Stolen Stroller

[beachdreamr1229]

Sorry to hear. I always worry about our stroller. I can't wait until my twins are older and we can just take a cheap double umbrella stroller. Most people get by without ever having a stroller stolen, but this is a nice reminder that it does happen, so be smart.

 

[GatorChris]

Man, this is lousy. This is the first I've heard of this. Never heard about it when I frequented WDW and spent time daily on those boards. Sad to hear it happens at DL. Guess I'll need to mark my stroller with something obnoxious so that no one would want to steal it. And I always carry a backpack with our sweaters/ponchos/cameras in it. We NEVER leave that stuff in the stroller. Maybe just a bag with drinks and snacks, but that's it. Even if they did snag the stroller, it would be far easier to take loose articles sitting in the bottom and not ever be questioned.

 

[JoeyEmmaMomma]

This happened to us a few weeks ago at the Magic Kingdom. It was very upsetting. We filled out a lost and found form, but it never turned up.

 

[ClaraOswald]

To the poster who thinks this is a Disneyland thing and NOT a problem at WDW...I am willing to bet it happens there just as often.

I was super worried about theft since it was our first trip with a stroller. We made sure to bring a cheap one (cost us about $55 at Babies R Us and it had a decent basket, which is why I liked it.) We also put our last name all over it. I saw a LOT of expensive strollers and honestly, I think people are taking a pretty big risk because most people recognize expensive stroller by brand name. So they can easily become a target for theft. Where as a cheapy stroller isn't going to get noticed much.

We left a backpack in our stroller while going on rides. But it was an old/cheap one. And all that was in it were diapers/wipes. I did leave my sweatshirt in the bottom but it was just an old/plain one so it wasn't a big deal if anything happened to it. All other personal items were in my fanny pack which stayed on me the whole time.

I am thankful our stroller was always waiting for us after the rides. It was only moved once, I think.

It's sad that theft happens. People are jerks.

 

[RobertaMomof2]

I am so sorry to hear this, although not surprised.

We always brought our good strollers, but at the same time I brought a bike lock. You never want to lock the stroller to anything (like a fence or whatever) because the CM's do need to move them from time to time. What I used to do is put the lock through the wheel and into the frame of the stroller of the stroller. That way the CM could move the stroller if need be (by holding it sideways a bit and just rolling on the one wheel) but if someone stole it, they wouldn't get far easily. Someone did try and steal it once, they went through the basket (only diapers and dirty baby clothes so they didn't steal anything) and we found it probably 50-80 feet further down than we left it (CM's didn't move it as all the other strollers were in the same spots). This all happened over by POTC. I was really thankful I took the time to use the bike lock, it saved me with only a little inconvenience each time we needed to go someplace. In fact my husband thought I was crazy (and gave me a hard time) to lock it each time, of course until it almost got stolen day 3 of a 5 day parkhopper ticket. He was quiet after that HA HA HA.

All the best to you!

 

[momtohms]

I'm so sorry that happened to you I'm planning on bringing our Phil & Teds with us, it's 8 years old now and (mostly) functions fine - but you can tell it is well loved I wasn't too worried about it, but it would be a bummer to have it go missing so I will definitely look into a wheel lock.

 

[GoBears 1980]

I guess my point is ......even at Disney you need to lock up your things.

I would NEVER take in my own stroller, I'd ALWAYS use Disney's and never leave anything in them.

 

[todzwife]

We always customize our strollers with neon name tags, battery powered Christmas lights etc. I think an identifiable stroller is less likely to get swiped. Sorry your stroller was stolen

 

[ClaraOswald]

I would NEVER take in my own stroller, I'd ALWAYS use Disney's and never leave anything in them.

I used to have that mindset. Then I realized I wanted a stroller in the airport. And for the walk to and from our hotel.

 

[Dentam]

I'd be willing to bet that there are people who get an annual pass just to go into the parks to steal things like this and resell them to make money. It would be easy to walk out with a stroller or other items and CM's would assume they belonged to that person. Sad but there will always be people like that out there.

 

[disneymom2003]

Thanks for all the replies. Our family actually talked about the fact it is probably someone who got a season pass just for this reason. The security officer we talked to said they get 3 or 4 reports a day. Sometimes they find them at the end of the day. Really sad that this happens. My daughter has decided next time she goes she will indeed lock her stroller up. Lesson learned.

 

[todzwife]

My daughter has decided next time she goes she will indeed lock her stroller up. Lesson learned.

Just be aware you can't lock it to anything in the park, you can lock the tires together but if you lock it to a gate or a pole they'll cut it.

 

[disneymom2003]

Our family actually talked about the idea some might buy a season pass just for this reason. Oh well. Can't change things now. Just learn from it. We did get a new stroller and a lock. I guess we could rent but it is much easier with 2 little ones to have them together. I would also stress.....never leave anything in the stroller even if it is a rental.

 

[tanyaegangibson]

Ours was stolen on the last day of a 6-day vacation when my son was 3. Right outside Napa Rose, where we were having a last-night, three-generation dinner. Annoying. Frustrating. And terrible for last day, even with the free rental, which couldn't leave the park. But that was the end of strollers, which ended up being a good thing. By age 4, our son hadn't seen one in a year and could be counted upon to walk all day in a park, theme park, or anywhere else.

Yeah, it sucks to have stuff stolen, but I can't tell you how nice it was to have two kids (at that age, 4 and 7), who were expecting to walk around themselves the whole time and even carry their own water bottles.

 

[Allison]

Man, this is lousy. This is the first I've heard of this. Never heard about it when I frequented WDW and spent time daily on those boards. Sad to hear it happens at DL. Guess I'll need to mark my stroller with something obnoxious so that no one would want to steal it. And I always carry a backpack with our sweaters/ponchos/cameras in it. We NEVER leave that stuff in the stroller. Maybe just a bag with drinks and snacks, but that's it. Even if they did snag the stroller, it would be far easier to take loose articles sitting in the bottom and not ever be questioned.

It happens at WDW too. You just must have missed posts about it. It's unfortunate but thieves go to theme parks too.

 

[Jerry Horne]

Disney needs to do a sting operation!

 

[larryz]

If you have an expensive stroller, you could set one of these up on your stroller, and you'll get an email if it moves, and locations to find it when it does...

 

[l4dyj8]

So sorry to hear this. Even when you don't leave any valuables, it can still dampen a visit.
I'm always paranoid with theft. But part of me relaxes a bit when I see Bugaboos with Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags. Like if they can leave that, we should be fine! But I am well aware that is never the case. Thanks for the tips above. I often wondered how difficult it is for the CMs to move the strollers with a lock though.

 

[cpster]

We use a cable lock like this one through the back wheels and frame in our double. Sometimes I think it's a pain, but suppose it's better to take those extra few minutes than lose our expensive stroller.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000X...cable+lock&dpPl=1&dpID=414SZB5vBdL&ref=plSrch

 

[KeKy4]

My In-Laws were able to remove the back wheel off of their stroller so would just take it with them when going on rides.