Child Care Options at WDW....

[kristenrice]

I am thinking about taking DH on the Sunset Safari at the AKV in June. I feel very guilty about not taking my DD's with us because they absolutely LOVE animals. I will need to find childcare for them while (if) we do the safari and dinner. Since the girls are 3 and 5, they cannot both go to Simba's Clubhouse. I am not sure if I should let my older DD go to Simba's and get an in-room sitter for the youngest. The only reason I would consider this is so that my younger DD can get some 1-on-1 time (and to avoid overwhelming a sitter with 2 hyperactive youngsters!) while our oldest can play with some other children. This would give each of the girls a little time "to themselves". Obviously, I would rather they both get to play with other kids, but I do not know of any options for a 3 year old.

I am looking for any and all opinions... Should I keep the kids together with an in-room sitter or should I separate them, one in the room and one in the clubhouse? Any suggestions for where to look for the in-room sitters? Do they take the children anywhere, like the playground, or even to walk around the resort and view the animals?

 

[karatstravels]

We used Kids Nite Out on our trip last year for our then 1, 3 and 4 yr old. We actually had the same lady (Grandma Jean) come out twice, once for an evening out and once for an afternoon at the parks. They ask you your preferences when you call (ie. Grandmotherly type, young adult, female, male etc). The kids loved her. They even asked if Jean was coming to watch them again this year (we are going in May). She came with a little bag filled with books, games etc. The kids were really comfortable with her and just as important we felt very comfortable. We came home to 3 soundly sleeping little boys (which is not an easy task as they are very busy kids, even after a day of activities).
Their website says they are the preferred childcare service for Disney and Lowes hotel guest. We were staying at the Reunion Resort and she came out to the house.
I would hesitate to use them again (and we will...hopefully we can get Grandma Jean again).

Leanne

 

[Kallista]

We used Fairy Godmothers for in-room babysitting and it was great.

The only thing I would say is to tell the booker that the person you want MUST be on time, or schedule them a half an hour early. Our sitter was 20 minutes late.

 

[nicki.momof3]

Someone you have never meet in your room alone with your child / children. I would NEVER do this. I don't care how much my husband and I needed alone time - the payoff is not worth the risk - you never know.

A child care center with lots of kids and lots of adults is much safer in my eyes. I would plan a family activity instead and make great family memories.

In the future maybe a disney cruise would be a better disney vacation - allows for child care options that are not one on one in a your room.

Just my opinion.

 

[dzee]

If the children are potty trained Disney has what they call kids clubs!! They are places scattered through the resort that you can check your children in and feel pretty safe in leaving them there. There are 2-3 adults that tend to the children.So there are eyes on them all the time!!! They have computers,board games, toys, and the adults do arts and crafts with them they also play the board games to help get the kids comfortable with each other!!! My daughter used to come out with all kinds of "presents" for her mom and dad!! She absolutely loved doing the crafts!! They feed them dinner,,they give you a form to fill out with all the required info,and a pager in case you are needed for any reason!! Also on the form is a menu for dinner and you pick out their favorites and they are served at the time you choose you want them to eat!! They play movies for the kids too as the night goes on and they get tired of playing. They never take them out of the club for any reason!! That made me feel very relieved! There was one club (Not a Disney hotel) that would take the kids out of the club to feed them!! No way!! Can't see how the ONE person who was with all those kids could keep a close eye on them so they don't wander away!!! If you want a quiet dinner just your DH and yourself then I would recommend giving the kids club a try!!