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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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Good luck on this. Thanks for posting this problem so maybe someone else won't have to go through it. Let us know how it works out, please! You know, I have found that if you make the call to Disney when you have questions, they try to make you happy.
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Hello all,
This is my first post since our last cruise in 2006. I contacted Disney Cruise Line through their web site regarding my children's clubs and the below was their response.
On the Disney Magic, the children's programming will be structured
differently. Disney's Oceaneer Club will accommodate ages 3-7. Disney's
Oceaneer Lab will be for the 8-10 years of age group. The Ocean Quest
area of the ship will be the new home for ages 11-13.
Registration is not required for Guests participating in Ocean Quest
activities.
They also provided some of the "Canned" statements. Sure doesn't set well with me,
Tigger
I was having a hard time convincing my 14 year old to try the teen club...I just wanted him to say he'd at least give it a try...no such luck...he said he'd be more comfortable if someone else was with him so we agreed to bring a friend. That friend is one of his classmates and a neighbor AND HE'S 13!!!!! Won't be 14 'til December. He's moving into high school next year (this is a graduation celebration for my older son's high school graduation and my younger sons promotion to high school) and I have to tell him he has to go with the 11 year olds?? @#$%&!
All the info I have from Disney says 13 - 17 for the teen club. I agreed to the friend because older brother is 18 and too old for the teen club. Now all I'm thinking is how much money I've spent so my son's friend can hang out with my son in the teen club...and now it ain't gonna happen. !@#$%&!
I was having a hard time convincing my 14 year old to try the teen club...I just wanted him to say he'd at least give it a try...no such luck...he said he'd be more comfortable if someone else was with him so we agreed to bring a friend. That friend is one of his classmates and a neighbor AND HE'S 13!!!!! Won't be 14 'til December. He's moving into high school next year (this is a graduation celebration for my older son's high school graduation and my younger sons promotion to high school) and I have to tell him he has to go with the 11 year olds?? @#$%&!
All the info I have from Disney says 13 - 17 for the teen club. I agreed to the friend because older brother is 18 and too old for the teen club. Now all I'm thinking is how much money I've spent so my son's friend can hang out with my son in the teen club...and now it ain't gonna happen. !@#$%&!
On the Wonder the teen club is for 13-17 year olds but on the Magic it is for 14-17 year olds. I'm so sorry you are just finding this out. I post on here often about this because it can really make or break your plans if you have a child of this age and a lot of people are uninformed. Disney really does need to get it's publications up to date. Sorry I can't be of more help.
We'll be on the Wonder...I feel much better about paying for my son's friend to come along now. You were a LOT of help. Thanks so much for clarifying that. Now I just wonder why the difference? 13 and 14 year olds are the same (13 and 14 year olds), no matter which ship they're sailing on!
I'm guessing the difference has to do with the length of the cruises - perhaps they've run into more "problems" on longer cruises, or have more kids coming to the clubs and needed to readjust the distribution?
I agree that they need to make sure their propaganda matches their policies - most people like to "get it in writing", but if they can just tell us the rules have changed when we get there (not having checked, since we had numerous current items that state one thing), well, that's just wrong. Our kids are far enough apart that they'll never be in the same club, so I don't have any immediate concerns. But I sympathize with anyone who may run into this until they get it all straight.
And remember that communication is the key. As everyone finds this out, you need to let Disney know that it interfered with your plans and/or inconvenienced you. They need to know that it is not OK to save a buck by not reprinting something when they change information (and they need to be sure their info is consistent).
On the Wonder the Ocean Quest area is in the Oceanears Lab. On the magic the Ocean Quest area has its own room. Thus they can make it a separate area for for the tween group.
We'll be on the Wonder...I feel much better about paying for my son's friend to come along now. You were a LOT of help. Thanks so much for clarifying that. Now I just wonder why the difference? 13 and 14 year olds are the same (13 and 14 year olds), no matter which ship they're sailing on!
Oh, I'm so relieved you are on the Wonder and not the Magic. I was feeling so bad for you, thinking that you'd made all the plans, spent all the money, and then they wouldn't work as you had planned. I'm glad it's working out for your cruise!
OMG, I have to tell my daughter (13) when we leave that she can't go to the Stack either, does anyone know if because she turns 14 on the boat if she could go ahead and go to the stack?
__________________
Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten. This is my family. I found it, all on my own. Is little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.
Don't know, but if I had to guess they would probably let her choose where to go - and how fun to celebrate her birthday on the ship. Either way, seems that there is always plenty of drama to go around in Quest (or at least that age group) on the Magic (at least according to my DD). Last time around it seemed like DD spent more time with her friends doing things outside Quest than doing the organized stuff. They seemed to use Quest as their meeting spot/place to hang out while waiting for other, since not everyone in her "group" had the same dinner seating/did the same shore excursions.
OMG, I have to tell my daughter (13) when we leave that she can't go to the Stack either, does anyone know if because she turns 14 on the boat if she could go ahead and go to the stack?
I would call and ask prior to your cruise. I am pretty sure they would allow this though being she's even closer than one month to the date of her birthday! (One month seemed to be the unspoken rule before.) My guess is that due to her age, they would have her just start out in the stack and just stay there. When my son was one month out from his bday to go from Club to Lab (much younger age groups!) they made him spend one day in the Club to see if he was as mature as I said . When we picked him up, they said he could switch, but had to pick one or the other-he couldn't go back and forth.
We are right there with you. Our last two cruises our kids were in the same club each time. This time, our oldest is 13 1/2 and she is looking forward to the stack. Her brother is finally old enough to go to the lab. After talking and reading it looks like the Magic is the only one to change this policy. We are sailing on the 4th of July, and I hope and pray that they will change their policy so she can do what she has been planning for 3 years.
Pooh & Tigger
OMG, I have to tell my daughter (13) when we leave that she can't go to the Stack either, does anyone know if because she turns 14 on the boat if she could go ahead and go to the stack?
I talked with a Manager when I called Disney and they said that because my son turns 14 very shortly after our cruise that he will be allowed to go into the teen area. If they are really close, she said, they make an exception. She told me to talk to the counsellors when I get onboard. Hope this helps.
I was surprised to see the change in the ages. My son was 13 last year when we cruised and he loved the Stack. He would be definitely upset to not be able to head there.
So, if you have a 14 year old or as someone on this post talked about having a 13 year old who is within a few days of 14, I have just a couple of tips.
-Be sure you set times and places for check ins. We told our son he had to go to the show and dine with us for dinner. He also had to check in three two other times each day
-Buy your child a watch so they can meet with you on schedule.
-Set some guidelines for being back in the room. The Stack is open to 2:00 am. And some of the fun activities such as the prom occur in the evening.
-Smoothies which cost extra $$ at dinner are free in the Stack at a certain time each day or every other day.
Sometimes we never really know why they change policies. When we went in March of '08, on the Magic my son was 13 and loved the Stack. We were told by a CM that they used to let all "teenagers" in - 18 and maybe 19. Then, becuase the drinking age was 18 in some of the ports, that they had a problem with some of them bringing alcohol back on board and taking it to the Stack. So, no more "older teens". Seems like with most things, there are no hard rules. Most have a grey area - 13 but close, bump up; 7 but mature, bump up, if they want.
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