I would call myself seasoned at UOR, but even I fell victim this weekend to the "empty your pockets" rules. I typically have a running band on that I'll throw the bulk of my stuff in so I don't have to worry about lockers. This weekend I went rogue, and since regret it.
I pulled out my phone on MiB after the final spin (hey, new high score!) and caused my wallet to fall to the ground, just off the cart. After the initial panic of getting to the gift shop and realizing that my credit card, ID, and AP were magically gone, it was off to the front of the park for Lost and Found.
For better or worse, UO will not shut down a ride to collect your dropped item (I am sure there are some severe occasions where it's a safety hazard to keep something in the ride, but not for me). You get to wait for the employees to do a walk through after the rides close at the end of the night and bring the items to the front of the park. Which, for me, was estimated at 9:45PM. You can put in a lost and found report (
Universal Orlando which will allow the team members to identify your belongings and alert you when they are checked in. You can have your belongings shipped back to you for a bit of a hefty price (no credit cards, though - those get shredded rather than sent through the mail). They do keep items for 30 days.
I did hit up Guest Services for a reprint of my annual pass, so I was at least able to enter the parks and get discounts on food (but my party had to pay for me).
I ironically went on MiB later in the day, looked down where I thought I dropped my wallet, and saw my own face staring back at me. This was actually a relief, as it was confirmation that my stuff was inside a ride where people weren't going to be able to get to it. No one was running around the park trying to max my credit card out.
Around 9:30PM, MiB finally brought their gear up (amongst the bags - a stuffed animal, an actual purse, and a single flip flop), and I had my wallet back. It has a wear spot from where the cars ran it over for 10 hours, but it's a good reminder to secure my personal items next time.
Overall, it was a funny experience for me (as I was not negatively impacted), but a good lesson in Lost and Found at Universal.