Home Alone at a theme park
I can honestly say that I never liked the Home Alone movies. Okay, I only saw the first one but I felt that the basic premise was insipid so I just couldn’t get into the “fun” of the movie.
In case you’ve never heard of the film, the basic premise is that the main character (then 10 year old Macaulay Culkin playing an 8 year old) is “forgotten” by his parents and the rest of his family as they head out of the country by plane. They don’t notice he’s not there in the car on the way to the airport. They don’t notice he’s not there at the airport when they get the tickets and wait for the plane. They don’t notice he’s not there when they get on the plane. They don’t notice he’s not there until their plane has already left for France.
I don’t care how dysfunctional a family is, leaving a child behind for that long a period of time is criminal and not in the least bit funny.
It can also be deadly.
Two Orange County parents were arrested on child-abuse charges after telling authorities they accidentally left their 3-year-old daughter in a stroller while they rode Pirates of the Caribbean at Walt Disney World.
A Magic Kingdom patron alerted park management about 4:45 p.m. Saturday after spotting the girl in a stroller parked in the sun, according to a report released Monday by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
The girl was hot, turning red, covered in sweat and appeared to be “lifeless,” the report states.
A paramedic touched and shook her, but she failed to respond.
Saturday’s highs were in the low 90s with no rain, and deputies estimate the child was in the sun for 45 minutes to an hour.
Paramedics revived the girl by taking her indoors and giving her water.
Deputies said the heat might have become deadly.
“[A paramedic] advised that if medical intervention had not been administered the female child was nearing signs of heat exhaustion with unknown results up to and including death,” the report states.
Parents Juan Carlos, 35, and Danette Rodriguez, 32, approached park workers, seeking their daughter, about 50 minutes later.
The couple said the girl was asleep inside a double stroller and got lost in the shuffle as their group of two adults and four children approached the ride, they told investigators.
When they entered the attraction, the father said he thought his wife had their daughter, while she thought her husband had her.
Shortly afterward, the father went back outside to move the stroller to a designated area but failed to see the little girl, he told deputies.
The parents realized their daughter was missing only after they left the ride.
The couple, of Cypress Trail Drive, were arrested on one count each of child abuse and released from the Orange County Jail on Sunday on $2,500 bail each.
They could not be reached for comment Monday night.
The children were turned over to relatives while the Department of Children & Families investigates.
Based on this story in the Orlando Sentinel, those parents had to have been clueless about the whereabouts of their child for at least 90 minutes. Apparently, neither parent looked at the other one or looked over their children for 90 minutes.
Having lived in Orlando since I was 4, and having worked at both Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, I can honestly say that if the parents story is true then they are criminally negligent people who should not be allowed to have kids. Ever.
During the summer lines are long at the theme parks. You can easily wait 60 to 90 minutes or longer to ride just one ride. And if it doesn’t rain it is extremely hot. The heat radiates off the concrete and if you aren’t careful it is easy for anyone to get heat stroke.
I’ve dealt with crying children who were separated from their parents in the crowds. I’ve dealt with parents who couldn’t find their kids. In only one case was the child “missing” for more than about 5 minutes. The one case involved a 12 year old boy who was still playing games in the attraction I worked in after his parents had left for another ride. The kid didn’t know he was “missing” and his father noticed he wasn’t with them as soon as they got in line. In all he was “missing” for no more than 15 minutes.
As an adult I have taken kids to the theme parks. I didn’t keep an extra close eye on them because they weren’t my children. I kept an extra close eye on them because they were my responsibility and I wasn’t about to lose them.
If the young girl had just been separated from her parents for a short time or the parents had at least been looking for her for much of the time she was missing I wouldn’t have too much of a problem with these parents. It is very easy for people to get separated from each other at the theme parks. Especially during the summer or if there are kids involved. That’s why we’ve always had a meet up spot just in case. When young kids were involved there were always specific adults assigned to keep an eye on specific kids. It just made things easier for all involved.
I used to hate the leashes for kids that I saw some people with until I worked in a theme park. Then I realized they were a great way to keep from losing a young child.
I also used to hate seeing families in identical clothing. Then one parent mentioned that if she ever lost one of her 5 boys that all she had to do was say “He looks just like this one but bigger/smaller.” It made a great deal of sense.
Ninety minutes is too long not to realize that a 3 year old child is no longer with you. Not when you are supposed to be the responsible adult caring for a child at a crowded theme park.
