New pool heat policy? ***update see post 549 ****

[AMcaptured]

There will be no official announcement from DVC-Disney on the temp. of the pools. This was something they tried out this winter. Will they do it again next year? I have no idea.
With the Spring-Summer coming, it should not be an issue.

If this is something they decided to "try out", I wonder why they didn't lower the water temperatures of the water parks???

If this is something Disney decided they could pull over on guests, I can't even begin to tell you how much that upsets me. Actually, it infuriates me! For Disney to think, in their corporate offices, that guests are SO stupid to not notice that the pool is freezing is not only insulting but it also tells me that they have NO concern for its most loyal customers overall guest satisfaction.

Makes me personally wonder just how much the actually value our patronage.

As for the poster that said these were unconfirmed rumors, sorry, it has been confirmed by more that a dozen different posters.

I wouldn't be surprised however to never get official word from Disney, I have been there during hurricane season and I know how hard it is to get an offical word out of their mouths.

AM

 

[jade1]

For Disney to think, in their corporate offices, that guests are SO stupid to not notice that the pool is freezing is not only insulting but it also tells me that they have NO concern for its most loyal customers overall guest satisfaction.
AM

WE WANT EISNER! WE WANT EISNER! WE WANT EISNER!


.

 

[LisaS]

There will be no official announcement from DVC-Disney on the temp. of the pools. This was something they tried out this winter. Will they do it again next year? I have no idea.
With the Spring-Summer coming, it should not be an issue.

Thanks so much for posting this. Can you elaborate at all? Has the negative feedback from this experiment had any effect at all?

 

[Markstudy]

Looks like one of the LifeGuards from Stormaling Bay just joined our chat over in the Resorts section.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1061224

I wonder if any of you might have a question for him?

YBCM
Earning My Ears
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1
I am a lifeguard at Stormalong Bay. It is an AWESOME pool, but it is chlorine. It is a common misconception the the pool is salt water, and when it first opened a small part of it was salt. The whole pool is chlorine now. But it is lots and lots of fun!

 

[CarnotaurDad]

I respectfully disagree that it has been confirmed by Disney. Reading all the threads, there are some people who spoke with Disney CMs that said the pool had been turned down. Then, there are some people who spoke with Disney CMs who said the pool temperature has not been turned down. This, to me, is not confirmation from Disney.

Heck, if every time a CM said something was an indication of confirmation, we would have about twelve different theme parks with monorails from each theme park to every resort. The bus drivers alone tell different rumors every day. That doesn't indicate confirmation, just speculation.

Again, JMHO.

 

[mathmagic]

This is the official response I received from my email to DVC:

Thank you for your e-mail.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns regarding the temperature of our resort
pools. Based on American Red Cross recommendations, we are heating our resort swimming pools at
78-80 degrees during the winter months. Please note that water temperature is monitored throughout
the day so that we may maintain this recommended temperature. Since the average air temperature can be cool in Florida during the winter months, you may wish to be mindful of the current temperature
when using the pools. In addition, The Walt Disney Company is focused on continually finding ways
to be environmentally conscious and participative. By maintaining our resort swimming pools at 80
degrees during the winter months, we contribute greatly toward conserving valuable energy sources.

Thank you again for contacting us. We are glad you are a Member of our Disney Vacation Club family, and we look forward to entertaining you for many years to come.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

Thanks, mathmagic, for the DVC response. I have no issue (personally) with 78 - 80 degrees. Appreciate you sharing the e-mail response.

 

[Terry S]

Just returned from SSR where the pool was too cold to go in in my opinion. My parents were at Pop Century the week before and also said that pool was too cold to go in.

 

[toesmom]

I've just received my response from DVC about the pool temps and I don't know how to copy it over here, but in a nutshell, ... "in the winter months, as per red cross standards, pool temperatures will be at 78 to 80 degrees in order to be environmentally conscious and maintained at that temperature and that should conserve valuable energy sources"

I think 80 degrees is too cold personally. Heated pools (I mean "warm" ) in winter was one of the reasons why we purchased DVC originally and now that January holiday is probably a thing of the past for our family.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

This is the official response I received from my email to DVC:

Thank you for your e-mail.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns regarding the temperature of our resort
pools. Based on American Red Cross recommendations, we are heating our resort swimming pools at
78-80 degrees during the winter months. Please note that water temperature is monitored throughout
the day so that we may maintain this recommended temperature. Since the average air temperature can be cool in Florida during the winter months, you may wish to be mindful of the current temperature
when using the pools. In addition, The Walt Disney Company is focused on continually finding ways
to be environmentally conscious and participative. By maintaining our resort swimming pools at 80
degrees during the winter months, we contribute greatly toward conserving valuable energy sources.

Thank you again for contacting us. We are glad you are a Member of our Disney Vacation Club family, and we look forward to entertaining you for many years to come.

Excuse me fellow DISers, but I speak Disneyease:

Allow me to translate: "We don't mind passing along each and every operating/maintenence cost increase to the DVC members, but we are going to draw the line at a comfortable pool temerature. Thank you for your membership, but we don't care if the major DVC resort ammenitiy is usable to you during your winter stay."

Have a magical day!!

 

[jade1]

Trust me, if this becomes confirmed, I will be glad to write, protest, whatever to Disney.

JMHO

Thanks, mathmagic, for the DVC response. I have no issue (personally) with 78 - 80 degrees. Appreciate you sharing the e-mail response.JMHO

 

[smjj]

I just got the same canned response from DVC that Mathmagic got. I e-mailed them a few days ago. I would respond to it but I would probably get more of a response by complaining to my pet dog. American Red Cross standard double talk is all it is. Let them try lounging abound in a pool that is 78 to 80 degrees or let their kids play in it and see how long they last...smjj

 

[Toxman]

We are new members and I have been reading this thread with interest. I am bothered by several things. For one thing Disney's response does say that the pool temps are at 78 to 80 now but it is my understanding that the temps used to be kept at 82 to 84 degrees. So in essence they have dropped them from 2 to 6 degrees average. Quite a difference when looking at the extreme ends of the numbers. The response doesn't address what the temps used to be, just parrotting the recommendations from the Red Cross, a fine resplonse but it doesn't answer whether the have actually decreased the temps. And yes I do believe that Disney would try to sneak this past the members. I was around when Disney decided to get rid of the extra morning hours for on site guests until the hue and cry arose about it. The official line at that time was that that is what the guests wanted. We are looking forward to our first visit as members in the next several months so the cooler pools won't affect us but I also feel that at some point we will want to take a vaca during the winter/cooler times of year and I know that we will want to swim in a warm pool. The powers that be need to know that they really can't
insult our intelligence and make the members feel like loons when an obvious change is made. Off my soapbox for now. Thanks for listening.

 

[corinnak]

Excuse me fellow DISers, but I speak Disneyease:

Allow me to translate: "We don't mind passing along each and every operating/maintenence cost increase to the DVC members, but we are going to draw the line at a comfortable pool temerature. Thank you for your membership, but we don't care if the major DVC resort ammenitiy is usable to you during your winter stay."

Have a magical day!!

Yup, I think that's about the size of it. But maybe we should take the philosophical DVC stance on this - Even a coldish Disney pool is better than an empty pool back home in the frozen north! At least they haven't drained it and roped it off in the winter months like so many hotels do (though come to think of it, wouldn't that be even MORE environmentally friendly?). AND you always have the option of a short bus ride to a pool that is comfortably heated for an additional fee!

 

[DisneyBill]

Dear Mr. Lewis...

 

[Frankiesmom]

We just bought in at the end of Jan. We had returned from a land/sea at the beginning of Jan. We stayed at the POLY and we had a wonderful stay! One of the things we enjoyed most was how nice and hot the pools were at nite. I guess this is going to be a thing of the past and I for one can really say that I am really bummed about this-we bought in because of the great time we had-the lower crowds in Jan. and the thought that it was so nice to swim at nite in the warm pool. This really stinks. Angel

 

[mstec]

"Thank you for your e-mail.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns regarding the temperature of our resort
pools. Based on American Red Cross recommendations, we are heating our resort swimming pools at
78-80 degrees during the winter months. Please note that water temperature is monitored throughout
the day so that we may maintain this recommended temperature. Since the average air temperature can
be cool in Florida during the winter months, you may wish to be mindful of the current temperature
when using the pools. In addition, The Walt Disney Company is focused on continually finding ways
to be environmentally conscious and participative. By maintaining our resort swimming pools at 80
degrees during the winter months, we contribute greatly toward conserving valuable energy sources."

I'm disappointed with the response from them. They mention the Red Cross, I assume, to try to give some weight to the argument, however, I'm not still not clear WHY the Red Cross recommends this...How then can ANY hotel have hot tubs, if temps above 80 degrees are not recommended? If it is a bacteria issue, then won't more clorination aleviate the problem? Regarding the "conserving valuable energy sources" let's face it, they are really saying, we are trying to conserve our capital resources. The bottom line is if the pools are going to be operated, they need to be operated at a temp that allows their use. If they are too cold to use, then why bother at all? We pay good money to go on vacation and SWIM. Argh!! I better calm down. It's too early to be this aggrevated.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I received the same response and I do believe it is double talk!

They can run gas guzzling busses every 15 minutes but now they are concerned about the environment!! I am totally peeved!

And yes they did lower the temps! If a hot tub can operate at 104F then this is not an health issue either.

They do pass along all sorts of cost to the membership, so why draw the line at a comfortably heated pool?

If this is the case, then lets just get rid of the lifeguards from November to February and really save the membership some money!

This is not about pool temps in the warmer months, this is about pool temps in the dead of winter. In 2004 we swam at night at VWL and SSR and it was less than 40F outside. We did the same in 2005 at BCV and SSR. I recently added on points, so we could make our Christmas trips annual tradition. We now own over 1000 points!

I really think we should contact Jim Lewis regarding this, especially for the standalone resorts that are supported solely by member dues. There is no excuse for OKW and SSR to be affected.

 

[LIFERBABE]

What is a safe temperature for a home pool?
Recommended water temperatures for the type of activity ranges from 78°F for fitness swimming, 82°F for recreational swimming and 86°F for water therapy. However, there is no recommended water temperature for residential pools — what it boils down to is individual comfort and preference. Although, please note that high water temperatures can present water quality issues.

For more information on water quality, visit the following Web sites:

The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals: www.theapsp.org
National Swimming Pool Foundation: www.nspf.com


Please Note: Although the question was about home pools, ARC gave their standard answer for public pools and states there is no recommendation for homes.

 

[Toxman]

Liferbabe, I just had a chuckle to myself after reading your resaponse. I think this is all a diabolical plot to give every one a reason to stay at SSR, the only DVC that you will be able to swim at, in the cooler months!