Disturbing incident at Epcot last Thursday . . .

[starlionblue]

This topic brought something interesting to my mind. On my most recent visit, which was about a month ago, TONS of families were using 2-way radios or Nextel phones (if you are thinking about a Nextel phone, the 2-way radio feature costs extra on most calling plans or you could use prepaid Nextel a.k.a. Boost Mobile, which can be found at most Target stores. Most Office Depot stores sell the refill cards). Understandably, a radio made it very easy to know where everyone was so I didn't complain about the constant crackling of radio static everywhere. You could find a pretty good pair of Motorola 2-way radios on Amazon for less than $50. I think it's cheap insurance and peace of mind.

And for those who have children too young to talk or use a radio, there's something interesting that you could consider. The Sharper Image used to sell a homing beacon in its catalog for only $99 (I think that's cheap considering the amount of military technology put into it and besides, what's your child's life worth? I couldn't put a price on it.). It looks like a giant gray cylinder. You slide the top section off and it is worn like a watch (I have no idea if it tells the time). The other half is kept in mom's purse and it has an illuminated arrow. It also can be adjusted to set off an alarm if the child wanders too far out of range (the range can be adjusted too). It was fascinating stuff, something you might see in a spy movie but then, we ARE living in the 21st century. A lot of that is now possible and now affordable.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Second, when I worked at Disney, a lost child was very serious. I bet most cast members were being notified via park radio. I found a lost child once. What we were told to do was first go back to the location, with the child, that the child last saw their family. Usually the family will first go back to that location. Then contact Guest Services. If the family does not show up at the location in x amount of time, the child will be taken to Guest Services. Also, were you saw the family was probably the location the family last saw the child. The CM's were probably trying to keep the family in that area in case the child wondered back by himself.

I don't know what the security guard/CM's were saying to the hysterical family, but I don't think Disney would have arrested the father -unless he became violent. However, I know it was (obviously) very personal for the father - but becoming hysterical would not help the situation. I know Disney wasn't doing 'nothing' for the situation. Most likely the CM's you saw were assigned to stay with the family while others were looking for the boy. That way as soon as the child was found, the CM's with the family could be notified via park radio and then take the family to the child.

EXAcTLY my experience from working in the parks as well.

 

[lovethattink]

We were at the MK on Saturday afternoon. We went to eat lunch at Columbia Harbour House. I'm not sure if Disney felt the restaurant was too busy, if a child was missing, or if they were just plain looking for someone. Dh went to go grab fast passes for us while we ate. He tried to exit, but a CM told him to use a different exit that her post was only an entrance. So he went a different way. He noticed that each door had someone posted. Some doors were used as exits and some as entrances. I had never seen that before. Even at busy Christmas-time, never noticed an entrance-only or exit only-door. Anyone else there on Saturday? Any CM out there who have an idea as to why they would do this?

 

[Whosemom]

I think the people who THINK they watch their children every instant just don't realize what an instant is. Do you sneeze and reflexively cover your mouth? Do you swat a fly? Do you hear the beeping of the firstaid cart and glance over your shoulder? Do you look up to see tink come flying down the wire? Do you take a picture, and I'm talking poorly-framed snapshot here? If you have, your eyes are off your kids, if you have more kids than hands, you are completely and totally out of control for that instant. The crowd pushes through, the three year old dashes toward a Buzz toy display, or worse.

We were at another park watching a show more interesting to grownups than toddlers. A lady behind me was touching my DD3yo curly hair. I didn't see her, I'm correcting my kid for jumping out of her seat. The lady says, its not her fault, I was touching her hair. Next show down the walk, same lady is down the row trying to offer my kid a cookie. When I see her, she acts innocent and says, can she have one. UH, NO! (This is making my stomach heave now, 4 years later! We fairly ran out of that park, in retrospect I don't know why I didn't report her - fight or flight is a mighty trong reflex I guess) Say she was just a hair more sly, hadn't spooked my kid in the theater and had stood beside a pole to duck behind for the cookie ploy. If I was digging in my bag for the baby's bottle, and Miss Dash ran for the cookie, what then?

"What if" is an awful game, but one second's distraction, and my would have been gone. And ANYONE could be distracted for a second. Quit kidding yourselves, and have some compassion!

 

[liveforthemagic]

The camp that my kids went to really didn't discuss any specifics about what could happen if the child was kidnapped--and they never really said that word. Its been a few years, and I'm racking my brain but cannot remember the phrase they replaced "kidnapped" with. But they stressed that you really don't want to go with a stranger because your mom and dad love you and miss you so much they can't stand it when you're gone even a second.

I do also remember that they wanted kids to try to remember their last name, their phone number and address....Get this. So when Joey came back from camp and asked what his last name was, I told him, he started crying and saying "No, really, what is my real last name?"

Also they played this game where you had to practice your observation skills. So they had a grownup go behind the door and change her appearance....one shoe off, one pant leg cuffed, etc. Then she walked in front of the kids for like 30 seconds and went back behind the door again. The kids then had to describe what they had seen....I think that's an important thing to practice even for kids who need to be able to figure out where they are....You know, did you walk past the red house? Did you pass the street that we turn on to go to school? Its been helpful for us for our kids to know their way around town.

My sister said she saw that there were some videos available for this topic--she saw it advertised on a kids channel not too long ago.

Hope this helps.

 

[AMaloy314]

I, too, read this entire thread hoping for the happy ending with the child and parents reunited. Since there was never anything in the news or on the Amber Alert, I'm hoping that no news is good news. I have a hard time believing that a child disappearing entirely from WDW wouldn't make national news.

I'm also disappointed that this thread seems to have dissolved into an argument or at least what could mildly be called a disagreement. I doubt that there is a parent anywhere that doesn't think they are doing what is best for their children. (Although, I'm not exactly sure how teaching your child to call another child a name ie 'cute puppy' fits in here. ) Having said that, I will confess that before I had kids, I was the world's best parent. I made judgements about every other parents' way of doing things without having a clue. MY kids would never go in public with a dirty face, MY kids would always hold my hand when we walk somewhere, MY kids would follow all the rules. All I had to do was explain the rules to them first. My theory flew out the window the day I heard myself say to my SD, "Honey, please stop licking the bottom of your shoe." I realized that there are literally millions of different scenarios that could happen and that the best you can do is the best you can do. I try to plan for the worst, but expect the best.

I will keep my eyes on my kids as much as humanly possible. I can't say 100% of the time, because I know that there will be the inevitable bottle that slips to the bottom of the diaper bag I might have to search for just for a couple seconds.

I will hold their hands as much as humanly possible. Again, 100% of the time is out because there is usually at least one shoe that needs retied or a nose that needs wiped.

I won't use a harness, but that is my choice. I confess that I will probably be assuming that a harness is for safety and convenience rather than a develpmental tool. I also confess that I have used a stroller as a restraint device when I shop at the mall, so don't think I'm claiming I'm better than anyone else. Just different.

I will NEVER teach my child to degrade another child for any reason. In fact, I can state unequivocally that I will teach my child the opposite and hope they learn compassion. I would always hope that my child would first think of how they would feel if someone said that to them.

I will plan to watch my child completely while at WDW, but I will also plan to have a backup plan. I believe the saying goes something like, Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. And to fail in the planning of my kids safety is just beyond my reckoning. It takes such little effort to plan for a backup that it almost seems negligent not to do it.

As for parents being responsible for their child getting lost, I think that I have to agree. Ultimately, we are responsible for our children's safety. Just as I would be responsible if my son fell and hurt his knee playing tag in the park. I could have wrapped him in cottonwool and never let him outside to play, but I didn't. I will take precautions and do the best I can. I will take responsibility when things happen, but the truth is....things happen. I just hope and pray that the worst never does happen...and if it does, let me have a back up plan in place (Please, God!!). In the case of the scraped knee, a bandaid in the purse was all it took, but I also know where the closest Ugent Care is and carry the cell phone pre-programmed with 911.

I think that the idea about putting ID with cell phone number hidden on the child, whether on dog-tag, shoe lace or other, is a great idea. A child that is frantic and crying may not be able to speak clearly.

I LOVE the idea of taking a digital photo of the child each day in the clothes they are wearing. Whoever came up with this one should get some kind of Nobel Child Safety Ingenious Idea Award.

I'm not sure about the two-way radio thing, though. I've read that since they have become common in the parks, they are often hard to use since so many people are on the same 'channel'. I think cell phones would be a better bet if your kids are old enough to use electronic stuff.

When you are telling your children to go to a CM if they get separated, how do you tell them to recognize them? It has been a couple years since we have been there, but WDW had Guest of Honor Badges that looked very similar to the CM badges when we were there last. Are they different now?

I have faith that Disney has great protocols for lost children, but it is easy for me to say since my kid isn't lost. At first I thought the comment about refusing to stop or postpone the fireworks was based on economic reasons, but someone else said that it would be easier to search if most people were standing still engrossed in the show. It made total sense once it was pointed out. I guess that what I'm saying is, just because we can't see what might be obvious to security and the CMs, it doesn't mean that the best isn't being done.

I hope that, if anyone out there reading this feels judgemental towards a parent that has lost their child, you get to spend the rest of your life never having to say, "After having a lost child, I know I was wrong."

 

[Hope73]

This was a fear of mine. I have very active kids. Each of my kids wore a bracelet with the name and me and husband's cell phone on them. Luckily no lost child

 

[Hope73]

A friend lost their child, she feaked out so bad paramedics gave her oxygen. Finally the child got hungry and tried to buy food the staffer realized he was alone. She mentioned being underground and looking at monitors for him.

 

[starlionblue]

A friend lost their child, she feaked out so bad paramedics gave her oxygen. Finally the child got hungry and tried to buy food the staffer realized he was alone. She mentioned being underground and looking at monitors for him.

Underground? What are you talking about? That last sentence is weird. Maybe you could rephrase that for us.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Underground? What are you talking about? That last sentence is weird. Maybe you could rephrase that for us.

There's an underground area for CM in the MK. I can't think of the offical name of the area right now.

I believe there are two or three stories under the MK.

 

[kalozois]

lol calling other children puppies... thats just wrong man! ur kids will probably be the first to begin bullying.. u know that right? good ole mom and dad!

while i agree leashing children looks a bit odd and probably isnt needed, at least it saves 10 year old being carted around in prams when their parents are too paranoid to let them free... but whatever thats jus my POV.

 

[Whosemom]

quote...while i agree leashing children looks a bit odd and probably isnt needed, at least it saves 10 year old being carted around in prams when their parents are too paranoid to let them free... but whatever thats jus my POV.


ROFL!! Where are you getting your harness, sweetheart? By the time my dasher was 2, the rather standard one I had was too little! If they make them THAT big, maybe I can finally keep track of DH

I'm here to tell ya, if you have 3 kids under the age of 5, you'll learn to take advantage of whatever help you can get!

 

[kalozois]

ROFL!! Where are you getting your harness, sweetheart?
I'm here to tell ya, if you have 3 kids under the age of 5, you'll learn to take advantage of whatever help you can get!

But isnt it a pain holding onto them while they are draggin u around? For the record 10 may be excessive, but i KNOW that some parents still push their kids around at age 7 in pushchairs/ prams. so these harnesses sound like a good alternative to this. And also im sure its not hard to customise the harness to make it bigger... or to make your own for that matter.. bit of rope, (noose dependant on behaviour hehe)

 

[Robo]

Underground? What are you talking about? That last sentence is weird. Maybe you could rephrase that for us.

The MK is built on top of an "underground" (not really under-the-ground, but that's 'old news' to most DIS members) service area filled with offices, computer rooms, dressing rooms, break rooms, security offices, and many other "back-stage" facilitites... all accessed via hidden doors and stairways to "Utilitdors" that lead to all areas below the MK.

Google: "Magic Kingdom Utilidors" for more info.

 

[brbenoit]

lol calling other children puppies... thats just wrong man! ur kids will probably be the first to begin bullying.. u know that right? good ole mom and dad!

Only if they are allowed to. Hang around with a group of girls 6-8 and there will at some point be a hurtful name called. Or throw a single boy into the mix who has a borther 7 years older than him and it doesn't take long before someone or something is called "stupid". That's the one that grates me.

To me bullying is using force (not always physical mind you) to try to adjust anothers behavior against their will.

To me, having the nickname puppy for leashed children is just like the nicknames that my friends and I have for certain people at the gym or we play in hockey. The name grows out of observed behavior rather than anything about the actual person.

while i agree leashing children looks a bit odd and probably isnt needed, at least it saves 10 year old being carted around in prams when their parents are too paranoid to let them free... but whatever thats jus my POV.

Or parents could make the effort to teach their children how to behave in public and not to run off. Once they hit school age this should no longer be an issue.

 

[Mariposa]

Only if they are allowed to. Hang around with a group of girls 6-8 and there will at some point be a hurtful name called. Or throw a single boy into the mix who has a borther 7 years older than him and it doesn't take long before someone or something is called "stupid". That's the one that grates me.

To me bullying is using force (not always physical mind you) to try to adjust anothers behavior against their will.

To me, having the nickname puppy for leashed children is just like the nicknames that my friends and I have for certain people at the gym or we play in hockey. The name grows out of observed behavior rather than anything about the actual person.

Oh, well, since it's not rude and clearly no big deal, why don't you compliment the next mom you see with a harnessed kid on her cute puppy, I'm sure she'll appreciate it. Better yet, wait for a mom and dad with a harnessed kid, tell the dad that he's got a cute puppy. Since it's no big deal I'm sure he'll just agree with you and not become angry.

I just love it when people make excuses for their rude behavior.

And having a small child make your nasty comments for you, now THAT's manly.

 

[cleo]

Ok, all the Perfect Parents please stand to the right, all you Failure Parents please take a seat on the left, and the rest of you can line up behind this closed thread....we have harnesses waiting for you!