Cabana Rental - with Kids

[PlutoIsHerFav]

First world problems. We have a cabana rental reservation for the whole day next month (10 am - 7 pm) at Yacht Club. We're trying to decide whether we keep the full day or go down to a half day (10am - 2 pm). We have two kids (7, 3). Anyone have experience with the cabana rental with young kids? Does the fan keep it cool enough that they could nap and just have some downtime? We know we love Stormalong Bay, but am wondering if it'll be overkill? We're afraid that we'll end up having to abandon ship and being mad we wasted the money and rental time, lol!

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

I've only done a cabana rental once, for a half day at DLH. My kids were 8, 5, and 3, and a half day felt like the right amount of time. We ordered appetizers, I had an adult beverage...and fell asleep for an hour. 10am-7pm is really your entire day, and nine hours feels like a long time to be in one place. If you finished at 2pm, you could go to get refreshed and rest in your room and then go out for dinner, other resort activities, and/or park time. But you know if you guys like being in and around the water that long. Enjoy!

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

I've only done a cabana rental once, for a half day at DLH. My kids were 8, 5, and 3, and a half day felt like the right amount of time. We ordered appetizers, I had an adult beverage...and fell asleep for an hour. 10am-7pm is really your entire day, and nine hours feels like a long time to be in one place. If you finished at 2pm, you could go to get refreshed and rest in your room and then go out for dinner, other resort activities, and/or park time. But you know if you guys like being in and around the water that long. Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing your experience! We're doing a split stay and switching to YC specifically for Stormalong Bay. It's our only complete off-day with no reservations (other than B&C). If we left and went to our room for an hour or two, I'd still feel it'd be worth it. If my 3 yo could nap and all of us have downtime (tv, books) I think we'll be fine. I'm just wondering how awful the heat will be or if the shade and fan will make it pleasant. Last time we were there it was June and not August. I also don't want to spend our entire 4 hours in the pool and not enjoying the cabana where I feel the full day would give us time to do both. But, I could be entirely wrong (or over-thinking this lol). If it was the same cost, we would have split the reservation to two half days on different days, but unfortunately that's not the case. Decisions, Decisions!

 

[Hopefully]

Thank you for sharing your experience! We're doing a split stay and switching to YC specifically for Stormalong Bay. It's our only complete off-day with no reservations (other than B&C). If we left and went to our room for an hour or two, I'd still feel it'd be worth it. If my 3 yo could nap and all of us have downtime (tv, books) I think we'll be fine. I'm just wondering how awful the heat will be or if the shade and fan will make it pleasant. Last time we were there it was June and not August. I also don't want to spend our entire 4 hours in the pool and not enjoying the cabana where I feel the full day would give us time to do both. But, I could be entirely wrong (or over-thinking this lol). If it was the same cost, we would have split the reservation to two half days on different days, but unfortunately that's not the case. Decisions, Decisions!

You are WAY OVERTHINKING this!!!.. There are no upfront right for everybody, anybody really knows answers for your family. My best advice is to make a decision, then stop thinking about it and let it go.
Good Luck

 

[holden]

My only concern would be the afternoon thundershowers I’d book a half day for that reason.

 

[ErinsMommy]

We booked a full day and frankly dont expect to be in the pool for the full day -- but when we leave for a meal or need to go back to the room for a little while for whatever reason its nice to know the cabana is there when we go back.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

You are WAY OVERTHINKING this!!!.. There are no upfront right for everybody, anybody really knows answers for your family. My best advice is to make a decision, then stop thinking about it and let it go.
Good Luck

I know, I know - I tend to be an overthinker.

My only concern would be the afternoon thundershowers I’d book a half day for that reason.

That is a really good point. I know they refund in the case of rain, but I wonder about full day rentals were it only storms half a day. I wouldn't want or expect anything if it was an hour or so, but 3-4 hours is another story. I need to noodle this one!

We booked a full day and frankly dont expect to be in the pool for the full day -- but when we leave for a meal or need to go back to the room for a little while for whatever reason its nice to know the cabana is there when we go back.

This is part of our thinking too. We are extremely fair and need shade - it's one of the big reasons we booked the cabana. I like the idea of not having to search/give up decent spots.

 

[Marionnette]

We have 2 cabanas rented for a full pool day in September. We're a large group and just wanted to be able to spread out and relax all day. I just didn't want to have to vacate by 2 PM since some of us may sleep in and not even get there until noon. From what I understand, partial refunds can be gotten if an afternoon thunderstorm prevents us from enjoying it for the full day.

 

[HookPan]

We made the mistake last year of doing a half day rental in the afternoon. We used it for 2 minutes before they closed the pool area down for a t-storm. They did give us our money back. This year we are doing a morning half day.

 

[pixiedustedme]

Does anyone know how far in advance you can rent a cabana?

 

[jenmsmith]

We did a full day this past spring. We didn’t arrive at the resort until about noon, but it was still worth it for us. We spent the whole rest of the day enjoying the pool and the cabana. We have a big age range (baby up to 18-year-old children) and the cabana was perfect as a home base. The baby did nap on her daddy on one of the couches. I would definitely do it all over again.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

Does anyone know how far in advance you can rent a cabana?

We booked at 180 days out I believe, or very close to it.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

We did a full day this past spring. We didn’t arrive at the resort until about noon, but it was still worth it for us. We spent the whole rest of the day enjoying the pool and the cabana. We have a big age range (baby up to 18-year-old children) and the cabana was perfect as a home base. The baby did nap on her daddy on one of the couches. I would definitely do it all over again.

Awesome! I am definitely leaning toward keeping the whole day. It's already paid for and while the $100 we'd get back for going down to a half day could be used toward plenty of other things, we don't have any plans for this day other than the pool!

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We just did a half day with 2 young kids. No, the fan isn’t enough to keep you cool. Unless you plan on spending a lot of time sitting in the shade, it is a lot of money to pay for extra towels, drinks, and fruit. We loved our experience, but until our kids are at the point where they can be in the water alone while we watch from the lounge chairs I don’t know that it is worth it.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

My kids are 6 and 2 btw. And 4 hours was enough pool time for them.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

We just did a half day with 2 young kids. No, the fan isn’t enough to keep you cool. Unless you plan on spending a lot of time sitting in the shade, it is a lot of money to pay for extra towels, drinks, and fruit. We loved our experience, but until our kids are at the point where they can be in the water alone while we watch from the lounge chairs I don’t know that it is worth it.

Thank you for the feedback! Last time we went to Stormalong Bay they were 5 & 1, and we spent from 10-4 out there, with my youngest going up to the room for a nap somewhere in the middle. We had to drag them out because we had dinner reservations. That's why I booked the full day. Buuuut, that trip was at the beginning of our trip, pre-cruise, and no park days. This trip it'll be toward the end of our very park heavy trip. They may be too exhausted to last that long at the pool. Hmmm... Since we can alter up to 24 hrs in advance, maybe I'll see how they are doing at that point. It's not like we can't stay at the pool post-cabana!

 

[DISNEY1975]

Keep the whole day! That is my dream someday. Sadly, I try to squeeze in as much as possible on my Disney trips and dont have a whole day to just sit and relax, which is what vacation is supposed to be all about!

Enjoy your trip

 

[pixiedustedme]

I plan to rent one for the whole day on the first and last days of our trip next summer. Those days will be at different resorts, so the pool will be a novelty each time. My son is 15, so he can be completely independent at the pool, and while I love swimming, I always try to avoid excessive sun exposure. We plan to arrive at the resort early on our first day, and leave late on our last day, so we will be using the cabana at times that we might not always have a resort room available. I think the cabana should make a comfy home base for us at those times. I plan for us to feel free to do other things on those days. For instance, I'll probably get some laundry done, we might go somewhere else for lunch, and my son and I might even do a surrey bike rental at some point. But we'll always have the pool and the cabana available to come back to.

I'm so glad I saw your post. Otherwise I wouldn't even have known that Stormalong Bay has cabanas now.

 

[AngiTN]

We did a half day at GF. Can't help with littles as ours is 11 but we were comfortable enough in the shade with the fan. And we were there last month while it was very hot, in a rare period with zero rain for days on end (only stormed or rained period on the last day of our 10 day trip). Not even any clouds in the sky.

DH hates the heat or swimming and normally doesn't come to the pool at all but he was even good in the Cabana. We wanted the full day but it wasn't available

 

[sczarnecki]

I've enjoyed your post and the comments. Reading other people's thoughts and experiences always helps me in deciding if a particular offering will work for my crew. We are planning to rent a cabana for a full day at the Grand Floridian at the end of August. It is a lot of $$$. But during our trip to SSR in May, we did spend most of the day at the pool and my DD was extremely happy. Our problem was finding shade and facing the dilemma of what to do if a family member leaves for any length of time. I really like the idea of renting a cabana with guaranteed shade where we can come and go as we please without worry for at least one day. And we have a table on which to play cards, eat, or use a laptop (for husband who never really leaves work ) and the extras seem great -- well I think it will feel very special for my daughter's 16th B'day trip. Anyway, it's an experiment!
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Has anyone here eaten at the GF's pool bar? What did you think of the food? Just thought we might do that so we could enjoy a meal in our cabana.