Warning....watch your pin bags at WDW

[mmmcq]

My girls (14 & 12) starting collecting a few years ago, but got serious last August during our last trip. For Christmas I gave them official WDW (Mickey trading logo) pin bags. On Tuesday 7/15 - the second day of our trip, my girls had their backpacks on and with them in the MK hoping to have some fun with CM's.

After breakfast with Cinderella we were to meet some pixies at the wishing well to surprise my DH with a 20th Anniversary survivor challenge. The pixies were late, my DH got suspicious so things got hectic as we tried to keep my 3 yr old from falling apart and my DH from coming unglued while we stalled. My DH wanted to ride Pooh with the FastPasses he had picked up earlier and my youngest DD wanted more coins to throw in the wishing well. So we went back towards the entrance to the castle in pursuit of more pennies and maybe Pooh. We turned the corner of the castle - looked up to see hook shooting at Peter Pan - and then my daughter turned white and said she'd left her bag below and off she and my older daughter ran. In the short span of chaos (2 mins)....my 12 yr old left her backpack on the bench at the wishing well.

It was gone already. Inside were at least $600 in pins. PAL Mickey, sun glasses and a camera. We looked everywhere for 1/2 hour, filed a claim with central lost and found.....but the bag didn't show up and still hadn't shown up as of this am when we left WDW.

Some ________ (you fill in the blank) took the bag knowing it was a kid's bag and didn't return it. That's sooooo UNDISNEY.

By THursday when it was clear that the bag was not coming back, I replaced it and most of the pins. This wasn't completely my daughters' fault. The entire episode cost us much aggravation, a lot of $$$ and a lot of tears. But the thing that bothers me the most is that someone was so dishonest. How they can keep it is beyond me. That person better not be on this board.

 

[Scratch42]

Sending Pixie Dust that the bag is returned.

***************************************************

This will be a good thread to show DD that bringing your bag only to the Organized Pin Trades at WDW will be best and stick to a lanyard for the Parks!

Hope it shows up.

Scratch

 

[mmmcq]

Yeah, I know. I had asked them NOT to bring the bags to the park and then when they did I told them to keep them on, but there are only so many details I can keep track of especially when managing a cranky toddler and an ansty DH in the 95 degree temp. I was as mad at myself as I was upset with the girls, but the reality is that the person who took it COULD have brought it back and didn't. That stinks.

The girls have tried lanyards but the pins are too heavy and sticky in the heat, and sometimes the backs fall off unexpectedly. So the backpack bags seemed like a good solution.

Before we left Boston I had one DD take a label machine and label everything that was going with our name and my cell phone number - camera, film, etc. But she forgot her own bag. As my DH says, howevr, even if the bag had 6 labels on it, it probably wouldn't have stopped the thief. I think itmight have given them the guilts.....but DH says they would not have flinched.

We saw two similar bags on subsequent days at MK, but didn't have the courage to have security approach these families. We just let it go. A BIG lesson learned for my girls.

 

[Scratch42]

And I think your DH is right, even if the name etc was in/on the bag, the theif would not have returned it. Unfortunately, just because it's Disney, does not make it safe.

It's a shame since these backpacks are usually what kids have and not the adults.

May the thief get his/hers tenfold!

Scratch

 

[kim]

I have a 9 year old daughter with a pin back pack just like that. It's full of pins. She bought it last year with her money. She really got in to trading last year too. We didn't get to go this year, but I'll definitely try to encourage her to just carry a lanyard next year.

You really had your hands full in those few minutes too. Kids are always easy to lay something down and be distracted, especially at WDW. I'm so sorry it happened. I would have done the same thing you did, by replacing it for my daughter too. Definitely and unexpected expense, but I would have done it for her.

kim

 

[LynniethePooh]

I am sorry to hear this happened to your family!

On our recent trip we encountered some individuals who where less than courteous, to put it kindly.

I reminded my son that a person who is rude in their everyday life will not become kind just because they are in Disney. He replied, "Well darnit, sure would be nice if it DID happen that way!" How correct he is! If only the magic of Disney could permeate these lost souls for the time they are in Disney!

 

[mmmcq]

You know the theft was maddening and took away our good spirits for 30 minutes or so, but we did survive the tears and all. I didn't replace the bag right away, but I also didn't wait too long to punish my DD any further.

I had a similar situation this past January. I became a ski instructor at a local ski area here in MA this past winter. For the occasion I bought a brand new pair of top of the line skiis and I was skiing really well on them and having a great time overall. I haven't skiied that much since high school.

One Sunday I left the skis in the instructors locker room where 100's of pairs of skiis are left unlocked and attended by only the staff on that day who have to pass through the front desk into the back room. (Locks don't fit thru the bindings and around the rack) I came back on Thursday to find my skiis gone. No one wanted to believe they had been stolen, but they didn't reappear within 7 days. The resort owner offered me a new pair at cost. I could have taken a cheaper pair, but I decided to replace them and not give the turkey (who was obviously a current or former staff member) the satisfaction of having ruined my winter. BUT I never let those new skiis out of my sight or they were always double locked. You deal, move on, but become more cynical.

Disney isn't a perfect place afterall....a lesson my kids learned the hard way. But they also know that magical things can happen there. On Tuesday night of our trip, we gave up our Breathless Cruise to a young man who wanted to propose to his girlfriend. When I got back to MA there was an email from him waiting for me that she was now his fiance. My girls were thrilled that we were in on the secret. It all balances out in the end. You just have to keep your head up and not take it too seriously.

 

[Beachangel]

Terrible story, but I would have been more surprised if the bag was returned to Lost & Found. My sister left a shopping bag full of outfits she bought at the shop by the Pirates ride on the Aladdin ride. Went back five minutes later and it was gone and never returned. Shocker!

I have discovered more rude people at Disney World than living and working in Manhattan.

Tough lesson learned for your daughter.

 

[Mr. Plutonium]

Hi!
I'm not a castmember and I read this in a book about Disneyland in California.
So if my info is out of date and/or incorrect please feel free to post any corrections. I believe that Disney employees are encouraged to turn any lost articles because if the items are not claimed after a certain time period the castmember gets to keep the items.

I accidentally left my credit card behind
at a cash register at DLR and got it back in less than 20 min. The castmember turned it in so fast that when we went back to the shop it had already been sent to guest services. Now I know
that they weren't going to give my credit card to the castmember but I still appreciate his honesty and we did fill out a form later thanking the cast member.

My mom lost an exposed roll of film at WDW and we were able to get it back
after calling from home and describing where we thought we dropped it and describing exactly what kind of film it was (Kodak, Kodacolor Gold 135-24).

Personally I think it was pretty rotten that you lost your pin bag. Un- fortunately a cast member didn't find it because your odds of getting a lost article back at Disney are better than most than most places.

The comment from the New Yorker about how rude some guests at WDW are sort of hit a nerve with me. I'm from a big city too (Chicago) and the only time I ever got in a shouting match with a stranger was at WDW. Personally I would rather visit California because the troublemakers seem to prefer WDW.

-Gene