oceaneer club with not yet potty trained?

[Goofy Yno]

My DS 3 and DS 6 are excited about the oceaneer's club. (a little seed platted by my playing of Peter Pan didn't hurt). But it just occurred to me that the fact that my 3 y/o is still in diapers might Poo-poo my plans.

the boys really want to be together, But the parents don't want to be with them. (I mean, we need a little vacation time , too).
Is there any way the 3 year old can stay in the Oceaneers club without us?

BTW, I thank everyone on this forum for all the great info you have provided.
we leave next tuesday.

 

[lbgraves]

I am sorry, but a child has to be completely PTd and self-sufficient in that area to participate in the O Club. Also the kids would be in different groups...3-4 and 5-7. Your 6 yo would probably be bored with the younger activities and your 3 yo would be too young to hang out with 7 yos. Your 3 yo can go to flounders however so that you can have a little time alone. You can take your 3 yo to the club as a visitor if you stay with them though.

 

[Goofy Yno]

thanks,
I'm very sad. Not only do I think my 3 y/o will be board with the nursery, I now need to schedule when I need to take him, and have to pay for it!? meanwhile the older boy gets to go to his club when he wants, for as long as he wants.

 

[justhat]

We took our daughter to Flounder's on our last cruise and she was 2 days shy of her 3rd birthday and potty trained. We did it cause her brother was in Flounder's and we wanted them together, plus she did not like the Club at all when we did a trial observation period. She loved Flounder's though and ran right in there everytime we dropped them off so your son just might like it. Yeah, it does stink to have to pay for Flounder's, but we're putting her in there again in 2 weeks and again in July cause she has already told us she refuses to go to the Club.

 

[professorandmom]

Crash course in potty training?

Barb

 

[bumbershoot]

I personally am a fan of letting kids learn the potty on their own (rather than "training" them).

BUT my cousin did a "potty weekend" thing that they got from a Dr Phil show, and it worked beautifully. Wish I knew more than "weekend" and "dr. phil", but that's all I got for ya. Maybe you can google.

Maybe that's an option?

But I'm not sure that would make him to be as self-sufficient as they might like...

Sorry you didn't put all this together earlier! Have a great cruise anyway!!!!!!!!

 

[robsmom]

thanks,
I'm very sad. Not only do I think my 3 y/o will be board with the nursery, I now need to schedule when I need to take him, and have to pay for it!? meanwhile the older boy gets to go to his club when he wants, for as long as he wants.

Sounds like motivation to me!!! How long until the cruise and how close do you think he is to being able to be trained? Do you think he is physically ready and you could use this to motivate him. I can relate as I recall my mother telling me, don't worry he won't go to kindergarten in diapers when mine was 3 1/2ish.

 

[critters07]

We just come back from a Disney cruise in May and my 3 and 7 year old were together. We requested this and as long as our older child was okay with this...it wasn't a problem. He had to come down to the lower age group. But, we only did this until our little one got comfortable with the group then we moved our older son up to his age group.

Good Luck with the potty training!

 

[Tarabra]

I personally am a fan of letting kids learn the potty on their own (rather than "training" them).

BUT my cousin did a "potty weekend" thing that they got from a Dr Phil show, and it worked beautifully. Wish I knew more than "weekend" and "dr. phil", but that's all I got for ya. Maybe you can google.

Maybe that's an option?

But I'm not sure that would make him to be as self-sufficient as they might like...

Sorry you didn't put all this together earlier! Have a great cruise anyway!!!!!!!!

Not sure if this is the same potty weekend or not from Dr. Phil, but basically DD2.5 was done w/ diapers in just a few days. Put him in regular undies, I used the padded Gerber ones, no vinyl pants and just let him be. After a few times of pee running down his leg, he will let you know. DD's been diaper free for quite awhile now. She hated that feeling. I know you didn't ask for pt advice, but it may work for him. Mine took less than a week. Be sure to have paper towels and Resolve on hand!!

 

[Skuba2]

I am so sorry you are in this predicament. They do have to be self-sufficient. The CM's don't generally go into the bathrooms.

We have never used flounders. We left behind anyone not going to be in the clubs. For the potty issue as well as others. He took his first DCL last year. Not saying that is an option for you. Just FYI. There are plenty who work it out and have a great time. Maybe start a new thread on advice about flounders. Hints and tricks to maximizing the vacation with a child not in the clubs. Don't forget, you can use the club with your child who is over 3 but not potty trained.

Good Luck!

DG

 

[owensjro]

Yes, they do have to be potty trained. That said, my daughter had problems feeling the urge when we last cruised. She wasn't wearing diapers anymore, but did have some accidents. We made sure she knew she had to go before we would let her enter the club and we never left her in more than 2 hours without coming back and taking her to the bathroom.

If a child does have an accident while in the club they may be asked to stay out for 24 hours to make sure the child isn't sick. We used this as incentive for our child and it worked well.

Of course, since the cruise we started giving her a Disney dollar each day she was dry. She is now copletely trained and I'm broke

Jim

 

[Goofy Yno]

I'm not usually a downer person but I am extremely bummed.

after planning every detail as thoroughly as I could, I just expected my 3 year old to be in the Oceaneers club. after learning the above, I went to book him in the flounders. of course I wanted afternoon expecting him to be with us in port, but the times are booked.

do they offer more times on board? otherwise I'll have to cancel some afternoon spa appointments. so much for total rest and relaxation.

 

[Ourtwoprincesses]

Crash course in potty training?

Barb

I did this so my DD could attend an early preschool program. She started the program 2 weeks before she turned 3. She had to be fully potty trained. So I trained her a month before she started. I used school as an incentive and everytime we left the house I made sure she used the potty and everytime after we ate (about a half hour afterwards). She was trained long enough so she could go to school for a couple hours with no pull-ups/diapers. I made sure she knew how to use the potty, as they did take potty breaks, but the teachers couldn't help them. It worked. By the end of 2nd week of school she was completely trained and no more diapers at all!

So use the club as an incentive, give awards if you need to, I didn't do awards, just praised. Goodluck

Sue

 

[justhat]

I'm not usually a downer person but I am extremely bummed.

after planning every detail as thoroughly as I could, I just expected my 3 year old to be in the Oceaneers club. after learning the above, I went to book him in the flounders. of course I wanted afternoon expecting him to be with us in port, but the times are booked.

do they offer more times on board? otherwise I'll have to cancel some afternoon spa appointments. so much for total rest and relaxation.

They may be booked, but Flounder's also closes often in the afternoons. I'm not sure of the schedule exactly, but I know they were closed from about 1-5pm a couple of days. Also, they have "family time" there sometimes and I don't think they're open for drop off at those times either.

And if you can't get times now, online, then you can try onboard and should have decent luck as long as you go there pretty promptly.

 

[Goofy Yno]

They may be booked, but Flounder's also closes often in the afternoons. I'm not sure of the schedule exactly, but I know they were closed from about 1-5pm a couple of days. Also, they have "family time" there sometimes and I don't think they're open for drop off at those times either.

And if you can't get times now, online, then you can try onboard and should have decent luck as long as you go there pretty promptly.

That too bad if they close in the afternoon. I want to be with my kids in the morning, esp since it is only a 4 day cruise and we'll be in ports most of the time. It was the afternoon I was hoping to keep them occupied, so we could go to the spa, take naps or NAPS or get ready for dinner.

 

[justhat]

That too bad if they close in the afternoon. I want to be with my kids in the morning, esp since it is only a 4 day cruise and we'll be in ports most of the time. It was the afternoon I was hoping to keep them occupied, so we could go to the spa, take naps or NAPS or get ready for dinner.

I double checked for you with one of our old Flounder's times guides from our February cruise. Flounder's was open roughly 9-1 and 5:30-midnight everyday. Here's a link to the Navigators from the 4 night cruise which has the Flounder's times listed on the 1st page of each day's Navigators under "Operating Hours". http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL-Navigator-4-Day-Aug06/index.htm Seems like it's about the same hours, but sometimes it's open till 2 or 2:30 instead of 1pm. Sorry about that, but at least you'll be prepared for the trip now.

BTW, are you leaving this Tuesday for the cruise that leaves on Father's Day? We're going on the 4 night the week after, June 24th. If I'm reading this right we'll miss you by a week, otherwise I'd babysit for you!

 

[Goofy Yno]

I double checked for you with one of our old Flounder's times guides from our February cruise. Flounder's was open roughly 9-1 and 5:30-midnight everyday. Here's a link to the Navigators from the 4 night cruise which has the Flounder's times listed on the 1st page of each day's Navigators under "Operating Hours". http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL-Navigator-4-Day-Aug06/index.htm Seems like it's about the same hours, but sometimes it's open till 2 or 2:30 instead of 1pm. Sorry about that, but at least you'll be prepared for the trip now.

BTW, are you leaving this Tuesday for the cruise that leaves on Father's Day? We're going on the 4 night the week after, June 24th. If I'm reading this right we'll miss you by a week, otherwise I'd babysit for you!

very nice, but of course I would never take you up on that.

we leave tuesday. 5 days at DW than the four night cruise leaving sunday june 17- so I guess yes it is the Father's day cruise. I haven't really thought about that. we are taking both grandmothers as a thank you for one of them babysitting when we go away (couldn't leave the other one out). so we don't want to leave the kids with them. we are very excited. should be a fun time. the kids first time to Disney (and the DGms will be there to enjoy the whole thing.)

 

[DisneyPhD]

We just come back from a Disney cruise in May and my 3 and 7 year old were together. We requested this and as long as our older child was okay with this...it wasn't a problem. He had to come down to the lower age group. But, we only did this until our little one got comfortable with the group then we moved our older son up to his age group.

Good Luck with the potty training!

Me too (cruise in May) but my girls were 2 and 6 (turning 3 this summer.) My 2 year old is potty trained and after talking with her at flounders, they had no problem moving her up to OC. They moved her big sister to the 3-5 group, but she could move up when her sister wasn't around. This worked out great. It was a good thing big sister was around, because while my 2 year old is very good at using the potty she still needs "help" and they could not give it to her. Big sister had to host her unto the potty (smaller then normal ones, but still bigger then a tolder potty.) They did have potty seats, but they were hung up high where she couldn't reach them. She also needed other cothes help so it was good to have big sister around. Big sister didn't mind.

Anyway my 6 year old ended up spending a lot more time in the club then her little sister. She would move up groups then with no problem. We also never left little sister for longer then 2 hours, while big sister was comfortable staying for longer (after all she is in school.)

While the club was fun, there was so much else to do as a family that the kids wanted to be with us much of the time.

Getting to use the pool and go to OC was a big motivation for DD getting potty trained. If you son isn't he can not use the pool on the boat either. Not being potty trained, and not being baby is kind of a downer for kids on the cruise.

I would work on motivation since you can't change your date. If not Flounders is an option.