Missing Child incident on Disney Cruise

[Gabe1]

Then you expect too much. You are tying to get a Ferrari and a Hyundai dealer. The only way what you expect is even possible is one on one child care. If that is what you want, do not let your child go to a place that does not provide that.

Disney physically supervising children in a Care facilities in expecting too much. Interesting perspective.

 

[Phonedave]

Then you expect too much. You are tying to get a Ferrari and a Hyundai dealer. The only way what you expect is even possible is one on one child care. If that is what you want, do not let your child go to a place that does not provide that.

They clearly state it is a kids CLUB, not a day care center. They invite parents in during the open house to see how it is structured. Parents should know how it operates before leaving their kids there.

I will say, when my kids were younger I did have some reservations about the lack of total supervision. But I KNEW about that before I left them there because I did my due dillagence. My kids were older than 3 so I did not have a problem putting them in the kids club. If they were three, I most likely would not have. But that is because as a parent I looked at what was being provided. I didn't just assume and see this as a way to dump off the kids.

-dave

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Yes, but you had custody of Zoie, so you misplaced your own child, Chuck E. Cheese does not take custody of children from their guests, very different type of establishment. You have a different comfort level than I did when my children were small. I watched them, I expected their daycare center to watch them and payed dearly for that service and yes I would have freaked after work if child care center couldn't locate my kid for a good chunk of time.

I would expect the CMs to physically watch the children just not band and corral children, it is a care center not a kennel, in my world Disney should be watching the children. Any child could choke, have an asthma attack etc. With the chip and kennel approach they have no idea about the well being of individual children.

Disney DOES watch the children. There are counselors all over the place interacting with the kids. They ARE watching. But they can't watch the kids who sneak out of site deliberately. I've never had the impression that the Oceaneers Club is a day care or babysitting service. It's an entertainment venue for children. Again, the club is for children ages 3-12 who are fully potty-trained. This means it's appropriate for kids who are independant enough to function without an adult hovering over them every moment. They require a little guidance and/or structure on an as-needed basis, not 1 on 1. It's up to the parents to know their child's needs and assess if the venue is appropriate. That's the purpose of having Open House. I know in the past when I attended Open House even for my much older teens who were free to move about the ship independantly (no signing in or out of the club) I STILL took the time to go make introductions with the staff, discuss what they had planned, and voice what concerns I had or give the staff a heads-up if I thought maybe one of my boys needed a little extra interaction. The point is, Disney didn't do anything wrong. The club is what it is: an entertainment venue that provides a secure, limited access, fun place for kids to go play. They can play in groups or they can play independantly. They are supervised in that there are plenty of staff around and present in each room. If a kid sneaks into a hidden spot when a counselor is looking at something else for a moment or talking to another child (because there's more than just yours there!) that's not something they can control. Again, the kid was never able to leave the club. He was where he was supposed to be. Unfortunately, he did what little kids do and gave the grown-ups a bit of the slip and a scare. It happens. It's not Disney's fault the dad jumped to conclusions, assumed the worst, and completely wigged-out. If he'd stayed calm the whole thing could've been resolved in minutes. The train wreck was not Disney's making. It was the hysterical parent's.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

They clearly state it is a kids CLUB, not a day care center. They invite parents in during the open house to see how it is structured. Parents should know how it operates before leaving their kids there.

I will say, when my kids were younger I did have some reservations about the lack of total supervision. But I KNEW about that before I left them there because I did my due dillagence. My kids were older than 3 so I did not have a problem putting them in the kids club. If they were three, I most likely would not have. But that is because as a parent I looked at what was being provided. I didn't just assume and see this as a way to dump off the kids.

-dave

Exactly. Maybe 3 years old isn't the appropriate age for every child. Even if potty trained it's up to the parents to know their kids' needs and match that to the right venue. Unfortunately, it's probably not that uncommon for 3 year olds who might not be totally ready to go to the club to end up there because the club is free whereas the nursery isn't entirely free. Not saying that's the case here, just saying the free vs. fee difference could factor into the decisions of some parents.

 

[Gabe1]

The children are not unsupervised - they simply aren't 1 to 1 attached to a particular handler.

I don't agree with that statement. If they are being visually supervised the CM would have known the child was under a stack of chairs. Actually I am surprised Disney condones playing or sleeping beneath chairs a safe activity. My expectation for supervision would be, 'you need to come out from under there' as soon as that kid wandered away from the play area. And if the CM doesn't notice that a child is crawling under a stack of chairs they are not really supervising the group.

 

[Master Yoda]

Disney physically supervising children in a Care facilities in expecting too much. Interesting perspective.

Perspective indeed. I am able to tell the difference between one on one care and a supervised child care center. Sadly you do not seem to be able to grasp that concept.

 

[Gabe1]

Disney DOES watch the children. There are counselors all over the place interacting with the kids. They ARE watching. .

If they were watching, how come they could not tell the crying Mom her kid was under a stack of chairs?

 

[flynnibus]

I don't agree with that statement. If they are being visually supervised the CM would have known the child was under a stack of chairs. Actually I am surprised Disney condones playing or sleeping beneath chairs a safe activity. My expectation for supervision would be, 'you need to come out from under there' as soon as that kid wandered away from the play area. And if the CM doesn't notice that a child is crawling under a stack of chairs they are not really supervising the group.

You obviously have never been in these clubs - take a video tour at least sometime and understand the club have climbing features and other playset pieces.

You make it sound like the kid was off in a storage closet under a stack of dinner chairs.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

If they were watching, how come they could not tell the crying Mom her kid was under a stack of chairs?

Probably because her kid snuck under the stack of chairs, they didn't know he was there, he was asleep, didn't answer when his name was called, and freak-out dad was scaring the crap out of her.

There is not a counselor assigned to each kid to stare without taking their eyes off each individual child every second that the kids are in the club. It's not that kind of facility. It's not passed off as that kind of program. It's a secure entertainment venue with fun activities PLUS fun environments filled with fun stuff for kids to play with on their own if they want. It's not 1 on 1. If an elevated level of supervision is needed then your kid needs to be put in a venue that provides that or you need to provide that for your kid. You can't dump them off in an entertainment venue then be ed when it's not something you think it should be. It's up to the parents to know what the venue is about and make the call if it's appropriate for their child's needs. It's not a 1 on 1 venue. It is NEVER passed off as such. That's what @Master Yoda, @flynnibus, & @Phonedave have been trying to explain. So other than the magic bracelet not giving a good read at the moment the dad looked at the screen and subsequently jumped to conclusions which might have been a result of the tunnel of chair legs (I'm not a tech person), I really don't see where Disney is so negligent. They provided the fun, secure place for the kid to stay & play. The kid never left. The kid was never in danger. There are other safeguards and checks in place to ensure that a 3 year old can't wander out into the ship unsupervised. The kid crawling into an obscure location IN the club then going to sleep is just a fluke thing that could happen to anyone including the other poster who mentioned here that she couldn't find her kid in the clubs once, too. What made this into a total train wreck was the dad flipping out, running about the ship shouting instructions, and upsetting his wife.

 

[flynnibus]

People should at least do the minimum before they start judging.. at least look at the slide show and video
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/magic/youth-clubs/oceaneer-club/

 

[sweetpee_1993]

^^^
Agreed. Even if your kids aren't in the age groups of the clubs they're still neat enough to go see during Open House. Maybe seeing the environments for yourself would help clarify. I've gone to look. I wish I was able to play there!

 

[emcclay]

People will do and say anything to get a buck. Although "freak-out dad" states he doesn't even want an email or call from Disney, what is the real intention of all his internet drama? To garner attention from uneducated people telling him to "sue them"? Be thankful your kid is alive. Next time, try Carnival.

 

[ChuckElias]

Be thankful your kid is alive. Next time, try Carnival.

While I'm a staunch DCL supporter and have placed my daughter in DCL's kids' clubs at least once a year for the last 10 years, I think this comment above does a disservice to parents, in general. I think it's fair to expect more than "well, at least we didn't kill your kid".

Telling a parent to be glad your kid is alive is, IMHO, not an appropriate response to this situation. The parent did some things he probably shouldn't have, and expected some things that he shouldn't have. But if I thought my daughter had been missing (even if she hadn't been), and a CM said, "hey, just be thankful we found her in one piece", I would have a very difficult time refraining from assaulting that person.

Tell me I over-reacted. Tell me that, after some reflection, I was irrational. Tell me that you're sorry the security bracelet malfunctioned, but she was never in any real danger. Fine. Tell me, "be thankful she's alive" and you'll need a proctologist to remove my sandal from a certain part of your anatomy.

 

[emcclay]

While I'm a staunch DCL supporter and have placed my daughter in DCL's kids' clubs at least once a year for the last 10 years, I think this comment above does a disservice to parents, in general. I think it's fair to expect more than "well, at least we didn't kill your kid".

Telling a parent to be glad your kid is alive is, IMHO, not an appropriate response to this situation. The parent did some things he probably shouldn't have, and expected some things that he shouldn't have. But if I thought my daughter had been missing (even if she hadn't been), and a CM said, "hey, just be thankful we found her in one piece", I would have a very difficult time refraining from assaulting that person.

Tell me I over-reacted. Tell me that, after some reflection, I was irrational. Tell me that you're sorry the security bracelet malfunctioned, but she was never in any real danger. Fine. Tell me, "be thankful she's alive" and you'll need a proctologist to remove my sandal from a certain part of your anatomy.

It was a statement I made in response to the situation. Did I say that is what the CM's should have told him? No. Life is a gift and we never know when we won't wake up the next day. So, he should be happy he gets to see his child's smiling face for another day. That's all.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

The kids club on a Disney ship is large and offers children the freedom to travel within the club. This includes more than one room and I'm sure it has happened before (and likely will again) that a child has tucked themselves away and fallen asleep. Parents drop off kids for varying amounts of time and they are absolutely aware that their child will not be assigned a cast member who will follow them everywhere - to expect that is absurd. There would need to be a rotating staff of varying numbers of Cast members on call at all times to attend to each child. It's not that way at day care, it's not that way at nursery school, it's not that way if you drop your kids at a sitter who has more than one child in their care and it's not that way in a household where kids outnumber parents.

The facility and the service provided did not fail. The child was not able to leave the facility and the man lost all credibilty for asking for several thousand dollars for what must have been a terrible 45 minute experience. The Cast Member Comfort Service he expected for his wife was likely devising a search plan for the child and too busy to pat her on the back and tell her everything would be ok...something he should have done rather than escalate the situation into an imaginary crisis. He is more responsible for his wife's reaction than the child was or the CM's. I realize it's difficult to remain calm in a situation like this but the fact is, panicking in a crisis sneds you 3 steps backwards for every one step forward.

In the end his child had a 45 minute nap in a secured facility. If the child had gotten out of that facility there may have been something a bit more to crow about but I feel like he saw an opportunity to get his cruise for free and he took it. I shudder to think what would happen if his child was one of the several lost every single day at WDW - though I guess then he would be to blame and it wouldn't be an issue...only when someone else is to blame is there a way to fill up the wallet. It's like saying - well I can lose my child and it's just a crappy situation but if you do the exact same thing I want as much money as you can throw at me.