Camps at WDW - Maybe We Should Suggest Disney Do Them

[2disneydads]

I just posted a similar message on the Disney World for Families forum, but I thought that it might be helpful to post this message here, too, because maybe DVC management will see it and forward the idea along to the proper channels. I want to make a formal suggestion to Disney that they look into a camp program like the one that SeaWorld runs. We have booked our girls for the coming August in the SeaWorld one week camps. The camps run 9-3 each day, include lunch and snacks, cost only $285 a week (less if you hold certain passes) and get very positive reviews on review websites. Programs are organized in two-year age groups, so our 8-year old rising 3rd grader will be in one program and our 6 year-old rising 1st grader will be in a different program. Each age group has three different camps from which to select. Disney clearly could do a great camp program at Animal Kingdom, for instance, or at Epcot, for another instance. It would be a great way to build loyalty - many of the SeaWorld campers, I'm told, come back year after year after year. We booked a Marriott timeshare for the week, so no real additional housing expense. Disney is losing out on our dollars for this week, because we did not use our DVC points (too far to SeaWorld each day) and because we'll probably spend our afternoons either at SeaWorld, Aquatica or our resort. Other than maybe an afternoon visit to a Disney waterpark with some old Park Hopper passes and a dinner at Boma, we're not likely to visit WDW at all. I think that Disney is missing a great opportunity here. Anyone else have any thoughts about the best way to suggest this to Disney? Maybe if folks at Disney see an active discussion here or on the Disney World for Families, they would take the hint.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and ideas!

 

[Brian Noble]

There is something a *little* bit similar to this, the Youth Educational Series. They are mostly meant for groups, but there are some "open enrollment" dates. However, they are not as involved as it sounds like Sea World's program is.

http://www.disneyyouth.com/youth-education-series/

 

[2disneydads]

There is something a *little* bit similar to this, the Youth Educational Series. They are mostly meant for groups, but there are some "open enrollment" dates. However, they are not as involved as it sounds like Sea World's program is.

Well, then Disney would have the base on which to build a program. These sessions sound interesting, but they are half a day programs, not full week-long camps. Disney clearly has the capacity to do a very well-done camp program. With the various parks and other facilities, they could do camps that focus on so many different themes - animals, technology, entertainment, adventure, etc.

 

[Sammie]

Disney to me is the innovators of great ideas, if they thought this was a money making deal it would happen.

They used to offer lots of day camps for kids but dropped them due to lack of interest. The kids wanted to be at the parks riding rides.

 

[2disneydads]

Disney to me is the innovators of great ideas, if they thought this was a money making deal it would happen.

They used to offer lots of day camps for kids but dropped them due to lack of interest. The kids wanted to be at the parks riding rides.

They didn't run organized and thematic camps - they ran glorified daycare centers that were completely indoors and limited primarily to hotel sites. Even my kids would get bored with more than a couple of hours of those kinds of activities. The SeaWorld camps involve lots of hands-on activities with the many marine animals at SeaWorld, and for the older campers do provide some opportunities for riding on the rides. Disney clearly could provide the same kinds of immersive activities if they put the corporate mind to it. SeaWorld must find these programs profitable - they have been running them for years and are expanding the offerings this year. Worlds of Adventure also does similar camp programs at the other SeaWorlds and at Busch Gardens Tampa.

 

[Sammie]

They didn't run organized and thematic camps - they ran glorified daycare centers that were completely indoors and limited primarily to hotel sites. Even my kids would get bored with more than a couple of hours of those kinds of activities. The SeaWorld camps involve lots of hands-on activities with the many marine animals at SeaWorld, and for the older campers do provide some opportunities for riding on the rides. Disney clearly could provide the same kinds of immersive activities if they put the corporate mind to it. SeaWorld must find these programs profitable - they have been running them for years and are expanding the offerings this year. Worlds of Adventure also does similar camp programs at the other SeaWorlds and at Busch Gardens Tampa.

They offered camps that went on all day field trips. They went to see alligators, and much more. They were definitely not indoors.

They offered an entertainment day camp that allowed the kids to go to the MK, see how the musical shows are produced and then actually be in one.

They offered one at Epcot, where the kids spent the night at the Living Seas and actually got to help feed all the sea life.

They offered one at Hollywood Studios that allowed the kids to interact with Disney animators and actually paint their own animation cel.

They offered an environmental one where they took the kids all over the WDW property to particpate in surveys, collect water samples and helped trap an alligator at one of the resorts and take it to the preserve that is completely off limits to others. It was definitely a behind the scenes tour.

They offered one at the MK where they toured all the underground tunnels, learned how they did the special effects at Haunted Mansion, went to the animantronics hosptial where they repair them and helped work on a Its a Small World Doll.

I would not call these glorified daycare centers. They were extremely organized, included lunch, and at the Living Seas one, a Disney sleeping bag. Each day camp also provided a very nice souvenir of the experience.

 

[laura-k]

They offered camps that went on all day field trips. They went to see alligators, and much more. They were definitely not indoors.

They offered an entertainment day camp that allowed the kids to go to the MK, see how the musical shows are produced and then actually be in one.

They offered one at Epcot, where the kids spent the night at the Living Seas and actually got to help feed all the sea life.

They offered one at Hollywood Studios that allowed the kids to interact with Disney animators and actually paint their own animation cel.

They offered an environmental one where they took the kids all over the WDW property to particpate in surveys, collect water samples and helped trap an alligator at one of the resorts and take it to the preserve that is completely off limits to others. It was definitely a behind the scenes tour.

They offered one at the MK where they toured all the underground tunnels, learned how they did the special effects at Haunted Mansion, went to the animantronics hosptial where they repair them and helped work on a Its a Small World Doll.

I would not call these glorified daycare centers. They were extremely organized, included lunch, and at the Living Seas one, a Disney sleeping bag. Each day camp also provided a very nice souvenir of the experience.

These sound so cool -I would have loved to do some of this ! Oh I mean my kids would have - hee hee

 

[dairyqueenmom]

We signed our two DD up for the Disneyyes program for August, they get to see how sound and light effect your Disney experience. It is a 1/2 day progam, which I think are just enough. I was also able to buy discounted tickets for all 4 of my kids through this program, which saved us over $400 on our park tickets.

 

[Geezer]

They didn't run organized and thematic camps - they ran glorified daycare centers that were completely indoors and limited primarily to hotel sites. Even my kids would get bored with more than a couple of hours of those kinds of activities. The SeaWorld camps involve lots of hands-on activities with the many marine animals at SeaWorld, and for the older campers do provide some opportunities for riding on the rides. Disney clearly could provide the same kinds of immersive activities if they put the corporate mind to it. SeaWorld must find these programs profitable - they have been running them for years and are expanding the offerings this year. Worlds of Adventure also does similar camp programs at the other SeaWorlds and at Busch Gardens Tampa.

Not true. When our son was in the 8-14 age range, he took many day long "camps" as you put it. Actually, they were educational programs that we signed up and paid for like the backstage tours. I remember him doing a photography and wildlife one that was 6 hours a day for 2 or 3 days. It was a long time ago though. I'm sure they probably have stopped those now.

 

[vicki_c]

This is a link to an outdated page that contains lots of info on tours and camps that used to be offered (some still are). You can scroll down and see all the things they used to do for kids and teens - mainly #25 through the Disney Institute. As the others have suggested, if these had been money-makers for Disney, I'm sure they would still be going on.

oops - forgot the link! http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/WDW/Tours.html

 

[Chuck S]

This is not a DVC related topic, so I need to close this thread.

Disney does offer some educational programs to WDW guests, whether or not they ae DVC members. In fact, the idea of an educational emersion type thing was the focus of the Disney Institute, the area now occupied by Saratoge Springs resort. The Institute proved disappointing to Disney financially, even though many of their programs were top notch. It seems people primarily go to Disney for the parks and family time.