Pools at other resorts

[piccolopat]

LaurenT said: ↑
".... But my point was that IF the pool is not crowded and my friends are staying on property, then as a deluxe guest myself, I don't think it's a big deal if my daughter gets to splash around in the pool with her friend."


If MK isn't crowded and your daughter's friend doesn't have a ticket, should she be allowed in without paying?

 

[prudence64]

Our friends are renting dvc points so maybe technically they would be allowed to pool hop.

 

[jimandami]

Our friends are renting dvc points so maybe technically they would be allowed to pool hop.

No, they are not. Those who rent DVC points (myself included) are not entitled to DVC member benefits.

 

[Nancyg56]

No, in my example, if you are at POP and your friends are at saratoga and the pool is not crowded ....
At no point in my post did I suggest that anyone try to swim at stormalong bay - in fact I said they screen there because people try to just show up and swim. I also never suggested that everyone at the moderates or values try to swim at the deluxes. I stay deluxe myself and I pay extra for the amenities.... But my point was that IF the pool is not crowded and my friends are staying on property, then as a deluxe guest myself, I don't think it's a big deal if my daughter gets to splash around in the pool with her friend.
And what if I'm staying by myself at saratoga and you're there with four people? We're both paying the same money, you can have four people at the pool but I have to swim alone? Just addressing your point of money and fairness....

I agree with you. Actually, as guests we should not even know or care if there are "out of towners" at our pool. The lifeguards know the capacity and can make the determination if there is room for one or two visitors. Disney is nothing if not knowledgeable about marketing their properties, so allowing one child in a pool when there is plenty of room on that day may be the difference between a guest choosing that resort next visit or another.

Heck, we stayed at AKL CL on our fist trip. My niece and nephew lived in Orlando and wanted to spend time with us, so on one of the days that we were breaking at the resort during the afternoon, the concierge invited them to join us. Now that may have been one seeming little thing, allowing two people to have a glass of wine with or cup of coffee with us, but that simple gesture had my husband hooked on Disney. He had decided that we were once and done with onsite resorts after paying for that trip. Oh the whining about how his friends told him how foolish we were to stay onsite when we could save tons offsite went on for weeks. By the time we were ready to leave for home our family had been the recipient of several kind gestures made by Disney resort CM's and we have always stayed onsite since. And with him it is Deluxe. Not one of the gestures cost Disney any real money. The coffee was already made, and the wine opened. The offer of a children's costume for Chef Mickey's when our luggage was held up genuine, but we did not need to accept it. Allowing a child to swim on a warm afternoon not only went a long way in terms of good will, we spent money there, as did our friend. My formerly frugal husband is their biggest cheerleader.

 

[goofy4prez]

I know where this is going, just the same as any other thread in the past in which the pool hopping debate comes up... It gets locked.

 

[Reddog1134]

Stormalong bay is the only one I know of that checks room keys (MBs). That's the pool for yacht club and beach club.
Technically, only people staying at each resort are supposed to use that pool (except for dvc hopping), but if the pool isn't crowded and you're all on property, I don't think this is a big deal. I believe if Walt were alive, he'd want the kids to be able to swim together....

Even DVC members are excluded from hopping there.

 

[piccolopat]

Maybe Disney needs to charge a fee for a day pass to a resort pool, say $50 per person, and limit the number of day passes per day/per pool so resort guess aren't locked out when capacity is reached. Anyone not staying at that resort can enjoy the pool for the day for that fee. That would be fair to people paying to stay at that resort and still allow LaurenT's daughter to bring her friend.

 

[LaurenT]

Even DVC members are excluded from hopping there.

Yes - I didn't mean to imply that DVC could use stormalong bay when not staying there ... It was a different paragraph. I was just saying that dvc are the only ones who have any pool hopping privileges at all.

 

[Reddog1134]

Maybe Disney needs to charge a fee for a day pass to a resort pool, say $50 per person, and limit the number of day passes per day/per pool so resort guess aren't locked out when capacity is reached. Anyone not staying at that resort can enjoy the pool for the day for that fee. That would be fair to people paying to stay at that resort and still allow LaurenT's daughter to bring her friend.

I don't think there is any way they could do that because there is always the potential that the pool could become over crowded. Even with only resort guests.

Then you run into a situation where you either have to tell a resort guest they can't swim or kick out someone who paid extra money for a pool hopper pass.

 

[LaurenT]

Maybe Disney needs to charge a fee for a day pass to a resort pool, say $50 per person, and limit the number of day passes per day/per pool so resort guess aren't locked out when capacity is reached. Anyone not staying at that resort can enjoy the pool for the day for that fee. That would be fair to people paying to stay at that resort and still allow LaurenT's daughter to bring her friend.

I don't think that would be a good idea - it could lead to delux pools always being at capacity. Maybe a better solution would be a limited number of guests allowed per room, assuming the pool isn't crowded (and I haven't had anyone from another resort visit at my pool, by I would want to be able to). I honestly don't think that this situation arises often enough to make a difference in anyone's enjoyment of their pool.

I'll also add that I stay at Jambo house every summer - I've never found to pool to be crowded.

 

[WEDWDW]

I honestly don't think that this situation arises often enough to make a difference in anyone's enjoyment of their pool.

Agree.

I think letting the Lifeguards "make the call" is sufficient for these situations.

 

[piccolopat]

I don't think there is any way they could do that because there is always the potential that the pool could become over crowded. Even with only resort guests.

Then you run into a situation where you either have to tell a resort guest they can't swim or kick out someone who paid extra money for a pool hopper pass.

The limit could be small in high season, perhaps 20, and more in low season. If the pools can reach capacity with just the resort guests, they would be directed to other pools at their resort anyway. Disney has enough data to be able to adjust this, even daily, based on resort occupancy.

 

[LaurenT]

LaurenT said: ↑
".... But my point was that IF the pool is not crowded and my friends are staying on property, then as a deluxe guest myself, I don't think it's a big deal if my daughter gets to splash around in the pool with her friend."


If MK isn't crowded and your daughter's friend doesn't have a ticket, should she be allowed in without paying?

No. And if the room next to me at AKL is empty, my friend shouldn't be allowed to stay in it. But that's not what we're discussing.

 

[PSUGuy]

They checked to make sure we were staying at the YC when we went to Stormalong Bay. My kids had to have their room card (this was before magic bands) to gain access.

Last Oct we were killing time before a Cape May ADR, we were staying at Board Walk as usual. While just strolling near the pool at YC, not through the pool area, a CM asked to scan our bands, we told her we were just checking the place out for future reference, in street clothes, and we were made to leave. Over the top IMHO.

Bill From PA

 

[MakiraMarlena]

They're fencing all the pools (many are still unfenced though) and you must have the MB or key for the resort to enter. Can you prop open the door for your friends? Sure. Should you be? If it's crowded, they may be enforcing the rules that you need to be a guest of the resort.

Stormalong Bay, however, won't let anybody in who isn't a resort guest.

 

[darrengs]

So far this has been the "nicest" pool hopping thread I have ever seen.

 

[piccolopat]

No. And if the room next to me at AKL is empty, my friend shouldn't be allowed to stay in it. But that's not what we're discussing.

But it is. If your daughter's friend did not pay to stay at a resort and that stay includes the use of the pool, she shouldn't be allowed to use the pool. Either way, she is expecting to use something that she hasn't paid for, whether that is park access, the room next to yours or use of a resort pool.

 

[staceyeileen]

These are the types of artificial arguments that occur on the DIS that never replicate themselves in real life. Outside of Stormalong Bay, it's not likely to be an issue.

 

[maxiesmom]

Disney states it is not allowed. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

The lifeguards are in charge of the pool area. If you want an exception made for you they are the ones to ask. No one else's thoughts or opinions matter.

 

[kelleybean]

We haven't stayed at a Disney resort since they introduced magic bands ... what's the procedure now? I'm assuming that you just use a magic band to open the gate at the pool area and that they don't scan each person's magic band right? So as long as a group of people arriving together have at least one valid magic band they'd be able to get in? I'm just wondering how they would even know and quite frankly I doubt they would even care, especially if the deluxe folks are using the moderate pool. I can't imagine this is an issue that comes up often enough for them to spend the resources cracking down. I'm usually a follow-the-rules type person but this doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Besides the Yacht Club of course, which I think is a special case.