It’s funny because the people out there (not here but on socials) that are saying it’s NBD are missing the point.
Like you I don’t GARA how they group the kids and recognize that they may know best what works. However, it’s totally unfair to make this change in this timeline, undermining folks’ right to decide if that’s something that works for them or not.
It’s not the decision. It’s the timeline.
People are having a hard time seeing that.
I hope so… she’ll also only be a few months past being 10 (her birthday is in January). Who knows I guess.
Like exactly. I think it’s great they wanna change it up and make it work better as far as what ages are mingling.
But if in July, I booked my cruise for February, well ahead of my kid ageing out of the club the following July, then paid in full in November with penalties now for cancelling and come December they change a policy that makes it so that child is now now 365+ days too old to go to said club, that’s a wild swing & I’m not gonna just roll over and say ok, my vacation dollars are well spent and wisely appropriated in this instance.
I hope they let her go! I think getting there early and being one of the first to address this could be beneficial.
All of this 100%. I get that they want to slim down the age groups but give a lot more notice or plan to be real flexible with annoyed parents I guess.
Exactly! The new rules shouldn’t apply to any cruise that isn’t fully refundable at least. Even then, people have $$ tied up in flights and other activities. But this no little change for families with children in this 10-12 age bracket. It’s one thing to make a new rule. Fine. Do what you have to. But why put it in effect almost immediately? Just wait a little.
I just peeked back onto the threads on DIS Boards specific to this issue and there is a DCL CM commenting & who has friends who work in Youth Activities that she’s talked to. She is mostly commiserating that it sucks for those impacted, that the counselors didn’t know about this change until this morning at the same time the email was sent out en masse (and so to be kind to them as the annoyed parents are all being sent to talk to them directly) & saying that her Youth Activities friends believe that it will be much harder for there to be space in Edge to accommodate anything younger than the 11-14 (but to ask in case the numbers on your specific sailing are low enough that they can). Oh, and per that CM the top age limits are now hard & fast. So Oceaneer is off limits to 11 & 12 except for open houses, as of Dec 21. BAH. HUMBUG.
Someone elsewhere suggested there was some legal action that required this swift modification that was not optional
Not sure but maybe?
This is the part that really annoys me about this whole thing. They make all these changes at the higher up levels, and then leave the front line to handle the fallout.
But that’s why I do believe a little bit about the legal thing maybe being real?
Possible. This is a VERY fast change.
I’ve seen that speculation as well. Which would make sense why they can’t make any exceptions and the expediency of it but it’s still so frustrating that they don’t have any other solution and/or allow those impacted to cancel without penalty. We were lucky to get a sympathetic ear that we were very nice, but firm about expressing our disppointment and for now, they’re at least taking it away to come back to us with options. But who knows what will come of that.
But someone else on our sailing has been told that she would be out 100% of her cruise fare (she booked concierge that is locked in more in advance than non-concierge) or would be going with an 11 yo that has a diagnosed disability that doesn’t make it a good idea for him to be in Edge for a number of reasons and therefore going means she is now going to cancel her 2 adult dinings that she had expected he would be safely in Oceaneer for. That’s not right to not let her at least change the dates.
I do not envy those Youth Activities counselors especially starting December 21. They are going to take so many complaints. And I know Disney perhaps couldn’t help it, but if they are going to leave themselves open to such a liability that causes me and my vacation to be at risk to change so suddenly, maybe they shouldn’t be so much the steward of my vacation dollars that I have so long entrusted them to be.
I wonder what happened to force this change, and within 6 days, as well.
There were reports of changes in policy being tested throughout November. The reports indicated that 11 and 12 yr olds were given a different colored additional paper wristband to show they were 11-12 and that they were allowed to “opt” into programming focused for 11-12 yr in Oceaneer and possibly being offered in separate spaces away from the rest of the ages in Oceaneer. There was one person who got really upset having a 10 and 12 yr old and took their concerns to Facebook near the end of Nov. & claimed that the cruise director got involved and had a conversation with them allowing their kids to stay together in Oceeaneer after all.
I don’t know if she misunderstood that it was optional (a lot of people who aren’t her are saying this is the case) or if on that sailing they maybe tried to implement that 11 and 12 yr olds do not mingle with other ages and one person pushed back so much that they allowed their children to carry on and didn’t try further without an official policy change, that came down today. Still pretty quick, especially considering how far in advance a cruise is locked in for funds. But slightly more time than 6 days.
This is just a running thought. I have no actual information at all. But I’m wondering if it has to do with crimes against children by children and the different age ranges- what constitutes charges, etc.
The rumors are that it was related to a crime involving a 12 yr old and at least one, possibly several 3-4 yr olds. Heartbreaking at any age and I very much agree Disney should’ve made more changes earlier, I’m just really bummed my 12 yr old who is a law-abiding, polite, pleasant kid who loves kid things still is at the short end of the stick.
12 yr olds shouldn’t be with 3 and 4 yr olds anyway. But that’s heartbreaking to hear there was a crime involved.
I definitely agree 12 and 3-4 is a very broad mix. I am 1,000 million % behind changing that. And I would even be ok with them adjusting the programming so that Edge gets even just a bit more time to “takeover” one part of Oceaneer (they do this today on some cruises some late nights as my kids would tell me when they got back from closing down the kids club after dinner and until midnight “oh we couldn’t go to that side because Edge was taking it over”).
Not in response to what any of you are saying:
I am glad my 11-year-old son could go to Oceaneer. He looks like he is 9 and I think he would have been intimidated being among 14-year-olds. I honestly would have been a little concerned for his safety and well-being, as well as his social comfort.
If I were to start kids’ clubs from scratch, I’m not sure how I would allocate the age ranges. Some kids shoot up in height and maturity at age 10-11, and others don’t mature until 14-15. Maybe Club and Lab need to be split into two age groups.