Got Youth Activities Questions? Ask Me Anything :)

[Shay985]

Thank you. That is what I thought but it does not hurt to ask.
I know he will be fine, and anxious may not have been the best word to describe his feelings.....worried he isn't going to have fun by himself in the baby room while his bro is slaying it in Edge is more appropriate.
I do realize the 12 yo can still go to Oceaneers with his brother but he is less interested in going to the area with the 3 year olds in it than the 9 yo is.

I do realise it is difficult with such a large age range. That changed to 3-12 a while ago because most parents wanted their kids together! Now we do hear about the older kids not wanting to be with the younger kids in Oceaneers, however it often doesn’t have an impact once they are there. There are so many kids of all ages and the majority make friends regardless of age. And they all participate together in the programming extremely well. If he is alone, we will try and an encourage him to join in a game with other kids or at least come and hang out with us!

 

[lbuzz52]

Hi shay. My son will be 11 on the next cruise. I don’t mind him being on self checkout for the tween club as his older sister will be with him. Can I put him on parent checkout for cleaners or does it need to be self checkout also

 

[Shay985]

Hi shay. My son will be 11 on the next cruise. I don’t mind him being on self checkout for the tween club as his older sister will be with him. Can I put him on parent checkout for cleaners or does it need to be self checkout also

You mean Oceaneers?? The majority of older children are self-check, it is extremely rare that an 11 year old would not be. This enables them to go back and forth between programming in Edge and Oceaneers. However you can take away his self-check privileges if you would like.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Just to add, on our first trip, my 12 year old was (I thought) signed up for self-checkout, but whomever signed him in forgot to check that box on the computer, so he had to wait for me to come and get him. He said he was so embarrassed, as he watched 8 year olds come and go and he had to just stand there, waiting. He was so embarrassed that even though we fixed it, he refused to go back. (okay that, and one older kid and his posse in the Edge were teasing him about having an Oceaneer's band on, calling him a baby)

Anyway, unless there's a good reason (and you know your kid) please take into account that your child will be watching others come an go freely while he waits for you to pick him up.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

For the three year olds you get - are they all completely independent with the bathroom? My daughter will be 3.5 and is semi potty trained right now. But even when she recognizes needing to go (instead of having to be told it’s time) she still needs someone to bring her because bathrooms care her. It doesn’t seem possible that by January she’ll be as totally independent as my 5 year old is.

 

[Shay985]

For the three year olds you get - are they all completely independent with the bathroom? My daughter will be 3.5 and is semi potty trained right now. But even when she recognizes needing to go (instead of having to be told it’s time) she still needs someone to bring her because bathrooms care her. It doesn’t seem possible that by January she’ll be as totally independent as my 5 year old is.

Hello! She will need to be completely independent. At times, two of us can go in and assist if they’re stuck or whatever but other than that we cannot help them. If she is engaged in another area of the Club/Lab and recognises she needs to go to the bathroom, the counselors in that area cannot leave that area to take her. If she has an accident or is really upset about going, we will call you to let you know

 

[Rob1872]

Thank you. That is what I thought but it does not hurt to ask.
I know he will be fine, and anxious may not have been the best word to describe his feelings.....worried he isn't going to have fun by himself in the baby room while his bro is slaying it in Edge is more appropriate.
I do realize the 12 yo can still go to Oceaneers with his brother but he is less interested in going to the area with the 3 year olds in it than the 9 yo is.

We were lucky on our first cruise: Had a DS11 and a DS9. The 11 year old went the first night into the 3-12 club to help his brother feel comfortable with it and then spent the most of the rest of the cruise in the 11-14 club. (But did occasionally wander back to check in on his brother, especially if there wasn't anything going on in the 11-14 club that he wanted to do.) Once the 9 year old was settled in he was good with going there by himself.

 

[Shay985]

I just had a conversation with someone who had concerns about the youth activities spaces. Does anyone else have any concerns/comments? I would be interested to know if there is a trend. Thanks! S x

 

[tee11]

Hello, I have a question regarding children who carry epi-pens. On our last Disney cruise (early 2018) we always were required to check in and check out the epi-pen, although I had brought a second set that I had initially planned to leave at the Oceaneers Club for the duration of the cruise... (like you leave an epi pen at your child's school or camp or what not) but that was not possible we had been told...
We will shortly go on our next cruise and I wonder if there are any changes with this.... in particular.... we have late dining for the first time and know our child will be eager to be picked up for the club during dinner.... what is the sign in like during the late dinner? Can we give our daughter her epi pen (she is 8 years old), or do we give it to the counselor, or is it now possible to leave it with the club for the duration of the cruise? What if she had self check privileges? We also have a younger child (age 4) and I would really like to know what the sign in to the club from the dining room is like! They will likely want to go together!

 

[Shay985]

Hello, I have a question regarding children who carry epi-pens. On our last Disney cruise (early 2018) we always were required to check in and check out the epi-pen, although I had brought a second set that I had initially planned to leave at the Oceaneers Club for the duration of the cruise... (like you leave an epi pen at your child's school or camp or what not) but that was not possible we had been told...
We will shortly go on our next cruise and I wonder if there are any changes with this.... in particular.... we have late dining for the first time and know our child will be eager to be picked up for the club during dinner.... what is the sign in like during the late dinner? Can we give our daughter her epi pen (she is 8 years old), or do we give it to the counselor, or is it now possible to leave it with the club for the duration of the cruise? What if she had self check privileges? We also have a younger child (age 4) and I would really like to know what the sign in to the club from the dining room is like! They will likely want to go together!

Thanks for your questions! Your daughter can bring her epi-pen with her. You will not be able to leave it at the Lab or Club.
The counselors will collect the children from the restaurants and take them up. It depends really how many kids it is each night. It is a fairly easy process!

 

[tee11]

Thanks for your questions! Your daughter can bring her epi-pen with her. You will not be able to leave it at the Lab or Club.
The counselors will collect the children from the restaurants and take them up. It depends really how many kids it is each night. It is a fairly easy process!

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.... I guess I'm asking whether there is a "mobile sign in" or what exactly happens... because at the main sign in is with fingerprint... password (I'm sorry when I don't remember exactly right now, but the process at the main check in of the club requires several minutes plus handing over the epi-pen for our older child), so I'm wondering how this works in the dining room... so my daughter carries her Epi-pen from the dining room to the club and then gives it to the counselor once they all get there? What is the "range" of the number of kids picked up? I realize it varies between sailings... this is a Caribbean sailing on the Fantasy in October. P.S. Also, how do you ensure that a younger child could not get "lost" on the way from the dining room to the club... ? I assume there would be maybe 1-2 counselors picking children up... and there could be 20 or more...? So a small child may not be able to keep up or get distracted while walking through the ship...

 

[Shay985]

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.... I guess I'm asking whether there is a "mobile sign in" or what exactly happens... because at the main sign in is with fingerprint... password (I'm sorry when I don't remember exactly right now, but the process at the main check in of the club requires several minutes plus handing over the epi-pen for our older child), so I'm wondering how this works in the dining room... so my daughter carries her Epi-pen from the dining room to the club and then gives it to the counselor once they all get there? What is the "range" of the number of kids picked up? I realize it varies between sailings... this is a Caribbean sailing on the Fantasy in October. P.S. Also, how do you ensure that a younger child could not get "lost" on the way from the dining room to the club... ? I assume there would be maybe 1-2 counselors picking children up... and there could be 20 or more...? So a small child may not be able to keep up or get distracted while walking through the ship...

The child’s information is written down and we sign them in when we get back. The pick up is from each individual restaurant (different counselors go to each one) so the kids are taken from the restaurant you’re in straight to Oceaneers. On the Fantasy it could be a fair few! I haven’t had more than say 30. It can take a few minutes to sign them in, especially if there are a lot of kids. But there is no major rush so you can come up to us when you see the line thin out a little We have a counselor at each end of the line so that they would be able to see if a child moved out of the line. As far as I am aware, no child has been lost during dine and play.

 

[greensombrero]

Another dine and play question, we will be first time cruisers on the Magic and I’m wondering if kids doing dine and play miss the best parts of the dinner shows? I know Rapunzels and Animators Palate have little shows but don’t know how long they last etc. My kids generally don’t like long dinners so dine and play sounds great but I’d hate for them to miss the best parts of the show.

 

[tlprice]

We were just on the westbound transatlantic cruise and my DD is 12 so she could go to Edge and Oceaneer's. She spent pretty much an equal time in both. Our tablemate children were 10, 10, and 9. One of the 10 year olds also went to Edge, but the other 2 kids only went to Oceaneers. The 4 kids became great friends so that probably influenced a lot of where my DD hung out. My DD does not keep her Oceaneers band on though. She puts it on to go to Oceaneers, but takes it off when not there. They just put a new lock on it each time she goes. I think she would be embarrassed to wear it to Edge.

 

[Shay985]

Another dine and play question, we will be first time cruisers on the Magic and I’m wondering if kids doing dine and play miss the best parts of the dinner shows? I know Rapunzels and Animators Palate have little shows but don’t know how long they last etc. My kids generally don’t like long dinners so dine and play sounds great but I’d hate for them to miss the best parts of the show.

Hi! There are some elements towards the end of the meal. You could discuss with them and tell them what will happen and let them decide

 

[MalkaR]

Hi Shay! Thanks for offering to answer our kids' club questions! Are they very strict with only 8 and up being able to check themselves out? My 3 kids will be 7, 9 and 10 on our cruise and stick together very responsibly in public. Would the 7 year old be able to get check out privileges, mostly so he could stay on the open house side of oceaneers with his brothers during open house times? They probably wouldn't be leaving on their own so I'm not worried about them wandering the ship on their own. Thanks!

 

[Shay985]

Hi Shay! Thanks for offering to answer our kids' club questions! Are they very strict with only 8 and up being able to check themselves out? My 3 kids will be 7, 9 and 10 on our cruise and stick together very responsibly in public. Would the 7 year old be able to get check out privileges, mostly so he could stay on the open house side of oceaneers with his brothers during open house times? They probably wouldn't be leaving on their own so I'm not worried about them wandering the ship on their own. Thanks!

Hello! Sorry, your 7 year-old will not be able to have self-check privileges. If he wants to go to Open House, you can come and check him out and he is then free to go with his brothers as he is no longer signed in to our care.

 

[MalkaR]

Hello! Sorry, your 7 year-old will not be able to have self-check privileges. If he wants to go to Open House, you can come and check him out and he is then free to go with his brothers as he is no longer signed in to our care.

Sounds good. Thanks for the quick answer!

 

[hamm1207]

If there's a general alarm or other emergency, what is protocol for picking up children in the clubs/nursery? For a GA, do we go to our stateroom then head to the club/nursery before heading to our assembly station?

 

[Shay985]

If there's a general alarm or other emergency, what is protocol for picking up children in the clubs/nursery? For a GA, do we go to our stateroom then head to the club/nursery before heading to our assembly station?

Yes you will need to come and collect the children from whichever space they are in.