Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[zabache]

Hi there
We are cruising November/2014 and my DS will have just turned 3. Where would he most likely be, in the nursery or the club/lab? I know that at the nursery we would have to pay but what if the club/lab isn't his thing? Can we choose where he can go if he decides to stay in one of them? The nursery says ages 3 months to 3 yrs and the lab/cub are from 3 yrs to 12 yrs of age. We also have a DD that will be a few weeks shy of turning 11. I know they can be together in the club/lab but how much attention will she have to pay to him? What if there is something she wants to do but he can't and vs.? Are the younger kids kept together or are all ages together?
Thanks a ton.

 

[GetGlowing]

CM, you are awesome. Thank you for taking the time to answer all these questions. Really great stuff.

Are the cooking activities like Ratatouille Cooking School nut-free?

Thank you.

 

[time4somemagic]

Thank you soooo much for answering all the questions. Great information!!

My question: I have a DD8, a DD10, & a DD13...will they let my 13 yr old stay with her sisters in the club/lab? We'll be on the Fantasy in a few weeks.

 

[CMontheseas]

Hi there
We are cruising November/2014 and my DS will have just turned 3. Where would he most likely be, in the nursery or the club/lab? I know that at the nursery we would have to pay but what if the club/lab isn't his thing? Can we choose where he can go if he decides to stay in one of them? The nursery says ages 3 months to 3 yrs and the lab/cub are from 3 yrs to 12 yrs of age. We also have a DD that will be a few weeks shy of turning 11. I know they can be together in the club/lab but how much attention will she have to pay to him? What if there is something she wants to do but he can't and vs.? Are the younger kids kept together or are all ages together?
Thanks a ton.

You will be able to decide whichever space you'd like him to go to, based on whichever he prefers more! We have some 3 year olds who can only handle the nursery, and some who are more active and can keep up in the Club/Lab environments!

And the kids are free to hang out together between the ages of 3-12 in those spaces. We don't actively seperate them into smaller age groups in the Club and Lab!

 

[CMontheseas]

CM, you are awesome. Thank you for taking the time to answer all these questions. Really great stuff.

Are the cooking activities like Ratatouille Cooking School nut-free?

Thank you.

They are nut-free, but Disney won't risk it if the allergy is at all severe or requires an epi-pen for tactile exposure! Make sure you outline any limitations when you register (if its something like peanut ingestion, you should be ok). But if there have been any signs of sensitivity when eating cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies, allergen-free nut-free gluten-free Snickerdoodles are provided.

This is the brand we use: http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/soft-baked-cookies/snickerdoodle/

They're deeelicious.

 

[CMontheseas]

Thank you soooo much for answering all the questions. Great information!!

My question: I have a DD8, a DD10, & a DD13...will they let my 13 yr old stay with her sisters in the club/lab? We'll be on the Fantasy in a few weeks.

Nope, sadly we have zero flexibility in children going to a space that they are over the age cutoff for! She'll be able to be authorized as an adult tor pick them up, but will not be able to remain with them in the space while we're in secure programming!

 

[LeslieG]

Is this also true for older kids; for example, a 15 yr old in Edge?

 

[CMontheseas]

Is this also true for older kids; for example, a 15 yr old in Edge?

Yep, sure is! We do routine checks to make sure no one over the age group is in the space. And even then, the kids are usually the first to let us know!

 

[CMontheseas]

You can update your first post as many times as you like with FAQ's and answers.

Once a thread gets really long most posters won't read the other posts to see if their question has been answered and will ask it again.

Good point. It might be a good idea to copy & paste your top 10 lists to that first post since they answer so many questions.

Updating first post now! Great ideas, gang

 

[peterpanstout]

We are going on the Magic Christmas cruise. Can you tell me how many CM work in the edge? DS and I would like to make them gifts.

Thank you!

 

[CMontheseas]

We are going on the Magic Christmas cruise. Can you tell me how many CM work in the edge? DS and I would like to make them gifts.

Thank you!

In Edge the team is much smaller - aim for 4-6.

 

[CMontheseas]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Looks like I don't have much time before I'm sailing away again soon on the Fantasy! Maybe I'll see some of you there over the holidays!



I suppose I should add the one thing that many CMs have quite a few problems with on board, that many, many guests do:

USING THE TERM "KIDS CLUB" TO DESCRIBE OUR SPACES!

This seems pretty harmless at first, but it causes a lot of confusion on board. When you hear us speaking about Youth Activities, we'll often say "spaces" instead. It's important for us to distinguish between the Club and the other spaces - Lab, Edge and Vibe. (Especially on the Disney Wonder, where the Club is still separate from the Lab), to avoid any issues:


Here's a few examples we've encountered:
-A father becomes frustrated and angry looking for their child in the Oceaneer Club when it is in Open House. The child was actually in the Oceaneer Lab, but his wife had told them they dropped the child off in the "Kids club".

-Guest Services calls searching for a lost cell phone and wallet. Guest said they dropped it in the "Kids club", when it was actually left in Edge.

-Guests come into the Oceaneer Lab and become confused at the signage, asking "I thought this was the Kids Club?" (Happens all the time!)

-Parents come to the Oceaneer Club and are disappointed not to find science experiments and Cooking school. "I thought this was all supposed to be in the Kids Club?", when actually should've been looking for the Lab.

-Guests ask for directions to the "Kids club" and become frustrated when they are directed to the Oceaneer Club.

-Guests call on their phones and become confused when they are transferred to the Club when they're looking for a different space.



I don't know how well using "youth spaces" or "kids spaces" will take, but just a little suggestion to make things a bit less confusing on board!

(But I mean, if you still refer to everything as the "kid's club", CMs will still tolerate it with a little inward eyeroll! )

 

[justmestace]

First, let me apoligize for not reading the whole thread.....and if this has been asked already, again...sorry!

Do you know if the new lifeguards at the kids' pools are Red Cross certified? Can they perform CPR, if necessary? Tend to minor bumps or cuts?

Thanks!

 

[lbgraves]

...I don't know how well using "youth spaces" or "kids spaces" will take, but just a little suggestion to make things a bit less confusing on board!

(But I mean, if you still refer to everything as the "kid's club", CMs will still tolerate it with a little inward eyeroll! )

It was probably easier back when there was a division between the two spaces. DS was very sure to say he wanted to go to the lab when he was 8. LOL!! You probably feel the same was with this as when someone says "Kay" instead of "Key".

 

[CMontheseas]

It was probably easier back when there was a division between the two spaces. DS was very sure to say he wanted to go to the lab when he was 8. LOL!! You probably feel the same was with this as when someone says "Kay" instead of "Key".

YES, exactly that! . It's one of those little things that Cast Members pick up on.

 

[CMontheseas]

First, let me apoligize for not reading the whole thread.....and if this has been asked already, again...sorry!

Do you know if the new lifeguards at the kids' pools are Red Cross certified? Can they perform CPR, if necessary? Tend to minor bumps or cuts?

Thanks!

No idea! Haven't been on the magic since the new lifeguards have been instated, sorry!

 

[lbgraves]

YES, exactly that! . It's one of those little things that Cast Members pick up on.

Not just CMs....trust me.

 

[Fivepin]

Thanks for your responses and advice-much appreciated.

When will you be on the Fantasy and which area? We are sailing on the Fantasy 11/23

 

[su_A_ve]

Nope, sadly we have zero flexibility in children going to a space that they are over the age cutoff for! She'll be able to be authorized as an adult tor pick them up, but will not be able to remain with them in the space while we're in secure programming!

Except for open house hours - or does an adult need to be present?

 

[CMontheseas]

Except for open house hours - or does an adult need to be present?

During Open House hours, we tend to prefer that an authorized adult be present for the kids (as they will otherwise be unsupervised!).

This doesn't mean that many parents will leave their young children unattended during Open House periods and expect them to be supervised! (We've seen 3 year olds abandoned in the space during Club Open House while the adults went to a Tasting!) Where a problem might arise is when the space goes from Open House to Secure programming, every adult and child in the space is asked to leave. If your child is still in there unattended, we are technically obliged to ask them to leave (thus leaving them unattended elsewhere on the ship).


But of course prior to that happening we try to contact/reach the adults and as a last resort, can sign the children into secure programming if they already have a band on.