Kids Club question

[MammaMoe48]

I'm going to guess that the kids club at WDW works similarly to the clubs on DCL but I just was curious if anyone who has used them can tell me more about it. The website says that the CMs will make sure that no child is left out and there are lots of things to do but my 10 year old son is on the fence about going there. He actually asked if there was a place for kids to go but I think he's a bit scared that he might not have fun. He's not much of a video game player and would prefer to play board games or draw or play sports. I'm just worried that if he's not "cool" or isn't very good at Minecraft the other kids won't want to play with him. I am a recovering "helicopter mom" trying not to hover so even though I know I can't protect him from everything and he needs to get out there and take chances, it's hard for me not to worry.

 

[beesly]

We took DD to Club Dolphin last year and she was 5 then. She said she had a good time, but didn't really play with the other kids there (there were maybe about 6-8 other kids when we dropped her off and picked her up, and most seemed to be older than her by a few years). The CMs were really nice and made sure that she had something to do. It was a somewhat small facility with three different activity areas - they had a Disney movie playing the whole time in one area, another area had different toys/games, and they had a kids table near the check-in desk with coloring sheets and board games. We only left her for about three hours, and during part of that they took all of the kids to one of the Dolphin restaurants for dinner, which she liked. She was coloring pictures of Disney characters with one of the CMs when we picked her up. She is going to try Lilo's Playhouse this year since we'll be staying at the Poly for part of our trip.

For your DS, maybe you could let him pick out a new drawing notebook and pencils (or whatever he likes to draw with) just to take to the activity center so you'd know he had something with him that he likes to do, and since it would be new to him, it might help to occupy more of his time there.

If you're really worried, maybe you could ask one of the CMs for the direct phone number of the activity center so that you could call and check in on how he's doing after about an hour or so (or ask them to call you and give you an update)? I'm not sure what you have planned, or if it'd be feasible for you to go get him early if he was truly miserable, but hopefully you would just find out he was having a good time (or at least an okay time ), and you could be reassured enough to go ahead and enjoy your evening.

 

[MammaMoe48]

We are staying at BWV so we thought we'd try the Sandcastle club at the beach club so we'd be maybe 10 minutes away. I figure we'd leave our cell nos so they could call us if there was a problem. If we were to leave him there it would only be for 2-3 hours. It's not a big deal if he doesn't go. It's usually just the three of us on vacation and I think he wanted to try some independence, maybe make some friends. For us it would be more about him being in a safe place while we spend some alone time. He has a DS3 that he sometimes plays and he'd be happy just doing that or reading. Would they be ok if the kid wants to do that?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are staying at BWV so we thought we'd try the Sandcastle club at the beach club so we'd be maybe 10 minutes away. I figure we'd leave our cell nos so they could call us if there was a problem. If we were to leave him there it would only be for 2-3 hours. It's not a big deal if he doesn't go. It's usually just the three of us on vacation and I think he wanted to try some independence, maybe make some friends. For us it would be more about him being in a safe place while we spend some alone time. He has a DS3 that he sometimes plays and he'd be happy just doing that or reading. Would they be ok if the kid wants to do that?

Just know, the Sandcastle Club and Lilo's Playhouse just changed their format to include more structured, hands-on, activities for the kids (cooking, science projects, visits from characters, etc.) The kids still have the choice to play video games, do crafts, etc., but there is now a flat fee for these 2 clubs ($55) regardless of whether they stay 1 hour or 7 hours. Since he may stay only a few hours and may want something a little less structured, you may want to consider Club Dolphin (which is also very close to BWV). They charge an hourly fee and, if you eat in one of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants, you actually get 2 hours of free child care if you order an adult entree and show them your receipt. Might be a less expensive way to see if he likes the whole concept.

My DS8 is an only child and absolutely loves the kids clubs. It gives him a chance to chill after being in the parks all day and a chance to hang out with some people his own age and not be around his old parents all the time!

 

[Thing 1]

I wonder if it would be possible to call ahead and see what ages of children are booked for that evening. You may still need to book ahead of time and check the cancellation policy to see if you have the change to cancel 24 hours or so out. Our oldest considered doing a club about the time he was your sons age and we were at WL. We had not booked ahead and there were openings available. Upon talking to them, we discovered the oldest child registered for that evening was like 7. He decided no. Now this has been years ago so it might not work to check ahead now but at least its something to consider if he is interested in a same age friend.

 

[Minnesota!]

There is plenty to do. My kids have done art projects, read quietly, video games, etc. They have a blast, and I will be sad when they are too old to go….


Send him, I am willing to bet he will have a blast!