Safety drill with young toddler

[SaraMc]

We were on deck 4 during the winter so at 4 the sun was just starting to come down and DD who is 5 was in the line up at the front of our family. She was hot, thirsty and generally didn't understand why we were still standing there, we had been checked in but had to wait for it to be over. She cried the whole time. A CM came over got down to her level and talked to her and kept telling her it will be over soon.

 

[lbgraves]

Good point to note that you need to line up by height, so the little kids are in the front of the line for your family/stateroom.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Good point to note that you need to line up by height, so the little kids are in the front of the line for your family/stateroom.

Well, you line up by height, in your group. Once the space fill up, they start putting other rooms in front of the first rooms that showed up. We typically wind up against the bulkhead (since we like to be in the area early), but with people in front of us (since there's just 2 of us). And I (being the shorter of the two) usually have a tall man standing in front of me.

 

[Sandbtwmytoes]

"I do not remember them being particularly amazing experiences"

Well said!

 

[TXDCLfan]

Please follow lb Graves suggestions on lifevests

If you do not have the right size for the little one just ask the cabin Steward

.learn how the straps connect. A few minutes doing this could save lives.

AKK

EXACTLY!

 

[canyoncam]

They are not fun but necessary. However on Disney they do a good job of trying to make it fast and even fun. Sometimes other passengers can ruin it by their desire to not be there. Or they can make it fun even if unintentionally, like the little boy about 8 yrs old who asked his Dad while we were lined up outside on deck 4 "Dad, when do we jump into the ocean?"

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

We just got off the Fantasy this past weekend. I will say that the first day, in general, was rough on my 2 year old. She did not get a nap and even without the muster drill, I don't think it would've happened. We got into our room shortly after it was opened (around 1:45), but she was way too excited to even consider napping. It was a new place and so much going on! If your child will let you wear him/her, then that's the best option. Our drill was in the theater and so we could at least sit in a/c. She talked and fussed the whole time as she didn't get it, but it was over in about 20 min.

 

[Bookwood]

our first drill was when you had to wear your life jacket also, standing in the middle of my tall family (I'm the shortest at 5'6") I felt quite penned in and eventually had to take off the block of flotation material near my chin so I wouldn't freak out. Never happened to me before or since. It would be hard standing on deck with a little one, but if they know it's going to happen it will be better.

 

[kiford]

They used to make you wear your lifejacket to the drill but they don't anymore. I was told by a Disney employee that a lot of the lifejackets got damaged as a result so they decided it was better not to have people wear them. But DO try them on. We've been on eight DCL cruises and I still watch the video which will be playing when you get into your stateroom, check my station location (it will be on your KTTW card), pay close attention to the drill instructions including where extra life jackets are stored in the event that you have to get to the muster station without being able to get your own, and always try on the vest when I get back to the room.

The more attention you pay, the more you do it, the easier and more automatic it will be in a real situation when you might be panicking. Probably best to make sure that your little one's jacket fits and also to make it seem more normal to her to do this if you are ever in a real situation.

 

[undertheradar]

It used to be so insane having everyone wear the life vests to the drill. All of the little kids blowing the whistles. It is easy to see why they changed the procedure.

 

[mickeyhereicome]

My 6 year old is sensitive to sounds. We have learned to bring along ear plugs for him for the drill. Our last cruise on the Magic in Sept, the horns didn't blow for very long and my son even commented "Oh that wasn't bad". We have also brought along our phones or a small toy for them to play with to keep they entertained.