Any tips for Stormalong Bay

[nixieh]

We will be staying at the Beach Club for the first time in Aug and would love to know your tips for enjoying Stormalong Bay. In the past we have stayed at the Poly and AKL and enjoyed those pools but there we could let our 10 year old swim on her own and still be able to see her but I am a bit worried about Stormalong Bay so any advice on this or any other tips would be gratefully received

 

[Robert P]

SAB is really spread out, and with the slide entrance being across the sidewalk away from the main pool, you are asking a very good question.
The center pool area, kind of in front of the B&C porch, offers the best view for scoping out the entire area, but still, the design and size of SAB do not help matters, if trying to keep a child within sight at all times.

 

[ReneeDisney]

Stormalong Bay is so much fun and very large! My suggestion would be to get chairs or a table by the shallow/kiddie section as they have a sand bar and wading pool area that is perfect for small children. It connects to the deeper area and then onto the adult slide. The kids slide is across the walkway near the the lake!
Also, in my experience, it is very hard to get chairs/table the later in the day it gets, as the pool area fills up fast in the morning!
Whatever you do- you'll have a great time b/c you are in WDW and on vacation! ENJOY!!!

 

[tortoni]

We'll be there in August too. SAB is large, but it is a wonderful pool and you can definitely spend time in sections. My younger kids (11 and 13) love to play in the whirlpool area, which is near to where the slide lets out in the main pool. This is also near the pool volleyball area. If you park over there, you may have to get out of your beach chair less. Frankly, though, with the August heat and that great pool, you will likely spend a lot of time in the pool too. BTW, you can bring a tube from home if you wish.

 

[abeyst]

We'll be there in August too. SAB is large, but it is a wonderful pool and you can definitely spend time in sections. My younger kids (11 and 13) love to play in the whirlpool area, which is near to where the slide lets out in the main pool. This is also near the pool volleyball area. If you park over there, you may have to get out of your beach chair less. Frankly, though, with the August heat and that great pool, you will likely spend a lot of time in the pool too. BTW, you can bring a tube from home if you wish.

This was my DS's favorite area, too, when we stayed there. It's a pretty big section that offers variety for the whole family. I don't think he'll want to swim anywhere else than this area, unless it's the lazy river.

The sandbar part and kiddie pool is nice for younger kids (as the water is only 2 feet deep), but may not be that exciting for a 10yo. They do occassionally have a CM come out to this area and play games with the kids (water polo, hits around a beach ball with the kiddies, shoots water from a gun in the air over the kids.) That part was LOVELY!!

Scope out the entire area when you get there (it is very large), then decide on a good spot. (The water slide area is to your left when you walk in the pool area.) There's also numerous lifeguards around the area.

Here's a link to the pictures of the SAB pool to better acquaint yourself:
http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_sab.htm

I think you'll be ok at this pool. (It could be worse-you could be trying to swim with 2 children of different ages who want to swim in separate pools, but neither is old enough to swim unsupervised!!)

Enjoy your trip. The Beach Club ROCKS!!

 

[CaipiraBob]

We will be staying at the Beach Club for the first time in Aug and would love to know your tips for enjoying Stormalong Bay. In the past we have stayed at the Poly and AKL and enjoyed those pools but there we could let our 10 year old swim on her own and still be able to see her but I am a bit worried about Stormalong Bay so any advice on this or any other tips would be gratefully received

My advice:

1) Buy your own clear plastic inner tube. Write your name on it in large clear letters so you can see it from a distance. Won't necessarily stop someone from walking away with it but it will be clear who's using it. This way you save money if you like to rent them.

2) Drinks from the pool bar are great but can run up the bill. A plastic cup with a cover filled with your "beverage of choice" can go a long way to cut back the cost of 10 JD Lemonades I can drain on a hot afternoon.

3) Early morning is the best time to use the slide. It's usually before most of the families have coordinated their "attack plan" for the pool. Even during high season you can usually get in 5 runs or more before a line builds up to a significant wait.

4) USE the LAZY RIVER. It's so relaxing. See #1.

5) For a child it's best to monitor their use of the slide. From the exit area to the stairway it's obscured from any view by the pool. You can't let a young child do this alone. Some folks may be comfortable with this but if anyone's been reading the news about the molesters there, I don't think it's worth it. I'm mean, it's not just Disney but they've been busted there more than once in recent weeks.

Enjoy! We go there frequently just for the pool. Kids got their grades today and we're going to announce the trip we've had reserved for a while. See you around the river.

 

[jimmiej]

Here's what I wrote re: Stormalong Bay on last year's trip report. We stayed at Beach Club Villas. Two adults, no kids.

Stormalong Bay (main pool) has to be seen and experienced to be believed! We mostly enjoyed the float-around pool. On day two, we bought a couple of “noodles” ($3/each) and they worked great. About half of this pool is eight feet deep, so if you’re not a great swimmer, you need something to keep you afloat. They also rent tubes, but these seemed too bulky for this pool. One day, there were some rowdy teens in this pool, but every other time, it was relaxing. I will say, it was difficult (but not impossible) to find an unused lounge chair each afternoon.

 

[constanze]

Oh my gosh...you will LOVE SAB. We just got back last night. And we can't see ourselves staying anywhere else. We spent time at SAB everyday! We have a 10 year old and a 6 year old (who doesn't know how to swim)...so I was a little worried when reading these boards before going on the trip, regarding how spread out it was. It really ended up being no problem. My 6 year old who is terrified of dunking her head...actually conquered her fear and was going down the big slide by the last day. The kids had so much fun. The slide area is great for both ages. The older one can go down the big slide, and the small slide has a nice little pool you can sit in while watching both kids.

 

[danielle782001]

My 2 and 4 year old boys were able to freely walk in and out of the pool at the Beach Club on their own. It was great for them (and me) to have such independence. We stayed in the middle section... Sand-bottom area, where the kids can hang out on the sand (outside of the pool) and walk in on their own. It went from 1 foot to only a few feet. There are lots of shovels and pails around from the kids meal they can get at the counter-service there. They had a guy there, helping the kids build sand castles and playing around with them. My kids loved it a lot! My 9 year old nephew enjoyed the lazy river.

 

[Sammie]

Just be aware that the so called lazy river is not very lazy has a strong current and as stated is 8 feet deep.

Many first timers to SAB are expecting this area to be similar to the lazy river area of Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon and its not. I have seen several kids and adults step off into the water, go under and be swept away before they realize they can't touch bottom.

 

[magicmouse2]

I picked out the beach club mainly for Stormalong bay pool. I m not so sure its going to be that safe for my 9 and 11 yr old daughters, after reading this.

 

[nixieh]

Just be aware that the so called lazy river is not very lazy has a strong current and as stated is 8 feet deep.

Many first timers to SAB are expecting this area to be similar to the lazy river area of Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon and its not. I have seen several kids and adults step off into the water, go under and be swept away before they realize they can't touch bottom.

Thanks for that tip, sounds exactly like the lazy river at Discovery Cove where we had a bit of a frightening experience when we discovered that it was very very deep in places!

Thanks everyone for all the great tips and advice, keep them coming!

Nicola

 

[720L]

Are there life jackets for kids at SAB like at other resorts? And if there are, can they just wear them in the lazy river? And can you go down the water slide with your young child?

 

[mmccan]

We stayed at BCV in March and my 3 boys (2,5,7) really enjoyed Stormalong bay. All 3 liked the sandy kids area and spent alot of time building sandcastles. Also there is a smaller pool with a small slide over by the entrance to the large slide. My husband and I split up and one would keep the younger two over there and the other sat over by the exit to the slide and my oldest could do the slide over and over again and we could see him at the entrance and exit. My middle child is also very timid in water but he loved this pool. My 2 year old really loved the small slide and we had to drag him off of it everyday. My oldest really liked the whirling waters, was especially fascintated by the sinking sands and the lazy river. A couple of days we spent most of the day here and never got bored. The kids played the pool games one afternoon with the CMs and had a lot of fun.

 

[goinback]

Just be aware that the so called lazy river is not very lazy has a strong current and as stated is 8 feet deep.

Many first timers to SAB are expecting this area to be similar to the lazy river area of Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon and its not. I have seen several kids and adults step off into the water, go under and be swept away before they realize they can't touch bottom.

Thank you so much for that info!! I have 3 kids & my DS is my daredevil , think about it after I'm already in midair kid!

 

[JohnnyB2]

SAB is Disneys(IMHO)best pool. Your family will have a great time there.But in Aug.the pool area fills up quickly as alot of families spend most of the day there.Good seating=early arrival.

 

[purpliequeen]

This is such a good thread. We'll be there in a little over a week. In terms of bringing your own tube, do the CMs mind? What else can you rent from the pool area?

Thanks!

 

[my_try]

The first time we swam in SB my daughter was nine and my son was six. They knew they had to stay in the area that they could stand in (the area right in front of the tube rental pavilion) while their dad and I were relaxing in the beach chairs. When my husband and I went swimming, we were able to explore the entire pool with them. Be very careful of the lazy river. It's about nine feet deep with a small undercurrent. My kids needed tubes in the lazy river. There is also a five foot + area by the whirlpools that you would need to be careful of.

My son loved the small pool behind the Flying Jib (SB's shipwrecked waterslide). Your daughter may feel she's too old for this section, but we did hang out there a long time on our last trip (when my son was eight years old).

 

[Sammie]

Thanks for that tip, sounds exactly like the lazy river at Discovery Cove where we had a bit of a frightening experience when we discovered that it was very very deep in places!

Thanks everyone for all the great tips and advice, keep them coming!

Nicola

Its a fun area, it just is not an area where you can stand even as adults. And I have witnessed many step off and go under not realizing it is that deep. I was at the pool one day when a man carrying a toddler, luckily in a swim vest, stepped off, went under and lost control of the child, who due to the swim vest went floating off on its own. Luckily we were able to snag the kid and keep it while the man swam to the side.

Unless you are a very good floater or swimmer; a floatation device is good. The noodles seem to work best as they are less bulky, the area is not that wide and at times with the tubes you can get a log jam with them.

The kid's sand area is a great area if you can keep them there, as it is shallow, zero entry and a great place to play.

You just have to be careful about how spread out this pool is, 3 acres, and that there are many blind spots due to the largeness of it.

I truly do not think putting the entry to the slide across the pedestrian pathway was good planning at all. It's a long way for little ones to walk to get to the slide.

 

[constanze]

Are there life jackets for kids at SAB like at other resorts? And if there are, can they just wear them in the lazy river? And can you go down the water slide with your young child?

Yes. We got a yellow lifejacket for our 6 year old. She could actually go down the big slide by herself, and not dunk her head when she got to the bottom. If you sit on your "tushy" and not lie down on your back, the slide is actually pretty slow. My 10 year old son, could touch the bottom so he only went under if he wanted to.

However, you cannot go down the slide WITH your child. We wanted to do that with our daughter, but they said no. However they did let us stay close to catch her when she came down the other side...but again, the lifevest kept her from going under. She LOVED it.