Stolen stroller poll

[bumbershoot]

There is nothing that we can do to prevent to happen again, the backpack was really a big backpack and have my son name on it and still the person made the mistake.

Best thing you can do in the future is to take that backpack with you onto rides. That way if someone takes the stroller, at least you're not out anything else.

I can understand someone being there and deciding to steal but paying to get in to start with just to steal I don't get. I personally have never had my stroller stolen. we never leave anything under it imortant so hopefully that has helped us. We don't need a stroller anymore.

If you see how inexpensive a so cal AP is, and imagine selling ONE stroller from each day you enter the park with it, you can see that it would end up being worth it, to a criminal.



And if you start thinking like that, and look around at allllll the stuff people leave out there for ages on their strollers, gosh just the unattended Petunia Picklebottom diaper bags (which were absolutely out of our reach financially when DS was still in dipes) alone made me think bad thoughts, you'll start wondering what on earth people are thinking...

 

[munchkinsmom]

Hello! Our MacLaren double stroller was stolen while parked in front of the Small World attraction in a designated stroller parking lot during our Labor Day Weekend trip back in 2005. I think it was Day One of a four-day trip. We immediately reported it stolen and checked each of the days we were there to see if it was returned. Alas, we never saw it again (along with our diaper bag). So yes, it definitely can happen.

 

[DBMC]

Hello! Our MacLaren double stroller was stolen while parked in front of the Small World attraction in a designated stroller parking lot during our Labor Day Weekend trip back in 2005. I think it was Day One of a four-day trip. We immediately reported it stolen and checked each of the days we were there to see if it was returned. Alas, we never saw it again (along with our diaper bag). So yes, it definitely can happen.

Just curious, did you have any special flags or anything tied to your stroller to make it stand out?

 

[kristie73]

Yes! But it was the one you rent at the park. We had our personal stroller for my then 3 year old ds. My then 7 year old ds was just so tired, so we rented him one. He loved it for the first hour we had it. We parked it at a ride (far from the entrance and stroller rental) and came back and it was gone. All we had in it was maps and a baggie of goldfish crackers. I think we should have decorated it because maybe someone mistakenly took it. But still my poor 7 year old was so bummed. I was pissed! We let them know at the stroller rental, but we didn't need another one...it was the end of our stay.

 

[nicolispicoli]

I see people mentioning chaining the wheels and although you still can move it, I think CM's frown upon it because it makes their job much harder. And technically, I don't think it's allowed. Not sure they can do much about it once it's there and locked, but still.

For me, I would be more worried about using a rented resort stroller and leaving anything in it. I have left items on all occasions I have been the DLR and never had anything stolen. Since you never know, I only keep the diaper bag and replaceable items in the stroller while it's parked. I always carry my wallet, camera and other valuables in my small drawstring backpack.

 

[cyclenut]

I have been told by a CM that locking a stroller to anything is not allowed. They can (and have) cut the lock off. I suppose if you want to run a cable lock through the wheels and not attach it to anything, that wouldn't be against any rules and would make it much harder for anyone to take it.

 

[munchkinsmom]

Just curious, did you have any special flags or anything tied to your stroller to make it stand out?

It's certainly a good idea to make your stroller as inconspicuous and generic as possible. I do recall having a cheap stroller fan hooked up to the front. I forgot to tell my mom and dad to remove the fan and place it in the basket underneath before taking the kids to the Small World ride while DH and I did Space Mountain. While I really bummed about the stroller being gone, I really felt for my folks. They felt awful about it and blamed themselves for the theft. Each time I think of this incident, I have a mental image of my poor dad standing where Main Street splits near the train station for over an hour, despite my insistence to not worry about it, watching all the strollers go by to see if one of them was ours.

As much as I loved the time when my children were little, I'm so glad I don't have to worry about a stroller anymore.

 

[DisneylandPlanner]

Never had a stroller stolen in all the years we've been going. We did have times when the CM's move the strollers around to clear out space, though. Initial thoughts were that the stroller was stolen, but after looking around a bit, we saw that it was just moved.

I always thought this was the most common scenario. Followed by mistaken identity of stroller, especially if they have been moved. I figured if Disneyland had an issue with strollers being stolen regularly it would have to be addressed.

 

[DisneytheKid]

I'm glad to see that the majority of the respondants said they didn't have their strollers stolen!

 

[starshine514]

It's certainly a good idea to make your stroller as inconspicuous and generic as possible.

Really? I've always heard that the opposite prevents theft. That way, nobody can mistakenly take it and it will be easier to spot if somebody does steal it.

 

[Pearl_Mirror]

I really think that more stuff is stolen out of strollers then the actual stroller itself. We have never had a stroller stolen from all my niece and nephews but things taken out of them sometimes really dumb things or bottles of water and when we went to Sea World the towel I had bought the daughter was stolen out of it from the basket.

So I don't think its so much worry of the stroller but the whats in the stroller.

 

[mrswh]

We have had things stolen *from* our stroller.

And we have had one rental stroller taken, by someone, entirely out of the land we were in (critter country). It was *nowhere* to be found, and we looked, because we know CMs move them. But it was gone. No biggie, because after the thefts from our strollers we leave nothing, not even a bottle of water (I don't want a squirrel licking the cap and I don't want a human messing with it, and once someone put that into my head it was there for good...and I've seen squirrels roaming through strollers touching everything in there including food and sippy cups, etc) and you can just go to the rental places and get another if that happens, but still, annoying.

We have never had our stroller, or anything in it, stolen. However; we have had our rental stroller disappear. Some may disagree, but I believe in being efficient, so if someone took our rental stroller (and I am giving the benefit of the doubt here and assuming that they did rent a stroller and just mistakenly took the wrong one), I'd just take someone else's rental stroller (with nothing in it, of course) rather than going back to the rental place to get a new one. They are interchangeable and there are about 4 billion at every ride (and everywhere else) so I really think it's irrelevant which one you take if there is nothing in it.

 

[starshine514]

We have never had our stroller, or anything in it, stolen. However; we have had our rental stroller disappear. Some may disagree, but I believe in being efficient, so if someone took our rental stroller (and I am giving the benefit of the doubt here and assuming that they did rent a stroller and just mistakenly took the wrong one), I'd just take someone else's rental stroller (with nothing in it, of course) rather than going back to the rental place to get a new one. They are interchangeable and there are about 4 billion at every ride (and everywhere else) so I really think it's irrelevant which one you take if there is nothing in it.

So then your problem becomes someone else's problem? I beg people not to do this. If your rental stroller comes up missing, don't steal somebody else's rental stroller, take your receipt back and get a new one.

 

[mrswh]

So then your problem becomes someone else's problem? I beg people not to do this. If your rental stroller comes up missing, don't steal somebody else's rental stroller, take your receipt back and get a new one.

It's not a problem if the "someone else" just takes another one. The rental strollers are all the same - unless there are only a very few at a particular ride (which is never the case - there are always a zillion coming and going) then it shouldn't matter which one people take. IMO, the only way it becomes a problem is if (a) you take one that has someone else's things in it; or (b) there are so few strollers at the ride that someone comes out and they are all gone.

Let's look at the other option. I shlep all my stuff and my two kids (let's pretend they are still stroller age) all the way back to the stroller rental place. (Carrying my stuff and making kids walk is defeating the entire purpose of getting a stroller to begin with, right?) It takes a whole lot of time out of my day. Meanwhile, what if the person who erroneously took mine realizes this an hour later and spends 30 minutes of their park time going back to bring back the stroller. Then, at the end of the night, there is an extra stroller (times however many people have done this) for the Disney folks to drag back to the stroller rental place. A whole lot of wasted time for everyone involved. And we're doing this why? So that everyone can end up with the EXACT SAME STROLLER they would have had if everyone treated the rental strollers as interchangeable.

 

[munchkinsmom]

Really? I've always heard that the opposite prevents theft. That way, nobody can mistakenly take it and it will be easier to spot if somebody does steal it.

I guess it would be true if it was a case of mistaken stroller identity, but unfortunately, since thieves actually stole our stroller it didn't work for us. My guess is that our stroller probably stood out among all the others similar type of strollers because of the fan....easier to spot and tempting to take, maybe?

Now that I think of it (it's been seven years since our experience), my DD's new Mickey Mouse doll was also left in the stroller when my folks took the kids on the Small World ride. Even more of a temptation to take it, right?

Bottom line, while stroller thefts (the kinds where people actually steal the stroller, not accidentally take it) are uncommon, they do happen at the DLR and families need to be aware of this possibility and take precautions. I hope that our experience doesn't happen to anyone. We still had fun that weekend, but the magic was gone and it took a while for us to feel comfortable again. After that experience we took our diaper bag with us when we'd go on rides, and ALWAYS cable locked our replacement stroller, making it difficult to wheel it off. It was a PITA to lock it, but gave us peace of mind.

Just my two cents...

 

[starshine514]

It's not a problem if the "someone else" just takes another one. The rental strollers are all the same - unless there are only a very few at a particular ride (which is never the case - there are always a zillion coming and going) then it shouldn't matter which one people take. IMO, the only way it becomes a problem is if (a) you take one that has someone else's things in it; or (b) there are so few strollers at the ride that someone comes out and they are all gone.

Let's look at the other option. I shlep all my stuff and my two kids (let's pretend they are still stroller age) all the way back to the stroller rental place. (Carrying my stuff and making kids walk is defeating the entire purpose of getting a stroller to begin with, right?) It takes a whole lot of time out of my day. Meanwhile, what if the person who erroneously took mine realizes this an hour later and spends 30 minutes of their park time going back to bring back the stroller. Then, at the end of the night, there is an extra stroller (times however many people have done this) for the Disney folks to drag back to the stroller rental place. A whole lot of wasted time for everyone involved. And we're doing this why? So that everyone can end up with the EXACT SAME STROLLER they would have had if everyone treated the rental strollers as interchangeable.

If Disneyland agreed with your logic, there wouldn't be namecards on the strollers. Just because somebody else took your stroller doesn't make it alright for you to take somebody else's stroller. Have you asked when you rented the stroller what to do if yours disappears? Was their advice to just take anybody else's stroller that's sitting nearby?

 

[starshine514]

I guess it would be true if it was a case of mistaken stroller identity, but unfortunately, since thieves actually stole our stroller it didn't work for us. My guess is that our stroller probably stood out among all the others similar type of strollers because of the fan....easier to spot and tempting to take, maybe?

Now that I think of it (it's been seven years since our experience), my DD's new Mickey Mouse doll was also left in the stroller when my folks took the kids on the Small World ride. Even more of a temptation to take it, right?

Yup, both your fan and Mickey Mouse doll are what I would consider 'valuables' that would tempt thieves. I think others have recommended making the stroller standout by doing thinks like attaching nametags (or a lime green Mickey head) and perhaps running ribbons, etc around the handle to make it unusual. Myself, I normally take a cheaper full-size stroller with sun fading on the sunshade and a LGMH attached. I also take all my valuables out before leaving the stroller. My stroller's always been there when I've returned.

 

[mrswh]

If Disneyland agreed with your logic, there wouldn't be namecards on the strollers. Just because somebody else took your stroller doesn't make it alright for you to take somebody else's stroller. Have you asked when you rented the stroller what to do if yours disappears? Was their advice to just take anybody else's stroller that's sitting nearby?

There is no need to get upset, my kids are too old for a stroller now, so the parks are safe!!

I stand by my point, though. It just doesn't make any sense to me for everyone to go through such a hassle when it can be so easily avoided.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Our adult niece went a few years ago and their umbrella stroller was stolen never to be seen again.

We have taken both our Peg Perego and Maclaren strollers to DW and DL and never had a problem, but the thought of leaving them "out there" and unlocked gave my DH a lot of hearburn each and every trip. He would have locked them up if I would have agreed to it.

 

[todzwife]

This makes me happy to see. SO although it does happen, it seems to be few and far between.