a question from a clean freak about pools at wdw

[aussiedaisy]

hi guys! Ok now this question may be a bit silly but I am one of those clean freaks who holds shares in antibacterial hand gel I just wondered about the pools in WDW...how often are they tested/checked for sufficient chlorination etc? I haven't been swimming in years and would love to do the water parks/hotel pools this trip but I am a little squeemish when I think about all of those kids (and adults!) doing who knows what in the pools ! In reality I realise that the pools have chemicals to kill most germs but it still is freaking me out a bit.....does anyone else have this feeling about pools and how do you get over it?

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this over to the resorts board, since the pools are at the resorts

 

[I Love Pluto]

We were speaking to a lifeguard a few years ago who told us that all Disney resorts do not use chlorine in their pools. He claimed that they use another chemical specially made for Disney - but couldn't give that information to anyone. (Top secret???)

We haven't run into any problems at any of WDW's values or moderates with the pools. They all seem to be clean, probably cleaner than the average motel's pools. I think Disney does keep a certain standard that is expected of each resort. I personally feel that the resorts meet this standard.

Enjoy your vacation! And - ENJOY the POOLS!!!!!!!!

 

[Ctsplaysinrain]

I kNOW if there is any sort of nasty accident that occurs - ie: kids pukes, diaper explodes etc, they close the pool for awhile and don biohazard gear and remove the offending stuff and I guess make sure it is clean before pool is reopened.

 

[Singinglizzie]

I believe that pools are regulated by the health department, anyone correct me if I am wrong. I would imagine that the pools can be subject to random inspection, so Disney would keep a daily log with a water analysis which they would test several times per day. If anything is amiss, they would readjust their chemicals to keep the proper balance. I worked at a public pool many years ago and this was a big deal. I'm sure Disney is as diligent as any other public pool. Hope this was helpful.

 

[airhead]

We stayed at the Dolphin for 10 days this past July and every couple of days the "peeool" was closed for "biohazard" cleaning. I think any kid/baby in diapers should not be allowed in adult pools.

 

[RMulieri]

Without getting into a HUGE debate again about allowing babies in pools....Disney is pretty good at keeping the pools tested and clean.I believe they use Bromide instead of chlorine, but it basically works the same.Evenso, there are kids and adults that pee, and spit in pools.If this type of thing really freaks you out, then maybe you should avoid swimming.I will say that the quiet pools at the resorts tend to be not as busy as the themed pools, and at some resorts I have seen them empty, perhaps that may work better for you.

 

[wifey]

We did see CMs on previous trips to AS Movies come along each morning with the landscaping crews and take water samples. One afternoon on our last stay (Mighty Ducks Pool) we saw them completely clean the bottom of the pool with hoses and brushes and then scrub the footpath right around the pool sides. It was early morning and we didn't notice any unusual noise levels, they were quick and efficient and once they were done they wished us a magical day. We did see the main pool closed twice on a night due to contamination (didn't dare ask by what) but by the time it took us to eat dinner they were finished and allowing guests back in.

 

[Lilolvr]

It's not top secret, its bromide and I'm not sure if 100% of the pools use it. CSR was one of the first to convert. At CSR, they seem to test the water every hour or couple of hours.

 

[eliza61]

hi guys! Ok now this question may be a bit silly but I am one of those clean freaks who holds shares in antibacterial hand gel I just wondered about the pools in WDW...how often are they tested/checked for sufficient chlorination etc? I haven't been swimming in years and would love to do the water parks/hotel pools this trip but I am a little squeemish when I think about all of those kids (and adults!) doing who knows what in the pools ! In reality I realise that the pools have chemicals to kill most germs but it still is freaking me out a bit.....does anyone else have this feeling about pools and how do you get over it?

Pretty much we deal with it the same way we deal with it at any Hotel (non disney or disney) pool or any other water park. I keep a little faith that the hotels are at least following public health standards. If it really freaks you out then you would probably do better avoiding them.

Most of the resorts switch over to Bromide (also can't say all). Many pools have Ducks in them in the morning & I read this was a bit safer for the wildlife.

I have seen them close the pools for cleanup whenever an "accident" occurs but not sure how often they test them.

 

[CarolA]

Pools now often have a continous monitoring system in addition to the hand held tests.

Bromide is just as effective as chlorine, but easier on your skin too!

In my expereince as a lifeguard... if you are germ phobic you aren't going to like public pools LOL!

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Every one of the WDW pools where we've stayed have ducks swimming in them in the early morning. Seasgulls stop by and drink the water along with the crows etc. I've yet to see a bird wearing swim diapers. So you have to make your choice - accept that the pool water is treated and tested properly or just not take a dip.

 

[pooh2001]

Ducks - yes in the WL pool and it never seems to be that clean. We have a pool at home and DH gets the water tested at least 2 to 3 times a week.

We wil not return to the WL untill we are done using pools (ie no kids at home any more). We do kove the WL for the location, room decor, atmosphere, great places to eat, boat to MK, close to HDD - but the pool is too small for the resort and not appealing !

We never saw ducks in the CR or Dolphin pools. Both CR & Dolphin are not that close to woods and have lots of concrete (not duck appealing).

Sorry I can not coemment on other resorts.

 

[it's kelly]

I just returned from a week at Pop and although I'm not sure what they used to clean the pool it sure smelled like chlorine. It was pretty clean for the most part and it was closed once for an 'unexpected cleaning' (soiled diaper broke in the pool) around 10:30pm. The lifeguards said the pool would be closed for a few hours but when they left at 11:00pm there were people back in the pool right away who had no idea what happened.

 

[disnut8]

We had a room facing the bowling pin pool at Pop Century and I know they were out there testing and cleaning every morning before it opened up at 9:00.

No outdoor pool is ever going to be 100% germ free. Unless everyone waits until right before they enter the water to take their shoes off.

 

[tuckerkeys]

saw 3 different " incidents" while on 2 separate trips to DW....1st one was at the Poly....A floater was found. They fished it out while everyone continued to swim. No closing or anything.....totally gross.

2nd one was at the WL quiet pool. A boy was hoisting himself out of the pool, when, oops, something fell out of his bathing suit. He saw it, then ran over to his mom who also saw it, and then they proceeded to LEAVE. That is, until a few other people who also saw what happened made the mom go & clean it up. Yuck....

3rd incident, also at the WL was an explosion in the baby pool. They DID close this and got out this pretty heavy duty vacuum to clean it up, along with whatever went into the filter....

Seems as if every trip we take to disney, poop happens

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We had an extended stay at WDW in late August thanks to Tropical Storm Faye. We moved from OKW to CR. They had ducks in the pool at all times! At night the bay lake pool had a mommy duck w/ a duckling swimming all by themselves. The ducks would fly right in even thou the pool was crowded w/ guest.

We had a ground floor wing room. We opened the curtains our 1st day there to enjoy the view (1st time there). Lo and behold a few ducks came to our window. Our dc were at the window totally excited that a couple of ducks came to visit. One duck was knocking on the glass w/ his/her beak! Before we knew it there was about 10 ducks on our little patio. I quickly shut the curtains hoping to make them go away. DS1 was not happy! I was hoping to enjoy the patio area but the ducks left an awful mess.

 

[princessmom29]

It is a swimming pool and will never be 100% germ free, but from as achemist I can tell you that the chance of getting any kind of infection from a properly chlorinated/ brominated pool is extremely low. Thery are excellent germicides. Think about what bleach undiluted will do to skin if not washed off. You really are almost 100% safe as long as the pool is maintains which it sounds like disney is doing. The birds in the water do not pose a serious hazard as long as there is chlorine/ bromine in it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Ducks - yes in the WL pool and it never seems to be that clean. We have a pool at home and DH gets the water tested at least 2 to 3 times a week.

We wil not return to the WL untill we are done using pools (ie no kids at home any more). We do kove the WL for the location, room decor, atmosphere, great places to eat, boat to MK, close to HDD - but the pool is too small for the resort and not appealing !

We never saw ducks in the CR or Dolphin pools. Both CR & Dolphin are not that close to woods and have lots of concrete (not duck appealing).

Sorry I can not coemment on other resorts.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there are ducks and other water fowl all over WDW. Even CR and the Dolphin.

 

[Nicole721]

We've been to the GF twice and both times, the pools have been invaded by ducks.

Swimming with humans is one thing...swimming with animals just grosses me out on a different level. So I don't swim in Disney. I'm fine with it. I don't go to Disney to go swimming.

But those poor ducks...some kids on our last trip were splashing the ducks and trying to jump on them and it was really out of control. Parents weren't doing anything and there were strangers trying to get the kids to stop.