What was this parent thinking?

[Gracie09]

Slightly off topic, but has a child ever been kidnapped from a WDW resort?

No


Stranger kidnappings are actually extremely rare.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Slightly off topic, but has a child ever been kidnapped from a WDW resort?

No.
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/parental/kidnap.asp

 

[Moonwolf]

Reminds me of the time I tried to teach my 3 year old a valuable lesson in staying by my side in a Kohl's Department store. As he wandered off I decided to keep going a little ways away but kept an eye on where he was, or so I thought. When I didn't see him come running back in a panic like I expected I went to where I thought he was, and he was no where around. So suddenly I'm the dumb, panicked parent running from rack to rack looking for a 3 foot kid in a Bob the Builder t-shirt. Luckily I found him before anyone else did so that I wouldn't be the subject of disapproving glances.

My parents did something similar to my younger brother when he was around the same age at our local six flags. He would always run off ahead so to teach him not to do that they ducked down an adjacent path where they could see him but he could see them. They let him panic a bit once he realized he couldn't find anyone then let him find them.

 

[mjkacmom]

Try this scenario on for size....

Over the Christmas holidays we were at Disney and had just left the Beauty & the Beast show. We stopped in the shops to the left and ran into the bathroom between one of the shop an the Once Upon a time shop.

As we had a party of 6, we just were hanging out on the curb waiting for everyone. Even after the last one in our party joined us we just sat there and chatted. About halfway through this I leaned back to find a stroller with an adorable little girl about 3 yrs old wide awake and chatting to her toy.

There was a man standing at the railing, I looked up at him and smiled..thinking it was his child. We stand up to leave and he turns to leave, the CHILD ISN'T HIS! We look around all over the place. No parents! We certainly were not going to leave her alone. My 16 year old went to find a CM and before she returns with one, a man walks out of the bathroom, grabs the stroller and child and off they go!!!!

I was floored! Who in heavens name would leave a child and stroller alone while they go into a bathroom. You can't even keep an eye on them! I told him, I would have been happy to watch her while he went to the bathroom if he is just asked me! Of course, he didn't speak English and just walked off.

I get you may not want to take a little girl into a male bathroom...but Disney is covered with family restrooms.

It broke my heart!

In some other cultures, people park their sleeping babies in carriages on the street, and shop or eat. It probably didn't cross his mind that others would frown on it.

Maybe the child wandered away? I've lost ds12 over a dozen times, out in public, and having him leave the house. I've also found that vacations, with multiple adults, made it easier to lose kids, often one thinks the child is with the other. List grandpa this way, too!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

As far as reported, no child has ever been kidnapped from anywhere at WDW.

There was a woman who was arrested at WDW after calling in a false report in Philadelphia that she and her child had been kidnapped. She had also stolen a boatload of money from her employer.

 

[WhispyPixie]

In some other cultures, people park their sleeping babies in carriages on the street, and shop or eat. It probably didn't cross his mind that others would frown on it.

Thanks for the info. I can appreciate the culture differences.

It still makes my heart sad and fearful for the child. There may not be a history of kidnapped children at WDW. Unfortunately, there is always a first time for everything.

 

[Magic Band Defender]

In some other cultures, people park their sleeping babies in carriages on the street, and shop or eat. It probably didn't cross his mind that others would frown on it.

Thanks for the info. I can appreciate the culture differences.

It still makes my heart sad and fearful for the child. There may not be a history of kidnapped children at WDW. Unfortunately, there is always a first time for everything.

It's not kidnapping I worry about. A small child could get serioisly injured, drown, end up lost for hours, or the inconvenience to other park guests if a park has to be nearly shut down over a list child.

 

[SeanTomorrow]

Different parenting styles are fascinating.

I can't help wonder what international visitors think of those leash backpacks! Perhaps they post on boards about the barbaric parents who treat their children like animals out for a walk. Or perhaps they see a 9 year old in a stroller and are horrified that parents would humiliate their child in public like that.

 

[mirandaperez10]

I don't get parents that don't watch their kids , it's like yay WDW best babysitter ever let's let our kids run wild while we have fun.

 

[Marthasor]

Two parents were arrested in 2007 when they left their 3-year old child alone outside of POTC:

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2007-06-26/news/PIRATES26_2_1_stroller-girl-daughter

 

[TLSnell1981]

There is absolutely no excuse for leaving a small child alone...period. And, I don't buy, that the child wandered off. MHO

 

[peteykirch]

Today I'm pretty certain I saw a parent do absolutely nothing as their kid shoplifted a pair of sunglasses leaving The Studios.

I was leaving and this family was ahead of me in complete sprint mode with one of their daughters lagging behind. She runs off (Family keeps walking), she screams for her Mother that she saw these Princess Sunglasses and wanted them. Mother stops, screams at her to keep up. Daughter keeps walking dragging behind the Mother. Mother doesn't stop just keeps berating the kid to hurry up because she's ruining her day. I eventually pass them, but I'm pretty certain they never went back to return the glasses.

 

[Skrabadoo]

I have a story...

Last November we were at the Magic Kingdom. It was about an hour until the spectromagic parade and we were heading down mainstreet to leave the park. Guests were lining up along the parade route. It was busy and I was pushing a large double stroller with my 5 and 2 year old in it.

My husband decides now is the time to do some souvenir shopping. I let him go alone and told him I'd wait for him near the firehouse with the kids. I asked a cast member where was a good place to wait out of the way and I parked close to the carriage house in the corner. There are trolley tracks along the ground there leading to the carriage house, my 2 year old son is obsessed with trains. It was strangely quiet in the corner so I let him walk along the tracks from me to the carriage house and back choochooing and pretending to be a train. He was in my direct sight the entire time and there were no other guests waiting for the parade around us. The cast member that helped me find a place to wait was across the street from me the entire time. In the span of about 10 minutes, 5 separate guests reported my son as lost to that cast member.

Every time it happened, the cast member pointed over to me about 10 feet away. My son was never lost but I did feel comforted knowing that there are many people who are willing to go out of their way to help a child.

 

[Nata]

Different parenting styles are fascinating.

I can't help wonder what international visitors think of those leash backpacks! Perhaps they post on boards about the barbaric parents who treat their children like animals out for a walk. Or perhaps they see a 9 year old in a stroller and are horrified that parents would humiliate their child in public like that.

You might be right.

 

[TLSnell1981]

There is absolutely no excuse for leaving a small child alone...period. And, I don't buy, that the child wandered off. MHO

ETA
My first thought was it was probably someone, who was visiting from another country. They aren't at home and it's not as safe in the U.S.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm not a parent but I would think that as a parent you'd constantly be aware of where your kiddo was, especially in such a public place.
.

Please tell me you're kidding?

The whole reason places have lost-child plans is because it's SO easy to lose track of parents/kids while in crowded places. Disney has a terrific way of dealing with things because they get so much practice.

To this day DH has a soft spot for Captain Hook because, back in the late 70s his family was at Disneyland, DH's face was in a map and his family walked away, not realizing he wasn't with them for quite a bit. He put the map down and saw no one. Was very upset. Hook came up to him and sat with him until his parents came back.

Immediately, this wonderful CM gently took the child's hand and walked her into the area where people line up to buy the pastries, and the CM stood with her until a lady came up to claim the child.

I personally am bothered that the CM moved the child. I'm not sure that that is standard for how they deal with these things.

OR perhaps the CM knew what was going on and knew that the child was there and so was the parent. What if it was more of a situation like the poster who was watching her 2 year old from afar, than it was a parent not knowing where their child was?

 

[dpswift]

1. Kids do on occasion get separated without parents knowledge. We have had it happen. Maybe the father was running around in a panic looking for her.

2. People from other cultures have different parenting styles. At DLR last May we had stopped walking for a second and a young boy around 2 ran over and grabbed DS 26 by the leg. We were shocked but looked up and saw another man in tan shorts walking towards us. The child went to the man and the man acted as though nothing was unusual.

3. I know it is a confined space however 2 years ago on the first day of our Disney cruise a young girl came to me and said she was lost. I took her to a CM nearby.

4. I believe that 50 feet is to far for the parent to have left the child. Just because a child has not been kidnapped does not mean that it will not happen. I do believe it would be difficult to get someones child out of WDW. However bad things could happen within the gates. Even in sight someone could grab the child and be out of sight before the mother could get there.

 

[dpswift]

There is such a wide variety of parenting styles and when you take into consideration the fact that Disney attracts people from all over the world, you find parents who are lax with supervision compared to US standards.

I'm glad that the child was reunited safely with the parents, but I don't necessarily agree that the little one was in danger.

Here is an example of different cultural parenting styles that happened at home. When DD was about 9 she was supposed to stay after school on Halloween. She stayed after every Tuesday and usually the teacher made sure of it. I went to pick up a presciption for her sister who had just gotten an ear infection. I went to pick her up not there went home and checked the door for notes nothing. Went to friends houses no DD.

Finally went to the house across the street. They came was an African village where children were everyones responsibility. "you were not home so we brought her here. My son had a dental appt so my husband took her there" I was shocked by the lack of a note however they did what they felt was right.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Wasn't really thinking about a kidnapping although that is on the outside realm of possibility. A kid that young could wander off and get involved in a hazardous situation.

 

[disnut8]

A few years ago, my family was walking along the Boardwalk and came upon a young man, about seven years old, who had lost his family. He was very upset so we stopped to talk to him. We found out he and his family had sat down on a bench to have something to eat and when they finished, all of them got up and left. But the boy realized he had left his hat on the bench so he ran back to get it and when he turned back to catch up with his family, he couldn't find them.

So, the entire family was together but the boy ran back to get his hat. Now he was alone. We stayed with him for a few minutes and I sent my teenage son to look for a Cast Member when the boy's family came rushing back. They had been almost to the International Gateway entrance when the mom was getting out their passes (before Magic Bands) and that's when they all realized the boy wasn't with them.

Keeping an eye on your children is a great plan but it's impossible to do with so many people and so many different situations. Fortunately for the boy and his family, they had already discussed what to do if anyone became separated from the group and that's what the boy did. He stayed in the last spot where he saw his family and then came back to the last spot where they saw him.