In Room Childcare

[Familyofsix]

Has anyone had real life exp. with any in room childcare while staying on Disney property? We would like to celebrate our anniversery one night and will have the three little ones with us on this trip and really looking forward to adults night out. Any suggestions?

 

[lady9]

My suggestion is to celebrate your anniversary before or after your trip at home with a reliable sitter or grandparents. I would never leave my children with a stranger at home so I definitely would not do it on vacation. Many people report that their children had a wonderful time with the in room sitter and that is great. I personally would not do it. We teach our children to not talk to strangers and then to let one sit for them. It sends a mixed message in my opinion. My children are too precious to trust with a stranger.

 

[Stitch626Fan]

Disney has some great choices for child care. Depending on how old your children are, you can take them to one of the Children's Activity Centers which are located at Deluxe Resorts (no, you don't have to be a guest at those resorts). These centers usually provide a dinner, movies, video games and art & crafts activities as well as some great toys to play with. My nephews have been to the Cub's Den and the Sandcastle Club and absolutely love it at both of them. They usually wish they could spend many more hours there. There's an hourly fee and when you drop the children off you will receive a pager in case of emergencies. The person that drops the child off must be the same person picking them up or the child will not be release. Disney goes to great lengths to make sure the CM's watching your children are well trained and ready to deal with any possible situations. There is always at least 2 CM's at these centers, usually more.

Now if you have younger children, you may want to think about an In-Room Babysitter through Disney. You would set this up through your resort and you can be assured that these sitters are certified. Go ahead and have a great, relaxing dinner for two. Your kids will be well taken care of and will have a great time too. Why wouldn't they.....they're at WDW!

 

[michvin]

I had the same question posted a few weeks ago and I had all postitive responses about the sitters. We are thinking about using them to...they are all certified from the companies Disney recommends. Have a great time!

 

[KathyRN137]

Well, first off I would like to say that I can certainly understand how Lady9 feels. It is a leap of faith to trust your children to someone that you do not know personally. However....

If you are hiring a professional babysitter from a reputable, WDW-sanctioned agency for in-room sitting, you are getting a sitter who has been screened, bonded, and insured by a licensed agency. I am a nurse and for several years I worked for a home care agency that provided private duty nursing. People let me into their homes and trusted me with their loved ones all the time. No one ever asked to see my license, but it was on file, along with my other credentials, with the agency. Believe me, we were well-screened.

On our 2nd trip to WDW when our kids were 6 and 8yrs old, DH and I decided to do a night out at Pleasure Island. We considered the Childcare Centers, but, we were staying at a Moderate and would have to use WDW transportation to first get the kids to the Childcare Center, then get to PI, then back to the CCC, then back to our hotel! In-room sitting would also allow the kids to get into their pj's and get to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Naturally, like you, I was a little apprehensive. I found the phone #s for Kid's Nite Out and Fairy Godmothers , two agencies that provided in-room sitting at WDW. I spoke personally to a manager because I had read that some of the agencies had experience with special needs children and my youngest is autistic. The Fairy Godmothers did indeed have a sitter who had worked as a nanny at one time for a family with an autistic child. She had the woman call me and I was able to "interview" her on the phone.

Of course, I did this several weeks prior to our vacation. The sitter arrived promptly at 7pm and was very pleasant. She arrived with coloring books, crayons, and puzzles. We gave her our cell # and kissed the kids goodnight. We returned at 11pm and the kids were asleep.

Next day, DD(8) told me how nice the sitter had been and that DS had done fine with her, in fact, had been so tired that he had fallen asleep not long after we left. DD is the type of child who would report anything she did not like! I was pleased with the service and DH and I got to have a little break.

Kathy

 

[Familyofsix]

Kathy thank you so much for your honest opinion. I am the type also to check and double check, if I am not comfortable with somebody then I wouldn't even think of having them sit with the kids.

 

[jodifla]

We've used Fairy Godmothers a half-dozen times for our 4-year-old and been very pleased. We've gotten the same sitter five times out of six (at our request, and we even try to work around her schedule). We really enjoyed the first one,too...she was so interesting we spent a half-hour just speaking with her. They bring a suitcase of toys, and they love kids.

My DS likes to lie down in a bed and go to sleep when he's really tired, making in-room sitting a better choice for us than the kids' club, even though he's old enough now and potty trained. This way, he gets to bed at a good hour and is rested for our busy day. And we don't have to worry about getting home by midnight (even though we normally do these days).

I'm always irritated that people who've never used a sitting service at Disney feel compelled to engage in fearmongering on a service they've never used, particularly when the OP asked for people who have used them!

We schedule at least one adult's night out for almost every trip at Disney. We gave a great time, our son has a nice time with the sitter and gets a good night's sleep. Everyone's happy, except the folks on these boards who feel compelled to tell you not to do it.

 

[lady9]

The OP asked for suggestions and my suggestion was to go out another time when she had a sitter she knew. I was not "fear mongering." I didn't mention all the horrible things that could happen because I do not believe Disney would endorse a company that did not have a outstanding reputation. I'm sure the sitters are wonderful and fun for the kids. All I am saying is I choose to go out at home when I have a sitter that I know watching my children.

 

[zalansky]

I have heard wonderful things about both of the mentioned agencies. We plan to use Fairy Godmothers on our upcoming trip in Sept. Jodifla - if you don't mind would you PM me the name of the person you used those times? I would appreciate it.

Don't let anyone scare you or let you believe you are less of a parent for wanting a well-deserved night out. Go, and have fun.

 

[jodifla]

The OP asked for suggestions and my suggestion was to go out another time when she had a sitter she knew. I was not "fear mongering." I didn't mention all the horrible things that could happen because I do not believe Disney would endorse a company that did not have a outstanding reputation. I'm sure the sitters are wonderful and fun for the kids. All I am saying is I choose to go out at home when I have a sitter that I know watching my children.

No, the OP asked for "real life experience with in room childcare while staying on Disney property." I have that, so I responded.

You do not have that (and a first post to boot!), just your opinion that they should not celebrate their anniversary at Disney.

 

[Barak's Disney]

This is a good post. I have been considering a night out at Disney, but have been worried about childcare. Our kiddos go to bed very early and I don't think one of the childcare centers would work for us for that reason. The un-official guide gives a thumbs up to Fairy Godmothers, but it was nice to hear from a "real" person about their experience.

 

[LBKMAMA]

Are phone #'s posted somewhere for this? Could anyone who's used one of these companies PM me with a rough idea of how much something like this costs per hour? I have no idea what to expect.

Thanks

 

[DutchsMommy]

Disney has some great choices for child care. Depending on how old your children are, you can take them to one of the Children's Activity Centers which are located at Deluxe Resorts (no, you don't have to be a guest at those resorts). These centers usually provide a dinner, movies, video games and art & crafts activities as well as some great toys to play with. My nephews have been to the Cub's Den and the Sandcastle Club and absolutely love it at both of them. They usually wish they could spend many more hours there. There's an hourly fee and when you drop the children off you will receive a pager in case of emergencies. The person that drops the child off must be the same person picking them up or the child will not be release. Disney goes to great lengths to make sure the CM's watching your children are well trained and ready to deal with any possible situations. There is always at least 2 CM's at these centers, usually more.

Now if you have younger children, you may want to think about an In-Room Babysitter through Disney. You would set this up through your resort and you can be assured that these sitters are certified. Go ahead and have a great, relaxing dinner for two. Your kids will be well taken care of and will have a great time too. Why wouldn't they.....they're at WDW!

Just a comment - DS visited the Cub's Den in Feb of this year (and LOVED it btw) but they did not give us a pager. The only pager we have gotten was on DCL. So it might differ from Club to Club. The Cub's Den took our cell # for emergency contact.

Also.....we stayed at the Poly last year and checked out their Club (Neverland I think??). DS was too young (kids have to be 4 and potty trained) but the Club was really great - tons of stuff to do and quite big.

Good luck whatever you decide - I am for a little 1:1 time for parents.

 

[mamacatnv]

It has been about 6 years, but we used Fairy Godmothers for DD when she was 14 mo. old. We had the same Nanny 5 days in a row. The service was wonderful and I would not hesitate to recommend them or use them. Although with the kids now older it is not something I see needing any time soon.

I do remember the older lady who owns/runs Fairy Godmothers comes off a little scatter brained and cranky (which I have read from other posters as well, so it wasn't just me) but the services IMO were top notch. At the time we used them Disney provided the phone numbers but did not set up in room care nor were they "sponsors" of the providers they were on the approved to recommend list.

I would do it without hesitation. Have a good time, I have read a lot about the in room services with lots of positive experiences.

 

[Familyofsix]

Thanks to everybody for your ideas.Its helped alot.

 

[ZachnElli]

We used Fairy Godmother's in 2001 and they were wonderful! I believe our babysitter's name was Vera. The next morning my 2 1/2 year old DD asked where her new grandma was! My cousin lives in Orlando and told me the company was great, had a great reputation and wouldn't hestitate to use them, so I did! Of course I got in trouble with my cousin's wife when she found out, she wanted to babysit them!