Best pool for young kids ages 4 to 6_

[My2CrazyGirls]

We have stayed at WL twice and want to try something new. I was thinking BC but then read the SAB pool is so big and I am getting nervous about that. Is it manageable with young kids? Is there a separate kids pool or is it more like a baby pool?

I would consider staying at the POLY or maybe BWI. How are those pools?

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

Parts of SAB could very overwhelming for them. The section of SAB that has sand and a zero entry would I'm sure be the place that they'd spend their time. Poly is great because of the zero entry too. Not too big or overwhelming and a very fun slide. Both have quiet pools as well.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Is that area small and for babies or for bigger kids too? There are a million pics of sab but I am not sure where the zero entry area is. Anyone have a good pic?

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

It's a large area that older kids use too. AllEars has some photos of the area that might help you.

 

[JLR]

We absolutely loved SAB - but my dd was 9 at the time and a very strong swimmer. There is a lovely zero entry sandy area (the sand bottom and beachy transition is one of the coolest things!) and over in the "shipwreck" (where the waterslide tower is), there is a smaller children's pool with a modest slide for younger kids. However, I personally would not love it for a younger child. Even thought there are lots of very nice, vigilant lifeguards, I still would be always anxious to have to keep track of more than one child. The pool is very deep in many places and the lazy river has quite a current. It would be easy to lose track of a child. For that reason, we will do AKL or other less aggressive pools until our kids are older. AKL - Kidani has a water play area in addition to a pool and then you can also use Jambo house's feature pool. People who have stayed at the Poly (I'm sorry to say I have not had that pleasure) absolutely rave about it. Similarly, people love the theming at WL. Just today, someone was commenting on how much they like BWI's pool and it is a more enclosed area - easier to keep track of the kids.

When I clicked reply I thought I had photos, but I did not upload the ones I wanted to photobucket. I second the pp suggestion to checkout allears.net. For AKL be sure to check out Animal Kingdom Lodge under delues resorts and then also AKV-Kidani under Deluxe villa resorts to see those pools.

 

[PewamoGirl]

BW is my favorite pool, the slide is a lot of fun. It is also very easy to watch kids in the water. My little cousins have a lot of fun there, POLY is good too but the slide might be a little scary for small kids.

 

[Hillbeans]

Kidani pool and children's water play area

 

[ElizabethB]

My 5-year-old niece loved the kiddie pool at GF because she could reach the bottom.

 

[BabyGirlSelene]

The Polynesian has a really nice pool the volcano pool isn't too big and the other quiet pool is much smaller so I definitely recommend that or at Animal Kingdom Lodge there's a kiddie pool there. Hope this helps and hope you have a great vacation!

 

[Ohiodisneyguy]

Have stayed at WL, CR, Poly, AKL, POR, CBR, CSR, and Dolphin. My kids are fish and their fav. pool was the Mayan pyramid pool at CSR. But it is a mod.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

The pics at allears are great, thank you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Didn't they recently change the pool at the Contemporary to add a water play area?

 

[pixarmom]

We have three boys, ages pre-school to pre-teen and we absolutely love SAB. (I've stayed at Poly, BC, WL, and CSR multiple times each and CBR and Sports once each - and I agree that the CSR pool is great if you want a moderate.)

We don't take our youngest in the lazy river or in the deeper parts of the pool. SAB has a separate circular wading pool that looks like a typical baby pool, a small playground, a huge sand bottom zero depth entry area that is relatively shallow throughout, and another separate kiddie slide and kiddie pool area in the base of the pirate ship. The kiddie slide is very fun - even for our older boys - but we definitely need to stand at the end of the slide to catch our pre-schooler. (This is entirely different from the big pirate slide - that's for older kids and you cannot catch children at the end.) But he loves that little slide so much that last summer he must have gone down it at least 30 times per day - and I'm not exaggerating! Some of my best photos of him from the trip were on that slide - absolute joy! The BC/YC thread on this board has lots of information about these areas of SAB, too and highlights the areas of the pool that are particularly good for little ones. See post #2: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2530931

We're always in the water with our pre-schooler anyway, so the fact that the zero depth entry/sand bottom area at SAB is large is not a problem for us. Last week, my husband was in the water with our pre-schooler in the much smaller zero depth entry area at the volcano pool at the Poly. The volcano pool at the Poly has a great zero depth area, but the Poly slide is too big for our pre-schooler and there is no alternative kiddie slide like at BC - he really wanted to slide at Poly and we had to work hard to distract him! But if that isn't a problem for OP's kids, Poly would be a great choice!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Our favorite is the volcano pool at the Poly . The zero entry is great, the slide is lots of fun, and it doesn't get more magical than having a view of the castle while swimming .

 

[vinotinto]

I found it impossible to keep an eye on two kids at SAB - both DH and I had to be at the pool. My DD (2-years old at the time we went) liked the sandy, zero-entry area by YC. That area is suitable for little kids. My DS (4-years old at that time) wanted to do the slide over and over again and did not care for the zero-entry area. These are two separate ares of the pool and you cannot keep an eye on the slide if you are in the zero-entry area. Also, the entrance to the slide is across the public walkway from the pool. You cannoy watch a child going over to the slide if you are in the pool area. My DS at the time was 4-years old and even though he already was a good swimmer, I didn't think it was appropriate to let him walk to the other side and climb up by himself. Some areas of SAB were too deep, even for me (then again, I'm short).

The pool at the Poly was less impressive, but I enjoyed it more. It was easy to keep an eye on my younger child by the zero-entry area and keep an eye on my older child going to the slide by himself.

 

[Mamu]

The pools that have zero entry are the best for toddlers.

 

[RMulieri]

I am a HUGE fan of SAB..But not if you have 2 kids,different ages and different swimming capabilites and you want to relax too.There is the wading sand area that is perfect for kids and then a small kidde slide and pool on the back of the pirate ship( which is across a walkway from the resort).The big slide is in the ships mast and slides back across the walkway into a splash pool.It is alot of walking back and forth.Here is some slides though of SAB 9not mine)
http://www.tagrel.com/Tours/Flash/sab.shtml

 

[mkoerner]

The pools at CBR are excellent for young children. There is a large activity pool and a separate fun kiddie area for the little ones. It's like the ones you see at water parks with little slides, fountains, and the dumping bucket. They also have a quiet pool at each island area.

 

[Diznut78]

The SAB pool is terrific. My kids love the sand beach areas and slide.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

Young kids don't really care as long as its water. That said there is a fantastic water play area at AKL. Our favorite resort is OKW. Our kids are older, my youngest is 15 right now. My sister is also a dvc member with her home resort being VWL. She tried OKW in 2008 because we loved it so much. Her son who was 4 at the time loved the sandcastle slide so much he has been asking to go back there so much they have considered selling there points at WL and buying points at OKW.