Out and About program

[mommykeg]

I just called DCL and I was un-impressed with their information. They said that the Edge was scheduled to have opened in December, there were delays and that it would definately be open before we sailed in May. I asked when exactly it would open, and she just said "easily by May".
I then asked for more information on Out & About- telling her that I wanted this information just incase the Edge was not open in May and she said "well, if you don't believe the information I just gave you- that it will be open in May, you should just call back closer to your cruise to verify".
Seriously?!?

She was super nice and friendly; but the call was a waste of time- because she simply didn't know any more than I do...... And at the end she asked- do you need any more information? I was thinking- Hello!?- I asked about Out and About and you gave me zero info! Oh well......

I've called AND emailed DCL in the past week...and I STILL have no information! The people on land seem to have NO information AT ALL about Out and About. One rep actually told me it must have been a typo when I told her the program was listed in the Navigator!

I'm really frustrated that they've messed with the age groupings! My son was fine in the Lab when we sailed when he was 8. And he'd be fine this time too, about 6 weeks from turning 10...if they hadn't decided to allow 3-7 year olds in the Lab. There is no way he wants to hang out with them! He wants to play with his peers in the kids clubs...and 3-7 year olds are not his peers!

And my daughter, who is 13, enjoyed her time in Ocean Quest last time we sailed. But now there is no space for her...except for Aloft, where she would be with 17-18 year olds! Those are not her peers!

So the change in age groupings on the Wonder have actually created a situation in which NEITHER of my kids have a place to be with their age group peers! It seems that the set-up is designed to make the 3-7 year old set (and their parents) happy, and the teens happy...but that leaves a BIG gap (ages 9-13) where the kids don't really have dedicated space or programming for them. Yet we were promised, when we booked and in the months since then, that the Edge would be ready to go in December. Funny how the truth of the situation doesn't come out until AFTER the final payment date!

Frustrating because the fact that Disney had dedicated space and programming for all different age groups was one of the main reasons we've been willing to pay the premium to sail Disney.

 

[mommykeg]

Here is a response that I just got from DCL today. They had given me a rather generic, vague response to my first email, and when I replied with a request for more specific answers to my questions, this is what I received...


Dear Kimberly,

Thank you for your email.

I would be happy to further assist you.

The Edge on the Disney Wonder premiered on December 19th. And, yes, it
is located on Deck 2, Midship. This is the area where the conference
rooms used to be.

The ages for the Edge on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder (and the new
ship, the Disney Dream) are the same. The locations are for Guests ages
11-13. On all of the ships, the teen area, Vibe (formerly The Stack on
the Disney Magic and Aloft on the Disney Wonder), is for our Guests
14-17. The age change was made on the Disney Wonder with the
implementation of the Edge.

In order to provide an accurate response to your email message regarding
the Out and About Series, we need to conduct additional research.

We appreciate your patience while we process your request and look
forward to contacting you shortly.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further
assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Wilma
Email Guest Services
Disney Cruise Line

Interesting because their initial email gave me ages for Aloft as 13-17, and for the Edge as ages 11-13.

Interesting that they have NO information about the Out and About series.

Interesting that when I mentioned that current cruisers indicated that the Edge was NOT operational and inquired as to why they would have different age groupings on different ships, they gave the specific date of Dec. 19th as the date when the Edge opened and when the name of the teen area (Aloft/Stack) was changed to Vibe on all ships...hmmmm.

Well, I hope this information is accurate. That would mean that my daughter will have a place to be. Now I'm just worried about my son. If they eliminate Out and About because the Edge is in place, then I worry that he won't enjoy his time in the Lab with a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds. As an almost 10 year old, he would really prefer the Out and About program to playing with "little kids" in the Lab. I just really wish there was still a dedicated space for each age group!

 

[smb6]

I think it's safe to say that anyone with tween aged kids is frustrated with the Wonder right now.... I know my kids will enjoy it either way, but ......

I hope those of you on the MR cruises come back with more definitive answers for those of us not sailing till the summer.... (and hopefully the answer is that your kids were able to enjoy the Edge!)

 

[mommykeg]

My 11 year old didn't want to be with the little kids. She likes playing with small kids at family functions etc but she wants to "hang" with other Jr. High kids on the ship. When she would go to the Out & About activities, there were 11-13 year olds but there were also a decent amount of 8-10 year olds and, although they may have been independent, they weren't where the11-13 years were at socially. Also, the CM had to tailor the activities down to accomodate the younger kids (so the 8 year olds could play basketball with 13 year olds).

After a couple activities, she stopped going and just explored the ship and island with her younger brother. If she was going to hang out with an 8 year old, it might as well be someone that she knows.

It would be great if they implement the Edge for the 11-13 year old age group AND continued with the Out and About program for the 8-10 year olds with sign out privileges who would prefer not to play with 6 and 7 year olds! This would help to make up for the fact that they now let the little ones in the Lab, and would give the 8-10 year olds an alternative if there were too many little ones in the Lab area. And it would keep them separate from the tweens who don't want to hang with 8-10 year olds. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[smb6]

Here is a response that I just got from DCL today. They had given me a rather generic, vague response to my first email, and when I replied with a request for more specific answers to my questions, this is what I received...


Dear Kimberly,

Thank you for your email.

I would be happy to further assist you.

The Edge on the Disney Wonder premiered on December 19th. And, yes, it
is located on Deck 2, Midship. This is the area where the conference
rooms used to be.

The ages for the Edge on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder (and the new
ship, the Disney Dream) are the same. The locations are for Guests ages
11-13. On all of the ships, the teen area, Vibe (formerly The Stack on
the Disney Magic and Aloft on the Disney Wonder), is for our Guests
14-17. The age change was made on the Disney Wonder with the
implementation of the Edge.

In order to provide an accurate response to your email message regarding
the Out and About Series, we need to conduct additional research.

We appreciate your patience while we process your request and look
forward to contacting you shortly.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further
assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Wilma
Email Guest Services
Disney Cruise Line

Interesting because their initial email gave me ages for Aloft as 13-17, and for the Edge as ages 11-13.

Interesting that they have NO information about the Out and About series.

Interesting that when I mentioned that current cruisers indicated that the Edge was NOT operational and inquired as to why they would have different age groupings on different ships, they gave the specific date of Dec. 19th as the date when the Edge opened and when the name of the teen area (Aloft/Stack) was changed to Vibe on all ships...hmmmm.

Well, I hope this information is accurate. That would mean that my daughter will have a place to be. Now I'm just worried about my son. If they eliminate Out and About because the Edge is in place, then I worry that he won't enjoy his time in the Lab with a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds. As an almost 10 year old, he would really prefer the Out and About program to playing with "little kids" in the Lab. I just really wish there was still a dedicated space for each age group!

The lady I spoke with also tried to tell me it had opened in December. I firmly told her that I had a spoken with people with a first hand account that it was NOT open. She then, put me on hold and came back saying it was delayed. I think their information is just being read off of a screen! The best thing is for someone sailing in the next week or so on the Wonder to speak with someone in the programming and let us know what they said.... Hopefully someone will come along with the information.....

 

[mommykeg]

Well, I am encouraged and hopeful. I just took a look at the Magic Navigators from 10/23/2010 in the FAQ sticky...they list the Edge for ages 11-13, AND the Out and About series, which they list as "designed for ages 8 and above." If the plan is to make the programming on all of the ships the same, I'm hoping that both of these programs will be in place to meet the needs of my kids.

 

[son3disfan]

The lady I spoke with also tried to tell me it had opened in December. I firmly told her that I had a spoken with people with a first hand account that it was NOT open. She then, put me on hold and came back saying it was delayed. I think their information is just being read off of a screen! The best thing is for someone sailing in the next week or so on the Wonder to speak with someone in the programming and let us know what they said.... Hopefully someone will come along with the information.....

Very interesting indeed...
I think we receive better info and correct info on this board then we do from CMs. Wow.

To the poster who wrote about the 13 year olds belonging to two clubs....
I think the reason for that was Aloft ( on the Wonder) WAS for 13 year olds . On the Magic they had to be 14. Now the teen club will be for 14 because of the introduction of the tween club. The magic really ran things better. I guess Disney felt that for three or four day cruises the tween didn't need a place to hang. All these changes are because of the new itineraries. Hopefully someone will post soon that was on the Wonder with Tweens.....

 

[tracielynn]

I was told today via phone to DCL that the Edge will NOT be open on the Wonder for the MR cruises. They will still be doing the Out and About activites for the "tween" crowd.

 

[TiszBear]

My sister will be on the Magic March 26 with her family (DD12, DD10 & DD7) and her 10 & 7 year old are already registered with the kids club but not the 12year old. She has not gotten any information from her travel agent or DCL. So can someone please tell me what can be expeceted for my 12yr niece. I have read and read this thread and it still doens't make sense.

Thanks

 

[tracielynn]

Tiszbear....Magic has had the Edge club for quite some time now so your niece will be just fine. The Wonder is the ship that will not have it until after dry dock.

 

[NAB]

My sister will be on the Magic March 26 with her family (DD12, DD10 & DD7) and her 10 & 7 year old are already registered with the kids club but not the 12year old. She has not gotten any information from her travel agent or DCL. So can someone please tell me what can be expeceted for my 12yr niece. I have read and read this thread and it still doens't make sense.

Thanks

Your niece will be part of the Edge on Deck 2 on the Magic. It was formally known as the Quest. It has always been there for this age group. So no worries.

12 year old do not have to have parents sign them in or out. This is why you don't have to register them. They go as they please but the CM's are pretty good at knowing the kids that hang out a lot and if a parent goes looking they can tell you if they are inside or not or where they might have gone.

Most of this thread is about the Wonder that is changing to make space for the tween club.

 

[WiscBill]

On our Wonder cruise in December, my 8 year old daughter unintentionally got into this program. She was not supposed to have sign out privileges but somehow her wristband got mis-marked. She was in the Oceaneer Lab when the counselor in charge Out and About asked if any one wanted to go the teen club for a few hours. Of course, DD wanted to go and after checking her bracelet she went up there with about 6 other kids with the counselor. When I went down to the lab to pick her up for a hair braiding appointment, she wasn't there but the counselors in the lab thought she was probably over by the Oceaneer club. Went to the Oceaneer club, no DD. Had to have a senior counselor check the computer to find out where she was which is when I learned they had her down for sign out privileges. They didn't know her location, only who had signed her out. He printed out a new wrist band and went with me to the teen club, where I recovered DD and had the new wrist band put on. My first visit to the teen club, which I have to admit I felt a little bad about making her leave.