Best resort pools

[lindajo]

Hi all. We are planning our umpteenth trip to the World in October, so I am considering different/new resorts at this time. We like to spend a lot of time at the hotel pool, so I would like opinions/descriptions of your favorite resort pools.(Think kids.) We have stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort, Wilderness Lodge, Port Orleans, and The Movies Resorts. I found to my disappointment that although we loved absolutely EVERYTHING ELSE about the Value resorts, none of the pools had a slide. Big disappointment to the kiddies. I also have heard that it is OK to visit other resort pools. Is this Kosher? Thanks for the input.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

First choice: Y&B"s Club's Storm-A-Long Bay
Second Choice BWI & BWV's Roller Coaster Slide Pool

And it is a big NO-NO to pool hop. Only time you can is when you are at a sister resort. All of the All-Stars are sister resorts and PO-Riverside & PO-FQ are sister resorts... other than that only DVC owners can pool hop....sorry about that but who ever told you, miss informed you...

 

[dbail2]

Storm-A-Long Bay at Beach Club was the best pool for kids...

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR!!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Actually pool-hopping is permitted, but only for DVC members staying at DVC resorts; and even then, Stormalong Bay at YC/BC and Uzima Springs at AKL (both cool pools) are off-limits to DVC pool-hoppers.

The Keister Coaster at BW is great too, and they are planning a cool sand castle themed slide at the main pool at OKW. So become a DVC member (by buying into the Disney Timeshare) and you'll have a good pool slide wherever you go.

 

[Parrothd]

Pool hopping is NOT permitted for normal resort guests (as already stated by other posters, only DVC members have certain pool-hopping privelages - which still shouldn't be allowed in my opinion). Contrary to some peoples beliefs, they actually do check (from time-to-time) to see if you belong there. More often at some resorts than others.

The best pools (as would be expected) are located at some of the deluxe resorts. Yacht Club/Beach Club, Boardwalk and Polynesian. The moderates have some pretty cool pools too!

None of the Value's pools are anything to write home about. All they have that's unique are their shapes (bowling pin, piano, etc.). No slides, not much shade, etc.

Anyway, please don't pool-hop. Besides being against the rules, it's rude to the people who are trying to enjoy their "own" pool without it becoming over-run by others who aren't staying there. The pool (for my family to enjoy) is PART of the reason I'm forkin' out the extra bucks to stay at a deluxe. Nothing personal but, the last thing I want is the guests from all the other 20+ Disney resorts crowding in "my" pool.

 

[madalex]

Stormalong Bay at YC/BC is an awesome pool, with a large water slide. Definitely worth the money to stay at either YC/BC if the pool is important to you.

 

[cheerdaddy]

In my opinion, the best moderate pool is the dig site pool at CSR...we enjoyed the pool at AKL, but thought the pool and slide at CSR was better....we also liked the Keister Coaster pool at the Boardwalk, but, again liked the CSR pool better....we are staying at the BCV this June and will get to enjoy SAB for the first time and are really looking forward to it...

 

[SheriB]

My kids liked the castle themed pool/slide at CBR. But now we are DVC members at BCV, and the pool at the YC/BC is by far the best. It's pretty awesome. Also,the BW pool is pretty cool, with it's Keister Coaster slide.

Sheri

 

[lindajo]

Thanks for all the input! I really wasn't considering pool-hopping as an option, just something I heard of. I don't think it would be worth the trouble of driving to and from another resort's pool, anyway. I guess with all the replies I have received, I will wait to see what resorts go on sale and go from there. Fortunately, the time of year we are choosing usually permits us to take advantage of a discount on a moderate or deluxe resort. Haven't heard from anyone about the Carribean Beach Resort. What's that one like? My kids like the idea of having a sandy beach.

 

[Parrothd]

The Caribbean Beach has a pretty cool "main pool" with a Spanish Fort theme. There are also several other smaller pools spread throughout the resort - one for each "Village" (building group). They also have many beaches around the 45-acre lake named "Barefoot Bay" on which to play, hang-out, lay in a hammock, etc. In the middle of the lake, there is an island called "Parrot Cay", accesible by a footbridge.

The theming and grounds at the CBR are the best of the Moderates, in my opinion. The other Moderates are nice too, but this one is still my favorite.

 

[Lynda Silk]

We were at the CBR in 2002 and the pool is great there! You are not allowed to swim at the beach; it's reserved for watercraft and i guess they feel it's too dangerous for swimmers.

At the main pool outside the food court and the shopping area, there is a slide for the kids and there are hot tubs too. The pool is big and we never felt crowded.

There are other pools that are near the different "countries" in the resort; we were in Jamaica and the pool near our hotel room was just a rectangular pool but still very nice. And no one hardly was in this pool (we went in Oct). Some evenings, my children had the pool all to themselves.

We're staying at the Poly in Oct 2004 but only because of the monorail. We loved the CBR; we were there for 10 days. The atmosphere is so tropical and we really felt like we were on vacation. The colours are so pretty and the service was great. The only thing we had an issue with was the size of the rooms; they were a teeny bit small, but we were hardly in our rooms so that didn't matter much.

Sorry, got OT, so I'll end by saying the pools are great at the CBR!
Have a great trip wherever you decide to go!

 

[currycook]

It has to be Stormalongbay without a doubt.

The boardwalk's pool is also nice.

It appears Disney realizes the value of the pool's and have update several over the years in the Delux resorts.

 

[KristiKelly]

We rented DVC points last year & stayed @ BCV, my kids loved StormAlong Bay, our then 3 y/o loved the kiddie pool and both loved the sand areas, DS6 loved, loved, loved the slide, DH & myself loved the sand bottom - felt great on your feet after a long day at the parks.

This year we are staying @ the Poly, I've heard that they have a nice pool, but I don't know if it will compare to S.A.B.

 

[Danauk]

Another vote here for the Beach Club. I agree Stormalong Bay is amazing and kids will love it.

 

[DemoBri1]

Hands down!!! SAB at the YC/BC/BCV is the #1 pool on property.

 

[DemoBri1]

Hands down!!! SAB at the YC/BC/BCV is the #1 pool on property.

 

[Piglet203]

I think the Digsite at CSR is by far, the coolest pool. Although I have not stayed at all WDW resorts, I have visited them. The pool at CSR is beautiful and a lot of fun! It can be very romantic at night, too

 

[candleonwater]

Yet another vote for SAB! however, for my daughter (7), she really likes the dragon pool at POFQ!

 

[devine5829]

Our first stay last year was the Poly (this year yacht club). Because we didn't have anything to compare, our kids loved the Poly pool. They loved the slide, the waterfall and the sprinklers. We took a break every day and went to the pool around 3:00. This year we are trying yacht club b/c of the pool. We didn't realize how much fun a couple of hours atthe pool could be.