Not Dining, but Kids Night Out Tipping Question..

[Tricia1972]

We are thinking of using this service. Our boys will be 1 and 4 when we go. Do they stay in the room while you are gone? I would not feel very comfortable with someone taking them out of the room. Is there a mimimum amount of hours? We are staying at AKL, and where thinking Jiko for dinner. Any other information you have would be great for me.

They stay in the room, but you leave one room key with them just in case they would need it for an emergency. They leave the latch over the door and warn you that you'll need to knock to get back in when you come home.

Generally they arrive 5-15 minutes before their scheduled time, review your normal evening routine and note any allergies or special things about your children. They also note your cell number and write down where you're going - so they'll be able to get a hold of you in an emergency. They will serve your children dinner if you request. You can order pizza and have it delivered (you'd have to prepay with a credit card of course) or they will even make PB&J for your kids.

Minimum amount of hours is 4, and there is currently a fuel surcharge of $10 tacked on top of that. If you come back in 3.5 hours, you'll still pay for 4. However they're generally cool with staying later on too if you end up staying out a little later than anticipated.

Coming back our kids are tucked away snug in their beds, with their pajamas on, teeth brushed and eagerly dreaming about their next day at Disney.

It's a FANTASTIC service!!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We LOVE Kids Night Out!! We think very highly of the company -- it was the very first time we ever left our two little girls with anyone other than Grandma or a family friend. Needless to say, I was extremely nervous. But! We liked how professional the people were that we spoke with to make the arrangements and as soon as we opened the door to Miss Ginny, every fear we ever felt faded completely away. SHE WAS AWESOME with our girls! LOVE HER! She played with them, took them to the POR food court for dinner (we paid for her dinner, too, from our dining plan meals - she used our room key/card and it was no problem at all, the CMs are use to that), painted their nails (it was something our girls wanted and we talked about it before we left for the evening), read to them and had them all ready for bed when we arrived back in our room four hours later.

The rate at that time was $16.50 for two kids with a four hour minimum. I was told the nanny keeps only $6.50 of that hourly rate, the rest goes to KNO. Plus, also added to the final bill is $10 travel expense for the nanny. We tipped only $20 which still doesn't work out to a very high hourly rate for the nanny. Next time we will tip a lot more. The peace of mind we had leaving our girls in Miss Ginny's care was PRICELESS. She deserved every penny and more! We felt so at ease leaving our girls that we didn't even call in to check on them!

The personal care doesn't come cheap, but if you have something really special planned and want to enjoy your night out, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend KNO.

Have fun!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

ChrisMouse,

You will LOVE it!!

I asked my then 6yo daughter what she would like in a caregiver and she said "someone high energy like me" and "someone who will paint my nails". That is what I told KNO when I reserved the service. They call you in your room the day ahead of time to confirm. When they called me to tell me they were sending someone "grandmotherly" they assured me that she was high energy! Miss Ginny was PERFECT! LOVED HER! She is highly educated and our two little girls LOVED her!!

I forgot to mention in my other post what our oldest daughter said when we came back and after Miss Ginny had departed. She was talking about all the fun they had and she said:

"Mommy, ask me if like Miss Ginny"

Me: "Did you like Miss Ginny"

Her: "NO! I LOVEDDDDD Miss Ginny!!!!"



Miss Ginny was sooo carefuly with our girls. We were at POR, the rooms have a curtain that can close off the vanity sink and bathroom area. When we returned to our room that night, she had that curtain closed and told me it was an extra precaution she likes to take to protect the girls from any water accidents. I also had my make-up case layed on the floor in the "closet" area. She had hung it up on a hanger, too, because she felt like it would be safer for our girls.

Trust me when I say you will be soooo happy you are asking KNO to care for your kids!