Here are some tips on how to keep your child safe at Disney World:
#1. Write Information For Your Child On A Button
Get one of the FREE I’m Celebrating buttons when you check in at your resort or when you visit the parks (ask for one at Guest Services). Write on the front of it “If lost, turn over.” On the back, write your phone number so that the Cast Members can call you if they find your child. You can also write their name, your room, your room number, etc. Whatever you feel comfortable with writing.
#2. Teach Your Child To Recognize Cast Members
When you visit the park for the first time, take your child up to a Cast Member and show them the badge. Teach them that in the invent that they can’t find you, they should look for a Cast Member with a name badge.
#3. Set Up A Meeting Place For Older Children
Each day, set a meeting place in the parks should you get separated. Even if you don’t intend to separate, the crowds can get thick and you might end up being forced apart. By having the meeting place, you can head there as soon as you can’t find one another and hopefully not lose too much valuable park time.
#4. Take A Picture Every Morning
Before leaving your resort room, take a picture of your child with your cell phone. If you get separated, you will have a fresh picture to show Cast Members who can help you locate your child faster.
Following these tips and your natural instinct, you should be able to keep your child safe at Disney World.
Learn more about planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Plus overwhelmed with all the planning? Destinations in Florida can help you plan your perfect trip.
We bought personalized tattoos on Amazon that says if lost pls call my mom and her first name and phone number. They don’t come off with sweat and normal tub bathing and lasted 5-6 days. We put them on their forearms and it gave us peace of mind. Many designs to choose from
I love the idea of taking a picture at the start of each day. I also like to point out to my kids and say, “Look, Mommy is wearing a pink shirt with a green backpack and Daddy is wearing a blue baseball hat.” Sometimes if we get separated by a few people in between us, they just need to remember to look for what we are wearing. And it doesn’t hurt that Dad is super tall and can be spotted above the crowd.
Great tips! I’m a big fan of #4 now after learning about it from a family member. More on that, and a link to your great tips, here:) http://hintmama.com/2014/10/07/todays-hint-do-this-before-bringing-your-child-into-a-crowd/
For our trip with our 4 & 6 year old granddaughters we bought them the back pack animals with the strap attached to them ( found on Amazon). They only cost around $30 each and was well worth it. I had each one pick out the animal they wanted and they loved wearing them each day.
When my DD was younger and we went to WDW, we ordered a child locatorremote control bear for about $40. The bear can attach to a Velcro tennis shoe strap and you keep the remote on your keychain or whatever. This is good for kids who like to wander and kids who like to run off. A couple times it went off by mistake getting bumped in the bus, but other than that it was good for piece of mind for us. They also have all kinds of ID bracelets, temporary and permanent.
oh and sorry, I meant to say we ordered that remote control bear from http://www.mypreciouskid.com/child-locator.html
Another good tip I found is to make them ID bracelets out of the number/letter beads sold in craft stores. Your kids can customize them with whatever fun beads (sports, flowers/etc.) to go between the numbers of your phone number, so all they have to do is show the bracelet to a cast member to have them call you. Just buy the elastic thread to use so you can get a snug fit.
my biggest fear on our disney vacations is losing our kids in the crowds. i found online some id tags that velcro onto the laces of shoes. blue for my son and pink for my daugher, put them on before we even got to the airport and they didn’t give them a second thought for the whole trip. i used them when my daughter’s class took a field trip too – made me a little better since i wasn’t chaperoning. :-)
Use a sharpie marker to write info on their back. We taught our 2 yr olds to show their back to a female CM.
We did the same with our girls….. it doesn’t matter how well they can remember their phone number while relaxed at home……..it’s gone when they are in a panic! Whenever we went anywhere with large crowds we wrote our number on their right waist above their waistband covered by their shirt.
#2. Teach Your Child To Recognize Cast Members
Yes! Cast members are all very well trained in what to do in the situation. Once I had a girl come up to me, point to my nametag and say, “My mommy told me to look for someone wearing one of those!” and I was able to help.
Another time a young lost boy attached himself to my leg and refused to speak. After reuniting him with his family I realized he’d remembered me taking their family photos hours earlier, and so he came to me rather than a security or PAC cast member. You never know what will make a kid feel comfortable with someone.