This Disney World Problem STRESSES US OUT — Here’s What To Do If It Happens to YOU

Okay, we’re going to talk about something that makes us feel STRESSED.

We’re talking about lost items in Disney World. Now if you’ve been to Disney World even just a few times, we bet you’ve lost — or at least almost lost — something. We’ve got our own stories, too, and we’re going to share those with you RIGHT NOW. Then we’re going to tell you what to do when it happens to you.

First up, losing your phone in Disney World is a nightmare because pretty much our entire lives are on our phones. Not only that, but we need our phones to do everything from getting into our Disney World hotel rooms to booking that next Lightning Lane on Genie+ to scanning into the parks.

Now we’ve had an incident where we put our phone in our back pocket, rode Space Mountain, and then had a Cast member point out our phone to us sitting on the ride vehicle when we stepped out. THAT was a close one, but learn from our mistake: put your phone somewhere safer than your back pocket when you’re on rides. Believe it or not, this happens often. Lost and Found Cast Members collect more than 6,000 cell phones a year.

You would also be surprised at how many people lose their glasses and sunglasses on rides. We’ve had incidents where we’ve had to grab our glasses quickly for fear of them flying off. We’ve also had an incident where they DID fly off (so pay attention to those warnings to remove hats and glasses on certain rides), but fortunately, we found them in the bottom of the ride vehicle. About 210 pairs of sunglasses get turned into Disney World’s Lost and Found every day, so it happens!

If you’ve got a hat, you might want to take it off or hang on to it during rides. We’ve had hats (and once, during a Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, a wig) almost flying off (or actually flying off) on rides. One of our team members had a hat fly off during the drop on Splash Mountain, and it never got turned into Lost and Found. For the record, about 18,000 hats get turned into Disney’s Lost and Found every year.

Splash Mountain was a headpiece-stealing ride, by the way. Another of our team members lost brand new ears on the ride. It’s a good rule of thumb to always take your ears off for rides with drops or rides that are fast.

Blankets have also been lost. During a first visit, one of our Team members lost her daughter’s blanket after leaving it on The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Oh no! Another blanket was lost a few months later after accidentally being left behind in a hotel room.

Pro tip: Always check EVERY surface of your hotel room before you check out because it’s highly likely you forgot to pack something.

So what should you do if you’ve lost something? If you’re in the parks, ask a  Cast Member about it in the area where you think you lost it. If they haven’t seen it, check with the Lost and Found department — you can usually find it near Guest Relations (but if in doubt, ask a Cast Member or search for “Lost and Found” on the My Disney Experience app). If your item hasn’t been turned in, you can fill out a form describing it.

You might also want to fill out the Lost and Found form online, especially if you realized you lost something after you’ve returned from your trip. You’ll get a response back with periodic updates on whether Disney has found your lost item or not. You can find that form right here.

There is a chance your item may never be found, and sometimes that’s just what happens. But many items are found, so it never hurts to try to recover what you lost, right?

Check back with AllEars again soon for more.

I’ve Lost My ID 5 Times in Disney World. Here’s What To Do When It Happens to You.

Have you ever lost something in Disney World? Was it recovered? Tell us all about it in the comments!