Going to WDW in March. I'm so scared my kids will get lost! Help!

[Rileygirl]

Hi

I am going to disney for the first time with my own family and am also worried about lost kids, I have three mousekateers ages 4 six and eight. I read somewhere a while ago, cant remember if it was a guide book or a disney site, a cute idea for keeping track of those little ones. Somebody tied little bells to their three year old's shoes and said it was amazing how much easier it was to keep track. I think this would only work if you had one child though....I am going to have to tie a cowbell to my eight year old, she is the one I am most worried about wandering off.
Also, for peace of mind, I was glad to read something of how security works at disney. You can look at two really excellent articles all about this for free on tourguide mikes site. Go into vacation articles and look under "what a parent wants to know"
There is an article called "How does disney re-unite children with their party" and "Does your child know how to get found when lost" By the way, any of his vacation articles that dont have a little lock icon beside it are completely free , and there is tons of great stuff in there.
Hope this helps



Rileygirl

 

[Disney Princess 6]

I can't find it and have no idea where to look. Thank you!

 

[Mamu]

This can be a scary situation for the child and the parent. We teach our children not to talk to strangers, when a child becomes lost it becomes even scarier, now they need to talk to someone.

On a recent trip, we were sitting in tomorrow taking a break, when my DD noticed a boy about 8 running around in circles crying.

I had to run through crowds to catch up with him. I tried to tell him I was going to help him. I think he was just as frightened of me as being lost. It took a while to calm him down. He keep trying to bolt away and I would have to run after him.

We asked him a few questions, we finally found what his last ride was. He was very frightened and had a hard time remembering. What he was suppose to do if he got lost, he had no clue. We sat out in the open away from the crowds and waited. A CM came by and waited with us too. It was very important to keep him talking. Every time he stopped talking he would bolt away again.

15 to 20 minutes later a family came by, just as frantic. Grabbed him, never said a word and walked away scolding him.

When a child becomes lost they usually are so frightened they forget everything you've taught them to do.

It's very important for a child to know there is help. I've taught my children and grandchildren to go into the nearest shop and ask for help from the person who is working there. They will contact a CM. We go over this everytime we enter the park. Do not wander around go into a shop and ask for help. Thankfully they have never had to put this action into use.

 

[Rileygirl]

Hi Princess

You can find tourguide at tourguidemike.com When the mainpage loads look at the top yellow bar and you will see "vacation articles". Click on that then scroll down to "what a Parent wants to know" and then find those two articles. You can look at any of his great planning articles for free that do not have a lock icon beside it. There are a few that still are not published, (his site is only two months old!) so if there is no date beside the title, it means that it has yet to be published. I really loved these two articles because one tells you pretty much what Disney tells its cm's to do when encountering a lost child, and the other was a great way to prep your child if they should get lost. Although I agree with mamu, all bets are off when the child is terrified. But, I hope with a little preplanning, and instructing your child what to do, and playing that little game as tourguide mike suggests, I think this really diminishes the chance of your child getting terrified. This same article also tells the parent what to do as well. And at the end, it tells you about those undercover security people, which is a great big comfort. By the way, if you like these free articles, you should know that his private ones are even better. No, I do not work for tgm, its just such a great thing, I want to tell everybody about it! Let me know what you think of it!

Cheers

Rileygirl

oops, I think I had better mention if you are interested in subscribing to tgm, go to mary at mousesavers.com, she has just listed a discount code and tells you a bit about tgm, also if you go into the budget board on this site, look for a thread called tourguidemike promo codes, and you can hear what others say about tgm and other discount codes
happy reading!!!

PS, I think you and I are going to be at disney at the same time, we are there mar 9 to 21 at the poly!! (still cant figure out the time clock thing!!!)

 

[MichiganMommy]

I ordered the ID Inside bracelets for DS4 and DS7. We used them last week on a airplane trip, I was flying alone with them. We ended up putting them through the belt loops on their pants. The ID Inside bracelets are made out of one piece of velcro. The furry side (loops, not the scratchy "hook" side) is next to their skin. They still said it felt scratchy. It worked fine on the belt loop, but I would be prepared to attach it somewhere else but on their wrist.

 

[Disney Princess 6]

I just got the bracelets that I ordered from them and I'm slightly disappointed. I think the pocket where the ID info is held should have a plastic see-through cover on it. THat way, when a CM or whomever looks for the info, they don't have to dig into the pocket, it's right there for them to see. I mean, if you aren't familiar with the bracelets, you may not know to look in that little pocket.

 

[chrisn]

My daughter was 12 the year we were in line for Fantasmic at MGM. There was a Kiosk directly to the side of us about 20 feet away. Her brothers spinny light-up toy battery was dead and she thought to run over and grab another one. She did not have her Radio in hand and low and behold the line started to move. She did not appear and so I had my brother wait in line while I went to search for her. I went to the cart and she was not there. I started to panic and I knew that she was panicking. I kept contact with my brother and I know my face was white because a lovely couple stopped to ask if they could help. They asked for a description and started to help search for her while I informed the CM. About 10-15 minutes had passed when she found my brother. He radioed me and when I got back to them she was Hysterical. Bawling, hyperventilating, freaking! I just grabbed her and hugged her to calm her down. I tried to find the nice couple but could not. The new bride in front of us told her that she would have freaked too. The reason I am bringing this up is because there are litterally thousands of people lining up for Fantasmic and as I found very easy to lose a kid here. I even had my eyes on her but lost contact when the line started to move and by the time I mad my way out it was too late. So I just emphasize that things happen even to big kids. She stuck to me like super glue after that!

 

[crisi]

I don't think this has been mentioned....

If your kids are old enough, each day when you go into the park, pull aside a cast member. Show your kids the Disney nametag and tell them that people wearing this nametag are Mickey's special friends and they will know how to find Mom and Dad if Mom or Dad gets lost.

 

[mommystieg]

I just posted this somewhere else but one tip I saw suggested taking Polariod pictures of your kids each day before you leave for the parks. If you do become separated you will have a current picture and you won't have to remember what they were wearing.

 

[JoeFixes]

We've been to Disney World seven times with our young kids. Oldest is now 9, we have a 7 year old, and now a 3 year old. When it was just the two of them, we just took one each and that child was our responsibility. I can't see how you can lose yor child at WDW. It's no different than being anywhere else in the world with your kids. You never take your eyes off them anywhere else, why would you while on vacation? The harnesses don't work in big crowds because you stand a chance of tripping people when your child bolts.

Losing a child was never a concern for my husband and I. And it shouldn't be for you, or any other responsible parent. You are a careful person and you'll do fine. There are two kids, and two parents. My husband and I are now outnumbered so it is sure to be difficult on our next trip (Disney Magic cruise-Feb 15), but we're always in our kids faces (9-year old loves it!), so nobody's getting lost. Have fun on your trip and don't worry! Just have fun! Your kids sure will.

 

[catwho]

Each of our kids has had for the past 3 trips a fanny pack. Inside the fanny pack are tissues, their D$'s, and a card that has OUR name and cell phone numbers on it. We've only lost one child (sounds weird doesn't it) It was on TSI and they closed the island until he was located. It is the only time in all our trips that we have lost a child. I just think it is important to have some way for you to be contacted easily.

Despite the fear of loosing a child again, we wouldn't hesitate going again. Our kids know the rules that we set. We also put bells on our youngest's shoes. That way we can keep an audible check on him even if he is out of sight (like while you are shopping if he goes around a corner of behind a shelf unit) He has mild autism and doesn't always respond to his name (one of the reasons why it took so long to find him last year)

 

[cgajdzisz]

I really wasn't concerned about losing my dd6 until I read a similar post last year. Accidents happen and that doesn't mean that you are not being careful. It made me realize that it didn't hurt to have a plan just in case the worst happens. I let my dd pick a fanny pack that she liked and in it she carried an index card with the name of the hotel we are staying at as well as the room number. It also has my husband and my full name as well as his cell phone number. We carry 2 way radios so I put the channel they can use to contact us. I keep reminding her if we are seperated to go to a CM and tell them that she is lost. I told her to go to the nearest vendor and to look for someone wearing a white name tag. I point out the CM name tags to show her what I mean.Someone wrote to give your child a whistle and I did this but I told her to go to a CM first. I make sure that I am carrying a recent photo of her. Please don't worry too much. Half the fun of the trip is in the planning. Enjoy your trip!

 

[chrisn]

I agree, stuff just sometimes happens beyond your control. Kind of like freak accidents. It does not mean that you are a neglectful parent. I am a VERY overprotective mom and I have lost a child and my children are very seldom out of my sight. This is why I agree with being prepared. God forbid anything would happen but wouldn't you feel better knowing that you had taken steps to assure being reunited? I know that I am not in control of every situation and environment no matter how hard I try. I did order the IDinside bracelet and I don't care for it either. I agree with the inside needing to be clear. Who is going to know it's even in there? It's kind of hard to see. I loved the idea of the dog tags. I am going to Petco and engrave one for my son with my information, cell and radio station (like that idea too). They cost like $5 and I'll just hang it on one of those chains. An ounce of prevention.

 

[crisi]

It is awfully easy to lose track of a kid - it would take a superhuman not to ever take your eye off them for the seconds it takes an active toddler to scoot away from you, or be able to track a nine year old walking three feet ahead when you get cut apart by a large party. Even when adults are equal to kids, there are moments when one adult runs to get food from the counter service restaurant where you have to move to "zone defense" - and then its impossible for anyone with binocular vision to track both children simultanously. Sometimes, your toddler scoots away from you in the stall when your pants are around your ankles, and --- willing as I am to give chase without bothering to button --- you simply can't run as fast unless you actually take ten seconds to pull your pants back up. Doesn't make us bad parents, makes us human.

The nice thing is that by tagging your kids, by understanding the importance Disney CMs place on helping find lost kids (or lost parents), by using tools like harnesses (we never had a problem tripping strangers with ours), and setting rules for your kids that they can follow and understand, you can reduce the amount of time you spend worrying and increase the amount of energy you can put to enjoying your vacation.

 

[Rileygirl]

crisi and chrisn
very nicely put
just how I feel
rileygirl

 

[spikesmom]

The thought of losing your kids has kept me up nights. I solved this by packing very lightly(who cares what your kid looks like, pack LIGHTLY) and using a backpack so my hands were free and I could hold my kids hands all the time and my husband could too (3 kids...hey you are out numbered I took two and he took one, my sister was great at these times too as she would take one and the ADULTS would be the same as THE KIDS)I tend to screech in airports and at pools from experience.... My son challenged this though and we lost him in front of "Small World" when he was about 15 mo old. The cast members were great, they have some kind of alert code they communicate and we found him in minutes. Always alert them at once if you lose a little one ( My little guy (13) also once ,when I was getting his older sisters ready for school, walked down to the end of our road and some, strange lovely woman brought him back as she found him wandering down the road , I was SCREAMING for him, can you tell as a toddler he was my challenge?
This too will pass, I cannot wait for tomorrow, WDW here we come

Kathy

 

[chrisn]

I found a good deal on Identification tags and this site. Ordered them for my little man.

www.mattman-enterprises.com