I hestitated to write about this because I didn't want to contribute in any way to the rumors of "rampant" stroller theft at Disney World, but as a mom who goes to Disney with small children, my curiosity got the better of me: Was there a growing problem with stroller theft at Disney World? Anecdotally, there seemed to be more posts showing up on Disney boards in the last few months where posters reported that they personally had been, or knew someone who had been, a victim of stroller theft. So I decided to find out for myself it stroller theft was really a problem or if it was just an internet rumor with legs.
What did I find? Well, very little. None of the local news outlets seem to have picked up on the story, nor have their been excessive warnings on any travel sites that deal with Disney, which leads me to believe it's not very common to lose a stroller in the parks. I did find this well-written blog post by a father whose stroller was stolen recently, but not much else. What I did find was more word of mouth on message boards, the rumors about "rings" of criminals stalking higher-end strollers at Disney parks and doing a fast turnaround on Craigslist or the occasional story about the frustrated parent who "borrows" someone's stroller for the day. Of course, there were also people who reported their stroller stolen only to find out it had been moved by a cast member to make room for other strollers.
I'm not sure if this means that stroller theft is any more or less of a problem as it has been in past years or if the ability to post and discuss such incidences on message boards makes it seem like a bigger issue than it is. Regardless, it's important to keep it all in perspective. There are literally thousands of strollers being pushed around Disney World on any given day. A good chunk, if not all, of those strollers will spend at least some time unattended while the owner visits an attraction or is eating. And the vast majority of those strollers will stay put until the owner comes to claim them.
One thing all of these reports had in common was the feeling that it shouldn't happen at Disney. "It's the happiest place on earth", they joked. How could someone go to a theme park and just ruin someone else's vacation? Others chimed in with safety tips, cautioning others not to "let your guard down" just because it's Disney. Solid advice, of course. But here's the thing. I don't let my guard down at Disney. What I do is, in some ways, worse: I give up my cynical side, I step back and believe in the magic. You see that all the time at Disney, people who in their real lives are jaded or very serious losing themselves in the "show" that's taking place around them. And if you do that and something bad happens, well, it's a lot more disappointing than if something happens at your local mall, even if it isn't Disney's fault. Perhaps this too contributes to the feeling that theft is more common than it actually is.
I think my research indicates that it's still extremely rare to have your stroller stolen while at Disney World. Nonetheless, on my next trip, I'm falling into the better safe than sorry category. A few ideas for keeping your stroller safe:
1. Buy a lock specifically made for strollers.
2. Pull the "disgusting bag of something" trick as noted in some guide books. Basically, the idea is that you tie a plastic bag with a fake "dirty" diaper in it to your stroller handle. Thieves run away screaming! Well, that's the idea, anyway.
3. Buy an inexpensive (possibly used) stroller; donate it after the trip. You'll help a mom in need and get a small tax deduction.
4. Rent/swap a stroller. Some Disney message boards have "stroller swaps" where members swap out the same stroller over and over. It requires little effort other than ensuring that you deliver or leave the stroller at the appointed place and time for the next swapper. Most boards require that these swaps take place without money changing hands, although some swaps ask for small donations to keep the strollers in good repair. You can also rent a stroller from Disney or from an off-site stroller rental. Keep in mind that if you rent from Disney, your stroller is for in-park use only. If you have a child that can't walk long distances back to the parking lot, you might want to bring your own or rent one from off site. If you rent off site, read the fine print regarding your responsibility in the event of theft; some companies will allow you to purchase insurance at around $25 for the length of the rental.
5. One mom on a Disney message board had this clever trick: She made an iron-on patch with her family's name and photo on it and ironed it right on the stroller. Others laminated nameplates and attached them with zip ties. The latter seems like it would be an especially good deterrent for the "casual" stroller thief who "borrows" your stroller for the day.
In this economy, it shouldn't be a surprise that unscrupulous people will try to make an easy buck any place strollers are left unattended, not just Disney. While stroller thefts are highly unusual, a few precautions should ensure that your stroller stays with you.
8 comments:
maybe shouldn't worry about stroller theft but should CERTAINLY worry about room theft from housekeeping like a 10 year olds IPOD being stolen while we were at the Magic kingdom on 9/8/2010. This happened at the Villas at Disneys Wilderness Lodge, a deluxe resort. Hotel staff could have cared less and said it was 'lost'.
Had my stroller stolen. Disney would not do anything about it. They just let people walk away with them!
We just left disney today we were celebrating my son with autism and other special needs 5th bday. We were always very cautious of were we left out buggy always in a good location in the designated areas. Almost every time we would go on a ride we would come out to find it had been moved by an employe. On our last day of the 3 day visit we parked it in front of the buzz space spin to take our last trip to space mountain upon returning we found that our buggy and another family's had gone missing (moved by an employee) the other family was foreign and the workers totally ignored anything they had to say. My sons birthday presents were on the buggy ( a ten doller buggy btw) this caused him to throw several tantrums and the stress was so much he had medical problems (mini seizures) they did give us a rental stroller that smelled so bad my son refused to sit in it. After searching the park high and low for 5 hrs straight and dealing with security that was laughing at me behind my back ( my husband was standing right there and heard them) we ended up in city hall till after midnight asking them to get the police so we could make a report, they never would and finally the cop that works the front gate showed up. He did not want to make a report and actually never did. He told us it wasnt a big deal and we should just go home. When I explained to him my son was autistic and it was a big deal to him the mickey mouse officer tried to tell me I should not have brought him there that all autistic children have problems with crowds and that was why he was having tantrums because I changed his daily routine , this is not true my son loves people and crowds do not bother him in the least. He does however get upset when his birthday presents were gone and he had to try to walk everywhere ( he has a muscle disease that makes his legs hurt). While sitting in city hall we overheard several people in the same situation including a lady from jamaica that had her wallet and passport taken and believed they had saw an employe doing it (again these people left empty handed with not even a real police report) we had the director of the whole park the guy under her and disneys version of a cop in a back room for almost 2 hrs before they finally offered us a family pack of tickets to come back for a day since we had spent that day on the great buggy search. As we were leaving they find our stroller my husbands jacket and my sons backpack at different places of course everything had been gone through and most stuff stolen. Thank you to the random lady in line that gave up some of her babies diapers do my don didn't have to stay soaking wet the whole day. Disney deffinatly has a stroller theft epidemic and worse of all they do everything possible to keep it internal, they blow off people that are from far away knowing they will probably never be back anyway. My son stood in front of all the main people crying I hate disney world I hate disney world, they didn't care intill I pulled out my camera and asked them how long they think it would take that video to go viral on youtube.
Yes, strollers do get stolen at Disneyland. We had ours stolen on Friday, August 31, 2012. Security informed us that day three other strollers were stolen. Since it is not a Disneyland loss not much attention is placed over the matter. Disneyland security must be very weak after all.
All these comments are ridiculously ignorant. Bring a cheaper stroller at Disney. Not a $500 limo stroller filled with your valuables. Have some common sense. And YES, the employees move them because it's their JOB, not to make you angry. Sorry you were dumb enough to leave your valuable things in a public place. Thousands of people visit Disney each day, and Disney can't keep up with every single person's strollers. It's not an epidemic, just use common sense and you won't have a problem.
I don't think disney have any security (what they have is a joke) If you have anything stolen, call the police and make a report, let them have a record, don't let them tell you to wait for the police in the security office or any back room. Wait right there were you first made a complain and they didn't do nothing about it! They try to hide the bad things, people should be made aware that they DON'T HAVE SECURITY.
We just traveled to Disney World for 4 days. The first day we were there our stroller went missing. Which we were stupid enough to leave valuables such as an Ipad in the bag. When we called security it took them 45 min to get there and I didnt want to deal with them so I called the sheriffs office immediately and filed a report and they led me to believe that I was never getting my Ipad back. Not to mention Disney said that they dont have cameras. But I checked craigs list that night nothing then I checked the next morning guess what was there..MY IPAD! I called the sheriffs office immediately who set up a meeting to "purchase" the Ipad and when he arrive and saw it was mine for sure he made 4 arrests. Bye Bye suckers. Have fun in jail! So if you do get something stollen check craigslist that day or the next because it will probably be up there. All I know is my valuables wont be left in my bag.
On Wednesday, May 8 2013 I was sitting at Captain EO theater in Epcot and the girl behind me was talking louder than the show. I asked her to be quiet and then when I turned around to watch the show, she hit me on the head.
I did not make a complaint because I was leaving to catch a plane.
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