Just Back From 10/30 The Good/The Not So Good (The Stack!)

[SweetSpot]

It is sad to hear so many others having the same experience last week. I changed the heading of the thread to add the Stack in hopes of catching a DCL execs. eye. I know Disney does everything to keep their image wholesome and was given examples of their zero tolerance with their CM's by the CM's we spoke with. That they would allow the what goes on in the Stack to continue makes no sense to me.

I agree with the comments about the counselors. When I spoke with them they told me they were aware of the problem but they did nothing about it until I complained. What are they there for then?

 

[Lil1062]

I'm starting to get really concerned about The Stack. At the time of cruising dd (17) ds (13) - I want this to be an enjoyable family vacation before dd goes to college -

What kind of family activities do they have throughout the day ... hanging in the sun is good for me - ds likes to swim dd will hang in sun - dh - as long as no one is whining he is good to go!!

But I just don't want us to lay around all day!!! (I can't believe I just said that????)

I picked Disney because I thought family oriented.... I was willing to pay a few dollars more

Thoughts

Thanks
Lil

 

[tvguy]

Originally posted by mhb
I really think they need to be more supervised. Seems to me that the activities they had planned for that group was not planned out well. Most things started very late in the evening.

They must have changed the schedule in the stack. Except for New Years Eve, according the the Navigators, the stack was pretty much done for the night by 11 pm on our cruise. We had late dinner so it was at least 10:30 before my kids even thought about going up there. But as I have said before, Disney is great, but it is truly and early to bed early to rise cruise.

 

[KEH]

do believe that the girl in the band is the same as the one in Seabreeze.

That explains why she was so awful! I thought she was terrible when with the Charles Marshall Band and a change of name has made no difference. I agree though that the man from the Charles Marshall band was excellent.

 

[DVCajun]

Why weren't these girls' parents brought into the fray? You should have had the opportunity to speak to them about what their darlings were doing to your son. From what you've written, they were molesting him. They should have been banned from the Stack for that kind of behavior. I can't BELIEVE Disney allowed this to continue!!!

 

[grlzmom]

My dd14 1/2 was also disappointed in the Stack on our June cruise.

She was very uncomfortable with the "make out" sessions and went once or twice and just didnt go again. She also verbalized the counselors lack of actually doing what was on the navigators.

This was her fourth cruise, second time in the teen club (first time it was common grounds) and said she really felt the Stack was not the place for her.

 

[CheapMom]

Why are kids making out in the Stack. They really need to put an end to that.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

I was told the counselors make a big speech at the beginning saying things like "There will be no PDA allowed (public diplays of affection) that if you do, you not be allowed back into the stack" something like that - Maybe it was done all tongue in cheek (sorry, no pun intended!)

Now I know teens will be teens, but it does make me nervous - especially since there is 13-14 year olds in the same room -

I do agree on more supervision - There are some kids that are just more immature than others - And there are some 13& 14 year olds that are more mature than the 17 year olds!

 

[Lynnyl]

Ok, this thread has really worried me. We sail Dec 5th on the wonder and I have a 13 year old daughter whom I feel is very centered and ready to handle situations, but at the same time I do not want to thrust her into these type of situations! I know parents aren't allowed in the teen area, can you get feedback from the counselors who are "supervising" or any other way? I trust my daughter to talk to me, but this poor boy seems to have been exposed to more than mere "peer pressure".

 

[ann-e-mator]

I was on The Magic over the summer and it was the first cruise I had been on since they switched from the Common Grounds to the Stack. I am 16, and I ended up making a group of friends and we ended up doind other things like going to the movies or playing ping pong or basketball while we were on The Magic. We were only in The Stack during the day sometimes playing Poker. I think The Common Grounds was much better than the stack and I had 3 REALLY GREAT counselors in the Common Grounds - Neil, Scott, and Lauren. They made it a lot of fun. I really think that the quality of the place has to do with the effort the counselors put in to it - I think that's all it comes down to. I actually had really decent conversations and played games and had lots of fun with the counselors in The Common Grounds, but in the Stack I couldn't even tell you any of the counselors names. I really think that they way the teens behave has to do with how organized the counselors are... if they are really commited to making sure teens have a fun time, then the teens won't be so inclined to act out like people are saying... But don't judge the Stack or Aloft by what people say... Counselors change all the time - it just depends on who the counselors are and how comitted they are.

~Nicki

 

[aprilgail2]

The 14 year old I had with me on the cruise went to the stack the first night and then once the second evening and would not step foot back in there again....I really didn't get much feedback from her about it other than..its boring and the kids werent friendly.

 

[bfosbenner]

For some reason, those who devise the comment surveys feel that nothing but the top score is considered a pass. That is the way General Motors views customer satisifaction surveys. I am guessing that is true for DCL. That is why they drill into cruisers "excellent"

I personally only use the top score for exceptional service. I usually allow room for improvement.

 

[SweetSpot]

Unfortunately that's why we all get the "excellent" speech. The CM's know that most people don't like the word excellent. As good as Disney and their employees are in most people's mind it's really hard to have something so perfect that they feel they could use the word excellent to describe it. From what I understand the CM's are given time off based on their survey scores. I don't blame them for giving the speech. I just hate getting it everywhere you turn.

 

[DisneyGirl421]

I'm a 16 yr old teen who has gone on two DCLs already and have LOVED Common Grounds each time. Haven't gone on since it was changed to The Stack, but i'll be going in July.
The first time I was 13, and I did feel a bit intimidated by the older teens, but I found and cliqued with a few people and we were together the whole time.
The last time I went I was 15 (july '03) and I felt a bit more comfortable because I was older. Again, I found a group of people and did almost every activity they offered for teens.
Yes, I knew there was things 'unappropriate' going on, but most of them were brought up to the counselors who sorted them out.
I agree with you somewhat on the separating the groups... but only somewhat, because I would not have liked it if it was 13-15 and 16-18 on my last one, since all the teens I hung out with were older than me!

Sorry for rambling on and on... I do that sometimes!

 

[mhb]

Lynnl: I have a 13 DS and he went to the stack fthe first night. Later, when I asked why he wasn't going up there he told me there was nothing to do, so I put him in the 10-12 group. I also have a DD 11 and this way they could be together. Now, he is not that mature but very tall. 5'6".

No problem, he loved it. Had a great time, even made some flubber. Just gave it to me, but still enjoyed doing the things they had in the lab.

Ds 15, met other kids from aound the world, England Canada, etc and just hung out where ever they could. It was a good group, they went to the show, movies and sat and just talked. I told them to all get together and go up to the stack, but they had more fun just hanging. I even saw pictures of all of them. Had them developed this week. Looked like they enjoyed themselves.

 

[Lynnyl]

Thanks for that comment, I hadn't thought of the fact that my daughter could join my son in the 10-12 yr old group if things weren't working out for her in the stack!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thank you for posting this thread about the pros and cons.

The comments about The Stack only furthers my resolve that I will not be cruising Disney (won't cruise anything else either- just because I doubt we'll ever cruise anywhere but Disney cruises LOL) when my children are young teens and will have to go to the stack as young teens. My oldest will be barely turned 12 on our first cruise- and I've already planned not to cruise again until she's in the "older group" of the stack.

13yr olds aren't usually in highschool, and not even all 14yr olds are. My oldest two will be 15 before they go to highschool. But regardless of that- school is different and obviously way more supervised. atleast it is here where I live.

Personally, I wish they had an age grouping of 13-15yr olds and then 16-18. Because by the same token my children are going to be 18 at the start of their senior year and if we cruised then they wouldn't be able to go to the Stack with teens in the same grade (12th) as them. Maybe they should change it from "age" in the highschool aged children... like have Freshman-Seniors together and an age group like 13-8th grade. That would solve all the issues of too young children grouped in barely supervised with highschool seniors as old as 17 ... and would also solve the problem of 18yr olds in their senior yr that have to spend the cruise with all the "adults" the entire time and not their fellow classmates (seniors).

We have 3 children- this issue is going to cause us to cruise less often than we would have -had they not have the age group starting so young. (Before you say a 13yr old would be able to go to the 11-12yr old grouping, I wouldn't even want my 14yr old kids in 8th grade in The Stack either... they aren't even in highschool yet at home, so it would be TOTALLY alien to them to be in a group of highschool students up to age 17)

We'll cruise May '06 with our oldest 12... and will have to wait a few years before cruising again. We'll probably cruise again when she's 16 (because at that age she'd be in the "older" part of the group and I'd feel more comfortable about it)- so our son would be 12 and still in the lower age group. After that- we probably won't be cruising for a long time (unless we went again quickly when she was 17 and he was 13 going in the 11-12yr age group) because our youngest is only 2.5yrs younger than him- so by the time he was old enough to go to The Stack in the "older group" of The Stack, she would be old enough that she'd also be stuck in the Stack as one of the youngest there. We'll see how it goes- I guess it depends on if our son at 16 would be able to (and willing to) watch out for her with her at age 13/14. I'm not going to cruise with a child that isn't comfortable doing things in the age group they are stuck in though. We can find other things to do that they'll enjoy themselves instead- so why waste our money on a cruise where atleast one child would be unhappy about the age group they were stuck in or how others treated them there, or bored because they refuse to go in there and be treated that way.
I think this is a serious issue throwing 13/14yr olds (not all of which are already in highschool at home- many are not, considering the strict guidelines in some states such as mine where they have to be 6 before starting 1st grade) with kids as old as 17 -some maybe even turning 18 in a month or a few weeks or whatever- with very little if any supervision. Not my idea of an "ideal" situation. IMNSHO

 

[KaitlinsMom]

Bibbidy - I agree with everything you have stated - There really should be a seperate group for the 13-15 year olds -

There have been enough controversy written on the DIS that at least SOMETHING should be done - ie - different age grouping, better counselors, etc -

 

[BethA]

I think this Stack age group has no easy solution. My son is a year ahead in school-at 15 he is a junior and as a feshman in hs at 13 would not have wanted to be with those in middle school.
On our cruise this summer my son and older nephew, also 15, loved the stack, but my 13 yr old only went to the planned activities because he did not find anyone to hang out with.
A lot of it seems to stem from the teens in the Stack. On three cruises we have never seen or been told of any harassment and although we've seen some pairing of teens those we saw were mostly in large groups.

They should offer more activities that might appeal to the younger teens and also need something for the 18+ crowd who are completely left out.

Some kids will feel uncomfortable no matter what their age and the counselors need to try to include those to ensure they initially make some friends. The structured activities give everyone a chance to get to know each other and make friends. My son still keeps in touch with all his friends from the cruise.
I experienced the same feeling with my younger son moving up to the lab. He was 8 this cruise, but is a little immature for his age. He did not make any friends and was excluded by the bigger kids, so that he wouldn't even go to the lab. The previous cruise he never wanted to leave the club--so I think grouping by age isn't always best but they have to have guidelines.

 

[disneyholic family]

our first cruise we were in 8534....fantastic room....

as for the stack.....we were on the Wonder for both our cruises.....my son was 15 on our first cruise and 17 on our second....he LOVED common grounds and the counselors on both cruises and spent every second there that we allowed him (he had to eat all meals with us)....

on the first cruise he said that the older kids were a 'fast crowd" but the younger kids were kept apart from them...they had separate activities....
on the second cruise, he said that all of the kids were very clean cut, without any of the behavior from the first cruise....

as i said, he adored the cruise both times, mainly because of common grounds....