First time with a stroller, theft a problem?

[cynic710]

I will be going early november, and though ive been to the world (my second home) about a dozen times this will be the first time as a dad. We will be travelling with my mom, wife and son who will be 20 months when we go. So this will be the first time with a stroller, ( renting from kingdom strollers).

so the question i have is if there is any sort of problem with theft with parked strollers? i mean we wont leave valuables or anything but regardless, is there much of a problem with stroller safety?

 

[Sam Eagle 1776]

I'd think it should be pretty safe, security is pretty good about that sort of thing and back in the day my family would always bring in a stroller and never had any problems. WE'd actually buy a stroller at walmart and leave it at the motel when we left because buying it straight up was less expensive than renting a day at the parks haha

 

[Tom Morrow]

Just make sure to mark your stroller with something unique. With thousands of strollers around, a lot of them end up being the same "model", and someone may accidentally walk off with yours.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

Yeah, most stroller "theft" is actually nothing more than a case of mistaken identity.

 

[wilkeliza]

Let's not forget the stroller "theft" from the Wildlife. Try not to leave any food in your stroller that might smell great to the squirrels and other little creatures of the Magic Kingdom. I have heard several stories of squirrels going after cookies until they are successful including having to rip through the mesh pouch on the stroller to get to it.

 

[Mongomil]

Brought a stroller on our last two trips and never had a problem. The only time we did was when it got moved. I swear the CM's like to move them all around to create some confusion. Like others have said put something on it that makes it your own. Alot of strollers there so some will look the same. OH YA this trip no stroller as we are just doing an adult trip. SO CAN'T WAIT. :sohappy::sohappy:

 

[powlessfamily4]

My daughter left her Coach purse on top of my sister-in-laws stroller last summer. We were on IASW when we remembered it. With wait time and ride time, it was out there unattended at least a min of 45 minutes. I thought for sure it was gone. When we returned it was still waiting on top of the stroller.

I think your pretty safe, but I would excercise caution. You never know...

 

[jlevis]

It is not uncommon for CM's to move strollers from an unauthorised area to an authorized "stroller parking lot". Be sure about where you are leaving it and be sure you can easily identify your stroller.

 

[MITCH 112198]

we have never had a problem, I even leave all my stuff in the bottom when riding, if someone steals it at Disney then my thought is " they must have needed it more than me" I can buy more diapers

 

[rct247]

It is not uncommon for CM's to move strollers from an unauthorised area to an authorized "stroller parking lot". Be sure about where you are leaving it and be sure you can easily identify your stroller.

^^ YES. Always look around to find a designated stroller parking area. If you are unsure, just ask a cast member. Also don't assume that if you see other strollers parked in an area that it is a designated area. They may still get moved.

Best way to mark your stroller is with a neon bandana tied to it, a balloon, or a bright beach towel draped over it.

 

[CaptainShortty]

Be smart about what you leave in the stroller but 99.9% of the time you're going to be just fine leaving stuff in there. As some people said the most common stroller "theft" is someone thinking that it is theres and walking off with it. Mark it with something unique and easily spotted; balloon, towel, bandana. As people have also said, CMs around the world (especially in Fantasyland) are assigned to move strollers into the designated parking lot. That's all they do is move strollers so it's more than likely even if you parked your stroller in a good spot that it's going to be moved. Don't fret. Just find the nearest CM and ask them where they went. Better yet if you see a CM moving strollers near the attraction you're going to board, give yours to them so then you'll know approximately where it's going. That'll cut the time you spend looking for it.

 

[melmood2000]

I second the comment about leaving food in your stroller. I saw this happen often at animal kingdom. But other than that we didn't have any trouble leaving random belongings in our stroller like hats or sweatshirts. Have Fun:wave:

 

[The Mom]

The beach towel is a good idea - your child is at the perfect play in the fountains (the ones that are designed for it, not any old fountain) age anyway, so you'll need it - and a change of clothes (or two). Gallon sized zip-loc bags are your friend - put the dry things in one in the AM, then replace with wet/dirty stuff as the day goes on.:lol:

I have heard of people soaking a diaper with water, putting it in a plastic shopping bag, and hanging it on the stroller, to deter thieves. :lookaroun

 

[meekoman]

We took a stroller a few times and never had any issue. Like others mentioned, mark it somehow to identify it easier when you go into an attraction because often CMs will rearrange the strollers or move them. We sometimes took a beach towel and draped it over the hood and seat to keep it cool from the sun and it made it easy to spot afterword. I often saw bags of merchandise left on the strollers and were left untouched. Not to say that it couldn't happen, but, usually it's safe.

 

[jlevis]

...

I have heard of people soaking a diaper with water, putting it in a plastic shopping bag, and hanging it on the stroller, to deter thieves. :lookaroun

Maybe lemonade? LOL

 

[cynic710]

The beach towel is a good idea - your child is at the perfect play in the fountains (the ones that are designed for it, not any old fountain) age anyway, so you'll need it - and a change of clothes (or two). Gallon sized zip-loc bags are your friend - put the dry things in one in the AM, then replace with wet/dirty stuff as the day goes on.:lol:

I have heard of people soaking a diaper with water, putting it in a plastic shopping bag, and hanging it on the stroller, to deter thieves. :lookaroun

thanks everybody for the advice, i will be sure to do the towel thing as it covers more than one base! i really appreciate it!

 

[Sari8970]

We've brought a stroller with us the last 3 years and they do move the strollers. If you are in a designated area for strollers, they will just move it around that area to make space for other strollers and so that there aren't huge gaps.

Last year we bought a lock for our stroller because it was the first time in my life I've ever owned a stroller or anything like that as expensive as the one we have now. I was completely paranoid and decided for the $15 it was worth it to buy the lock. You just put it on the stroller and lock it around the wheel so you can't move it anywhere. Annoying for the CM when they need to realign things, but I was talking to one of them and they didn't have a problem with it. However, they did have a problem that someone used a stroller lock and did it around a column and they were stuck standing there waiting for the people. We went on a bunch of rides and had be gone for at least 30 minutes and they were still there when we got back. They were NOT happy.

After that, we really only used it if we were going to be away from the stroller for a really long time. Also, it helped with mistaken identity because obviously if you don't have a lock it's not your stroller and even if you have the same one, if you can't open it, it's not yours.

I agree with everyone else and that it's a good idea to mark your stroller, especially when renting one from a local place or from the park (there are a billion strollers around that are park strollers and every single one is the same other than the name on the tag on the back).

I LOVE the post about someone putting a diaper that looks like it's soiled!

 

[KingdomStroller]

There was a problem about a year ago. When we started our company, we bought a few strollers off of Craigslist. I purchased one from a lady at her house, never thinking anything bad. A few weeks later, I saw an ad for 2 high end strollers....and thought...gee, that tile floor looks very familiar. I emailed her and she wrote back, different name and gave me the address. I went over to the address to check them out, but walked away with an eery suspicion.

I emailed her later that night and she said she could get me any stroller I wanted. She had an "endless" supply. I got her to admit that she worked at Disney and this is how it happened. One cast member would take a high end stroller to lost and found. They were supposed to be held for 24 hours before turned over to Property Control. Well, these strollers never sat around. They were taken straight to Property Control and never logged. Someone at PC would then "set them off to the side" so that this lady could buy them before they went out for sale to cast members.

I was shocked...disgusted! These are $650 strollers!!! I contacted a Lost and Found manager who forwarded me to security. I sent them every piece of info I had ( all the emails, her address and alias'). Never saw another posting from her.

So it used to happen and may still from time to time. No one will bother with a cheap stroller. They were going after the $400 and up big boys.

Needless to say, I never bought another stroller from Craigslist.

 

[wilkeliza]

Last year we bought a lock for our stroller because it was the first time in my life I've ever owned a stroller or anything like that as expensive as the one we have now. I was completely paranoid and decided for the $15 it was worth it to buy the lock. You just put it on the stroller and lock it around the wheel so you can't move it anywhere. Annoying for the CM when they need to realign things, but I was talking to one of them and they didn't have a problem with it. However, they did have a problem that someone used a stroller lock and did it around a column and they were stuck standing there waiting for the people. We went on a bunch of rides and had be gone for at least 30 minutes and they were still there when we got back. They were NOT happy.

Stroller locks may be a good idea to keep your expensive stroller safe from theft but having a stroller locked and put in the wrong place can be dangerous. Don't be fooled if your stroller is locked for too long to something it should not be CMs can get security to cut the lock off and move it to the appropriate place. Also just because you think you have your stroller in the proper place you could be putting it somewhere that is considered a safety hazard. Not even kidding you someone put their stroller right in front of the exit to Snow White's Scary Adventure. If they had a locked stroller there it could have been a major safety issue in the event of an emergency. Also if you just lock your wheels CMs will just pick up the stroller and move it. I've seen it happen before.

 

[eddiemcgarrigle]

Not so much a theft of the pram but the theft of items from it nearly ruined our holiday.