Young Teen Question

[mothermuti]

To celebrate our childrens 13th birthdays, three other mothers and I am taking them on the Nov 4th wonder cruise.

two of the children will have already turned 13, while two will still be 12. I'd hate for them to have to split up - do you think they will all be allowed to participate in the teen activities and common ground

 

[TammiMcMan]

How close are the 2 twelve year olds to being 13? On our May 27th cruise, we didn't have a problem moving our 7 year old up to the lab, but those age groups are much closer together. The teen crowd ranges from 13 to 17. We travelled with a 14 year old, a 13 year old and a 12 year old also. The 12 year old was not able to move up. I think it will all depend on how close they are to turning 13.

 

[DoomBuggieDriver]

We just got back from the June 19th Magic with our daughters who are 13 and 11. In our experience, our 13 year old was a bit intimidated by the older teens in the club, and actually had more fun hanging with another girl her age. They went to the 411 the first night and dropped in once in a while and weren't impressed. They went to shows and movies and swimming instead of doing The Stack activiites, and it turned out fine. You may find because they are already in a group of 4 that they'll have plenty to do without making the club the focal point of the trip. I do know the Disney staff offered to let my daughter and her friend register at the Lab (they were interested in one of the activities there) but once you make that choice you cannot go back and forth between the Lab and the Stack. Hope this information helps.
Kathy

 

[kcashner]

The official policy is that if a child is within 30 days of the birthday, he/she will be allowed in the older age group with permission of parent and counsellors. I am aware of situations where this was allowed even with children outside the 30 day window in order to keep families together. Your 13 year olds can choose to move down to the 10-12 year old group, but they can only move once. That is, if they move down to the 10-12, they cannot later choose to move up to the 13 - 14s.

My DD celebrated her 13th birthday on the Magic, and absolutely loved the teen program. There were several younger teens on our cruise, and it was during the school year, so there weren't huge numbers of teens. That may have made a difference in the atmosphere in The Stack. The Stack is much different and less regulated than the club or lab. There are a few scheduled activities, but there is also a list of things that can be done at any time--the kids just have to ask the counsellors for supplies (crafts, board games, music, etc.)