Hire a sitter to go into park?

[Tracyee]

I am trying to plan our Sept. 03 trip to WDW and I want to make it a great experience for all - my 3 almost 4 year old daughter, my 5 year old severe CP son, husband who is leary about the trip and me!

Has anyone hired a sitter to accompany them into the parks so the parents could ride together on stuff the little ones can't ride? We could ride separately but that would take more time of course. My son, loves everything. We simply sit him next to us and hold onto him. He goes gaga for things or rides that flash, blink, spin, etc. My daughter on the other hand is a scaredy cat -- She is petrified of Chuckie Cheese but loves princesses (real people/faces). She is okay on some rides so long as mommy is there with her, LOL! I'm thinking that the sitter could stay with the kids while hubby and I ride the "big kid" rides. This would also allow my daughter to get used to the sitter so we could use th esame person again later in the week so hubby and I could have an adult dinner adn visit to Pleasure Island.

For all of you in the know, please give me your wisdom.

Thanks

 

[Michigan]

Take a Grandparent with you. I always pay my Mom's way to come with me.

 

[lookingforward]

I know that the official babysitting service of WDW Kids Night Out (I Think) does offer in park babysitting. When I called they told me that you have to pay the admission price for th sitter (if she has annual passes then you give her $15), and of course her hourly pay plus meals if she is with you for more than four hours. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[SueM in MN]

We're lucky enough to have an older daughter who caan take younger DD for a while.
I have read about people using Fairy Godmothers to be with their kids in the parks (the same sort of deal as mentioned by lookingforward). I would expect that almost any of the babysitting sservices would do it if you ask, especially since you are talking about being with them in the parks.

 

[BevS97]

you can also babyswap, so even if you don't ride together you won't have to wait in line twice, so it doesn't take that much longer. My dd is a real scardeycat, and so we baby swap quite often and it works pretty well.

bev

 

[dizneluver9]

Hi my name is Kelly...i am new to the boards...but I love disney and am getting a masters in Occupational Therapy.....so here are my 2 cents about getting a babysitter for the parks

Using Kids Night Out is good as long as you dont need more than just basic babysitting services...they are not trained on handling specific diagnoses or any complacated medical issues...things like 02, behavior issues related to austism, ect.

Right now, no one organization comes to my mind that can help. I would be willing to possible pursue seeing if i personally could help...i have the knowledge on how to deal with specific dx such as autism, CP, MR, angelmans syndrome and a few others. I could help with basic medical issues though I am not certifited to actually do anything. I also have references. So if anybody is interested in seeing if I could help just drop me a line at eaglesnestorl@aol.com or dizneluver9@aol.com

TTFN

 

[welovedis]

Your idea sounds like it would work out perfectly. I can personally recommend Fairy GodMothers. They were terrific with my DS who has sever asthma, allergies and some other issues. We have used them for in-room sitting and found the sitter (Marguerite) to be very personable, friendly and great with DS. She arrived a few minutes early with a bag of toys and spent the evening having fun with DS. I even used her again for our last trip even though DS was old enough to go to an on-site club because he liked her so much.

I think if you called the services directly, they would give you an idea of costs involved and you could discuss things further with them. Here's a list of the WDW area sitter services and their numbers:
Fairy Godmothers: (407) 969-9847 and toll free 877-611-4314
Kindercare: 407-827-5444
All About Kids: 407-827-5444 or http://www.all-about-kids.com/
Kids Nite Out: http://www.kidsniteout.com/home.htm

I know that some services state that all their sitters are CPR certified and some may have basic first aid training as well. I have heard lots of good things about FG, All About Kids and Kids Nite Out. Friends that have 2 adopted special needs children have used Kids Nite Out and were very pleased. 1 of their children has spina biffida (sp?) and the other 1 has mod/severe CP. The mom said the sitter was terrific and she felt very comfortable leaving them and going out.

HTH!

 

[Tracyee]

Thanks everyone. We are really getting excited about our trip. I will be contacting the sitter services right away.

 

[SueOKW]

good luck Tracyee! Our son is in the same boat as yours - i think we are going to be on our 5th trip .. and he just loves the movements etc. some things are too loud, and it took a long time for his little sisters to get used to Pirates....

we take our best friend for help.. couldn't live without uncle andy! i think your babsitter idea is grand!
sue