8 year old...club or lab?

[mommykeg]

My DD will be 8 when we go on our first Disney Cruise in July 2005. DS will be 4. I noticed that they used to have the 8 year olds in the club with the 6 and 7 year olds, but have changed their age ranges and now have the 8 year olds with the 9 year olds in the lab. I'm concerned for 2 reasons. First, DD will have just turned 8 and it seems that she would be more comfortable with the 6 and 7 year olds in the club than she would be with the 9 to 12 year olds in the lab. Second, her brother will be in the club, and I think they would be more comfortable together in the evenings for movies, etc. Any advice from anyone with an 8 year old? Where were they most comfortable? Would it be OK for me to keep her in the club...or would she have more fun in the lab?

 

[DVC Mary]

They will be separated frequently anyway except for the evening movie time. My DSs 4 & 7 loved everything, but the 7 yr old yearned to be in the lab w/ the bigger cooler kids who got to do more fun stuff according to him. He had a great time anyway. My DSs almost never played w/ each other or watched the movies together. My little guy was too busy playing w/ all his new friends. He would beg me to put him back in the club if he was bored w/ what the family was doing. He spent more time there & the 7 yr old hung out w/ us a little more than I thought but it worked out great. He did things w/ us that the 4 yr old would never had the patience to do. We felt a little guiltly about it at times, but realized he was happier there.

They let my 7 yr old move down only once during the cruise (he only wanted to do it once--the time Mickey came to sing the MM song). He enjoyed doing that w/ his bro. but never asked to do anything else w/ him. You could start him out in the lab & if he hates it for some strange reason, move him down, but I think you'd have to leave him there or only do it once.

Happy sailing!

 

[Mickeylover]

My DS was in the 5-7 group on our first cruise, and found lots of the activities a little bit too "baby" for him. He was in the lab this year and far preferred it to the club--there was just more to interest him there. His group was 8 and 9 year olds so I don't feel he felt out of place or overwhelmed by older kids. (but he did have check out priveleges so he could come and go as he wanted.)

I think this one fits into the "all children are different" category.

 

[jcemom]

I just asked a similar question on a different thread. I was wondering if my 13 year old would be able to move down to be with my 12 year old. Do they allow that? He is very shy and I know he wouldn't go to the teen group if he had to go alone. It (the teen group) sounds like it's all about socializing and he woudn't like it at all from what I've read. Do they make exceptions like that? Or should I wait another year until they can go to the teen group together?

 

[Karel]

My daughter was a week from being 8 on our last cruise and had a great time in the Club. She's really good with younger kids and was more into the dress up/ fantasy stuff. I think she liked being 'the big kid'.

 

[kcashner]

Kids can be moved, but it requires permission of the counsellors and will only happen ONCE (they're strict on this one.) Officially, they have to be within 30 days of the next birthday to move up, although there are exceptions made to this to allow family members to be together.

My suggestion is this. Put the kids into their age appropriate group at the beginning. If they are not happy, then move them down. Since they can only move once....once you move them down, they can't be unhappy there and go back to age appropriate groups.

Also...in the Lab, there is an 8-9 group and a 10-12 group. Thus, your 8 year old isn't going to be grouped with the 12 year olds.

Yes, your 13 year old can be with the 12s...but try him in the 13s first. My DD had her 13th birthday on the ship, and LOVED the teen area. Most of the "scheduled" activities are social/games, but there is a list of stuff (crafts, etc.) that can be done at any time. The kids just need to ask the counsellors (and that is noted on their navigator).

We've been thru the club, lab, and stack with the same child...and I really do feel that the age appropriate groups work best with the vast majority of kids. The Lab was "lame" according to DD at age 12, but she really wasn't ready for the teens (even if she thought otherwise!)

 

[CM_Mom]

My first impulse would be to stick with the age groupings that DCL has. They have lots of experience with kids (between 700 - 1000 under 13 each cruise) and have age appropriate activities planned.

I also wouldn't plan to make any decision till next June. Then I'd evaluate my DD to see if she seems to fit better with older kids or with younger ones. Which groups does she gravitate to at church or other social situations? Every child is different and you want your DD to be where she will enjoy the cruise best.

The best thing to plan is to TALK TO THE COUNSELORS. They will work with you to find the situation that's best for your DD.

 

[nedleycan]

Our children always found the clubs catered to younger children, but they have gone to school since they were 2.5 years old and are used to structure and used to playing/working with older children. But, one of my friends on our last DCL cruise put her older son with her younger child and he had a great time. But, he had a stay-at-home mom, and wasn't as used to organized activities. If your child has done any school/preschool, they would probably prefer the older group. My son who was 3, was bored to death in the 3-4 group. But, he was in a class of 2.5 - 6 year olds, so he was used to older children.
No matter what, you will have a great time!!!!