Need advice for kids clubs and potty training

[tflood]

Hi all, we are going on our first Disney cruise on the Fantasy next May to celebrate my parents 50th anniversary. Our big concern is for my nephew, who is 3, and what would happen if he is signed up for the kids club and if he were to have a potty accident. Would he be kicked out the kids club and not be allowed to return? Can he go to the nursery? He's still getting the hang of potty training and I know my brother and sister-in-law are doing everything possible, but we would all be heart broken if he couldn't participate especially since he has a big sister and he might not be able to join her. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Weedy]

Don’t worry about it. May is a long way away.

 

[FlyingBelle]

DD was 3 on her first Disney cruise. She was potty trained, but we put a pull up on her just in case. One day she did have an accident and they paged us to come take care of it. A quick change in our stateroom and she was back to the club! They were very nice about it.

DD also vomited in the club one day - right after dinner, and as we walked into the club she saw Captain Hook and freaked out. Got so scared she vomited in the bathroom. Cast members were very nice about it, but we had to see the ship medical to get written clearance before she could return. It was all anxiety driven, so they had no problem signing off.

 

[tee11]

A lot can happen in 7+ months, so it’s best to have a mentally prepared Plan A and B beforehand... and see how things stand closer to the date!

With that said, it’s a big jump from potty trained to using a bathroom completely independently - which is expected at the club, and is too much to ask for many three year olds...even finding the bathroom on their own, or asking for help to find it, could present a challenge, let alone the rest of it.

Options are:
-book the nursery for peace of mind.
-drop of for short periods of time, 1-2 hrs at a time, and make sure you take them to the potty before dropping them off.

We’ve done both in the past - and it worked out!

 

[tee11]

DD was 3 on her first Disney cruise. She was potty trained, but we put a pull up on her just in case. One day she did have an accident and they paged us to come take care of it. A quick change in our stateroom and she was back to the club! They were very nice about it.

DD also vomited in the club one day - right after dinner, and as we walked into the club she saw Captain Hook and freaked out. Got so scared she vomited in the bathroom. Cast members were very nice about it, but we had to see the ship medical to get written clearance before she could return. It was all anxiety driven, so they had no problem signing off.

Can I ask how long ago this was (your DD age 3)? They gave us a super hard time and said absolutely no pull ups, and I was a nervous wreck about accidents as they threatened “expulsion” from the club. Just FYI.
This was 3 years ago with one of our kids.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Let me just also input that training boys is different than girls. I somehow seem to remember girls tend to be successful earlier.

 

[Quellman]

We would make sure that our kid used the bathroom before we went and wouldn't leave them in there more than about 2 hours. You can also use the nursery at 3, which is a less hectic environment.

 

[tflood]

Thanks everyone for the reassurance, my sister-in-law definitely has plan A and B (and probably C) already, just glad to know they're options if we need them!

 

[FlyingBelle]

Can I ask how long ago this was (your DD age 3)? They gave us a super hard time and said absolutely no pull ups, and I was a nervous wreck about accidents as they threatened “expulsion” from the club. Just FYI.
This was 3 years ago with one of our kids.

Good question... it was about 6/7 years ago. I don't think we actually told them she was wearing a pull-up. She was potty trained, but I was nervous that she just wouldn't make it in time or be too shy to ask someone where the potty was.

Edited to add... this same DD has an intellectual disability, while she is very social and high functioning, she does get a lot of anxiety with new situations which result in potty accidents or vomiting (the things I wish I knew when she was younger!!). That said, for years I used pull-ups on her. Now that she's older I've switched to incontinence pads.

The reality is, many kids have accidents at times. I believe the intent in the club is to maintain a clean, safe environment. I wasn't using a pull-up because we weren't done potty training, I just used it as a safeguard.

 

[Trera]

Keep in mind that the rule that kids need to be able to go to the bathroom on their own is specifically in place to protect the kids. And DCL doesn't want the liability that comes with their cast members being in closed environments (toilet stalls) with unclothed children.

We kept our DD in the nursery until she could go to the restroom, wipe herself, put her clothes back on and wash her hands all on her own.

 

[hnthomps]

3 year olds can choose between the nursery and the kids club, but you have to pay for the nursery and then the siblings wouldn't be together. Anything can happen in 7 months (or two days!) with kids, so I don't know that it's worth coming up with plans until a couple weeks out, but I'd definitely set expectations up front about whether the kids will be together.