Edge and 11 year olds?

[su_A_ve]

Unfortunately there is mis-information provided shoreside. While it MAY be allowed for a child in the overlap to utilize both club spaces (in this case, Lab and Edge) - it is not guaranteed. For every poster who has indicated their child was allowed back-and-forth, there's a poster who will report their child had to make a choice and stick with it. The recommendation is that if your child MIGHT like the Edge, then he/she should attend the meeting on the first night when the programming for the cruise is discussed and planned. After that, if he/she doesn't like what was discussed/planned, he/she can opt down to the lower Club/Lab. If they miss this planning session, they may feel left out and not make good connection with the others.

Essentially, don't expect any age child will be allowed access to multiple kids clubs. It may be allowed based on the capacity and demographics of your particular cruise, but it may not.

Enjoy your cruise!

Last August on the Dream, my then DS11.5 wasn't sure about Edge (nor were we). So we went in steps - First Lab, then added check in/out. By the 2nd day he wanted to try Edge, so he did, and he enjoyed it and had a blast.

All this time, he kept his wristband in case he wanted to go back to Lab. We asked about this, and were told there was no problem.

He never went back to Lab in the end, except for the last day to return the wristband...

My .02...

 

[collsander]

I am new to the boards and this is my first post. We were on the Jan 12 sailing of the Fantasy. I have two boys age 9(almost 10) and 11 (almost 12). I was concerned that my sometimes shy 11 year old would not want to go to the Edge since he would not know anyone there. I thought he might want to stay with his brother. When we arrived at check-in, I spoke to the CM at the youth activities desk and I was told that my son could do both, but he would have to remove his Mickey Band (required for The Lab) before entering. We went ahead and registered him, got the Mickey band and once we were on board went to the open house at The Edge. I was so wrong, he loved The Edge removed his Mickey Band and spent many many hours there.

My 9 year old enjoyed his time in the Lab but was disappointed he could not go to The Edge. There was another family that inquired about having their son who would be 11 in 2 weeks go to the Edge and he was told no.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[KristiMc]

My 11 year old loved the Edge. We were on the Magic in June and he had just turned 11 at the end of April. He went to the meeting on the first night and made some friends and he hung out with them all week.

 

[lbgraves]

Also, you have to be 10 for the Edge, right? DS will turn 10 on April 24, but our cruise is April 16-20th so he will be a tad shy of 10, so he CAN'T go with his big sister, right? Thx.

A 9 yo will not be allowed to go to the Edge at all by any reports.

..... When we arrived at check-in, I spoke to the CM at the youth activities desk and I was told that my son could do both, but he would have to remove his Mickey Band (required for The Lab) before entering. ....My 9 year old enjoyed his time in the Lab but was disappointed he could not go to The Edge. There was another family that inquired about having their son who would be 11 in 2 weeks go to the Edge and he was told no.

Just one example of the inconsistency of rules being applied based on which cruise you are on.

 

[3princessMommy]

While I know it's not popular on these boards, I do have my fingers crossed for an age-up on our upcoming cruise. We have a 12-year-old boy, an 11-year-old DD, and her almost 11-year-old BFF going with us on this trip. All three have made friends with other kids going on our cruise that range from 11-13 years old. We will be very disappointed if DD's BFF can't stay together with her in the Edge. They are in the same class at school, and clearly are not having trouble connecting with the 12 and 13 year olds on our cruise meet board.

We have told DD that if her BFF is not allowed to go to The Edge, they will both stay in the Lab. But then they won't really be able to hang out with their new DisMeet friends. I imagine they will do a lot more hanging out by the pool or the cabin, instead of in constructive activities in the Lab or Edge if they are not allowed to go to the Edge. We'd definitely be disappointed, but they'll survive.

 

[momto2girls]

Unfortunately, my 10 year old feels the same way about the Lab -- doesn't want to be in a place where a bunch of 3 year olds are running around (much bigger age difference than 10 to 14). So, he will probably be asking to move up into the Edge so that he can be with kids closer to his own age. His 12 year old sister will also be in the Edge, which will help at the beginning, though I am sure they will make their own friends and move in different circles once things get going.

Hopefully, your 14 year old will find friends his own age and be able to ignore the fact that younger kids are there too.

Amy

My younger DD turns 10 on our cruise in April. If offered the opportunity, she would jump at the chance to go to the Edge with her 12 year old sister. I am not expecting it though and understand that they have to cut the age limits somewhere. There is no way that she will go into the Lab though, and I can't blame her! I understand that it is way too babyish for her, so she is in the limbo right now as there is no kids club right for her.

On our last cruise in September 2012, DD9 absolutely refused to go into the Lab. It was our 5th Disney cruise and by then she realized that she had definitely outgrown it. Actually, she figured it out on the cruise prior (February 2012). We convinced her to sign up for the Lab, but she went twice for about 1/2 hour each and immediately signed herself out and said she was done.

It's a bit of a bummer that she doesn't "fit" anywhere this time, especially considering it is her birthday cruise, but I'm sure she will still have fun.

 

[kcashner]

My younger DD turns 10 on our cruise in April. If offered the opportunity, she would jump at the chance to go to the Edge with her 12 year old sister. I am not expecting it though and understand that they have to cut the age limits somewhere. There is no way that she will go into the Lab though, and I can't blame her! I understand that it is way too babyish for her, so she is in the limbo right now as there is no kids club right for her.

On our last cruise in September 2012, DD9 absolutely refused to go into the Lab. It was our 5th Disney cruise and by then she realized that she had definitely outgrown it. Actually, she figured it out on the cruise prior (February 2012). We convinced her to sign up for the Lab, but she went twice for about 1/2 hour each and immediately signed herself out and said she was done.

It's a bit of a bummer that she doesn't "fit" anywhere this time, especially considering it is her birthday cruise, but I'm sure she will still have fun.

DD had a lot of bad cruises at lab age, and that was before the tween group or any overlap. It's a tough age for them to quickly make friends However, part of the problem of a 10 year old not "fitting" is the issue of moving them up. The more they allow move up of kids who aren't totally at the overlap age, the more their correct age program becomes "dummed down." And then the older kid program gets too babyish for the correct age kids there.....Oh well......

 

[PrincessShmoo]

What's wrong with playing by the rules? If you have a kid in the overlap age area, choose a club. If they don't meet the age requirement, they go in the club they are eligible for.

Life ain't fair, sometimes.

 

[wallawallakids]

What's wrong with playing by the rules? If you have a kid in the overlap age area, choose a club. If they don't meet the age requirement, they go in the club they are eligible for.

Life ain't fair, sometimes.

I don't have a problem "playing by the rules" and picking a club but that isn't what I was told. I think that is where the confusion is coming in. A CM actually told me over the phone that my DD was lucky because she could go back and forth. I didn't ask. It was unsolicited advice. If it isn't true, that is fine, but then it really should be black and white for those of us who are easily confused by CMs telling us conflicting information.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I don't have a problem "playing by the rules" and picking a club but that isn't what I was told. I think that is where the confusion is coming in. A CM actually told me over the phone that my DD was lucky because she could go back and forth. I didn't ask. It was unsolicited advice. If it isn't true, that is fine, but then it really should be black and white for those of us who are easily confused by CMs telling us conflicting information.

Sorry for the snippy post.

But, one of the first things that we learn here is that the CMs on the phone really don't know about how things work on the cruises, indeed, some of them have never been on any cruise, much less Disney. If you call and ask the same question of 4 different CMs, most likely you'll get 4 different replies.

I would set my (whatever age) child up with the information as to what the ages are for each club and which one(s) they would be able to check out the first night. IMO, it's a good time to make the point that growing up involves choices. "You can go into Edge or Lab because you are 11, but you must pick one". That way, if the CMs onboard are allowing crossovers, all the better, if that's what your child wants.

I agree allowing younger than specified ages to "go up" is making the various club levels not as attractive to those on the higher end of each club.

 

[wallawallakids]

Sorry for the snippy post.

But, one of the first things that we learn here is that the CMs on the phone really don't know about how things work on the cruises, indeed, some of them have never been on any cruise, much less Disney. If you call and ask the same question of 4 different CMs, most likely you'll get 4 different replies.

I would set my (whatever age) child up with the information as to what the ages are for each club and which one(s) they would be able to check out the first night. IMO, it's a good time to make the point that growing up involves choices. "You can go into Edge or Lab because you are 11, but you must pick one". That way, if the CMs onboard are allowing crossovers, all the better, if that's what your child wants.

I agree allowing younger than specified ages to "go up" is making the various club levels not as attractive to those on the higher end of each club.

Thank you. This is our first cruise so we have no idea how anything works. I guess it is kind of like when you call WDW and they say you can have guaranteed connecting rooms but you really can't. My DD can just hang out with her sibs in the OC. I doubt they will be in there that much anyway. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[momto2girls]

DD had a lot of bad cruises at lab age, and that was before the tween group or any overlap. It's a tough age for them to quickly make friends However, part of the problem of a 10 year old not "fitting" is the issue of moving them up. The more they allow move up of kids who aren't totally at the overlap age, the more their correct age program becomes "dummed down." And then the older kid program gets too babyish for the correct age kids there.....Oh well......

Oh, I get it. It is fine that she doesn't go to a Kids Club. None of them are appropriate for her right now and that is okay. She is excited that she will be able to go to the Edge when she is 11. I don't have the heart to tell her that after our Med cruise this summer, we are probably done with Disney cruises. (At that point, we will have done all of the "routes" and since Disney isn't great about adding new destinations, we'll have to move to another cruise line.)

 

[JnDRader]

DD had a lot of bad cruises at lab age, and that was before the tween group or any overlap. It's a tough age for them to quickly make friends However, part of the problem of a 10 year old not "fitting" is the issue of moving them up. The more they allow move up of kids who aren't totally at the overlap age, the more their correct age program becomes "dummed down." And then the older kid program gets too babyish for the correct age kids there.....Oh well......

Yeah. Some age group has to pay I don't envy whoever's in charge of this stuff for Disney. I'm sure they're aware of the problem but they just don't have the space to resolve it. There has to be a way to get the 10yo's "into" some activities at the lab. On our April cruise DD and her best fried will both be just weeks shy of turning 11. It'll either be the Edge or roaming for them.

 

[hudson3709]

What about the Out and About activities? They say they are for 8-14 and often are in an open house at the Edge (this is according to the 8 night Magic Navigators I just read)

That is what we are planning for our daughter and her group of friends. There are 4 in the 12-14 age range but 1 is 8 years old. They will be inseparable during the cruise, and when they read about the out and about activities, they became very happy.

Have any here had any real world experience with the out and about activities?

 

[jjje]

I wish they would just set the guidelines and enforce them the same way across the board. My 12 (almost 13) year old is going to be annoyed if there are 9 year olds the Edge when he's there. It seems like maybe this is just a case of Disney trying too hard to keep everyone happy and that just can't be done.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

I wish they would just set the guidelines and enforce them the same way across the board. My 12 (almost 13) year old is going to be annoyed if there are 9 year olds the Edge when he's there. It seems like maybe this is just a case of Disney trying to hard to keep everyone happy and that just can't be done.

I agree. I just don't understand why it's so hard to do. A 10 year old is too "grown" to be with 8 year olds? Really? Maybe, if parents stop treating their 10 year olds like teenagers, they would be happy to just be kids.

 

[ZoeBell]

On my recent cruise on the Wonder my daughter thought the Edge was to babyish and in her words "lame". Including the activities. Needless to say she didn't go there. She didn't bother with Vibe either. Her and her friend roamed the ship.

 

[lbgraves]

What about the Out and About activities? They say they are for 8-14 and often are in an open house at the Edge (this is according to the 8 night Magic Navigators I just read)

That is what we are planning for our daughter and her group of friends. There are 4 in the 12-14 age range but 1 is 8 years old. They will be inseparable during the cruise, and when they read about the out and about activities, they became very happy.

Have any here had any real world experience with the out and about activities?

When DD was 10 she had to have an adult with her to go to the activities in the Edge that were listed as out and about.

I wish they would just set the guidelines and enforce them the same way across the board. My 12 (almost 13) year old is going to be annoyed if there are 9 year olds the Edge when he's there. It seems like maybe this is just a case of Disney trying too hard to keep everyone happy and that just can't be done.

My kids feel that they had to wait until the specified age to be in the Edge, so the other kids should as well.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

As a PP mentioned, age is just a number. I work in an elementary school and the difference between one 5 yo and another is huge. Even the difference between one 10 yo and another can be vast. It seems like the kids and the parents should be able to decide which activities and security level is appropriate for their child without a specific age being required. If a child is not able to participate appropriately, then a CM can inform the parents and adjustments can be made.

My DD will be in a hard situation on our cruise in December. She will be 10, but is a year ahead in school, so all of the friends she normally hangs out with will be 11 going on 12. But, we are traveling with her sister (7) and her cousins (9, 7, and 4) so she may want to hang out with them. But she may also find OL to have activities that aren't suited to her age level. Is it reasonable to expect her to play "baby" games all week? It is her vacation too.

Luckily, she is an easy going kid and will adjust to whatever is required, but I get frustrated with people who look at these things in absolutes and want to do everything "by the book" without considering each case individually.

 

[lbgraves]

Unfortunately, not every parent is objective about their child's level so of course they all need to be in the older group. Reality is not always what the parent believes and so it does affect those who are meant to be in a club. Last cruise there was an issue with an almost 10 yo being allowed into the Edge. They bullied other kids physically and then threw coins at the CMs when they were trying to meet with the group about the rules in the club. Their parent had to sign a form to get them into the Edge at age 10, but obviously were mistaken about their child's proper placement. The kid was essentially banned from the Edge for the rest of the cruise the second day.

My DD is also 1-2 years younger than most of her classmates and was 10 in 6th grade, but the rules are the rules and she was not able to go to Edge that cruise.