What Are Theme Park Nannies and Why Are They Viral?

I’ve been visiting Disney parks for over three a long time. A few of my most cherished recollections as a toddler are my household’s annual holidays to Walt Disney World. And each journey my grandmother would come alongside as a kind of built-in babysitter. What mother or father cannot use an additional set of fingers? And let’s face it, “trip” isn’t precisely the phrase I’d use for folks taking their children to the “most magical place on Earth.”

I cherished these evenings after an extended park day when my sister, grandmother and I’d grasp again within the Disney resort lodge room or splash across the pool, recounting what number of instances we rode House Mountain or who had the largest turkey leg. And my dad and mom received the much-deserved break I now know they desperately wanted, having fun with the property’s finer eating choices that weren’t as kid-friendly.  

However instances have modified, and households want greater than religion, belief, pixie mud, and grandparents to navigate a Disney trip. An additional set of fingers are wanted not simply to look at over the youngsters, however safe journey instances for fashionable sights and ebook coveted eating reservations. 

Latest years noticed the addition of Genie+, a digital system that changed the previous FastPass, including one more daunting activity to fret about. A profitable go to these days just about requires a PhD in Mouse, and for any household, time is cash and the strain is on to have probably the most magical expertise in any respect prices. 

So, it’s of no shock that inventive younger entrepreneurs have provide you with solely new methods to assist households navigate the Mickey trip expertise. It’s a rising career often known as a theme park nanny and it’s been popping up throughout social media.

What Is a Theme Park Nanny?

Consider a theme park nanny like a fairy godmother and a park aficionado all wrapped up into one. As they be part of you within the theme parks, their aim is straightforward: guarantee your loved ones has the perfect Disney day ever with as little setbacks as doable. They’re able to push the stroller or journey Peter Pan’s Flight together with your tiny budding journey fanatic. 

A rising variety of these third-party firms are providing the specialised service for each Walt Disney World and Disneyland, offering CPR-certified, youngster wranglers who additionally occur to be well-versed Disney park specialists. These seasoned execs are native and prepared on a whim to navigate the challenges of Disney Genie+, snap a household picture in entrance of Cinderella Citadel, or seize the toddler a Dole Whip deal with to ease a meltdown.

In-room lodge providers have lengthy been offered, the place a caregiver involves your resort lodge to alleviate the dad and mom for an evening out, however the place has transitioned in recent times to full-blown theme park specialist.

On the heart of this rising pattern is Cyan Nardiello, the “Fairy God Nanny” and proprietor of As soon as Upon A Nanny, a number one theme park nanny service, who began the corporate when she was 21.

Nardiello additionally shares her very personal adventures in babysitting on the TikTok account @themeparknanny, together with her movies garnering thousands and thousands of views by the captivated and curious. She provides quite a lot of service packages, together with “mother or father play,” which permits the grown-ups to run amuck within the theme park whereas the nanny takes the youngsters on age-appropriate sights. 

And given a Disney trip is a excessive stakes and dear endeavor, she very properly might have struck lightning in a bottle. “Our enterprise has been on a progress incline since its inception in 2020,” explains Nardiello, who started the enterprise by recruiting her fellow sorority sisters to assist out.

The corporate has since grown and tailored proper alongside the numerous modifications happening at Disney. “We comply with all theme park procedures and have gone by means of so many various phases of the theme park expertise post-COVID, comparable to masks, reservation programs, and lightning lane/categorical cross modifications,” she explains.

Since As soon as Upon A Nanny’s inception, it has been offering households with the extremely individualized (and at instances priceless) service. “We use our theme park information to assist present nice park help, comparable to figuring out when a line is simply too lengthy for a kid, when it could be higher to go for a present or meet and greet, or the perfect stroller-nap areas,” she provides.

Charges begin at $40 per hour in Florida and $45 per hour in California. As soon as Upon a Nanny additionally provides touring nanny providers to any theme park on this planet, like Disneyland Paris.

Why Would possibly Households Want a Theme Park Nanny?

Earlier than you flip your nostril to caregivers who determine to go this route—and lots of do given the feedback on As soon as Upon A Nanny’s video diaries—there’s an extended checklist of causes to make the most of these providers that you simply may not count on. And it’s a far cry from having fun with a chilly beer within the shade whereas your children run a stranger ragged.

It could actually show invaluable in various conditions, from serving to out an overwhelmed single mother or father to juggling a number of children. It’s additionally fairly useful for households with children who might not meet all the peak necessities because the nanny can grasp again with the youthful children whereas dad and mom take the older children on Large Thunder Mountain. Additionally they know the place to seize the perfect spot for fireworks or the closest air conditioned constructing to keep away from sensory overload if wanted.

Nardiello additionally shares that they’re well-versed in aiding dad and mom and youngsters with disabilities or particular wants, together with attention-deficit/hyperactivity dysfunction (ADHD) and tube feeds. And with a price of repeat shoppers she says is at over 50%, she simply may be onto one thing.

Take Emily Cain, for instance. The mom of a 2-year-old and toddler is a frequent buyer of As soon as Upon A Nanny and shares her experiences with the distinctive service at @ManyMausTrips.

In a video, she shares that this service has allowed her and her husband to spend one-on-one high quality time with their oldest, one thing that was remarkable earlier than discovering the corporate. And for the primary time since having two children, she will truly get pleasure from sights collectively together with her husband since they’ve the nanny available as a substitute of using Disney’s rider change, which might require them to take turns.

Why Theme Park Nannies Are So In style Proper Now

It is no shock that the price of a Disney trip is on the rise, with per week of primary lodging and tickets rapidly including as much as hundreds of {dollars}. Many dad and mom are determined for any resolution that ensures that their hard-earned Disney {dollars} aren’t in useless.

Alongside the newer idea of theme park nannies, the most well-liked, long-running reply for plussing the expertise is establishing a Disney VIP Tour. This expensive service, provided by Disney parks, will set your loved ones again a number of thousand {dollars}—and that’s per day. Whereas your information can rapidly whisk you to the entrance of attraction traces, in concept, a theme park nanny gives a lot of the identical providers, like skilled information of the parks and babysitting. And at a fraction of the associated fee. 

Earlier than you go bibbidi-bobbidi-broke on a VIP tour, a theme park nanny simply may be your reply to discovering your fortunately ever after.