not do anything different because as others have stated as long as you have people on vacation you will have theft. Most vacationers are easy target, too much cash, leave cameras and such unattended, not paying attention to surroundings, easily distracted, etc.

I am quite aware that Disney is not immune to theft and never figured it would be. Therefore I never carry large amounts of cash, nor do I leave anything in a hotel room that my insurance would not cover or can not be replaced including in the safe and definitely not on a luggage cart.

 

[PrincessAurora]

I wont be doing anything different. I don't carry a passport. I don't carry cash and if I do, it's in Disney Dollars or travelers checks. This is a small amount and is always kept on my or in the safe. I pay for everything on my room card. My camera is with me so unless they want to rummage through my Mickey underwear, there really isn't anything to steal.

 

[safetymom]

A lot of insurance companies also want to know what you did to try and prevent the theft before they will pay on a claim.

 

[Zip-a-dee-dude-da]

i have just cancelled my December trip due to worring, fear, pandering and an over active imagination. I suggest you all do the same. I instead will be spending the week at the Compton Holiday Inn. It has a gated parking lot!!!!