Corryn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2003
- Messages
- 2,682
Here's my report on the Hard Rock Hotel Little Rockers Club.
It is a babysitting service provided by the hotel where the kids gather in a large room and have fun.
There is a big screen TV, bean bag chairs, chalk board, lots of crafts for them to do, games, video games.....etc.
The ages allowed are 4 through 12.
They must be toilet trained.
The cost is $18. per hour for two kids (I'm not sure about one kid, though, I think it's $10. for one))
They offer dinner to the kids for an extra $10.50 per child. That includes a choice of Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Chicken Nuggets, Pizza or Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich. You want you to call in your dinner order early in the day.
The Never Land Club at Disney's Polynesian (which is still my kids' favorite) gives them free dinner.
It's open from 5:00 until 11:30 or midnight. They have later hours on certain nights.
Phone Number: 407-503-2236
My girls, 10 & 11 as well as our friends' kids, 4 & 9, had a great time.
There were a few other kids there with them. One of them was a little girl with Down Syndrome. The highlight of the evening was when the little girl clogged up the kiddie sink and left the water running. You can imagine what happened, the place was flooded!
My daughter ran over to the sitter (a teenage boy) and informed him and he fell out of his chair. The kids couldn't stop laughing, even days later.
The sitter played games with them and they liked meeting kids from other parts of the country, imitating their accents and having fun.
This is the first time I've left them with the Little Rockers Club. We've left them 3 times at the Disney Polynesian Never Land Club, which they LOVE, and another time back in '98 with a sitter who came to the room at the Old Key West Resort. She accidently left a love letter in our room. We were all tempted to read it, but believe it or not, it was the men, my husband and brother-in-law, who read it! We returned it to the employer the next day.
I feel more comfortable leaving the kids at the Kids Clubs than hiring a sitter to stay in the hotel room with them. #1, because the clubs have sooooo much more to do than just sitting in the room watching TV.
#2, the kids get to interact with different people from different places, and everything is available to them while at the club, crafts, games, etc.
You know, I know what people say about going on vacation and leaving their kids with strangers, but they can sit on it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
We're pretty lucky. My husband is retired and I work part time, so someone is always home with the kids and we've never put them in childcare.
While here at home, I'm not one of the lucky daughters who have wonderful parents who take their grandkids simply to have a nice time with them.
#1 - I do not have nice parents, at all. I was raised by my grandparents, so that should say it all.
#2 - my in-laws, although they are better parents than I've ever had still do not bust down our door wanting to take my kids on any sort of "special day". We get to see a movie alone maybe once every three or four months. Now that the kids are older and established in school, we sneak off while they're busy at school.
We appreciate our time alone, and we both work hard to have money to spend on nice vacations. So trusting strangers to take care of our kids is a big deal, but we feel that the vacations should also be a time where we can have a few hours alone. We don't place our kids in childcare here at home, so they think the babysitter thing is cool.
My kids are awesome. I am a disciplinarian, my grandfather was a tough Marine and I've learned a lot from him. My husband is a retored NYC Police Officer and was raised with the same type of discipline. We are constantly being complimented whenever we go out, including out to dinner. Ever since our kids were little they've always known their manners. I can go on and on....
Back to the point:
As parents, we need a break, all of us. That does not mean a break at the expense of our children.
Our kids are 13 months apart, two daughters, and always look out for each other.
If Anything were to happen to my kids, I'd pull a Ninja on the evil-doer and then I'd sue the pants off Disney/Universal.
These employees are screened and the two major employers do not want any negativity, so I placed my trust in them and out of the 4 times they've been to the clubs and the one time they were sat in the room, it has been positive.
For those parents who are apprehensive about utilizing the babysitting club services, I say try it and have a great time alone.
The club gives you a beeper and they take your cell phone number and they are very open about keeping communication between you and the sitter, but we've never been called by them.
Since you're on vacation, why not take a vacation from the kids for a few hours, even if it's just to hang out in the parks and do the adult rides?
These services are excellent and the clubs are excellent. I haven't heard anything negative, although there's always someone who has a bad experience.
If anyone has any questions about the club, feel free to email me.
Corryn
It is a babysitting service provided by the hotel where the kids gather in a large room and have fun.
There is a big screen TV, bean bag chairs, chalk board, lots of crafts for them to do, games, video games.....etc.
The ages allowed are 4 through 12.
They must be toilet trained.
The cost is $18. per hour for two kids (I'm not sure about one kid, though, I think it's $10. for one))
They offer dinner to the kids for an extra $10.50 per child. That includes a choice of Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Chicken Nuggets, Pizza or Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich. You want you to call in your dinner order early in the day.
The Never Land Club at Disney's Polynesian (which is still my kids' favorite) gives them free dinner.
It's open from 5:00 until 11:30 or midnight. They have later hours on certain nights.
Phone Number: 407-503-2236
My girls, 10 & 11 as well as our friends' kids, 4 & 9, had a great time.
There were a few other kids there with them. One of them was a little girl with Down Syndrome. The highlight of the evening was when the little girl clogged up the kiddie sink and left the water running. You can imagine what happened, the place was flooded!
My daughter ran over to the sitter (a teenage boy) and informed him and he fell out of his chair. The kids couldn't stop laughing, even days later.
The sitter played games with them and they liked meeting kids from other parts of the country, imitating their accents and having fun.
This is the first time I've left them with the Little Rockers Club. We've left them 3 times at the Disney Polynesian Never Land Club, which they LOVE, and another time back in '98 with a sitter who came to the room at the Old Key West Resort. She accidently left a love letter in our room. We were all tempted to read it, but believe it or not, it was the men, my husband and brother-in-law, who read it! We returned it to the employer the next day.
I feel more comfortable leaving the kids at the Kids Clubs than hiring a sitter to stay in the hotel room with them. #1, because the clubs have sooooo much more to do than just sitting in the room watching TV.
#2, the kids get to interact with different people from different places, and everything is available to them while at the club, crafts, games, etc.
You know, I know what people say about going on vacation and leaving their kids with strangers, but they can sit on it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
We're pretty lucky. My husband is retired and I work part time, so someone is always home with the kids and we've never put them in childcare.
While here at home, I'm not one of the lucky daughters who have wonderful parents who take their grandkids simply to have a nice time with them.
#1 - I do not have nice parents, at all. I was raised by my grandparents, so that should say it all.
#2 - my in-laws, although they are better parents than I've ever had still do not bust down our door wanting to take my kids on any sort of "special day". We get to see a movie alone maybe once every three or four months. Now that the kids are older and established in school, we sneak off while they're busy at school.
We appreciate our time alone, and we both work hard to have money to spend on nice vacations. So trusting strangers to take care of our kids is a big deal, but we feel that the vacations should also be a time where we can have a few hours alone. We don't place our kids in childcare here at home, so they think the babysitter thing is cool.
My kids are awesome. I am a disciplinarian, my grandfather was a tough Marine and I've learned a lot from him. My husband is a retored NYC Police Officer and was raised with the same type of discipline. We are constantly being complimented whenever we go out, including out to dinner. Ever since our kids were little they've always known their manners. I can go on and on....
Back to the point:
As parents, we need a break, all of us. That does not mean a break at the expense of our children.
Our kids are 13 months apart, two daughters, and always look out for each other.
If Anything were to happen to my kids, I'd pull a Ninja on the evil-doer and then I'd sue the pants off Disney/Universal.
These employees are screened and the two major employers do not want any negativity, so I placed my trust in them and out of the 4 times they've been to the clubs and the one time they were sat in the room, it has been positive.
For those parents who are apprehensive about utilizing the babysitting club services, I say try it and have a great time alone.
The club gives you a beeper and they take your cell phone number and they are very open about keeping communication between you and the sitter, but we've never been called by them.
Since you're on vacation, why not take a vacation from the kids for a few hours, even if it's just to hang out in the parks and do the adult rides?
These services are excellent and the clubs are excellent. I haven't heard anything negative, although there's always someone who has a bad experience.
If anyone has any questions about the club, feel free to email me.
Corryn
