Has anyone ever heard of strollers getting stolen?

[SHMommy]

We are taking our own stroller to the parks so ds and dd will be comfortable. My neighbor said it's not a good idea because her rental stroller got stolen at MK. My Dh doesn't seem worried, but I don't want our $150 dollar stroller stolen. I thought about getting a bicycle lock to put on it. Would there even be anything to lock it to while on the rides? Do people leave their diaper bags in the stroller? Of course, if I did leave the diaper bag in the stroller I wouldn't leave anything of great value in it just diapers, wipes, destin etc...no money or souvenirs thats for sure. This is my first post thanks ahead for reading it and your input.

 

[melk]

I've never heard of anyone getting their stroller stolen at a park but I have read on these boards a few months ago that some were getting their strollers stolen at Downtown Disney. You could probably do a search and find that thread. We've been several times and never had a problem with our stroller or even our diaper bag (we also never kept anything of value in it anyway). Be aware however that when you park your stroller and go into a ride, sometimes the CM's rearrange them while you're in there, so look around before thinking your stroller has been stolen!! Be sure to put your name on it or something to distinguish it from other similar strollers. I could see how a rented stroller would be taken because they're all identical. Have a great trip!!

 

[SueM in MN]

A lot of the rental strollers get taken by the wrong person because they all look alike. Even strollers people own look pretty much alike because there are thousands of strollers at WDW and there are only so many styles.
If you choose to lock your stroller, you are not allowed to lock it TO anything. It still needs to be moveable in case a ride or area needs to be evacuated. Some people run a lock thru one set of tires or around the stroller over the seat so it can be rolled, but not used by anyone.
CMs do need to move strollers to make room. As people exit the rides, the space their stroller was in is vacant. CMs keep moving strollers down the line to make room for new strollers entering the line and keep things orderly. So, if you can't find your stroller just where you left it, chances are good the CM moved it down a ways.

SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES

 

[dcedwards]

We've taken our own stroller on all our trips (5 so far) and have never had a problem. It has always been somewhere in the near vicinity of where we left it.

I have read some threads about people having trouble with strollers but most have been that they left valuables and came back to find them gone. We do leave the diaper bag in the stroller. I figure if they need the diapers, juice, etc. that bad then they can have it. I can always get a new bag.

We don't leave anything valuable in the stroller. We always take our camera and anything else like that with us. We also zip the diaper bag up and put everything in it so it isn't tempting to grab a blanket, etc. Since we wear packs around our waist, most of our valuables are in those.

Another thing we do is put the "basket" side away from where the most people are walking. That way it is hidden a little bit.

As far as locking the stroller. There was a thread that said that they locked their stroller when they first went to the park but it became such a hassle that half way through the day they gave up doing that.

For the most part, I think the strollers that get taken are the park strollers. Although there is always that possibility.

 

[jodyo]

We bring our stroller every time and have never had a problem. We've even left our camera in it a few times. We thought it got stollen once, but it turned out the cm had moved it, boy were we relieved. I'll be bringing it again in August and I'm nbot worried. We have a 101 Dalmation stroller and we always throw a luggage tag on it. If your worried about it maybe you could put your family name on it with permanent marker. Someone might be less likely to take it if you had your name on it in big bold letters. Well it's just a thought

 

[rbuzzotta]

We have taken our stroller several times and it has never been stolen! We usually leave the diaper bag in the stroller and take another small bag for the valuables with us. Your stroller may get moved but most likely not stolen. The rental strollers all look alike and people just grab one without looking at names. If your child will be more comfortable in his/her own stroller then do yourself a favor and take it. Also, you may need it in the airport. It's a long walk to baggage claim!!

Rosemary
Off-site every year since 1985
PO '96, '97, '99
Coronado '00
WL '94, '00
CB '98, '00
VB '97, '98, '00, '01?
DVC member '00 OKW
DxL '97, '01
OKW '01

 

[Kevs mom]

We took our own stroller with us a couple of weeks ago and my sister also brought 2 of her own strollers with her and we had no problems with anyone touching ours - we did a lot of rides and shows as a family and left it unattended a lot, we even had the basket filled with personal belongings too (except for our camera and video-camera, we took those in everywhere with us), I think you'll be fine bringing your own stroller on your trip.

 

[SHMommy]

Thank you everyone for all your helpful hints and replies. I guess we will take our own stroller as planned and try not to worry about it. I think I'll leave a diaper bag with just the basic stuff in it and like dcedwards said if someone takes it I guess they needed more than I did.

 

[Linda]

I have been at least 30+ times with a stroller no problem except for once when I had it stolen at MGM. It was just one of those cheap Walmart specials but I was still upset, WDW CM gave us a free rental for the rest of the day and ice creams for everyone, and guess what the next morning I had a message waiting from WDW security who ever 'borrowed' my stroller left it the park at the end of the day (it only had our last name all over the thing) they told me people do this all the time -yikes how low! For that reason I usually travel with a cheap stroller. Also mark the stroller well I hang a big bright tag on mine(guess it should be lime green). One lady told me she leaves a used looking diaper on hers -LOL... I also have always left the diaper bag on the stroller and never had a problem.

Linda

Family Board Host

Coordinator Dis Convention 2001

 

[Beverly Lynn]

I have plenty of return address labels on mine. I have them in spaces I would know to look for them and one down each sidebar as well. I still keep my "bag tag" that has my name and stuff on it. and everytime I go to disney I also put my resort name in it with the dates on it so that way if it is taken or borrowed then they will know where to contact me! but I have yet to have any problems!

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Beverly

 

[SueM in MN]

I think a lot of times "borrowed" strollers are cases of mis-identification and people abandon it when they realize it's not theirs. People have admitted on the boards to having done this.
Just a few eeeks ago, I had someone take my cart instead of theirs at Home Depot. I had 2 gallons of custom mix paints and some brushes. She had some plants. And when I pointed it out to her, she began protesting that she did NOT have my cart. Then she looked a little closer and realized she did.
If it can happen with carts that have totally different things in them, it can easily happen to strollers.C

SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES

 

[stevenpensacola]

The trouble we have had is finding our strollers in the sea of look-alike strollers that are parked in front of the attractions. To make our strollers easier to find, we did the following: used red and orange electrical tape to tape some "stripes" up near the handles of the strollers. This made the stroller's easy to find, plus it makes it less likely for someone to accidently take the wrong stroller. Have a great time.

 

[sha_lyn]

to help avoid someonetaking it by accident leave something in the seat such as the diaper bag. A lot of the time the stroller parking is very crowded and all you want to do is get out of there. I could easily understand taking the wrong one by mistake. If they saw someithing in the seat that was not theirs as they tried to put the child in they wouldrealize it isn't theirs.

 

[jwfla422]

Last time we went I tied a hot pink bandana on our umbrellas stroller so I could spot it quickly because it was never in the same spot we left it. (We do the same with our luggage so when it comes off the conveyor belt at the airport we can spot it quicker).

27 more days... YIPPEE!

 

[padawan_newt]

our stroller was stolen at disney*land* last september. just a cheap Target stroller, but no one ever returned it or left it for disney to find.

this year, when we go to WDW, we're writing our last name all over the stroller in black permanent ink and tying ribbons or bandanas to it.

 

[Ladygator]

As mentioned above, we bought neon colored duct tape and taped the handle bars and other various places on the stroller. We also put our last name and hotel we were staying at in a visible location. We also left the diaper bag in the stroller. It was always easy to identify our stroller in the crowds.