do little ones really like the club?

[mediacitymom]

Hello, all.
We will be going on the 7day western caribbean cruise in two weeks with our 3-yr-old son. Level with me: will dh and I really have any time on our own? I'd love to hear from parents of pre-schoolers about whether their kids liked the club and how much time they spent there, allowing parents to r-e-l-a-x.
Thanks,
Evelyn

 

[Mickeyhugger]

It depends on your child. Our DD (an only child), is very shy at first, and it takes awhile for her to warm up.

An ideal situation will be if your child can 'buddy-up' with someone. DD did not want to go back to Oceaneer's club after one visit. The program was great, she just didn't want to be away from DH and I. However, some pixie dust was sprinkled our way when she warmed up to the daughter of our dining companions. (DD was 7, her companion was 9). Our problem was solved. The two of them went everywhere together for the duration of the cruise.

Maybe your DH and you could ask the directors of the Oceaneers club if they can pair your son up with another child? I never asked. I don't know if it always works, but might be worth a try.

 

[lbgraves]

DS LOVED the club at 5. He calls it the Mickey Mouse school. Whenever anyone asks him about the cruise he always talks about the characters coming to see them and the ship they play in and the teachers. We only let him go for 2 hours or so at a time so that he wouldn't get burned out. DD was 3 and is also shy. She went with DS to the club one night & got her picture taken with Daisy and decorated the picture frame. I had taken them both to march with Mickey that morning so that she could get use to the club. She didn't want to leave that night but she also didn't want to go back the rest of the cruise. I believe that she enjoyed the attention she received at dinner from the 4 adults and servers and she LOVED the shows.

One amazing thing that resulted from this cruise is that she talked in preschool for the first time her first day back from our trip. The teachers were amazed! She told the class all about the ship & the characters at sharing time and started to initiate play with other kids instead of just sitting with the teacher coloring. I think that she will enjoy the club more this December when she is 4 and even more selfconfident.

We didn't go into the cruise expecting to be able to go to Palo or have any time to ourselves so that couple hours one night was very nice.

 

[noahsmom]

My DS was 4.5 yrs old on our 1st (and only cruise so far). He LOVED the club. He wanted to go from the moment he woke up and never wanted to leave. It was truely magical for him. He is very anti-princess but even went to Tea with Wendy because she was going to talk about Peter Pan. He made a magic wand one day and still believes the glitter around the edge is real pixy dust. The look on his face when he told me about the pixy dust was worth every dollar we spent on the trip.

Of course it really depends on your child, but they have terrific counselors and programs. We go again in July and he can't wait to get back to the club.

Good luck and enjoy!

Kelli

 

[Alex]

We have certainly seen parents saying their children loved it and others who's kids hated it.
Only you can judge what category your child is likely to fall in to.
Does he go to pre-school? Did it take the jaws of life to pry him off of you?
Does he do play groups? Is he ok if you leave him with someone else?
I remember one poster a LONG time ago.....their child had NEVER had a babysitter... had never been away from mom for more than a half hour.. and they were upset when their child didn't like the clubs!!
So be honest with yourself about your child..and I think you will know the answer!

 

[mediacitymom]

Kelli, Lisa, Alex and Mickiehugger—thanks for your help. I feel better.
Ds is in preschool all day and he loves it. He shed three tears the first day we left him there, his lip trembled a bit the second day and by the third day he was running to the car to go to school. He also drops me like a hot potato when we get to the playground or Chuck E. Cheese's, although he does occasionally look around to find us.
We are sailing with dear friends from the mid-west who have a four-year-old so my *hope* is that both boys will like the club well enough to go for a few hours two or three times during the trip. I’m not asking for much, just a massage and one dinner at palo’s. Wish me luck!
By the way, if anyone has any tips on how to break them in to the club to increase our chances, I'd be much obliged.
-evelyn

 

[mickeyboat]

I am worried that my kids will not want to stay in the clubs, too. they go to a home day care so they are not exposed to a preschool environment with many children.

My plan is to spend some time in the clubs with them. It is my understanding that parents can join the kids for any activity. Then after a little while, I hope they like it so much they won't mind if we leave.

Good luck to you.

Denae

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Don't worry, I was concerned too! My 4 & 5 yr olds had never stayed with a baby-sitter, was never in a pre-school environment...basically never really away from me. I had them all prepared, showed them pictures of the club and gave them an idea of what sort of activities they would have. Let's just say that I had to drag them out of the clubs just to have dinner with us! They were there from the opening to dinner, then after they inhaled dinner they went back until they fell asleep! I was lost the first night but quickly learned to relax and enjoy my time ALONE with hubby! Happy cruising!!

 

[MarkLem]

Our 8 year old liked the kids room alot, and even asked to stay extra twice. But she did not typically want to stay beyond a couple of hours.

Our 6 year old enjoyed it less. She was a good sport about it and went there during our Palo dinner and another time during a spa session, but wasn't crazy about it. She would rather stay with us, and actually complained one or two other times when we approached her about visiting the Ocean Club.

Our almost 3 year old (2 year, 11 months) hung in there during our Palo and spa session, but only because he was with the 6 year old. I doubt if he would have enjoyed it on his own more than an hour or so at best.

 

[Jon in SC]

We went on the Magic twice last year. (o.k. I'm bragging a little)

First time the kids were 3 1/2 DS and 5 1/2 DD. Second time, 4 and 6.

DD got quarantined for the first 48 hrs of the 1st cruise. She missed making friends at the start of the cruise and felt "left out" and didn't enjoy the club much.

The 2nd cruise she went the first night made some friends and wanted to go back at every opportunity.


DS loved the club both times. The first time was more "free-range" solo play. The 2nd time he made different friends each day.

 

[hydster]

and he actually didnt enjoy the club very much but I think most of that was he was pretty shy, hadnt been in preschool very long and his brother and sister werent with him in any of the activities. He went a couple of times but then we were only on the 4 day and we had grandparents with us as well. He was also getting a nasty cold on the 2nd and 3rd day so we kept him with us so we didnt expose the other kids so he didnt get much time in there. I think he would have done better if he had gotten a nap but the cruise was so short we were on the go constantly. For this cruise he is already telling me he doesnt want to go to the clubs but I think he will like it once we get there. If not then we will spend the time with him at the pool and let the other kids decide what they want to do. I also think he really wanted to be in the lab to play on the "buzz lightyear" computer systems but he was too small (still is actually) so the one and only time he did like it was when they got an hour in the lab.

Honestly I would plan on your child not wanting to go and then if he does great..if not nothing spoiled. Just my opinion however.

Heidi

 

[takemeaway]

When we cruised in October my 4 year old loved the club and my 7 year old hated it. I think it all depends on the child. MY 7 year old does not do well when put into unorganized activities. In the clubs, there is always 45 minutes to 1 hour of free time in between the organized events. (free time = time when the kids can play on the computer or color or do something by themselves). We always received a page when there was free time in the club.

I think you should go with the idea that maybe your child will like the club and maybe he won't. Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed.

 

[Alex]

I think the answers here exactly prove that point that some kids love it...others not so much....
luckymommy.... you get NO time away from the kids and your username is "luckymommy"
you must be a saint!

 

[CarolNKidz]

Hi Evelyn,

Are you on the Disney Magic that leaves 1/31? We ( my DH, DD and DS ) are on that cruise and my son is 3 1/2. We are hoping that our kids will like the kids club. My DD is 5 so she won't be in the same age groups as my son. We are also traveling with some friends whose DD is 5 and the girls are friends. Kinda leaves my son out of the loop.

Maybe our boys could get together if you sailing the same date

Carol

 

[abusymommy]

Originally posted by CarolNKidz
Hi Evelyn,

Are you on the Disney Magic that leaves 1/31? We ( my DH, DD and DS ) are on that cruise and my son is 3 1/2. Kinda leaves my son out of the loop.

Maybe our boys could get together if you sailing the same date

Carol

Hi Carol...I happened to come across your post when I was searching for info on the kids club. Me, my DH and DS (age 3 1/2) will be on the Magic on 1/31. There is another thread in cruise meets that has more than 25 families posting on it that are going on the Magic on 1/31. Someone on it has a list of everyone going, along with kids ages, room locations, etc.

Here is the link to get to the 1/31 cruise meets thread..... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=351441

We're from Chicago, and this is our first Disney cruise. We'll be flying in the night before and staying at the Radissson at the port. Many others from the thread I gave you will be staying there too. Can't wait to go!!

We'll have to introduce the boys, so they have a playmate.....Mary Jo