Stolen Stroller

[disneymom2003]

We are season pass holders and have been many times. Unfortunately today someone thought it would be a good day to steal our stroller ( my daughter's). It was not a cheap one ęather. It was a Bob. We had decided to go on Pirates and parked along with everyone else. We have done it many many times. Well some one took it. We did not leave the babies things in it but did leave 4 of our 6 sweatshirts in the bottom. What is wrong with people? We spent the rest of the day looking at every stroller that passed us just hoping to find it. Well no such luck. This happened about 1:30 in the afternoon so we had the rest of the day. Unfortunately we did not find the stroller but security was very nice and got us two complimentary strollers for both the little ones. I would also like to mention how very grateful I am to two lovely cast members at the store in California Adventure. Upon hearing my sweatshirt had been stolen with the stroller gifted me a new one. I guess my point is ......even at Disney you need to lock up your things.

 

[sophies*mom]

That is really awful, I'm sorry. I don't understand how somebody could be so desperate as to steal something like that while at Disneyland.

 

[Gisele]

Calling all cars....an apb for a one Bob stollen stroller. No child was in said Bob at the time. BOLO ......






Sorry about that.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

So sorry to hear this. Try looking on eBay for your stroller. It happens. Then, if you find it, you can report it to the police and eBay. Stroller theft is unfortunately too common at DLR -- it should be nonexistent, you would think. Glad to hear that other CMs were able to share some pixie dust to improve your visit.

 

[starshine514]

Since BOBs are expensive, it may have been stolen for the stroller itself, unfortunately. I see strollers loaded down with everything at Disneyland, just left sitting unattended. We always take everything with us - if we would be upset if it disappeared, it goes with us. We're typically careful to make sure we have backpack space for everything. What gets left? Usually drinks (soda, Starbucks), occasionally water bottles (the reusable, filter kind).

 

[01spirit750]

We always took our old beat up Graco stroller. The Graco was given to me by my coworker after his kids did not need it anymore. It was great, since we did not care if the airlines beat it up or if it got lost. We always used a backpack for all of our stuff so we could quickly grab the backpack from the bottom of the stoller and never leave anything in the stroller.

The ironic part was we liked our second hand Graco more then our expensive Britex that we had purchased new.

I have read some funny stuff about how to prevent people from touching your stoller.
1. take a new diaper and pour a bunch of hearsheys chocolate syrup in it and mash it around. Then leave this on the top of your stoller.
2. customize it with colored duct tape
3. lock the wheels with some sort of locking device

 

[KalamityJane]

Check lost and found too, maybe someone didn't have a stroller and grabbed it to use during the day (crappy, but I have heard of that happening).

Also, check Craigslist, if it was stolen to sell, that would be the first place I'd check. Any FB resale sites for the area too.

 

[dtnrhi]

We have occasionally used a bicycle lock in the past with my brother's bob.

It does, however, work as his "wheelchair" since the real ones no longer work for him. If it were stolen, it would be a bit more problematic for us, both at the parks and moving forward.

 

[tdhickey]

That sucks, I've been many times with a Phil & Ted stroller and never had any issues, but at the same time I have heard of this happening to at least a few. Instead of locking up I'd prefer to take a cheap stroller next time, locking and unlocking seems like such a pain.

 

[superlarz]

I only went to the park with a stroller on memorial day this year and it got stolen. its was a super cheap stroller so not a big deal, but very annoying

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I would check lost and found... Often people grab the stroller that looks like theirs... And realize it later. It could have also been moved by a cm (sounds like you were in a legit parking spot tho.). I think more often the stroller is mistaken or moved and not necessarily stolen. Especially if you had it parked all the way by pirates... It's a long way to the front gates and pretty risky to push it all that way and not be spotted by the true owner.

 

[Ratherbeatdisneyland]

This is just so sad and frustrating! We will be taking our stroller to the park, and it really makes me consider locking it and doing the duct tape thing just to make it less likely to be stolen. SAD...I don't know how people live with themselves!

 

[TheLanes]

How did the conversation start at the store where you got the free sweatshirt?

 

[sophies*mom]

I have read some funny stuff about how to prevent people from touching your stoller.
1. take a new diaper and pour a bunch of hearsheys chocolate syrup in it and mash it around. Then leave this on the top of your stoller.
2. customize it with colored duct tape
3. lock the wheels with some sort of locking device

I made a laminated sign with our names on it and our contact info on the back. I punched holes in the sign and zip tied it to the handle. We had borrowed a sit and stand stroller from friends and I didn't want it to get mistaken for somebody else's or stolen, so I made it very obvious who belonged to. I had a CM comment on our sign, how he hadn't seen other strollers like that before, so I'm glad I did it!

I agree, if you haven't already, to talk to lost and found. Mistaken identity does happen a lot, but unfortunately, so does theft.

 

[SeaTownGal]

This is so disappointing but I'm glad you shared because I honestly hadn't even considered the possibility of it being stolen. We also have a double BOB that would resell for $500 easy.*

We don't have the option of taking a different stroller and have actually only hung onto this one specifically for this trip with the intention of selling it as soon as we come back.

Looks like I need to get creative on ways to lock up the wheels that won't be a huge pain.

 

[rms123]

That really sucks - so sorry to hear about it. We parked once in front of River Belle Terrace by the river and CMs moved it all the way into adventure land. Very aggravating.

 

[nicolispicoli]

I made a laminated sign with our names on it and our contact info on the back. I punched holes in the sign and zip tied it to the handle. We had borrowed a sit and stand stroller from friends and I didn't want it to get mistaken for somebody else's or stolen, so I made it very obvious who belonged to. I had a CM comment on our sign, how he hadn't seen other strollers like that before, so I'm glad I did it!

I agree, if you haven't already, to talk to lost and found. Mistaken identity does happen a lot, but unfortunately, so does theft.

This is a really good idea! My dd3 always refuses to sit in the stroller, so I stopped bringing it. Of course when I stopped, she wanted me to carry her through the park (NO way little lady!) and then asked me to rent one. Needless to say, this next time, I am going to just bring the little fold up one and park it just in case. But I think I will definitely slap a sigh on it as it looks like a million other black fold up strollers.

 

[JR619]

Jumping in a few weeks late... but just got back from DLand. Stroller was stolen an hour after we arrived, making for a very frustrating day. Here's my experience:

We have been season pass holders from San Diego since 2009. We've probably been to DL/CA 150 times over that period. Not one issue until today.

Was looking forward to a nice little day with my 4 year old, just the 2 of us. He wanted to ride POTC first. Did that, then headed to get a raft to Pirate's Lair (Tom Sawyer) island. Parked the stroller (single seat BOB) near the raft entrance, along with many other strollers. Took my backpack out- thank God. Returned 45 min later-- no stroller.

Being a Disney veteran, this did not alarm me at all. Stroller movement happens all the time. So we searched. And searched. And searched. Then I got that sick feeling.

The first cast member I could find was a custodial member. He assured me that I parked in the correct location and that they did not move strollers from that location. Uh oh. He called security, waited with us, and got my son a cotton candy.

Security came, took a report, and then did his own thorough search of the entire area in front of Haunted Mansion, rafts, train station, Cafe Orleans, & the Fantasmic riverfront. No luck. He let me know my options were to report it to Lost & Found (I did) and/or file a police report with Anaheim PD (I didnt). He got us a complimentary stroller for the rest of the day.

My jacket was in the stroller, the only item I left there. Caused us to leave earlier than planned, due to as the sun went down I got pretty cold. Checked on buying myself a new Disney jacket, but decided against the $50 price tag. Happy for the above poster who got a free one! Nice!

I'm not by nature a person that asks for or demands things. But as I'm thinking about it, I do wish I would have gone to City Hall to ask for a gift card or help with getting a new jacket at least. Hindsight.

My thoughts:

-I feel like I could have been "marked" going on the raft. Going over to the island guarantees you are out of reach/ eyesight etc etc of your stroller for an extended period. A somewhat predictable period of absence. Does that make sense? Even if I saw the person taking it while I was on the raft, what could I have done to stop it? Very little.

-the custodian & security guard were helpful and sympathetic. They did all they could, I feel.

- I probably should have gone to Guest Relations to at least inquire about compensation. I realize the "squeaky wheel gets the oil", but it's not my nature. I should have done it, at least to try for a gift card or something (?).

- of all the times I've been to DL, and ALL the times I've parked, unloaded strollers, kids etc etc all these years, I've only left my backpack (money, car keys, passes, my life!) maybe 3 or 4 times. I now realize that's 3 or 4 times too many. Don't ever do it. It's not worth the risk. I will never leave anything I care about in a stroller again.

- we are about to "age out" of the stroller years, otherwise I would definitely invest in a wheel lock. I still might

We love DL and wont stop going, but its sad that you can't even go to DL and feel your personal property is safe! Sorry this was long but I hope I helped someone by telling the story.

 

[Dentam]

I'm surprised the OP was given a free sweatshirt - very nice. In my opinion, it's not Disney's fault although I guess one could argue they need better security if this happens often.

 

[Malcon10t]

Depending on the value of your stroller, it may be covered by your homeowner's policy. If you have a low deductible (ie $250) and the BOB is worth $500, at least you could get $250 towards a new one.

Again, check with Lost and Found. Many of these are found in other areas as they see stuff in the stroller and move it to another area to check it out. Not much security could do about this. With a thousand strollers, they can't keep a match on who has which one....