anyone leave their laptops in their room?

[Phonedave]

I've brought my iBook to WDW several times and never had a problem. When we go to the parks in the morning, I put it in my suitcase and lock my suitcase. If we come back to the room in the middle of the day and I use it and then we go back out, I leave it out, because I figure housekeeping isn't coming back and probably no other hotel staff will be either.

I have more anxiety over sending my iBook through the x-ray machine at the airport than I do leaving it out at WDW. Someone could come by and swipe it at the airport and nobody (except me) would care, least of all "security". Last time I flew home through Orlando, I sent my dad ahead of me through the metal detector so he could fetch my iBook as soon as it came through. Well, figures, the freaking machine beeps for him, and I'm standing there behind him freaking out because my iBook is on the other end and no one is there to retrieve it and security is paying no attention whatsoever. I have an Apple laptop; yes, an old one, but it's still an Apple, and Apple computers are more likely to be stolen.

I have never had a problem going through x-ray the same time as my stuff.

Push my computer bag, laptop, and a bin with shoes watch etc into the x-ray tunnel and then I walk through the scanner. I get out to the other side before my stuff comes out of the tunnel.

I send my watch though the x-ray and I worry about that sometims, because its a lot easier to pick up and stick in a pocket than a laptop. But in every airport I have been in, I can see the end of the belt, and if someone were to grab it, you can be sure I would make it known.



-dave

 

[kcw]

hate to be the one who ruins the positive response chain but....


My laptop did actually get stolen from my hotel room. BUT it was at the Clarion maingate (which is a Disney Good Neighbor Hotel), NOT an actual Disney hotel. Long story short- the night manager knew I was alone, made a new key to my room, broke into it while I was gone to um... *go through my clothes* :hurl:... saw my laptop sitting on the bed on his way out, and stole it. Hotel refused to help me, I called the police..... jump forward a few months, he and the laptop were found, but he had already erased EVERYTHING. He took a plea bargain, then fled FL and I've never received anything back.

Needless to say, I try not to take it with me now unless it's absolutely necessary. If I do, I hide it, plus I put the sign out and don't let maids come in to my room at all. Granted I had the Do Not Disturb sign out the first time, but that didn't stop him because he knew I wasn't there.

Again, this was NOT a Disney hotel- and I think it would be much safer there than anywhere else

 

[AGentlRose]

I've taken mine every time both to WDW and DL and have left it on the desk and never had a problem.

 

[Susan Savia]

We stay offsite, but always bring ours and it is locked in our suitcase each day. No problem.

 

[Ghall]

We always bring our laptop and never had a problem leaving it in the room, usually leave it out of sight.

 

[devjohnson]

yep i do!

 

[heliumalias]

I lock my 13" Macbook in the safe.

I generally believe that valuables should either be locked away or carried on your person because there are always unscrupulous characters lurking wherever you are in the world. Locking it to a table or in a suitcase isn't really enough because if someone wants it they'll easily break the table or just take the suitcase. Remember that often the information on the laptop is far more valuable than the computer itself.

 

[Astro_Digital]

My pet peeve about Disney house keeping is I believe in out of site out of mind.

So I close the inner drapes for privacy, and if the sun hits the room it helps it stay cool, but every morning they come in make the bed, tidy up and open the drapes.


Why do they have to open the drapes?

 

[happymom52003]

Ours fits in the safe, so we always put it in there when we leave the room.
Ours is not super small either. I'd say it's about average size for a laptop. Try fitting it in the safe...you might be surprised that it actually fits.

 

[happymom52003]

I lock my 13" Macbook in the safe.

I generally believe that valuables should either be locked away or carried on your person because there are always unscrupulous characters lurking wherever you are in the world. Locking it to a table or in a suitcase isn't really enough because if someone wants it they'll easily break the table or just take the suitcase. Remember that often the information on the laptop is far more valuable than the computer itself.

Exactly. I'm pretty sure my husband would not bring his laptop if it did not fit into the safe.

We've been made fun of at times by friends and family members who think we are too protective over our info on our computers, but my husband has been a chip designer for 18 years.....believe me, he knows how screwed you can get if your computer gets in the wrong hands.

Of course this depends on what you use your computer for. If you just use it to surf the web or write school papers, etc., then you'd be okay. But alot of people have very personal info on theirs....tax info, etc. That is where you can get into trouble.

Sure, the chances it happening are not high. But it does happen (and in this day and age it is happening more frequently) , and the people that it happens to can end up having major problems because of it.

 

[Disney05]

Brought ours for the first time this past October. We have a lock for it and we locked it in a suitcase when we went out. No problems.

 

[kapeman]

Just about all you need is some drive encryption software and a cable lock. It's a really good $35 insurance policy:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834999229

 

[bgraham34]

I took mine down twice and always left it on the table. But i am also a DVC member so they only come into my room once while on my trip.

 

[pcarathers]

we just got back last Saturday. We took ours so we could download our pics every night. We just locked it in the suitcase every day and never had a problem. My nephew left some of his change sitting on the table every day and nothing was ever taken.

 

[TubaGeek]

I took mine, and it was fine.
I was just peeved to find that Disney is stingy enough to CHARGE for their internet. Even most regular hotels have free wireless nowadays.

 

[wdwfan100]

We bring ours every trip. We have a laptop that we only use for traveling. Any thing that needs to be done for work is on an external hard drive. The hard drive always goes in the safe. The computer does too, though not always. To this point we have not had any issues. I do think about it as a potential concern though. Since nothing major goes on our travel CPU I am not overly paranoid.

 

[abug'saunt]

DH, my sister, and I have taken our laptops every trip. DH uses his to handle some business stuff on our trips, downloading pictures everyday from his camera, and check his e-mail. My sister and I also download pics from our cameras but we also bring a couple of movies to keep the little one (her daughter, my niece) entertained when waiting for flights to and from WDW. We put the laptops in our suitcases zipped but not locked. Never had a problem.

 

[gccgrad1996]

laptops

My husband and I have brought our laptop top with us the last three years, and we have never had a problem. Sometimes we put it in its case if we think about it, but sometimes we just leave it on the table.
I have stayed at the Riverside and loved it very much. It is very peaceful and quiet. The only thing I would say is that sometimes the bus stops and buses can become crowded. Due to the fact that they sometimes share the buses with the French Quarter and they pick them up first. We stayed at the French Quarter and I think it happened twice. I remember when we got to the last few stops at the Riverside the bus was already full.
Have a great trip when you go.

 

[Silverguy4867]

I'm glad to hear a topic about this.

I JUST bought a laptop for college, about $1200 with coverage.

BRAND new. We were going to bring it down when we go this August, but I've been a little nervous.
I'm a pretty big gamer and when the girlfriend goes to sleep, I'd like to play a little plus sign on to here and upload photos etc.
I do feel very safe with Disney security reading through this thread.
Also, for a big relief. This came preinstalled on mine (as it is with most newer laptops), but I know it's able to be purchased, LoJack makes software now for laptops, that if it gets stolen, they will retrieve it within hours or will buy you a brand new one.

But, I'm STILL nervous. So I suppose we'll just bring her laptop, which is good enough to surf the web and upload all our photos.

Thanks! :wave:

 

[hemloc]

I am on temporary duty in El Paso, TX and am staying in a hotel(I can see Ciudad Juarez, Mexico out my window!) and I leave my laptop, my Xbox 360 and my DVD player in my suite and haven't had an issue. You can betcha bottom dollar that WDW is much safer!!

I wouldn't worry about it.