pool hopping, something I remembered

[Chim Chiminy]

Something I just remembered from our recent trip.

We pool hopped to the Contemporary, called to get the okay first. We were boating there too, and thought it would be nice to swim afterwards.

We didn't bring our towels with, as we thought we could just get them from CR.
When my husband went to get towels, he was refused. Even after showing our room key and DVC member card.
The person handing out the towels told him it didn't matter if we were DVC members legally pool hopping, we couldn't have towels. They were for CR resort guests only.

Is this usually the case?
I told him from now on, if we pool hop we are bringing our own beach towels.

 

[msdis]

That's insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Never really happened to us, but once at SAB (when hopping was allowed) we had quite a struggle with the "towel" CM who apparently was personally offended that we were there. After showing her both our permanent and OKW "member" ID's she still didn't want to hand us a towel. Finally after consulting with two other CM's she gave in and tossed two towels our way, with a sneer to go along with them.

 

[Pa@okw95]

Pool hopping should come to an end when OKW has a slide. This perk is an intrustion on the guests that paid good money to use the pool at their resort. I think the practice makes all members in the eyes of cms at other resorts look bad. After all who would bust in an use a pool at another resort anyway. I am affraid that DVC members are looked at as "poor cousins" by some cms because of this whole pool hopping situation. Anyone staying at a resort does not want to see a lot of non-guests using the pool. There are other other reasons that give DVC members this reputation some of it probably deserved.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
Pool hopping should come to an end when OKW has a slide. This perk is an intrustion on the guests that paid good money to use the pool at their resort. I think the practice makes all members in the eyes of cms at other resorts look bad. After all who would bust in an use a pool at another resort anyway. I am affraid that DVC members are looked at as "poor cousins" by some cms because of this whole pool hopping situation. Anyone staying at a resort does not want to see a lot of non-guests using the pool. There are other other reasons that give DVC members this reputation some of it probably deserved.

While I'm sure you're right, it shouldn't be that way. And any CM who continues to exhibit this behavior after instruction should be fired. By extension, one could make the same comparison about DVC members who stay at a non home resort. An attitude I've aslo seen from CM on a couple of occasions.

Not being allowed to get towels is rediculous when legally PH. I'd have asked for a manager.

 

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
After all who would bust in an use a pool at another resort anyway.

The OP said they called ahead & were told they could come & enjoy the CR pool, so they didn't bust in. They did follow the pool-hopping guidelines.

As far as "busting in"............unfortunately, many non-DVC members do, along with many day park guests that aren't staying on-site & don't see anything wrong with it.

We don't pool hop, we find it too inconvenient. However, that doesn't mean that some day we won't use it, so it's nice to know that the option is available.

 

[PamOKW]

As long as pool hopping is permitted that should also include use of pool towels. I'd send a quick e-mail to MS to let them know about this situation.

 

[wdwstar]

When we pool hop and i mean pool hop, we take one day and pool hop at as many pools that we are aloud to enter, we spend about an hour and move on to the next pool. we have had no problem getting towels at any of the pools, i take our beach towels and put them in the van so the seats dont get wet .

 

[spiceycat]

that is good suggestion - thanks!!!

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Thank you to those of you who understand the situation.

We certainly don't feel like "poor cousins", pool hopping is at this time a DVC member perk and we feel it is a nice one.
Although you may think we are in fact, the trash bringing DVC down due to our income level. Afterall DH is just a lowly soldier boy serving his country.


As I had said we were at the CR marina anyways, it just seemed logical to pool hop there as well.

I will be emailing MS on this issue. Thanks, I honestly hadn't thought of it.
I just wanted to warn any future potential pool hoppers that this could happen.
As I said, we will bring our own towels from now on.

 

[SoCalKDG]

Chim Chiminy, next time you talk to your husband, tell him thanks from me and my family for serving this country. So which pool have you liked the best?

 

[OneMoreTry]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
Pool hopping should come to an end when OKW has a slide. This perk is an intrustion on the guests that paid good money to use the pool at their resort. I think the practice makes all members in the eyes of cms at other resorts look bad.

Well, I DON'T think pool hopping should come to an end. So there. The only pool we've hopped to is Contemporary -- and exactly the same situation as the OP. When we were using the Sammy Duvall Boats, we used the pool, too. When we were there the pool was empty with LOTS of empty chairs so we were not intruding. (The towels were walk-up -- no one handing them out at the time.)

We wouldn't want to hop to a full pool. At BWV my kids spent most of their time at the quiet pool because of the crowds at the theme pool.

AND, who cares what CM's think about DVC members?? Are we supposed to walk around WDW afraid of what CM's think about us? It's my impression that most DVC members are not rich anyway.

 

[Zimbubba]

Some of you may forget that pool hopping was permitted for all Disney Resort Guests in the mid- 1980's. It was one of the list of perks they used extensively in advertising as a reason to stay on site.

As was once posted, Disney needs to take control of their pools like some of the resorts in Las Vegas do. They are restricted access with room keys required to be admitted with live people running the gates. An inconvenience and expense-yes. However it also pretty much eliminates the intruder problem.

 

[Patty3]

Chim Chiminy, I also would like you to express my thanks to your DH for serving in our country's armed forces. What happened to you is definitely not right. DVC members are given the priviledge to pool hop and thus you should be entitled to towels. As for CM's looking their noses down on DVC members, they should only be so lucky as to become DVC members. You handled it alot better than I would have. I would have definitely wanted to speak to a manger. I appreciate the heads up!

 

[ErinC]

Absolutely RIDICULOUS! Please send MS a note, and tell them about your experience. I'm like others, I would have asked to speak to a manager!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
Pool hopping should come to an end when OKW has a slide.

The end of the DVC member Pool Hopping perk has been predicted on this board for years. It hasn't happened. And I don't understand why some people seem to like the idea of losing DVC perks. Perhaps it's a perk they don't use.

And the perk is not just for DVC members staying at OKW. It's for all DVC members, such as DVC members who want to take a break from a hot afternoon at the Magic Kingdom.

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
This perk is an intrustion on the guests that paid good money to use the pool at their resort. I think the practice makes all members in the eyes of cms at other resorts look bad.

Yes, Disney gets good money from resort guests. But Disney also gets good money from DVC members. And DVC guides use Pool Hopping as part of their sales pitch. It's an answer to the question, "but what can I do year after year besides going to the same theme parks each time?

If any CMs really have a problem with DVC members who use a legitimate, documented benefit of DVC membership, then those CMs need some training about how profitable DVC is for The Walt Disney Company.

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
After all who would bust in an use a pool at another resort anyway. I am affraid that DVC members are looked at as "poor cousins" by some cms because of this whole pool hopping situation. Anyone staying at a resort does not want to see a lot of non-guests using the pool. There are other other reasons that give DVC members this reputation some of it probably deserved.

Huh?

DVC members don't "bust in" when they Pool Hop by the rules.

The resorts need to eject people from the resort pools who are neither resort guests at that resort nor DVC members staying on points. The few DVC members who might be at a resort pool at any given time are not a problem. Pool crashers are the problem.

 

[Barreras Family]

this topic but on this one I had to chime in.

My DW, DD & I are PAP holders at DL/DCA and over here the pools at the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian are not only gated and enclosed but key carded. Only a person with a valid room key can enter the pool area. The rest have to watch from behind a nice, tall wrought iron fence.

Aside from cost (which is a big aside) why don't they do this with SAB and other pools, like those on the MK monorail loop? This would keep unwanted pool hoppers out and make it much easier to regulate the people who can hop, DVCer's and the like. Not only that but it would look nice too instead of the big white board fence at SAB now.

As for the OP's post. You did everything to ensure you could hop "legally" I would contact MS and tell them. There was no call for that kind of behavior.

My two pennies worth.

Rudy
aka Piglet's daddy

 

[colleen costello]

Sorry for your grief! You did everything "right" and unfortunately encountered a stinker who was on some kind of low-budget power trip. CM's like that one need to realize that when the economy is down and travel is suffering, it's "poor cousins" like us who keep right on coming!

What is it with pool hopping that gets some posters in such a yank? It's no big deal... DVC'ers are not causing some major pool overload, for goodness sake. We, like OP, always visit the Poly even if we aren't staying there. We call ahead and if it's OK, I hang out at the pool while hubby takes one kids out on the lake. Then we swap. We spend money on the boats, on drinks and snacks, and usually on a dinner later in the evening. We do this once per trip and it is our alltime favorite DVC perk. I really doubt this is killing the experience of Poly guests.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Once again, a big thank you to those of you who are understanding of the situation.

And I will be sure to tell DH your kind words of thanks directed at him. The men and women of our armed forces don't get enough of it.

Like another poster here, we wouldn't stay if the pool were already crowded.

I am drafting an email to send off to MS. It's not still Jackie Leuders is it?

SoCalKDG
To answer your question, if you are still with us, the only pool we have used this privelage at was the CR pool. My kids love it there. We stayed last year for four nights at the CR and they have been begging to go back ever since. Fav pool on property is SAB, stayed at BCV last year too.
A little too easy to get seperated from family there, but sometimes that can be a good thing!

 

[rinkwide]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
...I don't understand why some people seem to like the idea of losing DVC perks...

I know.

More than a few people on these boards seem to get some sort of sadistic enjoyment predicting the elimination of such perks.

What's that all about?