has anything been stolen of yours? Advice

[KIS]

Chim Chimney,

What sort of beach bag has padded straps?

KIS

 

[PrincessMommy2]

We had DD stuffed Dumbo stolen while the stroller was parked outside of the Muppet show in MGM. It was strapped into her seat. The strollers were lined up three rows deep and ours was in the first row, so I think it must have been a child who picked it up (or I'd like to think that instead of an adult taking something from a child!). I had taken our camera on everything anyway, but after that after that, the backpack started coming with us also.

 

[Kate-n-sam]

I haven't read all of the replies, but I thought I'd share my tip.

1st of all, to answer your question, we have never had anything stolen. Of course it could happen at anytime. I wouldn't leave anything irreplacable or valuble in the stroller. That said, I buy a bicycle lock and run it through the straps of my bags and attach it to the stroller basket. I would hope this would deter a casual grab and run. We leave knapsacks, diaper bags, souvenier bags (we try to bury these under other stuff) and even our camcorder bag, also under stuff. Our camcorder is like 10 years old, so to be honest, they can have it. I'd like a new one anyway . We always keep the new digital camera and our tickets and personal affects on us

 

[winniedapooh]

Great answer madthemouse! We are neighbors, living just oustide Worcester!

 

[BrerRabbit_fan]

We are pack rats and leave everything outside except for valuables (cameras). We've left sweatshirts, backpacks (nothing exciting inside, scuffy and torn outside), but never souvenirs.

 

[DizneeCM]

We always carry a fairly large backpack with us. We've never had a problem taking it on any of the rides, even the thrill rides like Rock n' Roller coaster, etc... Just put it on the floor or hook it around a lap bar (you can also clip a fanny pack on the bars).

 

[tiggerwannabe]

I've learned to buy a backpack style purse.
(Regular backpacks are too big.)

The fanny pack stays on me all day.
The backpack is to hold the larger stuff,
bottles, extra shirts, etc. that way
when I go on a ride, the backpack can go with me-
it fits into the small of the back while riding
so you can sit back in comfort.
(esp; if you are carrying clothing in it.)

 

[gary4jenn]

On my first trip with our daughter (5 yrs ago), I bought a new stroller for the trip and was afraid it would get stolen.

I brought a combination bike lock to loop through the wheels to prevent it from getting stolen.

About halfway through the trip, I decided it was too much work to bend down and unlock it after every ride so I took my chances and everything was fine.

This year we went with all 3 kids and I prayed no one would take our stroller and fortunately, we were lucky. I would have been so mad if I had to try to manuever around WDW with 3 kids under 6 and no double stroller.

What I did do was put sticker type address labels on the legs of the stroller in obvious places (ones that couldn't be removed quickly), I put fun curling ribbon around the stroller handles so it was quickly identified from any other strollers like ours (again, couldn't be easily removed and didn't interfere with the closing of the stroller).

I also put a laminated type luggage tag on the side bar of the stroller with a cable tie (again, not easily removed). These precautions at least made me feel proactive and that perhaps my stroller did not look like easy prey.

I also left my diaper bag on the stroller( I only packed things that could be replaced (diapers, snacks, extra clothes) without a lot of cost or effort.

We used lockers and either sent our souveniers to the hotel or the front of the park for pick up.

Yes, it would be nice if everyone came to Disney with pure hearts, but alas, there will always be some people who will be dishonest.

 

[Leader of the Club]

I have a large very bright pink and orange bag. I wrote our last name all over it with a black sharpie. It is so UGLY! I can't imagine anyone wanting to steal it and so far no one has.

Inside I keep sunscreen, wet-wipes, hand sanitizer, small first aid kit. I leave it in the rental stroller. Anything else comes with us.

 

[jendon1997]

We have been to Disney many times and I guess we have gotten kind of trustworthy of others. We have never had anything stolen in the past. This past trip, we put a Pal Mickey in the bottom stroller basket(underneath the seat). We put my daughters light jacket overtop the Pal Mickey. Someone actually took the jacket and the Pal Mickey. We reported both stolen, but never heard anything. We had to buy my daughter a new jacket while in Disney.

BE CAREFUL where you put your belongings. After we were finished playing at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, we returned to our stroller. There was someone else's bag sitting in the seat of our stroller. They must have thought it looked like theirs. We gave it to a worker at the play area. I hope the owner got it back. Just wish someone who took/found Pal Mickey would have done the same thing.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Well -- on a much lighter note -- I have seen theft right in front of me!!!

Watch your hotdogs if you are eating one near Pecos Bill's. Last week we saw a seagull hover over a guy who had just bought a hotdog and not even taken a bite yet.
The seagull hovered, swooped down, snatched the hot dog and flew off, leaving the guest holding a ketchup soaked bun.
I am wondering what other items these birds snatch away. I could just see a kid trying to eat cookies or crackers....

At many eateries at WDW that use to be hounded by aggressive birds, the birds are no where nearby now.
I asked a CM how they were keeping the birds away.
He said in some problem areas Disney installed high pitched whistles that people cannot hear.

And there are shady characters in WDW, If we had seen a security guard handy, we would have reported two men yeterday at MK. They saw us watching them, acted like they left, came back in, saw we were still watching and then did leave. Hard to say if they returned.

 

[Doodlebug939]

I have never left anything that I considered to be of "real" value in our stroller. When we were at Disney we left our stroller with extra clothes and bottled water in the stroller and no one touched our things.

However, when we went to Sea World for one Day my daughters Princess Hat was stolen out of the stroller on the first attraction that we went to. It was in the bottom with water and clothes and someone went in the bottom of our stroller and looked through it and then took it.

I was upset but also knew that it was my fault for leaving it there in the first place. I am too trusting I guess. But the problem was that although it wasnt of "real Value" in the money department it was a REALLY VALUEABLE hat to my three year old who was crushed and didnt understand why someone touched her things.

Not a good way to start our day!

 

[gopherit]

I recall a former thread wherein people suggested the "dirty diaper" trick (take a disposable, pour some coca-cola into it, then put it in a clear bag and tie it to your stroller handle -- a gross thought, really, but hey, if bathroom humor deters theft, who am I to scoff?) I will say that some of the "theft" that occurs is likely mistaken identity. Several times we exited a ride and tried to find our stroller and thought, "Did someone TAKE it?" But those busy-bee CMs are always moving the strollers around, keeping the walkways celar, etc. and we would search and FINALLY find it. But as a result of a few LONG searches, and the paninc one feels if you left anything of value and think it might be gone, we now carry our goods of value with us. We have left water bottels, and small fans, in our strollers; we have left ponchos, snacks, a small soft-sided cooler. But we've never lost anything from a stroller. We do mark our stroller turf so someone won't mistakenly take ours (no dirty diaper tricks here -- just simple obnoxious ribbon tied to handle and a funky looking obnoxious but cheap bag that hangs from the side for trash, etc.)


On a downside, however -- I have been a victim of theft at Disney, but I blame myself, and DH, for this in part. I prefer to pack my own car, so I know where everything is, nd nothing is broken, etc. And dh doesn't care for valet services. So between DH and me, we packed our vehicle load by load (after a 10 day trip) at VWL. This took MUCH longer than we thought it would -- we realized the value of valet that day! In any case -- due to our rushing at the end to finish the job and vacate the room on time, there was a serious miscommunication that wasn't discovered until 5 hours down the road, when I went to get a Dramamine tablet for our son. Hmmmm -- no medical bag. Funny. Well, I'll just get one from my cosmetics bag... nope, not there either. Apparently DH and I completely forgot to "pack up" a whole drawer in the bathroom at VWL. It contained my make-up (not a big loss) but more importantly, all my jewelry. We got to my sister's house and called WDW frantically -- after much confusion (first the desk, then housekeeping, then the desk again, then housekeeping, then well you get the idea) they said they had my "stuff" and they would ship it to me. And they did -- minus one opal ring with its matching earrings. I loved that ring... apparently, so did someone else. I have the pendant at home that matches them... for quite some time, I checked on EBAY to see if the theif might sell the ring / earrings -- no dice. Worst part -- they came from the Carribean, and while I haved looked all over in stores and internet, I can't find a match for my poor pendant. They also took one fairly new compact of Clinique makeup. Guess they were planning to go out on the town.
Needless to say -- for our trip to BWV and SSR this summer -- we will USE THE VALET, and we will CHECK EVERY DRAWER when we leave! (And I will NOT bring any jewelry of value in the first place!)

 

[alloyd1170]

Ive never had a problem. I got a great waist pack at Ebags that can hold a ton of stuff (video camera, digital camera, snacks, drinks, wallet, autograph book, pen, suglasses, pins etc). In the stroller I left a changing pad that held diapers and wipes; water bottles, snacks, jackets. A few times I panicked when I came off a ride and the stroller was gone, but I had known about the CM moving them around. I could find my stroller easily. I bought a bright yellow bandana (in contrast to a blue stroller) and some iron on letters (spelling our last name). I put the letters on the bandana and pinned it (lots of pins so no one could get it off easily) to the top of the sunshade on the stroller. When I parked the stroller, I flipped the sunshade up so 1. I could see the bandana, and 2. kept the sun from heating up the seat. When we came off the ride, I spotted it right away. There were several other strollers exactly like ours, but I didnt waste any time finding mine.

alison

 

[RAV]

On the flip side, I have to brag just a little bit. We (me, dh and ds) were getting on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. My son wanted to sit behind us, alone. The previous riders stepped off and we stepped into the car but, my son stepped in and right out. When I panicked and asked what he was doing, he was stopping the gentleman who had been in the seat before him as he had dropped his wallet. The wallet was huge and bursting with cash. There was enough time for my son to load the ride safely. When the ride ended, I just had to hug my son. The person who dropped the wallet barely thanked him, but I could not have been any more proud.

 

[RIDISNEYLOVERS]

YES - Sad to say, but we were victims of theft in Disney - at the Polynesian Resort on our Honeymoon in 1998!!!

We were at the payphone and we put the camera down at the other pay phone - right next door to the one we were on and low and behod someone came and snatched the camera - right from under our noses!! We immediately went to guest sevices and then to lost and found and called them everyday to see if it turned up - never did get it back.

We had already taken a couple of rolls of film - but that is all we had of our memories of our honeymoon!!!

People steal - we have learned a very valuable lesson!!

Lisa

 

[dsnycrzy]

My very first time to US last summer we were hit (so they thought).
We were lining up to get o the Jimmy neutron ride and it started raining. So with 3 adults and 4 babies we hurried to park the strollers and get the babies out of the rain. Well I took my camcorder with me but left the bag on the stroller. It had a carema (cheap $20 35MM from walgreen but I had already taken pictures- PRICELESS), 3 extra batteries for the camcorder, all the wires and the babies (my niece), tylenol b/c she was running a fever. Now we covered everthing with the plastic so it wouldn't be drinched when we returned, so whomever went in the stroller IN THE POURING RAIN, and took the bag was not mistaken this as their own. We come out and notice it gone b/c my neice was warm again and it was time for another dose of tylenol. We reported it and all day we kept checking lost and found. Nothing. We went back to the hotel mad. we had the one camcorder battery and no charger (also in the bag) so we would have no memories on video now. the next day we didn't go out, so I called- NO BAG. But the lady did tell me the theives rarely leave with all the bags they steal, that it is probably in the trash can, which they have people search for these things and wallets and pocketbook. Or they will throw them in a high bush where it can't be seem right away. Well the next day we go to IOA and I decide to ask there lost and found if they found the BAG. the lady looked and said no bag was found. I knew that and walked back out the door. My sis told me to ask if they found the carmera b/c they may not have listed it under the bag. I go back and ask and sure enough it was there, The whole bag of stuff but listed under the camera. Was just turned in that day about an hour before from behind some bushes. So had I come the day before, I would have still been out of luck. Everything was there, although I throw the medicine out b/c I just don't trust what someone could have done to it.

After that day, I don't leave anything in the stroller.

 

[dbail2]

We have never had anything stolen at Disney and we used a stroller for 4 years and left ponchos , umbrella, snacks, etc. We also carry fanny packs with the credit cards, $, Tickets, keys, all the important stuff.

 

[frannn]

I take hats, bags, fans, etc. with me on the rides. The one time I did leave the diaper bag on the stroller when we were waiting on a character autograph line, I looked over every 5 seconds to make sure it was still there. Now, everything I take has to fit into the diaper bag, which I carry, or the camera bag, which DH carries. The cooler is the only exception. If someone needs to steal our snacks, I'll be upset, but less so than if I had to drag it on every ride.