How secure are the in-room resort safes?

[disneyboundagain]

We'll be traveling to CSR later this week and I am concerned with something I want to keep safe and secure. I know the safes are small, but the item I need to secure is about the size of a dollar bill and about two inches thick. How secure are the in-room safes? My concern is that Mousekeeping must have the ability to open the safes? How else would they be open the safe after a guest's stay is complete and make sure it is clean for the next resort guest? I've read that the resort has a safe that is available for guests' use, but I just don't feel comfortable not knowing who can access the safe or when it can be accessed.

[nyobabe2]

I've used the in room safe every time I've gone and left tons of money in it and never once had a problem. If it's that important of an item, I would probably have the front desk hold it for you. I would assume they have something for you to sign proving you are leaving it with them.

[Seasonscraps]

I have never had a problem with the in room safe either.

I don't think mousekeeping has a master key to the safes. Guests are supposed to leave the safe unlocked with the key in the lock when they check out. In the event a guest doesn't unlock the safe and takes the key with them, mousekeeping would have to call maintenance to have the safe opened.

[LuvDaDuckMost]

Yes, the key to the safe is in the room and you take it with you after you lock up your possessions. When you check out, you leave the key behind for the next guest. No one else has a key. I would think if it you left with the key and the safe locked, security would have to pick the lock or replace it but I don't know for sure. But your stuff is safe in them.

[NotaGeek]

I think at some point you just have to trust that Disney wouldn't put an in-room safe for your valuables and then have extra keys around for staff or anyone else to have access to your valuables. I have never heard of anyone having their safe cracked in any Disney property. :spy:

[vicster]

I've never had a problem and I put a lot of cash in the safe.

[sorcerer fan]

we've been there numerous times and I always put all my money (exept for the day) in the locked safe. NEVER have had a problem. I even goofed and left it open one day and when we got back, it was just as we left it. so yes I would trust the mousekeepers.

[BigRedDad]

The room safes are extremely secure. Mousekeeping does not have a key to the safe. I am sure that the manager at the front desk or security have a skeleton key. In order to use it, I would venture to say that your signature on a document would be required for them to come open the safe with you there in case the key was lost.

[disneyboundagain]

Thanks for all of the posts. Even though we have stayed on-site many times, I have never used the safe. I was under the impression it was a digital safe, and not keyed. Thanks again, I'll rest a lot easier now.

[TheRustyScupper]

1) There is no master key for keyed safes.
2) There is no master combination for keypad safes.
3) If keys or combos are lost, you pay to have the safe opened.
. . . keyed safes = $35 (drilled and re-keyed)
. . . combo safes = $110 (the lock is destroyed)

[diz_girl]

My SIL lost her key during our December trip and maintenance had to replace the lock with a new key, so they don't have a bunch of spares lying around. This also made me think that WDW was serious about the security of their safes. Of course, after this happened, we found the key in our car when we were packing the car to leave. We had driven to EPCOT for just the fireworks the night before.

I tried to give the front desk the key, but they said that it wasn't theirs and showed us what their keys looked like. So I think that they do keep master keys to each safe at the front desk. When we got home and showed the key to my SIL (she flew home), she said that was definitely the safe key. So the key that you get and the master key on file at the front desk look slightly different from one another.

[Tinkerfreak]

Wasn't there a thread just a few months ago from a woman who stayed at the GF and locked her cc's in the room safe and someone used them? She had charges on them for a Walmart in the area or something.

[renecat]

Wasn't there a thread just a few months ago from a woman who stayed at the GF and locked her cc's in the room safe and someone used them? She had charges on them for a Walmart in the area or something.

Yes there was as I was that woman. the safe was a coded safe and I can asure you someone got into it and took three of my cc and used them mainly at the wal-mart also bought gas and had dinner somewhere. They used them all on the same day Dec. 11, 2008 and returned them to the safe before I left on the 13th.
Therefore I was home before I even knew it had happened and it wasn't easy to alert Disney security and I tried to call. I call the G.F. and told them what happened and was told since I wasn't still there I needed to talk to someone in another Dept. they tranfered me there and I had to leave a message which I never heard back from them. I called again and had to get rather rude with the person at the desk at the G.F. before I got to talk to security. They took my information and said they would look into it. Never heard another word. I am returning in 13 days but will not be using the in room safe.:mad: Thanks for remembering Tinkerfreak:thumbsup:

[NewDVCowner]

Wasn't there a thread just a few months ago from a woman who stayed at the GF and locked her cc's in the room safe and someone used them? She had charges on them for a Walmart in the area or something.

Yes, I remember the thread, but not the specifics.

[NewDVCowner]

Oops. Too slow.:blush:

[disneyboundagain]

Great, now what do I do????

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I really wouldn't worry.

Think about it - your money (or credits cards or passports, etc) are locked in a room and then locked again the safe. They are much safer there than any of the alternatives (such as taking it with you or locking it in your car).

Could something happen? Something could always happen, but it is very unlikely and I wouldn't let it worry you.

We use the safe each time we're at Disney, for our money, our credit cards and our passports. We've never had a problem at all.

[SurferStitch]

1) There is no master key for keyed safes.
2) There is no master combination for keypad safes.
3) If keys or combos are lost, you pay to have the safe opened.
. . . keyed safes = $35 (drilled and re-keyed)
. . . combo safes = $110 (the lock is destroyed)

When you say combo, do you mean the digital keypad safes?

I don't know how I did it, but I locked myself out of the keypad safe at the Grand Flo once (must have keyed in the wrong pin when I set it by accidentally hitting a wrong number, but no combos I tried seemed to work), and maintenance simply came up and reset the safe for me, no charge. They were there in about 3 minutes. It only took a couple minutes for them to reset it....easy peasy rice and cheesy.

We've used the keyed and electronic safes, and never had a problem. Very secure.

[DigitalDaredevil]

Don't think that the only way a thief can use a credit card is by physically taking it from you. It is not hard to use a swipe reader to get your info. A less than honest sales person who held your card for 5 seconds can easily swipe your card in a portable reader to get the info. It can also be transferred to another card thus the card looks like it was physically swiped at the restaurant even though you may still have had the card.
I'm not defending Disney's safes, just playing Devil's Advocate.
Usually when a car is used fraudulently, it is for amounts around 200-300 which are under some alert threshold for credit card companies.
I had a similar thing happen to me in Kissimmee and when I got home I saw that my card was used in Maryland a few times. Physically swiped at a WalMart when I had teh card in my possession. No possible way for it to be in my possession in Florida and then in Maryland at the same time. The credit card company caught it after the third attempt. It was easy for me to clear up fortunately. And yes it was a Disney Visa.

[TheRustyScupper]

[When you say combo, do you mean the digital keypad safes?
. . . yes

maintenance simply came up and reset the safe for me, no charge
. . . I thought all the old keypad ones were replaced
. . . you must have gotten one of the last ones

NOTE: The idea behind no master safe keys and or master keypad combinations is to stop any claim of guest losses.

[renecat]

I understand what you are saying, but I never used the credit cards that had been taken in Florida at all. I just forgot to take them out of my wallet before I left home so I put them in the safe and yes it was a key pad. Think about it all three where used at the wal-mart . one at a gas station and one at a resturant. Never on WDW. I also felt very safe about putting my cards in the safe. I can't say that anymore. I used my Disney Visa while I was there and it was always with me so never had any charges on it that I didn't make. Feel as safe as you can about putting things in the safe
but if and when it happens to you you won't feel the same way. I'll put things in my suit case under dirty clothes before I put anything into another safe in a room.

[It'sWDW4me]

Are the safes at CSR keyed or keypad?

If they're locked with a key, seriously, don't worry too much. If there really is a master key (and I believe Rusty when he says there isn't), I'm sure the general mousekeepers do not have access to it. And since any GM who may have access to such a key would have no idea what you may have in your room safe, the likelihood of someone breaking into it is so impossibly slim.

I've never really cared for keypad safes - I know how easily electronics have been bypassed in the past. Maybe these are a new generation safe with tighter security. However, with thousands of guests, one (or even it there were a few) issue of a safe being compromised is still very slim odds that it would happen to you. You'd probably have a better chance of getting hit by lightening while on vacation in Florida!

[SurferStitch]

maintenance simply came up and reset the safe for me, no charge
. . . I thought all the old keypad ones were replaced
. . . you must have gotten one of the last ones


This happened in October 2008 in Sugar Loaf at the GF. Did they change since then?

I just don't want to make the same mistake again, and have it cost me!

[DawsonAR]

We were there in May of this year at GF and the electronic safe "locked up" and wouldn't let me in with my code. I called the front desk and they told me a couple of things to try, but they didn't work. A maintenance man came to the room, opened the safe for us and then allowed me to re-program the safe with a new code.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Are the safes at CSR keyed or keypad?



We stayed at CSR 2 years ago and I am pretty sure it was a keyed safe.

[SurferStitch]

We were there in May of this year at GF and the electronic safe "locked up" and wouldn't let me in with my code. I called the front desk and they told me a couple of things to try, but they didn't work. A maintenance man came to the room, opened the safe for us and then allowed me to re-program the safe with a new code.

Okay, that's the same exact thing that happened with me. I would find it hard to believe that an entire locking mechanism would have to be replaced (at the high cost), when a simple reprogramming does the trick. Thanks.

[TheRustyScupper]

I would find it hard to believe that an entire locking mechanism would have to be replaced (at the high cost), when a simple reprogramming does the trick. Thanks.

1) Therein lies the problem.
2) If there is a master key or master code, the safe is not secure.
3) The keys or combos/codes ALWAYS get leaked.
4) Then, things disappear.
5) That is why the keypad safes are getting new mechanisms.
6) The keyed safes do not have a master key, so that is not a problem.

NOTE: People have complained that things in their safe that disappeared. Fortunately, Disney fluffed it off. Per written warnings, Disney is not responsible for items left in the room (including a safe). They are only responsible for stuff left in the safe deposit boxes accessed by the Front Desk CM's.

[SurferStitch]

Um, yeah....but considering they had to use some hand-held device to reset the lock, and I doubt there are more than a couple available for use by maintenance, it would make it pretty easy to track down the person that would have used it to break into one of the keypad safes.

I wouldn't risk losing my job and going to jail for an act that could very easily be traced back to me.

It would also be very easy to determine who was cleaning your room during that time period, too. So, if housekeeping were even able to access your safe, it's not too difficult to pin down who would have had the ability to open it.

I am also in our safe 2-3 times per day. I change my jewelry every time I change an outfit (a couple times per day), so if anything is missing, I notice it. We leave cash and maybe a couple credit cards in the safe, and always know how much we leave in there.

Like someone else said, it comes time to just putting some faith and trust in the hotel staff. I always have, and have never had any problems. We even leave expensive cameras and laptops sit out in our room and never had problems.

[SurferStitch]

DH brought up a couple good points, too...

IF someone were to use a "master" code to open the safe (similar to what they do when they "reset" a locked safe), they would still need to know your combo in order to lock it again so you would be able to open it on your own, and not immediately notice that it was opened by them. When I had maintenance show up to open our safe, he turned away while I punched in my code. He couldn't see what I used. I highly doubt they can just use a master code to open safes willy nilly whenever they want, and be able to lock it up again keeping your code viable.

ALSO, as to being able to pinpoint the perp, they would have to swipe with a master card to open your room door. All of these swipes are logged, so it's very, very easy to see which employees entered your room at any time. Again, why would someone who is so easy to catch going to risk everything like that?

[TheRustyScupper]

they had to use some hand-held device to reset the lock, and I doubt there are more than a couple available for use by maintenance
. . . every resort has a hand-held unit behind the front desk
. . . many departments also have them (maint, etc)


they would have to swipe with a master card to open your room door. All of these swipes are logged,
. . . swipes are logged
. . . but there are lots of master key cards
. . . some assigned to people, and some not assigned
. . . most depts have an unassigned master key card
. . . in addition, there are actual master brass keys
. . . actual keys are not logged when used for entry
. . . the electronic lock does not even know a brass key was used for entry

[DigitalDaredevil]

The Rusty Scupper is my favorite message poster, hands down.

[SurferStitch]

Wow...then WDW has some pretty unsafe and poorly secured hotel rooms. Guess I better rethink where I stay from now on.

:rolleyes:

[SurferStitch]

Question:

Does (or can) each cleaning person have an unassigned key card? That seems like a big liability on Disney's part. I would think they would observe their employees better than that. Same goes for maintenance.

Also, I was told when I called to have maintenance reset my safe, that it could take a while if they were assisting someone else at the time. Luckily, I was the only yahoo that locked themselves out at the time, and they arrived in just about 5 minutes. That's why I figured each resort only had one, maybe two units. If they were readily available, anyone could have come to help right away.

I just keep asking questions because it astounds me that WDW would have such unsupervised and free-wheeling access to guest's rooms by random employees. Seems rather unnerving.

[Mousemates]

Theft happens...and regardless of the steps a homeowner/business owner might take determined criminals will eventually find and exploit a weak link in the security chain (often inside help). Sounds like a weak link here and a place where Disney might need to tighten things up.

However, having said that...the room safe is still a far more secure spot to store your valuables than hiding them in one of the usual spots where the bad guys already know where to look (in your shoes, a pile of dirty clothes, in your child's "toy bag"etc....also remember a hotel room is small and a thief can search through everything pretty quickly). The safe likely eliminates 9/10 thefts (the ones, done as a quick grab by people who don't have access to the keys/technology to open the safe quickly) and is still a better bet for items you choose not to put in the safe at the front desk.

[pixiesmimi]

We had always had the safe with a key until this trip at the Poly. You had to key in your choice of codes. I felt more secure with that than the one with keys. I didn't know who had access keys to the safes. I did take most of my cards and things out this time and left them at home but still locked up my purse (safe in this room was very large) and didn't worry much about it. But I never left anything out in the room or suitcase that was valuable. Had no problems.

[brownie]

It's been a while since we've been there, but we never had a problem leaving things in the room safes.

It all comes down to convenience versus security. Certain cast members are going to need to be able to access the safes when guests lock themselves out of them. I don't think you're going to drill a room safe open and Disney certainly doesn't want to keep a guest waiting.

Bringing only what you absolutely need to on vacation is the best way to limit your potential losses.

[gueli]

The Rusty Scupper is my favorite message poster, hands down.

To start, I have to agree I appreciate Rusty's informitive posts.

secondly, If you are worried about it USE the Safe deposit boxs from the front desk.

Also- I find it difficult to believe that someone would
break into a room, get the safe open, drive offsite, buy a bunch of stuff, drive back to the resort, break into the room a second time, break into the safe a second time and only charge a few hundred dollars worth of stuff.
Now that doesn't mean it did not happen, it just seems implausable.

Anyways- I like to believe that the staff at any given resort would rather make their money the old fashioned way by earning it...
:beer:

[TheRustyScupper]

Does (or can) each cleaning person have an unassigned key card? That seems like a big liability on Disney's part. I would think they would observe their employees better than that. Same goes for maintenance.

1) If one uses a key regularly (eg. maid), the door key is assigned to you.
2) This is good for entry ID tracking purposes.
3) Also if you quit, the key can be deactivated.
4) However, departments always have unassigned spares.
. . . temporarily assigned people need keys
. . . absenteeism fill-ins need keys
. . . left-my-key-at-home people need keys
. . . dog-ate-my-homework-and-key people need keys
5) So, if you need access for some reason, you can quickly get a key card.
6) These can be assigned and traced, if the procedures are followed.
7) But, I know many people who get sloppy or rushed and just grab-a-key-and-go.
8) Or, trade their key with someone who needs access.

NOTE: With all this being said, WDW has some pretty honest staff. But, here is what I personally do, and recommend to others
. . . keep some cash and one credit card in the room safe
. . . travel with 2-4 cards, and leave remainder at home
. . . keep all ID and other credit cards in safety deposit box in lobby
. . . keep computers in luggage, or use a lock cable
. . . keep mothers-in-law in the car trunk or leave at home

[disneyboundagain]

The Rusty Scupper is my favorite message poster, hands down.


Properly stated:

1) The Rusty Scupper is my favorite message poster, hands down.

[disneyboundagain]

Are the safes at CSR keyed or keypad?


Just got back, the safe was keyed. Everything was safe and secure. All worked out well.

[hardingella]

We could discuss the safety issues of the safes all day long. Its going to be as sucure as any other option. If a theif is determined to steel anything, they will find a way, weather you put it in a safe, amongst your dirty washing or on your person 24/7. Be sensible, take nessessary precautions and keep it in prespective, 99% of us are honest, hard working citizens.