How do you kep your stroller from being stolen?

[ExtinctJenn]

Just joining to say that we have just returned from a trip to the World...and my stroller was, in fact, stolen...we have taken my BOB Stroller Strides there for three years...name and cell number laminated and zip tied to handle and fluorescent ribbon tied on as well...this time, I had a change of clothes for each of my kids and my sons Jedi Training Academy hat not he stroller as well. We were at HS and left int he stroller parking for Back Lot Tour...came back and it was gone. Looked all over the park, filed reports with Disney security, guest services at HS and with Lost and Found. I've called every day and it hasn't shown up yet...it's only been three days but I truly think that it was stolen based on the way I had it marked and the fact it never has shown up. Needless to say, I am very upset...so while it may be rare, it DOES happen. I highly suggest you invest in an anti theft device if you're at all concerned about it. Now I'm just hoping Disney will reimburse me, especially since I parked it in the designated area and no cast member was ere when I came back...they were hanging out I the queue for BLT...but I'm not holding my breath...

While I feel incredibly bad for you and think the situation stinks, I'm not sure there is anything, anywhere, that has ever implied that Disney has any responsibility for lost/stolen strollers. Even with a CM standing at the stroller station, there would be no way for them to know if a stroller was being stolen or taken. There's no claim check process or anything like that. It's sort of a "bring your own stroller at your own risk" sort of situation and I think that's why they offer rentals to begin with. Again I feel horrible for your experience but I'm not sure you should be hopeful or expectant that you'll receive any sort of reimbursement from them.

 

[Jim Chandler]

On many occasions with my grand kids we have had Disney Strollers taken at least 5 times. You come out looking for yours and it is gone. Some people just IMHO wait until their kids starts complaining and grab the nearest stroller. Sorry that it was your personal one but it does happen

 

[Maelstrom Troll]

In two days it will be our fourth trip with our McClaren and we haven't ever had any issues besides when CMs move them around. My advice is to go with the lightest stroller you have, especially if you are headed out on the buses. I've seen people looking miserable when they try to push their oversized stroller onto the buses.

 

[polynesiangirl]

My parents totally used to put a diaper (which was clean, but folded up to look used) on the seat of their stroller when my younger sibling was a baby. They figured most people would at least choose a different stroller to steal rather than chance having to touch a dirty diaper.

 

[unkadug]

My parents totally used to put a diaper (which was clean, but folded up to look used) on the seat of their stroller when my younger sibling was a baby. They figured most people would at least choose a different stroller to steal rather than chance having to touch a dirty diaper.

Put a new diaper in a clear plastic bag...pour a little CocaCola in the bag and tie the bag to your stroller.

Viola...instant thief repellant.

edit: I really should read the whole thread before replying!

 

[Fordlover]

We took our 20 dollar umbrella stroller for two reasons, the first is that it's way easier to move around on buses, etc. and two, if it got stolen we wouldn't be too upset.

It seems odd that stroller theft would be a problem. People who are there with young kids probably already have a stroller, and what do people without a kid have any interest in a stroller for?

You'd also think Disney would have video surveillance of every corner of the park.

 

[G00fyDad]

We took our 20 dollar umbrella stroller for two reasons, the first is that it's way easier to move around on buses, etc. and two, if it got stolen we wouldn't be too upset.

It seems odd that stroller theft would be a problem. People who are there with young kids probably already have a stroller, and what do people without a kid have any interest in a stroller for?

You'd also think Disney would have video surveillance of every corner of the park.

I would put the ones that steal strollers into two categories of low-lifes.

Group 1 (Didn't bring one) - "I chose not to bring a stroller because my child can walk and I don't want the hassle of lugging one around."...... "Oh crap. My kid is exhausted and I don't have a stroller. I'm not paying an arm and a leg for one from Disney. Let's just take this one while no one is watching."

Group 2 (Has a broken one) - "Damn! My stroller wheel broke off! I'll swap it out with this one since no one is watching. Let the other person deal with the stroller issue."

Both of these people need a good a** kicking.

 

[G8rchamps]

Actually got rid of our strollers a year ago and then bought a new one with our annual passes this summer. We have been 5 times since June and had no issues. DD is 6 and DS is 9 but small. She rides most of the day and he will take a seat ocassionally, but since I am a rope drop till we fall over commando park Dad...we are stroller people. Here is is:

$50 Jeep stroller from Walmart. Better than umbrella, small storage bin, 2 cup holders, and easy to fold!

 

[Kevlar10]

I would like to share what happened to my family so that everyone could learn from our experience. What started out as a nightmare turned into a good situation. We went on Pirates at about 9 PM and when we returned to the stroller parking, I took "our" stroller and went to meet my family. Before I went 10 feet I realized that I had the wrong stroller and returned it to where it was and started looking for ours. I looked for 10 minutes and my family came to see what was taking so long. We all looked for another 15 minutes until almost all of the strollers were gone because the park was closing. The "other" stroller was still there. Apparently someone had taken our stroller instead of theirs, as it was identical except it didn't have the bright red ribbon on it that we had on ours. It also didn't have all of my children's souvenirs that we had just purchased. A CM came over and asked if we needed help, the park was closing. We explained to him what had happened and he called security on his handset. After 20 minutes, kids crying and wife angry as well as myself, security showed up with what I think was a senior manager. He explained that this happens quite a bit but the stroller usually turns up in the lost and found. He asked what we had purchased. We had personalized Mickey ears and a few other knick knacks. He called Le Chapeau and had them open up, even though the park was closed. They made us new Mickey ears, and while we were waiting, they brought us all new souvenirs that went missing. They also brought us a new Mickey stroller for us to use to take our youngest son back to the WL. he told us to call Lost and found in the morning and check to see if anyone had returned our stroller. He also said he would fill out a report with the stroller type and colors and would check himself when he came in the next day. We called in the morning and they told us nothing had been found and there was no report so there wasn't anything they could do about it but we could keep the stroller they gave us even if ours was found. That was not very comforting because ours was a very expensive brand and model. We then went to one of the parks for the day and made the best of it. When we returned, there was a message on the room voicemail to call the concierge desk. We called and they said that the manager from the night before had dropped off our stroller and we could come down and pick it up. I went downstairs and they had our stroller with an attached note. The note said to go over to the Guest Services at the MK and there would be something waiting for us to hopefully make up for the difficult time we had. The note was signed by the manager who had helped us out. We went to Guest Services and the surprises they left for us more than made up for what we would have lost if we had never found our stroller. We were pretty mean to the CM, security, and manager, but they still treated us like we were the only people in the park. the point of my long post is, "Your stroller may come up missing, it happens a lot at DW, but most if not all CMs and Disney employees will do their best to make you happy"

 

[righttrack]

Never had a problem back in the day and don't imagine many do. I think the only risk is if your stroller looks like everyone else's you might consider putting a big ribbon on the handle or something to "mark" it so you can identify it easily and so someone else will know that it isn't theirs.

 

[EdC]

We never have a problem when we take our stroller, here's how I did it:

1. Buy a pack of those printer iron on transfer pages.
2. Make a background image the same color as the fabric
3. Make a big oozy brown smear of color and print it out. Go ahead.
4. Iron said 'diaper blowout' printer transfer page to the seat of your stroller.
5. Presto: A stroller that is no longer worth anything to a thief.

You may only want to do this to your own stroller. I think this would be frowned upon by a stroller rental company.

 

[disney1983]

We always brought a cheap umbrella stroller on our trips, sometimes second hand from a yard sale. We just gave away one that we've been bringing to WDW since 2001.

 

[britdaw]

I was really worried ours would be taken last time, but we never had an issue. We wrapped a beach towel around the handle to "mark" it, just in case, but never had any problems with anyone taking it or anything in it. The CM's are very good about watching them.