Please tell me about SAB

[WoodysRoundup]

Already in planning mode for our next trip and am considering trying for 2 nights at BC specifically for the use of SAB. Can anyone give me specifics? Is it as great as it looks? Will the kids be happy I booked us 2 nights there? Is it worth the hassle of another split stay for the experience? We walked by it last trip and it does look awesome! TIA!

 

[Hunclemarco]

From what i remember, SAB coveres about 3 acres. The bottom of the pool is all sand, and the sand can be kinda deep down, but it feels good. There are 2 slides, the main slide, and a smaller slide. There's a whirlpool in one section, a kiddie section, and a "lazy river" area. I'm sure there's more, but can't remember. There is a slideshow of the pool on www.tagrel.com. I have had some friends not go in because the pool was very crowded (we were there in August), but BCV has other pools as well.

 

[jade1]

We like it for a number of reasons. Being restricted-it never seems crowded to us, and we usually stay at spring break. They have a middle area they do games that gets very busy (in a good way) but you dont have to be in that area. Because it stretches so far, always seems to be areas with few or no people in it. Yes the chairs can fill up-but we much prefer the chairs on the beach anyway (always empty)-the sugar sand on our feet, watching the BW and the boats go by. We still have wrist bands and the beach is right by the slide anyway-so on occasion we will look and see no line and then go down. Cant beat the Cheeseburger and No Way Jose Sundae at Beaches and Cream-then step out the door and jump into SAB. Also the location in general can be a real advantage for saving time. We often have in our possession (one of us gets them around 11AM for everyone) FP's for TT and/or Soarin, and can enjoy the beach/SAB until the last moment when its time to leave. Same goes for an ADR at Japan for example.

Typical spring break of the beach/chairs from the slide:

DD and friend from spring break as well-many areas are almost empty:

 

[Tigger031266]

SAB is the best pool that I have ever been in but it appeals to certain groups. Little kids <8 love the sand island section. It is way great for them. You kind of have to be a pretty good swimmer to like the rest. The water slide is pretty good.

One favorite is a wirlpool part, that is really cool and I never seen a pool anywhere that has it. It kind of blows people and kids around in a circle. Very cool.

It is not as good as a water park by any stretch but it is very cool.

 

[Deb & Bill]

SAB is my least favorite pool. It's always crowded. There are some areas in the pool that are 8' deep with a very swift current (right near the so called lazy river - more like a fast little loop). I hate the sinking sands area. We were at BCV in May and June and I never went to SAB; instead I headed to the Dunes Cove pool at the villas.

If your children are small, you are going to have to watch them like hawks. They can easily get into the deep areas without knowing. Or, because the pool is so spread out, you can lose sight of them.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

SAB is our favorite pool.
We took a no parks trip and spent a lot of time here. My kids love the sandy bottom, lazy river, and the whirlpool section.
It was hard sometimes to get my dd to leave that section of the pool, she loved spinning round and round and round. DH and I thought it was fun too.

It is nice to just float along in the lazy river section with a pool noodle. At times a family of ducks would hop in and join us, which again the kids thought was great fun.

The only crowded time I saw was when they did pool games, it got a tad crowded in that area for bingo and Disney trivia.
We won both times, and really enjoyed it. They give out nice prizes too.
DD picked an iDog when we won Bingo, and DS got a nice light up Nerf basketball hoop set. I saw both at Target when we got back home, and they were not cheap prizes!

They also hold pool karaoke there and give out participation prizes for that. DD got a Toothtunes tooth brush.
The pool recreation staff is the best.

We thought it was worth doing a split stay, for the trip we stayed three days at BCV and then a few days at the BWV. We enjoyed our time at BCV so much more and were sad to leave.

 

[Jaaron2]

When we stay at the Beach Club (which is once or twice a year ) our kids spend half of vacation in the pool area (13,11,9. We go to the parks in the morning, spend the afternoon in the pool. We the head out to Dinner and either spend the evening at the Boardwalk or pool most days. Our kids wont let us stay anywhere else. We actuall had to do a split stay in August between BCVand BWV. While at BCV it was pool, pool, pool. While at BWV it was Community Hall all the time.

 

[jade1]

The only crowded time I saw was when they did pool games,.

Yep, and next time you see that area crowded, go look at the other bays and see how sparse it is (like my pics above). We actually like crowded at times, but having many open chairs on the beach is nice, and open areas to swim is also nice.

 

[jade1]

There are some areas in the pool that are 8' deep with a very swift current (right near the so called lazy river - more like a fast little loop).

Here is a pic of that-and yes be aware of it, another great addition of SAB. Obviously you don't go into this "separated" area if you cant swim, but at least you have another uncrowded area that is different from any WDW resort pools. Many of us like having a deep area to tread water and be away from little ones for a while.

 

[Sammie]

It is a beautiful pool but not worth the move for 2 nights to me. Depending on when you are going it can and does get very crowded.

I think kids enjoy any pool with a slide and this one actually to me has the least desirable slide of all of them, due to the fact it was built on the other side of the walkway.

With people walking to Epcot, surrey bikes flying by, it is just too much congestion to really enjoy hoping out of the pool and going down the slide.

I would not move just to use SAB and you never know what the weather will be.

 

[helloconnie]

The crowds are also dependent on the time of year you travel. We stayed at the BC April 30-May 4 and the pool was never crowded. Our son (3 at the time) LOVED it! He mainly enjoyed playing in the sand play area that creates a zero entry just like the beach. The slide looked amazing but we did not get a chance to try it out. Hurricane Hanna's, the poolside dining area, serves the kids meals in a pail with shovel. This added to the delight of my son. The CMs were a lot of fun as well, shooting water at people as the floated by on tubes in the lazy river. Overall, we thought the pool area was pretty awesome.

 

[DenLo]

Here's a link to the Tagrel slideshow: http://www.tagrel.com/Tours/Flash/sab.shtml

I would recommend that if you do a split stay that BCV would be on the second half of the stay as the kids will want to go back to SAB and they might be disappointed to hear they can't.

 

[petbren]

Anyone know the hours of SAB?
We will be there the last week of August, wanted to try BCV, mostly due to SAB(home resort is BWV). Is it open at night too?

 

[crisi]

Its a very cool pool. We are planning on seeing if we can't move at seven months one of our next trips. But we have been avoiding it since the kids were old enough to independent swim. Its a great pool for small kids. Its a great pool for older kids. And its probably a great pool for the kids in between, but it gives me grey hair.

As was mentioned, there are places where you step off and its eight ft. deep and a current. You cannot see the slide entrance from the spot where the kids get out. You can't sit any one place and get a view of the entire pool. If you loose your kids here, it might take a while to find them in all the nooks and crannies. When we were there when our kids were little, the woman in the lounge chair next to us (well, next to our stuff) had lost her daughter for half an hour. There are lots of lifeguards, though, so its more of a comfort thing (IMHO) than a true safety thing.

 

[Jillpie]

As an adult, I LOVE this pool, and so do my teenagers! The thing that I love the most about it, are there are big alcoves where you can swim and get away from everyone. For those that say that this pool gets crowded, I have to disagree. Yes, there are parts that do get crowded, especially where they do the games. But the middle part (I swear, they made this part just for me, its in my signature), its just a slice of heaven. We go to this pool every single day of our trip, and enjoy it so much! I think its is definitely worth your reservation of two nights, for sure!!

 

[dopeygirl76]

We are at BCV for our first stay there Nov 28- Dec 5 and SOOOO excited about SAB - there will be 9 of us (5 kids) and we are hoping to enjoy some pool time!!!

 

[queenie82]

Fascinating thread. It sounds lovely having some depth for a change. We had a stunning pool at the westin in maui but everywhere I stood up I was out of the water from the elbow up! Not really fun...

We are moving to spend our last night here because of the pool...I think it is worth the move. I mean unless you go to Disney twice a year or more I think a split stay is definitely justifiable.
I love the sound of the whirlpool.
The whole start and end of the slide is interesting. I never really thought about it (as I wandered by looking jealously over the fence).

I think one of the strongest messages from this though is that you should take your kids to lessons such that they can be reasonable swimmers. I had lessons from a very young age so although mum still watched like a hawk there was some confidence there.

OP...I think it is worth it if you love great pools!
Go the split stay!!

 

[Crystal_27]

We are trying to get into BCV for a couple nights in June, 2010 (when our 7-month window opens). SAB looks absolutely incredible!!

 

[jade1]

As an adult, I LOVE this pool, and so do my teenagers! The thing that I love the most about it, are there are big alcoves where you can swim and get away from everyone. For those that say that this pool gets crowded, I have to disagree. Yes, there are parts that do get crowded, especially where they do the games. But the middle part (I swear, they made this part just for me, its in my signature), its just a slice of heaven. We go to this pool every single day of our trip, and enjoy it so much! I think its is definitely worth your reservation of two nights, for sure!!

I agree completely. If you stop by near the B&C area-it will appear packed many times. But unless you like it busy (many do), you have many more areas to find a chair (if you even want one), and many areas of the pool with hardly anyone in them.

 

[jade1]

Fascinating thread. It sounds lovely having some depth for a change. We had a stunning pool at the westin in maui but everywhere I stood up I was out of the water from the elbow up! Not really fun...

Yep, and the kids do grow up, and ours (as do we) love SAB for having some deep areas-its very hard to find in public pools these days.