Anyone else find Stormalong Bay overrated?

[smidgy]

we didn't care for it. we like the looks of a big pool, not a meandering pool.

the pool at Roayl Pacific (universal) is one of our favorites. love the coranado springs pool. surprisingly, the Surf's up Pool at all star sports is pretty (but hardly any tables).

we didnt' care for the sand bottom. too hard to walk in. if I had little kids, I wouldn't like it, cause it would be too hard to keep an eye on them (although, if I had really little kids, I would have liked the separate "play in the sand" pool for them.

now, if we had been there with the boys as preteens/teens, they would have LOVED it!

 

[smidgy]

oh yeah. didn't like the slide. having to walk across the promenade in my suit, past people in dress clothes walking by. and the bumps on the slide.

we did actually like the villas pool, very pretty.

 

[LovintheLodge]

I probably shouldn't have read this thread less than 25 days to our vacation at BC. I am honestly worried we won't LOVE BC and SAB as much as people rave about.
We LOVE POP and the many pools and overall size. This is our first deluxe and we are serious pool lovers but NEED to have chairs to relax while the kids swim. I am REALLY worried we will be "chairless" and not enjoy SAB due to crowds and possibly the size and set up.
Not to mention, my family has no idea we are staying there....they think we are at ASMU.
I hope hope hope we love it and I don't regret booking there.

Don't worry RainK! I think this thread is going to get more negative opinions than positive based on the title. And bwifan is right...overall there are more people that love it than not. My family loved SAB. There are definitely areas to swim...something for everyone. It can get crowded but I found the same at WL (and I enjoyed that pool too but like SAB more!). Enjoy your vacation!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[davale4]

We got back last week from 11 nights at Beach Club. I enjoyed the Villas pool more. I guess I can see how kids would like SAB, but I thought it was way overrated. It's a pain in the neck getting to the slide. The slide is incredibly uncomfortable. The sand bottom is neat, except I was always stubbing my toes where it went from sand to concrete. The lazy river would be nice with a tube, but without one, it's just too deep.

Wow!!! I feel relieved to know that I'm not the only one that finds SAB overrated. I didn't even dare tell some family members what I thought for fear of getting flamed . Not even the kids the liked it as much as other pools they've tried, and they were no fans of the sand either. I found it a bit awkward. Maybe I'm just too simple and like a pool where it is easier to keep an eye on the kids.

 

[davale4]

I completely agree! My 3 teenage boys love everything to do with water. The WP's are a MUST do for us each visit. That being said, I thought they would love SAB. They hated it. They felt it was too busy, and too spread out. They didn't like how all the sections of the pool were separated and there was really no place at all to actually swim. They ended up in the villas pool every night. I know some people love it but my family thought it was very overrated. I think its better for little kids honestly particularly with the sand/beach area. To each his own...

Yes!!!! I felt the pool very awkward and you have explained it very well what I couldn't put into words

 

[smidgy]

I probably shouldn't have read this thread less than 25 days to our vacation at BC. I am honestly worried we won't LOVE BC and SAB as much as people rave about.
We LOVE POP and the many pools and overall size. This is our first deluxe and we are serious pool lovers but NEED to have chairs to relax while the kids swim. I am REALLY worried we will be "chairless" and not enjoy SAB due to crowds and possibly the size and set up.
Not to mention, my family has no idea we are staying there....they think we are at ASMU.
I hope hope hope we love it and I don't regret booking there.

we, too feel like we need to have lounge chairs. we are usually "sun " people, but in the heat of summer. would also like some shade from time to time.

so if you feel like you might want a table, there actually is an almost "rope drop" at the entrances to SAB. they check your room key,etc. and people rush in to get their "spots".

it was kinda funny. a few of us were gathered by the entrance before the pool "opening". some guy had left some stuff. there at the entrrance gate to the pool. came back and tried to say he was "saving" his space in line. o one, not even the life guard, was buying it.. he was not happy.

not saying you can't get a couple loungers later in the day. probably can. will it be in a spot where you can see your kids? only if they stay in a small area. it is a meandering pool.

unless you stay on the side where the little kids are and build the sand castles.

 

[maxiesmom]

I probably shouldn't have read this thread less than 25 days to our vacation at BC. I am honestly worried we won't LOVE BC and SAB as much as people rave about.
We LOVE POP and the many pools and overall size. This is our first deluxe and we are serious pool lovers but NEED to have chairs to relax while the kids swim. I am REALLY worried we will be "chairless" and not enjoy SAB due to crowds and possibly the size and set up.
Not to mention, my family has no idea we are staying there....they think we are at ASMU.
I hope hope hope we love it and I don't regret booking there.

Unless your kids are strong swimmers, there really is no relaxing at SAB. It is very spread out, and you can't see your kids from any one pool chair. As mentioned before, you have to cross a public sidewalk to get onto the pool slide, and then there is the fairly deep and fast lazy river spot.

You can still have a great time, but know that you will either have to keep your kids confined to one section at a time, or you will be doing a lot of moving around. This isn't the sort of pool where you can sit and relax and be able to glance at your kids every few minutes.

 

[Liam]

Overrated? Definitely not, but I do understand how some people may not find it to their liking. I love SAB, bu there are times when I just go for a dip in the regular pool at the outskirts of BC by the walkway to the International Gateway

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

We found SAB amazing, many different styles of pool for different people.

The lazy river is designed to be used with a tube, not swimming.

AKK

 

[goofy4tink]

I love BC/BCVs. But I'm not a huge fan of SAB. I can't imagine what it's like to have a little one there and try to watch them! I know that the first time we stayed there, my dd was about 11 or so. She was/is a fairly strong swimmer but I still wanted to be able to keep an eye on her. Well, there were groups that just set up communes of chairs and tables!!! The only place I could find to sit was far away from the actual pool. so, I was almost forced to be in the water if I wanted to watch my dd! People would stake out spots early in the day. And once at the pool? They would take over areas that would seat 20 or so people...even if the group wasn't that big! And most of the group would be in the pool, while adults sat chatting...with kids' shoes and towels on the many empty seats! Drove me nuts.
I hated that my child had to leave the pool area, cross over the public sidewalk and then over to the slide entry point. Just made me uncomfortable. I just think it is a very poor layout.
But many others love it there. It all depends on what you are looking for in a pool experience.

 

[mommyrosa2]

I probably shouldn't have read this thread less than 25 days to our vacation at BC. I am honestly worried we won't LOVE BC and SAB as much as people rave about.
We LOVE POP and the many pools and overall size. This is our first deluxe and we are serious pool lovers but NEED to have chairs to relax while the kids swim. I am REALLY worried we will be "chairless" and not enjoy SAB due to crowds and possibly the size and set up.
Not to mention, my family has no idea we are staying there....they think we are at ASMU.
I hope hope hope we love it and I don't regret booking there.

I wouldn't worry too much. As you can see by my signature, we LOVE the BC and enjoy SAB. While it is true that the chair situation can be annoying, we have been able to find at least two loungers even during the crazy busy time. I will say too, that like another pp mentioned, I have and will continue to move towels from any chair that hasn't had any movement within an hour of us being there and last August, we saw pool staff physically clearing towels from unoccupied chairs which was nice to see. Relax and enjoy your stay!

 

[WDW1979]

I think that SAB was nice, but definitely more choppy than I would have preferred and it is a pain getting from one section to another.

Also, the sand was annoying to me. It hurt! I live in New England, and that's like no sand I know....

I think the SAB sand is plastic, or at least not real sand. I refer to it as "Disney plastic sand". My guess is that it is engineered so that it will not clog the pool's pipe system.

 

[DisneyMim]

Overall I like the pool, but yes I think it is overrated. Way too many people and way too many fights that I have witnessed about pool chairs. People get there really early, put their towels down and don't come back for a long time. Yes I know it happens all over, cruises, beach resorts, etc., but it's annoying especially because we don't spend all day at the pool only a few hours. I agree with the sand, not great. As I said it's a great pool, but we don't plan our trips around it.

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[darkwing818]

We found SAB amazing, many different styles of pool for different people.

The lazy river is designed to be used with a tube, not swimming.

AKK

It's our favorite, we love to just go tubing
But to each their own...

 

[amzking]

We got back last week from 11 nights at Beach Club. I enjoyed the Villas pool more. I guess I can see how kids would like SAB, but I thought it was way overrated. It's a pain in the neck getting to the slide. The slide is incredibly uncomfortable. The sand bottom is neat, except I was always stubbing my toes where it went from sand to concrete. The lazy river would be nice with a tube, but without one, it's just too deep.

Agree with you on the slide. We no longer bother, too much trouble.

I love the sand, and I have never once stubbed my toes. Maybe something about your walking style?

I wouldn't even attempt the lazy river without a tube. Being semi-local, we actually bring fat pool noodles from home, much better than those oversized tubes.

I don't think it's overrated. I love it, especially the river and the shallow pool, which is fun for all ages, not just the kiddies. We have spent all day there and even contemplated no-showing for a Le Cellier reservation so we could stay(horrors!). We find it very relaxing, especially linking the whole family together with our tubes and going around the river, letting our toes drag in the sand in the shallow parts.

Now I wish I was there. Gotta go check Passholder discount rates...

 

[amzking]

I think the SAB sand is plastic, or at least not real sand. I refer to it as "Disney plastic sand". My guess is that it is engineered so that it will not clog the pool's pipe system.

I believe I read somewhere that it is actually desert sand brought over from Arizona. Not fake at all. I like that the grains are a larger size than regular beach sand so it does not stick all over you.

 

[Eddy]

We are planning on renting points for our next trip. We were trying to decide between Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas. One of the things we liked about the Beach Club was the pool. After reading all the reviews here we will try and get Boardwalk I thank you all and so does my wallet.

 

[msjprincess]

We are planning on renting points for our next trip. We were trying to decide between Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas. One of the things we liked about the Beach Club was the pool. After reading all the reviews here we will try and get Boardwalk I thank you all and so does my wallet.

I wouldn't decide just by this thread. After all it is a thread asking if anyone else thinks it's it's overrated. So of course you'll have a ton of negative reviews.

 

[keishashadow]

I leave the pool slides to the kiddies (except for BWV's Luna Pool, something about being regurgitated by a scary clown that's hard to resist).

However, when I can switch DVC reservations to BCV at 7 months, I jump on it. . We never bother with tubes, just bob/float along freestyle so I can't say we've experienced any dragging on the bottom of the pool.

My only concern with the lazy river is we've observed serveral kids over the years be 'surprised' as to the change in depth. It's a good thing the lifeguards are vigilant.

 

[starousse]

SAB is a great pool complex, however if you are traveling with an older child and a younger child, it's more work than relaxation. My 7 year old son wanted to be in the deeper section, my 4 year old could only go in the sand pool. The slide was a hike on the other side of the complex. We couldn't sit as a family. My husband had to go stay with my son on one side and I had to sit on the other side.