One of my wonderful Facebook fans just posted this and I wanted to draw your attention to it:
I just wanted to let everyone on this page know (since we’re all Disney fans) that yesterday at Disneyland someone stole our stroller. We filed a police report/lost and found. They took it right out from a designated stroller parking area while we were watching the new “Tron Movie Preview”.
Disney security was great. We didn’t have anything super expensive in the stroller, but we did have all the necessities for visiting Disneyland with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Our daughter had soaked through her Pull-up, so we were given free diapers, wipes and allowed to pick out a pair of pants from a store. My kids miss their special Disney blankets and my daughter is really missing her Sally (from Nightmare Before Christmas) doll. We’ve been to Disneyland too many times to count and never imagined this happening. I just wanted to let you all know and to tell you never leave anything valuable! Time to look for some stroller deals… ;)
While we were at Disney in May 2009 we had a bag stolen out of our stroller. Always remember that thieves are everywhere. Even at Disney.
Disney World is the Most Magical Place On Earth. Be sure to learn how to make the most of your trip by reading the Disney World Training series. You can also browse all the articles I have written in an easy to use outline. And if you are ready to book your trip, be sure to read about the perks of using an authorized Disney vacation planner (plus it’s FREE!).
Margie says
I don’t have a stroller but I do take my travel scooter when we go to DW and it cost a small fortune. To keep it safe, I bought a PacSafe bag that is rather like a diaper bag but these bags are made so that all of the pockets can be locked using the lock on the strap. By wrapping the strap around the scooter, I can lock the scooter, the bag and the contents of the bag all at once. Can’t beat it!
Cathy says
My sister and 20 year old niece were at WDW the end of May. My neice new one of the cast members and was at the Wilderness Lodge pool after hours when the cast members are allowed to use the pool. Her smartphone was stolen by one of the cast members. When she reported it and asked about security cameras she was told that they don’t have them at the pools or parking lots only at the front desks. She didn’t know the other cast members but some had been talking about how much they were stealing from Disney. Disney has told them they weren’t going to help her at all. They are out the phone and a day in the parks for 2 people. All of her pictures were on her phone also.
Tammy says
we have a bob and a bumbleride bag I leave them non the stroller but i use a bike lock through the back wheels around the frame and through the d ring on the bag I lock not only my stroller but the bag too I do have saddle bags on the stroller but the only thing they will get is clothes and food If they need those that bad than they can take them No one has messed with my stroller yet but i was told by security that the bike lock is a good deterrent The first time I chatted up security when i came to unlock my stroller that we had left by the train in tomorrow land at closing he had said that people were checking it out and he thinks the lock was the reason my bob was still there He also appreciated the fact that I only made it impossible to drag completly out of the park unnoticed and that I did not lock it to the fence so cast members could move it if needed
Kristin of Couponing to Disney says
That’s a really good idea!
Heather S says
I did an intership at disney world and have seen this happen many times. People tend to let there guard down. But when it is from a desgnatted parking area now that is a new low. Hope when you go back you can all regain some of the magic.
Jessica says
We are Disneyland annual passholders and go all the time. I have never heard a direct story about anyone having their stroller stolen from Disneyland (until now), however I have always been paranoid about this. My husband teases me and tells me to be more trusting, but really you just never know… sadly, it does happen everywhere! I take everything out of our stroller and onto the ride with us because it would be too easy to swipe something out of the stroller (or swipe the stroller all together).
Bernadine says
I was really worried about having our stroller stolen at Disneyland after my husband and I splurged on a $300 stroller for my daughter. Every time I left it parked I would take one last look and hope for the best. It never was stolen, but I did consider buying a lock. Just know that the locks where the wheels lock to the stroller is best, locking the stroller to a permanent fixture at the park could require a Cast Member to break the lock to move it if it’s left in an inappropriate spot.
Dana says
I have had two different experiences.
Story number one——While at Disney several years ago we had someone take our rented double stroller. It was parked at It’s a Small World and we searched high and low for the thing. We went back to the front of the park and explained what had happened and we were given another. I did not have anything of importance in the stroller as I carry these type things in a backpack, but it was really annoying knowing that someone just walked up and took our stroller.
Story number two……..Last May my husband left my camera bag on the Haunted Mansion ride; it had my extra battery, link cables and a new SD card in it. I was very upset and as soon as we realized it was missing we went right back to the ride, but no one had turned it in. Later in the day I decided to stop by Lost and Found on Main Street to see if it had been turned in, and thankfully someone had turned it in with nothing missing.
Stephanie says
My family was just at Disneyland last week. While the thought went through my mind constantly about people taking things out of our stroller, nothing came up missing. However, we were there with my in-laws in 2006 and they had just bought my nephew a Buzz Lightyear that has the spinning lights. They left it in the stroller while we went on a ride and later noticed it was missing. I’d like to think some little kid snagged it and their parents didn’t notice until much later. I never leave our souvenirs unattended now and only buy them at the end of the day when we are leaving the park. Nothing in our diaper bag is irreplaceable, just in case someone is tempted to take what is not theirs.
Barbie says
I think people who steal at Disney (and probably anywhere else) have to be among the most miserable people anywhere. How can you feel good about yourself and your vacation when you know, every time you look at that item that it was gotten through such unethical means? I know I couldn’t enjoy myself or feel good about being at Disney if I had that on my conscience. If they didn’t deserve to feel so bad, I’d almost feel sorry for them!
We’ve been to Disney ever so many times, and we’ve learned to only carry into the park what we don’t mind actually carrying ourselves. Or we only leave in our stroller those items that we could easily replace without heartache if they were lost or stolen. We’ve never had an incident, and I suppose our chances are getting better now that our kiddos are old enough that we don’t need a stroller anymore!
Margaret says
We just got back from WDW and we had someone steal my DS mouse ears out of our stroller while we were on a ride. He was distraught. Luckily we were able to replace them, they were R2 D2 ears from Hollywood studios and not available everywhere.
I was so upset that someone would do this to a child. That sort of thing makes me so angry.
But not everyone is horrible, I noticed a forgotten backpack and turned it into a Cast Member. I hope that who ever left it that night at Animal Kingdom found it. I know how easy it is to forgot things when leaving a restaurant or ride with your kids.
Lisa says
I worked at King Stefan’s and would always tell people please do not leave anything with your stroller. Personal strollers we would allow to be parked in the foyer of the restaurant. But we couldn’t be responsible if it was stolen, cause they disappeared even from the foyer.
Heather Kelly says
That’s really not cool. I am really surprised that someone would do that. This is why I leave my stroller a little stained here and there. It’s also nice to have your name written on it with permanent ink. We also put ribbons on it and a luggage tag. You never can be too careful these days.
Terrie says
Its hard to believe people would steal strollers for but of course we sometimes need a reality check by getting yours stolen at the happiest place on earth. This happened to me a while ago so i looked into keeping my new stroller safe the next time i went. I found this lock called buggyguard on amazon that lets u lock your stroller to itself, another stroller, or a stationary object. And a plus: its cute too! The same company carries the b-hook which is great for attaching bags to the stroller. I havent had anything stolen at disney since.
Esther says
Thanks to Terrie, I got a Buggyguard and it worked great! Such a good idea :)
Kim says
When we were at Disney in March of this year, we went to ride Soarin’. My son put his lanyard with ALOT of pins on it under his seat because he thought it would fall off. He forgot to get it as he exited the ride, so he went back in, oh maybe 5-8 minutes later, and it was nowhere to be found. What was so upsetting to me was that he had been collecting those pins for about 5 years. We would give a special pin at Christmas and he would always buy and trade pins while we were at Disney. We reported it and I checked back everyday, but it was never turned in. That day, I was eyeing everyone’s lanyard, because I knew the pins he had and the special medallion at the bottom. Lesson learned from this, but it makes me angry because someone just took what someone else had worked hard for! We still love Disney, but are way more careful now.
Tiphanie says
We were afraid of this happening to, so we took our old strollers and always took our belongings on rides with us. Sucks, I wish everyone at Disney were just like “us”.
Denise says
What an awful experience while being at one of the most magical places! I live in Orlando and, fortunately, have been to Disney so many times I’ve lost count. I have a horrible habit of leaving a wallet or camera in my stroller and, thankfully, they’ve always been there after we get off a ride. However, from here on out I’ll be more conscious of it.
Tiffany says
As someone who has spent way too much time at Disney with a stroller (we live 15 mins away) and we started taking my son at 3 weeks old he’s now 6. DON’T take anything you can’t carry with you!!! Leaving things in your stroller is just asking for someone to walk by and pick it up including the kid who really wants a new toy. Also the strollers get banged into so many times that things are likely to fall out, one trip we packed a peanut butter sandwich in a small diaper bag for my son. We got off the nemo ride and found a squirrel had emptied the basket under my stroller (coats laying on the ground) and was sitting there eating my son’s sandwich. LOL
Judy says
Pay close attention to personal items in your hotel rooms as well. During our last trip to disney world in April 2010 we stayed at Saratoga Springs resort and spa–while at the park one day some one stole several articles of clothing and our girl’s pool toys from the room. Needless to say after that we cleaned our own room and made sure we were present when housekeeping came by.
Hippy says
I had a frightning experience in the grocery store. I turned my back for a minute and someone had walked off with my whole grocery cart with my bag in it. I calmed down a little when I saw another cart unattended. I grabbed that cart and ran a round the store looking for my cart. I found it in the dairy section being pushed by a woman who had no idea she had a cart that was not hers. She did apologize……Also once I left my bag in a shopping cart in a store parking lot. I drove off without it. When I relized I left my bag in the cart, I raced back to the store. Someone had returned my bag to the customer service. I was so relieved. There are nice ppl in this world.
AND………I an going to disney nex t week. I have been trying to get a site at Foet Wilderness for ages, and last nite I got one. yippee…….I live in Florida so its an easy drive for us…
ashley says
We had our ponchos and fan that sprayed water stolen. Same trip, two different days. Its crazy what people steal! We were soaking wet on our way to our car! ugh!
tulip40in05 says
When we were at Disney World over the summer, we left the stroller in one of those designated areas and when we came back, the towels that we had in the basket had been used!! They were neatly folded and dry when we left; messy and damp when we returned and it had NOT rained! Ewwwww . . . we were grossed out! Plus, the NERVE of some people.
Deanna says
There are thieves everywhere, this much is true. That being said I can only say thank you to whoever it was that helped me out in what could have been a bad situation. While in a store in WDW in 2006, I took my wallet out of my bag to look for something for my youngest son who at the time was 10 months old. I must have laid the wallet down and did not realize that I did not put it back in my bag until I went to pay for lunch more than an hour later. I frantically made my way across the street to the store where I knew I did this, thru a parade no less, and it was not there. I was DEVASTATED! Every dime we had for our vacation, almost $900 as this was in the first days of our trip, was GONE. The cast member in the store directed me to lost and found where they did not have it yet but while I was standing there giving them the info about the wallet, another cast member walked in with it. I don’t know if it was another guest or a cast member that turned it in but whoever it was thank goodness they did or our trip would suely have been ruined.
Karen says
I spent the extra money to rent a stroller when we went to Disney when my kids were smaller! Saves the hassle of toting it to and from car/train/tram etc…then we carried a backpack as well and NEVER left anything in the stroller
Charity says
When researching for our first visit and whether to rent a stroller or bring our own, I did read some similar stories. We did end up bringing our own, marking it with a bright ribbon and bringing a back pack. We only leave extra water bottles and sweat shirts for later in the bottom. We often park the stroller in a “land” and carry the back pack as we stroll around. So far, so good (knock on wood)… and I can’t tell you how many times I find myself next to an identical stroller and am thankful for the bright ribbon!
jessica says
they sell stroller locs at a local baby store usababy.com they are nice and I think I will now pick one up since we go to dland ..
Liz says
When we were at Disney World in January of this year. My family and I were getting off a ride and another family was having the same issue. The person thought my Baby Jogger was hers and was trying to move it, but realized she couldn’t because I had a stroller lock with a cable attached to the both back wheels and handlebars. (Bought the lock at Buy Buy Baby – Worth the Purchase!!)
When she realized it wasn’t hers she started to look for hers and it wasn’t there. Someone had walked away with her Baby Jogger Stroller. We later on in the day bumped into them on the bus ride back to the hotel and she told us no one ever turned in their stroller. Disney was nice and gave her a rental stroller for the day but I am sure it didn’t help the situation since the rest of the week they had to rent a stroller at each park plus her stroller was gone and all their packages/ baby bag/ and stuff was gone too. Even in Disney you can’t trust people!!
misti says
We had a similar experience at sea world. The front wheels of our double stroller come off so all day my husband kept taking one off and putting it down below in the basket well hidden. We came out of the shamu show and our stroller was gone. While my husband was getting a worker i found our stroller about 100 feet away. We assume they noticed it was missing a wheel and ditched it! Little did they know, the wheel was right there!! LUCKY US!!
Ellen says
So sorry to hear about these incidents…I know how violated you can feel when something is stolen from you, even if it isn’t all that valuable. A good tip for us to keep in mind on our upcoming trip…
Cathy says
It’s sad to have such a thing happen, but I’m sure it happens more times than none. For my niece’s 1st birthday, my whole family took her to Disneyland. She had a cute satin Minnie Mouse jacket that was stolen right out of her stroller! Needless to say we don’t bring anything that has Disney characters with us anymore.
Mrs. Stephens says
I know its super easy to fall into a false sense of security and want to genuinely believe the other people in the park are as good and wholesome as the park itself BUT always keep valuables close and personalize your stroller. Get some puff paint and go wild make it unique and truly you. In a sea of strollers your likely to have the same stroller as at least 2 other people in the park if not more depending on the stroller. Make it noticable (nice job with the green tape) also make the noticable part POP make sure its out in the open in your face this is my familys stroller from a mile away. And use use use the lockers and the service to send purchases to your room. Also kudos on the bike lock on back wheels. A little hassle is very worth it. Disney does not allow you to chain a stroller to a permanent fixture its a fire hazzard so locking your wheels is an awesome solution. Alot of people dont pay attention when grabbing the nearest stroller that looks like theres so make sure you double check its yours before taking it and like i said MAKE IT POP make sure no one can walk up in a semiconcious disney stupor and NOT notice that its not there stroller :) Im definately not saying all stroller thefts are mistakes but about 89% of them probably are. Even rotten people go to disneyland so us good honest folks have to be extra careful :) Happy trips and safe travel to everyone thanks for posting this its very important to not just post the happy pixie dust stories we need these not so magical stories to remind us to keep our eyes open while enjoying the happiest place on earth :)
Beth says
Unfortunately, this is true. I left my camera on a ride, and while I did get the camera back, someone took the memory card out of it. These are replaceable, but we will never be able to print the pictures or watch the video of our amazing dinner at Chef Mickeys the night before.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Wow. That is beyond low of them. I hope Karma bit them in the butts!
annelle says
that is trully devestating… quite honestly i would have rather them taken the camera, those pictures are treasures…. but thats just me
it’s so sad though.
Susan says
We had a rented stroller taken while we were in It’s a Small World. We explained what happened and were given another stroller but it is upsetting that someone would do something like that. If you can’t afford your own then you certainly should not be spending money on park tickets! Colleen that was a great idea. I would be scared to death that someone would take that stroller!
Nicole says
I wanted to post a similar story. We waited for my daughter to get her first haircut at the Magic Kingdom. She haid her first haircut and they wrapped her hair in paper and sealed with a mickey sticker, gave her a certificate and a pair of mouse ears that said first haircut. All of the items were put in one of the regular purchase bags. Someone stole the bag out of our stroller when we were on the teacups!!! We were given a new certificate and ears but the clippings from her first haircut were gone!! The sad thing is the person that stole it thought they were getting a free souveni and ended up with my daughter’s hair!! You know it was thrown away as soon as they realized it.
Whitney says
I’m amazed it doesn’t happen more. It sounds like the Disney folks really tried to make it better though – how nice of them! I’m sorry it marred your Disney experience though. :(
Colleen says
We were so afraid of this when we bought our double stroller! (one of those $500 jobs, that we totally couldn’t afford so we bought second hand on eBay!) What we did was wrap flourecent green tape over the handebar, and put a bicycle lock around the back wheels. It was a pain to have to unlock it so many times, but well worth the peace of mind. The plus was we could see it from a mile away with the tape on it in the sea of strollers too!
Tiffany says
Awesome Idea…I would have never thought of that! Sad we even have to do things like that though!
Randi says
We did something similar. I found flourecent green stickers that were reflective. They were meant to be stunk on bikes or that sort of thing. We stuck them all over our stoller, it was so easy to see our stroller in the sea of them all.
Mindy says
I’m surprised there isn’t enough cameras in that place that they couldn’t see who took it. I would think that place is like Big Brother! lol
Rose says
Such a shame! Families are just trying to enjoy a special time and somone has to do something horrible like that.
Angie G says
I am embarrased to say that this has happened to me at disneyland, but on the other end of it. My elderly father wanted to go on a ride with my daughter while my son and I played in toontown. Well here comes my father with a stroller and I did not notice until about an hour later that it was not our stroller! We went looking all over the park and were lucky enough we were able to find the other people looking for it had our! Everything worked out and I have hope that this is your situation in the end.
Whitney says
I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time, but I had to giggle – that’s something I would do! :)
emma says
Angie I’ve had this happen before. So many people have the same stroller that I’m sure it happens all the time. Now when I go anywhere where I will have to leave the stroller I tie a brightly colored ribbon to the handles. That way no-one should mistake it for theirs. I’ve also heard of people who tape their phone number to the handle so if someone does end up with it by mistake they can call them. (I also do this with toddler shoes as they do love to take them off and throw them!)