has anything been stolen of yours? Advice

[KIS]

Being a new visitor on this coming April trip of ours, I'm starting to plan out what to bring to the various parks.

My husband and I are pretty trusting people. I'm wondering what sort of things others have left on a stroller handle or seat or basket while doing a ride. I'm wondering what sort of things walk and what doesn't.

We will have our $, keys, passes on our persons, but I'm wondering if a fanny pack or knapsack or bag with ponchos, sunscreen, some snacks, possibly a bathing suit or costume rolled up might be left in the stroller or if that's foolhearty.

Any comments or suggestions?

KIS

 

[JPN4265]

No we have never had anything stolen at WDW. BUT, if 100 people walk by your stroller, it only takes one to steal something from you. I would reccomend not leaving anything of value unattended. Don't take the chance on have something stolen.

 

[Minnie Mare]

I wouldn't leave any personal items at all. I've had my entire stroller stolen there so like the other poster said, it only takes one to steal something. Of course you will need to leave the stroller outside, but please take all your personal items with you.

 

[PhotobearSam]

I was shocked on this trip at the number of people who would leave Camcorder, camera, purses and such in their stroller...I even witnessed someone in a panic who had something stolen and his wife was having a fit..."You just left it there...ARE YOU NUTS!!!"

I have heard on these boards of people having their Pal Mickey Stolen from their strollers...People steal....Period.

If I were you and you really want to leave ponchos and snacks behind in a stoller (Things of little or no value) I would do so in a mesh or clear plastic backpack....This way only a really desperate person would steal it since they can see there is nothing of real value there...

Hope this helps

 

[liznboys]

We've never had anything stolen, but we never leave anything of any worth either! So everytime we road a ride, we'd take our cameras and everything with us. We would leave the water bottles and stuff, ya know the non-valuables.

I agree with a pp, we were shocked at how many people would leave their camcorders and such while going on rides!!!

While we were in Epcot, we caught someone trying to take our double rental stroller though. It had our name tag on it of course, and also had our water bottles and other things that made it obvious the stroller was not abandoned. We parked it near one of those empty grassy areas while we let our boys run around for a few minutes. This family walks right up to it and starts loading their kids into it really fast. I ran over there and said, "Excuse me, that's OUR stroller!" (As if they didnt' know....) Their reply was that their kids were REALLY tired and NEEDED a stroller very badly, they just COULD NOT walk anymore, and on and on. I told them to go rent one then! We paid for ours, we're not just going to give it to you just because you didn't think ahead! LOL!! Their kids were big too, there were 3 of them and the youngest was probably 5. People don't realize how tired kids can get with all that walking! Anyway, going off topic here...... lol

 

[sunrise010]

I visited last yaer for the first time with my family. Well besides when I was a kid. Anyway all I have to say is. If you want to see it again don't leave it unatteneded. No matter what it is. We had purchased the refillable drink mugs from our resort and brought them with us to MK. We left them in our stroller for the Bear Jamboree. When we returned they were gone. $10-$15 items noit that expensive but it was the fact that someone would take them at Disney of all places which appauled me. Thankfully I took all of our other stuff inside with us.

 

[KIS]

Has anyone ever had a backpack or fannypack stolen that was left on a stroller?

I'm not worried about what's in it. That will be worthless, but the pack will be important to me because it's ergonomically correct and might be hard to replace at the parks.

I've actually thought about roughing it up so that it looks worn or leaving it open to show the goods (snacks, watershoes, map, suncreen, etc.)

KIS

 

[PhotobearSam]

We wore our fanny packs on all the rides and I mean ALL the rides...It's easier than taking it off each time.

People will steal anything. Even if it's open people might think that you have money or a credit card in there and will take it just in case...I say don't if you want to see it again.

 

[KIMHELMS99]

We have been to Disney 4 times with a stroller. All 4 times we left a small bag in the storage area of the stroller (nothing of real value-ponchos, xtra set of clothes, wipes etc) and have been very lucky.

I do consider it luck as I have heard that others have not been as lucky. It just wasn't worth it to carry this bag around. It would have been inconvenient to replace the items but I felt it was worth the risk.

For some reason when I'm at Disney I like to believe it's all good. Just wishful thinking I guess. Good Luck and have fun.

 

[undertheradar]

Carry only what you need and keep it with you. We had our baby blanket "stolen" when our 13 y.o. was 2. He cried the rest of the trip. A small child apparently "borrowed" his blanket and it was turned in to lost and found several days later. It was shipped to us at home, but we lost a lot of sleep the rest of the trip. Pack lightly and keep your bag with you.

 

[KIS]

Wow!

There are no guarantees.

We'll just have to see how it goes between what we are willing to risk and what we do not want to risk loosing.

We may well have to pack lighter (that would mean no costume, no snacks, sharing a water bottle between us and, despite what I learned about Splash Mountain, not bringing water shoes (I heard that the floor of the log gets wet).

KIS

 

[PhotobearSam]

The floor of the logs does not get too wet...More like being out in the rain for a little bit..

I would forget the water shoes for sure.

We had a fanny pack with a few snacks, a water bottle strap for around our neck and film, money and cc/id...We would only pack ponchoes if there was rain in the forcast.

From what I hear, Disney policy is no swimsuits on rides at the parks (except water parks...DUH )

Bring along only the smallest bottle of spray sunscreen and you should be set...

FYI...The most miserable people in the parks always look like pack-mules...It seems that the more loaded down you are the more of a hassle everything seems to be. We bring less into the parks each trip.

One fanny pack and a camera is all we need... I bet that by the time the last day of your trip rolls around, you will leave 1/2 of wat you took the 1st day back in the room for the last day.

 

[zurgswife]

We are those CRAZY people that leave all kinds of stuff on our stroller and in 12 trips haven't ever had a problem....Lucky I guess..but some of the stuff I just don't want to lug on to every ride....

 

[madthemouse]

I had my childhood stolen !!!!


Lucky for me......


I find it every year I return to WDW !

 

[princess crazy]

Well, in December a few months ago DD had her lanyard stolen! I feel it's my fault since I hung it on the back of my chair at Chef Mickey's instead of putting it in my bag---then I forgot about it and within a half an hour we called on our way home to the airport and they said no they had'nt seen anything like it. I could'nt believe that someone would'nt have turned it in---after all we were eating at the restaurant and left it on the back of the chair----Called for the last few months since and nothing. It was obviously a little girls because it was pink and had a character pin with her name on it. The lengths to which some people will go In the beginning we never even considered we would'nt get it back since we were after all in Disney---but I guess there are dishonest people everywhere The CM"s have told us for the last few months that lanyards are one of the least likeliest things to be turned in because people will trade off the pins and think nothing of it So, if you take a lanyard with you make sure you have it at all times!! There is a wonderful ending to our DD's loss though----ALOT of wonderful DISERS here have so kindly and generously reached out to her and sent her pins---it is so amazing!!! And now she has a smile again but boy was she sad and heartbroken when she realized she was never going to get her special pins and lanyard( her special ones she never even traded) back Good Luck and I would just suggest to take anything of value with you---BTW --we even saw bulging packages of souvineers laying in a stroller one night at MVMCP with noone around---I could'nt believe it---Hope they did'nt get taken!

 

[DennisP]

If you can't pack lightly, try using the rental lockers at each park. Never had any problems with them.

 

[DazedandConfused]

We just returned home yesterday from Florida and although we didn't leave anything in the stroller ... my 6 y.o. left his backpack up on the top floor of the train station at the magic kingdom on our last day, we realized it about 5 to 10 minutes after he left it and it was gone. I retraced our last steps out of the park and this is where he left it. I ran back and there were a lot of people sitting where we were only minutes before and no one had seen it. I reported it at city hall and since then I have called lost and found every day since then to no avail. I was hoping someone would do the right thing and turn it in. It is obviously a child's bag. The worst thing about the whole experience is that my 6 y.o had every souvenir that he had bought with his disney dollars in the bag. He had a Buzz lightyear dog tag with his name printed on it, his new buzz lanyard with all his pins on it (after trading for 4 days- he is crushed over the mickey in a plane pin), squashed pennies from epcot and magic kingdom, and what I am most upset about... his autograph book with autographs from 4 days of standing in line. I was going to use the autograph book as a sort of scrapbook - we left every other page blank to leave room for a picture of him and his brother with all the characters. It was a very sad day! My son still gets teary eyed when we talk about the missing bag. I am still hoping that someone will send us the bag or will turn it into lost and found. I am still having a hard time that someone would keep this... it is a small light blue bag with the above items and nerds and fruit snacks in it! I find it upsetting that someone could keep it when it is obviously a child's bag. I am still hoping for a small miracle and having someone return it. I wouldn't trust that anything would be safe especially after our experience last week. I only wish that I had thought better of letting a tired 6 y.o. be responsible for his own bag but he had done so well up until that last day. I guess it's live and learn. It's definately a Hard lesson learned - we won't ever make that mistake again. Chris

 

[KIS]

That's a sad story. I hope your son's pack shows up.

KIS

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Definately carry your bag with you on the rides. It isn't a big hassle at all. All of the attractions have a place to put your bag.

Do you plan on wearing the backpack or mostly keep it in the stroller?

If you plan to keep things in your stroller, like sunscreen and hand sanitizer,etc. I suggest putting them in ziploc bags.
Same thing for keeping the backpack neat. It also helps when going through security.

We found through trial and error that what works for us is a beach bag, of all things. First we tried a nice sling backpack. Then we downgraded to a small sidebag, with a sling strap but just a smaller square pack. Then we moved back up to the beach bag because the smaller pack was just too cumbersome trying to dig into.
The beach bag we have is see through, which helped going through security. All the security guards complimented me on it.
The straps are thickly padded so it is comfortable to carry and it doesn't slip off my shoulder.


My mom lost her lanyard on our last trip. She took off her parka and the lanyard must have come off too. It had an ID holder on it with her Drivers License in it, her Annual Pass, and her room key with charging privelages. We never saw it again.
We had to get all new room keys, there were eight of us in a 2BDR villa at BCV. And she had to get a new Annual Pass, my dad had to vouch for her identity since her Drivers License had been lost.

 

[BrerMama]

We're only planning to leave our water bottles in our stroller. I intend to travel light this trip, but don't want to wear 5 water bottles. If someone needs to steal them, they need the water more than I do anyway.