3 year old - Small World Nursery or Oceaneer's Club?

[southlake]

If you had a 3 yr old onboard, did they prefer the Small World Nursery or the Oceaneer's club?

[Mizzcoreta]

I've been wondering the same thing, I have a 3yo who will be 4 in May but he also has a 2 yo brother so I don't know if they will get upset being separated. To me it looks like the club would be better suited for the 3 yo though. Mine is very excited to do the Ratatouille cooking school, he loves to help mix stuff up whenever I'm baking.

[annabug]

Hi there! My son was 3 on our first cruise on the disney dream last summer. He was fully potty trained at that time so he was able to go to the oceaneer club, and use the pools. I did not even look into the Nursery for him. I tried to view the nursery while on board just to see if he would like it, but the CM would not allow that because I did not have a child registered. I was actually glad that she turned me away. It validated has secure the nursery is. And her priority was protecting the little ones!!

As for the club, my boy has an older sister, she was 7 at the time. So that eased his entering the club. But for him, he didnt love it. We were called on multiple occasions to pick him up. Which was fine with us! We wanted him back anyway! My daughter loved the club. Which surprised us because she is quite shy and reserved.

We will be going again next May, Hoping he likes the club a little more!

Let me know if you have further questions!
annabug

[Chee Chick]

Originally Posted by annabug

Hi there! My son was 3 on our first cruise on the disney dream last summer. He was fully potty trained at that time so he was able to go to the oceaneer club, and use the pools. I did not even look into the Nursery for him. I tried to view the nursery while on board just to see if he would like it, but the CM would not allow that because I did not have a child registered. I was actually glad that she turned me away. It validated has secure the nursery is. And her priority was protecting the little ones!!

As for the club, my boy has an older sister, she was 7 at the time. So that eased his entering the club. But for him, he didnt love it. We were called on multiple occasions to pick him up. Which was fine with us! We wanted him back anyway! My daughter loved the club. Which surprised us because she is quite shy and reserved.

We will be going again next May, Hoping he likes the club a little more!

Let me know if you have further questions!
annabug

I had a very similar experience with my kids. My shy 7 year old DS loved the Club and especially the lab. My DD had just turned 3 and was newly potty trained. She enjoyed the club only during the Open Houses when DH and I could go in there with her. She cried and screamed every time we tried to leave her otherwise. We were very surprised. I think it was too overwhelming for her even with her big brother there. I wished I would have tried the nursery with her.

The big mistake I made with DD pre-cruise when talking about the kids clubs was not preparing her to be left alone without us. I didn't think it was going to be an issue with her. She is normally very outgoing and energetic.

We are trying again next May. She will be almost 5. I'm hoping for a better experience with the clubs.

[deanimal]

We just got back from cruising with a 2 year 11 month old and a just turned 4 year old. We were able to get DS registered in the Club since he's fully potty trained and we knew he'd want to be with his big sister. He did fine for an hour or two at a time, but I felt that the club was really better suited to school aged kids. If it was just him I think we would've stayed with the nursery. The CM led activities were great, but the actual space consisted mainly of screens and video games, and since my kids can't read or use a mouse yet they couldn't do much on their own. We did stop by the nursery for a look and it seemed much more toddler friendly with scooters, toy trucks, a play kitchen, dolls and strollers, blocks, etc. The club/lab had none of those things. Even my DD4 would have preferred to play in there since it was more like her preschool play area. We've decided to wait until DS starts kindergarten to take our next Disney cruise since the club is really better suited to school age kids. Still, the CMs really made an effort to engage the little ones, so we made it work for us.

[E-P-C-O-T]

Every child is different, DD3 loved the kids club. First thing we did when we boarded the Dream was go to the kids club during the openhouse to get her familiarized with the different areas and show her where the bathrooms where located. A CM approached us as we walked in and introduced herself to DD and walked around showing her the different rooms and she even helped her play one of the games in the computer. I think this helped a lot. When we first dropped her up, she walked right up to the desk and told the CM she was ready to play and knew where to go.

DD ended up spending at least 3 hours a day at the club and we would have to bribe her in order to get her to leave They played games, dress up, sang songs and even met the characters. On our last night when I went to pick her up she was having an one on one with Tinkerbell She had a blast!!

[AZMermaid]

Originally Posted by deanimal

We just got back from cruising with a 2 year 11 month old and a just turned 4 year old. We were able to get DS registered in the Club since he's fully potty trained and we knew he'd want to be with his big sister. He did fine for an hour or two at a time, but I felt that the club was really better suited to school aged kids. If it was just him I think we would've stayed with the nursery. The CM led activities were great, but the actual space consisted mainly of screens and video games, and since my kids can't read or use a mouse yet they couldn't do much on their own. We did stop by the nursery for a look and it seemed much more toddler friendly with scooters, toy trucks, a play kitchen, dolls and strollers, blocks, etc. The club/lab had none of those things. Even my DD4 would have preferred to play in there since it was more like her preschool play area. .

This is really nice to hear. I have heard so many accounts of 2 year olds being bored to death I was picturing only stacking blocks and soft books in there! My kids will be 17 and 34 months when we travel in July and I would like to keep them together. My older one though is almost "fully" potty trained right now (just working on the pulling up part) and is ALL boy! I am glad to read there is stuff for that age to do. And my all boy boy, loves to push strollers around (usually full speed and full of trucks- but will tone it down when directed) so if there are baby strollers in there, he will be in heaven!

[DisMom1981]

Originally Posted by southlake

If you had a 3 yr old onboard, did they prefer the Small World Nursery or the Oceaneer's club?

I had a DS 3 years 4 mos in the nursery. The kids club was a lot of fun during open house- but too much independence required for my guy to be left on his own there. He was not really ready to self advocate. Like a PP said- the age range is big if you consider there are school age and pre k kids mixed. Plus the space was so big. Though the nursery may have been young for him - I had peace of mind while he was there with his 1 yo sister. The toys were still fun for him - similar to pre school toys and he was the big helper. Obviously every child is different. Check out both when you board and go with your gut.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

[southlake]

Originally Posted by DisMom1981

I had a DS 3 years 4 mos in the nursery. The kids club was a lot of fun during open house- but too much independence required for my guy to be left on his own there. He was not really ready to self advocate. Like a PP said- the age range is big if you consider there are school age and pre k kids mixed. Plus the space was so big. Though the nursery may have been young for him - I had peace of mind while he was there with his 1 yo sister. The toys were still fun for him - similar to pre school toys and he was the big helper. Obviously every child is different. Check out both when you board and go with your gut.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

This is what I'm thinking after reading everyone's responses. I'm now leaning towards the nursery because of the preschool-age toys available, which she likes, and I don't want a 12 year old running over my 3 year old toddler or anything. That is a big age difference. We will check out both but I'm now leaning towards the nursery.!

[Momma2Jax]

My DS was 3 years 9mo, but he has developmental delays and special needs. He LOVED the nursery! He was only in there once, but they did a craft with him, he played with trucks, and they had lots of preschool aged toys.

[KPetty725]

Originally Posted by southlake

If you had a 3 yr old onboard, did they prefer the Small World Nursery or the Oceaneer's club?

We just got off an 8-night on the magic with a 6-year-old and a just-turned-3-year-old. Both girls LOVED the Oceaneer Club. We did the nursery on our last cruise (DD was 1.5) and she did ok. They did crafts and were good taking her when she was crying. The nice thing about the nursery is you're paying so they deal with the kids unless its a true emergency. This time, my DH and I were paged a LOT for our DD3. There were a lot of older kids and she tried to keep up and ended up falling. Like a typical toddler, she would cry and ask for Mommy so they would page me but by the time I made it up there (and through the line that was inevitably at the entrance) I would find her playing and not wanting to leave. Go figure. They did take her when she cried at the entrance because I assured them she would stop within 10 minutes (again, typical toddler stuff). The one time she fell and actually got hurt (busted lip), they called instead of paging and explained that she was fine but wanted us to come get her.

They did go to the Lab once and liked it but preferred the Club. It was more their speed. :-) Hope this helps!

[momof3poohlovers]

I have a 3 year old as well. He will be 3 1/2 on our cruise. He won't have any older siblings in the Club so I am concerned about him being alone just left to wander around by himself. Can I try the Club and then if it doesn't work out switch him to the Nursery or do they make you stay where he is originally signed up?

[Larkinfamily]

Just tagging as I am also debating where my twin 3 11mth year olds will prefer

[DisMom1981]

Originally Posted by momof3poohlovers

I have a 3 year old as well. He will be 3 1/2 on our cruise. He won't have any older siblings in the Club so I am concerned about him being alone just left to wander around by himself. Can I try the Club and then if it doesn't work out switch him to the Nursery or do they make you stay where he is originally signed up?

That is what I wanted to do but they said once you signed up for one that was it. We cruised in July and got mixed messages from nursery and club CM's.....new staff, new ship, new procedures/some confusion I guess. Anyway it worked out for us. Could the nursery have been boring if we left him there for full days? Maybe.....but we really only did a few hours at a time and after checking them out on the first day and speaking with CM's, I knew the nursery was the right call for my kid. The point of the nursery was for my husband and I to have some carefree-ish alone time so I needed to feel confident that the kids were going to be fine and didn't mind paying for the service. We got to do Palo Brunch one day, enjoyed Satellite Falls a few times and had a dinner with just the adults in our party one night . Plus I kind of wanted middle of the day quiet time for the kids and the nursery has a quiet room. Good luck! Have an amazing trip! We can't wait to go again!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

[lanejudy]

Originally Posted by momof3poohlovers

I have a 3 year old as well. He will be 3 1/2 on our cruise. He won't have any older siblings in the Club so I am concerned about him being alone just left to wander around by himself. Can I try the Club and then if it doesn't work out switch him to the Nursery or do they make you stay where he is originally signed up?

You really won't have an answer to that question until you are onboard. Since he is already 3 yrs old, they'll expect him at the Club and you won't be able to pre-sign-up for any nursery time. That's assuming he is fully potty-trained. Once onboard, you can ask at the nursery if they will accept him - it may depend on how many little ones are on your specific cruise. Since the nursery has a lower child:caregiver ratio, they can accept fewer kids and that comes into consideration with cruise capacity.

Enjoy your cruise!