Walt Disney World is a great place to take your family, but it can also be a great place to lose your stuff. Between the large crowds and the excitement, it's easy to become distracted and forget where you put your sunglasses, phone, or even lose track of a child. If this happens to you, don't worry - we've got you covered. This blog post will discuss tips for keeping your valuables safe at Disney Parks.
Keeping Track of the People You Love
Keeping track of loved ones is important, especially when traveling in large groups. A few simple steps can be taken to ensure everyone stays safe and accounted for.
Turn on location services
Firstly, turn on location services on your phone and share your location with other party members. At some point in your trip, you will be split up to go to the bathroom, for a ride that not everyone wants to ride or to save seats for a show.
By sharing your location, you can easily find each other when it's time to regroup.
Using Find My Friends or another app allows you to track exactly where everyone in your party is.
Write On Your Small Children
I know this sounds weird, but for really small children that are not verbal yet or might not remember your phone number in the panic of being lost, writing your cell phone on their arm right under their sleeve can be a great way to make sure you can be contacted if your little one is lost.
There is also a company called Safety Tat that creates temporary tattoos if you are looking for something a little cuter.
Prep Your Kids
I also told my kids to look for someone with a badge or a mom if they ever got lost. Luckily, that never happened, but I always felt prepared. If the worst happens, remember there are cameras everywhere, and Disney is very good at reuniting parents and children.
With all kids, you should talk about how important it is to stay together and what they should do if they get separated.
When Disney finds a lost child under 11, they take them to the Baby Center, marked on all Disney Park maps. Kids over 12 can wait for you at city hall. Every cast member can direct you there, so just find someone with a Disney name tag and let them know what has happened.
Because my son had severe food allergies, I also put a wristband on him that notified people of his allergies in case we got separated.
Tracking Strollers, Lovies, and Bags
Strollers, diaper bags, If you must leave your belongings unattended, there are a few things you can do to make sure you can find them again.
Grab Some Ribbons
If you're visiting a Disney park with young children, one of your top priorities will be keeping track of your stroller. With so many people crowded into one place, it can be easy for strollers to get lost in the shuffle. To avoid this, tie a brightly-colored ribbon or some of the popular signs they sell on Etsy to your stroller.
To control crowd flow, Disney cast members will often move your stroller. If you have a common stroller model, it would be easy for someone to take it by mistake, and it can take longer for you to find your stroller in a crowd. Adding some flair to your stroller will make it easier to spot in a crowd and keep your crew moving through your day at the Disney Parks.
This way, if your stroller gets moved, you'll be able to spot it quickly and save yourself a lot of time and hassle. Plus, it's a fun way to personalize your stroller and make it stand out from the rest. So next time you're headed to Disney, don't forget to bring along some ribbons or a sign for your stroller. It could end up being a real lifesaver!
Hide Some Air Tags
Losing a backpack or stroller can be a frustrating and expensive experience. Fortunately, you can take a few steps to help prevent this from happening. One option is to hide an Air Tag or Tile in your bag. These devices emit a tracking signal that can be used to locate your bag if it is lost or stolen. You can also attach the Air Tag or Tile to your keychain to easily find your bag if lost.
Overall, Disney is amazing and returning lost items, but knowing where your item is can help your items be located and returned faster.
Don't Make Yourself A Target
While Disneyland and Disney World and generally safe, I would not recommend leaving anything of value in your stroller. I usually would leave our snacks, diapers, and changes of clothes in the stroller. I would take my wallet, any electronic devices, and expensive souvenirs.
Put A Collar On That Lovey
Few things are as devastating as discovering that your child's cherished Lovey has been lost. Make sure you can get it back if it is discovered. I recommend attaching an AirTag or Tile to it. You can also attach a dog tag with a ribbon to make it easier to identify the owner quickly.
If at all possible, I recommend leaving anything you can't replace at home, but if your little one won't sleep without their friend, these are some steps you can take to make sure they make it back home.
Protect Your Phone
Considering that your phone holds your lightning lanes, dining reservation, and photos, losing a phone can seriously bum out your magical day. Disneyland and Disney World are hectic places, and it is easy to put down your phone or have it fall out of a bag. Here are some steps before starting your trip to make finding that phone easier.
Make Sure You Know Your iCloud Password
Losing your phone can be a frustrating experience, especially if you don't have a lock code or security measure in place. If you use iCloud, you can add your iCloud password to a secure location like LastPass or 1Password.
Trust me from experience, trying to remember that password when you are already freaking out about finding your phone is harder than it looks.
This way, if you lose your phone, you'll still be able to access your account and lock your device remotely.
Taking these steps ensures that your iCloud account is secure, even if your phone falls into the wrong hands. As soon as you notice your phone is missing, you will want to see if you can see where it was last located with the Find My Phone function and put your phone into lost mode to protect your data.
If you have an Android phone, there are similar steps you can take to secure your device. I recommend setting up a lock code and adding your Google account information to a password manager. That way, if you lose your phone, you'll still be able to access your account and remotely lock your device.
Back-Up Your Photos
Before you leave on your next big adventure, make sure you backup your photos! Nothing would be worse than losing your phone and all of your precious memories from the trip.
I like to backup my photos to at least two locations (like iCloud, Amazon Photos, or Google Photos), just to be safe. That way, even if one location fails, I still have my photos saved in another spot.
You can easily set up your phone to backup automatically, so you don't have to think about it. Just set it and forget it!
Overall, you can do a lot to keep your valuable safe from being lost. Taking a few steps before you leave for your trip or for your day at Disney Parks can save you a lot of frustration.
Have you ever lost something valuable at Disney Parks? What steps did you take to find it or replace it? Share your story in the comments!