Can (new) 14 yr. olds do Ocean Quest?

[teriyaki]

I have twin DDs who will just have turned 14 before we sail. Must they go to The Stack/Loft, or can they stay in OceanQuest? They are both shy, one with autism and one celebrating the end of 2 1/2 years of chemo for leukemia.

Thanks.

 

[lbgraves]

You will have to talk to the club manager when you board for this to be decided. Lately they have become much more lenient with the ranges in the Quest and Stack groups.

 

[kcashner]

As above, my answer would be "probably," but only the responsible CMs can tell you for sure. They really are being good about trying to make the experience work for everyone, and moving down has always been more flexible than moving up.

 

[nzdisneymom]

If they aren't allowed into Ocean Quest for programming (which would surprise me if they aren't), OQ has Family Time each morning for a while.

 

[hgon76]

I was wondering about this too because my son will be 13 and our friends daughter will be 14, but I know they will want to hang out. I was showing my son the DCL website the other day and it listed the ages for ocean quest as 10-14 year olds, I was happy to see this so they will be able to hang out together. So I think you're kids should be fine.

 

[frdeb1999]

You have to speak for the counselor in charge upon boarding before they will make a deffinate decision. We have had good luck the past two years with our dd's being able to get into the groups they wanted to be in. Just depends on how many in that age range are sailing at that time. Hope that helps!

 

[teriyaki]

Thank you all for responding. I think the DIS is the best place to come with questions .

I'm sure things will work out OK, but there is conflicting info, with the most recent Navigators listing Ocean Quest as up to 13, while the older parts of the DCL website still say 10-14. Ah well..

Thanks again!
Laurie

 

[disneyfreak1]

I did not see an option to register my DS for Ocean Quest online. Does anyone know if registration online is only for the Club and Lab?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

There is no online registration for the Quest or the Stack on the Magic or Aloft on the Wonder.

You can only online register for Flounders, the Club and Lab.

 

[lbgraves]

Thank you all for responding. I think the DIS is the best place to come with questions .

I'm sure things will work out OK, but there is conflicting info, with the most recent Navigators listing Ocean Quest as up to 13, while the older parts of the DCL website still say 10-14. Ah well..

Thanks again!
Laurie

Unfortunately there is incorrect information listed on the DCL website. This is also confused by the fact that the Wonder has only the four age groups and the Magic now has five.

 

[pixiepower1971]

Unfortunately there is incorrect information listed on the DCL website. This is also confused by the fact that the Wonder has only the four age groups and the Magic now has five.

What are the age groups on the wonder?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

What are the age groups on the wonder?

The Wonder does not have Ocean Quest.

Oceaneer's Club: 3-7 year olds
Oceanner's Lab : 8-12 year olds
Aloft: 13-17 year olds, 18 year old high school students/recent grads.

 

[PPFQP]

I'm sure things will work out OK, but there is conflicting info, with the most recent Navigators listing Ocean Quest as up to 13, while the older parts of the DCL website still say 10-14. Ah well..

I agree -- it is confusing. We called Disney today, and they confirmed that Ocean Quest is 11-13 and Stack is 14-17.

My girls will turn 14 only 4 days before our cruise. They would probably be happy in the stack, but we are traveling with friends who are 12 and 13.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I agree -- it is confusing. We called Disney today, and they confirmed that Ocean Quest is 11-13 and Stack is 14-17.

My girls will turn 14 only 4 days before our cruise. They would probably be happy in the stack, but we are traveling with friends who are 12 and 13.

Just talk to them when you get on the ship. Generally it's easier to move a child down an age group- if they are able to fit the child in (depending on how many kids in that age group on that sailing) than to move them UP an age group. Also having just turned 14 might be helpful so be sure to mention that. When moving up- I think I've read that if their birthday is within a month they are more likely to let them move up- and since moving down is generally less of an issue with them (if they have room for your chlldren in the lower age group) then I would think that also having just turned that age (less than a month) would help your case on that as well. Just tell them they JUST turned 14, they aren't really mature enough and/or you just don't want them with older children AND mention they are travelling with friends who are 12 and 13 and I bet they'll get them in the younger age group if at all possible.

 

[disneygirl1213]

Along the same lines here, is the Quest the new room for kids 10 to 13? Or, if they are 10 - 12 they can go to the Lab or the Quest?

 

[nzdisneymom]

We were on the Magic a couple of weeks ago. Our boys are 11 and 12.

Ocean Quest is for 11 - 13 yr olds. You don't have to register them, but you can get a pager for them if you want, but it is up to the kids to ask a counselor to page you if you want to use a pager to keep up with the kids. No wristbands.

They have free time and scheduled activities. They sometimes go other places on the ship, and they have optional dinner time as well. They have scheduled activities on Castaway Cay as well. We found that the scheduled activities were more of a "free flowing" thing - like if it was time for a movie but most of the kids were playing DDR, they wouldn't shut off DDR to start the movie unless they felt like the kids needed a break / settling down.

The Lab was fo the 8-10's. Club for the 3 - 7's.

Our 11 y.o. pretty much lived in OQ while our 12 y.o. came and went. Our boys are completely different and the fact that both of them enjoyed OQ tells me that DCL has found a good mix for the 11-13 set. One of the CMs told me that they switched the ages to make it fit more like schools so that the 11-13s are really your middle schoolers -- so if your child is 14 and in 8th grade, I think they'd find the activities age-appropriate in OQ.

I think for the longer cruises, OQ works well. The shorter ones on the Wonder, there just isn't as much time onboard for the between-kids to have to have something to do if Aloft doesn't work for them. Just my opinion, though. When we sailed on the Wonder last spring, our same DS who spent all his time in the Lab the previous summer and all his time in OQ last month spent ZERO time in the Lab on the Wonder - just no time to go!

 

[PPFQP]

Thanks for that feedback - it's really helpful. My girls will be newly 14 year old 8th graders. So they would probably feel more comfortable in Quest, especially with their younger friends. We'll just wait and see how it goes!

We were on the Magic a couple of weeks ago. Our boys are 11 and 12.

Ocean Quest is for 11 - 13 yr olds. You don't have to register them, but you can get a pager for them if you want, but it is up to the kids to ask a counselor to page you if you want to use a pager to keep up with the kids. No wristbands.

They have free time and scheduled activities. They sometimes go other places on the ship, and they have optional dinner time as well. They have scheduled activities on Castaway Cay as well. We found that the scheduled activities were more of a "free flowing" thing - like if it was time for a movie but most of the kids were playing DDR, they wouldn't shut off DDR to start the movie unless they felt like the kids needed a break / settling down.

The Lab was fo the 8-10's. Club for the 3 - 7's.

Our 11 y.o. pretty much lived in OQ while our 12 y.o. came and went. Our boys are completely different and the fact that both of them enjoyed OQ tells me that DCL has found a good mix for the 11-13 set. One of the CMs told me that they switched the ages to make it fit more like schools so that the 11-13s are really your middle schoolers -- so if your child is 14 and in 8th grade, I think they'd find the activities age-appropriate in OQ.

I think for the longer cruises, OQ works well. The shorter ones on the Wonder, there just isn't as much time onboard for the between-kids to have to have something to do if Aloft doesn't work for them. Just my opinion, though. When we sailed on the Wonder last spring, our same DS who spent all his time in the Lab the previous summer and all his time in OQ last month spent ZERO time in the Lab on the Wonder - just no time to go!