I don’t know about you, but I always find it amazing when guests visit Disney theme parks without bags or backpacks. Where do you put your wallet, cellphone, Advil, Tums, water bottle, sunglasses, and spare pair of mouse ears? Okay, so maybe I travel with too much, but people who don’t need a bag still blow my mind.
Of course, most guests have too many items and need to use a backpack. And when visiting a Disney theme park, you need to keep a close eye on your belongings at all times.
Related: Let’s Pack a Park Bag for a Day at Disney World!
Unfortunately, many guests think that nothing bad can happen to them or their belongings while in a place like Disney. Many guests traveling with strollers will think nothing of leaving their belongings on the stroller while they ride an attraction. They forget that Disney does not have a magic spell over it that will keep their items safe and prevent them from being taken.
More than once, we have reported on guests being caught stealing from Disney or from other guests. However, one guest is claiming that it wasn’t a fellow guest who stole from them, it was actually a Disney cast member.
Related: Thieving Father/Daughter Duo Jailed After Stealing Hundreds in Disney World Merchandise
Reddit user abfritts said that they recently visited Walt Disney World Resort and rode Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in the Magic Kingdom. They allegedly lost a bag in the stroller area by the attraction, but they did not realize it until they were back at their hotel.
The OP (Original Poster) had a pair of AirPods in their bag, so they were able to track the AirPods on their phone and saw that they were still in the theme park after the park closed.
They were thrilled to discover where the AirPods were and quickly filed a lost and found report. They were reportedly told that they would have to wait until the park opened the next morning to get their bag. That’s when things started to go downhill.
According to the OP, they continued to track their bag and saw that it was being carried through the Magic Kingdom. A while later, they checked and their AirPods had left the park! The bag had been found, but their AirPods had been replaced with traditional headphones.
You think if anyone is gonna steal in the parks it would be another guest… not an employee! We lost a crossbody bag in the stroller area of Tiana’s Bayou yesterday and realized only at night when we were unpacking the stroller. The lost bag had AirPods in it, so we used “find my” and saw the AirPods/bag still at Tiana’s Bayou after the park closed. Relief, right? I submitted the lost and found ticket and talked to the front desk on if we could do anything because we clearly see it in the park. I was told to just wait for an email when it had been officially “found”. In the morning before the park opened (6am), we saw the bag moving through Magic Kingdom as if an employee found it and was bringing it in so we just waited and went to Animal Kingdom for the morning. At 10am, when we looked again, the AirPods were in a residential neighborhood 20min away….
Cue panic and a trip to guest services who made some calls to lost and found. The bag and everything else was turned in, but the AirPods were swapped out for corded earbuds. Guest services wrote up a report on their end and said I could submit a police report to Orange County. I likely won’t do that because we are headed home and I am sure the local police are not sending resources to find lost headphones. And that’s ok! We really needed the prescription glasses in the bag and will eat the loss. But wow is my trusting spirit a bit wounded today!
Related: Disney Cast Member Exposed for Stealing $180,000 in Walt Disney World Guest Refunds
The OP said that they filled out a report with guest services and were informed that they could also file a report with the Orange County Police Department. They said that they probably would not file one since they were leaving the parks and heading home. However, commenters encouraged them to do so, especially since the unknown cast member might continue to steal from other guests.
If you havent yet, give the address to the mouse. If it is a CM, they need to get fired. If they stole from you, high chance they’ve done it before and are willing to do it again.
Some questioned how the OP knew that it was a cast member and not a guest, but it was pointed out that the AirPods were moving around the Magic Kingdom when it was closed.
In a small update, the OP did share that they had followed through and filed a police report with the Orange County PD. They also reported their AirPods as “lost” to Apple. That means that whoever stole the AirPods is no longer able to use them.
Whenever you visit a Disney theme park — or any theme park — it is very important to never leave your items unattended. Do not leave items in your stroller. If you want to keep your belongings or purchases in a safe place, every park has small and large lockers that are available to rent.
Have you ever had something stolen from you while visiting Disney? What happened? Let us know in the comments!
I would have drove to the location of the headphones and took them from the person with them and sent him/her a card at the hospital they would be in after.
I believe that is quite a possibility my family and I stopped at a stand at the food and wine festival to purchase a dessert for the kids. When I took out my money to pay I then quickly realized stopping at the next location that I hadn’t put the $150 I had back into the zipper of my crossbody – I thought I slid it back in but didn’t so it was left on the counter or fell. We immediately went back and the cast member we paid conveniently took a break immediately after we left – what are the odds. It was never turned in.
It could very likely have been another guest who found (and didn’t return) your cash.
On our last day at Port Orleans Riverside I couldn’t find my earrings after the room was cleaned. I only brought one pair. They were sentimental to me so we looked EVERYWHERE. I gave up, and then noticed a paper cup, the ones they leave in the room for you, turned upside down and hidden behind the garbage can. My earrings were under it. I keep my things in the safe ever since.