Kids club questions..trying to plan which activities to do

[sfven]

1.Can kids be dropped after an activity starts or picked up before it ends if it overlaps our dinner or evening show time? For example, they would want to see the comedy magic show but it overlaps with main dining time. So could we drop them off when it starts, go to the dining room and order their food, then one of the adults pick them up before the end of the magic show to bring them back to the dining room? There are several activities that look to overlap but we don't want them to miss any. Or do most kids skip the sit-down dinners since they are so long?

2.If an activity is done somewhere other than the club, can we take them straight there or do they need to be checked in at the club and taken with the group? Again, some of the fifteen minute transition periods overlap dining or show times.

3.I've read posts about the kids taken to the sports deck but couldn't see it on the old Navigators for the 3-4 and 5-7 yr olds. Do they only take the older kids? Actually, it looks like the 3-4yr group doesn't leave the club that often, just mainly to eat. Is that right?

4.Lastly, if you had to choose between one of the evening shows or a kids activity, which would you choose? Are the shows entertaining throughout for kids aged 3-7?

Our group leaves in two weeks for our first Disney cruise so we've compiled everyone's questions here. TIA for your help!

 

[cmom]

Great questions. I was just about to post WHAT ARE THE MUST DO KIDS ACTIVITIES.

 

[Kphelps16]

well..i'm not a "kid" anymore...i'm 16 but i think i can answer your questions...i'm considered a kid and have been on lots of cruises.

ANSWERS:
1. it's been my experience with my younger sister that this is possible. I remember very clearly once taking her up to the Wide World of Sports Deck when we simply missed the group at the club due to an oversleeping nap lol. The counselors pretty much know that kids will leave early or come late...if they are going to leave early it'd probably be best to notify someone of about what time... My sister doesn't often skip meals entirely but alot of times someone takes her up to a club when she wants to go...the dinners are long and can be boring for younger kids...If their activity goes into dinner they might want to enjoy it...although...at Animators Palate i would encourage you to have them stay...September 24th will be my 5th cruise and i'm positive it will still amaze me...the colors are beautiful and just watching the changing scenes can be fun enough to keep kids from getting restless.

2.I kinda answered that one already but yes. you can..i haven't done a cruise with a child that young in my party but if they were to leave the club you can take them straight there...one counselor usually has some sort of record keeping tool (sometimes a laptop other times just a list of the kids that are there) so just make sure you talk to someone when dropping them off or picking them up.

3.I'm actually not sure..again..sorry. That seems true though..younger kids are harder to keep together wile walking through the ship so Disney tries to keep them as contained as possible i believe.

4.It truley depends on the show. I can't imagine missing Disney Dreams or The Golden Mickeys for anything. I haven't seen any other show but both of those are tremendous and exciting. I've sat around other kids and my sister and the kids enjoy it because of the characters...even if they don't fully understand the whole idea behind it..

hope that was helpful...i realize i wrote alot...sorry...i'm a very verbose teenager...

 

[din]

It has been a while since our 2 DS (now teens) have been to the club. If I remember correctly, you can drop off the kids at any time in the club. If it is not in the club, you can take them to the location and sign them in. You cannot drop them off if they are in the process of moving from one location to the other and in the middle of a meal or a movie(somehow that stick in my mind).

The sports deck I noticed tends to be for the older kids only. Younger kids go to some locations outside the club for activities, but they do not go outside (again this sticks in my mind)

Other posters may have more up to date information.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

1.Can kids be dropped after an activity starts or picked up before it ends if it overlaps our dinner or evening show time? For example, they would want to see the comedy magic show but it overlaps with main dining time. So could we drop them off when it starts, go to the dining room and order their food, then one of the adults pick them up before the end of the magic show to bring them back to the dining room? There are several activities that look to overlap but we don't want them to miss any. Or do most kids skip the sit-down dinners since they are so long? As others have said- you can bring/take your child anytime.

2.If an activity is done somewhere other than the club, can we take them straight there or do they need to be checked in at the club and taken with the group? Again, some of the fifteen minute transition periods overlap dining or show times. You can take them anywhere- the only thing that presents a problem is if you try to drop them off or pick them up DURING the transition time. You'd need to do it either before or after the "transition" time. It presents a safety issues to try to allow kids to join them, or leave them, while transporting the kids from one place to another. They have laptops they use to check in your child if it's while they are somewhere else and not at the club.

3.I've read posts about the kids taken to the sports deck but couldn't see it on the old Navigators for the 3-4 and 5-7 yr olds. Do they only take the older kids? Actually, it looks like the 3-4yr group doesn't leave the club that often, just mainly to eat. Is that right? I can't speak about the 3-4yr olds, they probably don't go to the sports deck. But I can say with certainty from 2 cruises that ages 5 and up do go to the sports deck- and that's usually when our kids page us to come get them. LOL Our kids aren't big on being up there in the heat of the day nor are they thrilled with dodgeball...

4.Lastly, if you had to choose between one of the evening shows or a kids activity, which would you choose? Are the shows entertaining throughout for kids aged 3-7? Our first cruise we took the kids to each show- they enjoyed them. The 2nd cruise we didn't force the shows on them and they went to some, but not all. So I'd guess I'd say the first time (atleast) I'd choose taking them to the show so they can see it atleast once and then after that on future cruises they can decide for themselves if they want to see the show or do a kids activity in the club. Any show not labeled for "adults" is meant for children as well and should entertain them.

Our group leaves in two weeks for our first Disney cruise so we've compiled everyone's questions here. TIA for your help!

Hope that helps!

 

[NewportCat]

We just got off the EB repo and our kids spent alot of time in the kid's clubs (DD 8 in the Lab, DS 6 in the Club). Here is our experience:

1.Can kids be dropped after an activity starts or picked up before it ends if it overlaps our dinner or evening show time? For example, they would want to see the comedy magic show but it overlaps with main dining time. So could we drop them off when it starts, go to the dining room and order their food, then one of the adults pick them up before the end of the magic show to bring them back to the dining room?

Yes, but it may be hard to pull them away from the activities before they're done!! Once my kids got engrossed in something it was VERY hard to pull them away. The activites are short (30-60 mins) so they really engage their attention. A number of times we went to get the kids for dinner and they begged to stay in the clubs.

2.If an activity is done somewhere other than the club, can we take them straight there or do they need to be checked in at the club and taken with the group? Again, some of the fifteen minute transition periods overlap dining or show times.

The counselors take a laptop with them so you can check them in or out anywhere they are (although not sure if you can pick them up during kiddie mealtime, which were usually at Topsiders or AP) They only time you can't check them in/out is when they are in "transition", as you noted.

3.I've read posts about the kids taken to the sports deck but couldn't see it on the old Navigators for the 3-4 and 5-7 yr olds. Do they only take the older kids? Actually, it looks like the 3-4yr group doesn't leave the club that often, just mainly to eat. Is that right?

My DS 6 was in the Club and DD 8 was in the Lab and they did go to the sports deck nearly every day (or late afternoon/evening, as it got very hot near Panama). Don't know anything about the 3-4 age group.

4.Lastly, if you had to choose between one of the evening shows or a kids activity, which would you choose? Are the shows entertaining throughout for kids aged 3-7?

Some shows are better for kids than others, and it also depends on your child's interests. I can't comment on entertainment much since lots of our shows were special for the repo, but Disney Dreams is one that is especially good for the whole family. There was a hypnotist that my kids skipped - no interest - just their personal taste.

Have fun!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

(although not sure if you can pick them up during kiddie mealtime, which were usually at Topsiders or AP)

Yes, you can. They paged us to come get our daughter there the few times she went with them to eat (because she didn't like that they pre-plate their dinners, wanted to choose)

 

[sfven]

Thanks everyone for all the quick replies. We've pretty much decided everyone will eat together the first night. Then, if the kids seem restless, we won't force them to go the other nights. Although I would like them to eat at Animator's Palate once; do they do breakfast or lunch there on the 3 night Wonder? And not a question about the kids club, but do they have peanut butter on the ship?

 

[TCB in FLA]

Thanks everyone for all the quick replies. We've pretty much decided everyone will eat together the first night. Then, if the kids seem restless, we won't force them to go the other nights. Although I would like them to eat at Animator's Palate once; do they do breakfast or lunch there on the 3 night Wonder? And not a question about the kids club, but do they have peanut butter on the ship?

We started off eating together every night like we would do at home. The kids would often order first and we'd ask that their meals be brought out during our apps. We would finish up, and either DH or myself would then go check them into the club while we finished our main course. The servers are very used to this. We would then go ask if they wanted to go see the shows with us -- DS#2 would always say yes, and DS#1 about half of the time, depending on the activity in the club.

 

[sfven]

We started off eating together every night like we would do at home. The kids would often order first and we'd ask that their meals be brought out during our apps. We would finish up, and either DH or myself would then go check them into the club while we finished our main course. The servers are very used to this. We would then go ask if they wanted to go see the shows with us -- DS#2 would always say yes, and DS#1 about half of the time, depending on the activity in the club.

Thanks! We were wondering if we could bring the kids with us but have their meals come out fast so they could eat and go back to the club. That way, they can eat with us, but don't have to stay the entire time, and the adults don't feel guilty about eating without them!

I know every child's interests are different, but in general, which show would you say 3-7 year olds would enjoy the most?

 

[Kphelps16]

in general whatever character shows like Hercules and Toy Story younger kids like....But The Golden Mickey's has ALOT of characters so they would probably like that too..The only one that they might have less interest in is Disney Dreams because it's more of a message based one...although kids seem to be captivated mostly by the fact that they are watching it LIVE and in person rather than a video...i have no clue why but it happens. lol.

 

[ayumac]

About #2
You CAN pick them up DURING the transition (while they are transported from, say, club to Topsider. One time I caught them coming back from lunch climbing down through the secret stair case. I was going to follow them to the club, but a counselor just communicated using this handsfree walkie talkie device with the other counselor stationed at the club and checked my kids out right there.

Sorry, I am not sure if you could drop them of right there, but you can just go to where ever they are and sign in (secret out side deck on 7, or sport deck, wherever they are eating at, etc). They always carry terminal computers.

This was right about a month ago.

 

[rhondamccollough@hot]

One more set of answers!LOL

We just got back from a 4 night on the Wonder. I have a 3 kids...DD(8), DS(7) &DD2(5). We saw all the shows except the comedian. All three of my kids loved Golden Mickeys (they were asked to take parts after we took our seats), TOY STORY (it was awesome for me too!LOL) and Disney Dreams!!

Both my girls loved the clubs and my son did have fun on the computers but at 7 he was on of the oldest kids in the club and got bored more than the girls. My kids never asked to go to the clubs instead of the shows. I would say that my kids never spent over 2 hours a day in the clubs except our sea day...they stayed off and on all day that day cause the pools were too full to move in! They all 3 loved the dinners except maybe Tritons. Our servers were wonderful and kept them thoroughly entertained!

Hope This Helps!!!

 

[suzcruz]

one day i took my daughter to AP for lunch during the middle of the Lab's scheduled lunchtime and they let her in to eat, even though she was late. Also, she said they had premade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches there.

 

[rhondamccollough@hot]

Oh one thing I forgot is that Animator's Palatte only does the "show" one night...someone correct me if I'm wrong!

Our dining rotation had Animator's twice but one night was Pirate Night and they said they don't do the "show" on Pirate Night!

 

[sfven]

Thanks again for everyone's answers. I know the theaters discourage "saving" seats. But if the kids are doing an activity that will end the same time as a show starting, could one of us wait in the theater and "save a few seats" while the other goes to get the kids. Or are there usually plenty of seats avail somewhere if we don't show up until right at showtime? If I'll be getting dirty looks for saving seats for my kids and husband until they get back, I'd rather not do it.

 

[snowball]

Could someone go in detail about the pagers for the kids? how does that work? and does it work well, or do you recommend two way radio's for communication? My son is 11 and old enough to venture out on his own but I still want to be able to communicate with him on the ship to know where he is. I will give him check in/out prividlges.

 

[justhat]

3-4s do go to the Sports Deck. My daughter went twice on our 7 night cruise in April and once on the 5 day last week. Not sure about the shorter cruises though.

The must do activities for my daughter are any involving a character. So the DoSiDo with Snow White, Royal Ball, Pumbaa's PJ Party, hmm, there are a bunch more but I can't remember the names now. One had Peter Pan, another Alice, JoJo, Little Einsteins, oh, and Mouseketeer Training. She never did any of the pirate activities, but that's because she likes to eat with us on pirate night and then go to the pirate party on Deck 9 so there's no time for the club. I imagine those are fun too though. Other than the characters she also really liked Picture Me, or something like that, where they made picture frames.

You can definitely save seats for your kids at the shows. My SIL took our kids out of the Club about 10 minutes into a show one night and still got 4 seats together though, so you might not need to save seats unless you want really specific ones. My daughter liked Twice Charmed and Disney Dreams and didn't see the other shows as she was in the club.

If you mean for actual movies, those seemed to fill up fast. We saw WallE and the new Little Mermaid movie and both were pretty much packed to capacity both times. For that I would definitely save seats.



Regarding the above post, the pagers are for adults to hold to be notified by the clubs if your kids want to leave. For 11yos, I am pretty sure they are allowed to sign themselves in/out at will, regardless of what you want, but you can still ask to be paged when your kid leaves the club. I think. So you wouldn't really be able to communicate with your son through the pager, just know when he has left the club/arrived at the club.