Stroller theft

[DisneygirlTeacher]

I can't believe anyone would leave money and cameras and other valuables unattended in a stroller! I think there's a false sense of security when you're on vacation, especially at Disney. I worked there and loved it then and love it more now, but, sad to say, there are people even at Disney that will steal from you. I would say locking up a stroller is a very smart thing to do. Put something on it to identify it as yours since there are so many and someone could take yours by mistake. I wouldn't want to see anyone's vacation ruined because they think nothing can happen just because we love it there so much!

 

[Canusa Family]

We have a PK3 that we paid like $300 for a few years ago.We have taken it to DL a few times with no problems.We were in line for finding nemo a few months ago and a CM moved it.That was the only time we have had to look for it.We will be taking it to DW in a few weeks.But I do think a lock is a good idea.My wife always worries its going to be taken.I remeber saying to my wife last time,im surprised people dont take them and sell on ebay.Not trying to put any ideas out there...lol

 

[bucky1023]

I have been to WDW a number of times with different strollers (both owned and rented) and have never had a problem with stealing. I usually leave a change of clothes, water bottles, sun block... nothing worth $$$.

Question: If you lock the wheels how does the CMs in charge of keeping everything organized move your stroller if they need to?

 

[AXOalum]

We don't leave valuables in our stroller but we don't lock it. Thankfully in all these years (DNiece will be 12 in Dec) no stroller has gone missing. I know it happens, but we've just been lucky.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We've been four times with a stroller and never had any problems. We usually take our camera, but we leave water bottles, etc. We do tie a bandanna around it.

I would think on rides where the CMs move your stroller to the exit, they wouldn't let you use a lock.

 

[Doc CW]

We've never had our stroller stolen but thats probably because whenever we've been there a CM is standing there trying to get a good look at the people whos strollers he's handling so he has a general idea of what they look like so the strollers dont get stolen.

 

[chrissiecutie]

I've heard that you are not allowed to lock up your strollers. Not sure if this is just using a bike lock and locking it to something, ie. fence, lampost. or locking just the wheels. Does anyone know for sure?

What I'm planning on doing is taking a backpack for sunscreen, clothes, water, etc and leaving that in the basket underneath. I'll be locking the backpack to the stroller so someone wouldn't be able to just walk away with the backpack. I've also printed out stroller tags that I found on mousesavers and laminated them. My items that I can't replace, camera, wallet, etc, will be on my back in my baggallini- I love that thing!

 

[labdogs42]

I have never had a problem with stroller theft. I take a Graco Quattro Tour and I usually leave my diaper bag and all kinds of crap in the basket! So far nothing has gone missing. Maybe they just don't want all of my junk! I have seen Bugaboos and BOBs and macs all over the place down there. If people aren't stealing those, I'm not too worried about my Graco. I make sure to really personalize the heck out of my stroller, too. I tie ribbons on it, balloons, whatever it takes to make it stand out. I think a lot of stroller "theft" comes down to people grabbing the wrong stroller by accident. Slap you name and cell number all over the stroller, too, just in case it ends up in the wrong hands.

 

[ericamikes]

Jut got home last night. No problems with us.

 

[smphbear]

While our stroller wasn't stolen, we did have things removed from it. I had a Ziploc bag of snacks. DH went to get it while we were in line for characters at the Pirate and Princess Party. The bag was gone, but our ponchos were left. Later the same night, DS 8 put his pirate hat on the canopy of the stroller and hooked it in because he was hot. That also disappeared. A hard lesson for him about leaving things. I tried Lost and Found, and it was not there. (I truly wasn't expecting it to be.) Now the other 5 days of our trip, nothing was touched.

 

[delmar411]

While our stroller wasn't stolen, we did have things removed from it. I had a Ziploc bag of snacks. DH went to get it while we were in line for characters at the Pirate and Princess Party. The bag was gone, but our ponchos were left. Later the same night, DS 8 put his pirate hat on the canopy of the stroller and hooked it in because he was hot. That also disappeared. A hard lesson for him about leaving things. I tried Lost and Found, and it was not there. (I truly wasn't expecting it to be.) Now the other 5 days of our trip, nothing was touched.

sounds like a toddler/small child found something they liked. I had to put back MANY things that the baby swiped from the strollers next to us. Those little spray fans were his favorite to snag. Thankfully I know he's got roving fingers so I check him before we move on from any stroller parking but I'm sure there are many oblivious parents.

 

[all4fun]

We have been to WDW 10x since ds turned 1...each trip at least 1 week long so we have spent a lot of time there while using a stroller. We never had a problem w/any of our strollers being stolen. Sometimes they do get moved so you might have to look around a bit to find it. We never leave anything valuable in the stroller as that is more likely to be swiped than the actual stroller itself. We also personalize the stroller somehow - I always put a "smart tag" luggage ID on it somewhere with our name & address (hang it where it's visible but you couldn't read it without detaching it from the stroller). I have also tied a brightly colored bandana around the handle - but you could use ribbon, yarn, or whatever material that works. I read about the dirty diaper trick 12 yrs ago when I bought my first Unofficial Guide to WDW book, and that "tip" has been floating around the internet for who knows how long...I've never seen anyone actually do it though. Yuck. Who wants to look like they're walking around with a dirty diaper hanging off their stroller?

 

[Manymice]

Where on the board has there been a lot of reports of stroller theft? Just curious because I didn't notice it (but don't even try to read every thread).

I'd never leave anything of value in the stroller (camera, tickets, wallet, etc) but we always leave our bag with snacks, bottle of water, sippy cup, change of clothes, extra diapers - it wouldn't ruin our trip if any of that stuff disappeared.

I don't understand the "dirty" diaper trick. With a garbage can every 20 ft at Disney, why would anyone (especially any thief) believe that you'd haul around a gross diaper on your stroller handle vs. tossing it at the first opportunity??

I guess the dirty diaper trick just struck me as funny. Yes, there are garbage cans everywhere, you're right, but how many times have you seen people toss their trash wherever they stand? Look after a parade! Anyway, it was just something that I had heard and it struck me as humerous so I thought I would share.

 

[vcgirl925]

This amazes me. I've been to WDW many times with a stroller and we have left our things in it a lot. Never once have we ever had anything stolen. I will continue to leave things that i'm not that concerned about. Drinks, snacks, change of clothes, maps, etc. All our souveniers will be sent back to the room for us and my baggellini holds the important stuff.

 

[LilGMom]

Question: If you lock the wheels how does the CMs in charge of keeping everything organized move your stroller if they need to?

We put the bike lock through the back wheels and the frame so that if a CM needed to move it they could easily tilt it up on the front wheels to move it. If someone would have taken the stroller they'd have a hard time keeping it on the front wheels with a child in the stroller which is why we didn't put the lock in the front wheels (not uncommon to see parents giving their kids "wheelie" rides in strollers).

My oldest DS just recently turned 7 and he's been going to WDW 2-3 times a year since he was 10 months old so we've been taking strollers for awhile now. We used to never have problems until we rented a WDW stroller. Then we had things taken from the stroller and my nephew had his autograph book taken from his stroller so we leave nothing in our strollers (might leave a water bottle or two but have had them taken too ). Due to the rather high increase in the stroller rentals (and us having a WDW stroller taken from us while we were on a ride - yes it was marked in various way with things on the handle and in the bags) we didn't want to run the risk of anyone taking our Sit-N-Stand being taken because I figured they'd be pretty popular and we did see a lot of them in the parks and resort. Using a lock provided us with some peace of mind while on the rides.

 

[SpectroMouse]

I was worried about stroller theft before our first trip with baby, three years ago. I decided to bring a stroller and mark it well and hope for the best. I read hundreds of post that mentioned balloons, bandanas, ribbons, etc. I wanted something a little more "permanent", but didn't want to take it as far as markers or fabric paint on the stroller, so I turned it into a project. Here is what I came up with: (I blurred a few letters for privacy sake)

I put grommets through the fabric and ribbon and attached it to the stroller with zip ties! That way someone wouldn't be able to just pull it off, but it can be removed. It can fold right up with stroller without any damage. It has since made it through several gate checks, and three trips to disney world. It has also come in handy on other trips. Imagine my surprise when getting off the plane in Philadelphia and seeing an identical stroller next to mine at the gate check area!

I even had other people at Disney ask about them, e-mail me, and buy a couple.

I was able to rest easy about the stroller being taken and never had trouble finding it in the "sea of strollers"

 

[tarabelle13]

I was worried about stroller theft before our first trip with baby, three years ago. I decided to bring a stroller and mark it well and hope for the best. I read hundreds of post that mentioned balloons, bandanas, ribbons, etc. I wanted something a little more "permanent", but didn't want to take it as far as markers or fabric paint on the stroller, so I turned it into a project. Here is what I came up with: (I blurred a few letters for privacy sake)

I put grommets through the fabric and ribbon and attached it to the stroller with zip ties! That way someone wouldn't be able to just pull it off, but it can be removed. It can fold right up with stroller without any damage. It has since made it through several gate checks, and three trips to disney world. It has also come in handy on other trips. Imagine my surprise when getting off the plane in Philadelphia and seeing an identical stroller next to mine at the gate check area!

I even had other people at Disney ask about them, e-mail me, and buy a couple.

I was able to rest easy about the stroller being taken and never had trouble finding it in the "sea of strollers"

That is a GREAT idea!! Thanks so much!

 

[enchantingodin]

Whenever we go to the world we always but a bright yellow poncho over our stroller whenever we leave it. This does several things.

1 - makes it super easy to spot

2 - protects the seat from random showers that DO happen

3 - people are less likely to go snooping around it because it so 'out there'

Although I must say I've never had a problem with theft either. **knocks on wood** Last time we went I accidentally left our diaper bag hanging from the handle (had wallet, with room key, camera, car/house keys, about 300 bucks in cash) while we went on the haunted mansion. I realized it about half-way through the ride and totally panicked, RAN like crazy after getting off, and nothing had been touched. I donno if it was because the poncho was covering everything or what. But I was SO relived.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

I believe that the items that come up missing might be that in the disney rentals is that they look exactly the same and people prob just grab them by accident.

 

[perkinsrose]

We've been out of a stroller for 4 years now, but I was given this gross tip a long time ago because of the stroller thefts... tie a plastic bag to the handle of the stroller holding a diaper filled with coke. We didn't try it ourselves but it struck me as so funny. The person who wrote this swore it worked because it looked so disgusting I know I wouldn't want to touch that stroller! Personally, I would lock my wheels with a bike lock.

Yes! Never tried it but read about it in Unofficial Guide to WDW books. I'm sure works like a charm!