stolen stroller VENT !!!! my personal one

[bigsis1970]

Hi I am just posting a word of warning .. My umbrella stroller was stolen outside "its a small world" on Monday June 16 just after the afternoon rain storm.. We had been in the Tiki room during the rain so it was soaked .. we put on Poncho's , folded up the stoller as it was wet - soaking wet - and headed to Fantasyland. no line or waiting at IASM so in we go leaving the stroller folded up by all the other strollers. get off the ride and no stroller to be found !! asked a CM and she said a lady came by and picked it up and went off .. and while it wasn't very expensive that wasn't the point we had a tiny 5 yr girl who didn't like walking for the rest of the trip as that was our first day there !!!! ( its was my friends' DD and she didn't want to rent one for her ) Thanks for listening
Michelle

 

[Horizons16]

At least it wasnt a huge expensive one... and if you didnt lose any of your valualbes like a camera... or kids... it could be worse right?

I hope you still had a good rest of vacation though!

 

[peg2001]

It can happen. My SIL left her purse in her stroller at WDW while in an attraction. Of course it was gone when she returned. I don't know what she was thinking, even though someone would have had to dig through the basket for it, it wasn't in plain site.

Peggy

 

[lenshanem]

Wow... We always leave our bag under our basket with our stroller. Of course, I always have cards and money in a fanny pack on my waist. Usually it is baby stuff in the bag but that would still stink! Sorry to hear that.

 

[bigsis1970]

That is True - You are right it didn't ruin my vacation and we were all safe ( it may have ruined part of my friends though as she carried her around alot - altho they could have rented one ! )
Thanks Michelle

 

[cgcw]

I wonder whether the person took it by mistake. Did you ever check with lost & found to see if it was turned in?? Just curious.

 

[bigsis1970]

My friend checked when we were leaving the park and they gave her the number to the TTC and the person there said we would have to go over and wade through the hundreds they get a day, and she never made it over.

 

[welovedis]

My friend checked when we were leaving the park and they gave her the number to the TTC and the person there said we would have to go over and wade through the hundreds they get a day, and she never made it over.

Wow-that is weird! On our first trip to WDW in Sept 2000, we had our pretty expensive MacLaren stroller *taken* while we were riding Splash & BTMRR. I checked with a CM who directed us to the L & F at the TTC. They were extremely helpful and said that while they do get in some strollers everyday it is usually less than 25. Especially if you know where the stroller was taken from (ie MK, MGM, etc..) they are identified by the park they are found in and then by color, size, etc... We did go back several times during our trip but the stroller was never turned in.

Unfortunately so many of the strollers, especially umbrella strollers, look alike and I can even see how it can be an honest mistake. I'm not saying that there is no chance of a stroller being taken, since ours was, but it definitely is not the norm. Did you have any ID on the stroller (like a luggage tag)? Sometimes that helps in the safe return.

Sorry to hear the stroller got taken--we were lucky enough to get a few free stroller rentals by some nice CMs so it helped our situation out alot!

 

[bigsis1970]

Yep our Southwest luggage tag was on it with her information and our stroller has a grip on the handle that was worn a bit so the white of the stroller metal showed right through...

 

[princess angel]

that makes me very sad. How can someone stoop so low as to steal a stroller at WDW - or from anywhere for that matter!

It doesnt matter if it was a $20 umbrella stroller or a $150 peg perego, it is just the point of someone being so dishonest, and a pure thief!!!!!!!!! I know it can happen by mistake, but if the tags were on it, then they would have returned it if it were a mistake,
how awful! thank YOU for letting me VENT! that just really disturbs me.

Laura

20 days til WDW!!! yipppeee! and no stroller here for anyone to take!

 

[kilee]

You have to wonder what people are thinking when they steal. But then to steal something from a baby/young child while at Disney. I can't understand that sort of mentality.

 

[lenshanem]

Are you kidding?!? Think of the parents who throw their ten year olds in front of your two year old to see the parde while you've been waiting for over an hour. There can be some brutal peopel out there....

 

[NotUrsula]

"Yep our Southwest luggage tag was on it with her information ..."

I'm not belittling the annoyance of the situation, nor the fact that it is just plain evil to steal, but I have to point out that an airline tag does not stand out in the crowd at WDW, nor is it permanently and securely attached.

Probably at least 30 percent of all strollers standing around the MK on a given day have an airline luggage tag on them; those really don't do much to deter people who might take the wrong one by mistake. Most "stolen" strollers are abandoned somewhere on the property, either the same day or a few days later, but Disney can only identify it to return it to you if there is identification still attached. One good yank will remove a paper airline tag, and depending on what kind of pen was used to fill it out, the rain might have made that tag illegible, if it didn't dissolve it altogether.

If you plan to take your stroller to crowded public places where strollers are commonly left unattended, you need to take the time to put proper ID on it beforehand. For strollers, and also bicycles, I always put several plastic mailing labels in spots on the bottom and inside the joints of the frame, score them with a razor blade, and cement them down with clear waterproof sealant. (The same treatment I give the renewal tags on my car license plates.) I also put tags and such on the handles of my stroller to make it easy to spot, but the labels are there so that I can identify it for claim purposes.

Disney's L&F folks take their jobs seriously, and they will send lost items to you at home if they can identify the name and address of the owner.

 

[Sweethappiness]

I am sorry to hear about that.
I hope the rest of your trip went well.

 

[lindaso]

This is the reason we haven't taken our Peg Perego double stroller into the park. My DH is convinced someone would steal it. What I wind up doing with the stroller we do take is keep a wrapped-up used diaper (not smelly, just "used" ) and some wipes and leave it in plain sight. Don't know if it makes a difference but it might!!

 

[YesDear]

FYI Disney does have and excellent Lost and Found Dept. They are very good at cataloging items turned in. If someone wants to steal it they will, but many many people turn items in all the time.

Make sure your name at least is on everything worthy to be found.

 

[Oh Kay!]

This thread reminded me of the time someone stole my DS2's mickey mouse hat at MK. It happened the sunday before last Memorial Day. We'd gone to Tom Sawyer Isl, and because he didn't want to wear it, we left it draped on the stroller handle. It was gone when we got back.

About an hour before that incident, we'd left the stroller by to the Presidents' Hall to see the show. When we got back, a box of tissue that was previously tucked inside a pouch was hanging out, and the box was noticably emptier. Also, the rubber handle cover of the stroller was slashed. By the way, the stroller couldn't had been mistaken for someone else's since my DS4's school bag, with his name and the school logo that takes up the whole front, was sitting on it.

That was the day the Splash Mountain broke down while my DH and DS4 were waiting on line. After about 20 minutes, he called to ask if I knew why the line wasn't moving. I told him about the boat(?) being stuck right at the edge of the big drop. He then got out. But those poor people on the boats must had stayed stuck for about an hour, with no shading from the Florida sun.

I know it's a long post, but that whole day, especially the mickey hat incident has been nagging me. Thank you for letting me vent.

Kay

ps we should start another thread: what have you lost/got stolen at WDW?

Oh, one more thing. That sunday was our last day. Our flight was for 4:30 pm or so, but because of bad weather in Miami, we didn't get to leave MCO for another 2 hours. Obviously, May 25, 2003 was not a good day for us.

 

[UCD Lance]

Sorry to hear about that.

My girlfriend just recommended using a bicycle lock on strollers in order to prevent theft. One can simply loop the lock through to stroller's wheel and attach to the frame, so the wheel won't spin, or lock the stroller to a heavy object. Sounds like a good tip to me.

Lance


going on our first wdw trip on 7/4/03 - 7/10/03 at the Grand Floridian! YAY!

 

[Selket]

I'm just guessing that they won't let you lock your stroller to a fixture in the park because the CM's adjust the strollers at times as crowds come and go don't they? Putting a lock on the wheels is another thing however - guess the stroller could still be moved but just not easily - certainly no one would want to steal it.

I used my own stroller last time (a nice Peg Perego model) and had no problems. We did leave a diaper bag in it with just diapers and wipes. I'm not carrying his diapers with me on the rides! Seems like the unofficial guide recommends you getting a clean diaper and putting it in a bag and adding some water - enough to make the diaper looked soiled and yucky - and attaching that to the handle of your stroller to make it unappealing.

 

[Minnie Mare]

I don't know if they still do stroller rentals at WDW, but when my DS was 3 and DD was 5, (now 12 and 14) we rented one. We let them take turns using one. After exiting an attraction at Epcot, we found that our stroller was taken. At the time they wrote your name in big letters and it fit into a slot on top, no mistaking that, especially if you have a long and different last name. It was very annoying having to take the kids back to guest relations at the front of the park, DD was able to make the long walk but DS was not, so we had to carry him back. Sheesh, I don't know why people do this. If you have the slightest question in your mind as to if your child could walk, get the stroller or bring one. It's even worse when they take a personal stroller! It sort of brings you back to reality and absorbs some of the magic