Dining at Resorts....kids using their pool?

[kathyclownfish]

Has anyone ever ate at a Disney resort with their spouse while their older kids swam in the resort pool? BUT, you weren't staying at that resort? My girlfriend and her husband were thinking about eating at Jiko's while the kids swam in the resort pool. Would the resort ever allow anything like this??? Has anyone ever done this........or thought of doing this?

 

[jel0511]

You have to be a guest at the hotel to use the pool, not just dining at the resort. At AKL, they are pretty strict who uses the pool, due to the proximity to the animals. If the pool is crowded, the kids might get "carded" and if they don't have AKL resort ID's they would be asked to leave.

 

[ahutton]

If you are DVC members (and your ID card identifies you as such) you can pool hop, but not to AKL or Yacht/Beach. That is the only exception to the "must be a guest rule" I'm aware of, and even then if the pool hits or nears capacity you will be asked to leave to allow resort guests to use the pool. On the bright side, we've used WL a few times, and never had any trouble.

 

[Belle5]

Definately NOT allowed! Sorry!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Nope, not allowed. Pools are for hotel guests only.

Besides, they would leave their children unattended at a pool? I wouldn't be able to enjoy my dinner if I knew my children were unsupervised swimming. Way too dangerous.

 

[Peter Pirate]

They'll never check at the AKL pool...Further I can't believe they would care.

Aimeedyan, why couldn't they leave a 14 or 15 year old? That wouldn't seem like bad parenting to me...

 

[Rafikifan]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
They'll never check at the AKL pool...Further I can't believe they would care.

Aimeedyan, why couldn't they leave a 14 or 15 year old? That wouldn't seem like bad parenting to me...

To the OP, you had a legitimate question. To Peter, don't you think that the guests and therefor the staff WOULD care if everyone that was dining at Jiko or Boma's sent their unattended teens to the pool?

 

[ducklite]

Sorry, but the pools are for the exclusive use of registered guests of that resort.

Your children very well might be asked for their resort ID's and told they need to leave, just as your friends start eating dinner.

Why not either leave them swimming at the resort they are staying at, or give them a little money and let them go munch around the world for dinner at Epcot. Or if they are too young for that, they really belong in the supervised kids clubs, Neverland at the Polynesian is a great choice!

Anne

 

[Peter Pirate]

To Rafikifan: No I don't think anyone would care. Who would know? It happens all of the time and yet who has ever been turned away (excluding SAB, this is a horse of a different color - because Disney says so).

Official policy notwithstanding (and personally I've never seen it documented) the AKL will not check your kids at the pool, nor will the lifeguards refuse to help them if they're in trouble, nor will the bartender refuse serve them a coke if they have money, nor will the hair-braider refuse to braid their hair...It's a hot issue but to answer the question, is it allowed? Who knows. Will they be "carded"? Not a chance.

 

[precious pixie]

The OFFICIAL RULE is that you can only swim in the hotel pool where you are a guest. If the pools did start to get crowded yes they would check for id's so they wouldn't have to turn away people that are staying at AKL that want to swim. I have pool hopped before and never had a problem but I wouldn't try it if I was them and their was a chance that I wouldn't be able to finish my dinner IMHO.

 

[kathyclownfish]

I would agree with Peter Pirate.......no one really cares. Should they care? Yeah probably. I know that if I were staying at a deluxe resort and the pool was full of diners children.....I would probably be upset. The children in question are 14 and 15 years old. I just don't see any lifeguards "carding" swimmers.

Would it be okay if the children used the arcade at AKL, while the parents had dinner? Or any of the other WDW resorts arcades if you were not staying at that hotel?? Would this situation be any different?

Kathy

 

[Belle5]

I do think using the arcades is different. The resorts are making money from the kids using the arcades.

 

[kathyclownfish]

Belle5,
I see your point....but they are also making money at the restuarant. Just for the record....I don't think its right to have the kids swim in the pool. But, I also don't think its a big issue with Disney as long as everyone is happy.

 

[flyball]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
To Rafikifan: No I don't think anyone would care. Who would know? It happens all of the time and yet who has ever been turned away (excluding SAB, this is a horse of a different color - because Disney says so).

Official policy notwithstanding (and personally I've never seen it documented) the AKL will not check your kids at the pool, nor will the lifeguards refuse to help them if they're in trouble, nor will the bartender refuse serve them a coke if they have money, nor will the hair-braider refuse to braid their hair...It's a hot issue but to answer the question, is it allowed? Who knows. Will they be "carded"? Not a chance.

Pool hopping is not permitted, and AKL and SAB pools are off limits even to DVC members. But besides that, the bartender will refuse to serve children (and by this I mean teenagers as well). I've witnessed the bartenders at AKL refusing to serve children drinks unless accompanied by an adult. It's not a question of "bad parenting," but one of adherence to the rules established by Disney for the comfort of the resort guests who are legitimately paying for their resort amenities.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Well, I guess we'll agree to disagree. It may be against the written rule but aside from SAB I have never seen it enforced and I have seen many people do exactly what the OP is talking about...I've never seen a bartender not take a drink order for cash or charge card (room card) from a teenager either...This seems crazy.

Personally, I'll bet , although it may be against policy, the AKL has no problem looking the other way if a couple is buying an expensive meal at Jiko, while their two teenagers play in the pool. The rule probably is in place so they (Disney) have something to fall back on should the situation get serious (i.e. too many non resort guests), but it's not a policy they're looking to enforce, for sure.

 

[OKW Lover]

This is a great idea. How about if we extended it to letting the kids swim in the pool while we shopped in the gift shop? Or maybe they could swim while we just browsed in the lobby?

 

[Peter Pirate]

How about if we extended it...

Fine. If Disney doesn't care.

Look there are lots of rules at WDW that are not enforced and people don't think twice about violating them because the rule is there for a specific purpose and not necessarily the purpose stated. Take the no eating or drinking on WDW transportation. Does anyone not take a swig of their coke or water while on the Monorail or bus if they're thirsty? But the rule is still there.

SAB is one pool where Disney DOES care and tries to keep a handle on it. So is the Coronodo Springs pool, if I'm not mistaken. But the AKL pool is seldom that crowded and meal at Jiko vs a swim in the pool is a good trade off for Disney, all things being equal.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I'll jump in feet first on this one...

Try asking at the front desk and abiding my their answer. I've read that people have asked the front desk about visitors (of resort guests) swimming at the pool and have been given permission. That wouldn't mean that it would always be ok and it probably depends on how busy the pool is, what time of year, etc. Doesn't hurt to ask, but don't be surprised if the answer is no.

We stayed at the WL recently and couldn't find 2 lounge chairs to sit on. When we rode the boat one evening there was a family who had obviously been swimming at WL going to Fort Wilderness. I assumed they were going back to their FW cabin/campsite. I didn't say anything since they *could* have been DVC or could have received permission from WL, but more than likely they took it upon themselves to swim at a nice resort pool that they had no right to be using, thus taking chairs that would have been used by resort guests.

T&B

 

[Bojangles]

The lifeguards are not free babysitters for non-resort guests eating at Jiko.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Tigger&Belle, that sounds totally reasonable and logical!

Bo, we don't know how old these kids are, so I'm going on the assumption that they're teenagers (who certainly don't need "babysitting"). I would never condone letting young ones swim without parents care...Other than that the lifeguards are just doing their job.