I want info from a kid.......

[tchrmom]

I have a 10 year old son and 7 year old daughter. We are going on the Magic for 7 days in June. Are there any kids in these age groups who can assure my kids that they will enjoy the kids' clubs? They want to know what types of things you do all day. Were they REALLY that much fun?????? Or, will they prefer to hang with mom and dad?

 

[imgoingtodisney]

good question - What can I start to get my DS10 psyched about?

 

[Bbethparsons]

We are cruising our 3rd cruise 5/25/02 on Disney Magic. The previous two year my 7 year old daughter has been in the club. She loved EVERY minute of it. Did not want to leave at night. She meets people easily and loves to play in the club.
My son (10 now) went to the lab; however, did not enjoy the lab as much as my daughter did the club. There seemed to be too much free "Storm the Lab Time". My kids hardly ever went during the day. They looked at their navigator and highlighted any activity for the next day they wanted to attend and went. However, every night after dinner sometime they both went to their area. Hubby and I need at least an hour a day to sit,have a drink, and TALK. My son though had his cousin which is his name age and twiceasnice twins from New York. They hung out together a lot. They had walkie talkies and let us know where they would be. This year they will all still be together, plus my daughter will be moving up to lab, she will be 8 on 4/27. She is excited about being able to hang out with them some in the lab. We will see how it goes. You are welcome to write my kids. My son is Cory at westbayboy@aol.com and Emily at westbaygirl@aol.com They would love to get your kids mail and answer their questions.

 

[CamColt]

We cruised with my neices who were 7 & just 11 at the time. We did the land/sea pkg. After the 3 day cruise they told their parents they would rather do a cruise again, than to go back to Disney. They really enjoyed cruising! And they only went to the kids club once, for about an hour.

 

[kcand sunshine]

My 9 yr old DD said the club was OK. She prefered roaming the ship and having freedom. My DS 7 chose not to go. He said it was for babies and he played PingPong, basketball and went to the arcade. They have free time but do have organized activities an hour in the morning and an hour or 2 in the afternoon.It really depends on the child and what they are used to at home. Good Luck!!

 

[Karel]

This is Chris - he was ten when we went in November. Take it, Chris:

"You'll have lots of fun. You will make friends the first day. In the lab, we made flubber, played computer games, board games, and talked. There was stuff to build with, dances, music, ghost stories one night, cell animation painting, drawing, going to movies, and sports. I always liked walking around the ship with some of the kids I met and staying up really late. Sometimes, I hung out with my mom and dad too, like when we went to the pool at nine oclock at night and sat in the hot tub. Also, I went ashore with them to the beach and my younger sister and brother stayed on the ship. Also, we went to some shows together. I like to do different things every day but I did spend a lot of time in the lab too."


I also have a seven year old and a nine year old. They were either in the club or with us, and did not roam freely. I did not feel comfortable doing that. My ten year old had a bit more freedom - but always had to tell us where he was headed and how long he expected to be. Each day was different - some days they would spend the whole time in the club and some days one or two would hang out with us. It was nice when we had parent/child time with one of them, which actually happened a lot. They were all very happy with their time spent in their clubs. We did get a lot of just adult time and actually club hopped one night.

 

[DizMare]

I'm a ten-year-old boy. I sailed in Jan on the Wonder. The Oceaneers Lab was a great There are all different kinds of things to do at freetime. on the first afternoon before the ship sets sail, nothing is working. (good time to check in) Come back at 7:00 to have some real fun.

All around the center piece Buzz Lightyear and his alien friends are new flat screen computers. you can play tons of different Disney games like, dirt bike racing and a Hercles skill game.

Next is the back room where some more computers and a K'nex bin is. Behind Buzz, there is big screen TV where you can play PS1 on it(the really big controlers do not work). on the left hand side of Buzz there is a sound station where you can listen to your favorite disney songs.

When you aren't in the Lab you and your group can be going to different places. Common Grounds is one of those places. The boys like to play Bubble hockey.(Note: you can not go here anytime you want. It is for teens only.) My favorite part is freetime because you can do whatever you want. Ask me anything you need to know.

~Mike~

 

[DisneyDarwin]

Here's a link to a trip report I helped my daughter (now 9) do last year.

Trip Report from 8 year old

I'm not sure if I pasted that quite right, but if nothing else you can cut and paste it into your browser. Or, go to Cruse Trip Reports and search for DisneyDarwin.

 

[ennazus]

Thank you DisneyDarwin! That link was great!

 

[caskar]

Tell your daughter my daughters 11 and 8 read her report and are even more excited for the cruise. THANKS for taking the time and sharing your experiences with others.

 

[jdm]

My girls were 9 & 11 when we cruised in Feb. They were all excited to go to the kids club until they went. They went to make flubber for an hour and had us paged. They said they "disliked it with a passion". They felt the counselor was like a drill coach and it was very regimented. These are kids who usually love camp type enviroments. That being said, they loved the cruise. We were on the 4 day and were very busy with excursions so they were not bored at all. I did allow them to go to Deck 9 on their own to scoops or to get burgers for short periods of time. They loved this freedom and while I didn't think before we went that I would let them do this..... once we got there I felt perfectly comfortable that they would be safe.
Have a great time.
Jenn