Stroller Theft?

[marathonmommy]

Sometimes people don't look at the stroller carefully and take one that is the same model as theirs (probably not what happened where one poster reported someone took their new one and left a much older one)..

This exact thing happened to us! We left CRT with the same make, model, color, Peg Perego as ours. My DD noticed that the cup holder was "missing". We were well past the Dumbo ride when we realized it wasn't ours! We were able to return it before anyone noticed the mistake - no harm, no foul!

We were there for 5 or so days in August and got braver everyday as to what we left in the basket. We left our spray fans, souvenirs, lots of stuff. Perhaps we were just lucky, but we never had a problem!

 

[littleprissboutique]

Maybe if you lock the front right tire to the back left tire it would be hard to roll the stroller? Just a thought

 

[samefay]

Okay so it wasn't the most expensive stroller in the world but the point is it was ours.

We purchased a new umbrella stroller at ToysRus for our 2003 trip. (Used Mypoints rewards so it was actually free!)
Close to the end of our trip we were at DisneyQuest - you have to leave you're stroller outside.
Someone took ours and replaced it with a stroller that was the same color but different model.
It had a squeaky wheel, buckled differently in the front - which they would have known they took the wrong one, and was slightly used more.
I think my husband spent most of the night trying to track down the "Stroller Thieves" LOL - NO LUCK-
Now I must sadly say it's on it's last limb. Hope it doesn't fall apart before our trip in a couple of weeks. I can definately say no one would take the raggedy thing now.

 

[kizmac]

I think my husband spent most of the night trying to track down the "Stroller Thieves" LOL - NO LUCK-
.

That would soooo be my DH.....only he would probably search the entire vacation. I'd pity the poor family that would happen to have the same stroller, and not be the actual thief.

Sorry your stroller was stolen. I am really going to be nervous now. I may go lock shopping.

 

[WDWorBUST]

I broke down and spent the money on a Maclaren Quest for this trip after being miserable with DD's "travel" stroller this past December. And I admit I'm a bit nervous about leaving it in stroller parking....but we don't really have a choice. With the idea that normally it is mistaken identity when a stroller is taken I am going to take hot pink paper and put my DD's picture on it with something cute like Sammi's Stroller - then I'm going to laminate it and ziptie it to her stroller and to the organizer. Being just laminated paper it should bend to fold with the stroller I would think. I'm going to attach it to the organizer for my own identification purposes and to the stroller in case someone tries to take off the organizer. I know it won't absolutely prevent theft but I would think a big picture of someone else's child on it would be a fairly decent deterrent. Oh....and I will put a label on the body kind of underneath too. And then I'm just not going to worry about it.

 

[munchkinsmom]

Once again, I am so sorry your stroller was stolen. Thanks for sharing your story. We do often forget that bad people also take vacations at Disney. I hope the rest of your trip was still wonderful.

Yes, we still had a great time. We made it a point to not let it dampen our spirits. My DH drove back home that evening (3 hours, round trip) to pick up extra Epipens and our old, worn out, dependable, well-loved single stroller (a PP Pliko). And I'm happy to report that even though we didn't lock it, we still had it by the end of our trip.

I guess it was just very bad luck for us that our double was stolen, but we will make the effort to lock our next double stroller when we go up to DL again. We've definitely learned our lesson.

Were you 100% certain it was stroller parking area where you left it. Twice while we were there last week we saw cast members moving strollers that A BUNCH of people had parked in areas were they didn't go.

I wish it was just a case of a CM moving it to another spot, but it wasn't. The stroller was parked in a designated stroller parking area. There was a sign to the front and right of the Small World ride showing parents where to park their strollers. The stroller was left a few feet from the sign and in a place where it wasn't very easy to swipe. Since was a holiday weekend with a large crowd of people, a lot of strollers were parked there. One really had to make the effort to wade through the strollers to get to ours. We searched that parking area, the Snow White show parking area next to Small World and the vicinity for a good 30 minutes before reporting it to one of the CMs. The CM we talked to was nice enough to help us look for a little big longer, and after a few minutes after realizing that it was truly gone, we headed over to Lost and Found to report it stolen. I had to fill out a lot of paperwork describing the stroller and the contents of the stroller. I would've definitely heard from Disneyland by now if it was just a case it being misplaced, but unfortunately, I've not gotten any calls or anything in the mail.

 

[marathonmommy]

When you are unlucky, enough to have your expensive stroller stolen from the park, do you report this to guest services? Do they offer you any kind of reimbursement, or does the thought of them doing so just make everyone lie down and ?

 

[munchkinsmom]

I think my husband spent most of the night trying to track down the "Stroller Thieves" LOL - NO LUCK-

My father did the same thing that evening, LOL! My parents were with us on this trip and it was stolen while they took my kids on the Small World ride so my DH and I could ride Space Mountain (whoo hoo!). Anyway, they both felt soooo bad about it because the stroller was stolen while on "their watch", so to speak. My father had even gone ahead and stationed himself in front of the flag on Main Street, facing the castle, watching strollers go by for the longest time. I kept telling him to stop and not worry about it. They felt worse than we did.

When you are unlucky, enough to have your expensive stroller stolen from the park, do you report this to guest services? Do they offer you any kind of reimbursement, or does the thought of them doing so just make everyone lie down and ?

Yes, the CM helping us told us to report it at the Lost and Found window located outside the park, next to Guest Services. Someone had mentioned to me that Disneyland supposedly reimbursed people for stolen items, but no, it's not true. Wishful thinking, LOL! Supposedly it says on their regular tickets that the Disneyland Resort is not responsible for lost and/or stolen property. We have annual passes and there's nothing listed like that on our card, but I would bet money that it's mentioned somewhere on the literature that is sent to you when you first get your AP.

There is a good discussion about this very topic on another Disney message board:

http://www.micechat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1389&highlight=stroller+theft

 

[samefay]

I thought it was just my husband! LOL

Here's hoping to a better vacation this time around for all of us. (I mean the part with no stroller thieves) The rest of the vacation was magical as always.

 

[beattyfamily]

How can putting a lock around the front tires prevent folding the stroller?

I want to take our new Graco, but now am leary, but we need it!

I put clear packing tape over all of my address/paper tags, etc...clear nail polish in new! Thanks!

So, if we aren't "allowed" to have locks on our strollers, per Disney's rules, then are they going to replace it? I mean, people NEED their strollers and can't take them in or on things (rides, shows, etc..)

hhmmmm.....now I am confused!

Stealing at Disney WORLD is quite rare. It does happen but compared to the number of guests that visit everyday, it's rare. Mostly it's mistaken identity or it's been moved by CMs and it's a bit more frequent at DTD/Disney Quest area because that is a FREE area. No park admission to get in.

If your stroller is stollen it will not be replaced by Disney and they don't have to replace it. Just because they won't let you lock your stroller to a pole (so they can move them around and because of fire hazards), doesn't mean they are responsible. If you are that worried, leave it home. Of course, sometimes, the CMs will try to help in any way they can and maybe do some "Disney Magic" by replacing something that was in it or give you free rental strollers but they don't have to.

The link in this thread is for Disneyland. Theft is much more common there.

I would just clearly mark your stroller with some personal touches and do not keep cameras and stuff you don't want to lose in it. You should be safe. The stroller theft stories are very rare on these boards anyway. We've got 65,000+ members with only a handful that had strollers stolen and I'll bet half of them it was mistaken identity.

Make your stroller more personal and easily identified!

Try not to worry. I've gone 7 times without my strollers being stolen; moved yes, but not stollen.

Good luck everyone.

 

[showar]

I just placed an order for a new Macleren Quest and reading this thread makes me nervous! I do have travel insurance so if it was stolen then our insurance should cover it, right?

Thanks for the tips on personalizing our stroller. I'll definately be doing that.

 

[SueM in MN]

I just placed an order for a new Macleren Quest and reading this thread makes me nervous! I do have travel insurance so if it was stolen then our insurance should cover it, right?

Thanks for the tips on personalizing our stroller. I'll definately be doing that.

I'm quite certain your travel insurance won't cover it (that's more for things like covering the cost if you have to cancel or shorten your trip). If you have Homeowners or Rental insurance, the stroller should be part of your "personal property" that is covered.

 

[Kitcat]

well I guess I can. How can people be so desperate to steal a stroller. It really makes me ill. It not enough to worry about getting all your ADRS now we have to lock our strollers while we eat!!

 

[bjakmom]

I just found what looks like the perfect little lock that I am going to take along for my new mac. It is called a "combination (resettable 3 dial combination) lock (spring loaded shackle opening) carabiner (4.25" D ring) with steel cable (36" plastic coated coiled steel cable). Found it at Dick's for $3.99. It is small and lightweight and, unlike the bulky bike locks I have that are difficult to 'flex' through the wheels and then rewind, the steel cabled coil is only about 4" long when not stretched (to 36"). It hangs easily out of the way over the back of the stroller and then I can just lean down and hook the carabiner (D ring) through the back tire (actually I had to combine 2 d rings as my mac will still roll on the 2nd tire), keeping it from being able to roll. The CMs can still move it on the front wheels, however.

I have been visiting WDW since the year it opened and taken my now grown kids many times with strollers and never had any problem. However, a couple of trips ago (1/04) we witnessed a family coming out of HISTA and finding all of their belongings gone from their stroller - very disheartening - followed the next day by watching another family return to an empty locker at USF - they lost everything, ID, cameras, etc., so I'm not feeling as trusting about the crowds as I used to be (yes, they forgot to push the button to lock it, but someone must have been 'watching' for that and moved right in).

Even more than the value of the stroller (wish I could have afforded one of these when my kids were little!) and how much I love it . . . the inconvenience of loosing it for DGrD to use on our trip would be a major hassle that I'm not willing to risk. So for anyone else looking for ways to at least make their stroller less attractive to thieves or to keep someone else from taking a stroller by mistake - I think this little lock should work great!

 

[gina101]

When we went there, we rented a stroller with our last names on it (we went with our cousins) and then we went to see the fireworks. So we "parked" our strollers on the place where everybody elses were. When we came back it wasn't there...

 

[KirstenB]

Bjakmom thanks!! I'm terrible at visualizing things, and wanted a way to lock our stroller, but was getting lost in some of the posts. Your post made perfect sense--I'll look for this lock---many thanks again!!

 

[MrGrumpy222]

I have a season pass to Six Flags. I take my stroller quite often and have not had a problem (so far...knock on wood). However, I have seen strollers with little bike locks on them. They are either wrapped around the wheels or tree or bench, etc... The locks are ones with keys so it is real quick to unlock. Just a suggestion. I guess I am lucky in that my stroller was only $15.

Hopefully I won't have problems at WDW. See yall soon!

My suggestion is the "Stroller Monkey" made by "RonCo". You leave a matching diaper bag on the bottom of the stroller and anyone who attempts to steal it or vandalize it, a monkey jumps out of the bag and gives the culprit a good beating and quietly returns to the bag when finished. I think it costs only 3 easy payments of $29.95. I am sure it would have worked for the 300 pound bafoon that attempted to use the stroller as a step stool. Just kidding, I like the idea of the bike lock tho, best suggestion thus far.

 

[MrGrumpy222]

Just A Bump

 

[MrGrumpy222]

I am bumping this again. I think my idea for the anti theft device is pretty good.

 

[faindrops27]

I am lost. How do you lock a Mac? My wheels have no spokes they are solid. So, exactly how do I use a lock , if I cannot thread the lock through wheel spokes?