Have you ever lost your child at Disney?

[meandtheguys2]

We tried to lose him last year...

It didn't work.

Of course he was 18 at the time LOL!

Anne

It looks as though he could walk home, even if you did mange to ditch...I mean lose him!

 

[popeyeohoh]

My DH lost our oldest son as he was exiting Cinderella's Carousel. They were circling in the same direction for about 3 minutes. My DH never felt so sick in his life, as he did for those few minutes.

 

[disneyloveralways]

I let my 13 year old take his DB9 to Magic Kingdom one night while my DH and I went to the Luau. Okay within and hour he lost him and didn't even try to contact us. Just walked around looking for him. Well DS 9 has the time of his life. Didn't even think to tell the CM we were at the Luau, where the could have contacted us. When we got there to meet them and found out he was missing we contacted City Hall. He was in a room watching movies and eating a snack. He had a great time. This was so scary for me to find out he was missing for 4 hours. But Disney knows what to do. Don't worry just contact a CM to help.

 

[dtsaos]

All those ID things are great, but did you see that recent thread on here about "angel alerts"? Someone said you could buy them at walmart and basically if your child is more than 50 ft away from you, an alarm that the child is wearing will sound. I'm going to look into it more, but it sounds like a wonderful thing to me!

 

[sleepyone]

The angel alerts at Wal-Mart come on a chord to be worn around the neck. We would have a problem keeping them on my kids. There is another brand at One Step Ahead's web site; just in case someone wants to check it out.

 

[ducklite]

It looks as though he could walk home, even if you did mange to ditch...I mean lose him!

Except that he's so bad with his sense of direction that he'd end up in Atlanta.

Maybe it's good that he doesn't drive yet!

Anne

 

[MomLC]

What is wrong with you? How could you even joke about such a sensitive subject as losing you child?

 

[MomLC]

Why would you even joke about such a serious and sensitive subject as losing your child?

DD was 8 when I lost her on its a small world. She was never found again, one of the CMs said that she has become one of the dolls. I found out after that it is a strange thing that happens every once in a while. If the child is secretly wishing that they could live there, they may get there wish and become one of the dolls.

 

[Feralpeg]

When DD was 7, we were waiting for them to open the monorail at TTC early one morning. When we got there it wasn't very crowded. All of a sudden, several buses arrived and a huge number of people poured into the small area in front of the gate. I had taken my eyes off of DD for a second. When I looked back, she wasn't there. I ran around calling her name. People asked me what she was wearing, but I couldn't find her. I found a CM who told me "Don't worry". I was beyond the worried point by that time. After about 5 minutes, they opened the gates and people moved through toward the monorail and the boat. Suddenly, I felt a little tug on my shirt. I looked down and there she was. She was crying and I was crying. She had gotten swept away by the crowd. She told me that she couldn't see or hear me, so she hugged a trash can when the crowd started to move through. The CM gave her a magnet they give to children who've been lost at WDW. After a few minutes, she was fine. For the rest of the day, I'd found myself breaking into tears whenever I thought about it. Very scary!

 

[misandrog]

I bought the safety harnesses for DS-4 and DD-2. DD doesn't like to hold on to us so I thought that for her sake and ours she could have some freedom and I could still hold on to her. She tends to wonder and I already have visions of terror. I will make sure that they know what CM look like and it is a great tip of cell phone #'s on them. No one wants to go on a vacation and have a lost child experience. Glad to see all posts ended on a good note.

 

[Meezers]

I am 42 years old. Last November I lost my Mother at Osborne Lights! It was horrible...her cell phone didn't have reception...the CM's wouldn't let me walk against the crowd (that changed REAL fast). Found her with the help of some friends but that was very scary. I know...she is an adult....but on that trip her only responsibility was nothing! Her vacation was not to have to remember or have to do anything....

Those were some very scary minutes!

 

[quiltymom]

DS got "left" for about one minute when we were at AK. He was watching something and didn't see us leave. So, DH went back for him (there were not many people at the spot at the time), he found DS, holding onto a post. It was something that he had learned in Cub Scouts -- if you're lost, stay put and hold onto something. It gives them a sense of security. We were so happy with him that he remembered this that he was actually proud of the whole thing!

I had put a card in his pocket every day with our cell #'s, etc., and we had explained what to do every day before leaving the hotel, so we felt pretty good about him. He has Asberger's Syndrome and has a tendency to get distracted and wander off. I think that I was more worried about him than I should have been! And I was proud of myself that I didn't panic!

But you're right -- it's only the parents who get lost!

 

[WishUponAStar]

Lost same daughter two times on same trip. Once in Fantasy Land and once at Universal. She had been well instructed on what to do, who to tell, what to expect. She handled it pretty good- better than we did. Dressing everyone in like colors helps you to find them in a crowd. I accidentally left the video recorder on and held it at arms length (waist height) once while walking down Main Street USA. All you can see is bodies-big bodies. It would be scary. All children can see in a crowd is bodies- no faces, no buildings and they cannot see over anyone. Their vision is limited to about 6 feet in diameter. Kind of makes it hard to see them also when they are half as big as everyone else.

 

[stemikger]

Originally posted by MomLC
What is wrong with you? How could you even joke about such a sensitive subject as losing you child?

First if I offended anyone I am sincerely sorry. I can understand how you think I was being insensitive, but I was just trying to bring a little laughter into everyone's hearts about such a serious subject. If you read my post it was not aimed at anyone and I was just poking fun at myself.

My heart bleeds for any parent who goes through anything with their child. Maybe it was poor judgment on my part for lightening up the subject, but before you are so quick to judge - realize that e-mails and replys sometimes do not come off as they were intended. I am a parent and as far as I am concerned my life would be over if anything happened to my child. I would never poke fun or be insensitive to anyone and I feel terrible that it was taken the wrong way. I think this thread it is very important and the ideas that other posts have given here are outstanding. However, my little light-hearted story did not take away from those ideas or the intergrity of this post.

 

[stemikger]

I just read my original post, the one that got me in hot water and I agree, it was in bad taste. When I wrote it the other night it didn't seem that bad. However, after reading it it really did sound awful (definitely not what I intended). I apologize for such poor judgment on my part.

 

[MainStreet USA]

I'm not a parent, nor have I lost anyone. But I have been lost a few times myself when I was younger (not at Disney however). It is a terrifying thing, knowing you are supposed to be with someone, but now knowing where to go to find them. But knowing what to do when it happens can make a world of a difference. I agree with everyone who plants some form of ID on their child in addition to briefing them on "what ifs" each morning. After all... how clearly are you thinking when you're panicing? Now try it at age 4! That way, even if you child forgets how to reach you, a CM or helpful passerby can.

Another thing you should keep in mind, is that although yes, strangers can be bad... there are a lot more good guys out there than bad guys. I bet 98% of all Disney guests are there for the same reasons you are, and many of which are probably parents with the exact same worries. I'd be willing to bet that if a problem were to come up, if people could identify that something was wrong, that you would have all the help in the world.

The last time I was at Magic Kingdom, I was in line for Jungle Cruise with some friends I met at DWT.com. A young couple wheeled up behind us with their very little baby boy in a stroller. The little guy drops his toy, so i pick it up for him. I notice at this point that the mom has stepped away somewhere, and only the father remained with the child. The toy hits the ground again, and I once again reach back to pick it up. Now I realize that nobody is with the child. The line in front of me begins to move, and my party begins to board the boat. I immediately decided that I wasn't going anywhere until this child's parents came back, and another in my group does the same. Fortunately, mom and dad just stepped out of line for a minute to speak to a cast member, and never actually let the child out of their sight. But they came back in time for us to board the boat along with the rest of our party, feeling a little bit better about ourselves knowing we didn't just leave a kid by himself in the middle of the jungle (yes... pun intended).

So yes, when you're on vacation with your young children in a place as busy as WDW... DO worry. DO keep an extra set of eyes on them. and DONT let your parenting slip just because YOU are on vacation. Parenting is one job you never go home from. But at the same time, DONT worry so much that you make yourself sick over it. You and your family are there to have fun and enjoy yourselves. Inform your kids, ID your kids, watch your kids... but don't panic your kids. Be safe, but remember to have fun too.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Good grief...are you fussing about the Small World post? Geesh, I have heard the same story on Kilamanjaro Safaris...guess you had better write and complain to Disney too. Stimikger, I thought it was cute, and it did remind me of the Safari guide.

You have to laugh sometimes. Yes, it is scary to lose a child, but frankly none have really been lost forever AT DISNEY WORLD and none have been turned into little dolls...

 

[mrsgus06]

Last Oct I lost 2 kids at the same time. The 10yo took the 6yo on the Indy Speedway while I stood next to Stitch with 8yo to watch fireworks. When they came off the ride, the 10yo walked right by us (because she was walking and watching the fireworks). I walked to the exit of the Speedway and watched one girl get in her car and noted the number and when she made a complete circle, I knew the girls had already come off the ride and I missed them. We had fp for SM at 10:45 so I stood in between the Speedway, Stitch and SM in the open with my 8yo. After 1 minute I hear "Mommy". I turned around and a CM had both girls, holding their hands. None of us panicked as all of them know I will be somewhere near the exit of the ride. I thanked the CM, as did the girls, and we went about our merry way. I did tell the girls how proud I was that they found a cast member.

 

[Feralpeg]

I just read my original post, the one that got me in hot water and I agree, it was in bad taste. When I wrote it the other night it didn't seem that bad. However, after reading it it really did sound awful (definitely not what I intended). I apologize for such poor judgment on my part.

I did not take your post as serious, nor did it offend me. It is a serious subject, but sometimes a little bit of humor is needed. Don't worry about it.

 

[ducklite]

I did not take your post as serious, nor did it offend me. It is a serious subject, but sometimes a little bit of humor is needed. Don't worry about it.

I agree! It was obviously written with humour. Missing children are certainly a serious topic, but I didn't find the post to be at all in bad taste. I mean geez, I suppose MomLC must think I'm absolutely horrid for trying to dit...er um, mispla...er...lose my son by accident.

Of course I assume her kids aren't teenagers yet--things might change a bit at that point LOL!

Anne