How Children Get Lost at Disney World

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

25 May 2007 11:34 AM

A parent's worst fear is when their child goes missing. Whether you are in the grocery store or the mall or Disney World, there's no greater stomach clenching, ice-cold fear than that you experience when your child vanishes while you are out and about. I've known that feeling when my daughter darted around a corner once in the grocery store and she kept moving one way while I moved another and it was a pretty terrifying experience.

Losing your child at Disney World can make the most magical place on Earth seem like the most terrifying place on Earth. With that in mind, here are a few tips every parent needs to have:

• Don't send your child into the bathroom by themselves, many of the bathrooms in the Disney parks have multiple exits - your child may enter the bathroom in Adventureland and exit in Frontier Land
• If you have to send them in by themselves, be certain to set a designated spot where they are to go and wait for you and only you - don't tell them to just meet you outside
• Be sure your child has the info on where you are staying as well as your contact information such as a cell phone number; also educate your child that if they get disconnected from you they should look for a Disney employee or cast member; they are trained in how to help locate lost children and returning them to their parents
• Check your map before every trip out to make sure you can identify where the Baby Center and Town Halls are located, they keep logs of lost and missing children there
• Hold hands during mass movements of people - specifically during offloading from a busy ride, a parade or the fireworks and more

If your child isn't old enough to memorize information such as the hotel and cell phone, put a card in their clothes, pinned somewhere safely that they know how to get to. This is what we did with our daughter, though she knew both our cell phones by heart. We were fortunate, as two adults traveling with one child, we always had someone on lookout, but you still want to take precautions.

What tips can you offer to parents traveling to a Disney amusement park with their children?

Related Articles:

Planning a Trip to Disney? Pick up the Remote

The Magic Kingdom: Where to Meet Characters

Disney World Planning & The Big Family

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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