Take a Picture of Your Child Each Day Just in Case...

[mamielynn]

This isn't necessarily a tip but more of an experience we had with our 3 girls. It was our first holiday trip to WDW and we were at the shop next to the Little Mermaid show at MGM. I was talking to a CM when a mother frantically calling her childs name ran up to us and asked if we had seen her. Apparently she had twin girls and one of them had walked off. While the CM was talking to her my 3 girls walked up behind me and asked what was going on. I explained the situation to them (they had been with their dad) and my children asked if they could help look for the lost girl. I told them we needed to let the CM's handle it because I did not want them getting lost to. After about 10 minutes the CM received a call on her radio that they had found little girl and all was well. When we got back to our hotel we again discussed what you should do if you ever get lost in the park. The CM was really nice and had taken a few moments to talk to the girls and tell them if anything ever happened and they couldn't find one of us to make sure they let someone with a nametag like hers know so that they could find us. She was very nice and very helpful answering questions. I think even though we had told the girls over and over what to do the best lesson was learned when they watched it happen to someone else. My youngest even said that she didn't ever want to be lost because she never wanted me to be as upset as the poor woman we had seen earlier. She said she never wanted me to be sad that I couldn't find her.

 

[DisneyBride94]

the picture is to show to CMs...probably at Guest Relations...
"have you seen my child? can you talk to the rest of MK on your walkie talkies? This is what he's wearing today."
then hopefully he or she is with a CM and they look and say
yay
thats what this kid is wearing.



at least thats how it goes in MY head




of course i suppose if you had a rope arounds his neck...
:lol:

A really little kid may not be articulate enough to communicate to a CM or to understand to go find a CM... If my 4 year old were lost...she's likely clam up...she gets very quiet when she's among strangers...

I have those guest nametags with my childrens' names on them...and on the back of them is a label with their full name, our resort, and our cell #. THe picture is still a good idea...imo... We also take a digital photo of our rental car/lic. plate and parking location in case we forget what the darn thing looks like and where we parked each day!

 

[Monty]

A really little kid may not be articulate enough to communicate to a CM or to understand to go find a CM... If my 4 year old were lost...she's likely clam up...she gets very quiet when she's among strangers...

I have those guest nametags with my childrens' names on them...and on the back of them is a label with their full name, our resort, and our cell #. THe picture is still a good idea...imo... We also take a digital photo of our rental car/lic. plate and parking location in case we forget what the darn thing looks like and where we parked each day!

This highlights the other thing you need to ensure your kids know...

CMs wear white name tags! Any guest can buy a Disney name tag and have it engraved [I'm looking at mine right now], but all CM tags are white, guests get coloured backgrounds on theirs.

I had one child approach me as a "CM" last trip. I immediately took him to a real CM, but could just have easily been a less honest person with potential to take advantage of the trust he showed.

 

[Victoria]

This highlights the other thing you need to ensure your kids know...

CMs wear white name tags! Any guest can buy a Disney name tag and have it engraved [I'm looking at mine right now], but all CM tags are white, guests get coloured backgrounds on theirs.

I had one child approach me as a "CM" last trip. I immediately took him to a real CM, but could just have easily been a less honest person with potential to take advantage of the trust he showed.

I too had that happen to me on my last trip. A 7 or 8 year old girl came up to me and told me that she had lost her mom. Between my nametag and the pin lanyars around my neck she thought I was a real CM. She started crying when I told her I didnt work there. (yet!) I took her right over to a real CM though who took care of her.

It has always amazed me how CMs manage to get kids back to their parents in record time. When I was little I always thought that if I got lost in WDW I would have to wait hours to find my mommy again. Either that or they would put me to work on Its a Small World. :lookaroun

 

[il grande chuck]

when our two boys were small, my wife would also dress them alike so that if one were to ever end up missing, she could tell people "he's dressed like this."

chuck

 

[Pikachu]

Will that work with a Pikachu? Cant have that get lost!

 

[kal1484]

If you know what your child is wearing it helps A LOT! If there are two kids, the same age, and they won't tell you their name, knowing what they are wearing will help to decide which kid is actually. Had this happen once, the mom came and it wasn't her child. Luckily, her little one walked in two seconds later by another CM.

 

[Richard_S]

Thanks for this tip. I am making my first visit to WDW with the kids in 2007 and I'm really enjoying reading all these tips

 

[Dagger]

I really like this tip!

 

[Camille59]

All these ideas are great. As a CM what I seem to notice most is a family all dressed alike. I have also seen laminated cards attached to kids shirts with cool Disney designs. Taking pix is a cool idea, too!! I used to be opposed to those harness on kids wrist, but after working at Disney for the years past, I've changed my mind. Now, I would rather see something like those cute monkey or puppy dog harness/backpacks on the back of younger kids, but any chest harness will do. The backpack has that pocket that you can put information in. There are so many ways you can make your kids safe and indentifiable. It just takes some creative thinking and most parents have that skill down pat.

 

[jmatt]

You might also specify to the kids that they should find a "lady" attendant to help them if they get lost, since 99.9% of deviants are male.

But depending on how old they are, talk to your kids on what they should be on guard for. Last summer, my mother took a bunch of her grandchildren to a county fair (my kids included). My 9 year old son and his 7 year old cousin went into the crowded men's room while she waited just outside.

Inside, the boys were approached by a man who asked "if they'd like him to help them since they were alone". My son's radar went off and he quickly ushered his cousin out of the men's room. While my mom gathered up the kids and went off to find a cop, the guy slipped away.

Now mind you, my mom said the bathroom facilities were jammed with people, and for all this guy knew, an angry father with murder in his eyes (me) waited just outside -- but it still didn't deter him from approaching the boys.

My son really had no clue as to what this guy was after (and he asked me about for months afterward). But he's been warned about dealing with strangers and trusted his inner voice when it told him something was wrong.

Talk to your kids. The best defense is a good offense.