We came to Disneyland and they stole our stroller.... (Update: Stroller Found!)

[Dumbo777]

I'm glad your stroller was found.
Had someone stole it or taken it by accident?
I've noticed strollers decorated in mini lights. It's pretty, but more over is done so it's much easier to find your stroller in a huge herd of them or if it's been taken by accident or otherwise, again, easier to locate. Also it's a deterrent for a thief.

Great idea

 

[Dumbo777]

So glad your stroller was found... but I assume this means it was not stolen after all?

I've been with people who swear their stroller was stolen, but in the end it was there all along, so I understand where you're coming from.

Im not sure where they found it .The only thing that I can think of is that someone may have piled their stuff on top of it and that's why we didn't recognize it. We literally searched for about three hours

 

[Dumbo777]

So glad it was found. A tip I use for my suitcase that would work for strollers at disneyland. I tie crazy colored ribbon (yellow with black polka dots) pieces on the handles. Those ribbons make it really easy to find my bag in the sea of bags.

Awesome idea

 

[Dumbo777]

It’s Hook I tell ya and Disney Security protects the scoundrel. That is why they won’t pull the tapes. They do not want video that could make it on YouTube of Hook stealing strollers.

I laughed so hard at this

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

So glad your stroller was found! Were your jackets still there?

I have had the opposite experience where random things end up in my stroller. I don’t know if it’s kids or adults who put them in. Last week I randomly found a baggie full of condiments and disposable utensils in my stroller basket. Once a bubble wand ended up in my stroller. I felt bad about that... I gave it to the stroller attendant but who knows if the family got it back.

 

[CO2CA]

So glad you found it! I think that's the case with most missing strollers, they end up getting found somewhere in the park eventually - thank goodness!

Some of our relatives brought a little umbrella stroller that in the mad dash to get on Peter Pan at rope drop, parked it in a nondesignated stroller parking area. Of course, once they got off the ride the stroller was gone and they assumed someone stole it. We were with them so knew it just got moved and found it 2 minutes later on the other side of the Carousel lol

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Update, they found our stroller. I'm one happy camper

Yes ma'am. They also piled on a bunch if stuff like blankets and jackrts on it that were not ours .

So glad that your stroller was found! And so puzzled by all the additional things that were in it... life can be so funny sometimes.
You might want to update the title of your post to let people know the good news that the stroller was found.

 

[dieumeye]

Serious question: has anyone concerned with stroller theft considered getting a cheap tracking device?

A tile is like $20 bucks and you can locate it with your phone (but I think the range is limited to a couple hundred feet). A quick search showed for $50 you could get a real time GPS tracking thing. That’s not too crazy, especially if the next best options is to spend $10-15 on a bike lock.

That way, if your stroller does disappear - whether stolen or just relocated by a CM - you can pull out your phone and see exactly where it is.

I hate using a bike lock every time I park and unpark the stroller, but this way you’d be covered if something does happen.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Another PSA: if you ever see something odd in the parks or something that just seems "wrong" to you, don't hesitate to report it to a CM or to a security CM (if there is one nearby). Our friend's stolen stroller was located because someone reported the thief to a CM. The person noticed the thief pushing a stroller loaded full of diaper bags, but there was no child anywhere in sight. It just didn't seem right. And the person's hunch paid off. The thief turned out to be part of a ring that was known for stealing in the parks. So don't be afraid to say something if you see something that just doesn't seem right.

 

[otten]

I’m glad you found it!

We get a balloon or two to tie to the stroller to help with locating it in stroller parking.

 

[Malcon10t]

Serious question: has anyone concerned with stroller theft considered getting a cheap tracking device?

A tile is like $20 bucks and you can locate it with your phone (but I think the range is limited to a couple hundred feet). A quick search showed for $50 you could get a real time GPS tracking thing. That’s not too crazy, especially if the next best options is to spend $10-15 on a bike lock.

That way, if your stroller does disappear - whether stolen or just relocated by a CM - you can pull out your phone and see exactly where it is.

I hate using a bike lock every time I park and unpark the stroller, but this way you’d be covered if something does happen.

I have a tile and use it for my keys and wallet. I would not expect it to work at Disneyland. They are blue tooth, and the distance is more like 50'. It will only show the last known location if the phone and tile app were linked at the time.

Real time GPS would be better, but remember there is also a monthly monitoring fee for the GPS.

 

[dieumeye]

I have a tile and use it for my keys and wallet. I would not expect it to work at Disneyland. They are blue tooth, and the distance is more like 50'. It will only show the last known location if the phone and tile app were linked at the time.

Real time GPS would be better, but remember there is also a monthly monitoring fee for the GPS.

Hmm. I don't have one so I don't know how they work. I can't imagine you'd hear any kind of noise, but if it displays the real time location (even if it's a limited range) it could help find it if it was rearranged by a CM. The new tile pro claims 300' for tracking, even if it's half that, that's decent for a stroller corral.

 

[Malcon10t]

When you hit "Locate", it plays a little tune if the tile is within the distance. My keys are currently about 100' away, so yes, it does extend further than 50'. I don't have the Pro, but one step down. Here is the picture I get when I ask for the location and zoom in as close as I can get.

I usually use it to hit the button and walk around the house to figure out where I set them down.

My son would put one in his wallet, then when he misplaced his wallet on the ranch, use it as sort of a homing device. He'd have a general idea, then use it to figure out if it showed up when he was close to the shop, or near the equipment garage, etc...

 

[lcp9]

my understanding is that tile works based on everyone in the tile network being connected - so as long as one person has tile running near the stroller, it will pop up (i.e., my husband left his keys at a restaurant downtown, 20 miles away from us, and we were able to see it on the map when we got home.)

ETA this is actually a really good idea!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Glad the stroller was found. Pro tip for anyone who's worried. Put a diaper on the top of the basket...make it look used. No one wants to go near a basket to steal something if it has a dirty diaper to touch.

 

[tzeitel]

DD and I went in Oct and stayed at the Anaheim Hotel which is a couple of traffic lights from the park entrance. As we were walking towards one of the crossings I saw a man with a double stroller - nothing weird there. Then as we got closer I saw him take some stuff from the basket and throw it in the trash can, I figured he was just cleaning the stroller after a day in the parks. Thing is he saw me looking and he bolted, did not even wait for the light to change (it was the bus loop on Harbor so not much traffic). I was not really "watching" him - we were just walking that way and he just happened to be there.
When DD and I got to the corner I looked in the trash can - it is one of those big metal ones with no top - and there was a diaper bag with bottles, baby food, diapers and a couple of other baby things. He was too far for me to say anything but I did look in the bag to see if there was any id or phone number so I could at least return the bag to the owner - there was nothing there.
We were on our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags and head to the airport, so I did not have time to turn it in to Disney security but I did turn it in to the Anaheim Hotel front desk.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

OP: I hope you don't mind, but I updated your thread title just so that others following would know there was a positive ending to your story.

 

[Creen14]

This was the first time travelling to Disney with a stroller. We knew that by leaving our stroller there was a chance of theft so we never left any valuables in there. We would leave our sweaters, snacks, etc. knowing that it could happen but hoping that it wouldn't. We would always take our back back full of more valuable things with us. One time, though, I realized while we were in the line of Radiator Springs that I left my cell phone in the cup holder of our stroller. Thankfully it was okay the entire 35 minutes we were gone.

 

[LizzyS]

When you hit "Locate", it plays a little tune if the tile is within the distance. My keys are currently about 100' away, so yes, it does extend further than 50'. I don't have the Pro, but one step down. Here is the picture I get when I ask for the location and zoom in as close as I can get.

I usually use it to hit the button and walk around the house to figure out where I set them down.

My son would put one in his wallet, then when he misplaced his wallet on the ranch, use it as sort of a homing device. He'd have a general idea, then use it to figure out if it showed up when he was close to the shop, or near the equipment garage, etc...

Can I put one of these on my cat?

 

[bumbershoot]

Update, they found our stroller. I'm one happy camper

Excellent!!!

And also thanks to the poster for the reminder about the squirrels!

I’ve seen squirrels gnawing on the caps of water bottles sitting in the stroller tray. Like bottles that the child had been drinking from (not sealed). And you know that toddlers then sort of gnaw on things like that, too. I’ve also seen squirrels get into the baskets of strollers looking for food.

Apparently squirrel spit is just too much for me to deal with lol.

When I started noticing those things, I stopped leaving even bottled water in the stroller. We have an igloo cooler backpack, and we would just carry it with us on rides.

Once we started going to WDW our stroller days were done, but I was glad for my squirrel-based decisions when I was at the Boardwalk Inn pool. A family had been eating (they seemed to be finished) then went to the restrooms.

The ever-present squirrels hopped up on their lounge chairs and were eating the leftover food. I have a picture of the squirrel with an open mayo packet in its paws, licking at the mayo. And yes we told the people when they came back.

That way, if your stroller does disappear - whether stolen or just relocated by a CM - you can pull out your phone and see exactly where it is.

A tile is a good idea for those times that the CM has moved it. But if it’s actually been stolen, it could be very bad for your personal safety. Just promise that you would show the authorities the info, and never ever go after a thief. Ok?