OK, I'm SCARED

[LMEJ]

Last year we went to DW with another family. 3 kids total, ages 9, 7, and 6. at Blizzard Beach, the kids were walking ahead of us down one of the paths and pretty soon we couldn't see them any more. The paths have lots of turns and apparently they turned off one thinking we were still behind them. Because everyone had on bathing suits, no one had contact info (we always have a card with our cell phone in our son's pocket). Let me tell you, even though that park isn't that big, it was a good 1/2 hour until we found them. You should definitely tell your kids to STAND STILL if they get separated. The kids kept wandering looking for us, and ended up on the other side of the park.

 

[mikymouse]

I got lost at Disney as a child (5) and I REALLY didn't want my kids to experience that... those 5 minutes made an impression and adults all look alike at a certain height. I got the metal pet tags with our cell phones to lace on their shoes but more importantly I had vacation rules (only 3) and the number one rule was stay with Mom & Dad. I also told them if they ever got lost to find someone who worked at a Disney Cash Register, they could easily find the closest place to buy something and I felt comforable that no danagerous strangers would be hanging out behind the counter. Thank Goodness they never did stray! I have several friends that lost their kids at the water parks because everyone looks similar in a bathing suit.... we didn't go so I am not sure of the strategies for those parks.

 

[hannahsmomma]

I just thought I would add our lost story at dw. I was not worried about this prior to our 1st trip with dd 4 at the time because she is very good abot staying with us. We went to honey I shrunk the kids playground at MGM, there is a maze of tunnels there that lead to a slide. The parents send there kids in and wait for them to come down the slide. Well dd went in and did not come right out so I panicked thinking I must have missed seeing her come down the slide. Every parent in the place went in to search mode and we got a CM and he went in the tunnel with a flashlight and found her lost inside. It was the scariest 5 minutes of my entire life. DD was fine, she said to me, "what's wrong mommy, I was just trying to find the slide." Last year when we went I found a lost child. We were in Epcot and had stopped to watch a show ( mass crowd) the show ended and people spread out (mass confusion) we were walking over the bridge when I saw a girl about 2 crying momma momma. I picked her up and found a CM who took her to the lost child area. He told me, there is no such thing as a lost child at disney, only lost parents. Point of the stories, even if you lose a child, there are enough parents and CMs around that he/she will be found and taken to the lost child area, and every park has one. Just do what the op said and take precautions and try to relax.

 

[Ellester]

Well, despite the best intentions and careful watching, kids do get lost at Disney every single day. Last week my 6 year old nephew wandered away (while being watched by my mother, had been sitting by a fountain with the 4 other kids in our party) and he was gone before we knew it at Downtown Disney. Three adults in our party went searching, we notified the cashier where we were (Puck Express) and they called security. He was found crying by a mother near the Rainforest Cafe and taken into the Art of Disney where a Cast Member let him draw while they figured out where he belonged. I would tell your boys that if they do get separated from you that they are to find a CM with a badge and tell them that they are lost. Disney is well versed at reuniting kids and parents. As soon as you notice one of them is missing notify the nearest CM and they will go into action.

Our nephew was found after a very scary 20 minutes or so. Once he was found, I asked the security CM how many kids get lost at DTD in a day and he said "plenty".

I wouldn't be overly worried. Hopefully you won't have to deal with a lost child at all, but if you do Disney is better prepared to help you find them than most places. Have fun!

 

[loveysbydesign]

We took our 1st trip this past May and I bought I.D. inside bracelets for my kids, ds wore his on his wrist and dd wore hers on her ankle. I was so glad we had them, especially when a little boy (about age 7) was lost near us.
My dh took him to a cm and then while he took ds on Splash Mtn. my dd and I kept a watch out for frantic parents. About 10 minutes later I saw a woman about 10 feet away from me coming up over the hill towards Splash, she looked distraught and she turned back around and started to walk away. I screamed as loud as I could "Are you looking for you son?" She ran over to me and said yes and I directed her to her son who was w/ cm at entrance to Thunder RR.
I was really choked up thinking that could have been one of my kids, thank goodness for those bracelets. We put mine and dh's cell phone #'s and my inlaws home # on them just in case!

 

[DawnM]

and I paniced! Mostly because of all the water.

My 2 older sons had gone into one of the caves and my youngest ended up exiting on the other side. He wandered the island for over 20 minutes with me a mess!

When he finally came into sight he was walking hand in hand with a CM looking for me.

My DH was quite upset with me and still talks about me losing my son at Disneyland!

BUT......here is what I would suggest.

Pin (or whatever works) an ID on your child with his/her name, your cell phone number, etc....if he is found by a CM they will call. Tell your dc that if he gets lost to FIND A CM OR A MOMMY. Other Mommies are very helpful to lost children!

From the time I lost my ds that one time I made sure and showed the kids what a CM tag looked like so they would know who to contact/approach.

Dawn

 

[summerlandjeff]

My wife is also very paranoid about our DD12 getting lost (less now at 12 than when she was 6). This is what we do;

1. ALWAYS have a designated meeting spot that everyone knows and can remember (better yet write it down). If separated for more than 10 mins., go to the spot. Be specific; In MK it's the statue of Walt holding Mickey's hand.

2. ALWAYS have communications; cell phone or walkie talkie. Our daughter carried a rechargeable VHF radio when she was younger and now has her own cell phone.

3. ALWAYS have ID. Our DD carries her school ID. When she was younger we made up a handfull of business cards that said; "Hi. I am lost. My name is Alex. My mom's cell phone number is 123-456-7890. Please call her. Thank you". She was told if she ever got lost, go to the nearest cast member and hand them the card.

Thankfully we never needed them but that was our safety net.

 

[sammyteach]

We lost my DS 7 at bb this summer. He ran in front of us as we left the wave pool. He needed a wee and dashed for the loo we lost sight of him and some how missed him. I ran back to our base no sign , went into loo again no sign. I told DH and he ran to check paths etc whilst I took DD to lost kids. He had not been handed in and by now I was panicking big style. he is a good swimmer but I was imagining the worst,strangers in loos ,drowning getting kidnapped out of the park gates!

Dh was sharp with the CM as he wanted them to tannoy the park with an announcement but they said their system is to wait until chn are taken to a lifeguard (who are all given descriptions of lost child).

Anyway thank goodness he was found and returned to lost kids some nice people had seen him crying and took him to a life guard.

when all had calmed I explained my worries of him leaving the park and she explained that the description goes to the guard gate CM who will stop any groups leaving with a child who fits that description and they insist on talking to the child ...whats your name buddy who is this you are with etc. Dont know if this is true but it made sense to me and made me feel better.

 

[lovesdumbo]

In the past I've used a wallet sized family photo that I write our resort and cell phone numbers on and then laminate. I figured if on of my children got lost they could show the CM the photo and say I'm with these people and show them our phone number. On my last trip I did purchase the whoshoesid and those worked great.

I have thought about the silicone bracelets but have never ordered them. Here's a link to a site that does them. They even have toddler sized ones:

http://rekeydesigns.com/comersus/store/comersus_listItems.asp?idCategory=4

 

[shellyfive]

We lost our then 6yr dd (the blonde)a few years ago around the bend from Small World. Philharmagic had just let out, and there are thousands of people filing out of this theater, and here we come around the corner! I was holding the baby's and the next youngest's hands, and my daughter was on the other side of the baby holding his hand-----well somehow he let go, and she went to grab him back and had another little girls hand instead....we get across to go on SW, and she's not there-----AND we were all holding hands!!! Once she realized she wasn't with us a few ways ahead, she went and found a cast member and told her she was lost, and that she knew we were going to SM.-----In the mean time, i went to another cast member to tell them she was lost, and didn't get hysterical until they made me describe her----i knew everything she was wearing---and kept thinking "oh my God, I'll never see her again......they immediately sent her description out---and i was told to go down to the lost child place on main street.......I went back to SW to tell my dh where I needed to go, and there in a slew of cast people is my Brenna!!!! They tried SW first, because she told them we were headed there....she's crying, I'm crying, crowd people are crying.....we decided to ride the ride then (this was to be the first ride of the day!!!) and we had gotten quite a few looks from people as we are on the SWboats crying our eyes out!!!! I very glad she was calm enough to get help, and that she knew where we were headed. She was holding a hand as she was told and somehow still got seperated from us----so just make sure you have whatever plan you are going to follow in place, before you get to the parks!!

 

[ksoehrlein]

With 3-4 adults I am sure the kids will be fine.

Actually, I tend to feel more confident when I'm the only adult. Weird, huh? But if I know it's just me and the kids, I never think someone else is keeping an eye on them -- I'm always "on."

Weird timing. DD just asked me yesterday what we would do if we got separated at the parks. I turned the question back on her and asked what she would do and thank goodness, she had the right answer: "Look for someone who works there who's wearing a Disney name tag." I reassured her that Mommy and Daddy both know exactly where the Lost Child centers are in each parks (multiple trips as a nursing Mommy will burn those Child Care Center locations into your brain) AND that everyone who works there knows that's where to take lost kids, so we'd be reunited ASAP.

 

[vhoffman]

A tip my kids learned in school about how to identify a "safe person" go into a store and insist they open the cash register. If they can open it, they're an employee. If they can't, they should be able to contact someone who can if they're an employee.