Lost kids in WDW

[PEANUT1]

My kids are little but we did talk about it and told our 4 year old to find someone who works at the park and show them her ID tag. My husband went to Walmart and had heart ID tags made that have her name and our cell phone numbers on them. It can be worn as a necklace or attatched to her shoelace.

 

[DisFam95]

The CM are really good and have a great system since this does happen dozens of times on a daily basis i"m sure. We saw a little girl lost. I think she either approached the CM or another was bringing her over..I can't recall. But 1 guy immediatly pulled out a big manual and got the numbers and there were at least 3 cm's standing there together like protecting her...1 was on the walkie, 1 was sort of eagle eyeing the crowds and 1 was comforting/talking to the girl.

we've done the metal dog tags on DS's shoe laces. No way to get that off, it's visible, it's not 'on' them. DS hated the wrist things.

 

[Scuttle]

I was really concerned about this on our last trip, because without meaning to have a problem, we all know that it COULD happen

I learned about the bands from www.sayitbands.com from here, and they were definitely a perfect solution. They are those "LIVESTRONG" rubber/silicone bracelets. You get to choose your child's favorite color and the perfect size. They are priced very reasonably, and their customer service is wonderful. I accidentally asked for the bracelets to be made with my home number. It wasn't until like 4pm the day that I made my order that I noticed MY mistake! They were very nice to help me out and I still got them the next day too!

I bought them for my kids' to wear on their ankles, and we actually put them on the day before we left for the airport! (They still wear them around home when we go on fieldtrips too!)

The bands that we got said (PIN)###-###-####(CELL) (it had my cell phone number on it) and the best part for me, was that unless you got close to the band, you couldn't read any of it.

My kids were instructed to find a mom with a baby/stroller and tell them that they were lost and show them their bracelet. My kids would never have been able to figure out the whole CM thing. I loved the idea of taking pictures of the kids in the morning to remember what they had on - that's very smart!!

I did put some good close up pictures of my kids in a ziploc bag that I carried with me all the time, just in case I needed it quickly.

All of this definitely made ME feel better!! LOL

 

[FE Mom]

We followed a similar approach as others have mentioned. We were in WDW this past Christmas - 15 family members including 7 children, ages 2 - 10.

1. Find a CM
2. Show them your phone numbers (we had a laminated list on each child)
3. Stay with them until we come to get you

Well, on our first day DS6 continued with the flow of other guests when the rest of us stopped. It took us only a few seconds to realize he was missing. I immediately headed for the Tip Board. Unfortunately, DS did not find a CM. In his mind he wasn't lost, we were. He needed someone with a cell phone.

He approached a couple of people before getting one of them to pay any attention to him. I was very grateful that this Dad listened to him. I do not think DS would have ever been noticed by a CM. He didn't act or look lost. He's that kind of kid. He is very confident and even if he was scared he would refuse to let anyone know.

As I said, I am soooooo grateful that this one had a happy ending. The entire frightening experience took about 30 minutes. After that there wasn't a ride, 3D experience or story line that could even spook us.

 

[juliana_sd]

I found a lost child at Disneyland when I was in high school... my friends and I were getting on the Peoplemover (same as Tomorrowland Transit Authority at MK) and there was a tiny 2 year old boy going up the ramp in front of us - it wasn't crowded at all and there was no one in line. We realized he was alone and yelled to the CM working the ride to stop him. Well the idiot (sorry, he was) LET THE BOY ON THE RIDE! The whole ride we were terrified that he would climb out... he was standing on the seats, etc. We came to the end and he got off... we were hoping that the parents were waiting at the end, but no.

The CM still refused to do anything! He just shrugged. So, we followed the kid. He noticed us following him and started to run. It was evening parade time and he hit a dead end of people so we were able to catch up with him. I knew about "Lost Children" but thought it was at City Hall so we went all the way down there - well turns out it's at the baby center which we were right next to when we "caught" him - duh. His parents had been waiting there, hysterical of course, so they ran down to City Hall. They were APH and said that Peoplemover was his favorite ride - I guess he just decided he wanted to ride. The CM at City Hall gave us a "front of the line" pass for Space Mountain - this was way before Fast Passes so we were excited about that, but still shaken up about what had happened - I can't imagine how the parents felt.

So, that story haunts me. Don't be self conscious about using a leash for the little ones!!!

 

[brightvalleyjrts]

I also am going to order some tattoos for my boys. I think I am getting these.
http://safetytat.com/

Losing my kids is a huge fear of mine too! My 2 year old never leaves my side, but my 5 year old likes to dissappear.

 

[noahdove]

I bought the 2 kids I am taking bracelets with their name, the name they call me and my cell phone number If this helps...good luck

 

[reginaastralis]

I'm buying some of these for my mom ... I swear I loose this lady if I go to Walmart with her. LOL.

My dd is three, and she is constantly fighting me to be on her own. We're going through the stage where she wants to go potty by herself. ARGH! Sorry kid, you're stuck with me.

We've had the conversation about how my name is Amanda, and that if Mommy gets lost to go to another mommy with kids and ask for help. We're at the age where she would have no idea if someone worked at Target (or was a CM at Disney) but she knows who mommy's are.

I'll never forget about a year and a half ago, when we saw parents who had lost their child. We were at EPCOT and it was right before Illuminations, and they were frantic. Absolute panic. It was during the summer, so there were droves of people. All of a sudden, they had a mass of CMs and suddenly I noticed the undercover security guys. I grabbed my sister and my daughter and explained that that is why they have to be next to momma (sissy) all the time. Boy, that was the best hands on lesson. I will never forget the panic in that mothers voice.

 

[crisi]

Just advice for those that use nicknames for their LO's, Make sure they know their real name. My parents called me Jake as a child and I did not know my real name was Jennifer. One day I was being watched by my aunt who at the time lived across the street from us, that happened to be the night my parents were moving into a new home on the other end of the city. They left me there because I fell asleep and they didn't want to wake me, well I woke up and everyone else was in bed and I left the house to go across the street to what I knew was our house only to have strangers answer the door when I hit the doorbell! They called Social services and they had problems the went to my aunts but no one answered the door, and here they had a four year old girl who called herself "Jake". The cops were out full force on the street and eventually the commotion woke up my aunt and she went to see what was going on, and sure enough she experienced (as she called ) the single most embarrassing momment of her life, Not only did I think my first name was jake but I was also convinced my last name was "the snake"! So here Social Services was trying to find the parents of "Jake the Snake". So my aunt was asked "are you the parent of Jake the Snake?" My aunt wanted to crawl in a hole.

Needless to see my parents started to call me by my birth name shortly after that

That's really funny.....

My son is Korean and Korean adoption started during the Korean war. A lot of Korean war orphans probably weren't orphans at all, but Korea has a few very common last names (Lee, Sung, Park - a few others). And in Korea small children call their family members by position "older brother Sung." So when these kids were separated from their families - the agencies were looking for families of Mother Lee, Father Park, Older Sister Park, Younger Sister Park, Eldest Brother Park - and that describes half the families in Korea.

We teach our kids to look for a CM (we use the Mommy trick away from WDW). We teach them to look for WHITE namebadges (I hate guest of honor badges). We write our cell number on them with a sharpie.

 

[my3disneysons]

I read these stories and feel like crying! The thought of losing my child anywhere, let alone Disney World, is such a scary thought. In the past, we've taken our 2 older sons to Disney and haven't had much problem. They were clingy kids, so they didn't stray, even when you wanted them to stray. However, this year, we are taking the third son. He is our little escape artist! Thanks for all the suggestions on how to teach him what to do. I love the tattoo and bracelet ideas. And, telling them to go to a mommy with kids. I also think it's important for him to stay where he is at..not to go looking for Mommy. Sometimes that makes it worse, at least when it comes to finding Dad when he gets lost in Walmart. Thanks for all the info!

 

[lutherlovr]

I am ashamed to admit it, but I lost my DS3 at The World of Disney store at Downtown Disney last year. I was looking at some bracelets at the register and he was sitting in his stroller with his brother, I swear it was only about 30-40 seconds and he was gone. I screamed for help (I was freaking out) and a CM came over to take me to guest services in the store, but all I wanted to do was look for him....when she finally got me over there, he was there waiting for me, and a CM was talking to him and examining the band from www.sayitbands.com on his leg (his arm was too small).

They told me that it does happen and that the band was a great idea, more people should do that. It said "If I am lost, please call XXX-XXX-XXXX".
I tried to explain to him what to do if he was lost, but he was way too young to understand. They said another mom had brought him over to the service desk.

So, you should definitely get something to put on your child, the CMs told me they look for that and more people should do it.

 

[bumbershoot]

I found a lost child at Disneyland when I was in high school... my friends and I were getting on the Peoplemover (same as Tomorrowland Transit Authority at MK) and there was a tiny 2 year old boy going up the ramp in front of us - it wasn't crowded at all and there was no one in line. We realized he was alone and yelled to the CM working the ride to stop him. Well the idiot (sorry, he was) LET THE BOY ON THE RIDE! The whole ride we were terrified that he would climb out... he was standing on the seats, etc. We came to the end and he got off... we were hoping that the parents were waiting at the end, but no.

The CM still refused to do anything! He just shrugged. So, we followed the kid. He noticed us following him and started to run. It was evening parade time and he hit a dead end of people so we were able to catch up with him. I knew about "Lost Children" but thought it was at City Hall so we went all the way down there - well turns out it's at the baby center which we were right next to when we "caught" him - duh. His parents had been waiting there, hysterical of course, so they ran down to City Hall. They were APH and said that Peoplemover was his favorite ride - I guess he just decided he wanted to ride. The CM at City Hall gave us a "front of the line" pass for Space Mountain - this was way before Fast Passes so we were excited about that, but still shaken up about what had happened - I can't imagine how the parents felt.

So, that story haunts me. Don't be self conscious about using a leash for the little ones!!!

Your story, except for your wonderful part in it, just makes me want to throw up so many times. Especially the CM letting such a little one into a ride vehicle alone (especially one that's up high).

My son is Korean and Korean adoption started during the Korean war. A lot of Korean war orphans probably weren't orphans at all, but Korea has a few very common last names (Lee, Sung, Park - a few others). And in Korea small children call their family members by position "older brother Sung." So when these kids were separated from their families - the agencies were looking for families of Mother Lee, Father Park, Older Sister Park, Younger Sister Park, Eldest Brother Park - and that describes half the families in Korea.

We teach our kids to look for a CM (we use the Mommy trick away from WDW). We teach them to look for WHITE namebadges (I hate guest of honor badges). We write our cell number on them with a sharpie.

And don't forget the Korean tradition that cousins are called brother/sister, and any friend of a parent is an aunt or uncle.

I wanted to send wedding invitations to all of DH's Korean family, but he didn't know anyone's names, b/c it's all honorifics, even today. Now, if they were all his grandmother's maiden name it would have been easier b/c Ahn isn't as common, but the family's name now is Kim! Zoiks! Since we couldn't convince his mom to help us (she thought it was silly, and just invited, by phone, the few family members she felt might be able to come) we dropped that idea.

I have heard that telling a child to find a CM behind a cash register is a way to get rid of the guest name badge problem.


But I'm going to get those sayit bracelets, definitely, and soon.

 

[crzy4my2]

Thank you to everyone for these great ideas. The thought of losing my kids makes me nauseous. We are going in April with DD4 and DS6.
My BIL lost my DS one Mothers day.
We went to brunch at a local Country club. It was DH, me, DD, DS, MIL, FIL, BIL, SIL and my SIL's mom and her brother. My BIL said he was going for a walk and taking my DD and DS (they were 2 and 4 at the time) He comes back carrying my DD and DS no where to be found. He looked at my DH and asked "Where is Mikey?" DH and I jumped up and yelled..WITH YOU!" So now PANIC. My FIL and my SIL's brother were looking outside on the golf course and to make sure he didn't go into the water. My DH was looking in EVERY car leaving to make sure no one was taking him. My SIL's mom stayed at the table in case he came back. Me, my SIL and MIL were looking all over inside, I did go to the Manager but every time I tried to describe my son and what he was wearing I started crying. We had employees looking everywhere too. I think it was about 10 minutes (felt like hours) My SIL's mom came over carrying him. I guess he came back into where we were eating and saw a baby about 8 months old and wanted to play with her. Her family was sitting in a corner so we didn't see him. there were so many people and tables. I guess the baby's father noticed we were panicked and told him that he better go back to his table because his mommy and daddy were looking for him.
So now going to Disney, My poor kids will probably have the dog tag on the shoes, the tattoos on the hand, the bracelet AND a written tag pinned to the shirt!