Lost Child at DL

[Sabor]

As I stated in another thread we are DVC members since 98 with numerous trips to WDW and other theme parks.

I am just stating this to let everyone know we are experienced with young ones in Parks and our nightmare can happen to the best of us.

We were in Innoventions at DL on Friday , terrible setup I might add. When our DS 4 became "missing". He is very big for his age but has poorly developed speech. He is a video game junkie and after a week of no gamecube he was definitely suffering from withdrawal.

I was with my 2 DDs signing up for the talk with stitch and my DW was with him playing at a game with 4 stations - when he dissapeared.

We searched the entire building , then notified the staff, They INSISTED on searching the whole building before calling security which felt like an hour but was probably about 10 minutes.

Our biggest fear was he loves video games and would not just leave that area. Security was very Calm and Collected and put out a call to all staff.

After another 15 minutes a call was placed to the lost child center and my DS was there.

The Details are still sketchy as we cannot get the info form our son but we guess he exited the second floor ( maybe following some one who looke like a family member) then could not get back inside. Park staff did not let us know where, who or how he was found.

That was the worst half hour of my life and I was ready to call it quits but the DW insisted on staying for Fantasmic and we had an enjoyable rest of the night

 

[staley7580]

I just wanted to say that what happened to you is my worst fear about going to disneyland, I too have a 4 yo ds with poor speech. We have been talking to him for the past week, and will continue to talk to him until we leave, in 2 weeks, about what to do if he gets seperated from us. I am sooo glad for you and your family that evey thing worked out well. And also that you enjoyed the rest of your trip. Im afraid that I too would hang it up after an incident like that.

 

[ByTheHook]

It's weird the CMs wouldn't give you any details about when. where, how, etc. he was found-- esp. when you consider what could happen to kids at DL before they are found! Is this "no telling" approach DL's policy? Yikes!

Maybe I've been watching too many CSI episodes lately, but geez, they gotta tell you more than just "Yeah, we found him-- here ya go. Bye." Right?

 

[Sabor]

It's weird the CMs wouldn't give you any details about when. where, how, etc. he was found-- esp. when you consider what could happen to kids at DL before they are found! Is this "no telling" approach DL's policy? Yikes!

Maybe I've been watching too many CSI episodes lately, but geez, they gotta tell you more than just "Yeah, we found him-- here ya go. Bye." Right?

We did not get answers but were so Relieved to see him that I dont think we pressured them - which we probably should have.
He was watching a Movie and did not even seem upset when we found him so I honestly think a guest or CM saw him pretty quickly and got him to the Lost Child Center

Staley what a CM suggested we do which we did from then on out is right down a cell phone number on a piece of paper and stick it in his pocket and let him know it is there if he gets seperated.

 

[tmt martins]

I'm glad everything worked out for you.

What we did with DD when she was young was get her the character type Dog tags.

We put our Cells and names on them and either hung around the neck on the chain or pinned them inside of her shirt.

Always told her to go to someone using the register to call for us and leave message if needed.It was never needed but she never had a problem wearing it as it was a character on the other side.

 

[staley7580]

this might sound silly, but when we got our disney luggage tags from wdtc, I filled out one for each of our kids with all of our info on it so that I could attatch it to their belt loops on their pants and fit s nicely in their pockets. My son knows to find an employee or another mommy and show it to them. (if they dont hear me screaming his name VERY loudly!!)

 

[All American]

Oh my goodness! I am so glad you found your son. I can imagine it was a stressful time. I panic when I can't find my daughter in the house, let alone a place as crowded as Disneyland and as dark as Innoventions can be.

As for the rest of the posters, thanks for the great ideas about keeping your kids safe. These are things I have never thought of and will definately do in the future.

 

[woody73]

Glad to hear your family was reunited.

Woody

 

[Pixieshouse]

How scary, this is my worst nightmare.

When we went earlier this ear I went to a pet store and got dog tags with mine and my DH name and cell number on them. Then I pin it either inside of a pocket or on the back of their shirt. That way they can't remove the pin. My oldest was 4 at the time and knew if we got seperated to find somone that worked at DL and ask for help and show then her tag. It made her feel much better.

 

[kjhgarden]

I am so glad you found your son! Thank you for sharing your experience now I know I need to make sure my cell phone # is somewhere on my younger kids. I guess let them know to go to a cast member if they can't find us.

 

[LeanaSpin]

After my nephew got lost once, we went to city hall and they took a sticker and wrote parents name and phone # on it. Stuck it on all the kids backs and we felt a little better, knowing they had those. We asked one other time, and they had no problem doing the same thing. I would highly recommend doing this.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Hmmmm, we don't have a cell phone (shocking, I know).

Not sure what kind of info to write down on stickers/tags if our children (7 & 3) were to get lost. I guess we should write our names and the hotel we're staying at?

Maybe we should get those child find locators that you can tie on to a child's shoe (I think they work up to 100 yards)?

 

[Zoemakes5]

Wow, I think it goes to show the "new" CM issues. That's not the experiences I've heard of nor the policy that CM's that I've known have been told to follow. Alot can happen in a half hour and the least that they should have done was call to see if he was in a child care center or en route to one.
We have explained to all of our children to go to someone in uniform with a nametag like "this one" (and then we point out a CM's nametag usually at the turnstiles as we're going through.) My older two both know both of our cel phones, and are old enough that if they get separated from us, they don't really panic. We've explained to them to stay where they are if at all possible and let us find them. I am concerned about DD, though. She's the brave one who will go anywhere with anyone! Luckily she's pretty verbal, so she'll be able to tell people our names, probably where she was when she last saw us, and probably regale whoever is lucky enough to find her with her entire life story This is the first time that she's been truly mobile enough and brave enough that I've worried about her getting lost. I will be using some of the suggestions here about making sure she has cel phone numbers on her somehow. Also, something the paranoid mommy in me does every time we go to DL. I take a picture of all three of them so I can show the CM w/my digital camera not only what they look like, but exactly what they are wearing.

 

[tmt martins]

Hmmmm, we don't have a cell phone (shocking, I know).

Not sure what kind of info to write down on stickers/tags if our children (7 & 3) were to get lost. I guess we should write our names and the hotel we're staying at?

Maybe we should get those child find locators that you can tie on to a child's shoe (I think they work up to 100 yards)?

I know this may sound crazy but when your in a place with so many people get a cell phone.

Just add it on as a trip expense . You could even pick one up at the Wal-mart or even Virgin at DTD maybe. You can get a throw away for around $40 charged and ready for your entire trip to use in case of an emergency.

JMHO.

 

[disney-super-mom]

I know this may sound crazy but when your in a place with so many people get a cell phone.

Just add it on as a trip expense . You could even pick one up at the Wal-mart or even Virgin at DTD maybe. You can get a throw away for around $40 charged and ready for your entire trip to use in case of an emergency.

JMHO.

Oh yeah, I forgot about those throw away cell phones you can buy. Great idea, and thanks for reminding me!

 

[tmt martins]

Oh yeah, I forgot about those throw away cell phones you can buy. Great idea, and thanks for reminding me!

Not a problem .

Enjoy your stay at PP and if your just hanging at the hotel one night don't forget to watch the fireworks from the pool deck. Sometimes they even pumped in music for us in 05.

 

[stampinshauna]

Glad to hear that you found him safe & sound.

this might sound silly, but when we got our disney luggage tags from wdtc, I filled out one for each of our kids with all of our info on it so that I could attatch it to their belt loops on their pants and fit s nicely in their pockets.

That is a great idea. I'll have to remember it when I have kids.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

We were walking through DTD one late evening last week. Far ahead of us there was a little boy (maybe 4 or 5 years old) with a very worried face, surrounded by a bunch of adults who did not look related to him. Once we got closer I heard one of the adults ask him where he last saw his parents, and thought, "Oh, the poor thing." We stopped nearby, and while the adults stood around, perhaps scanning the crowd for the boy's parents, the boy looked on the verge of tears.

I waited several minutes while the adults just talked to the boy and looked around. I finally stepped in, suggesting to one of the adults that he take the boy to the closest shop or restaurant and inform one of the employees about the lost boy, I was sure they had a lot of experience with this. This guy looked annoyed that I suggested this, and snapped "I've been here many times before, I know I can do that." OK, I thought, then why aren't you DOING IT???

I felt bad for the boy, but they seemed to think they had things under control and didn't want any 'help', so I left. I'm sure he eventually got back to his parents, I just hope it was sooner rather than later.

 

[ministrychick77]

i can't remember all the details because i was little at the time ( i think around 6 or 7) but i do remember getting lost at DL... i just kept going on rides and i eventually ran into my mom. we would go on all the same rides and she knew my favorites, so those were the rides she checked. she found me on POTC. she was worried so bad... i was just like "can we go back to tomorrowland? "

but at least i have ideas to use for when i have kids..

 

[Dale-n-Chip]

Another great idea is the Who's Shoes tag. http://www.whosshoesid.com/

It's a velcro tag that goes on kids' shoes. They come in pairs (blue or pink) and have a small section where you can write your phone number, contact info, etc. I split up our pair so DS has one on two different pairs of shoes. He's so used to wearing them, he reminds me if we try to leave the house in another pair of shoes: "Mom! What about my ID?!" It also contains his allergy information--critical for a kid with allergies!!

They also have a fundraising opportunity, which I think is a neat idea if you need something NEW to sell instead of the usual old stuff.

Just my two cents, of course.

mk