My idea to prevent a stolen stroller

[MommyWithDreams]

So I know it's rare, but we all know it can happen. Here's my idea on how to prevent it.
I have decided to bring our own stroller. I just cant justify spending 50 bucks for the week to rent one when ours will be so easy and lightweight to travel with.
I know it's discouraged to *lock* your stroller anywhere....as there are times CM's need to move them. Instead of locking them to anything....I plan on bringing a lock to put through the wheels themselves. Still easy for a CM to move...it's a fold up umbrella stroller....but I highly doubt if anyone tried to take it for their own use would get very far with it. Point being the wheels won't roll...so why would anyone want to take it. Maybe silly to some....but worth it to me.....just thought I'd share what we'll be doing in March.

 

[all4fun]

IMHO, it would be kind of a pain to have to stop and unlock the wheels every time you leave an attraction. If you're going to park it in one "land" and then walk everywhere in that "land" before retrieving it again, to go on to the next part of the park, then it would probably be less annoying to lock the wheels. Just a thought.

Just to put your mind a little at ease hopefully, we've taken our stroller on numerous trips and never had a problem. NOT to brag, but one year, over the course of four trips, we actually spent about a month at WDW . So our stroller has spent a lot of time sitting unattended outside of attractions at WDW. Not saying strollers never get stolen because I'm sure it does happen from time to time unfortunately (and sometimes I think it's just a case of mistaken identity). We also never leave it unattended outside of the parks (ie DTD) because people can come and go as they please and it just seems less secure.

Whatever you decide to do, hope you have a magical time while you're there!

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Oh I definitely meant when it would be unattended for a longer period of time....like you said....exploring the whole land before moving on. I'd just rather be safe than sorry.....we're on a budget and I can't afford to lose it.

 

[Chelle's Belles]

I think that's a great idea. If you will feel better taking the time to lock/unlock it than leaving it unprotected, you should totally do it.

After reading these threads about the likelihood of mistaken identity, I'm mulling over what sort of bright/obnoxious tie-on I can put on the handle of my stroller so nobody thinks it's theirs.

 

[jkelly86]

Did you read the tip in the Unofficial Guide to prevent accidental stroller theft (in the case of rented strollers)? Someone put a clean diaper (they poured some rootbeer into it) in a clear plastic bag and hung it on the handle.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

I read something very similiar to that....sounds pretty gross. I'd rather take one minute to unlock my wheels than have to carry something like that around all day. yuck

 

[fan_of_small_world]

I think that's a great idea. If you will feel better taking the time to lock/unlock it than leaving it unprotected, you should totally do it.

After reading these threads about the likelihood of mistaken identity, I'm mulling over what sort of bright/obnoxious tie-on I can put on the handle of my stroller so nobody thinks it's theirs.

Welcome to the DIS!

Since you're new, you might not have seen posts that explain that lime green is the "official" color of the DIS, and that for many of us here the lime green Mickey Mouse paint chips from Home Depot are a very popular item .

A lot of people pick a bunch up to decorate the window in their hotel room. I got a few, peeled off the Mickey head shape, put two back-to-back, and then had Staples send them through their heavy-duty laminateo. Then, I used a hole punch and slipped a thin ponytail band through. Then I could put it on the stroller handle which made it really easy to find in the sea of strollers. I also attached one to my backpack purse and had several DISers say hi to me!

 

[camdensmom]

I just posted this in another thread, but figured I'd mention it here too.

We bought a brightly colored piece of fabric and tied it to the handles of our stroller. It easily rolled up and sat on top of the umbrella part. When it was unrolled (with the umbrella awning open) it made what we called, "the cabana."

This was great for my son when we wanted him to sleep. The cover helped to eliminate distraction and then offered shade. When we would leave the stroller we would flip the fabric down and it made it easy to spot and highly unlikely to be grabbed by mistake.

 

[Hannathy]

Be aware if the CM has to move it and they will! They will not take the time to fold it and if it doesn't roll it will be dragged so I might see what that would do to my stroller first. and if you need to spend time unlocking it every time PLEASE take it to the side and not right in the middle of stroller parking where everyone else is just grabbing and going.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

As I stated it would still be very "moveable" if a cm needed to move the stroller. It would not damage thes stroller in any way. It's pretty much like the break is left on until it's unlocked. The time it takes to unlock this is less than 10 seconds so I highly doubt I'll be in anyones way.

 

[ty&brenmom]

If it isn't going to bother anyone and it makes you feel better I say go for it. I haven't decided what I am going to do to make my stroller easier to spot. I just bought it last week, it's just a cheap umbrella stroller. I am more worried that I will forget what it looks like and accidentally take the wrong one.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

If it makes you feel better, go for it. I admit that on our last trip it crossed my mind that our brand-new Maclaren could be stolen. Something I saved forever to buy! I did worry but it was unnecessary thankfully!

 

[fan_of_small_world]

Reading one of the responses got me thinking...while a lock would do the same thing physically as the brake, it still prevents the stroller from being moved easily.

Sometimes our stroller would get blocked in (because CMs move the strollers around) and I would have to move another person's stroller to get to mine. If the wheel brake was on, no problem, I could just release the brake and reset it once I reparked it. But, if you have a lock on the wheel, it makes it much harder for anyone else to move it easily (either a CM doing their job or another guest, especially if they're holding their little one in their arms). Just my $.02.

 

[SandrainNC]

We took a bicycle lock on our first trip with a stroller to do exactly the same thing you are planning to do. It was such a pain I did it one time and didn't bother for the rest of the trip.

Sandra

 

[brymolmom]

My strategy is to bring a stroller that it wouldn't break my heart on the way off chance it would get stollen. Can you find one a similar one at a garage sale? If you spend $10 - $20 - you can bring it, keep it unlocked, and not be too stressed that you'll return to find it gone.

 

[SueM in MN]

Did you read the tip in the Unofficial Guide to prevent accidental stroller theft (in the case of rented strollers)? Someone put a clean diaper (they poured some rootbeer into it) in a clear plastic bag and hung it on the handle.

Many people reading that hint here are probably seeing it for the first time, but are probably not aware that the hint has been around for a long time. Our first copy of the Unofficial Guide was in the late 80s or early 1990s and the hint was in there.
Chances are good that anyone who actually was planning to steal a stroller already knows it's a clean diaper with root beer in it (not too many people would be carrying around a real dirty diaper in the Florida heat when there are trash containers all over).

One thing I have heard people say they use is tying a lot of gift wrap ribbon on the push handle (the curling kind or the mylar kind). It makes your stroller stand out from the others and someone taking it because it looks like their stroller will see or feel the ribbon when they go to push.

Another thing I have heard is to put a lock so the stroller can be pushed, but not folded. if someone does steal it, they may abandon it when they can't fold it to put on the boat, monorail or parking tram.

Also, put an identification tag someplace that is not readily visible - like on tubing underneath the seat. Adhesive address labels with a coat of clear nail polish on top to seal it works well. That way, if you have to identify it, you have ID in an easy to find, but hard to get off place.

 

[lucky1]

As someone who just had their stroller & contents moved/stolen/misplaced at Disneyland this past weekend, my biggest tip is not to leave anything valuable in the basket or in a bag that can not be seen what the contents are.

We locked the wheels with the break and we went on a ride and were gone maybe 10 minutes, coming out the stroller was gone. Security took me to lost and found where i Put in a detailed description. They said they generally turn up.
Only items we had it were water and a backpack with a child's change of clothes and snacks. We had a bright yellow yarn on the handle and lots of stickers all over a luggage tag on the side with our name and phone number. Leaving DL park 2 hours later, we found the stroller at the entrance in a dark corner, but no backpack or luggage tag. Disney found our backpack later after the park closed with all the contents and returned it to us. I am sure if we had left a camera or electronics in the backpack it would be gone.

We have done at least 5 previous trips to DL and 5 trips to WDW with the stroller and this backpack and had no problems before.

 

[Oceana]

Here is what we did.

Before we headed to DW I spent $5 on paint and decorated our stroller hood. Everyone in the park recognized my stroller TONS of people commented. We could find our stroller in a crowd easy peasy.

In addition to painting the hood with our name on it I also tied oodles of HD paint chips to it. I pulled them off and double sided them and laminated them. I tied them all over the stroller. I used lime green everywhere except to the buckles of the boys seats. I used red on the side for my 3 year old and blue on the side for my 1 year old. Then they knew what side to sit on so we didnt have to readjust the seat every time. I used lime green ribbon and it gave my kids something to twiddle

here it is

This was easily done with bubble paint... and my kids think we are Incredibles!

 

[MBELSANTI]

For several trips I took our Combi travel stroller which was like $250 to WDW and never had a problem. Left it sitting out everywhere. I did buy a special lock made by Kryptonite that had a retractable cable and a combination to unlock. I bought it at Right Start store. Funny thing is I left it at home accidentally LOL. But anyway we didnt have any problems with someone taking our stroller.

 

[Ambassador]

One year we used a combination bicycle lock through the wheels on our new expensive stroller. It was moved by staff as needed, and we always easily found it because of the small american flag we had attached (we figured patriotism may discourage theft).

The following year before our trip, we couldn't find the damn lock, so we toured the parks in our expensive stoller without it. And did so for several years after. Later, The Ambassador casually asked Mrs. Ambassador, "I wonder what ever happened to that lock?" "It's right here, in this little pocket, in the stroller", she said. And it had been there all along.

Now the kids are older, and we occasionally rent a stroller if the kids are tired, and sometimes The Ambassador wishes he had some king of ride on, but we never worry about locks again.