Disney Cruise Line - Kids Club Accommodation?

[kathleendsm]

Hello all! We're going on our first cruise in March on the Fantasy. We are all super excited! I was hoping to get some advice from anyone who has been there and done that. Our DS has a rare chromosome abnormality which led to various developmental delays. At this point, he's just about 4 1/2 and not potty trained yet. He'll be turning 5 on the cruise and we're very much hoping he'll be there by then, but I'm a realist, and it's possible that he won't be.

I know they require potty training for the kids club. But I've also heard that they are VERY accommodating to kids with disabilities. Is there any accommodation on the pottying? Would they allow him to wear pull ups and then call us to change him if need be, or would they possibly change him in the nursery? I'm ok with either one, I'd just hate to have him not be able to experience the club with his sister, especially since I know he can't use the pools if he isn't potty trained.

Any help is welcome!! He also has apraxia of speech and so is (right now) largely non-verbal, but that doesn't concern me nearly as much as the potty stuff.

 

[lanejudy]

A year ago, I believe DCL was more accommodating to children with developmental delays, but in the past year they have gone from very accommodating to very strict on age and rules to a somewhat more relaxed attitude but not as accommodating as earlier years. It used to be that a parent/adult could join a child in the Club/Lab at any time for any reason - just to share time together, because child was shy, parents were nervous to leave child, child needed additional assistance, etc. - but as of last winter adults are not allowed in the Club/Lab only during "open house" times, and children must be accompanied by an adult during these hours (drop-off care is only allowed at the "other" side of the Club/Lab).

They do require that the child be toilet-trained for the Oceaneer Club/Lab. The CMs absolutely will NOT help in the restrooms in any manner - that means the child must be able to do their own clothing adjustments and all person hygiene. I have heard varying reports of people who were told that an older child in pull-ups would be allowed, as long as someone came back regularly to help with toileting; and staff would page the parents if necessary. It MAY depend on how busy they are either during the cruise in general (some cruises have more children onboard than at other times) or on the particular day/time.

If reading the DisBoards, be careful of posts related to the kids clubs that are more than maybe 6 months old because of the changes in policy.

However, I don't want to turn you off. My DD8 has developmental delays and last winter was prone to accidents (frequently came home from school in a change of clothes) but she had a terrific time in the Oceaneer Club on the Dream last February, and no accidents!

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[kathleendsm]

Thank you! I have heard they're getting very strict on ages in the clubs (both those of the kids and keeping adults out). I'm currently in the middle of an ADA legal battle with my son's preschool to get them to accommodate his diapering in the classroom, so I'm feeling sensitive to this subject right now.

I'm hoping that if nothing else, they'll let him play there for a couple of hours and we can then come back and either take him or just change him and let him stay. I don't mind at all that the CMs won't do it, and I understand why. But I know he'd have a great time in there, and honestly, DH and I are hoping for some adult time.

 

[lanejudy]

You're welcome, and I completely understand where you are coming from. I noticed there weren't other responses here on disAbilities - you might try cross-posting on the Cruise forum. I know I've read posts there about people who's special needs child was not yet potty-trained, so someone might be able to share first hand experience.

 

[rmt32481]

We went in February of this year with my 4 year old son who has autism and at the time was non-verbal. I let them know that he was not fully potty trained and asked if I could check on him every hour or so and they were completely ok with that. I went through special services and they called me and helped me set that all up. I made sure to have the special services approval with me when i checked him in just in case there was a fuss. I was called in for an accident once and they were fine with it, the other times I just went in and changed him when I figured it was about time.

We were on Mexican riviera cruise. We are going on the fantasy in may 2013. Praying he is potty trained fully by then though!

 

[mauisam]

I can give you some insight on our experience with my 7yo son on our first Disney cruise 5 years ago. He has severe developmental delays. Even now he's at about an 18 month level, both physical and mental. We were resigned with the fact that he would be with us the whole cruise, since the clubs require potty training and he was too old for the nursery.
In fact the clubs welcomed him with open arms.
We spoke to the manager on our first day and he said 'No Problem' and had us sit with one of the counselors and she took pages of notes about Sammy. We felt very comfortable leaving him in the clubs and he and his twin (a typical boy) had a great time in the clubs. The counselors had our pager and we would change his diapers when needed. The trip was great!
In fact, another parent noticed Sammy at dinner and said ‘There’s Hula-Hoop boy!’ Apparently, while the other kids had a Hula-Hoop contest, he kept cracking up when the hoops hit the ground. They gave him a hoop to play with and he would laugh for hours.
Luckily for us he has very few medical issues. No special medicine or equipment (besides the chair). We have another cruise this October. I hope we have similar experience.
Good Luck and Have Fun
mauisam

 

[reagansmom]

Sent you a PM!

 

[Momma2Jax]

Just wanted to add my experience, we were on the wonder last week with my DS who has several medical and developmental disabilities. We didn't plan to use the club because he is no where near potty trained, we did, however, go in there with him several times during open house hours. This is a time where you can go in and let him play, join in activities, etc, and be there with him,

While we were in there the CMs told us that it would not be a problem to leave him in there, especially since it was not a full cruise. They said that they would assign 1 CM to him to keep an eye on him, and we would just need to check on him often for diapering. We never did leave him, but I am confident that we could have. We did check him into the nursery once to eat at Palo, and they were excellent with him, they had toddler toys in there, as well as baby stuff.

Of course I can't promise you will have the same experience, but I would not hesitate to go in during an open house time, let them see him play, and talk to them about it. The worst they can say is no!