Gktw ?

[palpluto]

Did anyone do the parents night out at GKTW? How did that work? What did the kids do? Thanks.

 

[jennydep]

We did not, but I'm bumping this up so someone will see it.

Jenny

 

[palpluto]

Thanks Jenny.
Your trip report was great.

 

[Eeyore's Mom]

I had a similiar question as well. My understanding is that the parents stay "on ground" now and the kids have a one on one sitter to go have pizza, ice cream and game time with. (not sure if that is 1 sitter to 1 family of kids or each individual kid) The kids just have to be old enough to use the potty themselves. I would like to do this but not sure if my youngest will be potty trained- were working on it I also have concern about my wish childs severe food allergies, but I'm sure they are pretty use to that too. ??? I would love to take advantage of it since my husband and I have only been out 1 time in the past year without the kids. Hope we hear if others have used this service...

 

[palpluto]

EeyoresMom-
When are you going to gktw? My son also has severe food allergies to milk, egg, wheat, peanut, and tree nut. Also allergic to beef but I don't think he would anaphylax to beef.

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

Hi Everyone!

I'm happy to have wandered onto this thread. I was in the Disney College Program this past spring, and I was a volunteer at GKTW...for Parent's Night Out! I'll try to give you a bunch of info, but feel free to PM me with any other questions!

Parent's Night Out is generally run by at least one GKTW employee, and a few experienced volunteers. The people who work with the kids are volunteers...from different groups (College Program), church groups, colleges, etc. Before the night begins the volunteers go through a basic overview (make sure the kids have fun, let them lead the way, find one of the program heads in the kids need to use the bathroom, etc.) Then we go to the Castle of Miracles to wait for the kids. As families arrive, one volunteer is assigned to each child (not each family). The volunteers pretty much follow the kids around the castle, playing games with them, keeping them in the same area, etc, until dinnertime.


Dinner is in the cupcake (back) room of the main restaurant, partitioned off from the rest of the families. Volunteers pass out the food (usually pizza, salad, and dessert) but I have seen many cases where kids are either picky, or for another reason need a different meal, and that is never a problem. I would speak to the supervisor when you drop your kids off she will probably arrange for another meal, but I would mention it to your child's volunteer just to be sure.

After dinner, everyone walks as a group to the theater, where there is either Village Idol or a magic show. Village Idol is soooooooooooooooooooooooo fun! If your child likes to sing, dance, tell jokes...ANYTHING, they would LOVE to participate in this! Think talent competition, where EVERYONE is cheered on, everyone can get any snacks/ drinks for free, and everyone wins!!! I volunteered many times, and I have yet to see a child get upset. Your Parent's Night Out volunteer will hopefully help encourage your child to perform and enjoy it...I have been a bridge for a rousing performance of "London Bridge is Falling Down," I have been an introducer for some dancers, and the "robot controller" for two 6 year olds who wanted to do the Robot! Nobody is left out in the cold...during one performance of Take Me Out to the BallGame, the child was having difficulty...and the entire audience sang along to help out, and of course gave a standing ovation at the end! Most parents come to Village Idol (or the magic show) and pick their kids up at the end...definitely get there on time so, if, out of nowhere, your child ends up as a performer, you will not miss it!

Your volunteer will stay with your child until they find you. I actually would ask permission from the parents to take pictures of the kids while they were away, so I could e-mail the parents to show them what they missed!

All in all...I would say your child will be well taken care of. Volunteers are good at distracting kids who might be missing mom or dad, and soon they don't want to leave!

Only because you can't see any faces...here is the end of Village Idol:

Parent's Night Out is fun for the kids, and may be a great break for you!
Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Erin : )

 

[Eeyore's Mom]

This is why I love DIsboards. Thank you so much for that insight and who better than someone that has been a volunteer. I know the information has helped me and I hope we will be able to participate with it when we come in Jan. I would love to see my "wish son" perform, he is very shy but might surprise me.

Plapluto- I will try and send you a pm now too.

 

[Bill_Lin]

I am securely wrapped around my DD 5s little finger . And we came so close to losing her a few times. Maybe that is why I had no desire to do parent's night out. I wanted to be with her for every aspect of her wish trip. I am sure it is different for parent's whose kids are still needing a LOT of physical care. This can be exhausting, so I guess the night would be like a bit of respite.

I CAN tell you this, everything done at GKTW is fun, awesome, wonderful and full of magic. Perhaps another reason for parent's night out is that none of the inside villa doors have locks , if you know what I mean.

Our kids were always zonked out, unconscious, far away in sleep land within moments of hitting the pillow after a day of CONQUERING the theme parks. So we had privacy in that sense.