Myths and misconceptions about Youth Activities!

[DrD]

Thanks for your kind offer to give us the insider's view.

From previous posts I'm assuming it would be OK for my 4 yo who will be 5 in May to join the older (5-7) group with his 7 yo borther? They do like being togethor.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

So when gifting candy for the counselors to have at their wkly meetings do we need to gift it to an individual counselor or can we give it as a group gift? If we have children in different age groups should we separate the candy into two gifts or is the meeting for all counselors as a whole?

Can my 16yo be listed to sign my 6yo and 3yo out of the clubs?

I'm not the OP but I can answer this based on my experience- answer is yes. When we registered online for our most recent cruise our oldest was 14- and I was able to sign her up to sign in/out the younger two (one in club, one in lab). She didn't ever end up DOING it (we barely caught up with her on that cruise except at night! LOL) but we were able to sign her up to be able to do that if needed.

 

[lbgraves]

So when gifting candy for the counselors to have at their wkly meetings do we need to gift it to an individual counselor or can we give it as a group gift? If we have children in different age groups should we separate the candy into two gifts or is the meeting for all counselors as a whole?

You can give it to one of the counselors at the front desk of the club. The CMs from both the club and the lab have one meeting as there is one director over both areas.

Thanks for your kind offer to give us the insider's view.

From previous posts I'm assuming it would be OK for my 4 yo who will be 5 in May to join the older (5-7) group with his 7 yo borther? They do like being togethor.

You just need to talk to the club supervisor about this after you board in the OC. They will accomodate you if at all possible depending on numbers on that particular cruise.

 

[ppiew]

We will be on the 3 day and have booked Palo the first night at 6 PM Have told the kids (ages 7 & 12) they WILL be going to the kids club that night. (they aren't too thrilled) My question concerns their dinner. I understand they to the dinner thing with kids at 5:15 PM. does this mean I need to get them down there early? Hustle bustle with the Sailaway etc.

 

[lbgraves]

No, they do not take the kids to dinner that first night in the club. You can get something for the kids on deck 9 after the sail away party. There is Plutos with chicken fingers, burgers, hotdogs and fries, Pinnochio's with pizza and Goofy's Galley with fruit and wraps or paninis. Better yet, while they are eating up on deck 9 have DH sit with them while you go to the room to get changed for Palo. If he is anything like my DH he can bring them down to the room at 5:45 so that you can take them to the club while he gets ready and then you can stop back by the room and go to Palo. Be sure to walk to the forward elevators on your deck to go to Palo so that your hair is not blown to bits walking on deck 9 outside before dinner...and your picture in Palo. You can then pick up the kids at 8 to go to the 8:30 show.

 

[AbsyBabsy]

Thank you for offering to provide some clarity on questions re: children's activities. I have a very specific one that my travel agent cannot answer.

My son is 7-1/2 years old, and he is very interested in going to the Oceaneer's Lab. However, he is not yet 8, and will not be until August. Yet, he is very mature, and his first comment on seeing the Oceaneer's Club (which is for toddlers up to 7 years old) was "No way! That is a place for babies!"

Will we be able to get him into the Oceaneer's Lab, and if so, who should we speak with about it?

Thank you!

Rebe - I had this same thing happen to me last year. I brought my daughter on a cruise and she was 7. She did not want to be in the club - it was our 3rd cruise and she was bored of the club. We also had another 7 year old with us. We talked to the folks in the Lab and they said we could check the 7 year old in and out of the lab - however they would not "officially" be a part of the Lab programming - basically it meant they would not take them out of the lab for time up on deck. It worked out well for us.

I hope the message is not too late for your cruise!

 

[gweeptrish]

My daughter will be turning 3 when we're actually on the boat. DCL counts her age as being the age she was on embarkation day which is great for me because it saves on her fare but it's bad for her because the online forms won't let me register her for the Club, just Flounders.

Would she be allowed to participate in Club activities on the cruise or would she be limited to Flounders? She is fully potty trained already. I completely understand if she can't go to the Club because after all, I got a break on her fare. I just want to know what to prepare her to expect.

Thanks!

 

[kcashner]

A child who is fully potty trained will be allowed to participate in the Oceaneer's Club programming. Yes, DCL continues to show the age as the age at embarkation, but you can confirm her participation at the terminal or after you board. Actually, they will allow a fully trained child to participate at 2. A 3 year old who is not trained can play in the Oceaneer's Club area with a parent present or can go to Flounders. The Flounder's staff will sometimes take them to the OC if staff is available.

Please remember as you read thru the multiple pages of this post that policies on DCL do change, and the kid area is one of the biggest places for changes. Allowing any child to participate somewhere other than their age designated group is on a "space available" basis as well as being based on the maturity of the child. Thus, one guest's experience one week may not reflect another's the next week.

 

[disneynewbee]

opps

 

[mjaclyn]

Is this thread still active? We're taking our first Disney Cruise in May 2011 and I have two children ages 4 and 2. Right now, I'm feeling very apprehensive about leaving them in the kids club/nursery. How many kids are allowed in the club/nursery at once? Are they well supervised? With the recent change of integrating age groups, how do I know my little peanut 4 year old won't be pushed out of the way and bullied by an older child? I'd love to hear some of your experiences and a little reassurance from cruise veterans!! Thanks so much!

 

[grits98]

Is this thread still active? We're taking our first Disney Cruise in May 2011 and I have two children ages 4 and 2. Right now, I'm feeling very apprehensive about leaving them in the kids club/nursery. How many kids are allowed in the club/nursery at once? Are they well supervised? With the recent change of integrating age groups, how do I know my little peanut 4 year old won't be pushed out of the way and bullied by an older child? I'd love to hear some of your experiences and a little reassurance from cruise veterans!! Thanks so much!

I don't know if Donald70 is still reading these, but I wouldn't worry too much. We've taken cruises every year since our first child was born. For the nursery, we found it to be very well supervised. The child care providers were wonderful! There is also a one-way mirror that allows the parent an opportunity to watch his/her child without the child knowing. We used to occasionally walk by the nursery and peek in on our children just to make us feel better about their care! The nursery welcomes this.

For the 4 year-old, although we've never had any problems, I have read a few stories on this board that are a little concerning. On boarding night, DH and I will usually take our children to the Oceaneer's Club and let them run around while we talk to the caregivers. Then, the next time we take them to the Club, we go waaaay off to the side and just watch. We watch the interactions of the caregivers with all the children and also make sure our children are being included. Again, I'm a big fan of stopping by occasionally just to get that peace of mind. We have never had any problems with any caregivers and truly appreciate each of them. In fact, every time, we have run into caregivers who remembered our children from the year's previous cruise!

Oh, I don't know if it makes a difference, but we've always done week-long cruises on the Magic so the caregivers get to know our children better.

.

 

[Jenene]

I have a question about my special need children. One has Down Syndrome and is very little, she is 8 but really she fits more into the 5 year old catagory and my daughter with Autism is 10, but fits more into the mental level and interest level of a 7 year old. So.... do the DCL kids clubs make exceptions for special cases?