Stollen Strollers

[justKim]

Hello all!

We are planning our first trip to WDW for the last week of April. I have read every thread on this page to get ready to take our preschooler and toddler to the Big World. After reading about strollers, I was wondering if theft is a poblem. I will need to take a stroller with us and I'm planning on buying a new one, but if having my stroller stollen is a real threat then I don't want to spend a lot on a new stroller. Has this happened to anyone or have you heard about this happening?


I love these boards and spend waaaaay too much time here.

thanks!

Kim

 

[Chris22]

I've never heard of strollers being stolen, but it is very easy to accidentally get mixed up. Two years ago I grabbed the wrong one, but luckly my wife noticed right away. My advice would be to buy a cheap umbrella stroller, and mark it with a bandana to prevent a mix-up.

 

[CEDmom]

I think if a stroller is taken it's by accident. I'd do something to make your stroller unique especially if it's a popular brand/fabric. Maybe you could paint the canopy with fabric paint.

 

[lindaso]

We do the same as the other posters suggested. We tie a couple of bright bandannas on the stroller handle. This helps us find it faster in the parking areas and it may deter someone from taking it. We also tend to leave the ID tags and gate check tags from the airline...more things for a potential thief to take off the stroller.

 

[justKim]

thanks for the advice. and thanks for not making fun of me for spelling "stolen"wrong. I've been reading about strollers for hours, so I guess the double L was inevitable.

Kim

 

[Deb & Bill]

Originally posted by justKim
thanks for the advice. and thanks for not making fun of me for spelling "stolen"wrong. I've been reading about strollers for hours, so I guess the double L was inevitable.

Kim

And here I thought the thread was about people walking around eating coffee cake.

 

[Momof5cubs]

I usually rent the ones in the parks and those always get stolen(I would like to say "taken by mistake", but it had our name on it) The last time I went I brought some pieces of rainbow ribbon and tied them around the handle, and it worked great, no missing stroller

 

[dmaz]

I've read somewhere(I think here on the boards) about a family attaching a bag with what looks like a dirty diaper in it. They said that the CM's didn't even touch the stroller.
I thought that was one of the best ideas I've heard. Would you touch a stroller with someone else's dirty diaper on it?

 

[CEDmom]

Originally posted by dmaz
I've read somewhere(I think here on the boards) about a family attaching a bag with what looks like a dirty diaper in it. They said that the CM's didn't even touch the stroller.
I thought that was one of the best ideas I've heard. Would you touch a stroller with someone else's dirty diaper on it?

That one's been in numerous guide books so I wouldn't bother.

 

[disneyfan551]

When we take our stroller to Disney, I buy the metallic wire that has stars (or whatever!) hanging from it, and wind it around the metal of the stroller! It looks very festive, having purple stars all over the stroller! (you can buy this at the Dollar Tree!)

Also, we drilled holes in the front of the child's snack tray, and looped on one of the mini license tags you can get for a bicycle. I personalized it with my dd's name, and it was cute! I don't think many thieves would want to go through the hassle of undoing all of the work we had done to this stroller...

 

[plutosmyfav]

We've left our stroller unattended for hours without a problem. The biggest problem is locating it! Definitely find a creative way to make it stand out. I tied long lime green ribbons to mine.

 

[moinab]

There was a recent post by a DISer who had his stroller stolen at WDW. He said it was personalized with ribbon. As much as we'd all like to believe these things only happen by accident, the cynic in me has no doubt that, on occasion, somebody who doesn't bother to bring their own stroller and has a tired, cranky kid on their hands, will grab the first one they see. There have also been reports of bags, stuffed animals, blankets, jackets, etc., being stolen out of strollers.

Having said all this, though, I do believe these are not very common experiences. We have been to WDW 5 times this year with our stroller. We tie a bandana to the handle, and have never had any problems. We leave the diaper bag in it, but take anything of value (monetary and sentimental) with us.

 

[justKim]

It would be nice if icky stroller-stealing types never get past the gate at Disney, but it is nice to know that there's not an overwhelming problem to have things taken while you are in line at a ride. We would only leave the diaper bag with the stroller and take everything else with us in a hip pack.

Originally posted by Deb & Bill
And here I thought the thread was about people walking around eating coffee cake.

I am hoping to find a stroller with handles tall enough for me to push with one hand and carry pastries in the other .

Kim

 

[winniedapooh]

We have been several times with our double and rented several times and, knock on wood, nothing taken here!

 

[marcyinPA]

We've never had a problem with stolen strollers, but we did leave our stroller out in a big mass of other strollers at MGM one time (outside of Playhouse Disney). It started to rain while we were inside, and when we came out, we noticed that all the strollers had been moved (or blown by the wind). It took us quite some time to locate ours....I started to panic that it may have been taken (of course, it was borrowed from a friend and not our own!!)... but after looking for a few minutes, we found it.

Just an FYI that they do get moved around sometimes and might not be in the same place you left it.