first time on a Disney Cruise - Question for my 10 year old

We are traveling on a 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Magic at the end of December. I have a 6 year old daughter and 10 year old son. We picked the Magic because my son wanted to do the Avengers Academy. However, he has since learned there is an 11-14 year tween hangout club, and is worried the 3-12 year old kids clubs might be to "babyish" for him:-) Can anyone share experiences I could relay to him? thanks!

The activities in the Lab are intended for kids thru age 12. They will be perfect for a 10 year old. Yes, the club/lab is age 3-12, but there are activities with much smaller suggested age ranges. The club area has small furniture and is geared primarily to 3-7 year old kids. The Lab is geared for 8-12s. The large age span is because no matter where DCL drew the line, some families weren't happy.

OK, 1998, first cruise. Club was 3-7, lab was 8-12. What if you had wanted your 6 and 10 to be together? Now the kids are free to move back and forth as they choose but reality is that the little ones basically stay in the Club area.

There is built in overlap....While the Lab is intended for kids up to 12, the Edge is 11-14 and the Vibe is 14-17. Kids/parents in the overlap area can decide which area best fits their kid.

A 10 year old belongs in the Lab and will fit perfectly in a program that is intended for kids up to age 12. The only time he may not be happy is when there is OPEN HOUSE in the Club. At that time, ALL kids in secure programming will be moved to the Lab, so there will be little kids in the lab for that period.

They also have tons of activities spread out throughout the day. Your son can see what is going on where and decide which one he wants to go to. Disney works hard to make sure the kids are in the activity they want to be in.

They also have tons of activities spread out throughout the day. Your son can see what is going on where and decide which one he wants to go to. Disney works hard to make sure the kids are in the activity they want to be in.

Depends on how strict they are being. A 10 year old officially can't go to the Edge. And they seem to be learning that when they allow kids who are technically too young to move into an older program, the kids for whom the program was intended don't choose to participate. I've been on cruises where they held strictly to the age rules (which I feel is best) and cruises where they allowed 9 year olds into the 11-14 program.

There are lots of family activities as well as the stuff in the kid programming.

The Club is more "babyish" since it is designed for the 3-7 yo. but the Lab is designed for the 8-12 yo range and is where is should be. The Edge is more for the 13-14 yo.

Depends on how strict they are being. A 10 year old officially can't go to the Edge. And they seem to be learning that when they allow kids who are technically too young to move into an older program' date=' the kids for whom the program was intended don't choose to participate. I've been on cruises where they held strictly to the age rules (which I feel is best) and cruises where they allowed 9 year olds into the 11-14 program.

 

There are lots of family activities as well as the stuff in the kid programming.[/quote']

 

My apologies. I didn't mean to suggest that a 10 year old could decide to go into the tween club. What I meant to say was that he could decide what activities there were between the club and lab as they offer so much.

My apologies. I didn't mean to suggest that a 10 year old could decide to go into the tween club. What I meant to say was that he could decide what activities there were between the club and lab as they offer so much.

Makes sense. I've just seen an instance of a 9 year old wanting to go to the Edge and the parents advocating for him.

You are right that there are typically 4 scheduled activities simultaneously in the Club/Lab area in addition to all the "free play" options. Plenty to keep a kid busy all day and half the night if desired.

I'll tell ya, we had our 9 year old grandson and my best friend's 10 year old granddaughter with us on the Magic for a 7 day. They both used the lab extensively. There's a better than even possibility you may feel like your kids have abandoned you for the cruise, that's how good Disney activities are.

I'll tell ya, we had our 9 year old grandson and my best friend's 10 year old granddaughter with us on the Magic for a 7 day. They both used the lab extensively. There's a better than even possibility you may feel like your kids have abandoned you for the cruise, that's how good Disney activities are.

Our 4yo was asking me to read off the activities for the club so he can go in for his "vacation" from mommy and daddy.

He is also one that does not transition well, so getting him to go into the club/anything else is usually hard but after the first time we made him go in, later in the day he sprinted down the stairs and had already scanned in and was washing his hands before I could catchup with him. The cast member was keeping him from going in until we got there.

My daughter loved the Club. We actually cruised in March just before her 13th birthday so she could experience it ONE.MORE.TIME. Truly, she loved it.

How much time he spends there really depends on what kind of kid he is. My boys rarely go. They literally go zero times (on 12-15 day cruises). One went a few times on the Hawaii cruise only because their friend was with us. And he gashed his eye on the rocket (no stitches needed tho). They much prefer the sports deck, pool, and spending $100 million on bingo haha.

No matter what he chooses, I'm sure he will have a great time!!!

Both my kids started going to the Edge at age 10. They never allow 9 year olds. You will need to sign a waiver that its ok. My kids did not like being with the little kids in the lab and felt the activities were too babyish. My kids never felt out of place at age 10 and never had trouble making friends. The activities in the Edge are age appropriate for 10 year olds. Probably more age appropriate for the 10-12 age then the 13 and 14 year olds. You know your kid best if you think the Edge is better suited for him then ask if he can move up. We cruise in the offseason but ive heard that if a cruise has a lot of 11-14 year olds they may not allow it. One counselor told me theres usually only a couple of cruises a year when its not allowed. Have fun on you cruise.

We are traveling on a 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Magic at the end of December. I have a 6 year old daughter and 10 year old son. We picked the Magic because my son wanted to do the Avengers Academy. However, he has since learned there is an 11-14 year tween hangout club, and is worried the 3-12 year old kids clubs might be to "babyish" for him:-) Can anyone share experiences I could relay to him? thanks!

My 10 year old daughter is concerned about the same thing. We sail on our first Disney cruise next week on the Dream. She keeps saying she doesn't want to be in the club with "little kids". She's always enjoyed the clubs on other lines, but it seems like it was divided to a 6-10 age the last few we've taken with her. I'm glad to hear the lab is usually 8-12 yr old kids. I'll be sure & post when we get back & let you know how it was for us.

How strict are they with allowing almost 11 years old into the tween club? my 10 year old will be 11, 10 days after the cruise. The cruise is her birthday gift.

How strict are they with allowing almost 11 years old into the tween club? my 10 year old will be 11, 10 days after the cruise. The cruise is her birthday gift.

It depends on the number of kids in the stated age range AND who the YAC supervisor is on the cruise. If there are a ton of 11-14s booked on the cruise, they will not allow a 10 year old in. If not, they typically will. And while it sounds silly, some supervisors are more strict than others...despite the verbage about making everything the same across the entire line.

Thanks for the info. If she can't get access she just won't get in. :)

We are traveling on a 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Magic at the end of December. I have a 6 year old daughter and 10 year old son. We picked the Magic because my son wanted to do the Avengers Academy. However, he has since learned there is an 11-14 year tween hangout club, and is worried the 3-12 year old kids clubs might be to "babyish" for him:-) Can anyone share experiences I could relay to him? thanks!

Ok we are back from our 3 night Bahamas cruise on the Dream. My 10 year old daughter spent very little time in the clubs, as there are so many other activities on the ship with the short time we were on board. We were offered the option at sign up for her to do the Edge 11-14 club which I would have been fine with, except they told me she can come & go as she pleases in that club with no parent sign in/out, so I declined not wanting her to be able to wonder around the ship on her own. There seemed to be younger kids in both the club & lab when she went, but she was fine with it. She enjoyed the club with the Star Wars simulator & Infinity rooms more than the time in the lab. I think it will just depend on the child as to what they like. Mine spent more time in the clubs on other cruiselines where there aren't as many kid friendly activities, but on this 3 day Disney cruise, way too much else for her to do. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

I think the kids club enjoyment is highly dependent upon your kids meeting other kids. I recommend you have them do the ice breaker activities in the clubs the first night, that is where my boys met the other kids. The first cruise we missed these and my kids barely used the clubs and felt left out. The second cruise after reading boards about those activities we made sure our boys made it to the ice breakers and they made friends and spent a lot more time at the clubs.

We just got off Fantasy. They allow 10 year olds in Edge you just have to sign a waiver to allow them to go. My 10 year old spent about 80/20 time between Edge and the Lab with Edge being favored. She met more kids that were 10 in Edge and they had a great time hanging out together.

We just got off Fantasy. They allow 10 year olds in Edge you just have to sign a waiver to allow them to go. My 10 year old spent about 80/20 time between Edge and the Lab with Edge being favored. She met more kids that were 10 in Edge and they had a great time hanging out together.

Generally, yes, they will allow a 10 year old in Edge - as long as there is space. If the cruise has a lot of kids in the acceptable 11-14 age group so that the total number of slots available in Edge are full, a 10 year old will not be allowed to "age up".

Generally, yes, they will allow a 10 year old in Edge - as long as there is space. If the cruise has a lot of kids in the acceptable 11-14 age group so that the total number of slots available in Edge are full, a 10 year old will not be allowed to "age up".

As you do NOT cruise with your children, what is your reference for this?

How do you know for sure?

There was a poster around here who used to post similar statements that were said as fact, and almost as if he was a DCL employee shoreside, reciting policies that were in fact made up.

But he was just a cruiser who took on a persona of self importance and pretended to know more than he did about the day to day operation of the ships and who he had direct contact with in the senior management of DCL.

I would think it is measured more on a case by case basis by the YAC CM's, as obviously not all of the teens will be occupying the space at the same time so there is unlikely to be an over occupancy issue.

And they may observe the child's behavior and attitude as well.

Some kids might like to "age up" before they are ready to.

Some parents or guardians might like their child to "age up" before they are ready to, so they can feel like the special talented parent with such a unique and gifted child who behaves and has interests and social skills beyond their years.

Some kids really need to be back in the Lab environment where they are best suited for their own self esteem. To not be ignored or ridiculed due to their immaturity being surrounded by a peer group much older and mature than they are, but think they are.

There are a lot of things for the YAC CM's to consider before they allow someone to "age up".

ex techie

Just got off Fantasy. My 9 year old did not like oceaneers lab or club, she thought there were too many little kids and the games were too young for her. She was interested in Edge but we didn't ask to send her - I assumed 9 would not be allowed to age up. She preferred the kids club on Celebrity where the kids were split into smaller age groups.

I should have added that your son can go up to edge during the open house times, so if he doesn't like oceaneers, he will have some opportunities to go hang out in Edge. On Fantasy, Edge open house was 1-2 hours on several of the days.

We sailed on the Wonder last December and my daughter was 10 at the time. She didn't enjoy the regular kids program as much because there were a lot of younger kids. As an only child she is pretty mature and wanted to hang out with older kids because they did activities like a group scavenger hunt on the ship, wii dance competition, etc. We went down to the edge program and spoke with the counselors. They allowed her to participate as long as we signed a permission slip.

Generally, yes, they will allow a 10 year old in Edge - as long as there is space. If the cruise has a lot of kids in the acceptable 11-14 age group so that the total number of slots available in Edge are full, a 10 year old will not be allowed to "age up".

FWIW, I believe that this is correct, Schmoo. My 10 year old was allowed in the Edge and the lab on the WBTA last year. I did not sign a waiver, but IIRC it was conditioned on the YACS agreeing he was mature enough, AND also the fact there was plenty of space (as there are so fewer kids on the TAs).