Lost and found at WDW

[mitros]

Well, this is not a rumor, but it could be classified as news for those who do not know it. Last Tuesday, we spent part of the day at AK and part at MGM. When we got back to the room, I realized a small pocket knife that I carry around was missing off of my belt. I thought that maybe I forgot to hook it on my belt and it was in my suitcase. Anyway after arriving home on Wednesday afternoon, I could not find it. So, my original thought that I may have lost it at AK or MGM might be true. I kind of kept putting it off until Sunday afternoon, when I finally decided to call Disneys lost and found. I talked to Bob, and gave him a brief description of the knife and where I thought I may have lost it. He asked me to hold on a minute. When he came back on, he asked for a little more of a descripton,and when I gave it to him, he said: "looks like this is it" He said it was found in the AK, and that he would mail it to me and I would have it in about a week. I thought it was kind of amazing that it turned up and they had it. Anybody else have an experience with lost and found?

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Having worked with lost and found a lot at Typhoon Lagoon, it really is amazing the things that get turned in. Expensive sunglasses, wallets, car keys, and loose cash are a daily occurance. We even had a $1000 dollar video camera turned in once.

 

[caseymaureen]

My mom once lost a pair of yellow & black sunglasses on Big Thunder Mountain, after not listening to the many warnings about personal belongings! They had yellow frames and black arms. Although they were just cheap dollar store type glasses, she liked them alot so she went to lost and found and filled out a report. A few weeks later we got a pair of glasses in the mail, except they had black frames and yellow arms. Close enough!

 

[Ducky4Disney]

I dealt with lost and found once. It should be called "Lost and Turned In" - because my Visor Handspring was probably found, but never turned in. Leave it to me to lose something on the last day of my trip, duh! Someone got a nice Christmas present out of it.

I heard that they sell the unclaimed goods at employee sales?

D4D

 

[FloraFauna]

My husband lost his hat on the final drop of Splash Mountain. The CM told him is was probably shredded beyond recognition after passing through the filter system on this ride. I hated to be an "I told you so", but I did tell him to take off his hat before the ride started.

 

[Blueberry]

Years ago my DH too lost his hat on the final drop on Splash and the CMs told him too that it was probably shredded beyond recognition...

I do have a good story about Lost and Found. My DH lost his cell phone somewhere, we were never sure where. We called right away and got it turned off so no one was calling several differnt continents on it...We checked everyday with Lost and Found and no one seemed to be turning it in, so we chalked it up to being gone. The day before we left my DS called us and said that a package had arrived here at home and it had my DHs phone in it, so they sent it home when they could not get me on my cell phone to say they had it..needless to say he was very very happy with Lost and Found...

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Yes Ducky4Disney. Different valued objects are sent to Property Control for sale to cast members after a certain amount of time. Think these are the ranges (my memory is dim on this). Sunglasses (cheap) and clothing, toys, etc go after 30 days and expensive glasses, cameras, electronics, etc. go after 90 days. Found cash if not a claim is not put on it by the person who turned it in is donated to a charitable organization otherwise it is given to the person who turned it in after 30 days.

 

[COMPSPEED]

II must tell you that the CM's at Disney do an amazing job with lost and found. Three years ago we were in AK in the area just outside of The Lion King show. We sat on a bench waiting to queue up for the next show. When we got in line we realized we had left our 8mm camcorder on the bench. Mind you this was at least 30 minutes earlier. I went back to the area and found a CM and explained what had happened and described the camera. She asked me to follow her to a nearby freestanding souvenir stand. She opened a crate next to the stand which revealed numerous lost and found items from that day alone, among which was our camcorder. She said the CMs are instructed to keep a close watch for items left behind and every area has it's own lost and found niche. These are then transferred to a central lost and found at the end of the day.

 

[caseymaureen]

There were so many different lost and found things for sale at Property Control~ cameras, sunglasses, hats, jackets, toys, strollers. Sometimes really big things you can't believe someone left behind and other times things so small you wonder why anyone bothered turning them in...

 

[sgrossy]

How about film? Do you know the policy on undeveloped film being left in a resort room?

 

[hobie]

On our last trip we purchsed PAL Mickey...he lasted most of the week but then while watching a show outside of JAPAN, one of the kids put it down and walked away from it. By the time we reached AMERICA we noticed it was missing and went back but it was gone. We checked with everyone working in the area but couldn't find it. When we got back to our room I called to report that we lost it and to see if some kind person may have turned it in. They had nothing. After 3 days I checked at the lost and found desk in EPCOT and they looked in the back then came out and asked me a few questions. They then handed me a PAL mickey. I am not sure if he was actually the one that we lost but my 3 kids were thrilled to see that he had been turned in and we had him back.
We will be bringing PAL mickey on our next trip but I think I will be holding onto him this time.



BCV here we come (2/5-2/11).

 

[disboo]

I lost my credit ard/cash holder out of my pocket in the Country Bears Jamboree once a few years ago. I realized it about 20 minutes later. I ran back to the Bears and explained to the CM at the entrance what I was missing, and asked to go back in between shows. Instead, she went in during ghe show, crawled around on her hands and knees and FOUND IT!! (Nothing missing!) That was so very kind and helpful of her!

 

[mrtoadslastride]

My wife and I were on RNR in MGM this weekend and I left my walky talky in a car (I think it fell out of my back pack when we got off the ride). I reaized it as we got to the park entrance, but we had to hurry to make it to EPCOT for Illuminations. The next morning I called Central Lost and Found and they had our radio (it wasn't even broken).

I had a real neat conversation with the lady working the desk when I went to pick up our radio. She said that the weirdest things that had been turned in were a bowling ball and several pairs of false teeth. Why would you take a bowling ball to the park, and hwo would you get it in???

 

[OnWithTheShow]

They check the trains on Rock and Roller Coaster as soon as guests get off. That way flying debris doesnt become a problem.

The question on film. It all depends on who finds it. Some cast members would just throw it away while others would turn it in. The resort would then look up who was in the room and mail it back to you.

Two of my favorite personal lost and found stories.

A guest lost his wallet in the park, with everything in it. He came back to check if it was turned in about 10 times throughout the day. Well it finally turned up after the park closed so I drove it over to Fort Wilderness (where he was staying) and they had a messenger take it to his campsite.

One time we had a mentally disabled guest someone leave her family at the hotel and come to Typhoon Lagoon by herself. She wasnt in the park long before her family came looking. The lifeguards had already found her and where asking her questions. Her family was quite upset with her. Well in the time that she was in the park she managed to lose her shoes, hat, shirt, towel, and sunglasses. This made her family even more upset. We told them that lost and found is brought up to guest services at the end of the day and they could check back tomorrow. It turns out they were going on a DCL cruise first thing in the morning so they couldnt do that. They left their contact info so we could send the items to their home if they were found. They did not fill out the resort section of the lost and found card. Well about an hour after the park closes a lifeguard brings up a bag of lost in found that has everyone of their items in it. I managed to track down where they were staying (Port Orleans) and I drove it over to the resort after my shift and had a bell services cast member delivery it to their room.

 

[palmtreegirl]

On our last trip I found a wallet with a bunch of money in it on the main street at MGM. We dropped it right off at the Lost and Found and it turns out there was 450.00 in it! I walked around a bit looking for someone that seemed upset because I couldn't even imagine losing all that money.

The CM told us to fill out a form in case the owner never surfaced(there was no ID in the wallet) but we never heard back so hopefully that means they got their wallet back.

 

[mrtoadslastride]

Thanks for the info Show. It is Cast Members like you who go above and beyond the call of duty that makes WDW such a special place!

 

[AllisonG]

In 2002 I lost a gold Mickey Mouse watch. I NEVER got it back!! I thought for sure some nice kind hearted person would turn it in. BUt, I'm still waiting. I just replaced that watch a few weeks ago.
Anyway, I was at DTD in December doing some holiday shopping. I left my entire shopping bag full of purchases either at the bus stop or on the bus. I noticed 15 minutes after losing it. We found the bus I got off of and never found the package. I was hoping for some Disney magic and have it returned by Christmas/Hannukah. Once again, no such luck.

Glad there are happy endings to some lost and found stories.

 

[mitros]

Good job! we should be thanking CMs more often. I have said it before and I'll say it again, the CMs are the ones that make Disney magic. not Ei$ner!

How sad for you AllisonG, twice! I wish you could have had a happier ending. Did you call lost and found with a description of the things that were in the bag?

 

[roymccoy]

My 4 year old DD left her favorite stuffed toy, a white monkey, on the Tower of Terror at MGM Studios. We realized it was gone while on the bus ride back to our hotel. She was SO upset! I called Lost and Found and was told that it HAD been turned in! I explained to my daughter that "Whitey" (not a name we picked out ;-) had such a good time at MGM that he stayed a little longer and then he took the tram over to Lost and Found on his way to Epcot. I will remember the look on her face forever. She just stared at me blankly and said "Daddy, whitey is not real...he is just a stuffed monkey...how could he get on a tram?"

Out of the mouths of babes....


Roy

(Thanks to all at the WDW Lost and Found!)

 

[JenEeyore]

We've had a couple of exceptional experiences with Disney L&F.

One was a number of years ago when we were visiting MK with some friends and my husband all of a sudden realized he had left his fanny pack hanging on a bathroom stall door in Toontown. He blasted back there, but of course it was gone. We had CM's radioing around to see if anyone had found it, but no luck. My husband was literally almost ill because the pack contained his park pass, credit cards, some cash, and importantly our keys to our rental car. He was about ready to throw himself off the MK Express train he was so stressed. CM's said to check at City Hall before we left the park to see if it had been turned in then. On a last ditch attempt to rescue the day, we checked in there later in the evening and what do you know, they had the pack!! An older gentleman had found it and he and his wife had turned it in without leaving their name or anything, and EVERYTHING WAS IN THERE. That says a lot about Disney visitors as well to be so honest.

A year ago we had another success story when we accidentally lost our camera bag with the lens cap to the camera and a digital memory card in it (fortunately the camera was in another bag). We knew we had lost it somewhere at Epcot during a rainy evening of unpacking and repacking the stroller continuously. The next day we checked with L&F, but no success. We kept checking through the rest of the trip, but they didn't have a match. We were disappointed, but wrote it off and bought a new bag to bring home. A few days after we returned home, we got a package in the mail from WDW. It was our camera bag with everything in it! I had apparently left an address card in one of the pockets from a previous trip, and they went ahead and mailed it out the same day it was turned in.

I say if you are going to lose anything in life - do it at WDW - it is one of the few places where you can actually have hope of being reunited with your belongings in an honest manner!!!

Thanks to all helpful CM's that work for Lost & Found, and all wonderfully honest guests who turn things in!!!