Has anyone ever had a child stolen at WDW?

[Mooobooks]

Has anyone ever heard of a child being stolen at Walt Disney World?

 

[LKS]

No, and every lost child story I've read has had a happy ending. I do think there are some urban legends circulating and perhaps it has really happened and I just never heard about it. I'm sure it would make the national news if it happened (at least, it would if I were the parent!)

 

[Dr. Happy]

I have heard that they (Disney security) seal off multiple exits and then closely scrutinize those people leaving the parks through the available exits. I have also heard horror "stories" (I'm not sure if they are real) about children having their clothes changed and hair dyed before they are taken out of the parks. I'm not sure if any of this has actually happened. All I can say is I don't want it to happen to me...

 

[crisi]

No

http://www.snopes2.com/disney/parks/parks.asp#kidnap

 

[Aristocats2]

There are some stories circulating out there, but as LKS has said, they are just urban legends ... there is no truth to them. We took the Keys to the Kingdom tour a couple of years ago, and the CM who led the tour told us that there has never been a child stolen from WDW, and as far as he knew, there had never even been any attempt made. Disney security are extremely perceptive and on the lookout for anything suspicious; they have occasionally stopped people on the way out of the parks with crying/screaming children, only to discover that the children are in fact theirs, they just don't want to leave! Make no mistake: there are TONS of Disney security people in the parks, and many of them you would not even recognise as security ... but if they were needed, they'd be there in an instant.

 

[Dr. Happy]

Crisi,
I'm sorry to say that the link you provided doesn't seem very credible to me. Was that supposed to ease a person's mind that all they do is merely refute the topic?????

I would be more comfortable with FBI stats, real corporate data, Florida crime stats, but not some questionable website.

It still stands that it is entirely possible that a kidnapper could spirit away a child if they wanted to...

 

[crisi]

Snopes is a very reputable source for urban legends - and the FBI isn't going to break out abductions by location. But you are welcome to do your own googling, if you find evidence that it has ever happened, Snopes will change its link.

Can it happen - sure. Has it happened? There is no evidence that any child has ever been abducted for a Disney theme park.

Was that site meant to ease your mind? No. Just quash the rumor that people change your kids appearance and smuggle them out of the park. In my experience, parents worried about abduction don't have their minds eased no matter how many JD stats and cites I throw at them showing that stranger abduction is rare.

 

[Kermit]

I think we would all know about it if it had happened. It would make headlines everywhere.

Realistically, if you want to kidnap a child, you're going to go somewhere where lots of people aren't watching.

 

[Dr. Happy]

Corporations always seek to control the environment around them, including the information that is made available to present and future clients...

To think that we would always know when and if it happened seems absolutely unplausable to me.

The fact is we wouldn't always know if something adverse happened at WDW. Case in point, I witnessed a horrific accident on Peter Pan's Magic Flight a few years ago. A very heavy woman lost her balance on the moving sidewalk at the loading area, fell, and banged her head firmly against the pointed tip of the side of the boat. She bled profusely, was rushed away by EMTs and was not conscious at the time she was taken to hospital. Injuries occur so regularly at WDW we certainly don't hear about them. Likely, we would not hear about attempted abductions, either.

To be so trusting is folly in this day and age. Best bet - expect the worse and prepare for the worse and you won't be surprised...

 

[Talking Hands]

No, not stolen. Had one run away though. Now that was a mess. One of our 5th graders on a field trip. Disney security found her and she was handed over to our principal, who handed her over to parents when we arrived back in Miami and swore the kid would never go on another field trip with our school.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

My park district just had a family fun fair Saturday and our police were doing free kids id-picture, name and address, finger prints, medical conditions and distinguishing marks. I've always wanted to get this done for my kids. After they handed them to me I thought "These would be great to take on our upcoming trip to WDW and DCL". If my kids did get lost or stolen at the park I probably wouldn't have a picture with me and I'd be too upset to remember what they have on or what hand DS has his birthmark on.

One other thing to consider before you go-my MIL was at Kmart just before Christmas when she found a little girl-age 3-4 -lost in the store. MIL took her to the customer service desk. This little girl didn't know her mom's name. After that I taught my 4 year old twins their full names, address, phone # and mom & dad's full names.

 

[LKS]

Is there anyone out there on these boards who would accept Disney's "hush money" not to report their child's abduction to the media? I don't think so!

Anyway, just because it hasn't happened is no reason to be less than vigilant in supervising your children at a major theme park!

 

[chancellor]

It's easy to "cover up" an injury claim; you simply offer the injured person a bunch of money and include a confidentiality clause in the settlement agreement. A kidnapping, on the other hand, would be completely different. I would think anybody in that situation would be all over the local and national news pleading for the return of their child. The only conceivable way it could get covered up would be if the child was recovered so quickly it didn't have time to hit the news. But even then, law enforcement would be notified immediately, and I'm fairly sure the local papers monitor the police scanners at WDW just looking for stuff like this. The Orlando Sentinel would be all over it.

If nobody knows of a publicized story of a kidnapping at WDW, I doubt it's ever happened.

 

[WDW2002]

I believe that no child has ever been kidnapped (stolen) at WDW but that does not mean that it couldn't happen. I would take every precation to prevent it, just as I would anywhere else. Disney may feel like a second home to some of us but that doesn't mean to let your gaurd down.

 

[susy]

I think that you should be careful if you have an overly friendly child, who might just walk away with someone else.

Two years ago my best friend had her inlaws take her daughter to MK. Well, she was lost (2 years old) for 45 mintues! They finally tracked her down in the the baby center where she was coloring with all the other lost kids! I had heard about WDW closing all the gates, blah, blah, blah. Now I knwo that isn't possbile. Just like anyplace else, you really have to watch your kids! That's a big part of the reason, I still make mine sit in the stroller. The Target store I go to (5 minutes from my house) used to be the Sears store from which Adam Walsh was taken back in 1980.

 

[Dr. Happy]

Susy, that's so scary!!

 

[zurgswife]

I also think that any kidnapping from the parks would be national news immediatley....I also believe that anything about kidnappings are Urban Legends.....

 

[susy]

I also put a sticker on my child with our cell # that says "in case lost please call"
then, "cell phone #__________". I know he looks silly with this on him (it's very obvious), but I don't care. It makes me feel more at ease. If he's lost, hopefully a CM (or anyone else) would get to a phone and call us immediately to let us know he's okay. the CM's told my friend's in-laws that Disney has people that walk around just for the purpose of finding lost kids and bringing them to the lost and found. Can anyone confirm this???

 

[Disneyphile's Wife]

Never heard of a child being stolen, but I know of one who wandered away from his family (my DS, at 4). Big store at AK, multiple exits, multiple adults and DH and DBiL both thought he was with the other. After a couple of minutes (when we realized he was really missing), we notified CMs at the store and continued looking. After he was found, DM was told by a CM when she asked her that he had been found.

A man and woman in normal "guest" clothing had found him. They kept in the area, because they didn't want him freaking out by removing him from the area (although I suspect that if it had taken much longer, they would have taken him to Guest Relations), and continued looking for the child's parents. When my DH saw them, they chatted with him for several minutes, about DS, and said goodbye and everthing went back to normal

DH noticed these same people later--with CM badges. He then realized that the "chatting" was them confirming that DH and DS really did belong together. It was then that we realized how much security is actually out in the parks. It certainly makes me feel better.

 

[Jen D]

I don't find the comparison of a woman getting a head injury on the Haunted Mansion to a child getting abducted very convincing. While I'm sure the accident was upsetting, it is hardly news. WDW is a big place, accidents do happen, and there isn't really a villain. The abduction or attempted abduction os a child huge news everywhere. I live in a major media market where the newscast covers a tri-state area of 12 million people, and any story involving the abduction or attempted abduction of a child is huge news. If anything happened at Disney, you could hardly miss it.

Snopes is a very reliable website that refutes urban myths, as Crisi said. It is also a very popular website. If their report was incorrect, someone would have, by now, presented a link to the news story, or a copy of the police report, that supports these myths. Nothin'.

As the website notes, scarelore is around to remind people to do what they should be doing-- looking after their kid, and covering all the bases. But that doesn't excuse the fearmongering. Some people love to believe the worst and stories like this feed that.