How secure are the in-room resort safes?

[renecat]

I understand what you are saying, but I never used the credit cards that had been taken in Florida at all. I just forgot to take them out of my wallet before I left home so I put them in the safe and yes it was a key pad. Think about it all three where used at the wal-mart . one at a gas station and one at a resturant. Never on WDW. I also felt very safe about putting my cards in the safe. I can't say that anymore. I used my Disney Visa while I was there and it was always with me so never had any charges on it that I didn't make. Feel as safe as you can about putting things in the safe
but if and when it happens to you you won't feel the same way. I'll put things in my suit case under dirty clothes before I put anything into another safe in a room.

[It'sWDW4me]

Are the safes at CSR keyed or keypad?

If they're locked with a key, seriously, don't worry too much. If there really is a master key (and I believe Rusty when he says there isn't), I'm sure the general mousekeepers do not have access to it. And since any GM who may have access to such a key would have no idea what you may have in your room safe, the likelihood of someone breaking into it is so impossibly slim.

I've never really cared for keypad safes - I know how easily electronics have been bypassed in the past. Maybe these are a new generation safe with tighter security. However, with thousands of guests, one (or even it there were a few) issue of a safe being compromised is still very slim odds that it would happen to you. You'd probably have a better chance of getting hit by lightening while on vacation in Florida!

[SurferStitch]

maintenance simply came up and reset the safe for me, no charge
. . . I thought all the old keypad ones were replaced
. . . you must have gotten one of the last ones

This happened in October 2008 in Sugar Loaf at the GF. Did they change since then?

I just don't want to make the same mistake again, and have it cost me!

[DawsonAR]

We were there in May of this year at GF and the electronic safe "locked up" and wouldn't let me in with my code. I called the front desk and they told me a couple of things to try, but they didn't work. A maintenance man came to the room, opened the safe for us and then allowed me to re-program the safe with a new code.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Are the safes at CSR keyed or keypad?

We stayed at CSR 2 years ago and I am pretty sure it was a keyed safe.

[SurferStitch]

We were there in May of this year at GF and the electronic safe "locked up" and wouldn't let me in with my code. I called the front desk and they told me a couple of things to try, but they didn't work. A maintenance man came to the room, opened the safe for us and then allowed me to re-program the safe with a new code.

Okay, that's the same exact thing that happened with me. I would find it hard to believe that an entire locking mechanism would have to be replaced (at the high cost), when a simple reprogramming does the trick. Thanks.

[TheRustyScupper]

I would find it hard to believe that an entire locking mechanism would have to be replaced (at the high cost), when a simple reprogramming does the trick. Thanks.

1) Therein lies the problem.
2) If there is a master key or master code, the safe is not secure.
3) The keys or combos/codes ALWAYS get leaked.
4) Then, things disappear.
5) That is why the keypad safes are getting new mechanisms.
6) The keyed safes do not have a master key, so that is not a problem.

NOTE: People have complained that things in their safe that disappeared. Fortunately, Disney fluffed it off. Per written warnings, Disney is not responsible for items left in the room (including a safe). They are only responsible for stuff left in the safe deposit boxes accessed by the Front Desk CM's.

[SurferStitch]

Um, yeah....but considering they had to use some hand-held device to reset the lock, and I doubt there are more than a couple available for use by maintenance, it would make it pretty easy to track down the person that would have used it to break into one of the keypad safes.

I wouldn't risk losing my job and going to jail for an act that could very easily be traced back to me.

It would also be very easy to determine who was cleaning your room during that time period, too. So, if housekeeping were even able to access your safe, it's not too difficult to pin down who would have had the ability to open it.

I am also in our safe 2-3 times per day. I change my jewelry every time I change an outfit (a couple times per day), so if anything is missing, I notice it. We leave cash and maybe a couple credit cards in the safe, and always know how much we leave in there.

Like someone else said, it comes time to just putting some faith and trust in the hotel staff. I always have, and have never had any problems. We even leave expensive cameras and laptops sit out in our room and never had problems.

[SurferStitch]

DH brought up a couple good points, too...

IF someone were to use a "master" code to open the safe (similar to what they do when they "reset" a locked safe), they would still need to know your combo in order to lock it again so you would be able to open it on your own, and not immediately notice that it was opened by them. When I had maintenance show up to open our safe, he turned away while I punched in my code. He couldn't see what I used. I highly doubt they can just use a master code to open safes willy nilly whenever they want, and be able to lock it up again keeping your code viable.

ALSO, as to being able to pinpoint the perp, they would have to swipe with a master card to open your room door. All of these swipes are logged, so it's very, very easy to see which employees entered your room at any time. Again, why would someone who is so easy to catch going to risk everything like that?

[TheRustyScupper]

they had to use some hand-held device to reset the lock, and I doubt there are more than a couple available for use by maintenance

. . . every resort has a hand-held unit behind the front desk
. . . many departments also have them (maint, etc)

they would have to swipe with a master card to open your room door. All of these swipes are logged,

. . . swipes are logged
. . . but there are lots of master key cards
. . . some assigned to people, and some not assigned
. . . most depts have an unassigned master key card
. . . in addition, there are actual master brass keys
. . . actual keys are not logged when used for entry
. . . the electronic lock does not even know a brass key was used for entry

[DigitalDaredevil]

The Rusty Scupper is my favorite message poster, hands down.

[SurferStitch]

Wow...then WDW has some pretty unsafe and poorly secured hotel rooms. Guess I better rethink where I stay from now on.

[SurferStitch]

Question:

Does (or can) each cleaning person have an unassigned key card? That seems like a big liability on Disney's part. I would think they would observe their employees better than that. Same goes for maintenance.

Also, I was told when I called to have maintenance reset my safe, that it could take a while if they were assisting someone else at the time. Luckily, I was the only yahoo that locked themselves out at the time, and they arrived in just about 5 minutes. That's why I figured each resort only had one, maybe two units. If they were readily available, anyone could have come to help right away.

I just keep asking questions because it astounds me that WDW would have such unsupervised and free-wheeling access to guest's rooms by random employees. Seems rather unnerving.

[Mousemates]

Theft happens...and regardless of the steps a homeowner/business owner might take determined criminals will eventually find and exploit a weak link in the security chain (often inside help). Sounds like a weak link here and a place where Disney might need to tighten things up.

However, having said that...the room safe is still a far more secure spot to store your valuables than hiding them in one of the usual spots where the bad guys already know where to look (in your shoes, a pile of dirty clothes, in your child's "toy bag"etc....also remember a hotel room is small and a thief can search through everything pretty quickly). The safe likely eliminates 9/10 thefts (the ones, done as a quick grab by people who don't have access to the keys/technology to open the safe quickly) and is still a better bet for items you choose not to put in the safe at the front desk.

[pixiesmimi]

We had always had the safe with a key until this trip at the Poly. You had to key in your choice of codes. I felt more secure with that than the one with keys. I didn't know who had access keys to the safes. I did take most of my cards and things out this time and left them at home but still locked up my purse (safe in this room was very large) and didn't worry much about it. But I never left anything out in the room or suitcase that was valuable. Had no problems.

[brownie]

It's been a while since we've been there, but we never had a problem leaving things in the room safes.

It all comes down to convenience versus security. Certain cast members are going to need to be able to access the safes when guests lock themselves out of them. I don't think you're going to drill a room safe open and Disney certainly doesn't want to keep a guest waiting.

Bringing only what you absolutely need to on vacation is the best way to limit your potential losses.

[gueli]

The Rusty Scupper is my favorite message poster, hands down.

To start, I have to agree I appreciate Rusty's informitive posts.

secondly, If you are worried about it USE the Safe deposit boxs from the front desk.

Also- I find it difficult to believe that someone would
break into a room, get the safe open, drive offsite, buy a bunch of stuff, drive back to the resort, break into the room a second time, break into the safe a second time and only charge a few hundred dollars worth of stuff.
Now that doesn't mean it did not happen, it just seems implausable.

Anyways- I like to believe that the staff at any given resort would rather make their money the old fashioned way by earning it...

[TheRustyScupper]

Does (or can) each cleaning person have an unassigned key card? That seems like a big liability on Disney's part. I would think they would observe their employees better than that. Same goes for maintenance.

1) If one uses a key regularly (eg. maid), the door key is assigned to you.
2) This is good for entry ID tracking purposes.
3) Also if you quit, the key can be deactivated.
4) However, departments always have unassigned spares.
. . . temporarily assigned people need keys
. . . absenteeism fill-ins need keys
. . . left-my-key-at-home people need keys
. . . dog-ate-my-homework-and-key people need keys
5) So, if you need access for some reason, you can quickly get a key card.
6) These can be assigned and traced, if the procedures are followed.
7) But, I know many people who get sloppy or rushed and just grab-a-key-and-go.
8) Or, trade their key with someone who needs access.

NOTE: With all this being said, WDW has some pretty honest staff. But, here is what I personally do, and recommend to others
. . . keep some cash and one credit card in the room safe
. . . travel with 2-4 cards, and leave remainder at home
. . . keep all ID and other credit cards in safety deposit box in lobby
. . . keep computers in luggage, or use a lock cable
. . . keep mothers-in-law in the car trunk or leave at home

[disneyboundagain]

The Rusty Scupper is my favorite message poster, hands down.

Properly stated:

1) The Rusty Scupper is my favorite message poster, hands down.

[disneyboundagain]

Are the safes at CSR keyed or keypad?

Just got back, the safe was keyed. Everything was safe and secure. All worked out well.