Getting a hat back blown off during a ride?

[DisneyOma]

They stated it had marks on it. So, what if that is not a positive statement. They didn't say they expected anything done about it or they didn't want it back. They made a statement that is an assessment of the situation.

Then they should have used "and" not "but"

 

[bryanb]

If the hat falls into a water flume , it may be lost forever, unfortunately. If you're lucky, the current might bring it to a place where someone can fish it out of the water. But more likely it gets sucked into one of the pumps. I recall that when they shut down Pirates of the Caribbean for a major refurbishment, they were able to drain all of the water and one of the grilles was caked with dozens and dozens of ruined hats that had clogged everything up.

 

[Best Aunt]

Then they should have used "and" not "but"

I wanted people to be aware that when a lost item is returned, it might not be in the same condition it was in prior to the loss.

 

[Jhoyer5150]

My brother in law and I both lost are hats at Splash Mountain this spring - which was our own fault, as it was a touch windy (in addition to sunny). We asked at the end of the ride and were told very bluntly - zero chance we get them back. At least we have a picture with the hats going over the falls!

 

[SaintsManiac]

In 2015 I lost a special button on RnR. I felt so dumb for not taking it off. It was my first theme park ride in 7 years! I am still upset about the dang thing. I emailed Parkbound to see if she had any left, but she didn’t.

 

[Merida'sTwin]

Get a sharpie or engraving pen and put your cellphone # on the ear piece.



Wonder if it fell out on a loop and landed on someone else? (Someone not kind enough to turn it in)



If you go right back, after unloading, aren't you going to be seeing the next set of ride vehicles, not the one you were on? The one you were on would have already left the unloading area.



Asked who? If they got your camera at Lost and Found, they'd let you know. If someone else found it and kept it after you lost it, how would they know you just wanted the photos?



Using "but" as a conjunction indicates a negative second part of the sentence.

Yes the ride vehicle he was on was already gone. But the CM had him stay until all the vehicles came thru the next cycle. So best we can figure whoever got in next found it and turned it into the CM loading the ride.

I gave a very detailed description of the hat and it had a logo from our local fire department ( DH is a volunteer). I think it helped that it wasn't a generic/current Disney hat that a lot of people may have lost.

 

[poober25]

Our experiences with lost items:

DS lost his hat on ToT several years ago. It literally flew up from the floor and then the elevator moved back while the hat hovered...no more hat, lol. It was purple and had his name on it. We checked L&F every other day. No luck. When we got home, it was in a package on our kitchen table (we had someone housesitting). Also, we nicely asked about a hat for him to wear in the park, and were given a voucher for any hat he wanted.

2 years later, DD lost her iPhone on HM--just a day or 2 before it closed for refurbishment (she had already nearly lost it on Space earlier in the day, and I warned her about it). Anyway, we looked all around for it before concluding it was in the tracks on HM. Checked back several times and did expect to get it back. Last day of trip checked central L&F one last time. It was there. They asked her about lock screen photo and password to verify it was hers.

In May of this year, I left a white non-descript cheapo hat in the Plaza. Did not get that back. I wasn't too upset about that.

 

[jbehr12]

Realistically, what are the chances of my dh getting his favorite hat back? He lost it during EE. Told him to take it off, but the guy in front of us was wearing his. Apparently dh trusts a complete stranger over his wife of 18 years. Sorry for the rant.

Anyway, we completed the Disney online form and are periodically checking back. Has anyone ever gotten a lost item returned? Does the chance of return decrease as time increases? Thanks in advance!

So to sum up all of these answers about what people have lost it seems like there’s a chance you will get it back but also a chance you will not. Hope that helps...!

 

[Euby]

One of the things I do with my hats is put a return address label in it. I take one from the numerous charities that send them to me "for free" and write my cell phone number on it. Then I unfold the inside band and put the label there. Someone may not notice it immediately, but when I describe it to lost and found it helps differentiate it from all of the others.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

My son's cell phone fell out of his pocket on RnRC in 2012. Never got it back; we did call Lost & Found periodically for awhile but eventually gave up.

DH’s cell phone fell out of his pocket on RnRC in 2017. We immediately started calling the phone and it wasn’t getting service so we thought it was a goner. But we asked a CM and someone had turned it in!!! They said protocol is to turn the phone off

 

[msp2mco]

Good luck. Last summer my son lost his hat on EE right around the first pine trees. It would have been easy for a CM to pick up but they couldn’t do it. He filled out the form and followed up but never got it back.

 

[emily nicole]

At least it was a cheap flip phone (he was only 8 at the time and I just had him bring it in case we got separated) but you would think it would have been easy to find because it was bright red. But it wasn't expensive to replace.

 

[JohnneeO]

I left my favorite Disney hat in the pouch under the seat on Soarin' once. Went to the desk at the ride, nothing in the lost and found box there, so they sent me to the exit of the theater and said just go in and check the seat when the theater lets out. It was still there!

My DW did exactly this at DLR last year. In our case, she immediately knew where her hat was after we exited, so I walked back down the exit passage and waited for the next ride cycle to complete. We had been sitting near the exit doors anyway, so I was able to quickly grab the hat and leave with it during the ride changeover.

I had my hat fly off coming the down the main drop at the log flume in Kennywood in PA. Remarkably, I got back a soaking wet hat, which was actually refreshing to wear!

The details are a bit vague from one other instance, as it happened many years ago at Universal Orlando. Coming off the MIB ride, some camera batteries had fallen out of either a camera bag or the camera itself as I was pulling it out of the pouch. For some reason, I knew the exact ride vehicle I had been in, and I was able to reclaim the batteries when that specific vehicle cycled back to the unloading platform a short time later.

 

[Lazyfaire]

Realistically, what are the chances of my dh getting his favorite hat back? He lost it during EE. Told him to take it off, but the guy in front of us was wearing his. Apparently dh trusts a complete stranger over his wife of 18 years. Sorry for the rant.

Anyway, we completed the Disney online form and are periodically checking back. Has anyone ever gotten a lost item returned? Does the chance of return decrease as time increases? Thanks in advance!

A few years ago, my father-in-law lost his hat on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride. In fact, the Photopass camera caught the exact moment as he reached for it as it flew away. I believe he rode the monorail somewhere--maybe an office--to pick it up, and he had it back the next day. It seems like there's a better system in place for lost items than a few years ago so maybe the odds are even more in your favor. Good luck!

 

[SteveH]

My bb cap flew off on Splash and the guy behind me caught it!!

I don't suppose you were at Disneyland on July 21 wearing a blue/green plaid shirt were you? If so... happy to have caught your hat!

 

[Disney Frenhines]

December 2016 I left my new, but, not expensive phone in the restrooms in Pop's lobby, I walked out realised I left it by the sink within 30 seconds went back and on my way in nearly collided with a woman with thick red hair and a white Disney hoodie coming out, acting a bit odd. Of course, the phone was not there, thinking it may have been handed in I went to the desk, no, so I left my details . I was racing to catch the DME, then I spotted the woman, so I went back to the desk and asked them to call my phone, they refused, were they afraid of the phone ringing and another guest exposed as a thief? I didn't have time to confront the woman, but, I hope she enjoyed looking at the precious photos that I lost that day, keep the phone, it was a cheap PAYG, but, my photos were irreplaceable.
And thanks CMs you knew I was upset and you did nothing.

 

[YawningDodo]

Good luck. Last summer my son lost his hat on EE right around the first pine trees. It would have been easy for a CM to pick up but they couldn’t do it. He filled out the form and followed up but never got it back.

I wasn't in attractions when I worked at WDW, but having worked as a ride operator for a roller coaster at a different amusement park, it's pretty standard for workers not to retrieve lost items from within the ride's footprint except for pre-scheduled times. People lose things on roller coasters constantly, and to retrieve anything from the field they have to shut the ride down and do the full lock-out/tag-out procedure. Then, too, it can be surprisingly hard to find stuff, though I'm surprised to hear they weren't able to retrieve it from that first part of the ride, which seems like a relatively straightforward area to search...though they might have only been able to search at night depending on Disney's policies regarding shutdown times (the park where I worked would do an afternoon shutdown for lost items up to once per day, but only if people had lost prescription glasses, medications, etc.--things they couldn't live without).

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

It depends on the park. I worked attractions in Fantasyland, and there were certain areas we were able to access to look for lost items without needing to follow lockout/tagout. These were very limited. Other times, we could ride through the ride to retrieve an item if need be, that was most common on Pooh.

I then worked 7 years as a rides lead/supervisor at a Cedar Fair park. As a lead or supervisor I could walk the ride footprint when the ride was in operation and did on many occasions to look for lost articles, I just could not go into any “low zones”. If the item was in a low zone, we would only retrieve items of value such as car keys, cell phones, or prescription glasses as these required shutting down the ride. Otherwise, we would have to wait until the park closed for the night.

Most people don’t understand how hard it is to find a specific item. I would say I was able to locate items less than 50% of the time. A lot of coasters have areas of the track that are simply inaccessible or have lots of foliage/water/etc. Even if we do find something, the frames may be broken, lenses popped out, phone smashed, etc.

Best advice: don’t wear hats or glasses on rides. Keep phones in a secure cargo pocket or bag if the ride allows bags. It’s not just a convenience thing. A poorly timed dropped item could shut the ride down if it breaks the photo eye (sensor similar to what is on a garage door) or could injure someone. I knew someone who sustained a concussion because the person ahead of him had a cell phone out on a coaster and lost control of it.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My hat flew off my head on BTMRR last year, but it fell into the car a few rows behind me. I assumed it was gone, but as we were walking out the exit, and man got my attention and handed it to me.

 

[han22735]

My DD7 lost her magic band in the wave pool at Typhoon a few weeks ago. We never thought we'd see it again. We asked guest services on our way out and magically they had it.