DS had the best experience at FDC! He was very clingy, a little anxious and didn't like groups or loudness, so I knew regular day care wouldn't work for him. We had a great first meeting with our educator, watching while the kids played outside. I could tell by the way she interacted with the other kids there, and by the way they interacted with her, that she was great. Quietly spoken, friendly and confident in her answers (which were basically that she would follow whatever our wishes were). The area was set up well, inside and out. I met another parent in my first week who'd had all her chn there over 7 years and followed her when she moved house. Her other parent (of both the other boys there) raved about her too. She'd regularly buy/change over toys, organised activities based around what the kids liked and have special activities for special occasions.
We had two play dates first, then eased into it with a couple of hours at a time until we were comfortable with whole days....DS used to ask to sleep over, and would sometimes cry when we had to leave! He still talks about and remembers everyone there, 11 months after we moved states.