Kids Club

[sumismommy]

Hi,

Has anyone had any problems with the kids club? I am a little nervous about letting my 4 year old go. Mainly because of the age range 3-12. If it was all kids around his age I would be ok. But I'm a little nervous with all the big kids

 

[cheermom2four]

I'll be honest, our first cruise that we took the kids, my daughter had literally just turned 5 and hated it. Bigger kids would just run around and accidentally knock her over (I say accidentally because they were just being kids). This was also on the fantasy so larger space and more kids. Depends on the ship too. The CMs are so good with them. On our next cruise, she absolutely loved the kids club so who knows. On our upcoming one I'm really hoping she still loves. it. Just make sure you take your 4 year old the first day when its open house so you both can roam around. YOu both can see where everything is together. I think that makes a huge difference also.

Edited to add: we made the mistake of NOT going with her on the first day to get her used to the club. That could've made a world of difference

 

[ElenaRN]

Our YDD was 3 1/2 on our last cruise. She loved it. She did have her older sister there though, but I think she would have done fine either way. The CM are really good.
I agree with what pp said. Go during open house and get a feel for what your child thinks.

 

[fredandkell]

There aren't as many of the older kids in the kids' club even though it goes up to age 12. I'd say most kids are in the 4-9 age range. (My 12-year old wouldn't be caught dead in there now.) I first sent mine when they were 3 and 6 and they did fine. The clubs have two different sections where the younger and older kids gravitate naturally and sort of separate themselves by age.

 

[sumismommy]

Thank you! My daughter is 13. So they said we would have to ask once we board if she would be allowed in with him.

 

[Numtini]

Four is young. Our daughter is not a very adaptable person and we wouldn't even have tried the cruise at 4.

As to how to make the transition easier, in addition to going and visiting the club on the first day, we also showed our daughter a load of videos about the kids club from youtube before the cruise. I think it really helped her to understand what it was like. You are always going to be subject to that first impression though. If a kid walks in and gets bowled over by an older kid, it'll be hard to get over that negative impression. If, on the other hand, they meet someone or have a good game, then they're going to ignore the little problems that come later. Maybe an idea would be to pick a time when there's an activity based on a cartoon they like?

 

[DCLfam]

The only reason my son liked the club once they switched to the 3-12 range since the one of the clubs is often having "open house" hours is the video games. I would laugh when the CM would look to see where he was on computer since I already knew. I agree they are pretty much a free for all and this is with us typically sailing longer cruises with less kids. He has now aged out so will be interesting to see what if he likes the pre-teen area.

 

[pezgirlroy]

We will be on the Magic in April. We did the Fantasy last year. My then 7 year old loved the Kids Club. My youngest will be turning 3 halfway through our cruise. We will send her to the kids club for a bit with her sister once she is able to go. I really have no concerns at all about it. One she will be with her sister (but that doesn't mean much ) and two she goes to daycare so is a bit used to a similar atmosphere. If it is a problem, they will call you.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

On our fist cruise, DD was 7 and hated the clubs. There was just too much chaos for her. Kids running around, not sharing ect. She found most of the activities to be to dumbed down, even those intended for her age, because on the number of small children participating. Also, I really got nuts when open house forced all the kids checked in into half the club. She only went when she had to for us to do Palo, and it was part of the reason we didn't cruise again until she could do the Edge.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Thank you! My daughter is 13. So they said we would have to ask once we board if she would be allowed in with him.

A 13 year old definitely will not be allowed in the kids club, except during open house times. Top age ranges are absolute with Disney.

 

[sumismommy]

A 13 year old definitely will not be allowed in the kids club, except during open house times. Top age ranges are absolute with Disney.

I probably won't send him. I received an email from Disney saying they might be able to make an exception but we have to wait to ask once on board.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I probably won't send him. I received an email from Disney saying they might be able to make an exception but we have to wait to ask once on board.

I sincerely hope this information is just incorrectly given. They have made exceptions in the other direction (e.g. allowing 10 year olds into the 11-14 club) but I would be shocked if they allowed older kids back into the younger kids' age group.

The kids clubs on Disney can be overwhelming, they are loud and super busy. Introducing him via open house will help, and it sounds like you'll be able to keep him with you if you don't end up sending him.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I probably won't send him. I received an email from Disney saying they might be able to make an exception but we have to wait to ask once on board.

I think whoever you talked to was confused. That is their typical answers for kids wanting to age UP not DOWN. There was an incident several years ago that resulted in a lawsuit. Age ceilings have been absolute ever since.

 

[otten]

It's gonna depend on the kid. My 3.5 year old hated it. She's small for her age and shy and there were a lot of older kids in there. I once watched her go in and do some colouring but she couldn't get to the crayons because bigger kids were crowding them and she was just not the type to try and push in so she came back out sobbing. The 3-12 age was not a good fit for her at the time. That's not Disney's fault or anyone else's but just be aware that especially a younger child might not want to go.

At the time I really wished that had it split between older and younger kids because I think she might have liked it better if it were say 3-6 year olds. However, we cruise next year and our girls will be 5 and 8 and I'm glad they'll be able to stay together.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

DD was 5 on her first cruise and loved the clubs. She is an extravert and had always been in either a home daycare or church preschool/daycare since both DH and I work. Therefore, she was pretty used to organized care environments with lots of kids around. She is also tall for her age and pretty assertive, and interacts with kids of all ages around our neighborhood. She never said a word of complaint about other kids, and enjoyed a lot of activities in the clubs, such as story time with Princess Sofia and making slime with Stitch.

We went to the open house all together on the first day, and the youth CMs were really chatty with her and made sure to invite her to come back and visit. I also noticed that she spent a lot of time in the Club area on the Wonder, which appeals to younger kids (Frozen area, Disney Junior area, Andy's Room) and really only went over to the Lab, where most of the older kids hung out, when the Club was having open house time. So, there was kind of a natural age separation because the different areas appeal to different age groups.

 

[CaLuCa]

My kids did not love the clubs. They are loud. One only went when we really encouraged it. She was 8. When she was 4, I happened to walk past and saw her wandering aimlessly by the front with her pillowcase top half undone and hanging off her shoulders. I just picked her up right then instead of waiting.

My son, also 8, tolerated the club but was irritated the X box or whatever they have in there was different from his switch, so he wasn't as good at the games. That is all he did in there...wanted to play the video games.

My youngest, just turned 6, loved Andy's room and was in there the vast majority of the time.

The first day I picked them up, we were walking back through the corridor from the Lab to the Club and my 8 DS said, "Watch out, Mom, this is where the kid who punches you in the stomach hides." WHAT??? I tried to get him to remember what the kid was wearing or what he looked like, but he couldn't. I told him the next time it happened, REMEMBER and GO TELL the CM. He didn't mention it happening again, but STILL!

So for us, the kids clubs were a not the reason we had a great time on a Disney Cruise. Weird, huh?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

In my experience, you won't know how your child will react to the kids club until you are onboard. We took our DS on his first DCL cruise when he was 3 1/2. This was at a time when they were still allowing adults in accompanying children at any time (not just open houses). He would not go to the club unless one of us was with him. I took him again when he was 6 and it was the same story. The club was so video game-centered at the time and he doesn't play. Finally, when he was 7, he surprised us by wanting to go to the club (I had already succumbed to the idea that he was never going!) and then I could barely get him out! On our last cruise, when he was 10, he went for about 2 hours so DH and I could go to Remy and that was it. I will say, if your child is comfortable going, the CM's do a pretty good job of keeping the younger ones engaged in activities that are age-appropriate. The kids seem to find their way into their age groups. That being said, yes, the clubs on the Dream and Fantasy are quite crowded and chaotic. My DS much preferred the club on the Magic. With a 4-year old, I would be prepared with alternate activities in case the club does not work out.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

At the time I really wished that had it split between older and younger kids because I think she might have liked it better if it were say 3-6 year olds.

Time was - that was exactly what DCL did. They had Oceaneer's Club for 3-7 year olds, and Oceaneer's Lab for 8-12 year olds. Separate spaces for separate ages.

But enough parents complained that they wanted their kids to be together in the clubs, so DCL went to the Oceaneer's Club/Lab concept. The two areas are one big space, roughly separated, with activities geared to the 3-7 year olds in one space, and activities geared to the 8-12 year olds in another. But any child, of any age between 3 and 12 can participate in whatever activities interest them, regardless of age.

So, now you have a big mish-mash of unmatched age groups. With older, bigger kids typically elbowing out the little, younger ones.

 

[aseal]

I have 3 kids that are 28, 22 and 15 now. They are all very different. They have all loved it since they were little. My middle child hated baby sitters and would freak out if we ever left him except at the kids clubs. I have always found they did a great job of taking care of the really young kids. I have nothing negative to say.

 

[Ladybugx87]

I have 2 kiddos - my older one (now almost 9) has loved it every cruise.

Our first cruise was the week after she turned 3. It was on Magic which I think helped since it was a smaller ship. The only thing she didn’t love was the ‘toy story boot camp’ because the army man leading boot camp scared her.

My younger one has been a bit more reserved. When she was 3 she wouldn’t let me leave. At almost 4, she went for a few specific activities. For this next cruise she says she can’t wait to go.

As other said I think it depends on kiddo.