Babysitter vs Kids Club

[jngwright]

Another vote for the kids clubs! We have done the Neverland club at the Poly and Sandcastle Club at the BC. Both were great and the boys didn't want to leave! They stayed when they were 5 and when they were 6. It was great to have a night at WS, just to roam and have some adult time! I think I booked about a month ahead, but depending on the season, you could reserve later than that!
Have a great trip!!!

 

[Kimberly Hill]

Just curious which one. We are staying at the GF and I know they have a kids club but I think I read some reviews saying it wasn't really that good.
I think if they had video games they could keep themselves entertained but if its just crafts and stuff they might get bored easily.

My daughter was 6 when she stayed at the GF kids' club and she loved it so much she kept requesting to go back instead of going to the parks! It was just her for most of the time and they did crafts, watched movies, played games, etc. It was her favorite part of the trip - and we did a LOT of fun stuff. LOL

 

[RMulieri]

OK, now I'm curious too. We'll be staying at CSR and our kids will be 10 and 12 when we go. My husband and I would like dinner and drinks one night alone. So what are our options? Can we leave the kids at any kids club, or do you have to be staying at that resort? Is there one at CSR? I don't remember reading about one. We were going to go with a babysitter recommended by the resort, but if I find a better idea here, I'll go with that. Thanks. (Sorry to butt in.)

You can use any of the kids clubs.They are not at all of the resorts.MOST of the deluxes have them.The Neverland Club at the poly is the best bet.Age max is 12 yrs old at all clubs and the cost is approx $11.50/per Hour PER CHILD.You can make ressies( which I do suggest) by calling Disney Dining

 

[myweegirls]

We've had great experiences with Kids Nite Out. Our younger DD is still too young for the clubs, and we don't want to split up the girls (never mind that it would be way more expensive!), so we're using KNO again this year.

If you decide to use KNO, I'd recommend booking in advance, to be on the safe side. We have booked after we got there, but I feel a bit better knowing we have a reservation ahead of time and won't have to cancel a special date night ADR! You can put in your details (obviously without the room #) on the online reservation request system, and they'll call you within a few days to confirm your details and guarantee your reservation with a credit card.

I also take that phone call opportunity to request the demographic of babysitter we'd like (we ask for college-age female to match the type of sitter they're used to at home). We've had both the "college" and the "grandmother" type and have had great success with both, so I don't at all think of this as a question of quality differences - just what our girls are more used to.

The sitters can take your kids anywhere on resort property *except* water areas - the pool stuff is, I think, just off the charts on their liability insurance. But they can walk around the grounds, go to the restaurants, play on the playgrounds, or just stay in the room and hang out. If you're at Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk, I think they get the run of the Boardwalk (read: ice cream!). The sitters come equipped with age-appropriate activities, too, which is great. We usually run to the CS location at our resort and bring back dinner for the girls or order room service, depending on the circumstances that day.

KNO charges $16.50/hour for 1 child and $18.50/hour for two. It goes up from there for more kids, but I think there is a cap at some point. There's a four-hour minimum and a $10 transportation charge. You sign off on your final bill when you get back to your room, at which point your sitter will also have written up a short summary of how your kiddos passed the time.

All in all, we've been extremely happy with this service. We're looking forward to trying out the clubs when DD3 is older, but I also like that, with KNO, they can go to bed in their rooms at something resembling a normal bedtime.

Good luck, and have fun!

XO
Liz

 

[AmyOB]

Thank you for all the replys.
Is the kids club price $11.50 per child with no 2nd child discount?
I know, discount at Disney, right

I'm also wondering if the babysitter might be the way to go since we might not make it back to get them until after 11pm. I'm sure they would have fallen asleep by then. Trying to carry them back to the room from the kids club might be a problem. At least for me. 6 year olds are heavy.
Maybe I should just ask them. I'm sure they will have an opinion. They have something to say about everything these days.

 

[mousireid]

I wondered if they would accept any special needs children? My son has Aspergers/High Functioing Autism and I wonder how he would do? I did post this question on DISabilities but am hoping someone will respond with experience in this area.
Thanks guys!

 

[jkstewart1800]

For me the question was: What time do I want my kids in bed and did we want to be home by that time.

If you have an early monring park day plan for the next day, and you don't want to be back in the room by 8, then I would go babysitter.... they will have them asleep in no time.

If you have no need for them to get to bed early, or you are going to come home "early from your date" then check out the kids clubs.

We are doing both this year, so we can have just a quick meal together and then we can have an stay up late adult park night too.

We use Fairy Godmothers - the orginal Disney sitters... we always use the same "grandmother" Vivien.... she is wonderful. They only use older moms and grandmoms...

An in room babysitter will always be cheaper than the kids clubs...(if you have more than one kid)

 

[tinkerbell198530]

For me the question was: What time do I want my kids in bed and did we want to be home by that time.

If you have an early monring park day plan for the next day, and you don't want to be back in the room by 8, then I would go babysitter.... they will have them asleep in no time.

If you have no need for them to get to bed early, or you are going to come home "early from your date" then check out the kids clubs.

We are doing both this year, so we can have just a quick meal together and then we can have an stay up late adult park night too.

We use Fairy Godmothers - the orginal Disney sitters... we always use the same "grandmother" Vivien.... she is wonderful. They only use older moms and grandmoms...

An in room babysitter will always be cheaper than the kids clubs...(if you have more than one kid)

what do you consider an adult park becuse it will just be adults during our next trip

 

[jkstewart1800]

what do you consider an adult park becuse it will just be adults during our next trip

I meant a kid free adult only date night at the park.... (usually Epcot since it is my husbands favorite).... It's fun to tour with the kids... but it's also fun to tour without them ! I think I worded my post funny... sorry

 

[robinb]

Two kids? If price is an object you may want to look into room babysitting. We liked the Fairy Godmother service when our DD was young. Otherwise, you can arrange for your romantic date to be at the Dolphin. Last time I checked they allowed multiple children to stay at the Dolphin Club for free for 2 hours while mom and dad dined at the restaurants. I know this was true for Shula's and Blue Zoo. If you make your dinner reservations early enough they will even feed your kids for free. We would drop off our DD at about 6:30, eat dinner and pick her back up by 8:30 and we would all watch IllumiNations together.

 

[Huntava]

Ours are 7 yr old twins, and we have been using kids club (Poly and the one at Yacht/Beach Club, for several years. The kids love them, and really look forward to them now.

 

[PEANUT1]

we used Kids Nite out when our girls were 18 months and 4..it was really great...they let you choose your babysitter "type"..we chose grandmother..she was really nice, put our kids to bed. They will take them out into the resort if you want..they will not take them swimming, give them a bath, or allow them on the balcony. It is pricey..but worth it to me. I think it was about 120$ for two kids including a tip for about 4 hours out.

On our next trip we are eating at Bluezoo at the Swan...they have free 2 hour babysitting there at the Dolphin Club if you eat in their restaurant..you can't beat that deal We may also us the kids club at Beach/Yacht club one night..not sure. Our kids will be 4 and 6 so they now qualify for kids club.

 

[Zeebs]

We used Fairy Godmothers and were very happy with them we had a sitter called Vivienne who seemed upset that the kids were going to be in bed when she arrived. They came offsite for us to. Ours were too little for kids clubs but we also don't do late nights at the moment.

My first question would be also what time do you want them to go to bed. To me it is a prime chance for the kids to catch up on some sleep.

Have a great time.

Kirsten

 

[Tripletmom2001]

I wondered if they would accept any special needs children? My son has Aspergers/High Functioing Autism and I wonder how he would do? I did post this question on DISabilities but am hoping someone will respond with experience in this area.
Thanks guys!

My boys were at the Poly Club and loved it. I wasn't sure if they would be able to handle my third son with autism. They would have, but since I didn't have a prior reservation and I promised my other two they could have a break by themselves, I didn't leave him. The following year we had all of them at the Grand Club. The CMs were great. There was a lot more space and more activities at the Poly club.

 

[zeltoo]

I've used both and honestly if price isn't a concern I would do KNO hands down.

My DD10 did the Neverland Club at the Poly and was not impressed. She was so excited to go and play with other children but found the "rules" constrictive. Believe me...I run a tight ship at home and was shocked to hear she didn't have fun. She had always wanted to do it and they happened to have an opening when we asked that morning. Maybe we'll try a different resort? Perhaps she's just too old now

My son (10 weeks) did KNO twice. Both times the girls were college age and were very professional. They took down all the instructions a wee one comes with and followed them well. They also took long walks around the resort which he seemed to like so much he feel asleep every time. Haha.

 

[chrisw127]

We've done Kids Nite Out several times with our 3-year old twins and 7 year old.

If my kids were a few years older, I'd probably do the kids clubs, but I think under 8 is a little young, but it really just depends on the kid. Also with twins, they always have each other; I know that's helped us a lot in new situations.

The benefit of using a sitter is that you don't have to take a sleepy child back to the room and you have some flexibility about when you return. We went to MVMCP last year and loved that we could stay as long as we wanted. If we were using the Kids Club, I'm pretty sure we'd only have been gone a couple of hours. Also, it was great to come home and they were all sound asleep!

 

[jkstewart1800]

I've used both and honestly if price isn't a concern I would do KNO hands down.

My DD10 did the Neverland Club at the Poly and was not impressed. She was so excited to go and play with other children but found the "rules" constrictive. Believe me...I run a tight ship at home and was shocked to hear she didn't have fun. She had always wanted to do it and they happened to have an opening when we asked that morning. Maybe we'll try a different resort? Perhaps she's just too old now

My son (10 weeks) did KNO twice. Both times the girls were college age and were very professional. They took down all the instructions a wee one comes with and followed them well. They also took long walks around the resort which he seemed to like so much he feel asleep every time. Haha.

Actually it is cheaper (if you have more than one kid) to use a babysitter service....

My question is: What were the 'rules' - ? What made it so anti-fun?

 

[zeltoo]

Jk - Take this with a grain of salt since it's coming directly from my 10 year old.

Her concerns:

- There weren't any activities for the kids. She was bored. When she tried to figure out a game to play (Hide and Seek) she was understandably told 'no'.

- She felt stuck inside and ended up playing on the Wii the whole time. Since we have a Wii at home, this was disappointing to her.

The woman that I dealt with at the kid's club was very pleasant both picking up and leaving. The instant I saw my daughter's face I knew something wasn't right, kudos to her she was still very polite. The woman however was oblivious.

Just as an FYI - Keep in mind that KNO has a transportation fee in addition to their hourly rate.