So do you think I should contact Mem. Satis. again?

[jekjones1558]

Thanks for investing your time in making things better for everyone, Diane.

 

[CarolMN]

Thanks for investing your time in making things better for everyone, Diane.

Same here.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks for investing your time in making things better for everyone, Diane.

My feelings as well.

Bobbi

 

[Jillpie]

Thanks for investing your time in making things better for everyone, Diane.

I agree, thank you from all of us. And for the poster that said Disney would lose customers if they didn't allow children in a hot tub, so not true. If they can do it successfully on their cruise line, they surely can do it at the resorts. For instance, at the Beach Yacht Club resort, there are three big hot tubs. I would give ANYTHING if one would become all adults only. I'll never forget last year, I was all alone in one once, and two small children, ages 3 and maybe 5, came in to join me. I thought, well certainly Mom and Dad are right behind them? To my shock, I was wrong. Nobody came to watch them. I was livid at the negligence. Other times, there was a boy that incessantly dove to the bottom of the hot tub, over and over again , you guessed it, no parents. I'm a Mom of three grown kids, so I'm not anti children by any means. But this was inexcusable. Please Disney, follow what DCL is so very good at, give us some precious alone time without the little ones all over us at the pools.

 

[AmyB2006]

Who would they be helping, you? Because they certainly wouldn't be helping their business.

Here's the reality: Disney won't be excluding kids from anything unless it has to, like a ride for safety reasons. Because as soon as a family is told their kids can't go in a certain pool or hot tub with age appropriate children (over the age of 4-5), then they're in the business of losing customers--and Disney's only agenda is to get people to come back. So as far as I'm concerned, the notion of "adults" only pools and hot tubs at Disney resorts is implausible.

Seriously just curious here, but there are plenty of adult only areas on the Disney cruiseships, and plenty of kid friendly areas as well.

I don't see having an area that is adults only as so bad. It certainly doesn't hurt their business on the cruiseships, so why would it at a resort?

 

[dianeschlicht]

Seriously just curious here, but there are plenty of adult only areas on the Disney cruiseships, and plenty of kid friendly areas as well.

I don't see having an area that is adults only as so bad. It certainly doesn't hurt their business on the cruiseships, so why would it at a resort?

Exactly, and the point I made when I first contacted Mem. Satisfaction, is that it is not inexpensive to travel to Hawaii with a family. If Disney wants them to come back to Aulani more than once, they need to do something for the ones who pay the way (the adults)!

 

[Chuck S]

I'll never forget last year, I was all alone in one once, and two small children, ages 3 and maybe 5, came in to join me. I thought, well certainly Mom and Dad are right behind them? To my shock, I was wrong. Nobody came to watch them. I was livid at the negligence. Other times, there was a boy that incessantly dove to the bottom of the hot tub, over and over again , you guessed it, no parents.

It is unfortunate that there are parents that put their parenting skills on hold because they are on vacation and feel they deserve some time away from the kids, not realizing that being a parent is a 24/7 obligation. Folks, if you feel you need time away form your little ones, what makes you think that other people, complete strangers, are willing to accept responsibility for your child's safety...or that Disney is somehow really a "magic" place that protects them from all harm? Disney is great, and one of the safer places to travel...but tragic accidents can still happen, you need to continue to be parents.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Thanks for investing your time in making things better for everyone, Diane.

 

[Anal Annie]

I agree that if Disney Cruiseline can successfully operate an adult only restaurant, and an adult only pool on the ships, and an adult only beach on Castaway Cay they can surely operate ONE adult only hot tub at their resorts. It will irritate me to no end when we go to Aulani and I try to enjoy a sunset view from the hot tub with 10 munchkins diving all around me. But if they appear to be unattended I WILL go find a lifeguard and tell them that somebody needs to stand guard over the darned hot tub to supervise them. I really don't tolerate unattended children very well. Since our DS is an only child I have always tended to be one of those over-protective hovering moms so I don't "get" letting them just run wild.

 

[Cinderpamela]

Since our DS is an only child I have always tended to be one of those over-protective hovering moms so I don't "get" letting them just run wild.

I have 2 boys but am the same way, so it’s not just an only child thing... it’s a responsible parenting thing in my book .
That said, yes sometimes they will do silly/not so smart things but I am there to reprimand them myself, I don't expect the lifeguard to do my job for me.

When we were at the GCV this last November my DS (11) sat next to me in the larger hot tub all well behaved and calm (although I do realize that he is older than these other kids were) as other little munchkins splashed and frolliked away with the parents right there, paying no mind to the fact that their kids were splashing a bunch of strangers who may not have wanted to be splashed in a hot tub.

Although after reading OP's story I am thinking I will no longer be to keen on entering a hotel hot tub, splashing kids or no!

 

[mjc2003]

And for the poster that said Disney would lose customers if they didn't allow children in a hot tub, so not true.

Once Disney starts excluding families from particular areas at a Disney resort they do indeed run the risk of alienating a future customer. It's a risk they won't take. Disney goes to painstaking means to bring business back on a repeat basis. When mom, dad and little billy go to swim in the pool and are told it's adults only, or try to go in the hot tub but are told they cannot bring their child, Disney absolutely run the risk of angering somebody. Then mom and dad return and tell 3 other parents from little Billy's school about how Disney charges $5000 for a week but wouldn't let little Billy in the hot tub with dad. This is a scenario that Disney would be inviting by instituting policies that are restrictive towards children. They are smarter than that.
Kids are the the reason Disney is what it is, families with children pay the bills.

Seriously just curious here, but there are plenty of adult only areas on the Disney cruiseships, and plenty of kid friendly areas as well.

I don't see having an area that is adults only as so bad. It certainly doesn't hurt their business on the cruiseships, so why would it at a resort?

Disney cruises are a different animal. The cruise industry as a whole is highly competitive, and in order to keep up with the competitive balance Disney has to adhere to some of their competitors offerings, and "adult only" areas are a big part of the cruising world. Disney HAS to do this in order to attract the cruise customers who might not be WDW customers. There is an entire segment of the population that cruises religiously, but they are not necessarily the same people who go to WDW. The dynamics of competing in the cruise world are far different. Disney doesn't get to make all the rules.
Conversely, at WDW Disney is the only game in town and they don't have to do what anybody else does. They can, however, lose business over restrictive policy.

This is why they DO have adult only areas on the cruise ships and why they DON'T at the resorts. If they were the only cruise line in existence, I would bet good money that there would not be adult only areas, but I realize that's purely speculation.


In my opinion, Disney will never (on site) have adult only areas at one of their deluxe resorts. Won't happen. Now, the conversations about little kids unattended in the hot tubs, or kids wearing swim diapers, are a different story. Could they be more rules oriented, and use the safety issue as a mechanism for, say, not allowing kids under 6 in the hot tubs? In theory, yes. But good luck enforcing a rule that is patently unenforceable. They should (I thought they already did?) have a rule that all children under a certain age (10?) must be accompanied by an adult. But again, very difficult to enforce as there often are adults in the hot tub with kids that are not theirs, and for CM's to have to ask people "is that your child" can be both intrusive and awkward.

Also, with regards to the statements here that say that kids at or under a certain age should not be in a hot tub because it's not safe, that's actually not true. Infants should not be in a hot tub, and children should be restricted to no more than 10-15 minutes. I had a long conversation with our family pediatrician about this, he told me that dehydration is the greatest risk but we all run the same risk. Nobody should be in a hot tub for more than 15 minutes, but neither the American Association of Pediatrics nor the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued specific guidelines for hot tub or spa use by children. While some children might not be able to tolerate the higher temperatures, the biggest risk is really drowning; which goes back to the conversation about supervision. But there is no empirical evidence that shows that a hot tub is any more dangerous for a 5 year old than a 50 year old.

 

[Judique]

While I'm definitely in favor of some more "adult only" areas in Disney, I have to say, I don't know if you can pinpoint the infection on children in the hot tub. I NEVER go into a public hot tub of any kind. Quite frankly, the only hot tub I've ever gone in is our own....and the only people who have ever been in that hot tub are me and DH.

We had a BBQ once and some people (kids and adults) jumped in - the next day, we emptied it out, cleaned it and re-adjusted the chemicals.

absolutely agree with this. Have had the infection experience from an 'adults only' hot tub and will never use a public tub again.

would NEVER let a small child be exposed to the possibility of being infected.

 

[dianeschlicht]

absolutely agree with this. Have had the infection experience from an 'adults only' hot tub and will never use a public tub again.

would NEVER let a small child be exposed to the possibility of being infected.

Yes, I know it isn't necessarily true that it came from diaper age children in the tub, but if you saw the pictures I posted of this hot tub, you would understand why I think the likelihood is great er when there are dozens of small children in that small a space.

I've learned my lesson too. While going to the hot tub before bed has been one of my favorite relaxing things to do at a DVC resort, I won't be doing it again. On the other hand....Maybe I WILL frequent the spas more to get access to an adults only hot tub area. Well, maybe not after the $500 cost.

 

[davedmaine]

Yes, I would call. Ouch to your infection!

I'm someone who still does not understand why children need to be in a hot tub????

Why do adults?

 

[AmyB2006]

Exactly, and the point I made when I first contacted Mem. Satisfaction, is that it is not inexpensive to travel to Hawaii with a family. If Disney wants them to come back to Aulani more than once, they need to do something for the ones who pay the way (the adults)!

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

To Diane, a for you! So sorry that you came home with that unfortunate souvenir from Aulani.

Also, I took another poster's advice and googled hot tubs and infection, and I for one will NEVER get in a hot tub again nor allow my kids(who by the way have never been allowed anyways). The list of things you can catch was shocking and could be lifelong, i.e. genital herpes. No thanks! I will use a towel to get warm.

 

[Jillpie]

Once Disney starts excluding families from particular areas at a Disney resort they do indeed run the risk of alienating a future customer. It's a risk they won't take. Disney goes to painstaking means to bring business back on a repeat basis. When mom, dad and little billy go to swim in the pool and are told it's adults only, or try to go in the hot tub but are told they cannot bring their child, Disney absolutely run the risk of angering somebody. Then mom and dad return and tell 3 other parents from little Billy's school about how Disney charges $5000 for a week but wouldn't let little Billy in the hot tub with dad. This is a scenario that Disney would be inviting by instituting policies that are restrictive towards children. They are smarter than that.
Kids are the the reason Disney is what it is, families with children pay the bills.




Disney cruises are a different animal. The cruise industry as a whole is highly competitive, and in order to keep up with the competitive balance Disney has to adhere to some of their competitors offerings, and "adult only" areas are a big part of the cruising world. Disney HAS to do this in order to attract the cruise customers who might not be WDW customers. There is an entire segment of the population that cruises religiously, but they are not necessarily the same people who go to WDW. The dynamics of competing in the cruise world are far different. Disney doesn't get to make all the rules.
Conversely, at WDW Disney is the only game in town and they don't have to do what anybody else does. They can, however, lose business over restrictive policy.

This is why they DO have adult only areas on the cruise ships and why they DON'T at the resorts. If they were the only cruise line in existence, I would bet good money that there would not be adult only areas, but I realize that's purely speculation.


In my opinion, Disney will never (on site) have adult only areas at one of their deluxe resorts. Won't happen. Now, the conversations about little kids unattended in the hot tubs, or kids wearing swim diapers, are a different story. Could they be more rules oriented, and use the safety issue as a mechanism for, say, not allowing kids under 6 in the hot tubs? In theory, yes. But good luck enforcing a rule that is patently unenforceable. They should (I thought they already did?) have a rule that all children under a certain age (10?) must be accompanied by an adult. But again, very difficult to enforce as there often are adults in the hot tub with kids that are not theirs, and for CM's to have to ask people "is that your child" can be both intrusive and awkward.

Also, with regards to the statements here that say that kids at or under a certain age should not be in a hot tub because it's not safe, that's actually not true. Infants should not be in a hot tub, and children should be restricted to no more than 10-15 minutes. I had a long conversation with our family pediatrician about this, he told me that dehydration is the greatest risk but we all run the same risk. Nobody should be in a hot tub for more than 15 minutes, but neither the American Association of Pediatrics nor the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued specific guidelines for hot tub or spa use by children. While some children might not be able to tolerate the higher temperatures, the biggest risk is really drowning; which goes back to the conversation about supervision. But there is no empirical evidence that shows that a hot tub is any more dangerous for a 5 year old than a 50 year old.

You only quoted a small portion (up top) of my post. My point is, if their cruise line can do it successfully and not offend "little Billy's" parents, in fact they LOVE IT, then certainly the resorts can do it. What is your defense with that? Respectfully asking of course, in line with the discussion .

 

[LisaS]

Also, I took another poster's advice and googled hot tubs and infection, and I for one will NEVER get in a hot tub again nor allow my kids(who by the way have never been allowed anyways). The list of things you can catch was shocking and could be lifelong, i.e. genital herpes. No thanks! I will use a towel to get warm.

I have a couple of friends who are doctors. They have both told me they never use and never will use the hot tub when on vacation.

I do enjoy using the hot tub myself, especially if the pool is colder than usual, but this thread is making me rethink things!

 

[disneynutz]

Who would they be helping, you? Because they certainly wouldn't be helping their business.

Here's the reality: Disney won't be excluding kids from anything unless it has to, like a ride for safety reasons. Because as soon as a family is told their kids can't go in a certain pool or hot tub with age appropriate children (over the age of 4-5), then they're in the business of losing customers--and Disney's only agenda is to get people to come back. So as far as I'm concerned, the notion of "adults" only pools and hot tubs at Disney resorts is implausible.

I think Aulani was to have an adult area in the original plans, I don't know what happened.

As far as excluding kids, Disney just announced that effective March 23rd, anyone under 14 must be accompanied by someone at least 14 to be admitted to any of the parks in the United States.

Bill

 

[cvjw]

After catching infections from 2 different hot tubs on different Disney vacations, I no longer will get into a hot tub. It is not just kids who are an infection risk - take a look at people in general at your local water park (if you have one). We have a very nice water park - White Water just a few miles from our house. We bought season passes one year and my husband went one time. He could not believe the number of people getting onto the slides and into the pools with open wounds and awful skin infections - in plain sight of anyone with eyes. It is enough to make you feel sick to your stomach. These are the same people who are getting into Disney pools and hot tubs - YUCK!!!