What's up with excessive amount of open houses at the kid's clubs?

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I am actually one of the people who benefits from open house hours as we have a special needs son who is 18, and the college group won't be appropriate for him. We will be on the Magic in a few days, and he was so sad that he wouldn't be allowed in the Vibe, so he'll be thrilled if there are open house hours where he can go. However, even though it happens to benefit us for him, I don't like this trend toward more open house hours. One of the biggest draws of booking a Disney Cruise (and paying the upcharge) is the great kids programs, which include the ability to drop your kids off in the kids programs when you want. I'd be really bummed if my husband and I had booked a special Palo brunch/dinner or spa session, and then we found out there was an open house when we'd intended to leave our kids in the kids programing. The cynic in me thinks it sounds like a way for DCL to save money by reducing staffing during open house hours. I'll report back with our experience when we get back.

 

[GooniesAndy]

I am actually one of the people who benefits from open house hours as we have a special needs son who is 18, and the college group won't be appropriate for him. We will be on the Magic in a few days, and he was so sad that he wouldn't be allowed in the Vibe, so he'll be thrilled if there are open house hours where he can go. However, even though it happens to benefit us for him, I don't like this trend toward more open house hours. One of the biggest draws of booking a Disney Cruise (and paying the upcharge) is the great kids programs, which include the ability to drop your kids off in the kids programs when you want. I'd be really bummed if my husband and I had booked a special Palo brunch/dinner or spa session, and then we found out there was an open house when we'd intended to leave our kids in the kids programing. The cynic in me thinks it sounds like a way for DCL to save money by reducing staffing during open house hours. I'll report back with our experience when we get back.

One or the other of the check-in clubs is left secure. There wouldn't be a time when kids couldn't be left there.

 

[lanejudy]

So am I understanding this right - on the alaska navigator nights I've seen the Edge and Vibe are listed for open house either from 4-6 or 6-8 pm. Does this mean that my DGrD11 and DNiece14 will be in the clubs at those times with anyone from the entire ship that wants to hang out there during those hours? 18+ year olds are hanging with the 14-17 year olds during those hours? I did not know that was even a daily option. I thought the clubs were always age segregated except for open houses on the first day so families can check them out. Hmmmm unless I'm misunderstanding something I am not comfortable with that and am glad for this post so I can limit the girls visits during those hours.

I just wanted to point out that at ages 11 and 14, assuming both girls attend Edge -- the Edge (and Vibe) are staffed by CMs, but the kids have much more freedom to come and go on their own or with friends. Those spaces aren't considered "secured" programming because of the in/out access, and some of the programming offered involves being out around the ship unsupervised. During Open House at the Edge, I'd be surprised if many older teens hang there unless they have a younger sibling; in my experience it's more likely to be younger (9 and 10 yr olds) checking out the Edge space.

The Club/Lab and Nursery are the only spaces considered to have "secured" programming, meaning no one other than kids and staff are allowed. And as someone already mentioned, either the Club or Lab will be in secured programming if the opposite space is having Open House, so there is always a secure drop-off option for ages 3-12.

It sounds like DCL is trying some new options. It's never possible to make everyone happy -- there are those who want their 2 yr old and 5 yr old together, or their 9 yr old and 13 yr old together, etc. And those who prefer secured programming with tighter age groups. I suggest anyone who does not like how it is handled on your cruise, be sure to note that on your comment cards.

 

[quickcat]

I am one who likes the open houses. I would always write on the comment cards to have more open houses. My dd (she is 6) does not go without me. I get there is trivia, towel folding, etc to also do, but she loves to run and play in there. We do not ever drop her off and leave so its a great option to go and play for an hour and so. She doesn't want to be left there, too many kids I think, the only line where she will go in and play without me is Princess. And there are maybe 15 kids in there so its a huge difference in noise level and activity.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I'd be really bummed if my husband and I had booked a special Palo brunch/dinner or spa session, and then we found out there was an open house when we'd intended to leave our kids in the kids programing. The cynic in me thinks it sounds like a way for DCL to save money by reducing staffing during open house hours.

There's always a kids club available for secured programming...it just may not be the club the kids prefer if the other one is in open house mode. So there won't be any issues with having a place to leave the kids while the parents go to Palo, except that it may not be their preference.

Edge and Vibe are not secured programming...kids come and go from there as they please. The only difference is that during the open house, the parents or other adults, and anyone else like older/younger siblings, can come in too.

They are not reducing staff. They are trying to strike a balance between those who will leave their kids in programming and those who cannot (because the care their child requires is not available) or prefer not to.

Ive gone in before at open house to use art supplies...they had magnet strips so you could make a sign for your door, even. And I got to check out the Avengers area on the Magic. They have the most awesome hand washing machine too.

 

[SwimMom2]

I still saw the same number of staff in the club during open houses, so I really don't think it's a cost cutting move. Also, additional staff would move to the more crowded Lab when club was open. It really does seem like a way to balance the needs of many different types of people.

Are Carribean cruises experiencing the same thing? I wonder if it is adjusted to the ship's needs. Disney knows so much about us before we even board. Maybe demographics determine the open house availability.

My oldest will be in Edge on our next cruise, and I know he won't go anywhere near it during open house.

If you are worried about this and Palo, try booking your meal around 7. I do not recall seeing club/lab open houses at this time.

I noted the excessive open houses on my survey...and I am sure for my one comment, 10 other people commented positively on the open houses.

 

[Bonacker]

I'm a single mom. This is our first cruise, me and my two kids. I planned to let DS and DD go to the kids' clubs so I could have some grown-up time or alone time (I've reserved a Palo brunch and a mixology with our meet-up group). Do you think the open houses could interfere with this? thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm a single mom. This is our first cruise, me and my two kids. I planned to let DS and DD go to the kids' clubs so I could have some grown-up time or alone time (I've reserved a Palo brunch and a mixology with our meet-up group). Do you think the open houses could interfere with this? thanks!

Well, you'd have to see what times the Open Houses are on your cruise and go from there.

 

[DahliaRW]

I'm a single mom. This is our first cruise, me and my two kids. I planned to let DS and DD go to the kids' clubs so I could have some grown-up time or alone time (I've reserved a Palo brunch and a mixology with our meet-up group). Do you think the open houses could interfere with this? thanks!

One side is always secure while the other is in open house mode (with the exception of the afternoon of embarkation day), so you should be fine.

 

[GooniesAndy]

I'm a single mom. This is our first cruise, me and my two kids. I planned to let DS and DD go to the kids' clubs so I could have some grown-up time or alone time (I've reserved a Palo brunch and a mixology with our meet-up group). Do you think the open houses could interfere with this? thanks!

Not a bit. There will always be something secure, and older kids are allowed to come and go as they please anyway. I did my first single-mom cruise with my two kids last month and I was able to strike a good balance.

 

[DisneyKarenG]

I am looking forward to the open houses, so that my 2 YO can join his big brother and cousins for some fun

 

[richkaryn]

Seemed like in December on our Bahamas cruise every time we walked by (our room was near kids club/lab) and our son wanted to check in to the club we got "sorry, it's an open house right now and you can't check in and leave him....but you can go down to the lab and do that. " (which we'd already walked past) .. Or when we'd have him checked in to club earlier in day and go to check him out we'd get "you have to go down to the lab and check him out as we're having open house in here right now". We were hoping that was just because it was a shorter cruise and that our Alaskan next summer wouldn't be the same way, as the main reason we paid to do DCL for Alaska when we could have booked a suite on another line for a third of the price was because we knew with a cruise that long he'd want to spend a lot of time in the kids club. (He LOVED it on the Bahamas cruise).

 

[mmouse37]

On the transatlantic they had a toddler play area set up in a corner of the Promenade Lounge, which was awesome. It disappeared for the next cruise. When we asked the CD why it had gone (cos we were very sad it was
no longer there), he said that all the ships have been trialling different places to put a toddler play area as a permanent space. So hopefully these are coming sooner rather than later to all the ships.

We were on the TA and I was very surprised to see the toddler play area there. It was never there before on any of our previous Magic cruises. Makes sense that they were trying different things. I hope it doesn't stay there though, it could be very loud in that area. We also saw some much older kids using the area which put the toddlers at a disadvantage. We also saw some parents playing rough with their kids (I guess it was catch with a ball but the kid would lob the ball at the parent and then it would fly out and hit other people).


MJ

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Oh! I just had a thought - maybe DCL is contemplating a "toddler space" and is using more Open House hours in the Club to transition that area? Just a thought.

 

[phinz]

I think having a large amount of open houses is a disservice to a lot of parents. Many parents choose Disney because they get to be adults while their kids have fun playing with other kids in the clubs. With so many open houses the choices for the kids seem to be a lot less (No Club/Only the Lab or no Lab/Only the Club). Kids tend to have a preference, so if half the time one or the other is closed it makes it hard for the parents to plan around things. I'd be livid if my kid hated the Club wanted to go to the Lab while I went to something like Mixology and there was a Lab open house going on. It cuts into adult time. I wonder if they've seen an increase in kid traffic on other parts of the ship during open house times because of this.

 

[BNDisney55]

We will be taking my 8 yr old daughter on a cruise next year; I want to make sure she can NOT check herself out of any of the kids clubs. Is that the case? If there is an open house, we can go in with her, but if it is "secure" then she is signed in until we pick her up, is that correct? Has everyone had good experiences dropping their kids off?

 

[lanejudy]

We will be taking my 8 yr old daughter on a cruise next year; I want to make sure she can NOT check herself out of any of the kids clubs. Is that the case? If there is an open house, we can go in with her, but if it is "secure" then she is signed in until we pick her up, is that correct? Has everyone had good experiences dropping their kids off?

She will not have sign-out privileges unless you indicate approval. If you have her signed in at the Club and it goes into Open House, the staff will move her (and all other kids in secure programming) to the Lab; and vice versa. But she will not be able to leave of her own choosing without contacting you to sign her out.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[bumbershoot]

Seemed like in December on our Bahamas cruise every time we walked by (our room was near kids club/lab) and our son wanted to check in to the club we got "sorry, it's an open house right now and you can't check in and leave him....but you can go down to the lab and do that. " (which we'd already walked past) .. Or when we'd have him checked in to club earlier in day and go to check him out we'd get "you have to go down to the lab and check him out as we're having open house in here right now".

The Open House times and places are always in the Navigator.

Now that they have the Navigator app, where you can look at all the days of your cruise on the first day, it's even easier to plan around them than having to wait each day to see what the paper schedule showed you.

As long as you take the time to read the Navigators or check out the app (and I carry my phone for the app AND carry my extra, marked up, Navigator calendar of the day's events with me at all times onboard), the times and places of the OHs shouldn't be a surprise. Happy planning for the next one!

 

[MunFam]

Seemed like in December on our Bahamas cruise every time we walked by (our room was near kids club/lab) and our son wanted to check in to the club we got "sorry, it's an open house right now and you can't check in and leave him....but you can go down to the lab and do that. " (which we'd already walked past) .. Or when we'd have him checked in to club earlier in day and go to check him out we'd get "you have to go down to the lab and check him out as we're having open house in here right now". We were hoping that was just because it was a shorter cruise and that our Alaskan next summer wouldn't be the same way, as the main reason we paid to do DCL for Alaska when we could have booked a suite on another line for a third of the price was because we knew with a cruise that long he'd want to spend a lot of time in the kids club. (He LOVED it on the Bahamas cruise).

I think having a large amount of open houses is a disservice to a lot of parents. Many parents choose Disney because they get to be adults while their kids have fun playing with other kids in the clubs. With so many open houses the choices for the kids seem to be a lot less (No Club/Only the Lab or no Lab/Only the Club). Kids tend to have a preference, so if half the time one or the other is closed it makes it hard for the parents to plan around things. I'd be livid if my kid hated the Club wanted to go to the Lab while I went to something like Mixology and there was a Lab open house going on. It cuts into adult time. I wonder if they've seen an increase in kid traffic on other parts of the ship during open house times because of this.

This was our biggest issue on the WBPC cruise. Our DD is 4, so she was not super in to the Lab. She would go, but only for about 30 minutes. It always seemed like we would drop her off at one place and have to pick her up an hour later somewhere else because of the constant closures. Also, they kept the club closed/unsecure most of the day we transited the canal, so our kid sat out on the deck with us bored out of her mind. That was not cool. It opened late and then went to unsecure programming...I mean, we all paid to go through the canal, can't we assume the parents are going to want to be a part of the transit and not stuck babysitting their own kid in the club (with no windows!). We happen to be a prechool loving, babysitter using kind of family, so the main draw of DCL was the awesome built in, cost inclusive Disney themed babysitter feature...yeah...not so much.

 

[IlovePluto]

Just got off the Dream and though it was my first cruise, it did seem to me like a lot of time was spent in Open House. I would have thought these would only occur on the 1st day. Also, it was crazy chaotic around there during open house times and hard to tell or know it was in Open House or just parents waiting to drop/pick up because of the gazillion people around.