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

[MillauFr]

My son has special needs and the only time he could use the clubs was during the open house hours. He loved the Lab and wanted to spend the whole day there but they are unable to provide 1:1 aides which is what he needs. He only could spend time in the lab during open house hours. The rest of the time he would spend in the hallway or in our room asking to go see Captain Hook in the Lab.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

You can spend time with your kid any where on the ship. DCL advertises secure price-inclusive childcare and activities. I cannot get that service anywhere on the ship. Therefore the club/lab is where that happens. So if DCL advertises this...then they need to provide that service.

Not anywhere. Non-potty trained kids are excluded from the pools. This includes not only most toddlers but some older kids with special needs. Shorter kids are excluded from the Aquaduck for safety reasons. Some young kids are too little to do things like the sports deck either because they don't understand the sport or will get hurt. And while meeting some characters and catching a movie are fun, they don't take up your whole day.

Also, they DO always provide that service for the ages that have secured programming. One of the areas is always secured for the young kids (or on-island programming on Castaway Cay), so they are providing the service they advertise. If someone's kid doesn't like the side that is open, they could either deal with it, or just have more family time.

 

[MunFam]

Not anywhere. Non-potty trained kids are excluded from the pools. This includes not only most toddlers but some older kids with special needs. Shorter kids are excluded from the Aquaduck for safety reasons. Some young kids are too little to do things like the sports deck either because they don't understand the sport or will get hurt. And while meeting some characters and catching a movie are fun, they don't take up your whole day.

Also, they DO always provide that service for the ages that have secured programming. One of the areas is always secured for the young kids (or on-island programming on Castaway Cay), so they are providing the service they advertise. If someone's kid doesn't like the side that is open, they could either deal with it, or just have more family time.

You are right...you can't take your kid to the galley either, so that are SOME areas that are off limits...seriously though. If a parent chooses to bring a toddler on a Disney Cruise, one that is so young that they won't even remember it and cannot participate in activities due to age, potty training, or height minimums...that's on the parent because Disney Cruise Line fully discloses what will and will not be available to a child of that age and ability. We chose to wait until our DD was potty trained and old enough to attend the Club and therefore, I expected her to be able to use that facility in the way that DCL advertises it. When we got on board and found out that we were subjected to false advertising, I was not happy. All I want is full disclosure.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

You are right...you can't take your kid to the galley either, so that are SOME areas that are off limits...seriously though. If a parent chooses to bring a toddler on a Disney Cruise, one that is so young that they won't even remember it and cannot participate in activities due to age, potty training, or height minimums...that's on the parent because Disney Cruise Line fully discloses what will and will not be available to a child of that age and ability. We chose to wait until our DD was potty trained and old enough to attend the Club and therefore, I expected her to be able to use that facility in the way that DCL advertises it. When we got on board and found out that we were subjected to false advertising, I was not happy. All I want is full disclosure.

It's not false advertising--there is always a secured club available, just not necessarily the one you want. Where on DCL's website do they say that both clubs will be available at any time you want them? I see no mention of their hours on DCL's general page about them:

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/onboard-activities/youth-clubs/

In fact, while this page says the hours the club will be open, it also advertises to check the Navigator because secured programming hours vary and that there are open houses "throughout the cruise":

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/youth-clubs/oceaneer-club/

So I have as much of a reasonable expectation of open houses as you have of what you want; it says it right there on their website.

And while toddlers might not remember this trip twenty years from now, many toddlers remember things that have happened within the past few months and still talk about them. My nephew was a few months short of three when he went to WDW and still remembers it months later. More importantly, the parents will have those memories of their child's trip for the rest of their lives.

 

[bethy]

As a single parent, pretty much the ONLY reason we are going on a cruise instead of to some fabulous resort for the same price is the kids club. The purpose of the kids club, IMHO, is to give kids their kids-only time and to give parents their alone time. I am not lacking in family time, either at home or on vacation. So, for me, the idea that the kids clubs should have more open houses so as to facilitate family time is topsy-turvy, upside-down, and backwards.

Yes. This. This is the single only reason we are trying a Disney cruise. My DH and I have no one to leave our kids with so we can go on vacation by ourselves. So this is our hopeful solution. I homeschool and have been a SAHM for 14 years. So I get plenty of quality time with the kiddos. I am praying my kids will love the clubs when we cruise for the very first time in October.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

The Lab is geared towards older kids. My 4 year old is not in to computer and video games. When they would move her over to the Lab for secured programming when the club opened up...her option was coloring...COLORING! Seriously? I feel like if they are going to move little kids to the Lab, they should have activities going geared towards younger kids and visa versa when the Lab is unsecure. Obviously, my 4 year old is going to call and ask us to pick her up because she has no desire to sit and color...she wants to run and climb and play...or do leader lead activities.

There are leader lead activities going on, maybe not the entire time, but at least for part of it. I went down to get my DD for an activity we had pre-planned. She was in the Lab because the Club was in Open House mode. I walked right past a group of kids running around playing a game with a leader. There were kids of multiple ages, including little ones, playing the game. When I look at the Navigators from our trip, they show that there are planned activities going on in the Lab while the Club has an Open House.

And the open houses are disclosed. Directly from DCL's website:

"Youth Activities Open House"
Open House is an opportunity for all guests to come and participate in a variety of exciting activities in the Oceaneer Club and Lab throughout the cruise. During these times the Oceaneer Club or Oceaneer Lab will still be available for those looking to check their children into care.

 

[Hernandez Family Cruisers]

I find this very interesting, and can definitely see both sides! We have just booked our first Disney cruise and it will be the first cruise for my 2 young daughters. I tend to agree with those who want to see less open house hours. I waited until my girls could be in the same club because that was important to me, both that they could both use the clubs and that they be together. I knew the rules and how they would affect me, so I waited!

For me the clubs are less about childcare and more about giving my girls the chance to play with other kids, make new friends, and have fun kids only experiences. I have read through some daily Navigators and loved seeing all the great CM lead activities they can participate in while they are in the clubs. That is what I am paying so much extra (versus a non-Disney cruise) for, not so I can helicopter over them while they play on the cool indoor playground. We will participate in many of the structured family activities outside of the club as our family time, I just hope that the amount of open houses in the clubs do not interfere with their time to be independent, self-sufficient kiddos!

 

[Geomom]

Question regarding the open houses--for open houses at Edge and Vibe, do my kids need to have an adult with them? My girls will be 12 and 16 when we cruise, and open houses will be the only time they can be in the same club.

 

[bumbershoot]

While a 17 year old should be responsible enough to enter an leave the club, an 11 or 12 year old may not have that maturity yet, but still want to attend the Edge instead of the lab.

The 11 or 12 year old has club/lab open to him. If that child isn't mature enough to handle the self-checkin/out part of it, then they go to the club/lab. That is exactly what we have done with DS. He's not mature enough and WE are not mature enough LOL to handle the idea of it, so he's destined for the club/lab if we take a DCL cruise before he's 13.

When they would move her over to the Lab for secured programming when the club opened up...her option was coloring...COLORING!

My question, based on experience with communicating with my kid who is much older than 4, is...how do you know this? Is it because that is what she told you? Because the stuff going on in the Lab (and club) is loud and chaotic and they don't always hear things and they don't hear them right and they don't give you the information in a way that makes sense all the time. And I'm talking about an older kid here.

I just picked one random day from a random cruise of ours and looked at a time when the Club was in Open House. For almost the entire time they had activities in the Lab. Animation Antics and Wacky Relay. Both of those, from my experience with the club activities, would be OK for a 4 year old. But would she understand what they are, would she undertand they were for her, etc etc? Given my son's understanding of things like that, and that sometimes he doesn't hear the announcements about things, it seems likely she just might not have known.

And that's what the Navigators are for. That's why so many of us insist that taking the half hour each evening to go through them, to work out a schedule of sorts for the next day, is so important. DS at 4 wouldn't have had any sort of long term remembering of what he was going to the club for, but we would do our best to let him know what he can do there etc. And we do our best to get him to the Lab at times when interesting things are happening.

I homeschool and have been a SAHM for 14 years. So I get plenty of quality time with the kiddos. I am praying my kids will love the clubs when we cruise for the very first time in October.

OH how I know how you feel. With just the ONE kid we get almost too much quality time LOL. We were flummoxed once by an unexpected Open House (before I realized the importance of finding time to read the Navigators, and we weren't aware enough to realize that the other area had secure programming) but have never let that happen again. We BOTH need time away from each other!!!

For success, go there on the first day, look around with them. Perhaps meet some of the counselors. Read the Navigators (if you have the app on a wifi-getting device you can look at all of your sailing's Navigators ahead of time!) and find things the kids might like to do. When it's your first Disney cruise it's hard to know what some things are, so it's a bit like jumping in the deep end, but I don't think there are any activities my son has actively disliked. He does say DCL plays GagaBall wrong, but I don't know what that means. He tries to describe it but I have literally NEVER heard of this game pre-cruising, so I can't understand the differences. He really likes Get the Hook and he used to like the dance floor activities (he's a dancer but recently he's found that the almost-always-just-girls also dancing are young and so much smaller that he doesn't really enjoy himself as much as before), a Stitch magic playfloor thing, making flubber, and he sometimes enjoys the volcano activity. Oh and he loves the "anyone can cook" activity, even though he doesn't eat the items.

Anyway, find times when something is going on, remind them what they are going for, check on them at certain times to see if they want to leave.

 

[Ofinn]

Yes. This. This is the single only reason we are trying a Disney cruise. My DH and I have no one to leave our kids with so we can go on vacation by ourselves. So this is our hopeful solution. I homeschool and have been a SAHM for 14 years. So I get plenty of quality time with the kiddos. I am praying my kids will love the clubs when we cruise for the very first time in October.

I homeschool and work, but like you I feel I get more than enough time with my kids. My kids have always the loved the clubs. I have never given two thoughts about the open houses. I never even new it was an issue. I still don't see what the issue is? Anyway my kids have both gone to the Edge since they were ten and the Lab before that. They have had check in and out access since they were 8 and 9. They are currently 11 and 12. They have made friends all over the country on our cruises. They talk and play games with them daily through various social media and gaming sites. Cruising has been a great vacation for us. You get family time, alone time,couple time, and my kids have made some great friends. I hope you and your kids enjoy your first cruise.

 

[Ofinn]

Question regarding the open houses--for open houses at Edge and Vibe, do my kids need to have an adult with them? My girls will be 12 and 16 when we cruise, and open houses will be the only time they can be in the same club.

No adults are not required.

 

[bethy]

I homeschool and work, but like you I feel I get more than enough time with my kids. My kids have always the loved the clubs. I have never given two thoughts about the open houses. I never even new it was an issue. I still don't see what the issue is? Anyway my kids have both gone to the Edge since they were ten and the Lab before that. They have had check in and out access since they were 8 and 9. They are currently 11 and 12. They have made friends all over the country on our cruises. They talk and play games with them daily through various social media and gaming sites. Cruising has been a great vacation for us. You get family time, alone time,couple time, and my kids have made some great friends. I hope you and your kids enjoy your first cruise.

Thank you!!! This is very encouraging. As long as no one gets major seasickness we should be golden.

 

[fairytalelover]

I am prepared to be flamed for this, but from reading these boards, I believe that the increase in Kids Club Open houses has a lot to do with parents complaining they don't want to leave their kids alone without them (because they can't fathom being away from little johnny, little johnny has never been away from them before, etc). We got stuck opening an open house and there were 3 other families there. This was on the Fantasy. 3K people and only 4 families total doesn't seem like there is actually a demand for the open houses. (I do agree there should be one on the first day to show the kids the club/lab, but after that no). And why you would need an open house at edge/vibe is beyond my comprehension. I can see the argument for special needs, but i'd join those parents arguments that Disney should have some way that an adult (or cast member) can attend with them to give them one-on-one attention.

I agree with you. I dont like the excess open houses either and I also believe it's the annoying parents who made this happen. I feel that if you cant be away from your child then dont put them in the club. There are plenty of areas on the ship where families can hang out together. Personally I dont feel comfortable with all of those adults walking around the kids. I know the CMs are there too but I dont what kind of wierdo may be waling into these open houses around my child. I dont like it.

 

[fairytalelover]

I literally booked our first cruise last night and being able to drop off my kids someplace SECURE where they would have lots of activities was a huge selling point of a cruise (as opposed to a disney trip) -- I hope this "loads of open house" thing is temporary and is gone by the time we cruise.

Exactly! These open houses take away the "SECURE" factor since anyone can mingle amongst the kids. Maybe if more of us complained about that, then Disney would listen......

 

[Ofinn]

Thank you!!! This is very encouraging. As long as no one gets major seasickness we should be golden.

LOL. I'm the only one in the family that gets sea sick. I never go on a cruise without my Dramamine.

 

[EvieBug]

Yes. This. This is the single only reason we are trying a Disney cruise. My DH and I have no one to leave our kids with so we can go on vacation by ourselves. So this is our hopeful solution. I homeschool and have been a SAHM for 14 years. So I get plenty of quality time with the kiddos. I am praying my kids will love the clubs when we cruise for the very first time in October.

You are not alone. DH and I both work full time so we do cherish our family time. However, we get like three date nights a year since getting a sitter is a pain. Like you, we are giving a cruise a try instead of another WDW trip because the idea of secure kids stuff appeals to give us a little alone time while still having a family vacation. (Without paying the fees for in room babysitting at WDW - too $$$!)

I empathize there are reasons for open houses - but I have one kid who is more lab aged and one who is more club aged. The activities at least seem quite distinctly age specific. I guess we will just see, I just feel like I'm slightly disappointed already when our cruise is in 2016.

 

[Ofinn]

You are not alone. DH and I both work full time so we do cherish our family time. However, we get like three date nights a year since getting a sitter is a pain. Like you, we are giving a cruise a try instead of another WDW trip because the idea of secure kids stuff appeals to give us a little alone time while still having a family vacation. (Without paying the fees for in room babysitting at WDW - too $$$!)

I empathize there are reasons for open houses - but I have one kid who is more lab aged and one who is more club aged. The activities at least seem quite distinct age

The open houses won't affect your vacation. The clubs are secured at night when adults are out having fun. The open houses usually are at slow times such as mornings and early evenings when people are at dinner or shows. Our kids have always liked cruising better than WDW. I hope you enjoy it.

 

[EvieBug]

The open houses won't affect your vacation. The clubs are secured at night when adults are out having fun. The open houses usually are at slow times such as mornings and early evenings when people are at dinner or shows. Our kids have always liked cruising better than WDW. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you! Its probably much ado about nothing. I can say my eldest (will be 9 at cruise time) is so excited to go to the clubs!

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

That is what I am paying so much extra (versus a non-Disney cruise) for, not so I can helicopter over them while they play on the cool indoor playground.

I don't see why wanting to spend family time with your kid = helicopter parenting.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I agree with you. I dont like the excess open houses either and I also believe it's the annoying parents who made this happen. I feel that if you cant be away from your child then dont put them in the club. There are plenty of areas on the ship where families can hang out together. Personally I dont feel comfortable with all of those adults walking around the kids. I know the CMs are there too but I dont what kind of wierdo may be waling into these open houses around my child. I dont like it.

It's sort of offensive to call people "annoying parents" for wanting to enjoy an open house with their kids. I would never ever go to guest services and complain and throw a fit over access to the clubs, but if I were asked about open houses on those surveys they sometimes email out or the little comment cards they ask you to fill out, I would totally say that I love the opportunity to have some open houses. I don't understand why that makes me "annoying."

If your kid is in one of the younger age clubs, he or she will never have strange adults hanging around him/her. They always move the kids who are there without a parent to the secured area. And if your children are in Edge or Vibe, they will be around strange adults anyway if they go out on the ship to do scavenger hunts, etc. At least at an open house, there are still cast members right there to help monitor.

As I said in a previous post, Disney's website lets you know there are open houses throughout the cruise. It's fully disclosed there. They also very clearly list them on the Navigator so that you can plan around them if you desire. So I don't see what the big deal is.