Sometimes children and parents get separated on their trips to Disney theme parks; usually these separations are brief. Disney cast members employ rather efficient strategies to quickly reunite lost parents with their children, but it’s still a good idea to label children with cell phone numbers or other contact information, just in case. This week we asked the Parenting Panel: How do you “attach” emergency contact information to your children when you travel to Disney theme parks?
Jenny is a former theme park employee, avid Disney fan(atic), and an at-home mom to two Disney vets (6- and 4-years-old.) Call Me Cuffs (www.callmecuffs.com) provided a complimentary, customized set of wristbands for Jenny to review:
Many of us with younger children often face the fear of becoming separated from our kids in a crowded environment, like the Disneyland Resort. From the time the kids can walk around on their own, until they can confidently recite their phone number in a mini-panic, there are several methods for trying to reunite with a lost child as quickly as possible. I recently had the chance to try out a product designed for this scenario, Call Me Cuffs, or temporary wristbands pre-printed with a phone number, allergy information, or any customizable information to aid in reuniting lost parents with their children. I was definitely excited to try this on a recent trip to Disneyland, though it was a product I hoped I wouldn’t have to use. I had my cell phone number listed on the cuffs that I placed on my 4- and 6-year-old children. I received in my order in a variety of colors, a small detail that let the kids become a bit more excited to wear a bracelet at Disneyland. The wristbands are made out of a soft, plastic-like material that, according to the website is eco-friendly and “made without the use of plastics, trees, water, chlorine or acids.” The cuffs also claim to be waterproof, smudgeproof, and tear-resistant.
Applying the wristbands was easy, just remove a paper covering an adhesive, wrap around the wrist, and adhere the sticky end to the band itself. I found the shorter version of the bands to be sufficient for my children’s wrists, but they wouldn’t fit mine.
Overall, the wristbands worked great. Luckily, we never really needed them (as in, the kids didn&rquo;t get separated from me). They lasted well into the day, however, toward the end of the day, the kids were tired of wearing them, and were able to just pull them off (unlike the plastic-coated paper wristbands issued a concerts or the like). A great product, though perhaps not as durable as other options. However, if eco-friendly materials are important, this would be a great alternative.
Parenting in the Parks columnist Adrienne Krock’s three boys are now 12, 9, and 6. They’ve been visiting Disneyland since they were each just weeks old and Annual Passholders since their third birthday. Adrienne writes:
For several recent family vacations, not only to Disney theme parks, I used lanyards to make “In Case of Emergency” IDs for my boys, and I love them. My boys enjoy them, too and feel comfortable wearing them on vacation.
PRO No. 1: Lanyards are affordable. From various MouseAdventure games and conventions my husband and I attended, we already had several lanyards around the house. Local sporting goods stores also sell fishing license lanyards for about $2 each.
PRO No, 2: Lanyards can be customizably themed! For a Disney theme, I purchased Toy Story– and Cars-themed lanyards at our local party supply store, again for only about $1 to $2 each. They have Mickey, Minnie, Princess, and Tinker Bell, as well! The website shows them in packs of 12, but my local stores sell them individually.
PRO No. 3: Lanyards can be waterproof! I purchased my favorite lanyard wallet of all time from MouseShoppe.The Witz lanyard wallets are available in a variety of colors, either clear or opaque. Because of the color variety, my husband, son and I each have different colors which we can identify on sight. They lock so they keep the items inside secure and they are big enough to hold hotel keys, FastPasses, park hoppers or Annual Passes, and more. (Although, I keep the APs and hotel keys in my wallet, not the kids!) I removed the wallets from their original cords and transferred them to other lanyards that are wide enough to hold pins. (Disclaimer: MouseShoppe is owned by MousePlanet CEO Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix. That said, I receive no financial compensation, free nor discounted product from MouseShoppe.)
PRO No. 3: Lanyard inserts can be customized and have plenty of room for a variety of information. Each time I create lanyard inserts for a trip, I consider each of my sons’ personalities. I let them each pick their favorite characters to print on the outside of the inserts. I use two cards back-to-back so that the phone numbers inside the pouch or wallet cannot be seen until someone removes them. I always include several cell phone numbers, starting with mine and my husband’s. I also include my sister because she is a pediatrician. When we visited another state, I added the phone number of friends who live in that state. When we traveled to the Walt Disney World Resort (WDW), we met a handful of friends visiting WDW at the same time. I included their cell numbers on the inserts, as well. Finally, I included the name of our resort to the insert. As phone numbers and critical information change from trip to trip, I can easily adjust the information on the lanyard inserts.
So what can possibly go wrong? Well, I can share a couple of lessons I learned along the way…
CONS: (But just a few!) Some travel company packages come with free lanyards. When we went to WDW, I used lanyards from Costco Travel Company. Unfortunately, the large lanyards felt very uncomfortable and awkward to my then-5-year-old. He found the other lanyards much more comfortable. I suggest making sure you try the lanyard on in person before committing to using it. Some lanyards, such as the Fishing License lanyards would be too thin to use for pin trading on a Disney vacation so keep that in mind when choosing a lanyard. Finally, at WDW, one of the lanyard pockets ripped: The hole where the lanyard attached to the pouch ripped through and the pocket fell off the lanyard. In that situation, I knew my eldest had our phone numbers memorized so I repurposed his lanyard for my youngest son. In the future if I use the lighter plastic pouches instead of the sturdier lanyard wallets, I will take a back up with me, just in case.
Chris, also known as GusMan, is always planning his next family trip to WDW and loves to help others plan their trips as well through sharing his experiences. Chris writes:
As we know, children and Disney go hand in hand. As a parent, there is nothing more exhilarating than walking down Main Street USA, hand-in-hand with my kids. It is a memory that I cherish, even though they are getting older. However, once my son started to no longer need a stroller for his main mode of transportation, there was the chance that he could get separated from us in a blink of an eye. It would be one of those cases where given a small distraction to us parents (and we know that can happen) he could go a different direction.
When my son started walking on his own, we thought of different ways we can hide his identification “in plain sight.” We did not want him to wear something that was very noticeable, yet it had to be sturdy enough where it could survive a child touring Disney. What we found was a real good solution in the engraved metal tags that you can find at different parts of the parks. They are about the size of a “dog tag” and have different Disney characters painted on them.
The tags themselves are not all that expensive, at around $10 each. However, you can have them engraved with the child’s name and phone number and other information right on the spot. The machines even give you the choice of purchasing a “dog-tag” type chain for wearing the tag around the child’s neck. Because there are different styles to choose from, we make a deal with our son that he can pick one out as one of the first thing he does at Disney. This gives him a nice souvenir while making sure he has some sort of ID on him.
While the chain idea worked well for one trip, on another trip he did not like the feel of the metal against his neck since it was so hot in the summer. As an alternative, we attached the tag to his shoelace using a standard key chain ring. It was very inconspicuous, but it was still noticeable enough that if a cast member saw it, they could contact us using its information.
But we want to know what YOU think. What products or ideas have you tried? Were there some you tried that you would never use again? Give us your feedback on our MousePad Message Board by clicking on “Discuss this article on MousePad” below. Your comments will appear directly under this article and will help others. Or send your suggestions via e-mail. Reader-submitted tips might be used in a future article, and you might be selected to participate in an upcoming panel discussion!
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