Why does everyone want their kids to move up?

[KT2038]

i was just wondering why everyone is so desperate for their kids to move up to the next youth activities space? I understand if there is a sibling or friend in the other space. However the programs and activities available and the ages set out are there for a reason and are age appropriate. This is why there is an overlap age for every space so that those kids who feel too old/young can change and move between them. I just wondered what the big issues were with kids staying in the space for their age group. Thanks!

 

[scootch]

It is really messing up the clubs. My daughter didn't care for the Edge at all, they had let many 10 year olds up on our cruise. I didn't want her to move up(she is 13) as I didn't want her with 17 year old boys.

 

[SnowWhite2]

I'd like to know how many kids age up in the Vibe to be with their 16/17 yo sibling and they actually have a good time together in the programming. I know that will be impossible to determine but given how my kids described the Vibe, I don't think that the younger kids would have fun. When my kids were 15, 16 and 17 yo they wanted nothing to do with anyone that was 13 or 14. Many kids spend the time roaming the boat together and I can't imagine my kids wanting someone's 13 yo hanging with them.

I was so happy when my 13 yo (prior to the Edge) didn't want to go to the Vibe but aged down to the Lab and had the best cruise ever. I really didn't want my 13 yo middle schooler with 17 year old high school boys (almost men). She wasn't emotionally equipped to handle boys so much older. My 11 yo was also in the Lab that year but they didn't hang out together and made their own friends.

My kids have nothing but great memories from their time in the kids clubs on DCL. My youngest DD wanted to be an officer on DCL (starting in the kids clubs and working her way up) but about 6 months ago changed her mind and decided to be a college coach. (dang, I was hoping for those employee cruise discounts) If the coaching career doesn't happen, I expect she will again look into a career with DCL on board.

 

[missyp]

On our first cruise my youngest son was 10 and my oldest was 14. We asked if the 10 year old could be in the Edge so he could be with his brother and they said yes. My 14 year old was also able to go to the Vibe. In the end the 14 year old spent the whole time in the Vibe and the 10 year old in the Edge.
Now looking back 3 years later they are 13 and 17. They will now tell you that they did not belong in either of those clubs. The 14 year old should have been in the Edge and the 10 year old should have been in the Oceaneers Club/Lab.
In subsequent cruises they have each since stayed in the Edge and Vibe but the following year it beacame age appropriate for each of them.
In my opinion middle schoolers belong in the Edge and High Schoolers belong in the Vibe.
The social interactions that go on in those clubs more closely relate to those type of schools.

 

[Ofinn]

I think most kids that want to age up are bored with the lab. I don't think it's a "parent problem" because they want their kids to age up. I think its a DCL problem. If 9 and 10 year olds are bored with the lab then DCL needs to do something to fix this. I would have been happy keeping my kids in the lab at age 10 if they didn't hate it so much. They put 10 year olds in with 3 year olds that the big problem, and there are very few activities offered that are age appropriate for a 10 year old. I'm sorry but most 10 year olds don't want to dance around on a colored floor or play Mickey Mouse games. I put this totally on DCL. Not the parents.

 

[stitchlovestink]

On our first cruise my youngest son was 10 and my oldest was 14. We asked if the 10 year old could be in the Edge so he could be with his brother and they said yes. My 14 year old was also able to go to the Vibe. In the end the 14 year old spent the whole time in the Vibe and the 10 year old in the Edge.
Now looking back 3 years later they are 13 and 17. They will now tell you that they did not belong in either of those clubs. The 14 year old should have been in the Edge and the 10 year old should have been in the Oceaneers Club/Lab.
In subsequent cruises they have each since stayed in the Edge and Vibe but the following year it beacame age appropriate for each of them.
In my opinion middle schoolers belong in the Edge and High Schoolers belong in the Vibe.
The social interactions that go on in those clubs more closely relate to those type of schools.

Only problem is my DD WAS 13 in High school!! She was 17 when she started college!! So you can't go 100% on age....

 

[belac]

They put 10 year olds in with 3 year olds that the big problem, and there are very few activities offered that are age appropriate for a 10 year old. I'm sorry but most 10 year olds don't want to dance around on a colored floor or play Mickey Mouse games. I put this totally on DCL. Not the parents.

This exactly, my 8 yo didn't like the club/lab during the day. All they did were to quote him "baby games" that was the dancing on colored tiles.... In the evening with the movies and many more kids in there, it was easier. He would have loved being in Edge with the games and actual cooking class, but we didn't even tell him about it. 3-10 is way to broad IMHO. Don't know how we can keep it from him this year when he will be over 9 and really looking at the Navigators. However without a sibling or older friend in there it will be a no from us and maybe just do clubs at night

 

[fab1976]

I can speak for the little ones. A 2 year old who will be 3 soon is so much older than a baby under the age of 1. It's hard to imagine those 2 ages being in the same club space together and having things to amuse the older ones. Babies take more attention, and it's easy to assume the toddlers will be left on their own. From reading these boards I now KNOW that's NOT how it works and I'm excited to see how my 2.5 yr old is going to be engaged while in the nursery on our upcoming trip. I'm kinda hoping those who don't read these boards will just skip the nursery for their own 2 yr olds, that way a lesser ratio of counsellors/care givers to kids. I wouldn't ask to age her up though, I would have just held her out from the nursery all together. Very happy to have had threads letting me know it will be awesome for her!

 

[Hundredacre]

Our kids have always been happy in their age appropriate clubs.

 

[TJ95]

My DS9 stays away from the Club because, as he says, it's "baby". But he loves the Lab, including sometimes doing the same activity more than once (Lightning McQueen challenge, marshmallow olympics, etc). The club definitely has activities that are WAY more oriented to smaller children, but he's quite happy with the Lab's activities. He's looking forward to having the chance to go to the Edge, but only to do some of his favorite activities more than once (once in the Lab and once in Edge!), not to stay. We're gold, so he's been experiencing it for a while....

 

[vatchr]

I would never encourage my child to go to one club or the other if they weren't comfortable there, or I thought it was not a good fit. Our experiences have been great with the clubs. On our last cruise my 14 yo wanted to go to the Vibe over the Edge and found a great group of 14/15 yo kids to hang with. She told me how the "older kids" didn't even really talk with them. She had a blast and still communicates with some of the kids that she met in the Vibe. My 12 yo didn't enjoy the Edge that much - she's not a gamer and said there wasn't much to do. She heard about what the 14 year olds were doing in the Vibe and was envious. This year she will be almost 14 and again we are going on the Fantasy. She remembers her sister's stories and really wants to see if she can find that for herself this year. She has no interest in going to the Edge, based on her 12 yo experiences two years ago. I'm not sure what to do...I'm hoping she'll go to the Edge and find a fun group of girls to hang out with, but she is already dreading it....hence the reason I asked about her going to the Vibe. I don't want her necessarily to be in there, but I'd love for her to find a place where she wants to hang out. She was not impressed with the Edge on the Fantasy... (she did go on the first night for the ice breakers and went regularly through the cruise, but didn't really enjoy it)

 

[TestingH2O]

People are taking about 3-10 in the club. It's listed as 3-12! As a mom of a 3 year old, that makes me very nervous. We didn't use the child care options at all last time as she was newly 3. We will see what happens when she's just a couple weeks shy of 4.

I feel like if there was a break in the lab/club age range, you'd have fewer people trying to circumvent the age ranges. Maybe 3-6, 7-10, 11-14, 15-17. That also more closely mirrors school breaks in the US.

 

[KT2038]

it used to be the Club was for the younger kids and the Lab for the older kids. Until parents complained that their kids were separated. It is still programmed that way though. With the lab having the science and cooking and drawing classes and marshmallow Olympics and piston cup; and the club having the royal ball, little Einstein's, plutos pj party and Mouseketeer training. This doesn't mean we aren't going to have a 3 year old who loves science or a 12 year old who wants to dance with Cinderella. We all love looking after your kids and hate to think they are bored. Please encourage them to give their space a go and to come to us and tell us they're bored and we can start up an activity with them.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

It really depends on the kid more than the parent. Prior to our June cruise, my then 11 year old was super excited about being in the Edge. I made sure she went the first night to the ice breaker, or whatever it was called, session. She enjoyed it. But she also wanted to spend some time in Oceaneers and went there the next day. Ultimately, she found that she felt more comfortable in the Oceaneers Club/Lab and spent most of her time there. For later this year we were originally looking at September for cruise on the Dream, but she specifically asked if we could go earlier because she turns 13 in September. She wanted to make sure she'd be young enough to be able to go to the remodeled Oceaneers space on the Dream.

I also think that a lot of this has to do with mindset on the kid's part. If a 10 year old goes in thinking the Oceaneers Club/Lab is "too babyish" for him/her, they likely won't engage in activities like they would if they went in determined to have a good time.

 

[Kenny1113]

Younger DS had just turned 10 on our first DCL cruise since the merge of club and lab. He hated it -not the activities but the way the CMs talked to them. Because there were young kids in the group he felt like the CMs talked to all of them like babies. It's a shame, because while he did enjoy Edge, I think had they left the separation of club/lab he would have really enjoyed the lab.

I made sure to let DCL know about this on the survey. My kids don't spend a ton of time in the clubs but do enjoy going for some organized activities.

 

[Sytrace]

We started taking Disney cruises in November of 2013 when my daughter just turned 12 and my son was a month away from 11.
That first cruise my daughter was very interested in Edge and the sense of freedom she had from being away from her brother for awhile. They are 15 months apart so she reveled in her "free time" Either my husband or I would escort her up to Edge and make sure she had the wave phone to let us know to come get her.
On our second cruise in June of 2014, they were both able to go to Edge together and as parents we really liked that. To be blunt, there have been a couple of instances of child molestation issues on cruise lines (including Disney) and we feel strongly about them staying together as a pair whenever we are not together as a family.
On the four cruises we have taken on Disney since June 2014 (and our 7th coming up in 27 days) there has never been an issue because BOTH of them could go to Edge together and hang out. This will be the first time she will be going to Vibe as a 14 year old and my husband and I are apprehensive about it.
We are working on a plan so that we are all comfortable and that she can still have some independence but still safe and watchful of her surroundings etc.

 

[Ofinn]

Younger DS had just turned 10 on our first DCL cruise since the merge of club and lab. He hated it -not the activities but the way the CMs talked to them. Because there were young kids in the group he felt like the CMs talked to all of them like babies. It's a shame, because while he did enjoy Edge, I think had they left the separation of club/lab he would have really enjoyed the lab.

I made sure to let DCL know about this on the survey. My kids don't spend a ton of time in the clubs but do enjoy going for some organized activities.

It's great that you let them know I should have done that. My youngest is now 11 so I don't have to worry about it. My kids said some of the 14 year olds go the vibe and think its boring so they come back to the Edge. I think DCL does a really great job in the Edge. I've gotten to know some of the CM's that work there, and I really like them. My son had no trouble fitting in at the edge when he was 10. He met his best friend there. He was 10 and his friend is 12. Age is just number after all... I keep telling myself that at 40+... I feel 25 I swear I do.

 

[Ofinn]

We started taking Disney cruises in November of 2013 when my daughter just turned 12 and my son was a month away from 11.
That first cruise my daughter was very interested in Edge and the sense of freedom she had from being away from her brother for awhile. They are 15 months apart so she reveled in her "free time" Either my husband or I would escort her up to Edge and make sure she had the wave phone to let us know to come get her.
On our second cruise in June of 2014, they were both able to go to Edge together and as parents we really liked that. To be blunt, there have been a couple of instances of child molestation issues on cruise lines (including Disney) and we feel strongly about them staying together as a pair whenever we are not together as a family.
On the four cruises we have taken on Disney since June 2014 (and our 7th coming up in 27 days) there has never been an issue because BOTH of them could go to Edge together and hang out. This will be the first time she will be going to Vibe as a 14 year old and my husband and I are apprehensive about it.
We are working on a plan so that we are all comfortable and that she can still have some independence but still safe and watchful of her surroundings etc.

She can still go to the Edge. It's for 11-14 year olds.

 

[Sytrace]

I forgot to add, it is not a sense of "desperation" that we feel to have our 13 year old move up. That is an interesting choice of phrase.

 

[Sytrace]

She can still go to the Edge. It's for 11-14 year olds.

Yes, I and she are aware of that. But after six cruises in two years she is a tad bored with it and is eager to try something new.