had a great time...BUT

[Mabel67]

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 wanted permission to break a rule. You didn't get that permission, so you chose to break the rule anyway. But in your first post and others afterward you stated that you were offered water park pass(es) but declined because you already had them. So then, why, if you were already packing your pool gear to break a rule pool hopping, why didn't you just go to the water park where you had access?? Your conscious decision to break a rule clearly spelled out to you smacks of an entitlement that rubs the wrong way. You were offered several alternatives, none of which were satisfactory to you - leaving the mgr no alternatives. The mgr wasn't silently giving you permission when you stated you were going to pool hop - she/he was just fed up trying to explain the rules to someone who didn't want to hear.

And your statement that previous pool use at Poly and COR was ok because you ate there and didn't know it wasn't allowed rings hollow as well. Do you also go to the restaurant at your local Holiday Inn and think you are entitled to use the pool there?

I read that there are around 25 000 rooms on property. That's 50 000-100 000 guests at any given time. Rules exist to prevent chaos. Disappointment exists everywhere, all the time. How we choose to handle it speaks to character.

 

[Blue32]

I didn't realize pool hopping was a sin worthy of verbal stoning. I would probably taken the offer to switch resorts but I can't really seeing what you did as a huge deal....even though pool jumping is like the worst thing ever.

 

[aprincessatlast]

I thought that pool hopping was now enforced by gates around pools? POR just put the gates in and I know most if not all deluxes have them. I thought the magic band is what let you in, that way there was no confusion or only select people being asked to show proof of stay?

ETA: Just as a point of reference culturally. Did you know that the majority of hotels in Tokyo (Disney included) Charge a daily fee to use the pool. Not a resort fee but on a per use basis. No pool hopping there! lol

 

[AnnaKat]

OP, you are fortunate that the Pop gate security is lax! @ AKL, they are super strict, to keep the pool hoppers OUT, we were told. And yes, AKL has a kiddie pool. They required scanning a magic band to prove your were either staying there, or had an ADR @ one of their restaurants. AND we were returning via taxi!
Pool hopping is only allowed for DVC members, & even THEN certain DVC/Deluxe resorts are excluded from ANY pool hopping.

 

[DVCcurious]

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.

I'm in total agreement with you. My 3 year old will only go in if his feet touch, so we need a toddler pool. I just wouldn't have bothered bringing it up at all and would've just hopped to another resort.

 

[KateP85]

OP, since you were packing up the kids and travelling for a pool anyway, why didn't you just accept the tickets to Blizzard Beach? I know you said you already had them, but why not take the extra tickets anyway? Blizzard Beach has a lot more kiddie and toddler stuff than Pop Century, and since you were going in the car anyway, it seems like that might have worked out.

As another poster pointed out, it is irritating when a guest is 100% intent on getting their way, and no other alternative will do. For the future, you might come across less 'rude' CMs if you stop repeatedly asking for things they're not allowed to give you.

 

[Nancyg56]

I did a copy/paste from your OP rather than quote your whole post, and it is in bold. I do not want to beat the dead horse, but this segment of your story is not quite teh same as it has morphed throughout the thread. One thing you just did not seem to understand is that you were not staying at the Value but to you, it did not matter...it was a "value" and your reservation was a "moderate"....so no harm no foul?

You did what you did, and when you came here to complain, most folks, myself included, just were not on board with you.

I ask for her manger, she was very kind. she offered a blizzard beach ticket. i said thank you, we already have one. i was very appreciative of the upgrade and just told her i wanted access to another pool without a hassle. she said it wasnt possible. she did offer 2 additional fast passes (which i accepted). i then said i would just lie at the guard shack and she basically silently agreed.

We have pool hopped in the past, usually if we were already at the other resort for something anyway. Years ago i wouldnt have worried, but they have really started questioning at some resorts. So we ended up going to the pop century pool 3 or 4 times last week, since we figured a value couldnt question too much since there are no table reservations. Pretty annoying to pack up the car with pool stuff, diapers, snacks, change of clothes and drive 10 minutes everytime to use a pool.

 

[Ursula's Apprentice]

I've only stayed at OKW, and the thought of pool hopping has never crossed my mind, so I ask this in all seriousness and with genuine curiosity. What exactly is the deal? Please don't flame me because I'm just asking for opinions. I have never pool hopped, nor do I plan to. I really just wasn't aware that there was such an issue out there involving it. I understand what one PP said about basically some pools being better than others, and basically you should get what you pay for, i.e. it's not fair to pay for Pop and get to enjoy BC. I guess what I don't get is why the huge upset? Has it always been a rule and it is what it is, or was it becoming a huge issue so Disney made it a rule, or what? Again, just genuinely curious.

 

[Nancyg56]

I've only stayed at OKW, and the thought of pool hopping has never crossed my mind, so I ask this in all seriousness and with genuine curiosity. What exactly is the deal? Please don't flame me because I'm just asking for opinions. I have never pool hopped, nor do I plan to. I really just wasn't aware that there was such an issue out there involving it. I understand what one PP said about basically some pools being better than others, and basically you should get what you pay for, i.e. it's not fair to pay for Pop and get to enjoy BC. I guess what I don't get is why the huge upset? Has it always been a rule and it is what it is, or was it becoming a huge issue so Disney made it a rule, or what? Again, just genuinely curious.

People stay at resorts expecting to enjoy the amenities that they have paid for. In my opinion, it does not matter what level of resort that you pay for, you should be able to go to the pool, pull up a chair and enjoy. Now...you paid over 600 per night at the Poly but low and behold! You get to teh pool, you search for a spot but there is no where to sit. The pool is filled to the gills, and you hear your neighbors giggling over how they packed their suits and a little bag and traipsed over from FW on the boat and waltzed in to the pool area, because it was "better". Would you be okay with that? For a while this was a huge issue. Folks came from the MK for a break and used the monorail resort pools to cool off. The walked to SAB from Epcot and had a blast there. Yet the folks who carefully chose their resort for the amenities, paid a boatload of $$$$ were left standing in the sun.

The reason folks were upset about teh OP is that the poster stated that not only was the family accustomed to hopping, they only stopped because they knew there would now be questions, and then again when the OP basically taunted the CM that he was planning to do so again.

We all understand that things happen but not many people are very sympathetic with thise people who take what they did not pay for. No matter how they do that....from Value to Deluxe or Deluxe step to Value.

 

[BeerMe]

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

But NOT at the kiosk outside the R&C. At least not in December. Bummer. I'll get over it though. I'll check again in june, but in September/October/November it won't make any difference because F&W

 

[efam]

Puddle jumper

Not true...no puddle jumpers exist for a 6 month old.

 

[L&Lfan]

To me a kiddie pool is just an open sewer.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I've only stayed at OKW, and the thought of pool hopping has never crossed my mind, so I ask this in all seriousness and with genuine curiosity. What exactly is the deal? Please don't flame me because I'm just asking for opinions. I have never pool hopped, nor do I plan to. I really just wasn't aware that there was such an issue out there involving it. I understand what one PP said about basically some pools being better than others, and basically you should get what you pay for, i.e. it's not fair to pay for Pop and get to enjoy BC. I guess what I don't get is why the huge upset? Has it always been a rule and it is what it is, or was it becoming a huge issue so Disney made it a rule, or what? Again, just genuinely curious.

I think pools come into play when people choose a resort. You get what you pay for, not what other people pay for. Disney made it a rule and I am sure that's because it would chaos at those "best pools" if they didn't.

 

[L&Lfan]

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.

Sounds like just another day on the disboards!

 

[dlavender]

I never thought I'd see the day where the POP kiddie pool was compared to Storm-along bay....

Edit: I once visited friends at the All Star Music resort, and I played one of the arcade games while waiting for them to come down. The real sin here is, I was staying at CBR!! Please don't report me.

 

[Dis703]

OP, since you were packing up the kids and travelling for a pool anyway, why didn't you just accept the tickets to Blizzard Beach? I know you said you already had them, but why not take the extra tickets anyway? Blizzard Beach has a lot more kiddie and toddler stuff than Pop Century, and since you were going in the car anyway, it seems like that might have worked out.

As another poster pointed out, it is irritating when a guest is 100% intent on getting their way, and no other alternative will do. For the future, you might come across less 'rude' CMs if you stop repeatedly asking for things they're not allowed to give you.

This is a great point. The water park would have had much more to do and they were already offering it to OP. It wouldn't have been that much more of a hassle being as OP was already driving to Pop as it was. And it wasn't breaking any rules. They were allowed to give that extra ticket.

It's not so much the pool hopping that rubs me the wrong way as the way OP came here to gripe about the terribly rude CMs because they followed policy and didn't give in to demands. They made several reasonable offers from changing resorts to water park tickets and extra FP for the trouble but none of that was acceptable because it wasn't what exactly what OP wanted.

 

[Dismama2boys]

I think pools come into play when people choose a resort. You get what you pay for, not what other people pay for. Disney made it a rule and I am sure that's because it would chaos at those "best pools" if they didn't.

But in the op's mind, she didn't get what she paid for - use of a pool that was appropriate for her young children.

 

[brehede1]

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

I'm really sorry that you have been given such a hard time on this thread, whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation. I am nervous regarding water and pools also and can understand the frustration. You were annoyed about the holiday and wanted to vent a bit - I really didn't take it up that you were looking for others to say it was OK. I think the key thing here is that you didn't want to pool hop, you just wanted access to a kiddie pool!

 

[SaintsManiac]

But in the op's mind, she didn't get what she paid for - use of a pool that was appropriate for her young children.

I was not replying to OP. I was replying to someone else.

 

[Dismama2boys]

I was not replying to OP. I was replying to someone else.

I know, but I think my point is germane to the conversation as a whole.