Kids Club Age Change

[DCLMP]

I just hope some of the craft activities and character meet and greets that are available in the club they have things similar in the edge. We are cruising in August for our twins 12 birthday and both were hoping to sneak in one more time in the club. They will not be happy.

I have pictures of my kids with characters in the Edge. They give them to the kids for free. I also have some T shirts and crafts they made.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

I have pictures of my kids with characters in the Edge. They give them to the kids for free. I also have some T shirts and crafts they made.

Awesome thanks! We went and checked it out last cruise and they were like it’s so small in here and no fun places to play. They are happy with crafts and recently gotten into the Nintendo switch so maybe by the time August rolls around they will be ok with it. Plus it’s a short cruise with only 1 day at sea.

 

[DCLMP]

Awesome thanks! We went and checked it out last cruise and they were like it’s so small in here and no fun places to play. They are happy with crafts and recently gotten into the Nintendo switch so maybe by the time August rolls around they will be ok with it. Plus it’s a short cruise with only 1 day at sea.

Yes, it's a small space on the older ships, but in general, kids that age just like making friends and doing all the activities in the space and around the ship.

 

[CamillaF]

Does anyone really think 3 and 10 year olds play exceptionally well together? Some of the 10 year olds are good with 3 year olds but the same can be said for 11 and 12 year olds. What is DCL going to do when they have issues with that very large age gap?

 

[starlite_]

Does anyone really think 3 and 10 year olds play exceptionally well together? Some of the 10 year olds are good with 3 year olds but the same can be said for 11 and 12 year olds. What is DCL going to do when they have issues with that very large age gap?

Probably split them again into <5 and 6>. Then parents can complain all over again about how their 5yo and 8yo can't be together restarting the cycle.

They can't win no matter what they do. Someone will be unhappy.

 

[lorenni]

I love this change. Our kiddo got COMPLETELY TRAMPELLED by older children running around when he was at the young end of the Oceaneer spectrum. There should never have been such a large age range in there.

In fact - it didn’t used to be that way. They increased the Oceaneer age range years ago because of people complaining and wanting their kids together. Then people complained about the huge age range.

They are never going to make everyone happy.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

Probably split them again into <5 and 6>. Then parent can complain all over again about how their 5yo and 8yo can't be together restarting the cycle.

They can't win no matter what they do. Someone will be unhappy.

They can't split them with the way the Wish and Treasure set up their kids clubs. There is only one on them vs the other 4 that have essentially 2.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I love this change. Our kiddo got COMPLETELY TRAMPELLED by older children running around when he was at the young end of the Oceaneer spectrum. There should never have been such a large age range in there.

In fact - it didn’t used to be that way. They increased the Oceaneer age range years ago because of people complaining and wanting their kids together. Then people complained about the huge age range.

They are never going to make everyone happy.

The issue is they are punishing 11/12 year olds now that actually want to go and do all the activities and will remember it over 3-4 yos that just for the most part run around and long term won't even remember going. There needs a better solution, but unfortunately the best one they can't do due to the wish/treasure design. When your kid is older you may end up feeling different about the upper end.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

Does anyone really think 3 and 10 year olds play exceptionally well together? Some of the 10 year olds are good with 3 year olds but the same can be said for 11 and 12 year olds. What is DCL going to do when they have issues with that very large age gap?

For the most part when my kids have gone the older kids end up more in the lab side of things with more stuff their age and the younger in the club side that appeals to them anyway. The worst times is during open house when they are all smashed in the same area.

 

[lorenni]

The issue is they are punishing 11/12 year olds now that actually want to go and do all the activities and will remember it over 3-4 yos that just for the most part run around and long term won't even remember going. There needs a better solution, but unfortunately the best one they can't do due to the wish/treasure design. When your kid is older you may end up feeling different about the upper end.

My kid is older and was bored to tears in Oceaneers for our last several cruises to the point he hadn’t gone at all. He’ll be at Edge next week.

Again - they can’t please everyone. This policy is in line with other cruise lines. The age ranges need to make sense from a developmental and safety standpoint more so than keeping anyone’s siblings together.

The Edge is hardly a punishment, unless you choose to see it that way

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

My kid is older and was bored to tears in Oceaneers for our last several cruises to the point he hadn’t gone at all. He’ll be at Edge next week.

Again - they can’t please everyone. This policy is in line with other cruise lines. The age ranges need to make sense from a developmental and safety standpoint more so than keeping anyone’s siblings together.

The Edge is hardly a punishment, unless you choose to see it that way

Other cruise lines the kids programming is still through 11, and many still 12. So being more inline would be doing to 11 for lab/club. My 10 year old in sept (turns 11 in jan) loved the lab side and spent hours there and that is what she wants to do. 12 I can see being on the old edge for the kids stuff, but not 11. Every kid is different I get that I don't expect my middle to like the kids club as long as my oldest but I also don't expect him to want to go to edge (just his personality).

 

[Dug720]

The Edge is hardly a punishment, unless you choose to see it that way

Bingo. And the more parents fuss outloud about it - especially around their kids - the more the kids are going to fuss and whine. Because most of them want to please their parents and if they think their parents want them to hate something, they will make themselves.

 

[Disneychick13]

My kid is older and was bored to tears in Oceaneers for our last several cruises to the point he hadn’t gone at all. He’ll be at Edge next week.

Again - they can’t please everyone. This policy is in line with other cruise lines. The age ranges need to make sense from a developmental and safety standpoint more so than keeping anyone’s siblings together.

The Edge is hardly a punishment, unless you choose to see it that way

Exactly. That should be the priority. The 3-12 age range was really odd. When we went a few years ago with my 9 year old I couldn’t believe they had those little ones in with 12 year olds! Since you will never make everyone happy (because there will always be outliers) the cruise lines would be wise to keep developmentally similar age group together (I don’t even think this new policy goes far enough but it’s now far better). I get people being upset by the short notice because that really isn’t fair to those families that were counting on the previous age groupings being in place. But the policy itself should have changed long ago.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

Bingo. And the more parents fuss outloud about it - especially around their kids - the more the kids are going to fuss and whine. Because most of them want to please their parents and if they think their parents want them to hate something, they will make themselves.

I didn't say anything about my opinon to my oldest, showed her pics/what you can do in edge and what not and she said wasn't as interested in it. Maybe she would have a good time maybe not but at this point we are waiting till summer 2025 when she will be 12.5 and better age for Edge as she would going into 7th grade that fall. 6th grade is elementary here.

 

[DCLMP]

My kid is older and was bored to tears in Oceaneers for our last several cruises to the point he hadn’t gone at all. He’ll be at Edge next week.

Again - they can’t please everyone. This policy is in line with other cruise lines. The age ranges need to make sense from a developmental and safety standpoint more so than keeping anyone’s siblings together.

The Edge is hardly a punishment, unless you choose to see it that way

My kids always aged up to the Edge at 10. We mainly cruised off-season. They were bored in the lab\club. I also gave them sign-in and out privileges in the clubs when they were 8 or 9. I never had any issues. The biggest reason we stayed with Disney was their leniency. The kids do not have to be signed in and out all the time and the clubs were open all day and did not close during certain hours. Nor did that charge a fee after certain hours.

What works for one parent doesn't work for another. You can't make everyone happy. Like I said in another post my only complaint with Disney is I thought the teen clubs stayed open too late the night before a port day. Most cruise lines have a 1 am curfew for teens.

Maybe having the Edge 10-12 and the Vibe 13-17 would be a better age grouping.

 

[Jsoenning]

I sadly believe folks would yell at CM’s.

Disney is not blameless…not saying they didn’t do this but maybe they could’ve polled parents for drinks on cruises (I‘ve sat through the timeshare seminar for a Mai Tai) and found a way to enhance Edge to make the transition seamless. Make it where what is being perceived as lost has some sort of solution.

Just spitballing. Edge open a few hours for kids that overcomes the split of kids. Not 3 year old with 12 year old siblings but the more common complaint I’ve seen on board and Facebook, 8-9 year old with 11 year old. Or activities that make Edge even more attractive to kids on the fence.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

My kids always aged up to the Edge at 10. We mainly cruised off-season. They were bored in the lab\club. I also gave them sign-in and out privileges in the clubs when they were 8 or 9. I never had any issues. The biggest reason we stayed with Disney was their leniency. The kids do not have to be signed in and out all the time and the clubs were open all day and did not close during certain hours. Nor did that charge a fee after certain hours.

What works for one parent doesn't work for another. You can't make everyone happy. Like I said in another post my only complaint with Disney is I thought the teen clubs stayed open too late the night before a port day. Most cruise lines have a 1 am curfew for teens.

Maybe having the Edge 10-12 and the Vibe 13-17 would be a better age grouping.

lab/club 3-10, 10-12 for edge and 13-17 vibe wouldn’t be awful.

 

[gotomu212]

For the most part when my kids have gone the older kids end up more in the lab side of things with more stuff their age and the younger in the club side that appeals to them anyway. The worst times is during open house when they are all smashed in the same area.

Wholeheartedly agree on open house problem.

I think the other big fix would be to have more targeted programming which it seems they are going to start with the 3-4 year olds. I also wish the counselors would do more to engage and encourage the kids to participate in the activities geared to their ages (and not a slam on the CMs their job isnt set uo like this now and they do a great job with what they have), but it would help a lot if they were able to say hey 6 and unders come over here were going to do a craft for you and hey 7 and overs here’s a different craft over here that’s more your speed. If kids want to swap or not participate that’s fine but some heavier guiding would be a HUGE help. Kids want some direction, especially in a new environment, ESPECIALLY in an exciting environment with lots of stimulation.
My observations have been there’s great interaction when kids chose to engage with a counselor or activity but otherwise theyre left undirected which affects shy introverts and the really activity kids alike.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

Wholeheartedly agree on open house problem.

I think the other big fix would be to have more targeted programming which it seems they are going to start with the 3-4 year olds. I also wish the counselors would do more to engage and encourage the kids to participate in the activities geared to their ages (and not a slam on the CMs their job isnt set uo like this now and they do a great job with what they have), but it would help a lot if they were able to say hey 6 and unders come over here were going to do a craft for you and hey 7 and overs here’s a different craft over here that’s more your speed. If kids want to swap or not participate that’s fine but some heavier guiding would be a HUGE help. Kids want some direction, especially in a new environment, ESPECIALLY in an exciting environment with lots of stimulation.
My observations have been there’s great interaction when kids chose to engage with a counselor or activity but otherwise theyre left undirected which affects shy introverts and the really activity kids alike.

Yes guidance would be great. I know mine when younger missed activities they wanted to do because they didn't really know it was starting (the general announcements aren't enough) and also seen many parents ask if they had fun at the activity they dropped them off for and the kid said no they didn't know where or when and then get sad they realized they missed it.

 

[meremac]

I still have not heard anything about the change from Disney........ Found out on the boards. It's a bit till my paid in full date but I think it's shady that they have not communicated with everyone who booked. It's going to cause a lot of problems.

And this is the biggest problem IMO. Some of my clients received communication from Disney. Some did not. I contacted all of them just in case, but if they had booked on their own and weren't following any boards like this, how would they know about the change? In addition, the system is STILL requiring at least some people to register 11-year-olds and 12-year-olds for the Club/Lab during online check-in, which very much gives the impression that these kids will be allowed in those spaces.