Stroller Thefts at WDW

[EcbLovesMickey]

I have heard a lot of people talking about taking stroller locks with them to WDW. We have never done this and never had a problem finding our stroller (other than when it was moved by a CM).

Has anyone had their stroller taken at WDW? Is it really a bad problem?

 

[03badger]

Now you've piqued my interest...what's a stroller lock? We're going next month too!

 

[jacobsDISNEYmama]

I have read SO many incidents of stroller thefts this year. I am in San Diego and at both Sea World and Disneyland alone, thefts have been crazy. BOB's are targeted the most at Sea World, as there was an incident where a bunch of stolen BOB's were linked to the same person. I even had a close friend who got her Joovy Caboose stolen last month.

You'll have a lot of people on these forums tell you they don't worry about it, that they bring their strollers all the time, they go to WDW X times a year and nothing happens, but honestly with so many recent incidents it's better to be safe than sorry.

I have a BOB and a Graco, and I bought a regular combination bike lock to thread through the wheels. I'm planning to bring our Graco to our next trip and I'm planning to lock it. You're not allowed to lock to anything at the parks but just lock the wheels. CM's can still move if necessary.

I've heard stories that even cheap umbrella strollers get swiped, so the solution of bringing a cheap stroller isn't always the smartest either.

HTH!

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

Something like this
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3588356

By no means do I have a super expensive stoller, I just don't want to lose it. We have never encountered any problems before, but lately I have seen a lot of people posting about buying locks and all on the board

 

[jacobsDISNEYmama]

Those are cute! Although the one I purchased was a hefty bike lock for $14.95 from REI. It coils too when not in use so its I don't have to wind it up or anything.

 

[disney_dreaming_mom]

We finally found a stroller lock at Babies R Us. It locks the wheels. Someone tried to walk off with our Maclaren stroller as we were coming off of a ride at Disneyland and since then we decided we needed one for the wheels. Cast members can still move your stroller with it on. Someone on these boards told me about it. We need our stroller for the airport so renting one just doesn't appeal to us...I think we paid about $20 for the wheel lock and renting a stroller for 9 days would cost much more than that.

 

[Tink561]

I've been to Disney lots of times and never had a problem until our last trip, this past September. Someone stole our Quinny Zapp stroller at Epcot one night.

 

[DisneyFairytale]

Do you find spending the money on renting a stroller be an easier solution? I had never realized how much of an issue it might have been.

Great topic!

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

Yikes! I am shocked it has gotten so bad. The thought never occured to me before, but I may invest in something for this trip.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Do you find spending the money on renting a stroller be an easier solution? I had never realized how much of an issue it might have been.

Great topic!

I would never rent a stroller, my DD 'parties hard' while at WDW... and when she crashes, she crashes HARD! I need the stroller for rides on the ferry, monorail and walking around DTD at night. I realize there are now off-site rental companies, but their insurance for theft is more than me buying a lock for my Maclaren stroller. This trip I will be lockling my stroller and have a few different retractable locks I am looking for.

 

[wmharley]

I have heard a lot of people talking about taking stroller locks with them to WDW. We have never done this and never had a problem finding our stroller (other than when it was moved by a CM).

Has anyone had their stroller taken at WDW? Is it really a bad problem?

how many strollers are in Disney at any time?

How many get stolen?

How many cars are at the mall at any time?

How many get stolen?


Nice people are concerned, but darned if folks aren't making things worse than it is.

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

Well, I think it is relative. If you live in a place with no crime, you don't lock your doors, but if crime goes up you take precautions. I would leave my car in my driveway without locking my doors, but never at the mall. I have never experienced thsi type of theft at Disney, but if the incidents are increasing I would like to take appropriate precautions

 

[DominicaAnne]

After reading this thread I bought this lock from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-4...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1257823364&sr=8-1

I decided that a $10 lock would provide a whole lot of piece of mind, so why not get one. I don't want to spend every minute away from our stroller wondering if it will be still be there when we come out of a ride.

Thanks for this thread!

ETA: What do you all think about locking 2 strollers together? Would the CM's be upset about that? It would be nice if my sister and I could share the lock.

 

[NicoleLovesDisney]

how many strollers are in Disney at any time?

How many get stolen?

How many cars are at the mall at any time?

How many get stolen?


Nice people are concerned, but darned if folks aren't making things worse than it is.

I don't see how talking and being aware of a problem makes it worse. the OP was simply asking a question to determine if a stroller lock was necessary and if the recent increase in posts about this particular topic was indicative of a growing trend. I can imagine that if you are one of the thousands of families there and your stroller gets stolen it is quite distressing no matter the statistical probability.

 

[IheartAriel]

We were just there in August, which I view as a pretty busy time and didn't have a single problem. But if you lock the wheels how does the CM move it if they have to?

 

[HLAuburn]

It concerns me a little bit, I have to admit. In the past, we've never had an issue, but we've never taken a expensive stroller. My new stroller is more expensive and I'm a little worried about it disappearing.

We're actually renting a Baby Jogger double this time, and I bought the $25 insurance so I don't have to worry about it the whole time. I'd freak out if I lost a $400 stroller, so it's well worth it to me.

I would think a lock would be really annoying, but if it gives you peace of mind, go for it. I think marking your stoller in a very obvious way will help too, especially since most of the "disappearances" are probably mistaken identity!

 

[jacobsDISNEYmama]

how many strollers are in Disney at any time?

How many get stolen?

How many cars are at the mall at any time?

How many get stolen?


Nice people are concerned, but darned if folks aren't making things worse than it is.

You can't really compare these two situations, because the majority of strollers are not locked, do not have alarms, etc. It is a MILLION times easier to walk away with a stroller, undetected with busy crowds at Disney.

Bicycle owners use bike locks. Strollers are just as big of an investment, so why not?

 

[AmyBWV99]

We never locked before last year and we needed to ensure our stroller didn't walk off. We don't take $1000 strollers and park them but we do invest a fair amount in our travel strollers and do not want to have to shop for one on vacation. We use a bike lock run it thru the back tires. The CMs have moved and never cut the lock, we never lock it to anything just make it difficult to roll it very far. It's retactable and it's never been a pain once we get out of a ride the kids are usually digging for something in the stroller and loading up so we just lock it and unlock during that process.

 

[03badger]

how many strollers are in Disney at any time?

How many get stolen?

How many cars are at the mall at any time?

How many get stolen?


Nice people are concerned, but darned if folks aren't making things worse than it is.

Trust me, I SEE your point. However, my DD weighs 40 lbs. 40!!!! How would you like to lug that all the way through Disney if she "happens" to fall asleep or worse it's super crowded and we're trying to make our way out of there holding her hand. My younger daughter is turning 6 mths old and she weighs almost 19 lbs. already so my original scenario still applies-and she doesn't walk PERIOD.

My question is are y'all buying bicycle cable locks and just looping them through the wheels? That is what I was thinking. However, that wouldn't prevent someone from folding my stroller and taking it. A LOT more trouble, but still possible. I have two Maclarens that we are bringing and boy would it suck to have them taken!

 

[Tink561]

It totally sucked coming out of the princess dinner at Epcot to find our stroller gone. Dealing with security and being out so late then having to switch off carrying my 3yo daughter. The worst part was having her ask over and over why someone took her pink stroller. How do you explain that to a little girl? I was livid that night and still irritated the next day. I still get irritated when I use the cheapo stroller we bought to get by because it stinks.

That said, I wouldn't deal with the hassle of locking a stroller every time we stopped for an attraction at Disney. I think I would probably quit after the 2nd time because it would be too time consuming.