AKL pool chair hogging?

[LMHB]

Our family has just returned from a wonderful stay at WDW, we stayed at AKL Jambo House. My only complaints are, go figure, the behavior of guests and was wondering what others' experiences were. At two Disney swimming venues, most notably AKL Kidani Village, we had a terrible time with pool chairs. There are little signs everywhere that say basically "In consideration of other guests, please do not use belongings to reserve pool chairs." People were terrible about this! Families would drape belongings on whole swaths of chairs along the pool, and then go swimming leaving their chairs completely unoccupied. We walked around in circles looking for somewhere to put our things and for me to sit, and there was nowhere. Along the back of the pool, I saw one chair with only a hotel towel on the end of it, a kid sitting on a chair two chairs down and a man sitting on a chair four chairs down. I went ahead and sat on the chair and he rolled over, and told me it was taken. I finally went to a manager and asked him to make a polite announcement enforcing the guideline because I could not find a chair. I tried to explain to him that each family really only needs one chair if they are swimming on the pool, one is certainly enough to hold bags and shoes. He refused to make the announcement and said that people had the right to claim chairs. He then offered to find me chairs. Since he didn't seem to get the concept, I restated that I really only needed ONE chair for the four of us. He found us two. ???? After sitting down for a few minutes, I noticed other families walking around looking bewildered and frustrated, and went over to offer one woman my second, unneeded chair. People were finding places in the bushes to put their things! This is ridiculous. Why put they signs up if they don't mean anything? The non-helpful manager, James from New Jersey, may have helped me in the short term, but he did nothing for the other families wandering around trying to find just one chair for Mom or Dad to sit on. He only reinforced the rude behavior of the guest by condoning it, and he had a much greater responsibility than that. Having chairs near the pool is especially important for parents of school aged children who may be old enough to go into the pool alone, but you still want to keep an eye on them. And besides, those greedy families draping their stuff on five poolside chairs don't OWN them, so why aren't we allowed to move their stuff if they are not sitting in them, especially if it is only a hotel pool towel? We also found this problem at Typhoon Lagoon. Chairs should be for people who actually want to SIT in them, or one chair per family at most to hold belongings. With the expensive rates of Disney hotels, they should manage this better to better serve ALL of their guests, not just the rude ones.

Anyone had a better experience at another Disney hotel with a better enforced policy? I don't want to go to the Kidani Village pool again because of this.

 

[Sammie]

You got my support completely but then I can read signs and understand what they mean, and actually I can do what is right for everyone, not just myself without a sign.

Obviously this is a hard concept for some. Usually the lifeguards will move them, if you ask one.

 

[vicki_c]

I would disagree that the signs mean you can't claim chairs for all in your party while you are in the pool at a resort (can't speak to the water parks since I've never been there). What it means, and how it is usually enforced, is to not park things or towels on your chair and leave the pool area. In that case, the lifeguards will move belongings from chairs if they notice that happening.

If you are swimming in the pool, and you have your stuff on the chair, the chair is yours. I totally disagree that I have to have my butt in it the entire time for it to be my chair while I'm using the pool. I don't stay in the water the entire time I'm at the pool and if I got there and got a chair, I expect to have my chair when I get out of the pool.

So I entirely disagree with your premise.

 

[Sue M]

Hmmm, well, my adult daughter & I will go down to the pool during our August visits for an afternoon break. We do put our stuff down on a couple of lounge chairs- I'll bring a bag with my book, sunscreen, etc. We like a quick dip, maybe swim around for 10 min, then go back to our chairs to relax, read, run into the food court- Mara or what ever resort we're in, refill our mugs, back to chairs, maybe another quick dip, later etc. You get the idea. But we've always been able to find a chair or 2.
So we're in & out of our chairs
I don't think I should have to remove our stuff off our chairs to take a 5 or 10 min dip.

I can see the fustration of not finding a chair, and I know at some resorts if chairs stay unoccupied for a long time, they will be cleared off, or so I've heard, at SAB. I agree, it isn't right to leave your stuff on chairs for hours and not occupying them, when using 1 chair would do.
But i don't know the solution. Kind of hard to enforce.

 

[si-am]

I would disagree that the signs mean you can't claim chairs for all in your party while you are in the pool at a resort (can't speak to the water parks since I've never been there). What it means, and how it is usually enforced, is to not park things or towels on your chair and leave the pool area. In that case, the lifeguards will move belongings from chairs if they notice that happening.

If you are swimming in the pool, and you have your stuff on the chair, the chair is yours. I totally disagree that I have to have my butt in it the entire time for it to be my chair while I'm using the pool. I don't stay in the water the entire time I'm at the pool and if I got there and got a chair, I expect to have my chair when I get out of the pool.

So I entirely disagree with your premise.

I feel the same way. I'm one of those 15 minutes in the pool, 20 minutes on the chair people. I don't think it's unreasonable.

 

[stargazertechie]

It's a POOL chair, therefore, if I'm using the pool, I have every right to put my belongings on a chair while I'm swimming.

Where, exactly, would you suggest that swimmers put their belongings while they're swimming. We can't exactly take our towels into the water with us.

And honestly, we paid as much for the "chair space" as the next person who doesn't want to swim.


It angers me when people reserve chairs and leave the pool area, but as long as you're in the pool area, I feel the chairs are fair game.

 

[toodycat]

We've never had a problem at AKL, but have seen it at other (non-Disney) resorts and cruises. To my mind, getting up at the crack of dawn to leave a bottle of sun tan lotion on a chair you will return to in six hours is not right. Splitting a pair of flip flops over two lounge chairs and then going touring for 3 hours is not fair. However, chairs and lounges should be for folks who are using the pool area. If I want to leave my towel and beverage on a lounge and go swimming for half an hour, I should be able to anticipate that my things will still be on my lounge when I want to dry off and sit down. If my DH and DS want to do the same, they should be able to have their own lounges. People using a pool area usually alternate between swimming and lounging. Thus, they should be equally entitled to space in the pool and on a lounge.

 

[daisyduck123]

One afternoon, while we were at the pool, a cm/lifeguard walked around collecting towels that were just lying alone and looking abandoned on chairs. He collected them all and moved them to one location.

I remember giving a silent "Hurrah" to myself when I saw him doing it...and the pool area was only about 1/2 full at the time.

 

[Sammie]

I feel the same way. I'm one of those 15 minutes in the pool, 20 minutes on the chair people. I don't think it's unreasonable.

That is reasonable, because you are spending pretty much equal time in the chair as the pool.

But many people put their things on many chairs, and stay in the pool until ready to leave. The only time they use the chair is for a few minutes to put shoes and such on. For those hours in the pool, someone else that wanted to read, went without.

If I am not going to use the chair often, I put all our things on one chair not one for each family member.

 

[I Love Pluto]

Chairs belong to first come, first claimed at EVERY resort. I think it's fair, but only if the towels on the chairs belong to people who will really USE the chairs.

Example: A family of 4 go in the pool. They drape their towels over 4 chairs. My party of 2 cannot find a chair to put our stuff on, so we use one small corner of the concrete for our things. When the family of 4 exit the pool, they all dry off and leave. Why did they need 4 chairs to keep their towels and flip-flops at? Couldn't they have done the same with 1 or 2 chairs?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I always thought the signs at the pools meant you are to not leave the pool area if you saved a chair or two. For example a guest staying at the Boardwalk Inn/Villas shouldn't save some pool chairs at the Luna Park pool area, then walk over to Epcot and go swimming when they come back. So I don't see anything wrong when the guests are actually swimming inside the pools because they didn't leave the pool area.

Now a few years ago at the Clearwater Beach Marriott Suites on Sand Key we had a problem when it comes to guest saving pool chairs. Like WDW they have a sign saying not do that, however the guests did it anyway. Although un like what the OP experienced with us all the chairs were saved and no one was in the pool, because they were off having breakfast. So when we complained to the front desk they gave us a free dinner at their restaurant which was more then enough.

 

[sndral]

One of the rudest things I ever saw was a woman, her mom, her multiple kids and her disney shopping bags who all had their own seats on a disney bus, the bags actually took up 2 seats. More and more people got on the bus at each stop, many (including parents with kids in arms and older people) were standing and this lady never moved those shopping bags off the seats they were on.
To me, someone who 'claims' pool chairs they don't intend to actually lounge in have about as much class as the bus bag lady.
I'm a cool off or swim a few laps, then read, pool user, so I consider interspersing swimming with lounging to be actively using a chair.
Disney could do a few things to lesson the impact, in high pool use times:
Have wrist bands for all deluxe pools - weed out the riffraff who aren't paying to stay at that resort from swimming
Have a cm (not a lifeguard - they need to be watching swimmers) 'helping' locate lounge chairs for guests - during busy park attendance they have cms helping people locate seating at cs restaurants (and keeping people from sitting until they actually have food to eat.) Same concept, I'll tuck your belongings here and when you want a lounge, I'll find one for you.
Or, have a rule posted that unattended belongings will be moved after 15 min.s, and then have a cm sweep up belongings every half hour or so - like a meter maid.
When you see a sea of empty but 'claimed' lounges then there's clearly enough chairs, they are just not being managed efficiently.

 

[twooley2]

can people take their own lawn chairs from home to AKL if they so desired?

 

[Tink415]

We've only not been able to find any pool chairs at POFQ during Easter week one vacation. We left our stuff on the concrete and eventually found chairs as the afternoon went on. Also that week whenever we tried to go to a water park after a late breakfast buses were not running as the water parks were at capacity! Haven't been back for an Easter week.
I think the manager did good finding you 2 chairs. A 1 chair per family rule would probably cause more problems. Also, towels do get cleared off chairs, don't know what the schedule is, and that's probably best - if everyone knew how often they'd find a way around it.

 

[kaligal]

Finding chairs at the pool is frustrating everywhere, unless you happen to get to the pool very early.

I spend most of the day in my chair. I do get up to use the restroom, get water or take a 10-15 minute dip in the pool. So my chair isn't occupied at all times. The reason you can't just take it is that it's my chair. You snooze, you lose.

If I get to the pool late and there are no chairs, I stick my stuff on the ground and take my dip in the pool. I watch for something to open up. If nothing does, I suffer the horror and indignity of sitting on a towel on the pool deck until someone leaves. Somehow, I live through it all without complaining to management or carrying it around with me for days.

If swimming is your top priority, get to the pool whenever you want and just keep your stuff on the ground until a chair becomes available. If a chair is your top priority, get to the pool early. This goes for all pools, not just the ones at Disney World.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

1. You don't have to be sitting on a pool chair the whole time you are there.

2. You can't get to the pool early put towels on multiple chairs and head to the parks for the morning.

There is a middle ground, which we do.

When we get to the pool (5 of us) we try to get two or three chairs together.
We put our belongings on them. This way we can get in and get out and have a place to dry off, and sit for awhile. At BC sometimes we would order food from the cm who walks around taking orders. This way we would have a place to eat also.

The manager was absolutely right. You cannot just take things off of someone's chair while they are swimming on the pool. If you saw someone leave their belongs, and then walk out of the pool area and not come back for a long time then I say they have a right to lose their chair.

 

[goofy4tink]

I would disagree that the signs mean you can't claim chairs for all in your party while you are in the pool at a resort (can't speak to the water parks since I've never been there). What it means, and how it is usually enforced, is to not park things or towels on your chair and leave the pool area. In that case, the lifeguards will move belongings from chairs if they notice that happening.

If you are swimming in the pool, and you have your stuff on the chair, the chair is yours. I totally disagree that I have to have my butt in it the entire time for it to be my chair while I'm using the pool. I don't stay in the water the entire time I'm at the pool and if I got there and got a chair, I expect to have my chair when I get out of the pool.

So I entirely disagree with your premise.

Have to agree. We sometimes find it very hard to find two chaises together if we get to a resort pool midafternoon. At Jambo House last week, we looked and looked for a spot around 4ish. Finally found a few chaises located underneath a tree that was dropping stuff all over the chaises. But, we put our stuff on one chaise and went swimming. We got out of the water and sat down for about 15 mins while we drip dried. But we seldom take a chaise for each member of our group unless we are planning on spending a fair amount of time at the pool.

 

[cvjw]

So, my family who gets to the pool early to enjoy a day of swimming, shouldn't be allowed to all have a lounger since someone who comes to the pool after a morning at the parks might need one? How fair is that? If you choose to get to the pool early, you get a lounger. If you choose to go to a park first, you take your chances at getting a lounger. That is the way it works at hotels, at waterparks, at all-inclusive resorts and on cruise ships. I do agree that it is wrong for people to leave their towels on the loungers when they are gone, because no-one knows for sure if they can use the chairs or not. At most hotels and on cruise ships, they have people going around and collecting used towels during the day, thereby freeing up chairs.

 

[jazzielady]

- weed out the riffraff who aren't paying to stay at that resort from swimming

I find this comment referring to non-deluxe guests inflammatory. This is a problem not just at deluxe resorts, but that is the level of resorts being discussed here.

We CHOOSE to stay at POFQ because that is where we feel most comfortable, for a variety of reasons. Please don't consider us riffraff, but then of course we would never consider invading your pool.

 

[n2mm]

We normally only take a chair for the adults in the party and not all of them. For us we are a party of 6 and try to get 3 chairs. One adult is always in the pool with the kids. Also, while at the BC last year, we watched the lifeguards walk around constantly taking towels off of chairs and freeing them up. If there was personal items there they didn't touch them, but when only pool towels were left, they were removed. This happened about every hour. Probably the hardest place for us to find chairs have been at BLT during the last 2 times we were there (May 2010 and Oct/Nov 2010). We sat on the pavement until a chair freed up.