Disney’s Lost and Found : Tales of Missing Children Have Happy Endings at Park

To 9-year-old Noemi Rodriquez, Disneyland wasn’t such a small world, after all.

Barely 4 feet tall, the elementary school student from Janitzio, Mexico, remembered staring up at the 147-foot-high Matterhorn on a recent sunny afternoon. When she dropped her gaze to look for her teachers and classmates, they had vanished into a sea of Magic Kingdom visitors.

She was lost.

Noemi is one of scores of children who are separated from their parents or adult supervisors every day at one of Southern California’s largest tourist attractions. With the summer season bringing in bigger and bigger crowds to the world-famous park, the number of lost children can climb into the hundreds, Disney officials say.

While traumatic for adults and children alike, the experience is especially tough on youngsters.

“We get kicked. We get thrown up on,” said Ginger, who does her best to calm kids at the park’s Lost Children facility, a holding station where younger children are kept until a parent or chaperon arrives. (As a matter of policy, Disneyland does not permit the release of the last names or other personal information about park employees.)

“The poor little things get so panicky,” Ginger said. “It breaks your heart to see them this way.”

But image-conscious Disney officials are quick to point out that there is always a happy ending to their lost boy and girl stories. Unlike the Lost Boys in Never Never Land, a vast majority of lost children at Disneyland are rejoined with adults within a few minutes, officials said. And in its 34-year history, Disney has never failed to reunite a child with his parents or chaperon before the park closed.

“We’ve never lost a child at Disneyland,” said Verna, another worker in the Lost Children facility.

While a perfect record may reassure parents, it unfortunately offers little comfort to a frightened child like Noemi Rodriquez. In tears after realizing her predicament, Noemi was quickly spotted by two park employees, who combed the immediate area for her group of 40 classmates and eight teachers.

In most cases, such a search usually turns up the child’s guardian within 15 minutes, park officials said. But in Noemi’s case, it did not.

The 9-year-old was brought to the Lost Children facility, just off Main Street. Had she been 12 or older, she would have been escorted to the park’s City Hall instead.

Once inside Lost Children, youngsters can play with toys, read Disney books or watch television (the Disney Channel, of course) as they wait to be picked up. Housed in a small quiet room, the air-conditioned facility also has a VCR, a pair of comfortable sofas and a handful of chairs.

During summer months, as many as 30 kids are sent to Lost Children each day. A recent Fourth of July--traditionally the busiest day of the year at Disneyland--saw more than 200 children in and out of the room.

“It was just chaos,” said Verna, a gray-haired great-grandmother experienced in nurturing young children. “Thank goodness we haven’t had another day like that one.”

Disney intentionally chooses older women to staff Lost Children in hopes the motherly figure will help soothe troubled children.

“It’s not a sexist thing,” said Disney spokeswoman Pam Espinosa. “From our observations, children seem more comfortable with the grandmotherly types.”

In Noemi’s case, the effect seemed to work. Though separated by language, the little girl appeared comforted by Verna, whose eyes welled up with tears as she embraced the sobbing child.

“This is so horrible,” Verna told the girl. “Everything is going to be fine.”

After about an hour “in station”--as Lost Children is referred to in the park--news came that a teacher from Noemi’s school had been spotted by an alert employee.

“We are so happy,” said her teacher, Eduardo Cisneros, giving Noemi a hug. “We are responsible for her. Thank you. Thank you.”

Sometimes, parents and adults berate themselves for allowing their children to escape their supervision, officials said. Several parents refused to talk about their experience, fearing it would make them appear irresponsible.

“I’m not a neglectful parent,” said one mother who headed off toward Tomorrowland after being reunited with her child.

But park officials tell parents not to blame themselves. With an 86-acre park and tens of thousands of visitors per day, combined with the park’s excitement and distractions, separations can occur easily.

“We tell them not to be too hard on themselves,” Espinosa said. “The park can be overwhelming, especially on a first visit.”

Eight-year-old Kevin Stewart from Hesperia found it easy enough to get lost. Kevin remembered standing with his mom in Toontown. Then the Jolly Trolley went rolling by, and he lost her.

But Kevin, who admitted this was his second time in Lost Children in two years, seemed to take his sidetracked status in stride. He spent his time assembling jigsaw puzzles, playing with Legos and inquiring how he might install a laser “like the one in Star Tours” in his back yard.

After about 45 minutes, Kevin’s mother, Sylvia Stewart, showed up. Smiles lit up both their faces, and they hugged.

“I went around the ghost house and you weren’t there,” said Kevin, who was supposed to wait at the Haunted Mansion for his mother in case they split up.

“We must have just missed you,” said Sylvia, 32, clutching her son.

“Mom, come on,” replied the boy, tiring of the reunion and eager to go to Star Tours.

Separation from a child at the park is also a trying experience for parents and chaperons. Robert McCollum, a truck driver from Las Vegas, had a scare when he couldn’t find his companion’s 8-year-old daughter, Carrie White. The second-grader disappeared near Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin.

“I was praying, ‘God, Jesus, find her,’ ” said McCollum, 38.

Frantic for nearly an hour, McCollum finally got word that Carrie was safe at Lost Children.

“They found her. I don’t know how they did it, but they did,” said McCollum, holding Carrie’s hand.

“It’s a happy ending,” he added.

And that’s the way Disney likes it.

Staying in Touch

Here are some tips to prevent losing children at Disneyland:

* Plan ahead: Establish a specific meeting time and place.

* Clothing: Wear something easily identifiable from a distance; attach something recognizable to the back of your pants or skirt at your children’s eye level.

* Stay put: After a parade or show, stay put. It’s easier to spot someone while standing still.

* Visit City Hall, Lost Children: Stop by City Hall (ages 13 and older) and Lost Children (ages 3-12) with your children so they will know where they need to go in case you become separated. Lost Children has special name tags for children to wear if they are too young to communicate. Lost Children is near the Plaza Inn Restaurant on Main Street; City Hall is near the main entrance.

IF YOU BECOME SEPARATED. . .

* Don’t panic.

* Remain in the area where you last saw the person.

* Ask an employee to call Lost Children or City Hall to see if anyone has escorted your child to either location. Give child’s full name, age and a complete description.

* Send a member of your party to nearest restroom or food or merchandise location. Older children with cash sometimes go there.

* On warm days, children often retreat to a cool spot.

* If you’re staying at an area hotel, call to check if your child has returned.

Source: Disneyland