My DW and I are a little curious whether the DS (11) will like the kids' clubs. He is bigger than little Prince, but not quite a full fledged Prince Charming yet. Think Simba...
Truthfully, I've found that MOST kids like the kids clubs, but not always, or all the time, or for all activities.
The counselors tend to be great (from my limited experience with 1
Disney cruise!), but part of it depends on what activity they are doing at the moment, and what the "chemistry" is with the other kids (ie the mix, personalities, and ages of the other kids).
There were some activities that my kids just were not into...others, we had to drag them out of the kids club to force them to spend "family time".
Get "Simba" checked into the kids club at the port, and later that day, take him down (ok, *up*) to the kid's club, and have him meet with the counselors, and tour the facilities. If he's engaged enough during the visit, you might want to let him stay an hour or so to see how he likes it.
After that, during the cruise, you will receive the daily Navigator, outlining the events for that day. Each morning, go over that day's kids' club activities schedule with him, and see if there are activities he might be interested in (especially on sea days).
Again, it all seems based on the chemistry with the counselors, the mix of other kids, and the activities, so on some days he may be excited to go, others he may say "no way".
Honestly, my girls love doing late night kids' club because it gives them an excuse to stay up late (and my wife and I some time with other adults!)
If we had a magic wand, we would like the girls to use the kids' clubs during the late evenings, during our Palo reservations, and part of the sea days (so we can do wine tasting, etc.) However, the reality is that things will never go exactly as planned, so the trick to cruising is to not be wed too much to a set plan.
That being said, they ARE going to kids club during our Palo reservations. The End.
