Changes coming to the Fantasy!

[kevdad]

Thinking about the changes from a strict before-and-after perspective, I like them!

I'd rather have an ice cream parlor than an arcade. I don't view it as a nickel-and-diming strategy as both cost(ed) money so no biggie there.

Replacing some of the kids club features with Star Wars and Marvel makes sense given the popularity of those franchises, particularly Star Wars over the past 40(!) years. Like many others have said the Doctor Strange angle has me scratching my head a bit, though. My 11 year old son had no clue who he was but after looking at some Disney sites he thought it would be pretty cool.

I read that Andy's Room from Toy Story and Pixie Hollow from Tinker Bell will remain which my 8 year old daughter will still enjoy.

Tiffany's? I'm an almost 50 year old dude so I'm probably not the target market!

 

[TestingH2O]

All in, I suspect that the partial changes to the Kids Club are to provide broader appeal,

Well said and I agree.

 

[Suttonmama1]

I showed the photos to my 9 year old daughter who is not into Star Wars or Marvel. She said they looked cool but she hoped they'd keep the craft area because that's where she spent most of her time. As she got older she also loved the lab, and that seems to be left alone (?) my only concern is the themes and design seem a little dark for younger ones but we will wait and see.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

But not in the kids clubs. How in the world I'm going to get my granddaughter to stay in the club long enough to eat at Palo is beyond me.

IMO kids who enjoy the clubs will enjoy them regardless of how they're decorated. In 2 cruises, DS6 has spent about 45 mins in the clubs (other than during OH). He does not enjoy them at all and the decor has nothing to do with it. For him, they're too loud, too busy, too chaotic. They're just not his thing. Other kids have to be dragged out kicking and screaming. Has your granddaughter been to the clubs before? If not, you may want to prepare yourself for the possibility that she doesn't like them. Some parents force their kids to stay in the clubs so they can have adult time. I appreciate this, but it's my kid's vacation, too, and I'm not going to force him to be miserable.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

As I said, one of the issues is that when dealing with ages 3-12, you're dealing with a huge range, and while PJ Masks plays well with the pre-K set, your average 9 year old, either gender, is not going to be excited about it. Elena is skewing young as well, and has a big presence in toddler-sized clothing.

Disney can't just add IP at one end of the range or the other when dealing with a 9 year tilt. By 12, you've got preliminary acne and puberty; age 3, going to the bathroom reliably is still pretty exciting stuff. I think the clubs do skew younger right now, and the IP being added helps the range.

 

[aprincessatlast]

Aww this makes me miss the big tree house on the wonder/magic! The classic Peter Pan vibe. Sure my kids love star wars and this will appeal to them but my youngest dd just kind of goes with it because of her brothers. Not something she really would choose.

Doctor strange just looks bizarre and creepy! Most marvel characters have masks etc. That looks like it belongs in Madame Tussauds wax museum on top of that genre of Marval is like putting Deadpool in the kids club. Not a fan at all! I am a bit over the Star Wars and Marvel push and I have 2 boys. They love it but even they feel it has become a bit redundant.

 

[Owl X]

Disney may have larger plans for Doctor Strange.
They have used Doctor Strange in Hollywood Studios. Many of the popular Marvel characters can not be used by Disney in the Orlando parks due to Universal Studios licensing (Spiderman, Avengers, X-men, FF).
Apparently Doctor Strange and the Guardians of Galaxy can be used in the parks. Maybe a future Disney Ship will have a GotG theme area.
Dressing up a cast member as Doctor Strange is probably easier than some of the muscular or armored Marvel characters. He is probably safer than weapon wielding characters also.

The Doctor Strange movie even had a powerful female character - Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, who trains Doctor Strange in the mystical arts. As the Sorcerer Supreme, she had protected Earth for hundreds of years from threats from other dimensions.
Note that in Marvel Comics, the Ancient one is a male. I suspect one reason Disney changed the character's gender was to have a strong female character in the film.

Both Star Wars movies made by Disney had female leads: Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso in Rogue One and Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Force Awakens.

 

[ChicosWife]

For those of you 'worried' about the club changes...
At the end of the day, its just two corners of the club that are going to have a new theme. Yes, my guess is they'll introduce programmes around Star Wars/ Marvel. As to the rest of the time, especially if your kid doesn't have any interest then they'll probably not even realise where they are.
On the Magic, I saw plenty of kids with no interest in Marvel, yet they didn't object to using the Marvel room for the iPads, and the tables for games and craft. They did Become Iron Man, and didn't even know who Iron Man was, but it was something DIFFERENT and FUN!
Ive also seen plenty of children, boys and girls, who have never seen the Tinkerbell movies and probably never will or have any interest in fairies, but again Ive never seen them actively avoid Pixie Hollow because of that...

Go into it with an open mind, maybe it will add some interest, something to talk about. If it doesn't, great, you were still lucky enough to go on a Disney cruise and have the opportunity to experience it...

Amen to that!

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

I think that there is also too much emphasis on the theme of these areas, which are just two areas of a large club. For one, they are replacing some fairly lame areas within the club. I was not impressed with the Monsters Inc. area that is getting replaced. It was pretty dead in there without much to do. And the other was Finding Nemo, but it is mostly a computer gaming area. It will still be a computer gaming area with various games for the kids to choose according to what they like. There will be a few activities geared towards the new themes, but not all the time. And I can't see what the club is really losing with the new themes. Pixie Hollow will still be there, the theme neutral game floor area will still be there, and Toy Story will still be there. Plus the Dr. Strange area will probably be pretty awesome decorated. Rich colors and gold. I can't see that being horribly offensive to girls.

 

[AquaDame]

I agree with many here that these two corners are just bringing a better range of activities to the club... 3-12 IS a huge spread and it felt a little young and kiddy to me. Having more "boy centric" older leaning options seems like a good idea. FWIW I've always liked SW and am female... plenty of young girls do the jedi training in the parks and if they don't like SW there is plenty of other areas and activities in the club for them to enjoy. I feel like GotG would have been better than Dr Strange but we'll see what they do with it.

I'm sure plenty more is coming down the line and this is just the start of details about the dry dock ala the other recent ones and how hush hush they have been leading up to it.

 

[Strikan]

Agreed that Doctor Strange is a little weird but I assume they are doing it for the magic angle. You can have the kids do all the arm and hand actions from the movies and that could have some kind of effect on a large screen for example. It could be pretty awesome.

 

[OrcaPotter]

I've become a HUGE Doctor Strange fan, and many of my students loved the movie. I am so jealous that this area of the kids club will be going in after I did the Fantasy--and I don't have kids. I love walking through the open houses, though. Doctor Strange is like a blend of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and super hero action. Frankly, it has a big appeal--at least with the preteens in the district where I teach. Its inclusion on the ships was what sold me on booking the Marvel Day at Sea sailing from Miami on the Magic.

The changes to the kids clubs are to two areas only, so I don't know why so many are so despondent. Other lines do not have themed rooms and kids still enjoy themselves. DCL has so many options for kids, so no doubt all will find something to appeal to them.

The addition of Tiffany's, though, makes me more disappointed that they continue to market more to a higher income bracket than average now.

 

[closetmickey]

These changes may also help ease the complaint that the club/lab is too "young" for the 10-11 year olds who therefore try to move up to the Edge. Maybe they will be a little more satisfied, eliminating some of the desires to "move up"

 

[cmph]

These changes may also help the argument the the club/lab is too "young" for the 10-11 year olds that try to move up to the Edge. Maybe they will be a little more satisfied, eliminating some of the desires to "move up"

11yos can already go to Edge but yeah, mine did not find much in the club/lab area that she wanted to do. However, she wasn't very interested in Edge either...

 

[bobbiwoz]

FWIW, having actually shopped in Tiffany's in NYC and bought a couple of things, they DO have some things that aren't UBER expensive - in fact I've seen some cheaper than the Dooney and Bourke (however it's spelled) purses or some of the jewelry on board now.

There is a Tiffany's on the Oasis, no, I did not bother to check it out. Maybe I should have!