Disney Kids programs, Babysitting?

[juliebaby76]

We are going to disney Feb 25 till March 5th. we have two children ages 4 and 10 and my husband and I haven't been alone on a vacation since before the children. I heard about the kids programs and or babysitting at Disney. We never leave are children with anyone other then family. Has anyone ever used these services? Where they safe? Where they good? and did your children have fun. We only plan to use it one night and only for a few hours. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all.

 

[Grendalynn]

I, too, am interested to hear what other folks have experieneced witht the Kids Clubs and Fairy Godmothers sitting services... I dont want to hijack JulieBaby's post, but hope it will give it a bump and others will chime in!! We recently stayed at the Polynesian in October and noticed there was the Peter Pan Club... We were only there for 3 days before our cruise and did not have time to try it out. DSs were 2 1/2 and 6 1/o so they were old enough to go with the flow. However we just found out that we are expecting #3 in October and hope to go in vacation w/i the first year. What are the age limitations? Prices? Hours..... Any feedback wil be appreciated!Thanks so much!

 

[Tricialiv]

We used the Neverland Club in December with my DD (4) and DS (8) one night. They both had a fun time. My DD came out with all sorts of cute crafts. When DS was 6.5 he loved the Sand Castle Club at the Beach Club resort. My DD was to young (2.5) and we used Kids Nite Out. I was very nervous but had heard a lot of positive comments. The sitter arrived with a box of games. But I had DD asleep when we left, when we got back she was asleep too. The sitter gave me a sheet listed with what she ate and when she woke up etc. I was pleased with their service. But happier when she was old enough to be in the Club with her big brother. Have a fun night out! Tricia

 

[Tricialiv]

I forgot- The price $10 an hour with a 2 hour minimum, included dinner and crafts, games, etc, per child. I think the minimum age is 4. It was sort of expensive but I thought worth it to spend a night out w/ DH. The kids really had fun.

 

[jodifla]

I, too, am interested to hear what other folks have experieneced witht the Kids Clubs and Fairy Godmothers sitting services... I dont want to hijack JulieBaby's post, but hope it will give it a bump and others will chime in!! We recently stayed at the Polynesian in October and noticed there was the Peter Pan Club... We were only there for 3 days before our cruise and did not have time to try it out. DSs were 2 1/2 and 6 1/o so they were old enough to go with the flow. However we just found out that we are expecting #3 in October and hope to go in vacation w/i the first year. What are the age limitations? Prices? Hours..... Any feedback wil be appreciated!Thanks so much!

For the kids clubs, they have to be at least 4 and potty trained. Kids Nite Out and Fairygodmothers will sit any age kids. For them, there's a 4 hour minimum and a travel fee that works out to about $64 for the four hours, I believe. We do this at least once a trip for DS. I'd say we've used FG about a half-dozen times, and we have them booked again for the end of the month.

 

[Kae]

We took DS to Neverland club when he was 4 and next to Splash Mtn it was his favortite thing of that trip We are thinking of trying the one AKL for the next trip.

Kae

 

[2tinkersmom]

I just posted a response somewhere else today about kids clubs too. We just used the Sandcastle Club at the Beach Club resort and it was really nice.

We wanted to have a night out walking the World Showcase at Epcot and that's the reason we picked Sandcastle. It is such an easy walk from the resort over, really pleasant.

My girls absolutely loved it there. Its a very nice setup, many things to do for all ages. There's a separate area with small couches for the kids to watch tv. Then a large area filled with all sorts of "activity spots" like coloring, small toys such as ponies and potato heads, a kids play kitchen, video games on both computers and actual arcade games - they just had so much fun.

The staff was very nice, asked all sorts of information from us, gave us a pager and the number there, checked for allergies, etc.

It does include dinner for them and they had probably 6 or 7 dinners they could choose from. It is $10 per hour per child...we figured we would have paid that much just to feed them dinner that night somewhere else. We stayed out three hours so it was $60 total. Had they stayed until 10 pm they would have served them cookies and milk too but they gave those to my girls to go.

My two didn't want to leave and begged us to go somewhere for a longer time! So in my book that's a good time for them. It was nice time out for us to explore at our pace and they really needed that down time to relax like they would at home. So it worked out great for all of us.

 

[cara loves the poly]

Our kids LOVED the Neverland Club at the Poly!

 

[Grendalynn]

Thanks so much for all of this info and insight. I know I did not start the thread but was very eager to see all the responces as I am sure Juliebaby was! Its always nice to hear what others in a similar situation have experienced!

 

[jennyf917]

Can anyone tell me what the hours are for these? I will be going solo with DS (who will be 4 then) and wouldn't mind some "adult time" one night to go see things that I couldn't otherwise. We'll be staying at AS Movies, but I wouldn't be averse to traveling to a resort to do the Kids' Club activities.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

me too! I'm putting together a trip for 4 adults and a 4+yo boy and I would love to get the adults to go to Jellyrolls one night (yes, I'm addicted). The Sandcastle club would be perfect with its closeness to the Boardwalk. Can anyone use the Beach Club's Sandcastle Club? Or do you have to be staying at the Beach/Yacht Club? We will be staying at the ASMo and the idea of being close to the child is best if for some reason he feels uncomfortable there or has to leave quickly.

Also, I have another request for their hours.

Thanks!

 

[vellamint]

I just posted a response somewhere else today about kids clubs too. We just used the Sandcastle Club at the Beach Club resort and it was really nice.

We wanted to have a night out walking the World Showcase at Epcot and that's the reason we picked Sandcastle. It is such an easy walk from the resort over, really pleasant.

My girls absolutely loved it there. Its a very nice setup, many things to do for all ages. There's a separate area with small couches for the kids to watch tv. Then a large area filled with all sorts of "activity spots" like coloring, small toys such as ponies and potato heads, a kids play kitchen, video games on both computers and actual arcade games - they just had so much fun.

The staff was very nice, asked all sorts of information from us, gave us a pager and the number there, checked for allergies, etc.

It does include dinner for them and they had probably 6 or 7 dinners they could choose from. It is $10 per hour per child...we figured we would have paid that much just to feed them dinner that night somewhere else. We stayed out three hours so it was $60 total. Had they stayed until 10 pm they would have served them cookies and milk too but they gave those to my girls to go.

My two didn't want to leave and begged us to go somewhere for a longer time! So in my book that's a good time for them. It was nice time out for us to explore at our pace and they really needed that down time to relax like they would at home. So it worked out great for all of us.

Hello...can I ask how your DD 11 felt about it....I am thinking of having my twin DD (just 12 by then) use them but wondered about these "older" kids....

thanks.

 

[MomofKatie]

The hours for Disney resort Kids' Clubs are 4:30-midnight. Anyone staying on Disney property can call the WDW-DINE number and reserve a spot. Off-site guests can also use the Kids' Clubs, but I'm not sure if they can call in advance, or if they have to call the same day for openings.

DD was 7 last fall when she went to the Sandcastle club for a couple of hours- she had a great time! We, too, had never left her with anyone other than family. We were a little worried, but we had a friend in Orlando who really wanted to meet us at Jellyrolls, so we went ahead and tried the Kids' Club. The CMs there really put us at ease- they asked all kinds of questions about DD, and there are lots of safety precautions that made us feel good about leaving her. It turned out to be one of her favorite things about our trip!

As for older kids- they have PS2 and XBox video games. That kept the older ones we saw at the club really occupied. Also, the older kids liked the arts & crafts stuff.

 

[TheShellys]

I'm considering the kids program at AKL when we go in April. Our youngest is just turning 4 while we are there and finally 90% potty trained -- i'm sending a pull up just in case .

With a meal, goodies and snacks, $20 per hour for both isn't too bad.

 

[juliebaby76]

Thank You everyone who replied. It seems like everyone had good experiences I am calling tomorrow to make reservations. WE LEAVE THURSDAY!!! What is Jellyrolls? I really appreciate everyones response it makes me feel a lot at ease leaving them there.

Thanks All

 

[jamzots]

We used Kids Night Out on our last trip in October, and I have to say to was wonderful!! The sitter was very professional, I didn't worry at all while we were gone. I had ds 5 months at the time sound asleep when she arrived, so it was really just a matter of her watching the two older boys. I think I will use them as least once, if not twice during our next trip. We made a big deal out of it for the kids, we let them order room service for dinner, and we rented movies from the clubhouse, since we are DVC members. I think they actually enjoyed having a night off. Next time I think we will get a sitter for the night just to "hang" at the resort, go to the lounge, maybe sit in the hot tub for awhile without the kiddies along!!

 

[Stacy's a freak]

This is such great info. Thanks!

Julie, Jellyrolls is a really fun piano bar. There are two bars flanking either side of a sunken seating area, in front of which is a stage with 2 grand "dueling" pianos. They have 2 pianist that play against each other all night (4 pianist that alternate each hour). But it's not stuffy! It's a really fun sing-a-long thing where the audience requests songs. If you have a chance, check it out. It's really a blast!