3. Unclaimed items take a long journey

At the end of the day, Cast Members walk through each attraction to claim the salvageable lost items. This typically involves setting out on foot along the ride path and walking along or beside the track once ride operation has ceased. Cast Members also diligently check each vehicle morning and night for items left behind. A nightly walk through each restaurant and theme park area serves the same purpose.

Items found during the day will stay relatively close to the place they were picked up. Things turned in from an attraction queue stay in the tower. Gift shops have their own lost and found locations. At the end of the day, all lost and found items migrate to the individual park’s lost and found, located at Guest Relations. If they linger there too long, the items go to the main lost and found at the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC).

4. The resort can’t hold them forever

Your lost items will only stay around for a limited time.
Image: Dineshraj Goomany, Flickr (license)

Theme parks can’t keep your lost and found items forever, if for no other reason than the staggering quantity of things they accumulate. Disney’s Lost and Found is more cluttered than Ariel’s grotto. During the summer months, Walt Disney World retrieves over 100,000 lost items. During this season, over 1,000 lost and found items make it to the TTC each day. Even the slower winter season sees between 400 and 500 items hitting lost and found.

Valuable items like prescription glasses, wallets, or cameras will stay at lost and found for 90 days. Less valuable things, such as sunglasses and hats, depart the facility in just 30 days. If you think you’re missing something you might have left in the park, it’s wise to go back for it as soon as you can.

5. Cast Members can claim your stuff

Unclaimed lost and found items can go several places. Some things, like canes and wheelchairs, are donated to charities. Lost items that are still in good condition, such as all those sunglasses, are resold at Cast Member only stores for just a few dollars. If you’re a Cast Member in need of an umbrella stroller or new shades, this is by far the best way to go. You can even find designer names like Ray Bans and Oakleys that were left behind and never claimed.

More valuable and distinctive items may also be claimed by the Cast Member that found them. This is a common practice in hotels, where individual housekeepers can easily lay claim to the items they find in their rooms. If you find a great camera or designer bag, you can put your claim on it and keep the item if it goes unclaimed for the specified period of time.

If you don’t want your belongings to end up under a sale counter for a few dollars, keep a tight grip on what you bring into the park, and always heed those warnings about what can happen during a wild ride!