Welcome aboard, Karen! Congratulations on your very first sailing with Disney Cruise Line! Your son sounds a lot like my daughter about this time last year. She had been sailing with our family and Disney for many years, and adored everything about the
Youth Clubs. Up to that point, she had been in the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab, the two clubs for kids ages three to 12. But, she is very mature and independent for her age, and when we were about to head out to sea with Disney last year, she was hoping to try out Edge, the tween club for ages 11 to 14, for the first time, but she was only ten and a half. The good news is that the counselors in Edge are happy to allow a mature 10 year-old to join in on the activities and events, with the parents' signed permission. We stopped by Edge during Open House hours that first day onboard, and chatted with the counselors about this. My daughter was so excited to have some extra freedom and independence on that sailing and quickly made new friends with whom she hung out all cruise long!
Please know that kids in Edge do not need to be checked in and out by parents as they do in the Oceaneer Club and Lab, so your son could leave Edge on his own at any point. You know him best, so you'll want to discuss with him your rules for this. Our daughter knows that she can't leave unless she texts us through the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App (which I highly recommend you all download before arriving at port), to let us know exactly where she's going and with whom. Be sure you register him for the Club and Lab too because there is so much awesome stuff going on there all day and night and I wouldn't want him to miss out on the fun there!
Have fun planning, Karen, and stop back with more questions as you continue to count down to the big sail date!
Marcy