Do strollers ever get stolen?

[dijid]

This has probably been answered before, but do strollers ever get stolen? I'm thinking of using my garage sale money on a new $200+ stroller and it would be ideal for my trip. But DH and I are both nervous that it might be taken. (Brand new shiny stroller and all) I've heard that strollers never get stolen - people will steal the stuff in them, or move them, but not actually stolen. Is this true? I've also heard bike locks are frowned upon, as CMs often have to move the strollers around frequently. Any truths to these? Thanks!

 

[laceemouse]

They do move the strollers quite often while you are in an attraction. It can be confusing when you come out disorieted and can not find your stroller. I have never seen anyone chain their stroller up. That being said, we have been many times with both private strollers and rentals. We have never had a private stroller stolen, but once we looked and looked and could not find a rented one. They gave us a new one though. We never leave anything valuable on them, we don't really leave anything at all. The rented ones have a card with your last name on them, I guess you should put an ID on your private stroller too. Don't worry, I don't think you will lose your new stroller!!

 

[sha_lyn]

there have been a couple reports ehre of strollers that were never recoverd, but most often people have foudn an almost identical stroller left behind, or collected at the end of the day. A few have reported takign the "twin" and catching up with the other family sometime during the trip, or turing in the "twin" and finding that theirs too has been turned in. A good idea is to print out labels with your name and resort on them and put them in a couple of places on the stroller. Also leave something on the storller that makes it stand out. On the seat or on the handle are 2 places where it would most likely be seen. We used lime green ribbon on ours, and we usually placed something in the seat.

 

[BevS97]

we have never had any problems with our stroller and will be taking a pretty nice one this December. I am not at all worried about leaving it. I'd rather have a decent stroller and take that very very low risk, then struggle all week with a cheapy.

I think if ours was stolen it would be covered by our travel insurance, although it would be a hassle to claim and get a new one. Might be worth checking on your home contents insurance and see if you would be covered - it will just give you some peace of mind

Bev

 

[NotUrsula]

Yes, they do get stolen occasionally, though it happens most often at DD, not so much at the paid-admission parks. Most cases of "disappearing stroller" are cases of mistaken identity, but there are unscrupulous people at WDW who will steal; don't doubt it. Often, they will only "borrow" a stroller for the length of their stay and then abandon it somewhere on property. Make sure that your stroller is very well-labeled, and not just in places where the labels are visible. Turn it upside-down and paste labels between the upholstery and the frame. If it turns up in the lost and found with the more noticable labels removed, you want there to be some way to identify it.

WDW does not discourage locks, per se. They prohibit you from locking a stroller to a fixed object, like a fence, etc., but they don't have any problem at all with strollers being locked to immobilize them. Some people run a bike cable through the front wheel spokes so that the stroller will only roll if you do a wheelie.
I lock mine for peace of mind, but locking the wheels is so time-consuming that it gets annoying after a while. I compromise by locking mine across a fold joint; I figure that someone looking to steal is not going to waste effort on a stroller that will not fold up.
I also put shiny curling ribbon on the handles at parks; it sparkles in the sun and makes it easy to spot in a crowd of them, and since it drapes where your hands are, it would be hard to miss if you had just grabbed the wrong stroller by mistake.

 

[SueM in MN]

WDW does not discourage locks, per se. They prohibit you
from locking a stroller to a fixed object, like a fence, etc.,
but they don't have any problem at all with strollers being
locked to immobilize them. Some people run a bike cable
through the front wheel spokes so that the stroller will
only roll if you do a wheelie.

I little clarification; they do not object if the lock doesn't totally prevent your stroller from being moved. So if you do lock it, it can't be to a fixed object or totally not able to be moved. The ways that NotUrsula mentioned are good ways to make it moveable, if needed, but not easily moveable. Some people also lock it to make it still useable, but not able to be folded - that way if someone does take it, they can't fold it to get on the bus or in their car.
CMs do need to move strollers to keep access pathways clear for fire and evacuation. As people get off the rides and take their strollers, CMs move the remaining strollers closer together to make room for more.

 

[guyzmom]

Just some food for thought - cheapy stroller doesn't always mean a struggle or a bad experience. We have had 3 different double strollers for our twins, and our favorite by far, has been the cheapeast one (an umbrella one). We took it to Disney when they were 3, and it was terrific (it folds so quickly and easily, and is so light and compact). It has sun shades on it, and we bought an attachable bag that zips up to hook on the back of it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Remember that you'll want what is easiest to deal with (for bus rides, etc.).

Take care!

 

[md&d1026]

When we went in September last year, we took our cheap umbrella stroller for that very reason, if it got stolen I would only be out the $20 it cost, not $200 that my nice stroller cost - so we left the nice one at home. What a mistake. Of course, we stayed there so I wasn't as worried about napping since we just went back to our room.

My umbrella stroller had no sunshade and no room to store our stuff in (diaper bag, cameras, gifts and stuffed minnie & mickeys for my dd

Anyway, I noticed all kinds of nice strollers so when we went back for the day I brought our good stroller so DD could nap and carry our stuff in. And we have taken it back for the day everytime we have gone and never had a problem. They do get moved and I don't want to take for granted that it wouldn't get stolen, but it has so been worth it to bring the good one. Everyone, especially my 2 yr old dd is much happier. We are taking it tomorrow when we go stay at ASM for 3 days!!!

 

[dijid]

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to get and bring the new one. I've got an almost 4 year old who never rides in a stroller anymore. I'm getting a new Pliko so she can hop on the back for a ride for some parks. We figure we'll still rent one for her in Epcot.

 

[mrs.greevy]

When I went to WDW two years ago I had a very nice shiny new stroller for my DD, and I didn't have any trouble with someone stealing it. I put a red string on it so it couldn't be confused with someone elses... however at the end of the trip my nice new shiny stroller, was extremly banged up, and I will not be bringing my good double stroller with me this time, because I know it will be very beat up by the end of the trip.

 

[MomE@Home]

We tied a bright yellow scarf onto the handle of our DD's stroller. I found a funny tip in a guide book, a family put a diaper made up to look poopy in a clear bag tied to their stroller. Gross-But no one touched their stroller !

 

[HoosierFantasia]

I wrapped grip tape around the handles to help identify and personalize our stroller. I bought lime green tennis grip tape and put it around the handles. This also made it a little easier on the hands than the plastic.
Last June for 5 days in the parks, we had our Jeep Wrangler umbrella stroller with rain shield (this is a must buy) and never had a problem. It was easy to find my sttroller in the mess when you see lime green handles and a rain shield.
We never left anything valuable on the stroller but often left the daiper and toy bag there.

Have fun