Disney is Cracking Down on the Ages in Kids Clubs

[Disneyfalcon]

Disney has apparently reacted to a recent incident in the Vibe on the Dream, and is cracking down on the ages in the kids clubs.

Children will no longer be able to move up or down at the CM's discretion and parents will not be allowed in the kids clubs unless it is a scheduled open house time.

Also, unlike in the past, teenagers who have turned 18 will not be allowed in Vibe even if they are still in high school. (This one makes me sad as we will be in that situation )

The age breakdown is such -

Nursery - 12 weeks to 3 years
Oceaneers - 3-10 years
Edge - 11-13
Vibe - 14-17

Toddlers used to be allowed in the Oceaneers clubs with their parents, that is also no longer the case.

Potty trained two year olds should still be allowed in the Oceaneers Clubs, but that's a little unclear right now.

This is a brand new policy, and it remains to be seen how it will play out. I would expect some tweaking to accommodate children with special needs and maybe some other cases, but we shall see!

 

[GenerationX]

Interesting. I'll be curious as to how strictly this is enforced. For our trip in November, my boys will be 17, 15, and 13. Our intention was to let the youngest tag along with his older brothers to Vibe, as the three have been like a pack all their lives.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Interesting. I'll be curious as to how strictly this is enforced. For our trip in November, my boys will be 17, 15, and 13. Our intention was to let the youngest tag along with his older brothers to Vibe, as the three have been like a pack all their lives.

It will be interesting. Moving up has always been somewhat strictly enforced. Moving down was never a problem. We shall see!

 

[bradandsarabr]

Must have been some incident.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

It wasn't a good situation, but this is an over reaction in my opinion.

 

[StageFrenzy]

Where could I find out what happened?

 

[The Mom]

18 year old = adult
14 - 17 = minor

The two having a "romance" = illegal

I'm surprised it took so long for Disney to do the math.

 

[RobnRachal]

We tried to get the two younger girls in our group into VIBE with their cousins/siblings on our cruise 3 weeks ago, and were told no. Now keep in mind they are 12. During the open house the crew member told us the decision was out of their hands we would have to speak to a Manager/Director, but because they weren't even 13 he was sure they wouldn't bend the rules. We also had an 18 year old in our group (who looks and acts like the 14 year old...don't get me wrong we love her ) and they would not allow her into VIBE.
For us it was more an issue of having them all together. The cast member in VIBE mentioned an incident and stated because of that they had to "crack down". He did say that had the younger ones been only few weeks away from turning 14 their chances would have been better.
I can definitely appreciate that a few can ruin it for everyone... However, if they are "cracking down" they may want to look at what they can do to draw the 11-13 into their club....because after seeing what Oceaneers has to offer the younger ones and what VIBE has to offer the older ones.....the EDGE group gets the short end of the stick.

 

[Master Yoda]

18 year old = adult
14 - 17 = minor

The two having a "romance" = illegal

I'm surprised it took so long for Disney to do the math.

Actually, it depends on the state. Florida, in particular, has sort of a sliding scale.

Regardless of that, I am surprised that it took this long as well. Like most things, all it takes is one moron to screw it up for the rest of us.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

True. At 17 the state of Louisiana will allow a kid to move out of Mom & Dad's house and make decisions for themselves with Mom & Dad still responsible. Totally stupid in my book. I was digging in other places and still haven't found the big 'incident'. Hhmmmm... Totally agree with RobnRachal, Edge kids get the shaft compared to Vibe. Now that my youngest is 14 it's not a big deal to me. Our oldest didn't care so much about hanging out anyway.

 

[The Mom]

Actually, it depends on the state. Florida, in particular, has sort of a sliding scale.

Regardless of that, I am surprised that it took this long as well. Like most things, all it takes is one moron to screw it up for the rest of us.

But it's still illegal for an 18 year old to be intimate with a 14 or 15 year old in most states (some states consider 16 the age of consent, so it's not illegal) - it's just the penalty that differs, depending on the age difference, etc.

This is something that a parent of an 18 year old male needs to know, and I have shared the information with him!

So even if it might not be illegal on the ship, there will certainly be parents up in arms if they think a romance is inappropriate.

Anyone else hearing the theme song from "Endless Love?" :lookaroun

 

[plaz10]

This may be a really dumb question but how do they know how old younger kids are? Is it from the passport info? Is that transfered to the ID card like "This child is 4 - Don't let them near nursery/edge/vibe" :lol:

 

[Master Yoda]

But it's still illegal for an 18 year old to be intimate with a 14 or 15 year old in most states (some states consider 16 the age of consent, so it's not illegal) - it's just the penalty that differs, depending on the age difference, etc.

This is something that a parent of an 18 year old male needs to know, and I have shared the information with him!

So even if it might not be illegal on the ship, there will certainly be parents up in arms if they think a romance is inappropriate.

Anyone else hearing the theme song from "Endless Love?" :lookaroun

Florida's age of consent is technically 18 but they allow a close in age exemption. That exemption boils down to a person 23 years of age or younger to engage in legal se*ual activity with a minor aged 16 or 17. A person 24 years of age or older who engages in se*ual activity with a person 16 or 17 years of age commits a felony of the second degree.

 

[Master Yoda]

This may be a really dumb question but how do they know how old younger kids are? Is it from the passport info? Is that transfered to the ID card like "This child is 4 - Don't let them near nursery/edge/vibe" :lol:

I am not sure if it is encoded on your room key but that certainly is possible. Every person traveling on the DCL has to provide a birth date even to make a reservation. That alone would be all the info they need to encode an age on a room key.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

As Richard said, since Disney knows the birthdate of everyone onboard, they know everyone's age. It's on your room key. They use the age as proof of age for alcohol purchases also.

Speaking as a mom of a teenager who will be 18 by January of his senior year, I am very disappointed. That means he won't be allowed in the clubs for a spring break cruise. He also won't be allowed in for the graduation present cruise to Europe I had planned.

Now Disney is saying 18 year olds should check out the 18-21 year old group that plans some get togethers onboard.

If you think there's a big difference between 14 and 18, think about the difference between a senior in high school and a 21 year old in college.

There are 14-18 year olds together every single day in every single high school in the country.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I don't think it's a problem for me to sum up the incident. If I change my mind, this may disappear.

Apparently a 23 year old male with special needs was allowed into Vibe to hang out. He became "obsessed" with a 14 year old girl. He followed her all over the ship, for the entire cruise. To the point where security had to become involved and she was afraid to leave her cabin.


Obviously it was a bad situation. But in my opinion, the new rules are an overreaction when there was a simple fix.

 

[Master Yoda]

I don't think it's a problem for me to sum up the incident. If I change my mind, this may disappear.

Apparently a 23 year old male with special needs was allowed into Vibe to hang out. He became "obsessed" with a 14 year old girl. He followed her all over the ship, for the entire cruise. To the point where security had to become involved and she was afraid to leave her cabin.


Obviously it was a bad situation. But in my opinion, the new rules are an overreaction when there was a simple fix.

I agree that it is an over reaction but Disney is in kind of a no win scenario. I can see an executive throwing his/her hands in the air and saying "Screw it! If we are going to be potentially be held liable for other peoples actions, then lock the clubs ages down."

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I agree that it is an over reaction but Disney is in kind of a no win scenario. I can see an executive throwing his/her hands in the air and saying "Screw it! If we are going to be potentially be held liable for other peoples actions, then lock the clubs ages down."

True, they're going to make someone unhappy no matter what. I just wish they'd stuck with Vibe being for high schoolers and only high schoolers.

 

[disneygirl1]

Ok so if my DS will be 10 in May when we sail does he go to the lab/club, or to Edge. Tammy on the post that gave the age ranges for each club 10 was listed for both. I hope he can go to the Edge b/c I really think he would be more happy there.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Ok so if my DS will be 10 in May when we sail does he go to the lab/club, or to Edge. Tammy on the post that gave the age ranges for each club 10 was listed for both. I hope he can go to the Edge b/c I really think he would be more happy there.

Whoops! I'll fix that. I'm sorry, 10 year olds are in the Oceaneers clubs. If it helps, the Oceaneers clubs are really really neat, especially on the new ships.