Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[NCConch]

My son will be 15 for our cruise. He has cerebral palsy, is nonverbal and cannot eat or use the restroom without assistance. We would never leave him in the club for longer than two hours at a time, but how equipped are they for kids with disabilities? We would obviously handle all feeding and tolieting prior to drop off. He is very social despite being nonverbal, mild mannered, and loves to hang out with his peers. Is it on a case by case basis? Will they do a "trial run" and let him join and let us know how it goes? I just want do badly for him to be able to spend a short time each day with new friends.

We just cruised after Christmas. My son is 13 and gets around in a wheelchair. He cannot toilet on his own though he is verbal. He never had any issues, made a couple of friends and was helped by other kids when he needed to use the elevator. The tween club is up steps or a special elevator.

 

[redwings30]

We just cruised after Christmas. My son is 13 and gets around in a wheelchair. He cannot toilet on his own though he is verbal. He never had any issues, made a couple of friends and was helped by other kids when he needed to use the elevator. The tween club is up steps or a special elevator.

Thank you for sharing - that's great news

 

[SKEEWEE 96]

I just finished this thread and wanted to send out a big THANK YOU for all the information contained here. This is my first Disney Cruise and I am bringing my DGDs, Morgan (10) and Lauryn (9). We will be on Fantasy March 22, 2014. You all answered so many questions I had and many I had not considered. We got our Cruise packs today. Can't wait to sail away!!

 

[MELISSA1925]

Hi there:
I will be sailing in April with 11 & 12 Year Old Boys. I looked at a few sample Navigators and didn't see much as far as sports activities for this age? Is there any planned Sports Activities for this age group?? Basketball possibly?? If not can you tell me some activities that they should NOT miss that are usually popular? Thank you!

 

[lbgraves]

The organized activities are listed in the navigator. You can take the kids to the sports deck if they want to play basketball, however, when it is not being used by the clubs. On the new ships there are times this is not allowed due to the noise affecting diners in Palo during meals there.

 

[grits98]

I believe you, it just boggles my mind. How does one break a foot wearing Crocs?

We've never brought any other play shoes on a cruise for our son except his Crocs. They're what he wears to school, at home, to climb trees, etc. Crocs are the only child's shoes the onboard shops sell aside from sparkly princess flats (you know, in case someone throws up on his good dress shoes after eating far more ice cream than he should have when feeling seasick).

Without this thread it would never have occurred to me that he shouldn't wear them in the Club.

If you ever have some free time, look up "crocs and escalators." My young cousin suffered a severe foot injury from getting his crocs caught in the side of an escalator. I know this can happen from shoelaces or anything, but it seems to be a not infrequent occurrence with crocs. I'm glad ya'll have never had any trouble with them, though!

 

[SunshineCoast]

Sorry if this was answered already. I am slowly making my way through the thread but with this many pages it's taking awhile it seems like the clubs/labs have a lot of kids. Will the boys (they are 3.5 and almost 7 when we go) just get lost in the mass of kids? Or is the ratio of kids to CM enough that no one is lost/left out/excluded from a certain activity? For what it's worth, we are going on the Wonder is September, so smaller ship/shoulder season.

Edit: Finished reading the thread and saw the question/answer regarding the amount of kids. 200+! I'm starting to think this ship/rooms are bigger then I'm picturing haha

 

[mblondie0509]

I read this entire thread yesterday and was so grateful for all of the information provided! It has given me things to think about that I never would have considered. I never would have thought my 9 year old could sign himself out...this is our first cruise and I can't imagine him being comfortable walking around the ship by himself. The kid won't even go across the restaurant to say hello to a friend from school by himself...lol With that said, I will probably give him the option to do so to hopefully build a little confidence. I was just like him as a child...I wouldn't even call the local grocery store's automated line to find out what week # they were punching to enter their cash drawing. I didn't gain my confidence until I was in the Army in my 20's and I am hoping to help my son get there a little earlier!

To CM: DCL should be proud to have such a good ambassador working for them. You have not said one negative thought even in your constructive thoughts about things to change. You are the true embodiment of the Disney Spirit. Thank you!

 

[CMontheseas]

Hello disboards, I am back home again on vacation and I thank everyone for all the wonderful gifts and trinkets and kind words on board the past few months, it was lovely meeting you all!

I am sad to report that I will not be returning to the company after my vacation for many reasons and many internal changes that resulted in the company losing many valuable CMs, but also for a much happier reason : I got engaged!

For the two of us, life on board the Disney ships isn't quite the best for us now that we're a bit older, so we're closing that chapter of our lives now. Thanks again, hope I helped even a little, and happy sailing!


-J

 

[disneygrandma]

Quite some time ago, I read that it's a good idea to preregister the kids for the clubs, so we won't have to do it on boarding day.

However, online I don't see where that can be done. Where do I look? What would it be under?

Thanks.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Quite some time ago, I read that it's a good idea to preregister the kids for the clubs, so we won't have to do it on boarding day.

However, online I don't see where that can be done. Where do I look? What would it be under?

Thanks.

First how old are your kids? If they're in Edge or Vibe, there's no preregistration required.

I believe the preregistration option opens with your check in/excursion booking window. Are you within your window?

 

[disprincess4ever]

Hello disboards, I am back home again on vacation and I thank everyone for all the wonderful gifts and trinkets and kind words on board the past few months, it was lovely meeting you all!

I am sad to report that I will not be returning to the company after my vacation for many reasons and many internal changes that resulted in the company losing many valuable CMs, but also for a much happier reason : I got engaged!

For the two of us, life on board the Disney ships isn't quite the best for us now that we're a bit older, so we're closing that chapter of our lives now. Thanks again, hope I helped even a little, and happy sailing!


-J

Sad to hear that you'll be leaving DCL, but it's understandable that you need to start a new chapter in your life. I hope your last contract has been as agreeable as possible. I'm intrigued as to why you're leaving, and once you're separated from Disney it would be interesting to hear some of the things you could not tell us while being a cast member. Congratulations on your engagement! Thats most exciting and best wishes to you and your man. Please stay on the boards, we'd love to have you here!

 

[disneygrandma]

Yes, we are within the window. Kids are 3, 12 & 15. It's the 2 younger ones that I want to pre-register.

 

[storknurse13]

Hello disboards, I am back home again on vacation and I thank everyone for all the wonderful gifts and trinkets and kind words on board the past few months, it was lovely meeting you all! I am sad to report that I will not be returning to the company after my vacation for many reasons and many internal changes that resulted in the company losing many valuable CMs, but also for a much happier reason : I got engaged! For the two of us, life on board the Disney ships isn't quite the best for us now that we're a bit older, so we're closing that chapter of our lives now. Thanks again, hope I helped even a little, and happy sailing! -J

I am so happy for you and your fiancé!! I can't begin to tell you how much you have helped us on the DIS boards! Please stay with us here so that we can keep up with you and how the wedding plans are coming. Unfortunately, DCL is losing an amazing CM! Best of luck to you! You will be terribly missed!

 

[Bear3412]

Hello disboards, I am back home again ..... Thanks again, hope I helped even a little, and happy sailing! .....

Welcome home.

Thank You for your time and posts setting us straight.
You have enlightened and expanded our knowledge on many topics.

Congrats on moving on, .... I think. lol. Definitely congrats on your engagement.
Are you engaged to another CM?

TIA and

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Yes, we are within the window. Kids are 3, 12 & 15. It's the 2 younger ones that I want to pre-register.

I believe the 12 year old would fall under the "if in Edge there's no preregistration" group. I know he/she can do both Oceaneer's and Edge, and is old enough for self check in/out privileges.

I think the registration is somewhere in the excursion booking stuff. But I'm not within a window right now to check it out on mine.

 

[scm]

I registered my 12 yr old grandson to ensure he could go see his younger siblings in their clubs - silly me He loved Edge and made the most of his freedom.

 

[Ravenne]

Hello disboards, I am back home again on vacation and I thank everyone for all the wonderful gifts and trinkets and kind words on board the past few months, it was lovely meeting you all!

I am sad to report that I will not be returning to the company after my vacation for many reasons and many internal changes that resulted in the company losing many valuable CMs, but also for a much happier reason : I got engaged!

For the two of us, life on board the Disney ships isn't quite the best for us now that we're a bit older, so we're closing that chapter of our lives now. Thanks again, hope I helped even a little, and happy sailing!


-J

A huge congrats on your engagement!

Wishing you lots of luck on your marriage and future. Thank you so much for your help and advice.

 

[Peacelovezahra]

I just got hired with DCL last month for guest services. Still anxiously awaiting my start date though! The wait is killing me!!

First off, I want to say congratulations on this new chapter in your life, cmontheseas I have to admit I'm kind of bummed you're not returning, only because after spending the night reading this entire thread, I feel bonded to you haha.

It's so hard for upcoming DCL cms to find info on the internet about behind the scenes life, so this was extremely helpful.

I do have a couple questions.

Just from what you've observed: do guest service positions get less guest appreciation? Not necessarily in a negative way or on purpose. Just from scouring the internet the last 2 months, I've noticed a trend of most guests bonding to their waiters and to the youth activities councelers. I'm not sure if this may be due to more face time with certain areas or that the desk is busy often, etc. (any guests feel free to share your experience, as well)

The other thing that crossed my mind is that I created my user id prior to reading what was mentioned about anonymity while working on the ship and it contains my first name. Is this something that I should change from here on out?

Can't wait to start and experience all of this for myself and of course, meet some wonderful families.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

The other thing that crossed my mind is that I created my user id prior to reading what was mentioned about anonymity while working on the ship and it contains my first name. Is this something that I should change from here on out?

I'm not a DCL CM but I would highly recommend you create a new username and stop using that one. It is always better to not use anything that makes it easier to identify you. While not a common name, yours is unique enough for people to track you down on the ship, should they want to.

Just walk away from this user id. Don't refer back to it and wait awhile before posting your position or don't mention it at all, just so no one makes a connection.

Plus, it will help cover your behind should you accidentally post something in violation of Disney's social media policy.