How to Avoid Losing Your Child at Disney World (and how to get them back quickly if you do!)

Are you planning a trip to a Disney park with your young kids?

Once your kids are large enough that they are no longer in a baby carrier or a stroller all the time, you run the risk that you might accidentally lose them in the large crowds.

A lot of people think "I'm a good parent. I wouldn't lose my kid."

The truth is, though, that no matter how good a parent you are, it's still possible to lose "become temporarily unsure of the exact location" of your child.

When we were at Disney World in 2014, we lost track of our four-year-old for five of the longest minutes of my life.

I am SO glad that we were prepared for this scenario - even though we do not have a history of losing him as it helped us get reunited with him quickly.

Here are my top tips that we generally use when visiting crowded places to avoid losing our kids and how we set ourselves up for success to get them back sooner if it does happen.

How to avoid losing kids in crowded places: Wear something that stands out

Dress your child in bright colors or with a unique set of mouse ears. 

Glow necklaces and accessories are great if it's dark. 

The idea is to make it so that they are easy to find by scanning a crowd. This is a great tip to avoid losing your spouse as well!

These awesome Captain America mouse ears are from SparkleEars.com and made it easy to spot my kid in a sea of people since nobody else had anything like them.

How to avoid losing kids in crowded places: Give them a handle

Kids have a hard time holding hands 100% of the time. 

When our son gets tired of holding our hands, we let him hold onto a stroller clip that has a padded edge (it's actually designed to hold bags) OR onto the safety strap of our Bumbleride Indie 4.

How to avoid losing kids in crowded places: Plan and practice before you go

A couple weeks before we left on our trip, we talked about what to do if you can't find mommy or daddy. 

Step 1: Call for us. We might be nearby and calling us will help us get you. 

Step 2: If you can't find us by calling, find a mommy with kids and ask her for help to call us on the phone.

Did you notice we tell our kids to find another mommy instead of a staff member or police officer? 

It can be confusing to small kids to figure out who the authority figures are unless they are police officers in full-out uniforms. 

Finding just any grown-up isn't always a wise choice - and statistics show that most abductors or people with bad intentions toward children are male. 

Finding a mommy with kids? That's almost always going to be both a safe person and a person who will have a compassionate interest in reuniting my child with me.

We role-played this scenario several times at home until we felt confident he knew what to do.

How to avoid losing kids in crowded places: Label them

Labeling your child with your emergency contact info will be the fastest way to help another parent get in touch with you if you are separated from your child. 

At Disney World, we personalized his magic band by applying his name and "if lost call:" and my phone number. (we used our Cricut Electronic Cutting Machine to cut out the letters and added a couple coats of Hard Coat ModPodge to seal it and be sure they wouldn't peel off. 

You could also use paint or a permanent marker to write your info on their magic band)

Even if you aren't going to Disney World, you can purchase generic safety wristbands are an easy, temporary way to put your contact info on them.

Planning multiple trips? You can get a custom reusable wristband made for them on Etsy.

The wrist band with my phone number that we put on our son was how we were reunited with him so quickly after we lost each other in the massive sea of people following a fireworks display.

After we were reunited with our little wanderer, the Disney employee who found him said it was the best thing I could do for a quick reunion and that they wished every parent did this for their kids.

This was also the best thing I did for my sanity.

I knew that once he realized he was lost, he would find a mommy to call me on the phone (see my "plan and practice" tip, above).

As soon as I realized he wasn't where I thought he was, I got my cell phone and turned the volume up so I'd be sure to hear it when I got called - which I did. 

By the "mommy" that found my son when she saw a 4 year old standing my himself calling for his parents. (The "mommy" was actually a Disney cast member but I'll take it!) 

About the Author:

Carissa B is a cookbook author and busy mom of two creative boys. The owner and lead writer at Creative Green Living, she has won multiple awards for her work on Creative Green Living including the "Best Green Lifestyle Blogger" award in 2019 from ShiftCon.

She is the author of the hardcover cookbook, Beautiful Smoothie Bowls, as well as the backyard chicken keeping guide: Proven Techniques for Keeping Healthy Chickens. 

Her recipes have been featured in Urban Farm Magazine and in several cookbooks where she was a contributing author. 

Follow her on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter or join the Creative Green Living Tribe on Facebook.

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