Any experience with scooter theft/vandalism? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I'm curious to know everyone else's experience with this. Have you ever had an attempted (or a successful) scooter theft at WDW or Universal Orlando?
My friend Frank has been to WDW four times in the last three years. He rents scooters from either Buena Vista or Apple for the length of his trips, and in four trips he's been the victim of three attempted (unsuccessful) scooter thefts.
First was at Haunted Mansion in January 2015 - the scooter was moved when he returned to it (which isn't unusual as CMs sometimes move them), but the ignition had been turned and there were scratches in it that showed an attempt to shove a tool into it. They reported it to CMs but nothing else came of it.
Second was at Islands of Adventure in Sept 2015, near Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - he returned to the scooter to find a man attempting to turn it on.
Third was yesterday at Rock and Roller Coaster - he parked outside the ride, within sight of the CMs at the FP entry, and when he returned to it, someone had used a tool of some kind to pry the ignition completely out of the control panel in an attempt to hot-wire it and drive off. He was able to repair the damage with the help of a terrific CM at the DHS scooter rental desk (he made a positive report on this CM at Guest Relations).
Unfortunately, he did not report any of these to the police, but I have advised him that if it happens again, he should ask a nearby CM to call for the police and make a report.
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I wonder if it was mistaken identity and not an intentional theft. All the scooters look alike. And my MIL tends to plop on any scooter thinking its hers and gets upset when the key doesn't work.
There is no real reason to steal a rental scooter since resale on that type is very low. If it was his own personal scooter that would have a higher resale since people take better care of them
I've rented a scooter once & brought my own scooter last year & haven't had an issue. I too wonder if it's not a case of mistaken identity so speak. All scooters look pretty similar so if there isn't anything in/on it to distinguish it from any other scooter I can see how a case of mistaken identity "theft" could happen.
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I have to say that is really bizarre. This will be Lenny's 9th trip to Disney with a scooter. The first few years it was his personal one, the last few years it's been a rental and we've never had anything touched on it - and we always leave something on it - usually just our cooler so nothing of value but anyone walking by wouldn't know that. Yes, we've had the CM's move it on occasion but that's been rare the last few years where they have more "scooter" parking - typically with the strollers. I'm sorry to hear your friend had this happen to him but I do agree most scooters do look alike. We get from Walker and always have a canopy so there are very few of those in the park but the other companies have a lot of them out and yes, they do look very similar. I would suggest in the future, he do something to set his apart - either ribbons, a balloon, towels on the seats, anything that could set his apart from the other red scooters (I think that's the only color they rent anymore). Like I said, we get a canopy with ours and anytime we leave it, Lenny folds down the seat to cover the seat itself in case of rain but also the controls, the basket with our cooler, etc so it ends up looking different than the other ones.
No, in more than half a dozen years of renting, never had anyone try to take ours. The pulling out of the key lock may have been someone who mistakenly inserted the key and then couldn't get it out; if you pull hard enough you could yank the lock out.
I've rented a scooter (from outside vendors) 4 or 5 times now and not had a similar issue.
I do agree with your advice to your friend though -- if it happens again, report it to at least park security if not the police. It is difficult for park security/the police to know they have a problem, nor the scope of the problem, if people don't tell them when it happens.
Also, the parks have lots of cameras around -- and those are just what one can easily see, no idea how many are intentionaly hidden or obscured -- so there may very well be footage of an incident available that would let security figure out if it was an attempted theft (vs as others have noted, mistaken scooter identity) and if so who was responsible.
One thing I do for myself to help me quickly ID my scooter is I have a pastel lime green seat cover for it. Really, it is an inexpensive Garanimals waterproof playard fitted sheet (see http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/garanima.../6000189940925 but the one I use for the scooter is pastel lime green). It is the perfect size to fit over the seatback and seat of a scooter (YMMV). I use a couple tied lengths of parachute cord to secure it from blowing in the wind. It protects me from the seat, helps a bit from the elements (eg in the hot sun, the fabric of the cover is cooler than the bare seat itself), and makes it really easy to find since it stands out. As a PP, I also fold the seat back down onto the seat when I leave it (learned that after it drizzled once while we were on a ride....). Easy to wash if it gets particularly dirty.
I would suggest attaching a unique identifying object or sign on the scooter next time. Help to rule out mistaken identity when retrieving scooters for all folks.
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