Anything ever been stolen from your stroller at Disney?

[pilferk]

I'm planning to bring a small cooler or bag of snacks with us to the parks, but, since I don't really want to be too loaded down, just planned on stowing it in our stroller. Our boys are big enough now to walk most of the time, so I thought we could use the stroller as more of a pack mule and just park it with our stuff for extended periods of the day. Though I wouldn't leave anything very valuable in the stroller, it would be a total bummer if anything got stolen. We've always had very good luck in the past, and have even left backpacks and shopping bags in them for short times, but I just wonder if anyone has ever had anything stolen out of their strollers while at Disney World. Stories?

No...but I take.....creative....measures to keep people away.

I take a Clear plastic shopping bag, a diaper/pull up, put a little bit of cola/root beer and an (unwrapped) candy bar in the bag, and tie it to our stroller.

Nobody ever seems to touch it. Even the CM's don't seem to relocate it very often.

 

[pilferk]

i remember reading on here that someone takes a diaper,a little bit of coke thrown in to soak it and ties it on the handlebar of the stoller to make it look like a blowout diaper!! I thought that was clever, gross BUT very clever.

We do that.

I'm sure we're not the only ones...and typically I use cola or root beer (but coffee would probably work, too).

No one seems to touch our stroller. Now, it's also not loaded down with a thousand dollars of consumer electronics (phone's, ipods, etc). But it will frequently have a bag or two of "stuff" (t-shirts or tchochkeys or whatever souvenir we might have aquired that day), water bottles, and assorted other gear in and around it.

 

[pilferk]

That is so old. It's been around for years. If you have been to WDW, you will notice that there are garbage cans all over the place.

Sorry, but if I wanted a stroller that would be the one I would target. They must have something good if they are going to all that trouble.

Maybe....but it's risk/reward.

Do you really want to risk that it's NOT a phony just to see if there might be good stuff?

Or would your rather "hit" one of the other several hundred strollers that might NOT have a "bomb" attached to it?

We don't necessarily have "good stuff" attached to our stroller. But it's like a car alarm. You COULD bypass it, or ignore it...but it's easier just to skip the car that has it.

 

[LilGMom]

One trip our (then) 7 yr. old nephew had someone take his partly filled out WDW autograph book out of their WDW stroller that even had his name and address filled out. We've had a few bottles of water taken but never leave anything of value in the stroller. We also had our WDW stroller taken (we had marked the stroller handle with a few items to distinguish it from others) towards the end of the night. Real fun to walk from one end of the park to the front while carrying a sleeping toddler.

We bought a bright yellow umbrella stroller when our kids were of that age so that more than likely nobody would be able to mistake it for theirs since I rarely ever saw one that color. I only left a few snacks and napkins in the stroller bag. We took a backpack for things like change of clothes, camera, parkas, etc. and that would go on rides with us.

It always amazes me what I see left in strollers. My train of thought is that if I wouldn't leave it in a stroller in my local mall I wouldn't leave it in a stroller at WDW. Walking through the WDW gates doesn't make a thief suddenly grow a conscious.

 

[mom2rtk]

No one seems to touch our stroller.

MOST strollers in Disney are fine. Even with some stuff in the basket. The problem is that when your stuff is taken, it doesn't help to know that most every else's stuff was untouched.

FWIW........... I think the strollers themselves are more valuable than the stuff in them. Someone should see if the Craig's list stroller section in Orlando is busier than most metro areas. I bet it is.

And the dirty diaper trick has been around for a long time. I doubt it stops anyone.

 

[pilferk]

Even the CM's seem to give it a wider berth.

And the dirty diaper trick has been around for a long time. I doubt it stops anyone.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

All I know is our stroller has never had anything taken and, in fact, rarely is even moved from where we leave it.

Whether that's luck, the "bomb" deterrent, or something else...I don't know. But just like I'll continue to arm my car alarm when I walk away, I'll continue to tie that baggie to my handle bar. Because either it's working, or we're lucky. One thing I can control..the other I can't.

 

[mom2rtk]

All I know is our stroller has never had anything taken and, in fact, rarely is even moved from where we leave it.

Whether that's luck, the "bomb" deterrent, or something else...I don't know. But just like I'll continue to arm my car alarm when I walk away, I'll continue to tie that baggie to my handle bar. Because either it's working, or we're lucky. One thing I can control..the other I can't.

Well, there's no harm in trying. Just don't let your guard down.

All I'm saying is that the vast majority of people who go to WDW don't have trouble with their strollers............. even the ones not using the dirty diaper trick.

But if it happens to you, it won't matter to you that most everyone else's stuff was safe.

 

[kla]

Walking through the WDW gates doesn't make a thief suddenly grow a conscious.

That may be true, but I do think the *magic* makes some people stop and think twice. Not everyone, of course, but maybe a few who wouldn't think twice at the local mall. I, for one, tend to be much more courteous and helpful to fellow Disney-goers than people I encounter on a regular day-to-day basis -- not that I'm normally rude or anything, it's just that when I get to Dis I tend to turn it up a notch.

 

[mom2rtk]

That may be true, but I do think the *magic* makes some people stop and think twice. Not everyone, of course, but maybe a few who wouldn't think twice at the local mall. I, for one, tend to be much more courteous and helpful to fellow Disney-goers than people I encounter on a regular day-to-day basis -- not that I'm normally rude or anything, it's just that when I get to Dis I tend to turn it up a notch.

But you're probably not the sort to walk off with someone else's stuff. I think for that type, there is no "turning it up a notch".

Honestly, if I were a stroller thief (which I'm not!) I'd head for WDW, where people are more likely to let down their guard.

 

[pilferk]

Well, there's no harm in trying. Just don't let your guard down.

All I'm saying is that the vast majority of people who go to WDW don't have trouble with their strollers............. even the ones not using the dirty diaper trick.

But if it happens to you, it won't matter to you that most everyone else's stuff was safe.

As I said in a previous post...I'm not leaving thousands of dollars of consumer electroncs sitting on the stoller. Heck, we don't even really bring that stuff to the parks...and our phones stay in our pockets unless we're going to get wet (and then they're stashed in a waterproof sac we carry with us). And we're not "driving" one of the Mercedes Benz of strollers, either. It's a simple double umbrella stroller (with a Jeep label, actually) that cost us less than a hundred dollars.

The stuff that's on the stroller is usually stuff that's easily replaced and/or that we can live without (water bottles, kids cups, etc). Typically, within hours of park entrance, we've acquired SOMETHING from a Disney merchandise location that hangs off the stroller. I can live with that level of risk if it's NOT the "bomb" deterrent working for us.

 

[kla]

I thin for that type, there is no "turning it up a notch".

touché!

 

[dmband]

i always worry someone will take the stroller more then i am what i left in it
lots of times there are storllers that look alike or are the same even and i could see someone taking the wrong one by mistake

i have left a camcorder in the stroller a couple of times and hate doing it, lucky so far nothing has happened by mistake or on purpose

 

[ars0525]

No kids so no stroller here, but I am always amazed walking by stroller row & what people leave in their strollers unattended.

Yes it is Disney. But I would also think it makes it a prime location for grabbing stuff.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I was quite concerned about leaving our Maclaren but we ended up putting a label with her name on it. it just sucks that you can't use wheel locks on them.
I've heard to take a wheel off if you can will work too.

 

[avic77]

CM stole ours and moved it to another "parking area" far from where we were. Took some time to locate a CM but finally one came along and said some strollers had to be relocated and showed us the area.

 

[MyHappiestPlace]

NEVER ! I have been going to WDW w/ a stroller since 1984 with my oldest daughter; then again in the 90s with my 2nd born and again 2001-to now with my youngest two. I have NEVER had a thing stolen from my stroller; I have never had a stroller stolen either. I have had some high end strollers as well so they weren't all $20 walmart crap BUT I don't leave my camera, wallet or other valuable items in my bags or stroller. That's just asking for stuff to happen

 

[CdnCarrie]

We did have a jacket stolen out of the bottom of our stroller. It was parked outside Planet Hollywood at DD. Not a huge deal as it was a simple blue size 3x hand me down jacket and I had brought a 2nd one for my son. But still it was annoying.

 

[sydneysmom]

we didn't have any trouble at all w/ our stuff in our stroller. We also didn't leave anything of any value in it though. We had a backpack strapped to the handles and kept water, wet wipes, gum, a change of clothes for our DD, ponchos, that kind of thing. The money / camera / tickets were in my Vera Bradley hipster.

It was funny, we saw SO many people w/ the refillable mugs in strollers and I kept thinking, I wouldn't leave them laying around, that's just too easy for someone to steal.

I really think most people are so caught up in their own lives and what they brought themselves to worry about stealing something out of a stroller. That being said, I wouldn't leave souveniers or cameras or anything like that, just in case.

 

[squirrel]

Maybe....but it's risk/reward.

Do you really want to risk that it's NOT a phony just to see if there might be good stuff?

Or would your rather "hit" one of the other several hundred strollers that might NOT have a "bomb" attached to it?

We don't necessarily have "good stuff" attached to our stroller. But it's like a car alarm. You COULD bypass it, or ignore it...but it's easier just to skip the car that has it.

I don't see how a fake (even if it was real) diaper in a bag would deter anyone. It's not hard to take a bagged diaper and toss it in the garbage as you take off with a stroller.

Now if you locked the back wheels together than that would stop someone from taking it.


I hope the person who lost their stroller at AK safari parking, knows that there are two stroller parking areas. I know the first time I got off the ride and went into the stroller parking area and couldn't find it and the CM pointed me over to the other parking area. I wonder how many people that happens to and they don't ask.

 

[GrillMouster]

There's nothing about Walt Disney World that makes theft less likely to occur there. While at WDW don't leave anything in the stroller that you wouldn't leave in an unattended stroller at a shopping mall.

Sometimes theft can be rather innocent. I've witnessed toddlers take a sip of a drink from another stroller before the parent can stop them (I feel bad for the owners of the stroller who had no idea that some other kid got their sick germs all over their drink). I've seen toddlers take toys from other strollers while the parents weren't watching. I've seen filthy birds walk all over stroller trays where a child's snack may sit.

I recommend marking your stroller in a way that it would be immediately recognizable. Some of the markings that people leave are small and inconspicious, so that someone who knows where to look can identify their own stroller. Such a mark does nothing to prevent another guest from accidentally mistaking your stroller for their own. The marker should be so obvious that another guest who isn't paying close attention will realize that the stroller is not her own.

If you do leave stuff in the stroller, and the stroller has an under-seat bin, put your stuff in there. Recline the seat to prevent view and easy access to the contents of the bin, and possibly turn the stroller around so that the bin opening is facing away from traffic (front of stroller faces traffic). Don't just leave stuff in the seat.