kids' clubs -- moving kids up?

[lorifl2]

Has anyone had their child move up to the older age group kids club? I am cruising next July with 2 other families. All of the kids fall in the 8-12yo club, except my son who won't be 8 until October, so he's 2 months short. Do you think they'll let me move him up?

I asked this question on the Disney Cruise Line web site, and they replied that the older kids could go with the younger group -- like the 11 year olds want to hang out with a bunch of 3 to 7 year olds!

Thanks!

 

[mommasita]

Generally speaking, they move children up when they are within a month of turning the right age for the group..However, I would speak with the CM's as soon as you board, and I am sure you will find them more than willing to give it a "test"...This was done for my son, and they let us know that if all was not well, then he would be moved down..No problems at all, everything went perfectly..

 

[kcashner]

The general rule is that kids can move up when they are within 30 days of the birthday that would allow them to move to the next group. However, you should talk with the CMs. There is a reasonable chance that they will observe his behavior and allow him to move up. If you are registering online before you sail, you should register him in the 7 year old group, then attempt to move up when on board.

The decision to allow a move is based on the child's maturity and the number of kids in the various groups. Remember, there is a huge difference between a 7 year old and an 12 year old. However, the 8-9s are rarely with the 10-12s.

 

[geffric]

I asked if my youngest son, who has a very late August b'day, could move up. He was still 9 but was in the same grade as many of the 10 year olds. and the CM's told me that it was ok , if he was with his older brother and "fit in". The CM explained that if he didn't "fit in" that he would have to move down to his age group. I explained that to my son and he was okay with it. After a day, the CM said " you were right he fits it and is just fine. No problems!!

 

[hbg4]

We travelled on the Disney Magic last April when my DD was 7, she was in the same grade as 8 yr olds and she was going to become 8 in September.
I asked the cast member if she could be in the Oceaneer's lab instead of the club when I registered her the first night, and was told she could give it a try but if they thought it was too much for her she would have to stay in the club with the 5-7y olds.
She did well and stayed with the 8-9y olds.

 

[Vanvmom]

My middle son had just turned 9 right before our cruise. His older brother was 11, and a family friend we were cruising with was 10. We registered him on-line with the plan of him being with the 8-9 and the other 2 being with the 10-12 groups. As we checked the kids in, the counselor offered to move 9 year old up with the 10-12 group. Worked great (of course 9 year old is taller than many 10 year olds).

 

[yazee1]

We also traveled with our 10 year old son, 4 year old year daughter, and a 7 year old son whose birthday was 2 months after the cruise. Before the cruise we decided to register him in the Club since he's a little guy with a laid back personality and little wordly experience with older kids. We thought it might be better for him to be a big fish in a little sea rather than the other way around. When we registered him at the Club, we discussed it with the counselor and she assured us he could switch if it wasn't a good fit. As it turned out it was NOT a good fit. The counselors switched him with no fuss and he was much happier in the Lab. I wouldn't worry about being turned down if you want to put him in the Lab instead of the Club.

 

[aidanht]

We are just back from the Wonder and we had no trouble moving our son, who was just shy of his 7th birthday, up to the 8-9 group so he could be with his brother. I put a note requesting that when I registered him on-line, and then when we went to pick up our pager I asked about it. She hesitated, then went to ask a supervisor, and then just turned around and said she would do it, but if he had any trouble he would be moved down. He had no trouble -- he is far more mature than his older brother, actually.

 

[poohssmum]

We cruised last November with some friends. Our DS's were 5 and 8, theirs were 9 and 7. We figured this would be great since the 5 and the 7 would be together and the 8 and 9 would be together. The 7 yo was 8 months away from turning 9. After a couple of days, the counselors noticed that he was totally bored being in the 5-7 group (and often didn't want to stay with in the club), so the counselors asked the parents if they could move him to the Lab with the 8-9's ... this worked out MUCH better for all concerned.

Just wanted to let you know my experience, that the counselors do pay attention to kids that are unhappy ... and ended up making it a better experience for our friend's DS. I hope you have a GREAT cruise.

 

[yazee1]

the counselors do pay attention to kids that are unhappy

I agree. You would think it would be solely us parents pushing for group changes, but the counselors in the Club and Lab are great. It took all of about 2 hours of the first day for the counselors in the Club to realize my son would be better suited to the Lab than the Club.