I lost my daughter at Disney World and was terrified. A simple tip helped me find her quickly, and I recommend it to all parents.

09.08.2024 - 13:59 / insider.com

My husband and I have traveled with our five kids countless times across the US, Canada, and Newfoundland. We have camped in national parks and visited amusement parks.

Although family vacations should be a break from the stresses of life, some trips were more stressful than others.

Disney World was our most challenging trip. There was so much to grab our attention: huge crowds of people and characters everywhere. I tried not to focus on how easy it was for little kids to be swept away in crowds. Instead, I tried to plan for any scenario.

It was January when we visited Disney World in Florida. My kids — ages 5 to 11 — wore their school backpacks to carry autograph books for characters, pens, water bottles, trinkets they purchased, and raincoats in case of rain.

But a simple trick helped me when I lost my child at Disney for a few seconds.

Each day, I allowed our kids to choose a colorful balloon at the park gate. Then, I tied those balloons to their backpack straps.

Related stories

Instinctively, I counted balloons all day. Each time we went into a restaurant, rode the monorail, watched the parades, or waited in line for rides, I looked out for those balloons to keep track of my kids.

The children held the balloons down while we watched events. I held the backpacks while the kids and my husband enjoyed the rides.

One day, as we left the monorail in another noisy swarm of people, I counted balloons: five. Everyone got off. We gathered our coats, camera, and collapsed double stroller and left the platform, heading up the swift escalator.

Then, for some reason, I decided to count balloons again. One, two, three, four! My heart stopped.

Just as we do when we hike in nature, my husband was in front of the line of kids, and I was in the back. Frantically, I looked at my balloons and found one of the twins missing.

Above the din of music and conversations, I shouted to my husband. Turning around on the escalator, I spied a balloon still on the platform in the throng of people.

I screamed my child's name as I fought my way through the people jammed on the escalator, attempting to race down the up escalator.

I continued to scream, pushing and shoving people out of my way to get to the platform before my little girl got swept onto the next train by the crowd.

People gave way, and a train had come by this time. As I raced toward my daughter, a lady had cleared people away from a ballooned little girl who was crying so that I could reach her in time.

I think the balloon really saved the day on that one.

It's terrifying to lose track of a child in a crowded place. Holding hands or placing the youngest children in a stroller in jam-packed places can help keep them safe. A family can also create colorful and