Fair Godmothers or Kids Night Out

[KTME]

We're thinking about having a few hours of grown up time (gasp!) while at WDW. We have an infant and a school age child. Which service would you recommend? We have seen postings for the Fairy Godmothers but not much about Kids Night Out. We are leaving real soon and may not even be able to get a reservation with either service. So I'm calling someone tomorrow and just was curious as to who to call first.

Also hubby needs some reassurances.

Thanks!

 

[CastleCreations]

I've used KNO, and I love them. I live in Florida and go quite frequently. I recommend them to everyone. I have never had a bad experience, they have been professional, on time, and left quickly when I return back to my room. I can't say enough good things about them.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We have used FG with fantastic results...never a problem. Very friendly and our sitters always brought games or other activities with them. One of our FG took the kids out to breakfast at GF cafe (we paid for it), so they will take your kids out and about too if you want.

I haven't had any personal experience with Kids Nite Out, although I have always heard great things about them as well. I always used FG, cause like you said...lots out there on FG, but not much out there on Kids Nite Out. I figured I wanted to go with someone that maybe was a little more widespread. That was just my logic...I'm sure Kids Nite Out is good...just doesn't seem to be as much chatter and info about them online as FG's.

The kids clubs at Disney resort hotels are also great. Meals are provided and there is never a loss for things to do. Crafts, video games, reading, games...they have it all. You don't have to be staying at that resort or even on Disney property to use them, so you might want to consider that as well.We've used all the resort clubs at one time or another and never had a complaint and the kids always wanted to stay!

 

[KTME]

Thanks for all your input.

We can't wait to go only 5 more nighties!!!!

 

[Stick People]

I will never use Kids Nite Out again. We used them last trip and they left my 9yo Daughter alone in our room! (Sitter's name was Ginny and YES, she still works there!)

BEWARE!!

 

[**eeyore**]

I will never use Kids Nite Out again. We used them last trip and they left my 9yo Daughter alone in our room! (Sitter's name was Ginny and YES, she still works there!)

BEWARE!!

What?!?! Can you provide a little more detail on the situation so that other parents can use your experience to help them make their decision? TIA.

 

[Stick People]

What?!?! Can you provide a little more detail on the situation so that other parents can use your experience to help them make their decision? TIA.

First, when she came in she seemed GREAT! She came with a bag of games and activities for the children (We have two - at the time were 9DD and 4DS) and she was an older women which made me feel at ease with her experience.

Before we left for the evening, she did something I found a little strange - she gave us a homemade business card with her name and home phone number on it and told us next trip to just call her directly. WOW - Sneaky little thing! Directly solociting customers (I'm not sure but I think that may be bad, bad, bad!).

Anyway, we went to the function we had planned, checked in with her at nine (the kids' bedtime) and were back to our room by 1pm.

The next day, while we were at breakfast, my DD casually blurted out how Ginny and DS had gone down to the lobby (we were on the 7th floor) while DD stayed alone in the room. WHAT! I FREAKED OUT!

Okay, no she didin't leave property BUT COME ON! There was construction going on at the pool and there were workers coming and going in our hall, anyone of whom could have knocked on the door while DD was alone, there could have been a fire, ANYTHING could have happened. She's NINE and NEVER gets left alone for a minute - she would not have known what to do in an emergency situation (thats why we hired an agency).

So I call KNO and they are "so sorry" saying "Ginny has been with us for years and we have never had a complaint". blah, blah, blah. She said Ginny admitted leaving her but "only to go to the lobby for ice". I asked if she would be fired and they said no. They didin't think this one SMALL incident warranted that, but they would return my money. Like all I cared about was THE MONEY!!

By that point I was so upset that I had totally forgotten about the business card but I GUARANTEE they would have fired her for that, not for leaving my child alone though.

As i said before BEWARE KIDS NITE OUT!!!!!!!

 

[**eeyore**]

First, when she came in she seemed GREAT! She came with a bag of games and activities for the children (We have two - at the time were 9DD and 4DS) and she was an older women which made me feel at ease with her experience.

Before we left for the evening, she did something I found a little strange - she gave us a homemade business card with her name and home phone number on it and told us next trip to just call her directly. WOW - Sneaky little thing! Directly solociting customers (I'm not sure but I think that may be bad, bad, bad!).

Anyway, we went to the function we had planned, checked in with her at nine (the kids' bedtime) and were back to our room by 1pm.

The next day, while we were at breakfast, my DD casually blurted out how Ginny and DS had gone down to the lobby (we were on the 7th floor) while DD stayed alone in the room. WHAT! I FREAKED OUT!

Okay, no she didin't leave property BUT COME ON! There was construction going on at the pool and there were workers coming and going in our hall, anyone of whom could have knocked on the door while DD was alone, there could have been a fire, ANYTHING could have happened. She's NINE and NEVER gets left alone for a minute - she would not have known what to do in an emergency situation (thats why we hired an agency).

So I call KNO and they are "so sorry" saying "Ginny has been with us for years and we have never had a complaint". blah, blah, blah. She said Ginny admitted leaving her but "only to go to the lobby for ice". I asked if she would be fired and they said no. They didin't think this one SMALL incident warranted that, but they would return my money. Like all I cared about was THE MONEY!!

By that point I was so upset that I had totally forgotten about the business card but I GUARANTEE they would have fired her for that, not for leaving my child alone though.

As i said before BEWARE KIDS NITE OUT!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing the details. I would be upset too. Hopefully, for the sake of everyone else using KNO, it was an isolated incident. I will keep it in mind if we ever choose to use a babysitting service.

 

[catalexander]

just to be fair, one bad sitter does not mean that ALL the sitters are bad, or that the service is bad.

Just like one bad CM doesn't make Disney BAD.

I'm sorry that happened, and that you were so upset by it... but everyone is different. Personally, it wouldn't have bothered me if my 9 year old were left in the room long enough to go get ice.

We're all different. Maybe we need to be VERY clear about our expectations when we leave our children in someone elses care.

 

[jodifla]

just to be fair, one bad sitter does not mean that ALL the sitters are bad, or that the service is bad.

Just like one bad CM doesn't make Disney BAD.

I'm sorry that happened, and that you were so upset by it... but everyone is different. Personally, it wouldn't have bothered me if my 9 year old were left in the room long enough to go get ice.

We're all different. Maybe we need to be VERY clear about our expectations when we leave our children in someone elses care.

Yeah, seems like a major overreaction to me...I wouldn't have been bothered by a sitter running down to get ice either, although I'm surprised she just didn't take the 9 year old with her.

A 9 year old who has never been alone? The 9 year olds around here are latch-key kids.

 

[Stick People]

Yeah, seems like a major overreaction to me...I wouldn't have been bothered by a sitter running down to get ice either, although I'm surprised she just didn't take the 9 year old with her.

A 9 year old who has never been alone? The 9 year olds around here are latch-key kids.

"major overreaction"? what, being upset and disturbed that someone hired to WATCH my children slacked on their duties? I think that's a normal reaction.

I'm also disturbed by the epidemic of lack of parenting that goes on in the world - but I guess that's just me too.

I thought when the "poster" asked for experiences, she was looking for all of them, not just the peachey ones!

 

[jodifla]

"major overreaction"? what, being upset and disturbed that someone hired to WATCH my children slacked on their duties? I think that's a normal reaction.

I'm also disturbed by the epidemic of lack of parenting that goes on in the world - but I guess that's just me too.

I thought when the "poster" asked for experiences, she was looking for all of them, not just the peachey ones!

It was nice of you to specify what the sitter did that you didn't like.

I think that helps parents....but it certainly wouldn't keep me from hiring Ginny. As you said yourself, she's a longtime sitter with no other complaints.

To the OP: I'm a longtime user of Fairy Godmothers. We most often use the same sitter...she's great! She brings toys, and DS is very comfortable with her.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I can see both sides of this. I know I would be none too thrilled if someone I hired to watch my kids left them alone, even for a moment. On the flip side, if it was to run out just to get ice, I'm not sure I would be that upset. I guess it would really depend on my mood at the time on how the whole situation struck me.

The business card thing...hmmmm...I'm an employer so that would totally not sit well with me if one of my employees did it, but in truth, it happens all the time. I guess you can't blame a person for trying to make a living. However, she does risk her job by doing that-especially since that does not rub everyone the right way. If you were happy with her services then the nice thing would be that you knew who you were dealing with and if you wanted to use her in the future, you could cut out the middle man and she would make a few dollars more and you'd probably pay a few dollars less. Obviously in your case you would never even consider using her again.

Very sad that you had the experience you did, but glad that you are sharing it with us. It's good to be informed...good or bad.

 

[vicki845]

I don't think stick people overreacted. Yes the sitter went for ice, but she had to go 7 stories down to get it with a 4yr old in tow. What would have happened if the elevator broke down and they were stuck for awhile? Don't you think the 9 yr old would have been frightened, not knowing what to do? Anything could have happened. They were PAYING THE SITTER TO WATCH BOTH OF HER KIDS. Her daughter is 9 not 19.

 

[write2caro]

I've had great experiences with KNO - never a problem. We intend to use them again on our upcoming trip.

 

[Stick People]

I don't think stick people overreacted. Yes the sitter went for ice, but she had to go 7 stories down to get it with a 4yr old in tow. What would have happened if the elevator broke down and they were stuck for awhile? Don't you think the 9 yr old would have been frightened, not knowing what to do? Anything could have happened. They were PAYING THE SITTER TO WATCH BOTH OF HER KIDS. Her daughter is 9 not 19.

Thank you! When you take on the responsibility of someone else's child, every second counts.

And the whole "getting ice" situation - there was an ice machine on our floor -so no matter what her excuse, there was absolutely no reason for her to go to the lobby in the first place.

This trip we will be taking our sitter with us @ a cost of $800 but I can trust her and that's invaluable to us.

Thanks again to all the dilligent parents who understand why I was so upset.

 

[Disneyolic]

Thank you! When you take on the responsibility of someone else's child, every second counts.

And the whole "getting ice" situation - there was an ice machine on our floor -so no matter what her excuse, there was absolutely no reason for her to go to the lobby in the first place.

This trip we will be taking our sitter with us @ a cost of $800 but I can trust her and that's invaluable to us.

Thanks again to all the dilligent parents who understand why I was so upset.

I have just been reading this thread and haven't responded until now.

I think Stick People was totally right in being upset with the way things were handled by the hired sitter. I would have been extremely mad. There is no reason why the sitter could not have taken her 9-year-old to go get the ice too.

There are a lot of kids who have a lot more responsibility in these days and there used to be a day where "latch key" kids was the norm. I was one of those kids. But is illegal now for kids under 14 (at least in NY) to be left alone. Some people still do it but that does not make it right.

If I were to use a sitting service, if I did choose KNO, then I would request to NOT have Ginny be our sitter under any circumstances.

 

[jodifla]

Thank you! When you take on the responsibility of someone else's child, every second counts.

And the whole "getting ice" situation - there was an ice machine on our floor -so no matter what her excuse, there was absolutely no reason for her to go to the lobby in the first place.

This trip we will be taking our sitter with us @ a cost of $800 but I can trust her and that's invaluable to us.

Thanks again to all the dilligent parents who understand why I was so upset.

Yeah, but you wanted a longtime sitter with no other complaints to be FIRED.

IMO, you just wanted your pound of flesh.

There's a lot of ways to parent in this world.

 

[jodifla]

I have just been reading this thread and haven't responded until now.

.

There are a lot of kids who have a lot more responsibility in these days and there used to be a day where "latch key" kids was the norm. I was one of those kids. But is illegal now for kids under 14 (at least in NY) to be left alone. Some people still do it but that does not make it right.

If I were to use a sitting service, if I did choose KNO, then I would request to NOT have Ginny be our sitter under any circumstances.

Actually, this isn't true, according to this web site. Only Illinois and Maryland have laws; other states have guidelines.

http://www.nccic.org/poptopics/homealone.html

Note that the law in Illinois is for kids under 8. The Maryland law is for kids under 14, but that they have to be left for an unreasonable period of time, of which running to get ice would not have been.

Many kids are babysitting other little kids by the time they are 12. Heck some kids have their OWN kids by the time they are 12.

 

[Disneyolic]

Actually, this isn't true, according to this web site. Only Illinois and Maryland have laws; other states have guidelines.

http://www.nccic.org/poptopics/homealone.html

Well, I never checked out that site. My source was from a social worker in Syracuse. Still, I guess I would much rather go by those guidelines.