Totally surprised...Disney closing kids' clubs

Wow - We're planning our next trip to WDW in Aug 2018 and part of our planning included a Kid's Club night for DD. We used Simba's Club at AKL 2 years ago and DD loved it. Disappointing news, though to be fair, when DD was there in 2016, I think she was one of only 2 kids the whole night! Glad to read this thread and learn about Camp Dolphin.
 
The community halls have not closed. Those are the facilities you can do drop in daytime activities at some resorts, and are not drop off of children.
 
When we bought our DVC, the DVC crew really promoted the heck out of the Kid's Clubs. I wonder if they still do/did, and what DVC thinks about their closing...
 


Bummer! My DD had a blast at Lilo’s about two years ago. She was going to go one night over our trip just the other week, but we canceled because she caught a cold and we didn’t want to share it. I did notice low attendance at Simba’s when we stayed at AKL last March. My DD was bored one evening so we went to check it out, but she didn’t stay because there were no other kids there at all.

That is very considerate of you! So many people don't care about that. They've got ADRs to get to!

My kids are older now and we only left them in the provided "child care" for a DVC presentation once - I'm sure its different than what the Kids Clubs are but they sure made it sound fun. It was a stormy nasty day and we thought they'd have more fun than sitting in the room. Nope. They still haven't forgiven me! LOL I'm certainly glad I didn't pay for it!
 
This is terrible timing. I was planning on telling all my wedding guests to use this kids clubs so we wouldn't have kids at the wedding. Now I'm not sure what to do.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Disney has stated that the Activity Centers are bringing in fewer guests and that they will be exploring other options for their younger guests.

It's still 7 months until the closing - plenty of time for Disney to announce what those "other options" will be. I'd be very surprised if they didn't offer some kind of group childcare.

Talk to your wedding coordinator about this. I'm sure you're not the only bride-to-be in this situation, and they'll probably have suggestions for you.
 
Here's an excerpt from the article:



It's still 7 months until the closing - plenty of time for Disney to announce what those "other options" will be. I'd be very surprised if they didn't offer some kind of group childcare.

Talk to your wedding coordinator about this. I'm sure you're not the only bride-to-be in this situation, and they'll probably have suggestions for you.
Thanks! I'll definitely ask.
 


Man! We were so excited about trying out the kids clubs this October because both of our kids will finally meet the age (and potty trained) requirements. We’ve been using Kids Nite Out for the last several years and while they are great, I was excited about the characters and other fun activities the clubs offered. We usually try to visit V&A’s on most trips and we can’t take the kids there. Hopefully Disney will figure out another fun option.
 
I'm really disappointed about this DD loved the kids clubs. Last year during F&W the Sandcastle Club was booked solid so I had to call every day to see if there was any cancellations. We really didn't have any plans but after going a few times, this was all she asked for. At pick up time she cried because she had so much fun she didn't want to leave. Hope they come up with something similar!
 
Tried Lilo's playhouse and Simba's Club in August and my Daughter LOVED both. My husband and I liked the idea of getting away for a bit since Disney offers plenty of things for couples/adults. Hopefully they will have some other options soon, since the in room sitting service was much more expensive.
 
I am surprised because we have also been on a number of Disney Cruises, and the Kids Clubs are packed to the gills. So if parents have concerns about leaving kids in the kids club, how come they are doing it in cruises but not at WDW? Staff is very similar, young friendly, lots of them,, they all do activities and they both have the goal of giving parents a night off. Seems strange to me that it would be popular in one context, but losing popularity on another.

My son LOVED the kids' club on DCL and Castaway Cay but would never stay in one at a hotel. I think the difference is that on the cruise the parent has a beeper and is only a floor (or two away). At WDW a parent could easily be one hour away, depending on which park/hotel they visit on their date night, especially if they completely rely on Disney buses.
 
My son LOVED the kids' club on DCL and Castaway Cay but would never stay in one at a hotel. I think the difference is that on the cruise the parent has a beeper and is only a floor (or two away). At WDW a parent could easily be one hour away, depending on which park/hotel they visit on their date night, especially if they completely rely on Disney buses.
Keeping in mind that there are some parents that leave their children in the DCL clubs and leave the ship. Probably not a majority but there are people that leave the ship...and the beeper doesn't work off the ship.
 
Keeping in mind that there are some parents that leave their children in the DCL clubs and leave the ship. Probably not a majority but there are people that leave the ship...and the beeper doesn't work off the ship.

If I remember correctly, we were told that was not allowed. But yes, I imagine that those with older kids that are used to being left with others would not worry about leaving their kids. But emergencies can happen.
 
Is there any news on this? I was hoping we might have made some progress on the "other options" bit....
 
We are using it for our trip in August so we can go to Cali grill!!

We have the sandcastle club booked for early June so we can take the older kids to a nice sit down meal at Flying Fish. I’m debating changing the reservation to maybe California Grille instead. I’ll have to compare the menus, though. My oldest loves Flying Fish. And we’re staying at the BC, so it’s easier to get back to the resort for sure.
 
We have the sandcastle club booked for early June so we can take the older kids to a nice sit down meal at Flying Fish. I’m debating changing the reservation to maybe California Grille instead. I’ll have to compare the menus, though. My oldest loves Flying Fish. And we’re staying at the BC, so it’s easier to get back to the resort for sure.

Both a great places but you can’t beat the view at Cali grill!!
 
Both a great places but you can’t beat the view at Cali grill!!

I'm not thrilled with the new menu at Flying Fish, either. We ate there a few years back when they still had a chef's table and it was fantastic. There's nothing in the new menu that jumps out at me now.

Sorry for off-topic chatter. :) I am really happy they've added a new option for child care because my kids have always loved going to the kids' clubs.
 

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