Easy Tips For Child Safety When Visiting The Disney Parks

Child Safety When Visiting The Disney Parks is a must. One of every parent’s or grandparent’s biggest fears is keeping their child safe but with some easy planning, here are our easy tips for child safety when visiting the Disney Parks especially when you’re traveling with grandchildren. Gosh, what I would give to be lost at the most magical place on earth, as an adult it sounds like a dream come true if the adult is the one lost. But if it involves a missing child, it’s the scariest place on earth for both parent & child and if you’re a grandparent entrusted with your grandchildren, I cannot even begin to describe the fears that went through my mind.

Today we’ve got some great suggestions and easy to implement ideas as to “what to do” if your child gets separated from you at Walt Disney World. It can easily happen; you turn away for a second to pay for your Mickey Bar, look back and your child is gone. What can both the parent and the child do, if something like this happens?

Preparation is the key, make a plan. Before heading to Walt Disney World, make sure you talk to your child about “what to do” if they get lost while visiting. For a young child this may involve learning Mom or Dad’s cell phone number, or for an older child picking a designated spot to meet if lost.

*Here’s a tip- when you arrive at the Magic Kingdom- go to City Hall/Guest Relations and have a tag made for your child, it can attach to their belt loop & they can choose to have Mickey or Minnie on it. Tell them it’s a very special safety souvenir.

Here are suggestions for parents, if your child is missing:

• Don’t scream, try to stay calm. I understand the desire to scream  but please remain calm; screaming won’t help you find your child, but it can bring attention for all the wrong reasons
• Go directly to the nearest Cast Member & inform them.
• If your spouse is with you, have them stay in the location you last saw your child, maybe they will return. Other suggestions for spouse or family member- Call out their name while listening for a response. Search bathrooms or maybe a favorite store.
• Have current pictures of your children.
• Keep a fully charged cell phone.
• Have pertinent Disney/important phone numbers stored in your cell phone.

If your child is lost this happens:

• Disney Parks realize that children go missing, no matter how many precautions a parent can take; they have a system in place for just this situation. When a Disney Cast Member finds a lost child, the Cast Member contacts Lost Children and registers any information that they have, including name, age, location, and a parent/guardian name.
• The child will be taken to the Lost Children Center. The Lost Children center is a comfy furnished room that has a play table and Disney videos to entertain the child until the parents are found. Parents and children are brought back together by description and names, so it is important that your child knows your name, phone number, etc.

They usually direct you to the park’s official meeting points:

• At the Magic Kingdom, check the Baby Center and City Hall, where logs of lost children are kept.
• At Epcot, check Baby Services near the Odyssey Center.
• At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, check Guest Relations at the entrance, near Hollywood Boulevard.
• At the Animal Kingdom, try the Baby Center on Discovery Island. 90% of children will be found within 2 hours at the meeting point.
• Disney has an internal communication system and will issue an all-employee bulletin.

Child Safety When Visiting The Disney Parks tips for a safe & magical trip:

Matching shirts: For families traveling with small children, consider choosing a single color for each day, making it easier to spot one another in a crowd.

Keep track of small children when entering and leaving attractions: Large Disney theme park attractions can let hundreds of people into or out of a theater at one time, making it easy to lose track of your little ones. Carry your child in huge crowds, or hold on tight when exiting busy, show-style attractions.

Note the location of exits for bathrooms and rides: Some restrooms and Disney theme park rides have multiple exits and your kid could come out of an entirely different location than you expect.

Choose a meeting place: Take a second to choose a meeting place in each Disney theme park, and make sure every member of your family knows where to go if they are lost. This is particularly important for kids who are old enough to wander off but don’t have a cell phone.

Tell your kids how to find help: If your child is lost, he or she should stay put for a few minutes, to give you time to find them. Staying near the last ride or attraction you visited makes it easy for you to spot them.

Older kids Child Safety When Visiting The Disney Parks:

Can We Go Again?

• Have a plan in advance, I have teenagers and still have one in place:
• Make a note of what every child in your party is wearing, or take a picture with a digital camera/cell phone each morning.
• When entering the park, introduce your child to a Cast Member. Tell your child to go to the nearest Cast Member if he or she becomes separated. Cast members can easily be found at every snack place, shop, restaurant, kiosk, attraction line-up, etc. Likewise, parents should immediately inform a Cast Member if a child is missing.
• Both parties have a charged cell phone or walkie-talkies.
• If kids are old enough, choose a “go to place” a landmark, or maybe a special favorite spot, where you will meet up if separated. Actually, go together to the place! Don’t just say “Cinderella Castle.” Do that at each park.
• If your child goes to the restroom by him/herself, pay attention to whether that restroom has multiple exits.
• Don’t get distracted during parades and fireworks; keep small children close by or in strollers during these spectacles.
• Also be vigilant when your part of crowds entering or exiting one of the live shows in the Disney theme parks.
• Be aware of your surroundings at all times, don’t let your guard down just because it’s WDW, don’t be fooled, dangers exist everywhere, even Disney.
• Use the buddy system, stay with a sibling or friend-don’t separate.
• Don’t talk to strangers & tell them you’re alone or without an adult.
• Make sure the GPS locator on a cell phone is active.
• Periodic check-in calls & with a description of where the teenager is currently located and I have them send me a picture with them in it, time-stamped.
• Stay with large crowds.
• Don’t veer from a plan that you were given permission to do (like if you said you were going to Space Mountain—go to Space Mountain.)
• Meet up every few hours to make sure safe.
• Have a secret password that only you & kids know, in case some nut-job says “Your mom said to come with me” and have the person tell you the password or NO DICE! That’s what I did to my kids when they were little, I scared them to death about strangers for safety sake—a real funny password is always great

Extra Tips:

http://www.safetytat.com/is a great company that makes temporary tattoos that you put on your kiddo’s skin. I would suggest not adding their name, just the phone number of a grandparent or parent in case of an emergency.

Many people use the Disney Parks luggage tags on their kid’s belt loops.

Make tags at the pet store – the little-engraved ones with the parent cell phone number on them, tie them to their shoestrings, or on a necklace.

Try a sticker with a phone number on the kid’s shirt. Also, remember to put the tag or sticker on the outside of the child’s clothing, Cast Members are not allowed to look under or lift up a child’s clothing. What’s your best tip for keeping your child safe when visiting the Disney Parks?