Lost Kid at Disney Story

[Stargazer65]

Anybody else lose a kid while you were at Disney? We lost a 9 years old at EPCOT for about an hour, probably less. It was New Year’s Eve about 10:45 I believe. He was our second youngest, so we were more focused on our 5 year old daughter. Being New Year’s Eve it was extremely packed with people and we were walking from future world to World Showcase. He was following us from behind and glanced away, then started to follow someone else he thought was us, who went off in a different direction. About the time we got to World Showcase, we realized he was gone, and backtracked.

We had told everyone if we got separated to meet at the Mexican pavilion with a backup plan of asking a cast member. I made my way to Mexican Pavillion and told my wife we would meet at France for New Year’s when I got him back. So I got to Mexico and waited, no sign of him. Found out from a CM that the lost kids are taken to the Odyssey Center and made my way there. (Evidently it was so crowded and because of his height, evidently he couldn’t see where the Mexican Pavillion was.) Found him over at the Odyssey center, he was somewhat embarrassed being the oldest lost kid there by a long shot. We weren’t able to make our way over to France for midnight, so we watched the countdown and celebration from where we were, and met up with the rest of the family after things started clearing out a little.

So he has the distinction of being the only one of our 5 kids to get lost at Disney, and we remind him every time we go. The next time we go there in Spring he’ll be 17, and our youngest will be 14 and doing things on her own. Of course, we’ll still remember to razz our 17 year old: “If you get lost…find a CM”

 

[LynnTH]

Yes. My Daughter - I think was around 6 at the time (she was always the one getting lost). We were at Indiana Jones - there were 8 of us together. We all went one way and she for some reason went another. Friend of ours stood on the bench to try and find her and it wasn't long before she spotted him. We were all panicking and she was as calm as could be. We had made each of the kids stainless steel bracelets with a picture on the front but our cell phone #s on the back. She was already talking to a CM showing them her bracelet, when she spotted our friend.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yes, when DS was 10. It was at Epcot during F&W, and he wanted to go ahead of us to catch a booth before it closed to get a dessert. I let him go, but he took off too fast to properly hear my instructions to wait at the booth until I got there. Sure enough, when I reached the booth 10 minutes later with the stroller and the younger kids, no DS. In his haste he misunderstood and thought I would be waiting for him where I was when he left. Luckily, he knew that his Dad really wanted one last ride on Soarin', so when he could not find me he went to the exit of the Soarin' ride to wait for Dad. Dad had a phone, so when he got off the ride and found DS waiting, they were able to come to where I was waiting by the closed food booth. We were separated for about an hour, and I had started to speak to a Security CM about finding him when I got a message from DH telling me DS was with him.

FWIW, I did not panic; I knew he was clear on what to do if he was really lost, and I knew that I'd catch up with him eventually with the help of CM's if it came to that, but because he kept his head it never became necessary.

 

[Bjkandma]

Yes. My 6 year old granddaughter in July, 2012. Just her and I were travelling together (I'm handicap and rode a scooter). My daughter (her Aunt) was meeting us the next day. Well, we went to Magic Kingdom and she asked to ride the carousel. I asked a cast member working the ride. He explained that she could ride by herself. He showed her where to wait in line. Then he escorted me to where she would exit the ride. Well I waited and waited, no granddaughter. I seen others who were further behind her in line, exiting the ride. A good half hour passed and still no granddaughter. I stopped a wonderful cast member, explained we were travelling alone, etc. She immediately asked her hair color, apps weight, height and what she was wearing. She told me to stay put and she would be right back. Of course, my mind is running crazy - why would she leave me? Within less than 5 minutes, I saw Disney security at its finest (uniformed and plain clothes) coming out of the woodwork. They found her!! Where? She exited the carousel and was patiently waiting her turn to pull the sword out of the stone!!! My heart!!

Lesson learned. After that, I learned to take pictures of the grandchildren, when we leave for the park (her youngest sister is now 5) and each time they change their clothes throughout the day. Valuable time was wasted as I tried to describe her and what she was wearing. A picture is worth a thousand words!!!

Also, if they get separated in a store, they are to find a corner and sit. Never leaving that store. Do you know how much time is spent "looking" for each other - when both parties are moving!!

 

[TaraWasHere]

I haven't lost one, but I did find one on our last trip. Poor little guy came out of Frozen Ever After sobbing. I got him to calm down and he told me he was lost. We walked him over to one of the cast members close and told her what was going on. A couple of minutes later his dad came flying out in a panic and the two were reunited. I get nervous when my youngest gets out of eyes shot in Wal-mart, I can't imagine how that must feel in a place like Disney.

 

[olwyngdh]

Thankfully both times my daughter could have been lost someone in the group was able to run fast enough to catch her. Our first trip, when she was 7, we hit England in Epcot and she took off running. We found her at the back of the country sitting on the wall crying her eyes out because she couldn't find Cherry Tree Lane and Mary Poppins. Thankfully, we were able to find Mary Poppins inside the store, and my daughter got to meet the ONE character she wanted to meet more than anyone and MP told her that since they are both Marys my daughter was practically perfect in every way also. She is 19 and still will not let us forget that she has been declared practically perfect. The second time was when she was 9, also at Epcot, but in Morocco. Genie grabbed her by the hand and took off with his handler calling over her shoulder "I can't control him! Follow me!!" It turned out he decided he wanted to show her something clear in the back of the pavilion. Another great memory for her with moments of heart stopping stress for Mom.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

Yes. My 6 year old granddaughter in July, 2012. Just her and I were travelling together (I'm handicap and rode a scooter). My daughter (her Aunt) was meeting us the next day. Well, we went to Magic Kingdom and she asked to ride the carousel. I asked a cast member working the ride. He explained that she could ride by herself. He showed her where to wait in line. Then he escorted me to where she would exit the ride. Well I waited and waited, no granddaughter. I seen others who were further behind her in line, exiting the ride. A good half hour passed and still no granddaughter. I stopped a wonderful cast member, explained we were travelling alone, etc. She immediately asked her hair color, apps weight, height and what she was wearing. She told me to stay put and she would be right back. Of course, my mind is running crazy - why would she leave me? Within less than 5 minutes, I saw Disney security at its finest (uniformed and plain clothes) coming out of the woodwork. They found her!! Where? She exited the carousel and was patiently waiting her turn to pull the sword out of the stone!!! My heart!!

Lesson learned. After that, I learned to take pictures of the grandchildren, when we leave for the park (her youngest sister is now 5) and each time they change their clothes throughout the day. Valuable time was wasted as I tried to describe her and what she was wearing. A picture is worth a thousand words!!!

Also, if they get separated in a store, they are to find a corner and sit. Never leaving that store. Do you know how much time is spent "looking" for each other - when both parties are moving!!

What a good idea taking pictures each day.

 

[bdcp]

Anybody else lose a kid while you were at Disney? We lost a 9 years old at EPCOT for about an hour, probably less. It was New Year’s Eve about 10:45 I believe. He was our second youngest, so we were more focused on our 5 year old daughter. Being New Year’s Eve it was extremely packed with people and we were walking from future world to World Showcase. He was following us from behind and glanced away, then started to follow someone else he thought was us, who went off in a different direction. About the time we got to World Showcase, we realized he was gone, and backtracked.

We had told everyone if we got separated to meet at the Mexican pavilion with a backup plan of asking a cast member. I made my way to Mexican Pavillion and told my wife we would meet at France for New Year’s when I got him back. So I got to Mexico and waited, no sign of him. Found out from a CM that the lost kids are taken to the Odyssey Center and made my way there. (Evidently it was so crowded and because of his height, evidently he couldn’t see where the Mexican Pavillion was.) Found him over at the Odyssey center, he was somewhat embarrassed being the oldest lost kid there by a long shot. We weren’t able to make our way over to France for midnight, so we watched the countdown and celebration from where we were, and met up with the rest of the family after things started clearing out a little.

So he has the distinction of being the only one of our 5 kids to get lost at Disney, and we remind him every time we go. The next time we go there in Spring he’ll be 17, and our youngest will be 14 and doing things on her own. Of course, we’ll still remember to razz our 17 year old: “If you get lost…find a CM”

What's the scariest part of your post is that your 9 year old was the oldest "by a long shot" of the lost kids. Our first trip our boys were 3.5 and 5.5, and we didn't use a stroller anywhere after age 2.5. We held onto them tightly and they were good about staying with us. A 9 year old is a little different in that they can ask for help and most won't panic. Fortunately, Disney is really good in spotting and helping lost kids. All the CM's pay close attention and can usually figure out who is lost.

We went to the National Zoo in Dc (we live the DC area) with friends when ours kids were all under 6. Our friends daughter got separated from us. She had been told find someone in a zoo uniform which is exactly what she did. Always good to have a plan.

 

[disney_runner]

At Wyndham bonnet creek, by a pool, my oldest, then 10 year old, was playing hide and seek with her siblings. She hid too damn good! When I started calling out her name, nothing. Games over, come out! Nothing. Started looking in bushes, near the public bathrooms and I started to get real nervous at that point. Meanwhile, my mom talked with an employee who immediately started contacting other employees, two showed up and started asking what is she wearing, etc…
Then finally my daughter comes out of the bushes by the bathroom (where I already looked) and she’s all smiles because she won and nobody found her. I went between happy hugs and tears, to wanting to punish her! Lol
So while not Disney CMs, the employees at WBC jumped into action immediately once informed of it. I think the whole search was less than 5-6 minutes.

 

[KPeterso]

Not a child, but my first trip to Disneyland as a kid, we "lost" my Mom for hours (like the majority of the day). Dad and I were together, but no sign of Mom. She rode the rides she thought we would ride and we rode rides that we thought she would ride. And no, those were definitely not the same ones. And of course, this was the days before cell phones so it took awhile to find each other. My Mom was the wanderer of the family and it was not uncommon for her to be the one that was lost.

We have found several lost kids though. We usually give them a little space and keep a close eye on them while alerting a cast member so that they can approach and find the child's family. I felt bad a few years ago - we followed a little one through about half of Downtown Disney (in CA) before realizing he was lost (he was about 3 and happily pushing a stroller and we thought he belonged to a family that was near him) and the first cast member I could alert was a plaid leading a VIP tour group (although the group was more than understanding and wanted to be sure the child found his family too).

 

[Betty Rohrer]

What a good idea taking pictures each day.

at small park I work at had a mother who was sure her child had on one color of shirt but he had on another color. took dad with the phone to show her he had a different color on. security had him the whole time but because she was off with color took a lot longer to be reunited.

 

[lilmc]

Pictures daily are a great idea, but also when my daughters were young I made them wear matching outfits everyday when we traveled. 1) they were too young to pack for themselves, so it made my job half has hard 2) if I ever lost one, I could just point to the one still present and state ”she’s dressed just like that one but taller/shorter”. Thankfully I never had to use that statement

 

[Rory607]

No, surprisingly, lol! My oldest would never purposely take off from us, but I always worry about my younger one. He is very fast and spontaneous and we have drilled it into him how important it is to stay together. We take daily pictures and have luckily never needed to use them. Our kids’ instructions are to find a CM (who we describe as a person who works there and has a name tag) or another mom with young kids.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

My parents lost me at HS (then MGM) in the early 90s (I was like 11). There was a parade, I stopped to watch and my family continued for the exits without me. They got back to our treehouse (at the now defunct Disney Institute) before they realized I was gone. I just got on a bus and came back to the resort but my parents were frantic and my dad and security were searching the park for me, not knowing I was on my way back to our treehouse. I’ve never let them live this down and to this day whenever we pass the spot they left me at I remind them “this is where you guys abandoned me”

 

[mjkacmom]

We lost our 6 year old after turtle talk, the 5 kids were in the front and we couldn’t catch up. Fortunately we found her quickly as she was already in tears (she was not one to wonder at all). Even worse, we lost my dad who had dementia at MK, he was on a scooter. We split up, and both groups thought he was with the other. I remember my husband and I racing around both sides of the castle when we got him on the phone, of course a show was just starting.

 

[MaiseyMay]

Thought we had lost my daughter in Hollywood Studios when she was 4. My husband was walking a little way ahead and I didn’t see my daughter. I thought she was walking with him. So I shouted to him “where’s Aria??” I was a little loud and panicked and a few people looked around. He calmly replied “she’s in the stroller that you’re pushing!” Oops. In my defence I also had a 9 month old who didn’t sleep well!

 

[cmarsh31]

My nephew was lost once... or really left behind. My family of 4, my SIL's family of 4, and my ILs. We got off Buzz, stopped at the pictures to find ours... then all traipsed out. DH & I each took a hand of our children (we always do it the same way, DH has DS, I have DD - if we change, we verbally confirm) and the rest of them followed us out. Apparently older nephew (7) was throwing a fit because he didn't win and all FOUR adults were paying attention to him and not one of them had younger nephew (3). We were halfway to Carousel of Progress before they realized they only had one kid - major panic ensued. 3DN was standing where they left him in front of the Buzz pictures, crying with CMs. SIL had been so concerned about him running off etc leading up to the trip but now he refers back to "that time you left me in Disney".

 

[Stargazer65]

Thought we had lost my daughter in Hollywood Studios when she was 4. My husband was walking a little way ahead and I didn’t see my daughter. I thought she was walking with him. So I shouted to him “where’s Aria??” I was a little loud and panicked and a few people looked around. He calmly replied “she’s in the stroller that you’re pushing!” Oops. In my defence I also had a 9 month old who didn’t sleep well!

Too funny! Kind of reminds me of a time at Disney that my wife handed me her phone to hold for a minute...because her hands were full, and she couldn't find her phone.

 

[mickeyfan100]

My parents lost me at HS (then MGM) in the early 90s (I was like 11). There was a parade, I stopped to watch and my family continued for the exits without me. They got back to our treehouse (at the now defunct Disney Institute) before they realized I was gone. I just got on a bus and came back to the resort but my parents were frantic and my dad and security were searching the park for me, not knowing I was on my way back to our treehouse. I’ve never let them live this down and to this day whenever we pass the spot they left me at I remind them “this is where you guys abandoned me”

My middle child will tell anyone who will listen the story of how she was abandoned at Disney. We were in a long line for Soarin’ and playing the games on the big screens as we went by. When we got to the front and the CM asked how many, I said five and then realized she was missing. She had sat down against the wall in line and fell asleep… we didn’t realize she wasn’t with us in the crowd and kept moving along. When she tells this story, I always ask the person she’s telling how old they think my poor abandoned child was at the time of this incident… she was FIFTEEN

 

[disneyseniors]

Thought we had lost my daughter in Hollywood Studios when she was 4. My husband was walking a little way ahead and I didn’t see my daughter. I thought she was walking with him. So I shouted to him “where’s Aria??” I was a little loud and panicked and a few people looked around. He calmly replied “she’s in the stroller that you’re pushing!” Oops. In my defence I also had a 9 month old who didn’t sleep well!

LOL, that sounds like when my daughter "lost" her youngest son, 3 y/o. Before we left for Florida, my daughter stressed over and over that we all had to hold onto the kids hands and be aware of them at all times. She was terrified of losing one of them. We had a big family vacation and stayed at an off site Nickelodeon type resort. In the mornings we would all meet for breakfast. There was a game room directly across from the open restaurant. We allowed the older kids to go play and we could see them from our seats.
My daughter got panicked when she did not see the 3 y/o and was getting very worked up, when we told her that he was on her lap!!!! LOL. She was so worried that she panicked before looking . It was hilarious and we never let her forget it.