Too much gaming in new kidsclub on the dream

[texas disney mom]

Does anyone else think there is too much gaming in the new kids club? We are thinking of canceling an upcoming cruise on the dream because we do not want our kids exposed to so many video games and electronics.

 

[wilkeliza]

I thought they always had a ton of video games and electronics in the clubs. When I went for open how it looks like that was pretty much all there was to be honest (with the exception of the one slide).

 

[Shea&Van]

Hi there,

I'll admit I'm not overjoyed by the Star Wars-themed clubs or the emphasis on Disney Infinity. My kids are not into Star Wars and rarely play the Infinity we have at home. They are kids that would much prefer something like Andy's Room or Monsters Inc. They loved the Club and Lab on the Wonder particularly the activities (cooking class, Pluto's PJ party, game shows), but that has been our only exposure thus far. We are booked on a trip next year so we shall see.

My kids are young still and we greatly limit the iPad and gaming stuff at the house in an effort to encourage them to "play" like I did growing up. Building tree forts in the back yard, hide and seek, riding bikes, dressing up, dance parties, etc. I guess we are somewhat old-fashioned in that we don't want technology to become crazy-involved in their lives while they are still so young.

I'm sure there are many folks that are really excited about the changes and I'm glad for them. Heck, even some of my closest friends are totally excited about the Star Wars stuff, it's just not our cup of tea.

The good news is that there is plenty of other fun stuff we can do as a family while cruising and we are looking forward to a wonderful break together. My husband and I are cruising on the Dream next week (sans kids) and I'm going to check out the clubs during Open House just to get a feel for some of the new stuff and if it may appeal to our kids.

Happy planning y'all!

 

[MUN]

Does anyone else think there is too much gaming in the new kids club? We are thinking of canceling an upcoming cruise on the dream because we do not want our kids exposed to so many video games and electronics.

I think you should go ahead and cancel if you're concerned about your children being exposed to electronics as there has always been a lot of video games in the kids clubs.

MUN

 

[wilkeliza]

Hi there,

I'll admit I'm not overjoyed by the Star Wars-themed clubs or the emphasis on Disney Infinity. My kids are not into Star Wars and rarely play the Infinity we have at home. They are kids that would much prefer something like Andy's Room or Monsters Inc. They loved the Club and Lab on the Wonder particularly the activities (cooking class, Pluto's PJ party, game shows), but that has been our only exposure thus far. We are booked on a trip next year so we shall see.

My kids are young still and we greatly limit the iPad and gaming stuff at the house in an effort to encourage them to "play" like I did growing up. Building tree forts in the back yard, hide and seek, riding bikes, dressing up, dance parties, etc. I guess we are somewhat old-fashioned in that we don't want technology to become crazy-involved in their lives while they are still so young.

I'm sure there are many folks that are really excited about the changes and I'm glad for them. Heck, even some of my closest friends are totally excited about the Star Wars stuff, it's just not our cup of tea.

The good news is that there is plenty of other fun stuff we can do as a family while cruising and we are looking forward to a wonderful break together. My husband and I are cruising on the Dream next week (sans kids) and I'm going to check out the clubs during Open House just to get a feel for some of the new stuff and if it may appeal to our kids.

Happy planning y'all!

Just to give you a little piece of mind the Disney Infinity isn't actually the real Disney Infinity game. The kids actually get on the base and become the game figures. They can explore the world and build. It is a way they can do pretend play in the confined space of the ship. I believe they will still have things like Pluto's PJ party, game shows, and cooking class. The Star Wars section is also going to have crafts and light saber/"force" battles and such which are all non-technology experiences.

 

[texas disney mom]

I think you should go ahead and cancel if you're concerned about your children being exposed to electronics as there has always been a lot of video games in the kids clubs.

MUN

I thought they always had a ton of video games and electronics in the clubs. When I went for open how it looks like that was pretty much all there was to be honest (with the exception of the one slide).

True. Definitely. There have always been video games etc, but it seems like they have removed most everything else except "Andy's room" and a fairy area which is more for girls. Our kids do play video games but not very much and we noticed at the kids club that they did not go play them.

 

[SaraMc]

I thought the same thing when we went in Jan on the dream. But honestly my kids spent more time making the crafts that they had available and other activities than they did on the video games. They loved it

 

[texas disney mom]

Just to give you a little piece of mind the Disney Infinity isn't actually the real Disney Infinity game. The kids actually get on the base and become the game figures. They can explore the world and build. It is a way they can do pretend play in the confined space of the ship. I believe they will still have things like Pluto's PJ party, game shows, and cooking class. The Star Wars section is also going to have crafts and light saber/"force" battles and such which are all non-technology experiences.

Okay thats good to hear.

 

[jahber]

They also allow the kids to watch a movie while they eat. Some people don't care for that. But as others have said, there have always been several computers for games. My kids enjoy them every once in a while, but because there are so many kids it's hard to really spend *that* much time playing. I'm all for outside play and reading real (paper) books and interacting with the real world, but that's not really my priority on vacation. My priority is that we have fun. If that means playing video games for a few minutes a day, I'm fine with that. (I can hardly judge my kids for playing Wii when I'm over in a bar in a mixology class--it's not like I make perfectly healthy, wholesome choices all the time either )

 

[Racer X]

Nothing like tossing out the baby with the bathwater - or cruise in this case. Is there some unwritten rule that FORCES all kids to attend the clubs for huge chunks of hours? This is patently ridiculous. Sure, don't take your kids because they are better in your family bubble. A couple of hours in a club with games... is not going to cause irreparable harm. OR dont take them to the clubs... wow what a concept.

 

[DbleTheFun]

There have always been a ton of video/gaming components.. they are just re-themed. The Jedi training I would presume, is taking the slot of the Army Training that was with the Toy Soldiers from Toy Story....so not much has changed IMO. They will still have a ton of activities including cooking and science... nowhere did they indicate those were being taken away.

We are thrilled with the refresh- keeping it current is important. My kids are thrilled with the changes to the look of the room!

 

[DisneyQueen1320]

I'm happy with the changes. My 9 year wasn't happy with the kids club last year. The Jedi training looked great.

 

[southerngirl528]

Nothing like tossing out the baby with the bathwater - or cruise in this case. Is there some unwritten rule that FORCES all kids to attend the clubs for huge chunks of hours? This is patently ridiculous. Sure, don't take your kids because they are better in your family bubble. A couple of hours in a club with games... is not going to cause irreparable harm. OR dont take them to the clubs... wow what a concept.

Whoa, that'a a little harsh dontcha think, RacerX? I mean, these are forums and as a mom of 3 I totally get the questions and concerns of the OP. They were simply asking for input, not putdowns. I don't think there's "some unwritten rule that FORCES" anyone to be testy here….

 

[Racer X]

Southerngirl - i think OP was making a point, not asking for advice. Didn't say what else can we do? Said - i think we should cancel. Don't you think that's a bit over the top?? I think you do... cmon, you do...

 

[texas disney mom]

No offense taken. I may be overprotective. But it is more that I am worried that they wont have fun. We do not stop them from playing video games but they are not huge fans. It does not help I guess that they do not like star wars at all and SW seems very dominant now. I can understand if your child is a huge star wars fan this is probably awesome. Last time we did not see our kids doing anything "electronic" once. They played on the life size set pieces and did crafts and science. We did not leave them a lot on our last cruise but they kept asking to go back. Just thinking the dream may not be a great ship for us now.

 

[lillygator]

I agree, we are sailing the Fantasy next december and if they make the same changes I will be disappointed. My kids are not into star wars or video games, they would rather have the monsters inc and nemo areas.

 

[calismic]

There are HUNDREDS of other activities for the children to do. It's completely up to them! Our last cruise my daughter wasn't into video games. Being that she had barely turned 4, we assumed she'd be quite bored. 5 hours later without a peep from the pager, we knew our worries were unfounded. She played dress up, colored, danced, made crafts, had the CM's wrapped around her little finger. Didn't touch a computer the entire time!

 

[southerngirl528]

Does anyone else think there is too much gaming in the new kids club?

Okay RacerX. Your 2nd response did crack me up but as you can see from the OP's quote I've included in this thread, she DID ask…. jus' sayin'……

Back to the OP's topic, I'm with a lot of ya'll. I am not thrilled about all the Star Wars stuff in the Kids Clubs on DCL. My little ones ADORED the Nemo room, Toy Story (their very favorite!) and Monsters Inc rooms on the Dream when we took them recently. They haven't seen nor will they likely be allowed to see SW until they are quite a lot older. It will be interesting to see just how much they have changed the kids' clubs with the SW stuff…. and like others I have friends and coworkers that love DCL and are tickled pink about the SW additions to the clubs. Time will tell how much the kiddos love it.

 

[yorkieteacher]

I am a little worried about our three year old grandson. I know he will love Andy's room because he loves Toy Story. He also loved Monster, Inc., but at his age doesn't know lots about Star Wars or play computer games on his own. We think the only time we will check him into the clubs are for the special events that may include a character like during So You Want to be a Pirate and Pluto's Pajama Party, and the short times we may visit the District. He goes to daycare, so as long as he can find someone to play with during times there is no special activity scheduled he will be okay, so just hoping some other younger kids will be in the clubs as well who aren't totally about the video games.

 

[vinotinto]

I *wish* my kids would snub their noses at video games, but they love video games and they love Star Wars!