Stroller Issues...

[michaelsmommy]

Does anyone ever have any problems with leaving items in/on their strollers while they're on a ride, in a restaurant, etc.? I'm hoping that I don't have to worry about theft in the happiest place on earth, but I don't know since this is the first time that I will be travelling with a stroller. I know you can rent lockers but $7 a day, but having to walk all the way back to it if I need something seems like a hassle. I thought about leaving my small cooler, our ponchos, maybe a few items of clothing (nothing of major value) in it at times. What do you think?

 

[CDSTapisRouge]

Although there are the occassional issues with strollers, they are not very common. As long as you are leaving things such as clothing, ponchos, etc as you stated you should be fine, just don't leave the camera, camcorder, etc. Also remember that each attraction/restaurant has a designated area for stroller parking, a lot of people park their strollers to go on a ride and when they come out they are not where they left them as the CM working the greeter position has moved them to the designated area or reorganized the area and may have moved the stroller. Don't panic if you find it is not where you left it...most times it was just moved by the CM's

 

[PrincessLindy]

We are always careful to not leave anything valuable in the stroller. You should be fine. We kept valuables in one backpack so that it could be easily grabbed when we were parking the stroller.

One word of caution is to be careful at all times. We were not thinking one night during a parade. Backpack was in the stroller, which because of space was behind us. Yup, backpack walked away. Good thing we had the cameras out taking pictures and videos.

 

[beth_cam]

We do have some stuff laying loose in the bottom of the stroller but not much and nothing with any value not even clothes (atleast not intentionally sometimes i'd come back and realize we had left more than I intended) we carried a camera bag and a backpack in the stroller then when we wen on a ride or in a restaurant we would just grab them and go. We have seen camcorders sitting in strollers but no way I'd take the risk since beyond the value it has you memories in it - not replaceable.

 

[nliedel]

I have never had a problem at Disney and have done the stroller thing several times and with the babies getting old enough to take will be doing it again. That said I would never take along a super expensive stroller. I take an umbrella type with a canopy.

That said I did have a stroller stolen at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. It was a zoo theme with our name on it in Sharpie. I was really upset and 3 minutes later there was a family with our stroller. They had just taken it because they did not have one. They never claimed it was theirs, just that they needed it. I told them quietly to take their child out or I would call security. They did and we got it back but they started swearing at us and threatening us. Someone else called security and they were asked to leave. I just don't get it.

 

[michaelsmommy]

Well, I'm sad to see that some of you have indeed had things stolen. What is wrong with people! Anyways, I've been trying to come up with something reassuring. What about putting a bicycle chain on it in the stroller area...is that allowed? Or maybe finding some way to lock the bag of items to the stroller itself. Couldn't you see someone trying to casually take off with your stuff only to find the whole stroller dragging along with them? (hee-hee)

 

[Allison]

You are not allowed to lock a stroller. The CM's have to be able to move it.

Even if it is Disney, I would never leave anything in a stroller I am not willing to lose.

 

[Dawgdad]

We always take 2 backpacks to the park. One with valuables that goes everywhere (even on rides). The other has ponchos, extra clothes (for little ones), etc. The key to the backpack that stays with the stroller is to attach it to the stroller seatbelt. Most thieves at WDW are snatch and grab. They don't know who belongs to the stroller so speed is their thing. If they can't grab and go, they just move to the next one. Make your stuff a little harder to get to and you will be fine. We find this a good practice wherever we go. At a restaurant, my wife always zips her purse and puts in under her chair - with the purse strap around the chair leg. We learned this from a CM who said that too many people have had purses stolen at character meals.

 

[Allison]

We always take 2 backpacks to the park. One with valuables that goes everywhere (even on rides). The other has ponchos, extra clothes (for little ones), etc. The key to the backpack that stays with the stroller is to attach it to the stroller seatbelt. Most thieves at WDW are snatch and grab. They don't know who belongs to the stroller so speed is their thing. If they can't grab and go, they just move to the next one. Make your stuff a little harder to get to and you will be fine. We find this a good practice wherever we go. At a restaurant, my wife always zips her purse and puts in under her chair - with the purse strap around the chair leg. We learned this from a CM who said that too many people have had purses stolen at character meals.

Good tips.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

The first time we took a stroller I was worried it would be stolen, so I made DH put a lock on the front wheels every time we went on an attraction...well it got to be annoying after just half a day of locking and unlocking, so that ended that!! We never had a problem with the stroller or the stuff we had crammed in the basket!

 

[lclark0621]

I have never had anything taken from our stroller, or had our stroller stolen. That said, there have been several times we THOUGHT our stroller was taken, when in reality they CMs moved it. Nothing like seeing my DH get all steamed up, and me saying "Oh honey, you big douf, it is right here."

Also, I would never leave anything in the stroller I am not willing to lose. Even though no one has ever stolen anything, I still would not leave anything of value.

I always take our cameras, diaper bag, & an purchases we maybe carrying, in every ride & resturant.

I have left ponchos, and a change of clothes for DS, maybe a change of shoes for him to. Things like that. Things that if I lost, I might be upset, but it would not be a huge issue, I could replace them without a problem.

 

[bicker]

Our Disney stroller was stolen outside of The Land on our trip last month. A Disney CM ran back up to the front and fetched us a replacement relatively quickly, but it was very sad to incur such bad treatment by another guest.

 

[Wendy31]

We took 2 strollers w/ us last year, and never had a problem. That said, I never left anything of any value w/ the strollers.

However, there was one day, I left a tote bag w/ DD's Tinkerbell costume peeking out of it w/ the stroller. The bag had DD's full costume & DS's Peter Pan costume in it. I was worried about it, but didn't feel like carrying 2 bags w/ me on the rides, so each time we left the stroller, we left the costume bag. And, happily, it stayed w/ the stroller all day long.

 

[Idroveallnight]

We have been going to WDW for about 15 years and every trip has involved a stroller. We have never had anything stolen!

 

[nliedel]

To avoid ripped off stroller the Unofficial Guide has a super idea. Tie a clear plastic bag with a diaper with a little brown pop (soda for you east coasters) dribbled on it. Magic. No one wants a poo diaper

 

[maxiesmom]

Lost my camera (and all the first day's pictures) when I left it in my stroller. Don't risk anything you can't easily replace.

 

[michaelsmommy]

Okay, so if I take all the valuables (camera, camcorder, purchases) onto the rides, where do I store them once we're on? Surely all that stuff won't fit into the seats with us... right? Do they have some kind of holding device for your stuff until you exit the ride?

 

[Principessa1284]

No "holding device" besides another member of the party who doesn't ride, or getting a locker. My advice is to ONLY take the items to the park that you will or think you may need. I know that is difficult to do with kids, but it keeps the load light when the stroller needs to be parked. I recommend leaving the diaper bag in the stroller - I haven't seen anyone walk off with one of those, espeically a cheap one (not that it hasn't happened). Diapers and baby food can be replaced easily.

If you're worried about losing an expensive stroller, don't bring one and rent a park stroller. If someone takes it, it can be normally replaced in under 5 minutes. But the only ones i've seen gone have been strollers with little or nothing in/on them.

In other words, it is something to think about, but don't stress about the strollers

 

[lorli]

We have never had a problem leaving a few things in the stroller. But we never leave anything too valuable unsupervised, like cameras or expensive purchases. Use common sense and you should be fine.

 

[BrerRabbit_fan]

I've tried not to leave anything valuable with the stroller. We even hid the Gap sweatshirts the kids had by burying it deep inside our tote.