Has anyone else had issues with the new Oceaneer's club/lab policies?

[Disney Dreams]

REALLY?! I can't tell if you are joking or not. If you and DH love Flubber making so much I can give you the recipe. It is very easy to make at home.

100% serious!

On our last two cruises, DH and I would be reviewing the next day's Navigator to plan our day. When we saw Flubber (and some of the other Kids' Clubs activities) we would jokingly - but in complete sincerity - comment, "Hey, can we go hang with the kids for a while and do _____?" But without a kid, we were not allowed in the Kids' Clubs. They have some FUN activities in those Clubs!

We would LOVE to make Flubber. As I typed the above post, I told DH about he. He said, (laughing) "If it's Open House for everyone, clear the path! I'm there at opening on the day they make Flubber!"

We've never made it. Sounds fun. We've seen in for every cruise and think it would be a blast! Baking with the Chef is another one that looks exciting! What can I say? Two big kids at heart!

Thanks for asking. NO, I was not joking.

- Dreams

 

[squirrel]

They converted the conference room on the Wonder to the Edge just over a year ago.

I so need a new DCL brochure, mine is from 2008-2009. My TA ordered new ones but they haven't arrived yet.

 

[squirrel]

100% serious!

On our last two cruises, DH and I would be reviewing the next day's Navigator to plan our day. When we saw Flubber (and some of the other Kids' Clubs activities) we would jokingly - but in complete sincerity - comment, "Hey, can we go hang with the kids for a while and do _____?" But without a kid, we were not allowed in the Kids' Clubs. They have some FUN activities in those Clubs!

We would LOVE to make Flubber. As I typed the above post, I told DH about he. He said, (laughing) "If it's Open House for everyone, clear the path! I'm there at opening on the day they make Flubber!"

We've never made it. Sounds fun. We've seen in for every cruise and think it would be a blast! Baking with the Chef is another one that looks exciting! What can I say? Two big kids at heart!

Thanks for asking. NO, I was not joking.

- Dreams

I usually borrow a kid (one of my niece's). My sister wouldn't let me take one of them on the cruise, as she didn't want them missing anymore school.

Did you actually try and go and they wouldn't let you in? Was this before the new Open House stuff started?

 

[Disney Dreams]

I usually borrow a kid (one of my niece's). My sister wouldn't let me take one of them on the cruise, as she didn't want them missing anymore school.

Did you actually try and go and they wouldn't let you in? Was this before the new Open House stuff started?

Hahaha! We have joked about borrowing a kid! But, alas, no kid has yet to be borrowed.

I went into one of the Kids Clubs one time. I asked what exactly they do and how everything "works" in terms of the kids activities and playing. The CMs sort of looked at each other odd. I explained that we don't have kids, but hear such excellent things about the kids programs and I was just curious. They allowed me to look from the counter, but that was it. When I asked if I could come in and just look around, they got a little awkward and I said, "Not without a kid?" And they laughed and said, "Well, yeah." And I clearly did not want to cause any issue. I was just curious about this huge part of the cruise ship that we know nothing about.

So, until I find that kid to borrow... it will remain a mystery for us.

- Dreams

 

[Fellowship9798]

I've just sent a message expressing my concern about my upcoming March Disney Wonder Cruise. Our daughter has no interest in the Lab and our son won't stay in the Club as it skews too young for him.

We've got Palo booked for brunch and a dinner as well as a spa appointment, but without knowing whether we will have childcare enjoyable for both the kids (at the same time) I don't know if we'll have to cancel one or more of the bookings.

The kids loved the cruise and kids clubs last year in May which was a large part in our re-booking onboard. I understand why Disney considered this change and appreciate the idea of parent-child playtime together, but I totally agree with previous posts pointing out that the ship has plenty of other spaces for Family Time activities that wouldn't require restriction of the dedicated children's spaces that have been marketed so heavily to us adults making the plans.

If something needs to be changed, just clamp down on the "secured access" policies for the existing Lab and Club and keep the space dedicated to the kids. I would accept more restrictions placed on my access to the clubs as an parent if I knew it benefited my children and kept the spaces safe and dedicated to their use.

 

[EnchantedTikiGal]

Hahaha! We have joked about borrowing a kid! But, alas, no kid has yet to be borrowed.

So, until I find that kid to borrow... it will remain a mystery for us.

- Dreams

Hop on the 2/12 cruise, you can borrow my kid for Flubber LOL

 

[TDC Nala]

I've done the Flubber for adults, it's hilarious. Apparently they only do it on the longer cruises (the ones I did it on were 14 and 15 nights) when there aren't a lot of kids.

It would not have been nearly as hilarious if there were kids present. Let's just say everybody understood there weren't any kids in the room.

 

[jetskigrl]

Hahaha! We have joked about borrowing a kid! But, alas, no kid has yet to be borrowed.

I went into one of the Kids Clubs one time. I asked what exactly they do and how everything "works" in terms of the kids activities and playing. The CMs sort of looked at each other odd. I explained that we don't have kids, but hear such excellent things about the kids programs and I was just curious. They allowed me to look from the counter, but that was it. When I asked if I could come in and just look around, they got a little awkward and I said, "Not without a kid?" And they laughed and said, "Well, yeah." And I clearly did not want to cause any issue. I was just curious about this huge part of the cruise ship that we know nothing about.

So, until I find that kid to borrow... it will remain a mystery for us.

- Dreams

LOL - I love it Well, if you are on the Wonder in April, I might be looking for someone to go to the Lab during Open House with my son while my DH and I try Palo for the first time He is pretty fun to hang out with and I'm sure he would like to make Flubber with you

I would also like to say that I appreciate how this entire thread has been handled. There are obviously strong opinions on both sides of the issues but it has been discussed for 38 pages now and has remained for the most part just that, a discussion (very few personal attacks, etc)

I still haven't changed my opinion on this issue because I still hope that they will find a better schedule on the Wonder (as they seem to have done on the Dream and Magic). But I have read everyone's comments and appreciate the manner in which people have posted them.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

REALLY?! I can't tell if you are joking or not. If you and DH love Flubber making so much I can give you the recipe. It is very easy to make at home.

Reading this thread is making me stress out about our upcoming cruise. Why can't the children's area stay children's areas? I don't understand the need for parents to hang out, take pictures in the lab/oceaneer club when there are plenty of areas on the ship for family time.

I have skimmed this thread---it is really long---I did see people saying that some children with special needs need their parents in there to access the clubs. I am sure the kids' clubs can meet most needs, but not all.

I know my child with food allergies will need to be picked up during cookie making. Is it fair? It is ADA compliant? Didn't I pay for her cruise like every other child? I, personally, think it is reasonable to NOT have her participate in this event. Could Disney make nut-free/peanut-free cookies & make this accessible to her? They could, but at this point, we were told the activity would not be safe for her. She will go do one of the many other activities on the ship with us.

I wish Disney would make an absolute rule of ages/no adults and stick to it. I look forward to reading families' actual experiences with policies & see how it works out.

If you choose to take your kid out of the club during while an activity is happening that you think puts your child at risk, then by all means do so. But I would hardly compare avoiding one activity the equivalent to being denied access to the club in it's entirety.

I'm also sure if your child's school is run like my daughters, accommodations are made to help minimize the risk. When there is a child with a nut allergy in my daughters class, they make it a nut free zone; and the rest of us parents support it by not sending our kid to school with nuts.

Sometimes, it's not just the person in need to has to make the sacrifice.

I don't get what is stressing you out so much. There is now MORE restrictions to adults being in the clubs as previously.

So far most of the actual reports of people getting off the ship state that they didn't notice a big difference in the programming and it didn't cause any issues .

 

[twindaddy]

I promise I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, but can someone clarify what this thread is about? I read the first couple of pages and cannot find a concise gripe. We are complaining that DCL is now enforcing their own rules? Really? Or am I missing something here....

 

[gamommyofthree]

We pay a lot to cruise with Disney because of its policies with the clubs - our children LOVE the kids clubs. Having now looked over most of the comments on this thread I am not happy with the detailed planning that we will now have to go through to make sure everyone's activity schedule lines up and that they are happy where they want to be. For those that commented about dinner time being a peak time - those of us with small children (4 for us ages 6 and under) the benefit to having the option of dropping off during dinner time is if the child has had enough of the dinner table and already had their dessert and you are still on your main course - it is great to be able to take a minute and drop them off at kids club while you and spouse finish your meal without feeling rushed. We always do early dining as it is easier on our kids to eat at the earlier time. We cruise the Fantasy in June and the Wonder in July and am anxious to see how all of this switching from one club to the next pans out for each ship.

Hopefully most of this will be smoothed out by the time we cruise - but again I will say we spend our money cruising Disney because of the benefit of the kids clubs with small children - I will be highly disappointed if these changes make a big difference from previous cruises and then DCL will be getting an extreme earful from this family.

 

[jetskigrl]

I promise I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, but can someone clarify what this thread is about? I read the first couple of pages and cannot find a concise gripe. We are complaining that DCL is now enforcing their own rules? Really? Or am I missing something here....

We have been discussing the change in the policy at the Oceaneers Club and Lab. Previously it was all dedicated time for the kids, but parents were able to go in and take pictures, etc. The new policy is that parents are not allowed in the lab or club at all during "secure" programming. To then allow parents a time to be inside, they have picked blocks of times to be "Open Houses" in one area or the other (while Lab is doing Open House, the Club is doing secure programming).

The discussion has been primarily around the amount of times the areas are in Open House (limiting the availabilty of that space to that particular age group) and also how it varies from ship to ship. The Magic and Dream seem to have set times and people are able to plan around them while the Wonder's times seem to change daily and people are being told to check the Navigator the night before.

There is also concern about how crowded the Secure programming space is when the other is doing Open House because all age groups (3-10) are grouped together.

Since I am cruising on the Wonder in April, it concerns me that I will have to shuffle around our Palo reservations, etc based on the Open Houses (DS cannot stand the Club so we need to dine at a time that the Lab is available to him).

But the other side of the coin is making sure there is adequate time for parents to be inside with their kids (in cases of special needs, shy kids, etc).

 

[twindaddy]

We have been discussing the change in the policy at the Oceaneers Club and Lab. Previously it was all dedicated time for the kids, but parents were able to go in and take pictures, etc. The new policy is that parents are not allowed in the lab or club at all during "secure" programming. To then allow parents a time to be inside, they have picked blocks of times to be "Open Houses" in one area or the other (while Lab is doing Open House, the Club is doing secure programming).

The discussion has been primarily around the amount of times the areas are in Open House (limiting the availabilty of that space to that particular age group) and also how it varies from ship to ship. The Magic and Dream seem to have set times and people are able to plan around them while the Wonder's times seem to change daily and people are being told to check the Navigator the night before.

There is also concern about how crowded the Secure programming space is when the other is doing Open House because all age groups (3-10) are grouped together.

Since I am cruising on the Wonder in April, it concerns me that I will have to shuffle around our Palo reservations, etc based on the Open Houses (DS cannot stand the Club so we need to dine at a time that the Lab is available to him).

But the other side of the coin is making sure there is adequate time for parents to be inside with their kids (in cases of special needs, shy kids, etc).

Ok, that makes sense to me now, thank you. But I am still not clear...why would you have to change Palo? Shouldnt the Lab always be open for your boy, or is that one of the questions that is up in the air re: capacities?

 

[TDC Nala]

Ok, that makes sense to me now, thank you. But I am still not clear...why would you have to change Palo? Shouldnt the Lab always be open for your boy, or is that one of the questions that is up in the air re: capacities?

That is one of the things the posters aren't sure about: whether they can drop their kids off and leave them at the club that has Open House or Family Time or whatever they're calling it now, because it's "unsecure" programming, or if they have to stay and supervise their children. If it turns out they can drop them off, they then have to decide whether or not they WANT to, knowing that other adults will be permitted in the space.

The other big change is that 18 year olds are no longer permitted to participate in the teen club, whereas there used to be an exception for 18 year olds who were still in high school.

 

[jetskigrl]

We pay a lot to cruise with Disney because of its policies with the clubs - our children LOVE the kids clubs. Having now looked over most of the comments on this thread I am not happy with the detailed planning that we will now have to go through to make sure everyone's activity schedule lines up and that they are happy where they want to be. For those that commented about dinner time being a peak time - those of us with small children (4 for us ages 6 and under) the benefit to having the option of dropping off during dinner time is if the child has had enough of the dinner table and already had their dessert and you are still on your main course - it is great to be able to take a minute and drop them off at kids club while you and spouse finish your meal without feeling rushed. We always do early dining as it is easier on our kids to eat at the earlier time. We cruise the Fantasy in June and the Wonder in July and am anxious to see how all of this switching from one club to the next pans out for each ship.

Hopefully most of this will be smoothed out by the time we cruise - but again I will say we spend our money cruising Disney because of the benefit of the kids clubs with small children - I will be highly disappointed if these changes make a big difference from previous cruises and then DCL will be getting an extreme earful from this family.

I think you will be fine on the Fantasy (based on the lab/club on the Dream). The spaces are much bigger and (in my opinion) more approriate for all the age groups. My DS won't go in the Club on the Wonder but I often found him in the Monster's Inc section on the Dream. Although I'm not sure how much a younger child will like the Lab space.

My concern is on the Wonder as well. With the very long blocks of time and the various schedules from day to day, I have a feeling that we will be constantly checking our navigator (because we will never know when DS can go to the lab or not). I already miss the flexibility that came with knowing it was always available to him. He loved the Dine and Play also and according to the schedules people have been posting for us, there will only be a few nights that he can do that now. I am also hoping that they come up with a better solution for the Wonder before April. But I will be sure and update everyone at that time (if there are still concerns). I don't plan on telling DS anything about the changes and just see how it goes (I'll get his unbiased opinion, LOL).

 

[jetskigrl]

That is one of the things the posters aren't sure about: whether they can drop their kids off and leave them at the club that has Open House or Family Time or whatever they're calling it now, because it's "unsecure" programming, or if they have to stay and supervise their children. If it turns out they can drop them off, they then have to decide whether or not they WANT to, knowing that other adults will be permitted in the space.

Yep, exactly And we don't know the schedules in advance so we don't know if the lab will be doing Secure programming or an Open House at any given time. If it is an Open House, the way I think it works is that we have to be in there with him or he has to go to the Club (which he doesn't care for on the Wonder).

We are also unsure of the capacity issues when the secured programming is reduced to 1/2 the space (since the other 1/2 is doing an Open House).

The Magic and Dream seem to be using a set schedule for Open Houses (I think it is 3 pm to 6 pm on the Magic, alternating spaces each day). If they would do that on the Wonder I would be totally cool with it. Much easier to plan around.

 

[twindaddy]

That is one of the things the posters aren't sure about: whether they can drop their kids off and leave them at the club that has Open House or Family Time or whatever they're calling it now, because it's "unsecure" programming, or if they have to stay and supervise their children. If it turns out they can drop them off, they then have to decide whether or not they WANT to, knowing that other adults will be permitted in the space.

The other big change is that 18 year olds are no longer permitted to participate in the teen club, whereas there used to be an exception for 18 year olds who were still in high school.

Ok, that makes sense

I can see that being an issue, and I bet Disney is being of no help whatsoever in advance, kind of like the whole port arrival time thingy last August that turned out to be much ado about nothing.

 

[LKFan]

That is one of the things the posters aren't sure about: whether they can drop their kids off and leave them at the club that has Open House or Family Time or whatever they're calling it now, because it's "unsecure" programming, or if they have to stay and supervise their children. If it turns out they can drop them off, they then have to decide whether or not they WANT to, knowing that other adults will be permitted in the space.
.

What I am getting from what people have reported is that unsecure means that not only will other adults be in there but that the gates will be open (with no CM monitoring) and that people (including kids) can come and go as they like. It would be as if you were walking into a movie, Bingo, trivia or another activity on the ship where people of all ages can come and go at will.

If you check your child into the lab at 1 pm and, at 2 pm, the lab changes to open house, your child will be taken to the club where it will be secure and your child cannot leave unless you check them out. When the club is in open house, the kids who were checked in "securely" will be taken to the lab.

 

[averysmom]

I spoke with a DCL rep today - Jaime (Jayme?) to get the skinny on the situation. She also called it "family time", and told me the following:

1. From her information, this is a TEMPORARY situation, that they are working on something more long-term to provide family time for kids activities.

2. I am cruising in August, and she told me that this temporary situation would probably be resolved by then.

3. For those ppl. whose cruises are affected by the change, there is no set schedule for the family time, it is varying by each cruise.

4. There has been a lot of feedback from the cruises, and she kind of giggled when I spoke with her that there has been a lot of feedback at DCL about the changes - I wasn't the first person that she talked to today

5. She said to keep giving your feedback, that Disney listens.

HTH! I'm feeling a lot better after hearing that this whole thing is probably just temporary. This makes sense to me... I mean, seriously, one of Disney's main selling point is the kid's clubs... repurposing the clubs 1/3 of the time away from dedicated children's programming just didn't jive!

Oh, and mentioned about holding kid's club programming (flubber, etc.) in the nightclubs or atrium for families and she said that she's sure that is being considered.

 

[Mcky36]

I spoke with a DCL rep today - Jaime (Jayme?) to get the skinny on the situation. She also called it "family time", and told me the following:

1. From her information, this is a TEMPORARY situation, that they are working on something more long-term to provide family time for kids activities.

2. I am cruising in August, and she told me that this temporary situation would probably be resolved by then.

3. For those ppl. whose cruises are affected by the change, there is no set schedule for the family time, it is varying by each cruise.

4. There has been a lot of feedback from the cruises, and she kind of giggled when I spoke with her that there has been a lot of feedback at DCL about the changes - I wasn't the first person that she talked to today

5. She said to keep giving your feedback, that Disney listens.

HTH! I'm feeling a lot better after hearing that this whole thing is probably just temporary. This makes sense to me... I mean, seriously, one of Disney's main selling point is the kid's clubs... repurposing the clubs 1/3 of the time away from dedicated children's programming just didn't jive!

Oh, and mentioned about holding kid's club programming (flubber, etc.) in the nightclubs or atrium for families and she said that she's sure that is being considered.

Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately, I don't have time for them to work out the kinks as we leave in 3 weeks. I'm really hoping someone who is currently on the Wonder will let us know on Sunday if any tweeks were made to the schedule this week. The last three sailings on the Wonder have had RIDICULOUSLY long "family time" hours.