Disney Y.E.S. Program - post your class reviews here

We are thinking of signing up for the class at the Animal kingdom also, so I am curious as to how it is as well. Does anyone know, if the kids dont like the class can you leave it early??
 
My dd13 is signed up for Wild By Nature in late October. What bad things have you heard about this class??


I was told when I signed up that they are very strict about the ages for the classes. They wont let you sign up any kids younger than 5, and the class content is supposed to be geared for the age range that is specified.

I've read some reviews in an older thread and the main complaint is that it is all outside and the heat got to them with all the walking. I really don't think the heat will be a problem that time of year, especially in the morning. I'd bring water to be safe, though.
The class does Kilimanjaro Safari and walks the two trails while learning about animal behavior.
My DH and older two will be in the Oct 30th class. My 5 yr old and I will probably be doing similar things as the class, but on our own. My kids LOVE animals and we are all excited about this park.
 
I have just heard about the YES program and would love to learn more. Any info would be greatly appreciated! I have a 5 and 6 yr. old and am planning a Feb. 2013 trip.
 
I've read some reviews in an older thread and the main complaint is that it is all outside and the heat got to them with all the walking. I really don't think the heat will be a problem that time of year, especially in the morning. I'd bring water to be safe, though.
The class does Kilimanjaro Safari and walks the two trails while learning about animal behavior.
My DH and older two will be in the Oct 30th class. My 5 yr old and I will probably be doing similar things as the class, but on our own. My kids LOVE animals and we are all excited about this park.

Thanks for that info:thumbsup2 I think we will be okay in the early am in October too.
 
We are going for five days with our five year olds starting June 20 and there are no classes available for the really young ones on those dates! If I sign them up for Wild by Nature is anyone going to check their age?

Are the tickets cross referenced with anything when you attend the classes?

They are very strict on ages, and you wouldn't need any kind of cross reference to see that a child is 5 not 8, IMHO. The classes are designed for the age range specified. If you lie, you are liable to have to buy regular price tickets when you get there and they see the kids are 3 years too young.

My son and nephews did Ocean Discoveries last summer with my BIL. They thought it was pretty boring and geared more towards the younger kids in the group(ages 8-15) They were 12,14 and 16 at the time(I called and got permission for DS16 to attend the class. They are not as strict on kids being a little older than the age limit) They talked a lot about conservation. It looks like all those classes are now for 8-11 year olds, so maybe they got some feedback from other older participants.

If you want to learn more about a program, go here

http://www.disneyyouth.com/individual-enrollment/catalog/?location[]=WDW&filter=startDate
find your program and then click on Learn More. From here, you can click on Key Learning Points and see more info. Under Description, you can see a video overview, a printer friendly program description and National standards.
 
This could really make a trip for DD13 and I affordable this summer when the boys are gone to their big Philmont Boy Scout trip.

It looks like I could do airfare, dining plan, and tickets for about $1,630.00. We have DVC points available, so no cost there. So less than $2,000 including spending $, hmmmmmm.
 


Last October, my 8 year old son did the Wild by Nature class. He absolutely loved it, and said it was his favorite part of the trip. He asked the instructor if they were having the class again that week, and if so -could he go again? :rotfl2:

The class was small when we went, and the instructor did a great job getting all the kids to participate and give their thoughts. My son learned some signs of animal behavior and learned animal "survival techniques". I remember that the kids were all encouraged to stay hydrated, and it was integrated into the class - drinking water is an important survival skill for animals. They stopped nearly around a half dozen times at the different water fountains. Sure there was a lot of walking throughout the park, but viewing the different areas of AK kept it interesting for the kids. I'd highly recommend the class, and I know my son would too.
 
I just signed DS up for productions of arts and sciences I think it is called. Rescheduled our whole trip for a week later, after I had already book rental home and did some serious touring plans and ADRs ughhhhh. But the discounted tickets and the awesome opportunity make it well worth it i think!He is in the gifted program at school so I think he will love it.
 
I thought I'd share about our experiences doing the How Thing Move class. Now mind you, we did this class a few years ago... it was in the Fall of 2007, so I'm not sure how much has changed. But it's fun to take a trip down memory lane and maybe it's useful information!

We took this class right before our DS started Kindergarten. The large group was split up into smaller groups and there were 5 kids in his section. The class started before the park opened and we had the opportunity to take some awesome pictures of the kids running down an empty Main Street! The first stop for us was Pooh. We actually had to wait for them to start the ride up. On this one she talked about how the movement on the ride is from how the track is built. Then we went over to Dumbo (by now the park had opened and so we got in line). They talked about how this ride was different and how it worked.

Next they grabbed some tables outside of Cosmic Rays where they got some tubing, marbles, wood blocks, etc. and they made roller coasters and sent the marbles through the tubes. They also took some time to draw/design a ride for Disney. DS loved this - he still designs rollercoasters and at this point wants to go to school to be an engineer. And he wants to be an Imagineer. :thumbsup2 Good boy... employee discounts for mom and dad! :cool1:

Next up we went back to Toon Town. This part of the park hadn't opened up yet so we went under the rope and over to Barnstormer. She talked about how the ride uses the chain to pull it up and then gravity takes over for the rest of the ride. She told them we were going to ride it 2 times, one with eyes open and then the next time she encouraged them to ride with their eyes closed. One child decided he didn't want to ride so he waited with his parent. At this point we had a magical moment... Pluto, Goofy, and Donald walked up and grabbed three of the kids and they hopped on the ride! (the 4th was a younger sibling who the parent sneaked into the group - when they were all asked their age he said "I'm usually 4 but today I'm 5. :rotfl2: Dad turned beat red, the teacher laughed and kept going. ANyway, he rode with the teacher was happy as a clam!) The teacher mentioned in all her time teaching, she had never had this happen.

After the ride, they did an activity with matchbox cars and magnets, which led into a description of how the TTA works and our class concluded with a ride on the TTA.

Overall I thought it was a great class - DS loved it and I enjoyed getting to go along. There was a good number of rides, there was the hands on experiences, and the time to be creative. Plus DS getting ride with Pluto was icing on the cake! (There's a picture in my signature of that ride!)

We're hoping that when we return in January 2013 we'll be able to do another class and I look forward to seeing more reviews pop up to help us decide on our next class.
 
We are going in September. DD10 is taking the Wild By Nature class. DS12 is taking the Physics in motion class for 12-18 yo. DS9 is taking the Physics in Motion class for 8-12 yo. DS7 is taking the How Things Move class for 5-8 yo.Here are my questions:
1) I registered each kid with an adult. My parents are going with us. But what happens if the adult who is supposed to be with 1 kid gets sick and can't go? I'm worried about whether or not my Mom will be up to it. Will they let me sub for her?
2) When I printed the confirmation of our tickets it has DS12 class listed as from 7:15-10:15, DS9 class listed from 8:15-9:15, and DS7 class listed as from 8:15-10:15. do you think maybe it was a glitch in the system for DS9 class? I get why the 7 yo class might only be 2 hours, but why would the 9 yo class only be 1 hour?
Anyway, I'll post my *detailed* reviews when we get back.
 
My 12 and 14 year old daughters are taking Making Waves with a Marine Career in June! They are very excited and I'm happy that I get to tag along for the class!!! I'd love to plan another trip around the YES program so they can try more classes in the future!
 
My granddaughter and grandson did the animal behavior program and enjoyed it. They were able to see a lot of the animals up close and hear about their habits and environment. They were definitely not bored.
 
I’ve done the animal kingdom one at least 13 times. They talk about careers and animal behavior. It’s much better than the one we used to do at Hollywood studios and one of them at Epcot(no animals). Sorry I don’t know the names.
 
Zombie thread for 8 years ago. I believe there has to be a group of ten students now, and so booking it individually doesn't work anymore.
 

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