Childcare option at deluxe resorts - do you have to be guest at the hotel?

[frostedpink]

Hello,

We will be visiting Disney for the first time this August. We'll be staying at a moderate resort that doesn't offer one of the cool childcare activity centers. I found a list of the deluxe resorts that offer these.

My question is, do we have to be guests at the particular deluxe hotel in order to use the childcare center? Or can anyone use them?

 

[*Fantasia*]

I don't think you have to be a guest at that resort in order to use the kids' club. As long as you are a Disney on-site guest, then there shouldn't be any problem. They will probably ask for your resort ID and your DL. My children and I were at the Neverland Club. I took my children there just to see what activities they have there. The staff said we can stay there as long as before 3pm and I can't leave my children. We made a nice Hawaiian fans and leis. : ) The lady was nice enough to show us how to. This was some years ago, so I don't know now.

 

[lindsmom]

You actually don't have to stay onsite at all. We have brought our DD to Neverland and we stay off property. Next trip we are bringing DD 11 and DS3 to the SandCastle club so we can go to Epcot F&W for the evening. Again, we'll be off property.

 

[bigmochick]

Great question! I'm going to look more into the different options for childcare for DH & I can have a night out on the town in November without our 5 yo DD.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

You actually don't have to stay onsite at all. We have brought our DD to Neverland and we stay off property. Next trip we are bringing DD 11 and DS3 to the SandCastle club so we can go to Epcot F&W for the evening. Again, we'll be off property.

This is correct. You don't have to be a guest at that resort, or even an on-site Disney resort guest, in order to use the Kids' Clubs. You do need to make a reservation. Those can be made through the 407-WDW-DINE reservation line that you use for ADRs and they can be reserved up to 180 days in advance just like dining. But there really isn't a need to make the Kids' Clubs reservations so far in advance. I do sometimes just because it's easy to do at the same time I'm making my dining ADRs.