Can you believe this?

[haleofafamily]

My sister, her family (husband plus 6 kids), and my mom are at WDW right now. Today they were at AK. Everything was going really well until they came out of FotLK (2:00 show) as they were getting their strollers they realized one of their boys (4 yr old) was missing. My DSi stayed with other kids while my DM and DB-in-law went in different directions to look for him.
My sister immediately told a CM working the entrance to the show that her son was missing. This is the unbelievable part - she told her to stand to the side and she would be with her in a moment. My sister said she was so stunned - she just stood there thinking "but my son is missing". The CM proceeded to monitor the people going in. She never came and helped my sister.
Eventually another CM who had heard my sister left the check-in point and came and told her "this happens all the time, don't worry about it, we will find him over by the characters in just a minute." My sister said the CM wasn't saying that 20 minutes later when he still wasn't found. After awhile other CM's came to help. My mom said they were surrounded by them. The CM's were very kind and comforting.
My mom finally found him near 'lost and found'. Someone was bringing him to 'lost and found', he saw my mom and ran to her.
This was one of those instances where each adult thought the other had his hand and no one did. I don't know what the deal was with the CM...I know they usually respond better.
My sister said she could hear people walking by saying "that women lost her kid" She said I just knew they were thinking "if you didn't have that many kids you probably wouldn't lose one"

 

[DeeCee735]

Sorry to hear of the terrible scare, thank God he was found safe and unharmed. As for the CM's, they should have reacted better, perhaps more training should be suggested - I'd give a call to find out how to do this.

 

[TSMAMI]

I am so sorry to hear about that CM brushing your sister off and what other people were saying about the situation. I am sooo happy that they found him. Hooray for happy endings!

 

[AJKMOM]

There is no excuse for the lapse in judgment displayed by the CM. If it were me, I would had them call a supervisor quickly. That was a terrible response from the CM. The adults in your family probably aged 10 years in that half hour.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm not usually one to say 'report it' but report it. Someone needs to let Disney know what happened. This is not the way it's supposed to happen. So many things can happen...and it only takes a minute for someone to grab a child! That CM was completely out of line....I can't believe she told you to step aside, she would be with you in a minute!! So wrong! I would write a letter to the powers that be and let them know what happened. They need to know it was so badly mishandled in the beginning.

 

[kimbac3]

I would report it too. My son went missing once and it was the most terrifying time of my life!! Tell your sister I feel her pain and If I were there I would have helped them look

Kimba

 

[ireland_nicole]

Thank God he's o.k.; please send hugs to your sister for us. And I agree; this needs to be reported; it only takes a second for something terrible to happen...

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I'm so glad that they found him! I can only imagine how frightening that would have been.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

So sorry this happened. Here's a for the happy ending. Since you said your sister is still there, she needs to go and see someone ASAP. Let them know she will do it at a time convenient for her (after the kids are asleep). Both her and BIL should go since Mom can watch the kids. Tell her not to leave until this is totally resolved. Good luck to her.

 

[GSDRescuer]

How horrible!!!!!! I would have been screaming his name and running around looking for the child like a maniac!!!!!!!! I would have had a heart attack! It is sad that the CM didn't think this was serious enough to help quickly. I hope this is not the norm.

I am so glad you found him!!

 

[Purseval]

I'm not usually one to say 'report it' but report it. Someone needs to let Disney know what happened. This is not the way it's supposed to happen. So many things can happen...and it only takes a minute for someone to grab a child! That CM was completely out of line....I can't believe she told you to step aside, she would be with you in a minute!! So wrong! I would write a letter to the powers that be and let them know what happened. They need to know it was so badly mishandled in the beginning.

I'd be willing to wager kids go "missing" every day at WDW, do you have any statistics on how many got grabbed as opposed to being taken to a holding area? Yes, we all know about the little girl who got her hair cut and dyed and was rescued in the nick of time but I'd prefer to hear something that won't get debunked on Snopes.

I don't like to see a child get lost, if must be very scary for both the child and the parent. However, alarmists that see child snatchers lurking behind every bush aren't very helpful either.

 

[Mikailova]

I am a former CM and I definitely think you should report this incident. I hope you got the name of the CM who told you to stand aside because he/she did not handle it correctly at all.

I don't know how much has changed in the few years since I have worked there but this is how it's supposed to work as far as I remember.

A parent comes to you and says I've lost my child. You the CM immediately call security yourself or get the closest capable cast member, if you are in a position you can't leave to call security. There is always a way to get that call made immediately. You ask security if said child whose description you have gotten from the parent has been found if not you walk the immediate area for a maximum of 20 minutes before calling security again to see if the child has been found. Generally you will find the child in this 20 minute walk about. Cast members are trained to look for small children wandering alone and if we see one, we ask where them where is your mommy and daddy? If the child doesn't know, we are to walk the child in the immediate area for a few minutes to see if we can find the parents. Generally a child has just made a left to look at something "shiny" while Mom and Dad have gone right, and all are reunited in that short amount of time. If not, we have Security come and take the child to a lost and found location to be reunited with the parents who will eventually find a cast member to say, "I've lost my child." The incident of a lost child is meant to be treated with the utmost seriousness.

I personally dealt with a very distraught mother who had just gone through a messy divorce and her ex had threatened to come and take the kids. He was apparently very abusive and she had been awarded soul custody and she had a restraining order against him. That particular situation was a little scary for me to and I really felt for the woman. Luckily her son had just walked into the ice cream store and when we found him, he said "I followed red shorts mommy."

I used to find up to 10 lost kids a day in the peak of summer time. I and this one other CM always seem to have little kids walking up to us and saying I can't find my mom and dad. She's was a grandmother of 7 and I'm a former nanny, so I guess we just had one of those looks that kids felt safe coming up to to say that they were lost.

We are trained to calm the kids and/or families down, and treat the situation with the utmost seriousness. Yeah, kids wander off all the time. They're view of the world is greatly the backs of knees and posteriors so it's easy for them to follow the wrong pair of pants and end up lost, but there are those one in a million situations where something more serious can happen, and we as CMs are taught not to roll the dice and bet on it being just, "I followed red shorts Mommy." That CM deserves at least a reprimand if not to be fired.

 

[haleofafamily]

Thanks for the hugs and advice. I contacted Disney and they were very apologetic and surprised at how this was handled. I gave them my sisters contact info so they could reach her for more details.

 

[rie'smom]

OP, I feel your family's pain. I'm glad that your nephew was safe and sound!!

I took my niece, she was 9, with my 4 yo daughter and me to WDW. We waited for her at the exit of Splash Mountain. After quite a long while, she never showed up. I went to CM after CM and they couldn't care less. I was beside myself-absolutely frantic. Finally, I saw her. I had told her if we got separated to go back the the ride exit which she did. She had walked out in a crowd and we never saw each other.
This happened 12 years ago and I started getting teary just thinking about it.

 

[mhmcduff]

I am so sorry as this must have been so stressful for your sister. I had a very similar experience in HS in Dec 2007 We walked upon the Star Wars experience where kids get invited to be on stage to fight Darth Vadar ( I forget the name of this) and it was very crowded and my 6year old very excited ran ahead and I was left with a 3 year old and my husband was back at the room with a sinus infection- anyways I could not find my son even after the crowd broke and I was literally histerical (I would say) and the three CMs around basically said "he will show up" which he did near the fountain at the Muppets show (30 minutes later and Mom in need of a nap or drink or both which were not readily available) which I found him but of course during that time I feared I had "really lost him" which I am not sure the young CMs appreciate. I am glad everything worked out for your sister and I hope that ADAM events etc get better at WDW>

 

[Abra Cat]

I agree with this-- especially so close to the entrance, someone could have been gone with him so easily. We had a similar scare in September, but it couldn't have gone more differently. My five year old son wandered off talking to another family (he's a big talker) from the UK pin stand at Epcot just after dark, and the CMs couldn't have been more helpful. I was running around (in the dark and without my glasses because they'd broken earlier that day) calling for him, and a lovely CM named Rosie (still remember her name) had him and was just about to report him when she heard me call his name. The CM we'd been talking to at the UK pin stand before this happened gave him a special pin for bravery. Longest 3 minutes of my life-- felt like 3 hours.

I'm not usually one to say 'report it' but report it. Someone needs to let Disney know what happened. This is not the way it's supposed to happen. So many things can happen...and it only takes a minute for someone to grab a child! That CM was completely out of line....I can't believe she told you to step aside, she would be with you in a minute!! So wrong! I would write a letter to the powers that be and let them know what happened. They need to know it was so badly mishandled in the beginning.

 

[cmcvean]

The same thing happened to me at Animal Kingdom a few years back. I was astounded by the CM, she told me she couldn't help me, that I would have to find someone in security. I was freaking out. We found my DD about 20 minutes later - on my own I may add. I really didn't expect this from them, but we were by the Dinasaur ride and there really weren't any CM's around. If we had been in MK I'm sure it would have been a different story.

 

[Allison]

It's scary when you realize you've lost track of a child. It's happened to me and it's a horrible feeling.

On my last visit a few weeks ago, I was with some friends and made the comment I had lost Darcy. A CM overheard me and immediately came over and asked if Darcy was a child. I told her no, Darcy was an adult and had just wandered into a shop or something and everything was fine. She was relieved but was immediately ready to help me if I had lost a child.

 

[The Hendies]

First, PLEASE know that the most diligent parents have been known to lose sight of someone in the party. We have lost my DH several times. He never stays where he's supposed to! No comment on the reaction (or lack thereof) from the CM. I do believe that for the most part, CM's are helpful. You just got one who was focused on their job, not customer service. I'm glad the little one was found.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'd be willing to wager kids go "missing" every day at WDW, do you have any statistics on how many got grabbed as opposed to being taken to a holding area? Yes, we all know about the little girl who got her hair cut and dyed and was rescued in the nick of time but I'd prefer to hear something that won't get debunked on Snopes.

I don't like to see a child get lost, if must be very scary for both the child and the parent. However, alarmists that see child snatchers lurking behind every bush aren't very helpful either.

I think you misinterpreted what I said. I am not an alarmist, but 'stuff' does happen. For a parent with a missing child, every possible nasty thing that 'could' happen is going through their mind. I know...my nephew went missing for over an hour!! So, for a parent with a missing child, every minute seems like forever, and to have a CM tell them to basically 'wait a minute' is unacceptable.
I do not see child snatchers lurking behind every bush...never said that, never intimated that. Don't put words in my mouth. I guess when I said 'it only takes a minute for someone to grab a child', I was thinking of what goes through a parents mind. That poor mother was told to wait a minute, while all manner of horrible scenarios were playing out in her mind. I'm sure she had already gotten the idea of someone leaving the park with her ds. Realistic? No, it's not. But, that doesn't stop a parent from imagining it. And that was my point...not people lurking behind the bushes, waiting to grab lost children.