Kids Club Advice Needed

allisonpartyof4 · Nov 30, 2016

We (family of 4, 2 adults & 2 kids ages 6 & 8) are headed to WDW May 2017 for our second Disney trip! This time we are planning an adults only date night since DH & I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary while we are there. I know there are a few options for kids to do if the parents want to go somewhere else. So, what are my options? I don't particularly think KNO will be a good fit for our kids because they do like to socialize with other kids and I have no doubt that by the time we do our date night they'll probably be sick of each other!

Tell me about the other options that are out there, kids club? If you had to put your child in a kids club, which one would you choose and why? For the record, we're going to DS for our date night if that makes a difference.

allisonpartyof4 · Dec 1, 2016

DisneyWishes14 · Dec 2, 2016

There are four options at WDW - Sandcastle Club at BC, Lilo's Playhouse at Poly, Simba's Cubhouse at AKL and Camp Dolphin at the Dolphin.

The Sandcastle Club and Lilo's Playhouse have a relatively new format that includes structured activities (science experiments, cooking classes), theme nights and a character meet and greet. They have a flat fee of $55 and include dinner (which you order when you drop the children off) and a snack.

Simba's Cubhouse still works on an hourly rate, but I'm not sure what it is. They also serve dinner. Camp Dolphin is the cheapest of the four, but, we poked our head in their once to see if DS wanted to do it and it looked a little run-down.

DS has gone to Sandcastle Club and Lilo's Playhouse and his favorite is Sandcastle, but Lilo's Playhouse has pretty amazing theming and has had the most recent refurb.

You don't mention where you are staying, but I think I would choose either the kids club that is closer to your resort or the one that is closest to Disney Springs (which would be Sandcastle or Dolphin). You could drop the kids off at the club and then catch the bus or a cab/uber to Disney Springs.

At Sandcastle Club, they gave me a phone number that I could call if I wanted to check in on DS. The kids are very well taken care of and the clubs are very secure. Going to the kids club is one of my DS's favorite activities and he always goes at least one night per trip. He is an only child, so it gives him a chance to meet and play with some other kids and not just hang out with his boring, old parents, LOL!

murmer · Dec 2, 2016

My kids (6&8 last time) enjoyed both Lilos and Sandcastle in April of last year. Sandcastle was more interactive and a smaller space. Lilos was not so interactive but had more to do and they came home with goodie bags. I say go with location. We do Lilos when doing mk or dinner at ohanas, and sandcastle when doing Epcot or Hollywood studios.

Pesky · Dec 2, 2016

We took ours (7 and 9) to Lilo's on our recent visit for a night our for our 10th anniversary too. Kids adored Lilo's playhouse, had a nice M&G with Chip and Dale and asked to go back again the next night. We chose Lilo's because we were staying at Polynesian so really ease for us, especially given how late we knew we would be back.

allisonpartyof4 · Dec 3, 2016

DisneyWishes14 said:
There are four options at WDW - Sandcastle Club at BC, Lilo's Playhouse at Poly, Simba's Cubhouse at AKL and Camp Dolphin at the Dolphin.

The Sandcastle Club and Lilo's Playhouse have a relatively new format that includes structured activities (science experiments, cooking classes), theme nights and a character meet and greet. They have a flat fee of $55 and include dinner (which you order when you drop the children off) and a snack.

Simba's Cubhouse still works on an hourly rate, but I'm not sure what it is. They also serve dinner. Camp Dolphin is the cheapest of the four, but, we poked our head in their once to see if DS wanted to do it and it looked a little run-down.

DS has gone to Sandcastle Club and Lilo's Playhouse and his favorite is Sandcastle, but Lilo's Playhouse has pretty amazing theming and has had the most recent refurb.

You don't mention where you are staying, but I think I would choose either the kids club that is closer to your resort or the one that is closest to Disney Springs (which would be Sandcastle or Dolphin). You could drop the kids off at the club and then catch the bus or a cab/uber to Disney Springs.

At Sandcastle Club, they gave me a phone number that I could call if I wanted to check in on DS. The kids are very well taken care of and the clubs are very secure. Going to the kids club is one of my DS's favorite activities and he always goes at least one night per trip. He is an only child, so it gives him a chance to meet and play with some other kids and not just hang out with his boring, old parents, LOL!

I apologize, we have sports fanatics for kids so we're staying at AS Sports which we really enjoy!

allisonpartyof4 · Dec 3, 2016

murmer said:
My kids (6&8 last time) enjoyed both Lilos and Sandcastle in April of last year. Sandcastle was more interactive and a smaller space. Lilos was not so interactive but had more to do and they came home with goodie bags. I say go with location. We do Lilos when doing mk or dinner at ohanas, and sandcastle when doing Epcot or Hollywood studios.

Thank you, I don't remember if I menti it but ours will be 6 (2 weeks from turning 7) and 8 when we go. We'love be doing a resort day the day of our date night and we are staying at AS Sports. Based on that, which would you choose?

allisonpartyof4 · Dec 3, 2016

Pesky said:
We took ours (7 and 9) to Lilo's on our recent visit for a night our for our 10th anniversary too. Kids adored Lilo's playhouse, had a nice M&G with Chip and Dale and asked to go back again the next night. We chose Lilo's because we were staying at Polynesian so really ease for us, especially given how late we knew we would be back.

Right now our reservations are at 7pm, I'm wondering if I should move it up a bit considering that we'll probably be doing RD at one of the parks the following day. Hmmm, decisions decisions.

DisneyWishes14 · Dec 3, 2016

allisonpartyof4 said:
Thank you, I don't remember if I menti it but ours will be 6 (2 weeks from turning 7) and 8 when we go. We'love be doing a resort day the day of our date night and we are staying at AS Sports. Based on that, which would you choose?

I think I would recommend Sandcastle Club. If you want to use Disney transportation, you could bus to DHS and boat to YC/BC. Easiest thing to do, though, would be to take a cab or uber from All-Stars. Sandcastle Club is basically half way between All Star Sport and DS, so you won't be going completely out of the way to get there (Poly is all the way at the other end of the property from AS Sports and DS).

Simba's Cubhouse is closer to AS Sports, but they don't have the new programming that Sandcastle and Lilo's have and I'm not sure how many kids are there each evening as I imagine they are only drawing from families who are either staying or eating at AKL. Sandcastle will draw from families staying at all the EP resorts and from those visiting EP/DHS that evening.

Kids Club Advice Needed

allisonpartyof4

Earning My Ears

allisonpartyof4

Earning My Ears

DisneyWishes14

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murmer

Mouseketeer

Pesky

"Who's the monkey?!"

allisonpartyof4

Earning My Ears

allisonpartyof4

Earning My Ears

allisonpartyof4

Earning My Ears

DisneyWishes14

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