Thieves and intruders at TOWL

[nexttripdisney]

Well, we just got back from our second trip to BLT and it was wonderful just as it was the first time. We took Grandma and Grandpa with us and they were impressed and loved the proximity to the Monorail and the path to the MK.

On our last of four nights, I decided to take my two little ones to MK for the last two hours (even though it was raining--but we brought our (expensive) Disney rain ponchos from home. I decided to hurry back to BLT to view the fireworks from the TOWL.

I'll make a long story short. My son, 5, took off his rain poncho and I laid it over the inside wall on the viewing balcony. The wall that people, myself included, sit on to watch the display.

After the show, I was caught up in fetching Grandma and Grandpa and walking them through TOWL, we didn't even sit down. We went down to our 8th floor villa and as soon as I walked in I realized that I didn't pick up the poncho. We immediately went back up (as quickly as you can when you have to go to the first floor first) and it was gone. We asked everyone who worked there if they knew anything about it. No. Not on the floor either.

It bothered me SO MUCH that someone would take it. I tossed and turned all night. I know that sounds stupid but I'm an honest person and would NEVER take an item that so obviously belongs to someone else so it really got to me.

p.s. When the kids and I arrived at BLT prior to this incident there was a family of 4 or 5 loitering around the front doors. It was obvious they didn't have a key card. I (hurrying) opened it and they walked in after us. After us, they showed the concierge their key card and we were all escorted up to TOWL.

What's up with that?? I didn't say anything since I didn't feel like the resort police. It appears that they were DVC members staying at a different resort. I then noticed the keycards do not indicate which resort you are staying at.

 

[Tara]

I then noticed the keycards do not indicate which resort you are staying at.

The cards DO indicate the resort, just not in a way that is apparent to people who aren't CMs. Each resort has a number and that number is in a specific spot in the long sequence. So either they were staying there but for some reason their keys didn't work or they weren't staying there and the CM let them up anyway.

 

[dparksfan]

Sorry about the poncho. I'm an honest one too and I get upset when others aren't, esp. at Disney. To speak about TOTW, my dh was just at WDW for a business convention, which was at the Contemporary, but he stayed at a downtown Disney hotel, and he said he was going to go over to BLT and check it all out, including going up to TOTW. Well, I told him that he couldn't and to just wait until our first trip "home" over Thanksgiving, and that the rules were pretty stringent. Well he took his co-workers over there and they saw a family trying really hard to get in, and they couldn't! He realized at that point that I was right, and it's impossible to get in, unless you're staying there on DVC pts. There may be exceptions, but I doubt it, it sounds like they've been sticking to the rules.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

ha! probably the family posting here awhile back that they
were going sneak in & report back..but they never did,


[ my primary concern is the limited space and not being able to
take my family this dec. . & safety issues]

sorry about the loss, but maybe it blew off? [ when i was in college,
i backpacked through europe, staying in "youth hostels." while
in germany, had my clothing hanging from the shutters & they
were gone the next morning. blown down all over the terrace below.
it was a little tricky since this hostel was filled with a german 's
ladies group. gain new meaning to the story "gone with the
wind". ]

 

[dianeschlicht]

Since those ponchos all look alike, it would be pretty easy to mistakenly pick up the wrong one. I agree that it also could have blown away as well. I'm one who always assumes everyone else is as honest as I am, so I would assume a reason like that rather than that someone "stole" it.

 

[CaFeeney]

I am wondering if a staff member just brought the poncho to a lost and found area or (if it was one of the really inexpensive ponchos from the Dollar Store) threw it away thinking you were leaving it.

I also think that your title is a bit misleading - I was thinking pickpockets and stolen purses, not a poncho that you left and then went back and was gone.

Sorry this happened but "thieves and intruders"? Seriously?

 

[nexttripdisney]

The cards DO indicate the resort, just not in a way that is apparent to people who aren't CMs. Each resort has a number and that number is in a specific spot in the long sequence. So either they were staying there but for some reason their keys didn't work or they weren't staying there and the CM let them up anyway.

I wondered if this was the case but the young woman "manning" the concierge desk was battling it out with a man who insisted that he should be able to go up to TOWL. She eventually gave in, which is probably what she is instructed to do.

Maybe she wasn't in the mood for another battle. I'm pretty sure they weren't staying there. Oh, well. It wasn't crowded.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I wondered if this was the case but the young woman "manning" the concierge desk was battling it out with a man who insisted that he should be able to go up to TOWL. She eventually gave in, which is probably what she is instructed to do.

Maybe she wasn't in the mood for another battle. I'm pretty sure they weren't staying there. Oh, well. It wasn't crowded.

I've witnessed a supervisor giving in to a man who was staying at OKW who insisted that he had a right to swim in SAB. He started complaining to the CM who was giving out bracelets and made such a disturbance that the supervisor came over and in the end he "won." He got bracelets for himself and his family.

 

[nexttripdisney]

I've witnessed a supervisor giving in to a man who was staying at OKW who insisted that he had a right to swim in SAB. He started complaining to the CM who was giving out bracelets and made such a disturbance that the supervisor came over and in the end he "won." He got bracelets for himself and his family.

I've got to give credit to the Cast Members for keeping smiles on their faces then they have to deal with these kind of people.

I wonder if this embarasses his family or if his kids are simply learning that they are entitled to get whatever they want by causing a distrubance???

 

[cutakenta]

I say let all DVC members up. More people need to be up there to keep it DVC. I have only seen it busy once (NYE), 50-100 people is what I have seen otherwise.

Someone may have picked it up thinking it was theirs, like their child left it and they gathered stuff up and went back to their room?

 

[CarolAnnC]

This thread was heavily edited for various offenses such as arguing, attacks, off topic posts, and more. We will give this one more try, but if the DIS Posting Guidelines are not followed, infractions will be awarded (of course) and the topic will be closed. Thank you in advance..

 

[jekjones1558]

OP, I understand your disappointment. I left my new camera on the Safari ride and realized it moments after disembarking. I went back immediately but never did get it back, even after multiple checks with Guest Relations and Lost and Found. I fully expected that it would show up, but no dice. It really bursts your trust bubble. If you are like me, it is the broken trust more than the cost of the item that is hurtful. Sorry this happened to you. Sometimes I forget that real people inhabit the magical world of Disney.

 

[nexttripdisney]

OP, I understand your disappointment. I left my new camera on the Safari ride and realized it moments after disembarking. I went back immediately but never did get it back, even after multiple checks with Guest Relations and Lost and Found. I fully expected that it would show up, but no dice. It really bursts your trust bubble. If you are like me, it is the broken trust more than the cost of the item that is hurtful. Sorry this happened to you. Sometimes I forget that real people inhabit the magical world of Disney.

I'm so sorry. That must have been devastating, losing not only your camera but the memories in it that will never be recovered.

I like to think that most people are good and honest but it is hard when a dishonest person crosses your path and takes advantage of YOU.

 

[jekjones1558]

I'm so sorry. That must have been devastating, losing not only your camera but the memories in it that will never be recovered.

I like to think that most people are good and honest but it is hard when a dishonest person crosses your path and takes advantage of YOU.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[CarolAnnC]

My thoughts for you - Years ago my youngest DD had left her small purse in the Ladies Room in Epcot near what was then World of Motion. We were not too far, when she realized it and we hurried back there, but it was gone. She had saved her money all year from birthday, etc. and was crushed. A CM suggested we stop into the gift shop close by as found items are usually brought there before heading to Lost and Found. Well, lo and behold they had her purse! Bless you, whoever it was that turned it in...it saved DD's tears and restored my faith..

As far as BLT "intruders", well last year during our stay we felt there were often people hovering around trying to enter after we used our KTTW to get into the walkway. I had no qualms about gently closing the door right behind me and would not extend it to anyone who appeared to be attempting to gain unauthorized entrance. Anyone approaching the door should obviously have their KTTW ready to get in. Vero Beach has a similar set up with KTTW being necessary to gain access to the pool. When people close the gate right behind them, I understand they are just trying to do their part in keeping access limited to those who truly should be getting in there.

 

[spiceycat]

as far as BLT "intruders", well last year during our stay we felt there were often people hovering around trying to enter after we used our KTTW to get into the walkway. I had no qualms about gently closing the door right behind me and would not extend it to anyone who appeared to be attempting to gain unauthorized entrance. Anyone approaching the door should obviously have their KTTW ready to get in. Vero Beach has a similar set up with KTTW being necessary to gain access to the pool. When people close the gate right behind them, I understand they are just trying to do their part in keeping access limited to those who truly should be getting in there.

boy never though to actually close the door. my hands were generally full - so that might be a problem. (from the qs)

disney is a business. most businesses have thiefs. they don't want them. and Disney does a better job than most in stopping them. but thiefs are everywhere.

so never put anything down that you can't afford to lose.

also lately some CM are thiefs - so unless you know them - don't even trust a CM. sorry to say that - because for years the CM were some of the most honest employees out there.

believe me feel your pain. you need to be as carefully at Disney as any other place you visit.

or maybe traveling solo has me more aware that some people think that Disney is a wonderful place where nothing will go wrong.

It is a business.

 

[dianeschlicht]

This thread was heavily edited for various offenses such as arguing, attacks, off topic posts, and more. We will give this one more try, but if the DIS Posting Guidelines are not followed, infractions will be awarded (of course) and the topic will be closed. Thank you in advance..

Carol, I'm not on the board as much these days as I used to be, but I'm seeing lots of people being less "patient" with posts. I suspect the title of the post may have had people opening it expecting something truly worthy of the "theives and intruders" title, and were a bit disappointed that it turned out to be a misplaced Disney poncho and people sneaking into TOWL. I guess that points out that lots of people seem to also post things meant to be inflamatory when they probably would have been best keeping it to themselves. Frankly, I've seen a whole lot worse at Disney, and it never occured to me to post about it on a message board. By the same token. When I see these kinds of posts, I try to temper them with a little common sense in my answer. That's the reason for suggesting that it could either have blown away or been picked up by someone else who also brought a Disney poncho in.

 

[jpolak]

So if people are sneaking into the resort, what can they really do? They can't make it to TOWL right?

 

[dianeschlicht]

So if people are sneaking into the resort, what can they really do? They can't make it to TOWL right?

"Sneaking in" at DVC resorts takes many forms. When OKW first opened, it was sneaking in to their pool and sneaking in to park and use the buses. The same thing happend at SSR because of their proximaty to DTD and the DTD hotels. In reality, I'm sure it happens all over WDW. People "sneak into" parking lots at all WDW resorts and try to get a free ride on parking, or they "sneak into" a resort pool, or the TOWL. It happens all the time, because frankly, there are a lot of dishonest people out there. I can't really see that Disney can do much, since their business relies on those people spending money at their establishments. It's just an annoyance to those of us who follow the rules, I guess. Heck, in the past, even I have been guilty of parking at Yacht and Beach when I went to a dinner reservation, and just staying over after dinner to walk into Epcot to see Illuminations before returning to my own resort. Not much anyone can do about stuff like that.

 

[walkdmc]

Although I wouldn't do it, a lot of people assume a poncho, left behind, in a public area was abandoned (who doesn't toss those ponchos while packing for home?-well, broad assumption but we do). I think they were following the old rule, "finders keepers", if they took it. I also have learned to never accuse anyone of anything without a shred of proof. I've BTDT and have the egg on my face to prove it.

Sorry this happened to you and hope you were/are able to enjoy the rest of your vacation.