Pool issues at OKW

[dianeschlicht]

(snip) BTW, my kids know how to follow rules even though they spent much of their younger years in day care! (In fact, the day care center had more rules than we do at home!)

I didn't mean that all kids from day care are unruly. It just seems to me that a lot of parents have never really learned how to parent, and perhaps day care is teh reason for such a huge increase in that number. There are as many good parents using day care as bad parents, but there is a definite increase in lack of parenting out there.

 

[OneMoreTry]

It is no surprise to me. Have you seen threads here on max per room? We have a lower class of membership now and a lot of them rent points to non-members also. A lot do not understand the reason for these rules because they lack the management reasoning or higher understanding of why the rules are in place. They do not see the big picture. I have seen this coming for a long time. The life guards I though would solve some of it, but they did not.

Having "class" is not determined by financial status. When my mom's family came to this country in the 20's they were poor, but had class. Everything they did was done well. The took pride in their actions and their integrity. I know many "poor" people who are the same. I know wealthy people that are slobs.



If things get out of control in a situation like this, those with authority are responsible. Not those that are just doing what comes natural for inconsiderate jerks. (If anyone here is an inconsiderate jerk, I don't mean it personally. )

 

[wtpclc]

I have to agree with the lack of parenting out there. I know there are many parents who feel guilty about leaving their kids in daycare and hate to say no to them later. However, there are kids with STAHMs that have never heard the word no (or at least haven't seen any consequences if they don't heed the no). I just wonder where they will end up.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Pool and non-pool accidents are common at WDW, and during life in general. There are likely more OKW injuries on the villa steps or in the bathtub than at the pool. IMO, Disney (at times) over-patrols the pools to the point of stiffling the fun. Lifegaurds for the slide area of the OKW pool are needed during slide operation. Another guard soley for stalking over shallow end is excessive.

Fortunetly DVC trys to accomodate families like ours. There are "swim at your own risk" quiet pools and non-lifeguard hours at many of the themed pools for those of us who like to live dangerously...or at least enjoy "typical" uninterupted pool fun.

 

[Granny]

(As luck would have it...my daughter and her family are at OKW as we speak. I'll call her and tell her to pitch a hissy-fit. I'll tell her to use the name Sudl Hanname - they'll never know what hit them!)

Okay, that's it! I officially have been spending way too much time on these boards, as I not only "get" this comment, but think it's totally funny!

BTW, I agree with Doc and others who prefer to err on the side of caution. It's hard to believe that kids can't have fun at a pool without breaking the rules.

On the other hand, I agree with Johnny who indicates that some people are more than a little "kid sensitive" and could probably stand a little more indulgence for noise and splashing. Just my opinion, YMMV.

 

[Tiffster7]

We had issues at both Wilderness Lodge and BWV pool. AT WL they had to turn off the slide because of unruly kids- parents were no where to be seen and at BW parents were continually blocking the slide exit waiting for their young children. My DD hurt herself when she went down and tried to avoid a parent at the end of the slide. The life guards were not enforcing a distance rule. My pet peeve- If your child cannot swim they should not ride a large slide. I don't care if they are wearing a life vest. The current at the end of the BW slide is strong.

 

[spiceycat]

okay what happen to the rule WDW use to have - it you broke the swimming rules that were posted - you couldn't use the pool for several hours - even if that mean calling the security guards.

WDW use to have their lifeguards back up by the managers and security guards.

if these people were told no swimming for several hours - they might be more willing to go along with the rules or not use the main pool.

 

[Aneille]

I like pool rules. Keeps everyone safer.

I've never been to OKW pool but as far as a lifeguard hovering over a shallow end kids can drown in any amount of water. I don't know how deep you are talking about though.

I was at BWV last week and my daughter(3.5) took off her lifejacket in a shallower end but still over her head and went in the water. She wanted to show her daddy how she can swim without a jacket, well guess what she can't swim at all, she just thought she could! Luckily for our family, her father and her uncle were all right there because although she was next to the edge and she was paddling like mad and reaching for the edge she couldn't get a handhold and was sinking. It wasn't very traumatic for me or her since her daddy jumped in, and her uncle happened to be walking by her as she climbed in the pool so she wasn't under very long at all. But if our family hadn't been watching our kids who knows! The lifeguards didn't notice.

Also the same trip although I wasn't there for it her cousin also sunk at the same pool. Her cousin who is almost 5 can swim but is not a strong swimmer. She was swimming all day without a jacket. Her mother asked her to get out of the pool and turned her back. When she turned around her daugther was sinking because she was over tired and couldn't swim anymore. Her mother had to jump in with her towel on. Again no lifeguard saw her. This was traumatic for both of them, although I wasn't there I guess she was under longer than my daughter.

With the number of children in the pools at Disney I am all for as many lifeguards as they can afford to pay and then some extra's for good measure.

Rules are there for reasons. Kids on parents shoulders that fall off near younger swimmers even in lifejackets put those younger swimmers at risk. And then you have the not so strong swimmers that may be tired from a long day at the park and swimming. I love to play games in the water, kids on shoulders etc, but I try to remember that there are other people in the pool with me that may not appreciate all the waves etc.

I too wish I could ride the slide with my 22 month old. She begged to go down the water slide, but due to her size I was afraid of sending her alone. I thought she would get all turned around and although she isn't afraid of going under, I certaintly wasn't taking any chances. I don't decide that the rules aren't for me and my kids and sit her on my lap. She will go down the slide next time we go to Disney.

Oh and even though my family had 2 sinking kids on our trip we loved the pool and the slide management was excellent. Both times I have been to BWV they have had a lifeguard at the top of the slide though and another lifeguard at the bottom. It seemed the adults and children when we were there were all following the rules.

 

[Aneille]

We had issues at both Wilderness Lodge and BWV pool. AT WL they had to turn off the slide because of unruly kids- parents were no where to be seen and at BW parents were continually blocking the slide exit waiting for their young children. My DD hurt herself when she went down and tried to avoid a parent at the end of the slide. The life guards were not enforcing a distance rule. My pet peeve- If your child cannot swim they should not ride a large slide. I don't care if they are wearing a life vest. The current at the end of the BW slide is strong.

I actually like the strong current at the end of the slide because the kids are pushed to the side of the pool. There is no reason for parents to be waiting to close to the exit of that slide. The kids will be pushed to their right and it if you wait there its a safe distance. Its a few short strokes for the swimmers.

I do agree though that kids going down the slide should be able to swim with a lifejacket on. As stated above my kid can't swim without a jacket but loves that slide and can swim with a jacket and out of the way of anyone all on her own. Like I said I didn't send my 22 month old down because she can't swim with the jacket and would get all twisted going down the slide.

 

[Simba's Mom]

okay what happen to the rule WDW use to have - it you broke the swimming rules that were posted - you couldn't use the pool for several hours - even if that mean calling the security guards.

WDW use to have their lifeguards back up by the managers and security guards.

if these people were told no swimming for several hours - they might be more willing to go along with the rules or not use the main pool.

Unfortunately, this is becoming a society where too many people sue when rules are enforced. People sue the schools who try to enforce rules. So in a way, I can't blame the lifeguards and management for being afraid to enforce things.

 

[ondeadlin]

I actually was at OKW last week as well and think I witnessed the guy going down the slide with the kid and his guard interaction!

On the whole, though, my impressions were not as bad. The pool was never crowded to the point where I felt uncomfortable, our 5-year-old had no problems going down the slide herself (and following the lights) and the parents "catching" kids didn't bother me.

Plus the other pools were nearly empty, so any time you needed to get away from the crowd, you could go there.

It was my first OKW visit and I have to say I came away extremely impressed, at least partially because we enjoyed the pools so much.

 

[Dean]

Pa, it would probably work if the lifeguards had some spherical fortitude to enforce the rules by closing the slide if it gets too bad.

The same could be said for Disney in many venue's. Unfortunately, Disney is not good at enforcing most rules. This will likely escalate over time then they will either have to close the slide at certain times OR get tougher on the rules.

 

[manning]

The "lower-class" comments that always get made when issues like this come up really irk me. Its like any excuse for it to be "someone else" not "my family" seems necessary to people and this one comes in handy. It has nothing to do with ones income. You can have manners and be taught to follow the rules at any economic level.

Amen. I was in a restaurant once and there was a family with five children next to us who were from the "lower-class" as some would say. Those kids were the best behaved I ever saw. Everyone had respect for each other. And with others around them.

Talk about sitting on cloud nine. You should have seen the pleased look on those parents when they were complimented by people.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

On a recent trip to HH the lifeguards were forever telling swimmers who have just come down the slide "don't swim under the rope". You must exit the pool to continue swimming, you can't simply swim away from the slide area to the other part of the pool. When I asked the guard why?, here's what I was told: by swimming under the rope (without touching it), I might create tubulence in the water. That turbulance could cause the rope to unhook and entangle other swimmers. I blinked my eyes in disbelief and went on to enjoy my day. Keep in mind that this rope floats all day in the turbulance from the water slide, but somehow a "swimmers wake" would dislodge it.

For the rest of the afternoon I couldn't get the mental picture out of my head of numerous DVCers entangled in the rope flailing around like dolphins in a tuna net.

I suspect that this rule is one that morphed from "no swimming under the rope INTO the slide area". That rule that makes safety sense. It's sister rule does not.

Maybe there is an enforcement problem because there are too many rules. More attention could be given to the few critical rules if there were fewer useless ones. Just a thought.

 

[Beach_Bound9]

Maybe the OKW pool just wasn't a good place for a slide. I'm not aware of these kinds of problems at BWV, BVC or Vero. I'll check at HH on my next trip as well. Seems like Disney has plenty of experience with slides and pool rules, I wonder why those at OKW are so challenging, especially if there are safety issues involved. A slide there sure seemed like a good idea.

 

[LisaR]

Maybe the OKW pool just wasn't a good place for a slide. I'm not aware of these kinds of problems at BWV, BVC or Vero. I'll check at HH on my next trip as well. Seems like Disney has plenty of experience with slides and pool rules, I wonder why those at OKW are so challenging, especially if there are safety issues involved. A slide there sure seemed like a good idea.

As the OP of this thread, I want to say that I believed that a slide at OKW was a good thing and I still believe that after this trip.

I think it was very crowded this weekend, which didn't help. There also happened to be a large group each time we were at the pool that honestly just didn't think about what they were doing (or they didn't care). I assume all the pools experience problems from time to time from different groups.

The thing I found most frustrating was the equipment (or lack thereof) that the lifeguard had. The megaphone was not cutting it. I think their voices would have actually been louder without the megaphone. They needed a speaker or something. They also needed to blow a whistle to get people's attention. They needed a lifeguard at the top of the slide, especially since the light wasn't working properly.

I will admit that we usually visit during the slower times of the year. We are used to having the pools pretty much to ourselves so it seemed very overwhelming to me. I look forward to many more visits at OKW and using the slide often. However, I think we will stick to the slower time periods.

Lisa

 

[NMW]

Fortunetly DVC trys to accomodate families like ours. There are "swim at your own risk" quiet pools and non-lifeguard hours at many of the themed pools for those of us who like to live dangerously...or at least enjoy "typical" uninterupted pool fun.

Uh-oh, I hope all those people who think children should be banned from the leisure, um I mean quiet pools, don't get all fired up! I remember that thread vividly.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Uh-oh, I hope all those people who think children should be banned from the leisure, um I mean quiet pools, don't get all fired up! I remember that thread vividly.

I doubt anyone is saying children and fun should be banned. I think the concern is for safety at a pool that might be a bit small for a large slide. It doesn't really effect me, since I never go to the main pool, and I only frequent the hot tubs at the neighborhood ones. I can honestly say, I have never witnessed an example of children playing unsafely at the neighborhood pools, but I am usually there at off times. In fact, it always amazes me that they actually swim at some of the times of year we go. I have had more trouble with adults than children at those neighborhood pools.

 

[NMW]

It is no surprise to me. Have you seen threads here on max per room? We have a lower class of membership now and a lot of them rent points to non-members also. A lot do not understand the reason for these rules because they lack the management reasoning or higher understanding of why the rules are in place. They do not see the big picture. I have seen this coming for a long time. The life guards I though would solve some of it, but they did not.

I honestly doubt it's a lower class thing. children from well to do families can be pretty obnoxious, trust me. I think a lot of kids today have this "the rules don't apply to me" attitude. We have empowered kids so much to the point were they have no respect for authority.

Some of my friends from college are elementry school teachers and they say that they don't even bother sometimes trying to enforce classroom/school rules because they know the parents are going to back their kids, NOT the teachers or the school. If they take recess time away from a 3rd grader for not having his homework done, chances are a parent is going to come flying into the office the next day screaming about it. If they give a low grade out, the parents challenge it. A couple of them have had kids tell them flat out, "I don't have to listen to you". I've seen this in my own kids elementry school. This has nothing to do with daycare either. I don't know any working mothers in our school. They are predominately stay-at-home moms who are VERY involved in the school. You should see what it's like at our holiday parties-so many parents come that for the last Halloween party I had to park on one of the soccer fields. You should see the extremely expensive costumes the kids in our school have! I am not talking about the Disney store! I think it's all part of this everyone makes the team, everyone gets a trophy, dodge-ball is banned, jumping rope in gym class with out jump ropes (so no one messes up and feels bad) mentality.

While I can maybe get the dodgeball thing-my oldest son wears glasses and I do appreciate the fact that hard rubber balls are not thrown at his face, I think we have taken this self-esteem thing too far.

 

[LisaR]

jumping rope in gym class with out jump ropes (so no one messes up and feels bad)

They don't really do that, do they? That is too funny and sad at the same time.

Lisa