laptop safety

[Coloradomom]

DS will be bringing his laptop on our upcoming trip (he has to he is a grad student and has a couple of research items to handle)
We will be arriving at SSR very early, so we know our room will not be ready. We will give our luggage to bell services but are a bit worried about leaving the laptop (in his backpack) there as well.

Should we be worried? Are there any alternatives? Does the front desk have any sort of options for handling such valuables?
Thanks for any advice!

 

[wdw1972]

There's no need to worry, and the only place your laptop will be held is in the locked section of the cage bell services uses. The front desk will NOT take any of your personal stuff - that's what bell service is for.

Keep in mind thousands of people bring their laptops to hotels (not just Disney) every single day, and many of them (like me and the people I know) leave them out in the open all day/night long. The odds that a hotel maid is going to steal your laptop is remotely small - a laptop isn't worth losing your job over!

 

[safetymom]

Laptops have been reported stolen from rooms. Buy a cable lock for your laptop. They are about $20. Very cheap insurance to protect your laptop. You can have them store the laptop in the safe at the front desk.

 

[hoosll]

I wouldn't worry about it being at Bell services but when you leave your room I would leave it locked in your suitcase in the closet, out of sight, less temptation so don't leave the cords lying around screaming "there's a laptop in this room". If it's secured in your room you don't have to wait in line at Front desk to get it in and out of storage.

 

[Jedi_Galvatron]

Laptops have been reported stolen from rooms. Buy a cable lock for your laptop. They are about $20. Very cheap insurance to protect your laptop. You can have them store the laptop in the safe at the front desk.

I wouldn't worry about it being at Bell services but when you leave your room I would leave it locked in your suitcase in the closet, out of sight, less temptation so don't leave the cords lying around screaming "there's a laptop in this room". If it's secured in your room you don't have to wait in line at Front desk to get it in and out of storage.

I guess your mileage will vary of course but there's nothing I can't replace on my laptop and so I rarely worry about it. I've left it out, unlocked, on the table in the room on my trips to POP and POR and never had a problem, and I left a brand new $2000 24'' iMac in plain sight in my POR room last year for two weeks and other then dusting it it was never touched by the maids or anyone. I don't think, as someone said above, they think it's worth losing their job over and it's a lot harder to walk away with discreetly then say money.

 

[disnut8]

Bell Services will be fine. Actually, making a big deal over it will cause more people to know you have a laptop in your luggage.

For your room, that's up to you. My husband brings his work laptop with him to log in for emails (he's the only one that can do his particular job so sometimes he has to do a few things during the day) and he usually just leaves it closed on the table with a newspaper on top of it. That's in any hotel, Disney or not.

 

[cheerforchelsea]

We have never had a problem with anything "missing" from our room or from bell services. We always try to put things out of site when we leave the room -- like computer in suitcase or videocamera in suitcase...But I can say that everything has always been there when we got back!!

 

[dburg30]

I leave my laptop on the table, with one of the cable locks on it. This is one that actually connects to the video port, not just the plastic case. So they will have to either cut the cable, or totally ruin the laptop taking it. If they want anything bad enough, if it's in your room, they will find it and take it. My camera equipment is pretty much with me in the parks anyway so I dont worry so much about it..

 

[TDC Nala]

I do NOT leave the laptop out in the room. I will lock it in the suitcase. Anybody who wants it would have to either rip open the suitcase or steal the whole suitcase, which would doubtless be more trouble.

If you ask Bell Services to store it in the cage (assuming the resort has one) it's possible that will add some extra legal responsibility to the hotel for the safekeeping of your stuff (like storing it in a safe would).

 

[tigger_03]

We were told that when we arrived our luggage and stuff would go in to a locked area and be waiting for us to pick up after our room was ready. I doubt our room will be available when we get there. We will either lock it up in one of the suitcases or see about getting a cable lock. Where do you find them (Best Buy, places like that)?

 

[winnapooh]

There's no need to worry, and the only place your laptop will be held is in the locked section of the cage bell services uses. The front desk will NOT take any of your personal stuff - that's what bell service is for.

That's not exactly true. If you ask at check-in, they will take laptops (without the case) and put them in a safe in a room behind the front desk. You just go back to the front desk to ask to get it when you want it. We always do this when we check in before we go to the parks (we always check in early). You will have to check the laptop bag with bell services.

During our stay, though, we usually just hide the laptop under clothes or something in our room.