SAB pool - just back

[MaryKatesMom]

Just back and wanted to warn people.

We went to SAB for a day. We arrived there around 11:30AM after doing EE at MK.

We spent 10 minutes walking around in a vain attempt to locate an unsaved chair. Notice I said "unsaved" not unoccupied. Every single chair had a towel or something strewn on it to indicate "mine".

My 3 yr old was now crying hysterically because she was tired and the 5 yr old just wanted to swim. I put the 5 yr old in the sandy bottom pool, picked up the 3yr old who promptly fell asleep in my arms. So instead of standing for an hour and 1/2 with a 40lb toddler I picked the nearest chair, so I could watch the 5yr old, removed all junk and sat down anxious for the confrontation.

Of course the confrontation never occurred because no-one sits in the chairs. The owners of the 4 seats (one of the ones I occupied) never returned all afternoon. This of course caused me to pay attention and never more than 20% of the seats had occupants. People just wanted to claim them but not use them. How rude!

A family of 4 needs ONE chair but everywhere I looked entire families saved way more chairs than they needed.

As I sat there for 4 hours I was struck by the number of people coming to the pool walking around and complaining about no chairs. So many families were inconvenienced by greedy patrons. I felt sorry for all of the familes wandering around like nomads feeling unwelcome because there wasn't a place to set thier towel's etc.

The crowd in the pool was allot smaller than the saved chairs which led me to believe some people came out early in the morning, saved seats all day but never used the pool!

 

[BethA]

This seems to be a constant problem. On our recent trip we experienced this at SAB and the Boardwalk pool-we stayed at both hotels. At boardwalk I watched people place items on chairs and never return all day--we finally went to the quiet pool--but my 6 yr old was not happy. Why people are so rude is beyond me.

 

[Kallison]

Where they saving them with just a towel? I would be inclined to move it now that you have posted this, but if there were a bunch of other incidentals I would assume families are nearby. That is ridiculous, the resort should make a sweep of chairs periodically.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi.. thanx for the heads up.

It is a hard thing to do - move "someones" stuff... because - you just never know - but really the worst that could happen is you apologize and give them their chair. I think what you did was the right thing - I would do it too.

On the topic of SAB - were they checking wristbands or resort ID? did you spot any of those famous pool hoppers?

>>^..^<<

 

[Dalpal]

If it was just a towel(hotel towel)I would have just moved them and sat in the chair.
If it was a personal type towel I think I would have left it. Most likely they wouldnt leave THERE towel and go to the parks for later, for fear of someone taking it.( they are expensive).
Like the other poster said the worst that can happen is you move when they come and say somthing.

 

[WDWorld2003]

This worries me.... we were thinking of buying into DVC at Beach Club. I don't want to alway compete at the pool. Was this a problem every day?

 

[MaryKatesMom]

What I moved was a hotel towel and shoved children's sandals under the chair next to me.

I noticed some people had placed one shoe on one chair and the second shoe on another chair.

Most of the chairs were saved only by hotel towels. If there were personal belongings it was as if someone grabbed 5 chairs and sprinkled the things to save all the chairs.

I did complain, good naturedly, to a CM who smiled, shrugged and said there wasn't much they could do. So I'm assuming others have complained.

When I went for towels they did give me a wristband but I did not notice them checking for wristbands and my husband, who joined me a couple of hours later, did not get a wristband and no-one questioned him.

As I mentioned earlier, there were quite a few families who were irratated by this. It was sad to see all the newcomers do the same dance one at a time.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Sorry, I don't know if that happens every day. I didn't want to add a hassle to my day so I never went back.

It was the week after Easter a historically busy week, but I did not find the crowds as large as last year at the same time.

 

[DisneyLisa]

We loved the BC when we stayed there in 2001 but that was our biggest complaint. We could never find a chair and we were there for 10 days! I never did get up the nerve to move someone's towels but in hindsight...we should have. Good for you. I know it's a common complaint (& it happens everywhere, not just at Disney), but SAB seems particularily worse than most places.

It's too bad they can't do something about it.

 

[inaminute]

I see no reason why the pool attendants can't go around once per hour and pick up all the hotel towels from the chairs. It's ridiculous that guests can get away with that!

 

[Gabrielle]

How irritating. I'd throw the towels off the chairs and sit down.

 

[Brier Rose]

My plan, when we've run into this, is to move the towel and sit in the chair. If someone were to come back(which they never have)
I was just gonna say.... Oh,I'm sorry, since all the chairs just had resort towels on them,I thought they were placed there by the CM's in the mornings for the conveinence of the guests..
you know, so we wouldn't even have to go get a towel, there was already one there and waiting...

Those CM's are just so thoughtful.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Here is what we did

We took our stroller down with us and just left all our shirts, towels, sandals, etc inside it while we swam. We never sat in a chair and didn't bother looking for one because they are all covered with people's crap. One day I parked the stroller next to a row of chairs and a man came running over and asked me to MOVE it because it was blocking there view of the pool. Nobody was even sitting in the chairs?????????? So I moved it, and was nice, but inside I thought he was an jerk to say that. I mean does he own all the ground surrounding his chair???

I really don't think SAB is everything it's cracked up to be. It's crowdedA couple of times we used the BCV pool and enjoyed it more because nobody was there. Personally, I like the GF and Poly pools better.

 

[DisneyLisa]

I agree Erika. We never had a problem finding a chair last summer at the GF...at either pool. If I had small children, I'd choose the zero-entry/kids pool at the GF anyday over SAB. It wasn't nearly as crowded and the kids there were having a great time...much more relaxing in my opinion.

 

[DisneyMim]

This had always been a pet peeve of mine. It happens everywhere, Disney and every other place we've been to it seems. I remember looking for chairs once in Hawaii at around 11 one morning years ago and had the same experience as you MaryKatesMom. I could never understand the rudeness of some people.

 

[Princess Dot]

Yes, this seems to go on everywhere. If I do not see a person in sight who seems to be holding these chairs, ( I mean like someone swimming right near them), I always move the hotel towel (never a personal towel) and have moved sandals under the chair and sat down. Never has the "owner" of the chair come back to claim it. If they did, what will they say "that was my seat?" I would say. "gee sorry, here you go!" and get up. At least I got to use it for a while.

Even when there is someone sitting in one chair and towel draped over surrounding chairs, I have asked if I could use the chair and have most always been told yes. I think people start out with the intention that every family member needs a chair, but in reality, it is rare that every person is sitting in a chair at the same time.

My kids have been guilty of this and I always end up moving our stuff to one or two chairs to free up space for others.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I can remember as a very young child we'd vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC every summer and my Mom or Dad would get up at the crack of dawn and go put our towels down on chairs. If people didn't do that then they wouldn't sit all day. Isn't that terrible??

Personally, I would never do it because I think it's rude. And I agree with DisneyLisa, I've never had the problem at the GF either.

 

[BethA]

Last year at the BW the CM went around and removed the hotel towels periodically, when it was obvious the chairs were just being saved. It's too bad they don' t do this on a regular basis. I saw a lot of people leaving sandals-or a book -some personal item to save chairs and I did see people move them after being told the chair was not used all day. i wish I could do that. I just hate the thought of a confrontation.

 

[DVC-Don]

I saw a CM going around removing resort towels while at the WL this past February. It freed up half the chairs.

 

[disvaclub92]

We had the same problem at the Luna Park at the BWV. People would be so rude just to get a chair at a table. It was ridiculous. We have a family of 4 - but most of the time the kids were in the pool and we were always kind to give the chairs to people - who were nice.

We had one grandfather collect seven chairs and nobody was there for at least an hour after he gathered them - they just saved them.

We normally stay two weeks - so we get to see the same families over and over again. Then you begin to realize who NOT to give the chairs to and who to give the chairs too. Sad - but it is a reality.