Worries of Stroller Stealing?

DutchsMommy

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
2,766
I am thinking of bringing our own stroller from home for DS. It is one I would not be OK with being stolen. I defiantely want this over renting, and I don't want to just bring a cheapy umbrella because it has no storage, no sun shade etc. Is stealing a problem, should I even be concerned? I am just thinking about leaving the stroller while we are in line or in a show for 20 mins. Maybe I am paranoid from living in "the city", but I wouldn't leave my stroller in the mall if I went into a store - is it different at WDW?
 
We have a rather pricy Combi stroller that we've taken to WDW twice and DL/DCA once. Obviously it hasn't been stolen. The biggest problem can be if the CM's move them. We had a heck of a time finding ours in DL one day. If you have one that looks like everyone elses (i.e. navy canopy w/ plaid seat) try individualizing it a little. A lot of people tie a balloon or scarf to the handle. What I'd do next time is put florescent tape strips on the canapy to make it easier to find. I also would put our name and resort name on the stroller in case someone took it by mistake. With the the people going to WDW I think I've only heard of 1 stroller theft.
 
I have taken countless "premium" strollers to WDW and never had a problem. I've taken, in no particular order: Peg Perego Milano, Maclaren, Combi Twin Saavy and Peg Perego Pliko. I've never had one stoller, damaged, or slightly misplaced while there. I wouldn't worry about your stroller getting stolen, I've never met anyone it's happened to and we go to WDW usually 2 times per year.
 
I don't think you need to worry. I have left a single stroller near a bench in Magic Kingdom all day while I rented a double for the parks, and it was there at the end of both days. We have even left our video camera in our stroller while in attractions and never had anything taken. But like the other poster said, don't panic if you come out of an attraction and it is gone, a CM has just moved it to the "appropriate" parking area.

Have fun!!

Christine
 

We also have never had anything stolen (including our Peg Perego). To be fair, however, there was recently a thread on another dis board (can't remember which) where a LOT of people had had strollers taken. Even after reading that thread (which really shocked me :eek: ), I will still bring our stroller, but will not leave anything of value in it.

pirate: princess: ::MinnieMo ::MickeyMo
 
I've brought expensive strollers and not had a problem either. I like the suggestion in the Unofficial Guide of hanging something that looked like a dirty diaper on the handle bar to make your stroller less attractive. I've not tried that though :hyper:
 
We haven't had a problem with any of the strollers. I did read a tip somewhere if your still concerned strap a bag with a diaper in it around the handle.
 
We take our own strollers to WDW, also. We have actually had our stroller taken--by mistake--twice in one trip! Once outside IASW and once after FANTASMIC. In both situations, the person had mistaken our stroller for their stroller. Both times, they got away from the attraction and reached for something they had left in their stroller and noticed our personal items. They then returned the strollers. Both times, I was very surprised that they were returned. The people who brought them back only had bottled water and soft drinks in their strollers where ours had fairly valuable stuff--once, DD left her pin lanyard with about 15 pins in the stroller pocket and once we had 2 hats in the basket. We were initially frustrated, but both situations turned out OK. It only cost us a little time waiting for the folks to come back!
 
I could be wrong, but I assume most strollers that get stolen are the rental strollers. Things get shifted around and they all look the same, anyway, so I think some people figure they will just take whatever they can find. I guess they assume that you will do the same when you can't find your own stroller because they have taken it! They don't realize that everyone doesn't think like they do...

I have only had a rental stroller stolen once, and it was completely by accident. Fortunatley I was able to find the other party before they had gotten too far with my stroller and diaper bag.

The advice to tie something on the handle to identify your stroller is excellent!
 
Unfortunately, the people who responded on the other thread actually had their own personal strollers stolen - some more than once :( . As I said, we have always been fortunate and felt completely safe leaving our strollers. This time, however, we will try to make it more distinguishable, just in case somone gets "confused" :rolleyes: .

pirate: princess: ::MinnieMo ::MickeyMo
 
I took our stroller to Disney at least 10 times, never had a problem. We always did something to personalize it bc it was very popular model and I worried more about me not recognizing it and taking someone else's than vice versa. It was pretty funny the other day bc we passed it on to my cousin who is pregnant with her first (my DD is 9) and attached to the handle were all the gate check claims from all of our trips with it. I had forgotten that DD "collected" those! We counted and it had 52 tags! Now how's that for a well-traveled stroller!
 
Stroller stealing has been a concern of mine too. I'm still undecided as to what we will do for strollers while we are there... I'd like to take our Perego Milano with us, but I'm afraid it will disappear!
I'm trying to think of a creative way to mark the perego without damaging it, so nobody would even think of taking it. It would of course have our names etc. marked on it in a few hidden areas. Am I being paranoid or what?!?! LOL One thought was to paint the handle a nice DIS lime green color with (washable) paint! That would make it easier to spot in the sea of strollers after a ride, and unattractive due to it's obviously easy way to spot and identify, to anyone with thoughts of taking it. :D
 
Lots of folks know I do this for my peace of mind, so I'll throw it out again. I lock my Mac and Pliko, but not the wheels. I use a long-hasp combinations padlock across one of the back fold joints, which prevents it from being folded. (Which means that if someone does take it out of the park, it's unlikely to get any further than the parking lot, where Disney can find it and return it.) I lock it once when we arrive at a park, and except for the MK train, I never need to unlock it until we leave the park.

Both of my best strollers have fabric not common in the US, so no one is likely to take either of them by mistake. However, something I always do for each trip, while I'm making laminated luggage tag slips, is to create a LARGE (5" x 7") ID tag for the stroller. It shows our last name, resort, and dates of stay. I usually have a little fun with it and add the resort logo, too. I attach it tightly to the handle with a profusion of metallic curling ribbon. The ribbon is impossible to get off without scissors or a knife, and it glints in the sun, which helps me find the stroller more easily. Anyone pushing the thing would notice the ribbon immediately, because it will fluff up against one's hand.

Most "thefts" in the theme parks ARE a case of mistaken identity, but not all are; there are also people who like to "borrow" a stroller for the day or even their entire trip. In the past these boards have had many postings by people whose marked personal strollers turned up abandoned at the end of the day at a park other than the one where they went missing. What that should tell you is to be sure to mark your name, address and phone number on the stroller so that it can be returned if it is found. I permanently mark all my strollers by using a couple of return-address labels stuck to the underside of the frame.

BTW, I understand that there is sometimes a problem with the targeted theft of high-end strollers outside the restaurants and shops at Downtown Disney. You don't have to pay admission there, so it's a much more logical hunting ground for thieves who want to resell them. Be more careful with your stroller there.

PS: Don't bother with the "fake dirty diaper" trick. It's so well-known now that it has become a total joke. It wouldn't stop a deliberate thief for a minute. The thief would just stop at the nearest trash can and toss it, because who would suspect anyone doing that of trying to disguise a theft? If you saw someone trying to remove a tag or ribbons, *that* would make you suspicious, but throwing away a dirty diaper?
 
Our first trip to WDW had us very concerned about our MacClaren stroller being stolen so I went out and bought a pricey lock that we never used. Here's my tips - make your stroller recognizable - I use fluorescent zip ties that can be found in the Home Depot, we put our resort info on it, we never leave valuables in it, we always put it in stroller parking so a cast member usually doesn't have to move it - the farther in the better - a thief will usually just take one from the end rather than wade through three rows to get one. We've left ours outside of Fantasmic for hours, we park it once in Fanstasyland and roam there for a couple of hours, and we've never had a problem. By the way, we did end up using the pricey lock - when we went on the Disney Cruise following our stint in the parks we were able to lock up the balcony furniture so our 2 yo DS couldn't push it near the end to climb over!:crazy:
 
Originally posted by cmcvean
I don't think you need to worry. I have left a single stroller near a bench in Magic Kingdom all day while I rented a double for the parks, and it was there at the end of both days. We have even left our video camera in our stroller while in attractions and never had anything taken. But like the other poster said, don't panic if you come out of an attraction and it is gone, a CM has just moved it to the "appropriate" parking area.


I'm afraid I'll never be quite this trusting--on our last trip in Sept., I accidentally left my small wallet/purse on our stroller when we went into Le Cellier for dinner. I realized it after about 15 minutes, but it was too late. We had to deal with the joy of searching lost and found and filing a police report during our vacation (not to mention trying to get ahold of all our credit card companies and the worries I still have about identity theft). It really put a damper on our trip. Folks, as much as we'd like to believe everyone is nice in DW it just isn't so. Don't take chances, keep a sharp eye on your valuables at all times! I only say this because I'd hate to see someone else's trip dampened like ours was :( To the OP, I wouldn't worry overly much about your stroller, I'm just saying leaving valuables laying around is asking for trouble.
 


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom