Disney World is an amazing vacation spot for families. Even the tiniest of guests will have a magical time when they are at the parks.
But there are also a lot of extraordinary adult things to do at Disney World. There are fine dining options, fun stops with adult drinks, and parties at the parks that go on through the night.
So if you're traveling with your kids, how can you take advantage of these fun adult experiences?
Disney offers in-room babysitting through Kids Nite Out so that you can take advantage of a child free evening at the parks. Here I'll discuss how Disney World in room babysitting works, what the babysitting costs, and my review of Disney World in-room babysitting.
To book a sitter, you can call Kids Nite Out directly at 800-696-8105 or fill out the contact form on their website.
You can book a sitter anywhere from same day to 3 months out from your vacation, but they recommend you reserve a sitter at least 2 weeks to a month beforehand.
All sitters have had background checks and are CPR certified. Many of them are former teachers and child care workers.
When you call, the operator will ask you for some basic information. They'll get all of your contact and resort information, your children's names and ages, the date and time you'll need a sitter, and your credit card information.
When you check in to your resort you can then call Kids Nite Out back and provide your resort room number.
When your babysitter arrives, they will be wearing a Kids Nite Out polo shirt with a name tag and badge. They should arrive a few minutes early so that you can go over their paperwork discussing any allergies and medical conditions, and discuss any routines or important information they'll need to know about your children.
The babysitter will also show up armed with age appropriate games and toys for your children. Our sitter had a large bag full of toys that my kids were excited to explore.
You will exchange phone numbers with the sitter so that you can call or text during your time out. Once you are ready, you can head out for an adult evening at Disney World!
When you arrive back from your evening out, your sitter will note the time and cost and give you a receipt. If your babysitter did an exceptional job, you might want to consider tipping them. Just keep in mind that tips would need to be cash or check. You cannot add a tip to your credit card.
Some other important things to note about the service:
Kids Nite Out charges for in room babysitting based on the number of children they will be watching. The rates are as follows:
Note that there is a four hour minimum for the sitter. You will provide the times you expect to be out, but your charges will be for the time you were gone. For example, if you reserve a sitter and estimate your time out will be from 5pm - 10pm, but you arrive back at your hotel at 9:30, you will be charged for 4.5 hours. If you arrive back at 8pm, you will still be charged the minimum 4 hour charge. If you arrive back at 10:30pm you'll be charged for 5.5 hours.
You are not charged until after the sitter leaves. The babysitter cannot accept payment, but rather the credit card you used to reserve will be charged the appropriate amount. If your sitter did a great job, consider tipping with cash at the end of the evening.
I booked a sitter with Kids Nite Out about 3 weeks before a November/December trip to Disney World.
I found filling out the form on the website to be the best way to reserve a sitter. While you can't finalize the reservation this way, it did save time on the phone as the representative already had all of my information on file when I spoke to her. It made the booking process much faster.
My only real criticism of the process with Kids Nite Out was the lack of communication before our sitter arrived. I had no issues booking, but I did not receive any sort of email confirmation or phone call from the company before our trip.
I personally would have loved to get an email confirmation telling me a bit about our sitter before she arrived. While my kids are pretty easy going, if your child feels any sort of stress being away from mom and dad, being able to prepare them for the sitter might help. I'd have loved to show them a photo of the sitter, tell them her name, or give them some fun info about her. For example, I'd have loved to tell my kids something like, "Hey guys! It looks like Minnie Mouse is your babysitter's favorite character!"
Instead I had to be the one to call the morning of our reservation to make sure that our sitter was still scheduled, and to provide our room number so she knew where to meet us.
That was literally the only criticism/suggestion I had. And all things considered it is minor.
*Update*After this article went live Kids Nite Out reached out to me to let me know that you can request email confirmations and information regarding your sitter before your reservation.
When our sitter LuAnne arrived she was wonderful. My children are ages 2, 8, and 10. She came prepared with a large bag of toys and games to keep everyone busy. While my youngest was definitely hesitant at first, she warmed up immediately when I showed her that LuAnne had Duplo Blocks and toy dinosaurs.
Our room at Disney was in The Boardwalk Villas. We were staying in a one bedroom suite, which meant that we had a full kitchen in the room. I asked LuAnne to prepare frozen pizza for everyone, and microwave popcorn for later, which was no problem at all.I exchanged numbers with her and went over bedtime routines.
The kids had been sleeping in the living area of the suite during our trip, and I told LuAnne that she was welcome to watch television or hang out in our bedroom after the kids went to sleep.She told me that wasn't necessary. She would stay with the kids. I thought this was important because most families using this service wont have a suite. So knowing that the sitter is comfortable being in the room, even if it's just a standard resort room, is important. You don't have to have a large room or a suite to use a sitter. They will stay with your kids even in a small room.
My husband and I left around 5:30pm to head to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
LuAnne and I texted throughout the night. She gave me updates to make sure I was comfortable, and to let me know that the kids were doing great. When we got back to the room around midnight, the kids were fast asleep, and she was sitting quietly on her phone on the other side of the room (so not to disturb them while they slept).
She updated me on how much food they ate, activities that they did, bed time, and more. She filled out my receipt and she was on her way.
When I asked my children the next morning what they thought of the sitter and their time in the room while we were out, the response was 100% positive. My 10 year old said they ate pizza, watched movies, built Legos, and more. He said that the sitter was very attentive with his 2-year-old sister. She played Duplo blocks and toy dinosaurs with her. She even made crafts with our daughter. All of my kids had a lot of fun without Mom and Dad.
Overall I was extremely happy with the Kids Nite Out in room babysitting service. I felt the cost was more than reasonable. At the end of the night my total was less than what I would have paid to bring my kids to the Christmas Party with us. And my husband and I were able to have an amazing date night. We even got to go on rides and roller coasters together (which never happens because of our 2 year old).
If you are looking for a way to have an "adult" vacation from your vacation, Kids Nite Out in-room babysitting is the way to do it!
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See you at the parks,
-Julie
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