wheelchair security?

[KPeveler]

Ok, i have heard a bunch of people suggest putting a bike lock on your personal chair to keep it from "wandering off" when you are on a ride, but how worried do I need to be that my personal chair will disappear? I will try to leave it outside rides if I can (I am going at a time with low crowds, and on lines i can see like pooh bear, i prefer to walk the line), but will someone steal it?

I know not to leave anything on the chair, and i can bring a bike lock, but is someone really going to steal my chair? has anyone ever has theirs stolen, or heard of someone who has? i didnt pay much for mine (used on ebay) but i really don't want to lose it!

 

[Michigan]

Just stay in your chair in the lines then get out of it to go on the rides.

Since my girls can't walk we always leave the chairs with the cm at the ride and have never locked them or worried that they wouldn't be there when we got off.

 

[KPeveler]

i have never heard of someone stealing a chair, but a lot of people seem concerned that it will happen... i actually need to get up and walk sometimes, and i figured that it would be easier to walk through short lines or fastpass lines sometimes...

for instance i would wait in my chair at the HM line, but then walk through the stretching room and interior line. i guess i was just concerned that my chair, which i guess a CM would move to the exit, would be gone when i got out

 

[Mickiethepooh]

I agree, ride it through the line then it is right there when you get off, much less chance of anything happening. Also you might want to Write your name in magic marker on the bottom of the seat, I also have Luggage tag type stickers that I put on every removable part of my chair, useful when traveling with it anyway. and it certainly proves the chair is yours should anyone inadvertently mistake it for another one.
The most irritating part to me is coming off a ride or out of a restaruant and finding someone sitting in it or kids playing on my scooter. Do people have NO BRAINS at all?

 

[KPeveler]

no, most people do not have brains!

my chair does not look anything like the ones in the parks, and is essentially a pediatric chair (cause i am so small ), so odds are no one would mistake it. however, i know that will be my biggest concern about bringing it, is someone else thinking that it is simple a better version of a park chair and rolling off!

 

[mechurchlady]

Make sure it is clearly marked as yours such as engraving on the frame some sort of identication. You could put on the back of the chair a label "Property of James" for example. Thieves usually grab the stuff that looks like it belongs to nobody.

The problem with locking stuff at parks is that sometimes CMs will need to move the chair or stroller. It may be for an emergency or the need to be tidy. I do not know if they would cut the chain or not but would not tempt them. If you decide to lock the chair then make sure you put it where it is allowed to be. Talk to CMs.

There are people who will take things that do not belong to them. If someone took your chair then you would contact the first CM and they would call security. Disney parks can get the word out fast.

I like to see things out of an ECV and sometimes miss things when I am in an ECV. I understand your wanting to walk through some lines.

 

[SueM in MN]

People have posted in the past that they were given a lock to use when they borrowed a wheelchair from their resort. Those wheelchairs don't look like they 'belong' to anyone as Churchy mentioned, so some people might feel 'safe' to take them (and if they are caught, they can always claim that they thought it was theirs).
Someone's personal wheelchair is a bit diffferent since no one knows who it belongs to or whether you might come out as they are removing it. So, I would agree that the best 'defense' is to make it very individual, so that no one can mistake it for theirs if it's just sort of a 'generic' wheelchair that may be like others. It's also less likely that anyone will take one that they know the owner can tell just by glancing at them that they have it.

Almost forgot,
you can use a lock if you want, as long as the wheelchair can still be moved by CMs. If you lock it to something like a fence, etc. the lock may/will be cut. They will move wheelchairs to make the stroller area more orderly or to keep evacuation routes clear.
People who use locks either put the lock somewhere that would make the wheelchair uncomfortable to use (like across the seat) or make it still movable, but not not useable, like locking the 2 front wheels together. That allows CMs to push it by tilting the weight off those wheels.

 

[Vijoge]

The most irritating part to me is coming off a ride or out of a restaruant and finding someone sitting in it or kids playing on my scooter. Do people have NO BRAINS at all?

I've been waiting for a chance to tell this story LOL!

DH and I were on the bus going to Old Key West Resort. My ECV was srapped in and I was sitting in the seat right in front of it (like I have to because they won't let you remain on the ECV, right?). Well the bus started getting full and pretty soon was standing room only. So this guy got on the bus, walked to the back and promptly sat down on my ECV. (I had a towel on the seat and he even took the towel off.) I looked at DH like ?????? and we waited to see if he'd stay there. Sure enough, he sat on my ECV until we got to his stop and he got off.

And immediately down the aisle comes a women with three kids in tow. She looked at the kids and asked "Who wants to sit in the wheelchair?"

DH yelled "NO!" I'm thinking, "Gosh, if I can't sit on it how come everyone else can????"

 

[Chuck S]

We've never had a problem a WDW, but many years ago my grandmother's chair was "borrowed" at Disneyland. We exited the ride just in time to see it disappearing down main street. The woman in it claimed that it was a park chair that she rented, though it obviously was quite different from the park chairs available at the time.

If you are worried, a bike lock should work fine for those instances where you leave the chair and walk onto a ride. But for a lot of rides, like Big Thunder where you have an alternate entrance and leave the chair, I wouldn't worry too much as the chair is usually within site of a CM while you ride. Just be sure not to secure the chair to anything, as the CMs may need to relocate it.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

As your chair is fairly individual already (and very cool and sparkly!), it's less likely that it'll be taken. I think most people at Disney would take a chair by mistake, rather than intentionally stealing it (though you do get inconsiderate idiots everywhere, unfortunately), so your chair (not being a standard black) would be less likely to be taken. If you also decorate the chair up for Disney, with some cool lights, ribbon, tinsel, beads or other such decor, it will make it stand apart more (as well as making a nice conversation piece). I'm afraid I've never left my own chair in the stroller area, as I've only been on one trip with my own wheels, and am too broken to make it through a queue alone now, so can't give you a first-hand answer.

I think you should be fine. If the worst does happen, let a CM know immediately and they can have people on the look out for it.

 

[alizesmom]

Alize's chair is his life-line. He has to have a custom made one and we would be lost without it. It's obviously different from a regular chair and he will rarely be out of it but there are a few rides where I might carry him on. Can I specifically ask a CM to watch it? Karen

 

[Michigan]

Alize's chair is his life-line. He has to have a custom made one and we would be lost without it. It's obviously different from a regular chair and he will rarely be out of it but there are a few rides where I might carry him on. Can I specifically ask a CM to watch it? Karen

You won't need to worry. I have 2 kids in custom wheelchairs and have never had a problem with the chair not being there in 17 years.

 

[SueM in MN]

Alize's chair is his life-line. He has to have a custom made one and we would be lost without it. It's obviously different from a regular chair and he will rarely be out of it but there are a few rides where I might carry him on. Can I specifically ask a CM to watch it? Karen

In those cases, you would be leaving the wheelchair at the baording/exit area, not just out in the open.
We were worried the first year or 2 when we traveled with DD's wheelchair, but I agree with Michigan, people don't mess with them there.
For one thing, in most cases, it is parked in the exit area. Most people are concerned with just figuring out how to get out of the ride/attraction and don't even notice the wheelchair. I recently stood at the exit of Haunted Mansion for one whole ride cycle because I got off and the CM forgot to stop the ride to let DD and DH off. I was standing in full view of anyone coming off the ride - I was even taking pictures. I would bet that if someone had been outside the building taking a survey, most of the people would have said they did not notice anything 'unusual' at the exit.

 

[KPeveler]

security was my only concern about bringing my own chair... what i was thinking was that my chair folds, so i may fold it if i leave it anywhere but at an exit (when i board a ride) and lock it so it won't unfold... that way it can be rolled easily, but i am the only one who can unlock it to sit in it...

i have never heard of a chair getting stolen, but it is nice to hear from other people that you did not have a problem with it!

the only place i will leave my chair in "stroller parking" would be fantasyland - i can see the ride lines from the outside, so i would be able to judge if i could stand... plus that is the most crowded area with the worst accessibility i think (seeing as it is oldest)... POTC would be my only other concern...

 

[SueM in MN]

sPOTC would be my only other concern...

POTC has a very long queue that you have to travel thru even if it is not busy. If it's busy, they change the route to make more space inside the actual queue for people to wait. You can't see any of this until you are inside of the queue area and the CMs don't seem to be very good at judging the distance.

 

[Figaro]

Before I got my own wheelchair, when we would get a chair from the resort, we were given a bike lock and told to lock the wheel on one side so it could be moved but would still be difficult to steal. And I agree that for the most part, it isn't very likely that a wheelchair will be stolen, but it does happen on occasion.

My personal experience with this was on time on our flight to WDW, while waiting for the aisle wheelchair, someone opened up and sat down in my wheelchair which had no arms, legs or seat cushions and which was sitting closed in the jetway and went off with it. Fortunately, my spouse had carried out the wheelchair parts to get it set up for me and saw them. He ran after them and then the person in my wheelchair proceeded to argue with my spouse that it was an airport wheelchair. Even my spouse pointing out that it had no legs, arms or seat cushion didn't change the person's mind. But the flight attendant did manage to convince them that they had to give back the wheelchair, so no harm was done.

The second experience was at DTD Guest Services. My spouse had gone in to get an error corrected on his ticket and I was waiting back from the desk for him. A woman came racing in, right over to where I was sitting in my wheelchair and said: "I need that chair right now."

I said: "I beg your pardon?"

She said: "You need to get out of it right now so I can take it."

I said: "This is my wheelchair."

She said: "But I need one now."

I said: "You don't appear to understand, this is my personal wheelchair."

She said: "Well, what am I supposed to do? I need a wheelchair now and they told me I could have the first one that was returned."

I said: "I'm not returning this wheelchair because it is my own wheelchair."

She wasn't happy, and upon leaving Guest Services, told the people waiting outside for her that there was a wheelchair but that that woman wouldn't give it up.

I laughed and laughed about this until I had tears rolling down my face.

I have found that for the most part, people aren't going to deliberately take a personal wheelchair. But often people don't pay very much attention to wheelchairs and they seem to look pretty much the same to many people. If someone could head off in a wheelchair with no legs or arms I wonder how much of an effect personalizing a wheelchair is going to have.

 

[SueM in MN]

If someone could head off in a wheelchair with no legs or arms I wonder how much of an effect personalizing a wheelchair is going to have.

Well, it won't help with the totally clueless people like the one you are talking about,
but it should help with those who are only partly clueless.

That story makes me think of one of the first times we went to WDW after DD got her first wheelchair - bright purpl/fushia, with big tires. Little kids wheelchairs not are much more 'kid friendly', but in those days, they were literally the same as adult wheelchairs, except for narrower and shorter in the seat.
Hers was pretty obviously a wheelchair though since it had huge tires on the back and had a head rest. As we were going into The Land building at Epcot, a mother came up beside us with a stoller and tried to get into the building. The CM said she could not bring the stroller in and would have to park it.
She pointed to us and said "I am going in. You are letting them bring their stroller in, so I'm bringing mine in too." The CM said, "I'm sorry, but that is a wheelchair and they are allowed to bring that in. Strollers are not allowed in and you will have to park yours." The woman just kept arguing about her "right to bring my stroller in, since you are letting them bring their's in." Her DH started out whispering "that is a wheelchair" to her, but she was having none of it. it was really obvious that she wasn't listening, because each time, she would say, "I don't care. f I can't bring my stroller in, neither can they". The DH and the CM kept repeating "that is a WHEELCHAIR", getting louder and louder. It was real obvious that she wasn't really listening, but the DH finally got her to move over so at least we could get in. He (and the CM) apologized profusely, but the woman was still arguing when we left.

 

[Figaro]

Sue, I have found that some people believe so strongly that they are correct that nothing anyone can say to them gets through. It sometimes takes a higher authority before they will give up, and even then they will complain about what the perceive as the injustice.

I guess that woman was so focused on what she thought was fair that she couldn't even see the difference between a stroller and a wheelchair Hopefully it was WDW overload and she normally is a bit more rational.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue, I have found that some people believe so strongly that they are correct that nothing anyone can say to them gets through. It sometimes takes a higher authority before they will give up, and even then they will complain about what the perceive as the injustice.

I guess that woman was so focused on what she thought was fair that she couldn't even see the difference between a stroller and a wheelchair Hopefully it was WDW overload and she normally is a bit more rational.

She was not listening to anyone and she 'saw' a stroller, no matter what it really was or what anyone said.

 

[hematite153]

.. is someone really going to steal my chair? has anyone ever has theirs stolen, or heard of someone who has? i didnt pay much for mine (used on ebay) but i really don't want to lose it!

Yes.

Disney CMs did everything they could for us, but having the wc stolen on the second last day of our vacation created a bad feeling at the end of a good week.

It had personal property on it (hat and bright bandanna) so should have been rather obviously not a "courtesy chair".

Once I got past the initial emotional reaction I have mostly just been thankful that we choose to rent in Orlando this time (instead of bringing a chair from home like in the past). The CMs were able to arrange things so that we didn't end up paying for the stolen chair but if we'd rented it from home or if it was a personal one they wouldn't have been able to help in this way.

We've talked about locks for our next trip and will probably do something to help prevent another theft. Locking one wheel to the frame seems simplest for us.