Stroller Farm - and other odd questions

[FatCat]

So I always see non rental strollers that have been abandoned. I see them often at the TTC and near the elevator banks in hotels.

It is to the point that one can almost take a gamble to find an abandoned stroller for user during their trip. It is my assumption from a cost factor people just buy them in FL and use them and lose them.

Is there a happy stroller farm where these strollers go to?

On the same note of odd questions.
I am very curious what happens to all the baby character trading pins that are bought and immediately traded. Is there a recycling program for these pins to be looked at? Re-boxed and sold?


Anyone care to guess what the most common items found in the park ?

My top list is

1. Sunglasses
2. Souvenir Mugs
3. Disney $3.95 autograph pens
4. hats
5. mickey pin backs

[bratmaster]

how would you know if you see a stroller if it is "abandoned" or not? Please do not use that as an excuse to take a stray stroller. I cannot see somebody paying for a stroller and then not using it; you would pretty much be taking some poor child's stroller. I have had people take my carts in the grocery store, and once someone took our wagon at a pumpkin farm while we were picking out our pumpkin. (which we then had to carry around with us.) If it is not yours, please do not make assumptions and take it.

[Disney Doll]

I never noticed abandoned strollers. Maybe I have seen a couple, but just always assumed someone had to leave it for just a second. I can't believe someone would buy a stroller and then just leave it. Why not just rent? I guess I could see this if we're talking a cheapo $10.00 umbrella from Wal-Mart. Even still, I rather rent the better stroller or bring a better stroller from home. Very weird phenomenon if it's true.

I totally agree about the lost pin backs. Our nephew contributes a couple every trip.

[sleepingbooty]

Are you talking about the stroller parking areas? Because people who bring their own strollers from home use these as well, not just renters, so it's possible these "abandoned" strollers are just temporarily parked. Although I have heard about people purchasing cheap ones in Orlando rather than toting theirs on the plane and then leaving them behind - so maybe there are a lot of abandoned strollers lying around. I'd be leery of taking one on the chance the owner didn't abandon it - but intended on coming back. You just don't know.

[indytraveler]

Hopefully the strollers you are finding are way after park closing... I would guess that camera lens covers would be up there. Of course I'm dating myself. Other things that are lost... I can walk into a store and when I walk out I can't find all my $.

[chrisb26]

They actually have a place where all the strollers do go when they are "lost" I say it like that because I don't know how you could lose a stroller . Anyways they send it to the employee shopping area in the back of disney. Here they can buy things that were lost such as strollers and other things like cameras, hats, watches, lens caps, cell phone chargers, etc..

[merlinmagic4]

Sippy cups! It was the first thing I said when I noticed it missing: "how many of those do you think they find a day?".

I was wondering what they did with them, too. That's interesting that they have a store where employees can buy stuff. Now I wonder if some of it ends up on ebay!!

[mermaidmarian]

They actually have a place where all the strollers do go when they are "lost" I say it like that because I don't know how you could lose a stroller . Anyways they send it to the employee shopping area in the back of disney. Here they can buy things that were lost such as strollers and other things like cameras, hats, watches, lens caps, cell phone chargers, etc..

Really?

[FatCat]

It is very evident if a stroller is abandoned.

1st clue. It has been next to the vending area for 4 days

Most of the time I see the umbrella ones at the TTC. There is no reason to leave your stroller here. And they are cheap. It is generally at end of day too.

2nd clue. There is a sign in front of it that says FREE. I often see Free things outside peoples rooms now with signs. This has increased now that you cannot bring liquids on planes. Usually sealed beverages I see next to peoples doors with Free signs.

[avantgardeinker]

A friend of mine who is also a CM said that a lot of overseas guests who don't want the added hassle of putting strollers on the plane buy cheap umbrella strollers while they're there and then abandon them before they leave. He took us to a CM store once and we saw tons of them sitting off in an empty lot behind a fence. I don't know what they were going to do with them, but that's where they came from.

188 more days!!

[biodtl]

They should donate the strollers and baby stuff to charity.

[MickeyandTink]

Sippy cups! It was the first thing I said when I noticed it missing: "how many of those do you think they find a day?".

I was wondering what they did with them, too. That's interesting that they have a store where employees can buy stuff. Now I wonder if some of it ends up on ebay!!

Having spent way too much of my time buying and selling on e-bay, I can almost guarantee a lot of those items are resold there. There are several sellers who sell way too many used items only available at the parks or resorts for them to have come from anywhere else.

Having said that, since on CM's get to shop at the store the reselling on ebay is a great opportunity for the average Joe or Joesephine to get a good price on gently used park items.

[Terra]

They should donate the strollers and baby stuff to charity.

Exactly what I was thinking too!
There are lots of battered women's shelters, pregnancy centers, ect...that could use them!!

Honestly if I were traveling I'd probably just buy a cheap stroller here too instead of lugging mine to the airport and having it banged around in the cargo area...
And buying one is cheaper than renting one for several days

[kakn7294]

I'll bet another highly lost item is a baby's Binky. How many times do you see one of those laying around somewhere? I agree that they should donate useable items to charity if the employees don't purchase them from the employee store. Man, I'd love to shop that place! Think of all the cool stuff you could get for dirt cheap because someone lost it or left it behind and it was never reclaimed - although I will clarify and say there are some things I wouldn't buy! (Like those binkys and sippy cups!)

[FatCat]

Excellent. So there is a Stroller Farm!!! Or Employee Store with lots of abandoned items. I thought there might me. Same goes for stores like Costco where returned items are to big to ship back and the manufacturer just credits the retailer and employees get a chance to buy them.

Do they have camcorders and cameras there too?

[avantgardeinker]

The cast member store doesn't sell the abandoned items. Only deeply discounted park merchandise. I only saw the strollers sitting there while we were at the CM store. Again... I don't know what they do with them, but they were not for sale at the store.

[wdw_bound]

I have a confession to make, fellow Intercotees...

I am a stroller abandonner

It was during our 2005 trip when DS was 10 months old. Too young for a rental, and there was NO (and I mean NO) room left in the trunk for his travel system stroller (we didn't have an umbrella). Before I get flamed for having mixed up priorities, let me explain.

DD requires a special needs stroller which, despite its name is only really "compact" when compared to things like a houseboat or a Sherman tank. So that had to go in. We also had to pack a variety of clothing for 9 nights since the weather in Orlando had been in the 80s and the 40s during the same week for the previous two weeks. Not to mention the other baby gear for DS (organic baby food, sippies, diapers...) and roadtrip activities, drinks and snacks, and, well, you get the picture...

So we went to SuperTarget and got an umbrella stroller that reclines for like $25. A bargain I had every intention of taking home. But the merchants at DTD had other ideas...

The day we were leaving, DH said I could choose between the stroller or some of the Christmas shopping I had done, and so...

The stroller got left in our POR room with a note attached: "Free to a good home." And I left a larger than usual tip for Mousekeeping that day

So yes, strollers do get intentionally abandoned at WDW.

[GrumpyFan]

Interesting discussion. I've read where the DIsney Hand program (the charity arm of the Disney company) regularly empties the water fountains around their parks and donates the money to charities. I would imagine they do the same for lost and found items left in the parks/resorts. I would be real curious to know just how much is collected yearly.