A few questions about in-room babysitting

[mirak]

My wife and I are taking our three sons to the Magic Kingdom, ages 7, 4, and 2. Staying at Wilderness Lodge.

We've got a jam-packed morning planned, including early EMH, trying to hit as many rides as possible while the crowds are lighter. It's going to be much easier to move around without our youngest, who can't ride most of the rides anyway.

So, we'd like to leave him in the room in the morning, then pick him up and bring him into the park for the afternoon/evening. I know there are in-room babysitting services, but how do they work?

Can I get them an extra key at the front desk?

Do I need to pay for parking or does the "trip charge" cover that?

Can they deliver our son to the front gates of the Magic Kingdom at a designated time so that we don't have to trek back to the lodge to pick him up?

Who do you recommend?

Finally, we'd like to take our nice stroller into the park with us in the morning to carry snacks and things and possibly the 4yo. Would a babysitter have difficulty carrying our youngest on the boat/bus to the front gates? Is that rude to request?

 

[Lincolnshire]

I can't answer the bulk of this because I haven't used babysitting at WDW. However we did just stay at WL and one day my husband brought our 2 year old to MK sans stroller. It was very easy and should be manageable for a sitter IF your kiddo will allow a relative stranger to pick him up. Mine wouldn't.

 

[kmb584]

Disney itself doesn't offer in-room babysitting services, but they will recommend Kids Nite Out, and I will too. I used the company twice, once when my daughter was 15 months and again at 22 months, and had excellent experiences both times. Both sitters came 15-20 minutes before their scheduled time to allow time to go over my daughter's routine, what activities I was okay with, what her food preferences were, etc. I didn't have to pay for their parking. I always ask for an extra key at check-in so I had one on hand to give to the sitter, but I'm sure the front desk would print one for you too. They aren't allowed to take the child off of resort grounds (nor participate in anything involving water) so you would need to pick your son up at the designated time.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Just one thing to clarify; there are actually only a few rides that your little one will not be able to ride. Very few that your four year old can ride, but your toddler can not. Unless you expect the sitter to keep a toddler happy in a hotel room all morning, I would be sure to leave a stroller. That way they can at least go to the playground and around the resort. Have you considered hiring a sitter to go into the park with you and help there instead. I just can not imagine leaving a child in the room in the hotel during the best part of the day while the rest of you do the parks. The afternoons are going to be much more crowded and your other kids tired by then. In room sitters can do most activities except water activities.

 

[Alesia]

I would just bring the little one with you in the morning. There are very few rides a 2 year old can't go on, but you can get a rider switch pass for those. I don't see the point of keeping a 2 year old cooped up at the resort in the morning and then bringing him in the afternoon when the lines are longer. Especially if you want to bog yourself down with a stroller anyway. Managing a stroller in WDW is way more difficult than managing a toddler.

 

[ajwolfe]

I would just bring the little one with you in the morning. There are very few rides a 2 year old can't go on, but you can get a rider switch pass for those. I don't see the point of keeping a 2 year old cooped up at the resort in the morning and then bringing him in the afternoon when the lines are longer. Especially if you want to bog yourself down with a stroller anyway. Managing a stroller in WDW is way more difficult than managing a toddler.

Ditto this! For the most part your 2 year old is going to be able to ride everything with you all, with the exception of just a couple of rides. We've never used a sitter at Disney so I can't recommend one, but we have taken both of our kids into the parks at that age and had a blast with them!

 

[JC Butterfly]

I have used care.com to find sitters in cities around the country. I was very fortunate to find Victoria last year and used her again this past year. She was willing to do just about any combo of services we wanted: watch kid at hotel, help out in park, meet us at park, etc. I never asked her to transport in a vehicle our children but she did take Disney transportation with them. Her rates were reasonable and my children beg me to spend time with her (they always complain when I come back too soon from a night out with my husband because they want her to stay).

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post her info but she recently started her own business so will try: http://vacationsitterfl.com/

 

[Lisa71]

We have used kids nite out and they were safe and good.

 

[Marthasor]

We've used Kids Nite Out and were very happy with the service.

 

[mirak]

I have used care.com to find sitters in cities around the country. I was very fortunate to find Victoria last year and used her again this past year. She was willing to do just about any combo of services we wanted: watch kid at hotel, help out in park, meet us at park, etc. I never asked her to transport in a vehicle our children but she did take Disney transportation with them. Her rates were reasonable and my children beg me to spend time with her (they always complain when I come back too soon from a night out with my husband because they want her to stay).

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post her info but she recently started her own business so will try: http://vacationsitterfl.com/

Thank you for the excellent advice. It just so happens that we already had an active care.com membership so we decided to look there.

Turns out everybody and their mom who lives in the Orlando area already has an annual pass or works at Disney, so park admission was not an issue. Within 48 hours of posting the job, I had 20 applications! One of them was Victoria. We chose her based upon your review, and also the fact that she seems to have some real initiative in setting up her own business.

I think having that extra set of hands will make taking all three boys into the park much easier. Instead of leaving the little one in the hotel room, we can take him on a few of the rides and Victoria can watch him during other rides. And hopefully she'll take some pictures of the whole family, too. Way cheaper than Di$$$ney Memory Maker!

 

[Feberin]

The Disney photographers will take pictures with your camera if you ask them. We didn't get memory maker but got lots of pictures with our own camera from Disney photographers.

Glad everything worked out well for you with the sitter.

 

[MrsRyan]

Do any of you happen to know what the hourly rate is for the extra hand within the park? And what about in-room? Do you tip them on top of their hourly rate?

 

[mirak]

Do any of you happen to know what the hourly rate is for the extra hand within the park? And what about in-room? Do you tip them on top of their hourly rate?

We're paying 15/hr, but some of the ladies that responded to our ad would have taken 10. I think anything in that range is acceptable.

 

[Cassarye]

Does anyone know if the care givers have experience dealing with a non-verbal autistic child?