How to Prevent Stroller Theft

Disneyland theme parks represent excitement and happiness, but this awesome place isn’t always a paradise where no evil happens. Truth be told: baby strollers get stolen at Disney theme parks some of the time. And that’s really bad news.

The good news is that you’re not completely helpless. There’s a few steps you can take to make Disneyland stroller theft less likely. In this post, I list down 9 ways to prevent stroller theft at Disney so you can stay sane before and after the visit. And if you’re interested, here’s a post about Disneyland Stroller Rules.

Related post: Stroller hacks for new moms and dads

9 Ways to Prevent Disney Parks Stroller Theft

1.Use a good baby stroller wheel lock.

2.Leave the stroller breaks engaged.

3.Personalize your stroller by decorating it in some way; make it stand out.

4. Gather proof that you actually own the stroller before parking it at Disney. Take a picture of yourself pushing the stroller and keep it handy for when you might need it as evidence of stroller ownership.

5. Label or mark your stroller in a conspicuous way, in a way that announces to the whole world that you’re the rightful owner.

6. Leave your stroller at home and use a rented stroller instead. Remember to purchase adequate protection against stroller theft and damage from the renting company.

7. If you can, take out one of the stroller wheels and keep it in a backpack or even in the stroller as a deterrence.

8. Pair stroller up with a TILE and know where it is at any time.

9. This one made me laugh! Hang some fake dirty diaper or two on the stroller handle. Believe me, it works haha.

Learn how to leverage each stroller anti-theft method above to your advantage.

1.Use a Good Baby Stroller Wheel Lock

I’m repeating this for the millionth time now: a stroller wheel lock is no guarantee that someone won’t steal your stroller. Anyone who knows how to use an angle grinder can pick the lock in 5 minutes tops!

Still, using a stroller lock or bike lock is a reasonable way to discourage thieves. Stroller and bike thieves are always working under intense pressure and want to leave the scene as fast as possible. Why would a thief want to do more when they could do less work and make off with a stroller of similar quality?

Speaking of locking your stroller, you want to lock together two wheels to make it somewhat tougher for a thief to walk off with your pram. But there’s things you’re not allowed to do when it comes to locking a stroller at Disney. You can’t secure it onto any object at the parks including trees, benches, or anything else.

2. Leave the Stroller Brakes Engaged

There are different braking mechanisms for strollers. Since each stopping technology works differently, the thief needs time to figure out how the brakes on your buggy work. And time is something they don’t have much of. They’d rather leave your pushchair for easier-to-steal options.

3. Get a Suitable Bluetooth Tracker to Protect Your Stroller

Bluetooth offers you a near-perfect way of preventing stroller theft. This is a great strategy for tech-savvy parents. But wouldn’t you want to leverage this amazing tech and become a cool mom/dad in the process?

What’s the best Bluetooth tracker for strollers? There are different kinds of Tile. And you need to get the correct one for your pram. Tile Sport is what works best for things such as baby strollers and other devices that aren’t handled with great care.

Please note that Tile Sport 2017 was discontinued by the manufactured. So get the Tile Sport 2022 1-Pack. This is the newest version of the technology. And it works really well if the 4.6 star rating over 2,400 parents gave it (as of publish date) is anything to go by.

This innovative technology enables you to stay connected with your stroller at all times. If anyone moves the stroller to a new location, you’ll know immediately and go back take a look to make sure everything is OK.

4. Take a Picture of Yourself Using the Stroller

I read a sad story while researching for this post about a mom who couldn’t prove to the Disney cast members that they actually owned the stroller. Imagine how she felt when the CM innocently let the crooks walk away with her expensive wagon-style stroller!

What if she had any kind of credible evidence linking her to the stroller? What if she could furnish CM with photos of herself pushing baby in the stroller in question?

5. Leave Your Stroller at Home. Use a Rented Stroller Instead.

Do you own a $1000+ baby stroller? Don’t take chances with it. Leave it at home. You have options. You can buy a cheap umbrella baby stroller and dedicate it to theme park use.

Alternatively, you can use a rented stroller. Disney rents strollers by the way. But you can also rent it elsewhere if you like. Make sure to buy some damage waiver that protects you in case the stroller gets stolen or gets damaged through no fault of your own.

6. Remove One Stroller Wheel

Some strollers have a wheel release mechanism that lets you pop out a wheel on a dime. If that’s what you have, take one of the wheels out. With most three-wheeled baby strollers, you can detach the front wheel pretty easily. Why would anyone want to push an immobile stroller when there’s t0ns of highly mobile options around?

7. Personalize Your Stroller by Decorating It

When it’s your child’s birthday, you do all sorts of decorations in all sorts of places to make them happy. But you can also use the same idea to protect your stroller.

One way to discourage theft is decorate the pram in all kind of ways. Tie or attach bright colored balloons, bandanas, or scarfs to the stroller for example.

You can also use battery-powered lights, like those twinkly Christmas lights. Doing this deters stroller thieves and also makes it way easier to find your stroller when it’s time to head home.

8. Label the Stroller and Announce Your Ownership to the World

This tip discourages theft and also makes it easy for cast members to contact you in case they recover your stolen stroller. Some moms type out their family name on a colored paper (neon green?) and place it on the handlebars and other places.

But that’s not what I do. I prefer using printable fabric sheets instead of colored paper. I have my name on the sheets as well as my cell phone number; then I sew the sheets onto my baby wiper and diaper bags (I don’t leave anything else in the stroller), the stroller’s organizer, and canopy. And I’ve never lost a stroller to theft at Disney theme parks.

9. Use a Fake Baby Diaper as a Theft Deterrent

OK, I laughed hard when I read this tip from a mom I bumped into online. It’s a funny tip, but some moms say it works for them.  Let’s pretend you have itchy fingers.  How would you like touching dirty diapers packed just so you can steal a stroller when there are so many clean prams around?

Preventing Stroller Theft Tips

• If you have several strollers and some cost an arm and a leg, just don’t take the nicer ones to Disneyland. If losing any of the nicer ones would really break your heart and make you detest all things Disney, just don’t take it there.
• If you have valuables that you can’t afford to lose, just take them out of the stroller before parking it. Don’t leave your car keys and wallet or purse in the stroller at Disneyland. Chances are that some social miscreant will snitch them and leave you wondering why Walt Disney didn’t utterly fail. A thought to ponder: You certainly wouldn’t leave any of your treasured belongings outside Space Mountain; so why would any right thinking person want to leave the very items in their stroller at Disneyland? Don’t leave your wallet, your $5000 watch, your ID (especially this!), expensive camera, ipad, smartphone, and whatnot.
• There’s always a squirrel rummaging through parked baby strollers at Disneyland. While you can take certain measures to reduce the probability of theft happening, there’s no foolproof way of staving off food theft by little hungry squirrels. Don’t leave food in the stroller.
• Problems happen everywhere, even in paradise, and Disney is no exception. I mean, no one is safe all of the time. We all know there’s security people of all stripes lurking behind every trashcan, and it’s easy to think nothing bad could happen to your stroller and whatever is in it. Disney is no doubt the happiest, most well-monitored spots on the planet, but even the cheapest baby strollers get stolen there!
• If you own a $2000+ baby stroller and would get really upset if someone stole it, consider renting a stroller instead of carting that expensive pram from home. But don’t just rent a stroller, be sure to buy enough protection against unintentional damage to the stroller as well as stroller theft. Fortunately, many stroller rental companies offer a damage waiver so you can use the rented stroller without worries.
• Don’t lock the stroller wheels. Just don’t do it. Understand that cast members sometimes need to move around parked strollers and don’t make their job difficult.

Stroller Theft FAQs

Here they are.

Do Strollers Actually Get Stolen?

Sadly yes. It’s sad that parents are increasing losing their strollers to thieves at one of the safest and happiest place on Earth. Perhaps these cases are on the rise because strollers have become pretty expensive over the years and the thieves are getting making some decent change after reselling.

Do I Need a Stroller Lock?

Yes, you need a stroller lock. However, a stroller lock doesn’t offer full protection against theft. That said, locking your stroller can make it that much harder for a thief. Unfortunately, stealing a locked stroller is almost an effortless task for someone a real pro at using an angle grinder.

How Do You Not Get Your Stroller Stolen At Disneyland?

The smartest way to thwart Disneyland stroller theft is to connect your stroller to a TILE (the tile Sport is the best option for strollers) through Bluetooth technology. This way, you always know where the stroller is at any one time. If anything happens to the stroller while at Disney, you get a notification and take preventive measures immediately. You can also use a stroller wheel lock to make it a little harder for a thief to walk away with it.

How Do You Lock a Stroller?

The best way to lock a stroller at Disney at Disneyland is to lock any two stroller wheels together. A thief is always in a hurry and will always walk away with easier targets and leave harder-to-steal strollers at the theme park.

Summing It All Up

One great way to deter stroller theft is to connect your stroller with an appropriate TILE through Bluetooth technology. This trick keeps you informed about everything that happens to your baby’s personal transporter.

Another stroller safety trick that works most of the time is locking the stroller. Removing one of the wheels is also a great way to make it less likely that a thief hurrying to leave the crime scene will target your stroller.

Which stroller theft preventing strategy do you think would work best for your situation? Let’s know what you think in the comments box below.