had a great time...BUT

[larryz]

so, i should have been able to use a pool at all?

Sorry, that is ridicolous. I paid for a moderate pool and "hopped" to a value one. I use the term hop in quotes as i was forced to because a resort closed all toddler pools without warning to the guests.

Sorry, I don't think you're going to find much sympathy here about pool hopping.

If everyone at WDW disregarded the policies, it would be total chaos. For example, guests at the Yacht and Beach Club would need FP+ just to use Stormalong Bay, arguably the best themed pool at WDW.

It's a shame they didn't give you advance warning about your pool situation; you did receive some compensation for your inconvenience. And you got a nice bump in your room level too.

 

[larryz]

Pool hoppers are way down on the list of annoying things at WDW. Way behind double wide strollers, fastpass plus, and people who stop in the middle of walkways.

Pool hopping is the new resort refillable mug...

 

[Dismama2boys]

I get people feeling strongly about pool hopping. But why are people giving the op a hard time about a kiddie pool being important to her? If her family can no longer enjoy pool time at her resort because there is no safe place for her children, and pool time is a priority for them, of course that's upsetting. It's rude to tell her it's not a big deal. A kiddie pool is important to some people - don't judge her priorities just because it may not be a priority to you. Again, not talking about the pool hopping issue.

 

[poppinspenguins]

i actually would not do it again in norrmal situations and i havent for a couple yrs now.

i would call ahead. i thought since po advertised the closure, all resort closures would be announced. they basicaaly gave me a list of the kiddie pools available onsite and condoned it.

to the posters mentioning the newness of the kiddie pools...i would agree...pretty new. i am a very anxious person. i dont fly because of panic attacks. i dont ride dark rides because of clautrophobia. and water safety is a big trigger for me. my mom was a nervous nelly around water because she didnt learn to swim til 35. i learned as a child but kids havent yet. so my water safety anxiety is probably way higher than most.

 

[Minnesota!]

So, you didn’t want to move because you spent 2 hours unloading/packing. But, how much time did you waste packing up the swim gear, driving, parking, walking to the pool at Pop, then doing the same in reverse? When, you could have just taken the move to CBR or CSR and had it at your fingertips and no need to set the example to lie, cheat, and, in essence, steal in front of your kids.


I get you were disappointed. You did have a handful of pools to use at POFQ, so I am not sure what the issue was. But, you could have avoided all the frustration if you would have just sucked it up, repacked and reloaded and moved.

 

[Nancyg56]

i actually would not do it again in norrmal situations and i havent for a couple yrs now.

i would call ahead. i thought since po advertised the closure, all resort closures would be announced. they basicaaly gave me a list of the kiddie pools available onsite and condoned it.

to the posters mentioning the newness of the kiddie pools...i would agree...pretty new. i am a very anxious person. i dont fly because of panic attacks. i dont ride dark rides because of clautrophobia. and water safety is a big trigger for me. my mom was a nervous nelly around water because she didnt learn to swim til 35. i learned as a child but kids havent yet. so my water safety anxiety is probably way higher than most.

I think that the reason that people are sensitive to this entire thread is that while we understand that you were upset, we do not understand that you got kind of nasty to the CM. The management tried to make the situation right for you, using the means that were available. Passes to a waterpark, FP, etc. I get that these were not okay with you, but threatening to lie at the guard post was not okay. At that point any discussion was now beyond that and pretty aggressive.

It is never okay for CM's to be rude, but it is also never okay to goad a CM into responding in a rude manner either.
I think that at this point it is a lesson learned. IF an amenity is really a deal breaker, it is best to confirm that you will have use of it during the stay.

 

[ELSA711]

So, you didn’t want to move because you spent 2 hours unloading/packing. But, how much time did you waste packing up the swim gear, driving, parking, walking to the pool at Pop, then doing the same in reverse? When, you could have just taken the move to CBR or CSR and had it at your fingertips and no need to set the example to lie, cheat, and, in essence, steal in front of your kids.


I get you were disappointed. You did have a handful of pools to use at POFQ, so I am not sure what the issue was. But, you could have avoided all the frustration if you would have just sucked it up, repacked and reloaded and moved.

I would have taken the move to CBR
Their kiddie pool was awesome except my little one wouldn't play in it because the big kids were to big. She stayed on the big slides with the older kids.

 

[poppinspenguins]

wow. some of you are very unkind.

Some asked, what i wanted the hotel to do: I simply asked them, can i tell the guard shack we are using the kiddie pool since po was closed. surely they have record of that, could see that we were in fact staying there and they would not have a problem. no pixie dust needed. if i was such a liar and cheater why did i even ask them? i asked them since i had since realized pool hopping apparently earns you another circle in hell. i even told the CM we had done it in the past before we knew and that we wanted to ask permission first. like i said before, no one thinks anything if you come see yee haw bob when staying at another resort. it is a perk one resort has that others dont. I thought we could tell the guard that we were using the pool since ours was closed. we told pop century we were coming to eat lunch, and we did. and again, the CM gave us a list of resorts on site that had kiddie pools available.

yes, a kiddie pool is just as important to some as a regular pool is. just because it isnt to you, doesnt mean it isnt to me.

So since the thread began i have been called a liar, a cheat, a thief. told it was my karma coming back to me, and having my parenting questioned when gray areas come up. i didnt want to take something like free bb tix because it seemed excessive.

to the poster thinking it would be easier to repack and reload and move....no.

Our SUV was an intricate tetris game and we had completely unpacked at that point. going to another resort required a beach bag, stroller, toys, diaper bag

 

[ton80]

wow. some of you are very unkind.

Some asked, what i wanted the hotel to do: I simply asked them, can i tell the guard shack we are using the kiddie pool since po was closed. surely they have record of that, could see that we were in fact staying there and they would not have a problem. no pixie dust needed. if i was such a liar and cheater why did i even ask them? i asked them since i had since realized pool hopping apparently earns you another circle in hell. i even told the CM we had done it in the past before we knew and that we wanted to ask permission first. like i said before, no one thinks anything if you come see yee haw bob when staying at another resort. it is a perk one resort has that others dont. I thought we could tell the guard that we were using the pool since ours was closed. we told pop century we were coming to eat lunch, and we did. and again, the CM gave us a list of resorts on site that had kiddie pools available.

yes, a kiddie pool is just as important to some as a regular pool is. just because it isnt to you, doesnt mean it isnt to me.

So since the thread began i have been called a liar, a cheat, a thief. told it was my karma coming back to me, and having my parenting questioned when gray areas come up. i didnt want to take something like free bb tix because it seemed excessive.

to the poster thinking it would be easier to repack and reload and move....no.

Our SUV was an intricate tetris game and we had completely unpacked at that point. going to another resort required a beach bag, stroller, toys, diaper bag

You were breaking the rules regarding pool hoping ? What other response would you expect ??

 

[SirDuff]

I totally understand being annoyed by the pool situation, but I'm a little confused about the dining credits. Did your friend pay OOP for her toddler's meals AND they took the dining credits for the meal, because it's one or the other. No one gets a free meal at a QS regardless of age.

Curious about this too. I would have been totally annoyed about being charged twice (OOP and credits). Way more than the toddler pool thing.

 

[Jennasis]

It was, apparently, not within their power to grant you the permission you were looking for. You found a workaround. so I guess I just don't see what the big deal is.

 

[Dug720]

The OP didn't say (at least in the original post or subsequent posts through page 2), but I'm assuming since you had unpacked the car and everything you opted for the "I don't need to go to the front desk because I know where things are and I have my room" approach?

This may be the best evidence why this "skip the front desk" think is not such a good idea. Had the OP gone to the front desk to check in, my guess is they would have been told about the closure during check-in when things hadn't been unpacked and a change of resorts might have been more palatable.

I go to the front desk because a) I like talking with the people there and b) I like helping them keep a job (come on people, we're all reading about all the cutbacks - you seriously think that so many people skipping the front desk isn't affecting staffing there as well? and the more people who opt to use it, the fewer people they need to actually employ to work at the desk). But you can bet if I had something that would make or break the vacation - like a splash zone - I would have my butt at the desk to check in and verify that it was open.

 

[larissawbb]

nope, not being shady...admit to using other pools. yes....until disboards i never knew pool hopping was the sin of sins. i figured we were eating at a resort, exploring around the grounds, seeing if maybe next time we stay there. disney is disney...we were disney guests. people forget that people relatively new to the whole disney thing dont get it all the details. we never packed out swim bag, said to ourselves lets sneak into a pool and live like crazy rebels. we were there, maybe sat on the beach chairs, enjoyed a drink, dipped our toes in etc, let my son or my niece splash around for 10 minutes before we left. doesnt seem different than using the walking trail at fort wilderness or seeing yee haw bob at po.

we usaully only do 3 days at the park in a week....so we plan pool days into our vacation. i would have booked accordingly if i had known.

there were plenty of closed attractions...the boneyard, jungle cruise etc. we understand it happens, but those were advertised, did not affect safety.

Also, caribbean and coronado were about a 40 difference a night (cheaper), of which it would not have been recouped.

instead of being upset that disney shut down both toddler pools at PO, did not give warning....people are questioning my motives and asking how i feel if my kids think about grey areas of rules.

as one said, we will not change our minds, you wont change theirs. i will call ahead in the future since it wasnt communicated.

one other poster mentioned people being bused or carted to other pools...this also happened at poly...guests automatically given use of wilderness lodge pool or blizzard beach.

we tried to plan proactively...paying more for fq since there was no mention of closure. we did not ask for anything free...went to a downgraded hotel.

in my head i thought i was trying to be unselfish by saying no to blizzard beach tix. i didnt want them to think i was angling for free stuff, and said to them it was very genorous. to me, using another pool is free for them, taking tix was like a 100+ value and i would have felt guilty about it.

I don't know about Port Orleans but every resort at Disney I've stayed at has had signs for years saying that the pools are for guest staying at that resort only.

 

[BeerMe]

Imagine my disappointment when I found out they no longer serve Stella at the beer kiosk in UK. No warning at all. I was floored......

 

[poppinspenguins]

good lord...i didnt goad anyone and wasnt nasty. i did customer service for years and probably am nicer than most. I would never speak to anyone on this board as i have been spoken to. i thought i had a practical and FREE solution for the hotel and i was checking to see if it was ok. me turning down the bb tix was me trying to not cost them more money and didnt want to look like a i was trying to get something for nothing. i simply wanted access to the same or lesser thing that was closed at our resort. i even told her i was so sorry to complain about the pool since we had such a nice room, the lady even said she felt so bad for me and asked if she could give me a mickey meeting fast pass for the kids. i said wasnt necessary and she basically insisted.

i have nothing but high regards for all the CM's except the original who was very rude and not even the one i was directly the question to. their were 3 or 4 other incidents on the trip with rudeness. their rudeness pales in comparison to some of the remarks on this board.

 

[Quellman]

Imagine my disappointment when I found out they no longer serve Stella at the beer kiosk in UK. No warning at all. I was floored......

It's still listed at Beers and Ears at the Pub in the UK. Plus 66 other locations.

 

[poppinspenguins]

to the question on the friends dining plan. she was paying for the kids meals out of pocket and told them as much. but 3 or 4 times they put it as a dining credit. it got worked out, but it was a hassle.

 

[AngiTN]

to the question on the friends dining plan. she was paying for the kids meals out of pocket and told them as much. but 3 or 4 times they put it as a dining credit. it got worked out, but it was a hassle.

The question folks are unclear about is, did she both pay for it and loose a dining credit?
Or did she just not realize she didn't pay for it and they used a credit?

 

[poppinspenguins]

She was charging to the room. So she went through and said this meal goes on ddp and this one does not. Her son is two so not part of ddp. So instead of charging the room/visa they just charged both to ddp accidently I guess. It only became apparent on last day when they were out of credits and shouldn't have been.

I will say I saw more earning my ears employees than ever before. Almost every night the register at the food court was a trainee or someone very new.

Maybe this is the season for that before summer kicks in.

They reversed it...but it freaked her out when one of the people told her it was last credit.

I would have know to double check each time...but she never used it before.

 

[poppinspenguins]

She was charging to the room. So she went through and said this meal goes on ddp and this one does not. Her son is two so not part of ddp. She didn't want to waste an adult credit on kids meal. So instead of charging the room/visa they just charged both to ddp accidently I guess. It only became apparent on last day when they were out of credits and shouldn't have been.

I will say I saw more earning my ears employees than ever before. Almost every night the register at the food court was a trainee or someone very new.

Maybe this is the season for that before summer kicks in.

They reversed it...but it freaked her out when one of the people told her it was last credit.

I would have know to double check each time...but she never used it before.