Cars broken into

[DisTravels]

We have friends staying in Orlando and cars at several resorts have been broken into recently (their car included). This happened at both Disney and non-Disney Resorts.

Fortunately the thieves did not seem be to after electronics, a GPS was taken out of the glove-box but left inside the car. The rumor floating around is that the thieves were most likely looking for cash, gift cards and guns - things that don't need fenced and may be commonly left in a car.

Just a reminder to not keep valuables in your car.

 

[Realfoodfans]

Guns? Commonly left in cars? Good grief if that's true am I naive to be shocked by that?

 

[DisBuckMan]

Guns? Commonly left in cars? Good grief if that's true am I naive to be shocked by that?

Consider yourself naive.

 

[Realfoodfans]

Consider yourself naive.

Comes of being a Brit! Thank goodness that is a rare event here

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Guns? Commonly left in cars? Good grief if that's true am I naive to be shocked by that?

Yep. Have gun, will travel.

 

[lullwater]

They are also looking for any prescriptions, ID’s and checkbooks that may have been left in the car.

 

[pooksma]

Comes of being a Brit! Thank goodness that is a rare event here

Canadians feel the same! But thanks for the heads up. We're renting but often leave change in the car.

 

[Lynne M]

And I'll add, this isn't just a recent thing. And cars are occasionally broken into at the theme parks, too.

It's no different from any other large parking lot in any other public place, like a mall, stadium, etc. Disney's security is good, but they can't patrol or monitor every inch of every parking lot. So the same advice goes for Disney as anywhere else - don't leave anything valuable or irreplaceable in your car.

 

[perditax]

Couple things -- were the friends in question actually staying at an onsite Disney hotel? (I'm going to guess no.)

If not, where is the info coming from about on-site breakins?

I know it can happen anywhere, just a little dubious.

I'm surprised thieves would bother with a gps unit in this day and age unless it was a very expensive one.

 

[dansdad]

I'm surprised thieves would bother with a gps unit in this day and age unless it was a very expensive one.

That's probably why the thieves left it in the car.

 

[loves to dive]

Heck it happens in your driveway at your house. We live in an upper middle class subdivision and the police patrol constantly so we haven't had many incidents here but my co-worker lives in a slightly higher priced subdivision about 2 miles from us and cars are always being broken in to there. We keep honey's truck locked out in the driveway and our cars in the garage stay locked even though the garage doors are closed. I never leave anything in my car that I don't mind being taken.

 

[Dug720]

Comes of being a Brit! Thank goodness that is a rare event here

Not ALL Americans are gun crazy. I cannot stand the things and pray for more regulation. Not that that is happening any time soon considering mentally ill people can now get them again.

 

[EdmondD]

I don't know if it's more amusing that someone still carries an independent GPS unit in his car or that the thieves didn't even bother with taking it.

 

[DisTravels]

Couple things -- were the friends in question actually staying at an onsite Disney hotel? (I'm going to guess no.)

They are staying off-site.

If not, where is the info coming from about on-site breakins?

They talked to the police, the glass repair company, the resort personnel, other visitors, etc. They probably heard it from more than one place. Lakeland (near Legoland) was also mentioned.

I'm surprised thieves would bother with a gps unit in this day and age unless it was a very expensive one.

That's probably why the thieves left it in the car.

dansdad addressed

 

[disnut8]

I'm actually surprised that with cars these days having alarm systems that others around the cars once broken into didn't at least get a look at the thieves. With my car (a 2006 model), the darn alarm goes off if I open the drivers' side door, push down on the lock button, leave the door open for more than a minute to get out groceries, and then close it. I'm sure the look on my face when that first happened was hilarious but my neighbors sure didn't think so.

 

[DisTravels]

I'm actually surprised that with cars these days having alarm systems that others around the cars once broken into didn't at least get a look at the thieves. With my car (a 2006 model), the darn alarm goes off if I open the drivers' side door, push down on the lock button, leave the door open for more than a minute to get out groceries, and then close it. I'm sure the look on my face when that first happened was hilarious but my neighbors sure didn't think so.

When you're at the grocery store and you hear a car alarm go off do you even bother to look? At this stage for a lot of people I think it's just ignored as background noise. Depending on how close the parking/cars are to the rooms, you may be less likely to hear it and or bother to open your door and go outside.

That is a good question tough, I'll have to ask if they know if their car alarm went off (I don't know if there's a way to check after the fact) and/or if they recall hearing any car alarms.

I don't know the exact time, but the incident at their resort happened in the night so there was no daylight. A resort employee noticed the thieves and fortunately they dispersed. I'm rather surprised that the employee approached them as presumably the thieves outnumbered them and this day-and-age we're often instructed to stay out of sight and call the police while hiding.

 

[4GoofyCrew]

It's been many years since we've driven a car to Disney, so please correct me if I am wrong:

Don't you need to go through a security gate to get to each resort? I feel like we had to show a resort pass (or something similar). Wouldn't they know which guests and which employees had access to the resorts? Basically I guess I am trying to say: does that mean the thieves are guests and/or employees???

 

[loves to dive]

It's been many years since we've driven a car to Disney, so please correct me if I am wrong:

Don't you need to go through a security gate to get to each resort? I feel like we had to show a resort pass (or something similar). Wouldn't they know which guests and which employees had access to the resorts? Basically I guess I am trying to say: does that mean the thieves are guests and/or employees???

Only if you are driving, it's easy enough to walk onto any of the resorts. You can be parked at any of the Epcot or monorail resorst and walk to any of the other ones. Heck, you can park on the road near the overpass going to HS from BW and there are paths leading down on both sides.

 

[LvsTnk]

Car was broken into at HS never forget it.

 

[LilyWDW]

Only if you are driving, it's easy enough to walk onto any of the resorts. You can be parked at any of the Epcot or monorail resorst and walk to any of the other ones. Heck, you can park on the road near the overpass going to HS from BW and there are paths leading down on both sides.

Or just say you want to check the place out or eat there... unless it is a super busy time of the year, the resorts will let you in for that alone.

As for the topic of the OP... it happens. Just like it can happen anywhere it is busy or with large parking lots. I am actually surprised it doesn't happen more often as you know people traveling often leave stuff in their cars like luggage or GPS units or laptops. I cringe when people ask on these boards about going to the parks and leaving their stuff in the car. Never leave anything of value in your vehicle, especially in sight.