Soon to be staying at BC for the first time, a few SAB questions

[njfamily]

and one of them deals with the dreaded beach chairs.

1. Are there any beach chairs in the shade? If so, are any close enough to the pool to make it easier to watch the kids?
2. Since they call it a Beach Club, there must be a beach, right? Are there sand castle building toys for the kids? The big questions… if they have them are they free or do they charge for them? If so how much? We do not want to bring them with us from home; we are trying to pack light.
3. I am sure that I read somewhere that there are float rentals at SAB. Anyone have any recent costs? Are they by the hour or can you rent them for the day?

Thanks!

 

[Dancind]

OK, I'll give it a shot. There is a nice area of shaded lounge chairs at the Beach Club end, by the slide exit. You can see the pool from there, but only part of it. It's a very LARGE pool, with lots of areas to explore. It's doubtful that you'll be able to get your kids to stay in one place if they're over six years old and can swim. There is a beach, and you can play on it, but you can't swim in the water there. I don't know about beach toys. Float rentals are for 3 hours at a time, and cost $6 (I think). They are large yellow tubes, good for the lazy river. Diana

 

[lovethemouse2]

There are several shady chair areas by the pool. If you are going soon it shouldn't be that crowded. We went in May once and did not have the chair problem. But as dancind mentioned, the pool is big, your kids run all over, and you don't sit in them for long. If you want to sit in one spot and watch kids, try the quiet pool. We would do this in the evenings after SAB closed.

At the pool side food bar they serve kids meals in a bucket with a shovel. But I also noticed buckets and shovels laying all over where kids obviously left them and you can "adopt" them.

The pool actually has it's own sandy beach area which is extremely nice. One section of this shallow part of the pool is shady so parents can sit on the side of the pool (or in a chair if you're lucky) in the shade and watch the little ones play in the sand and water. It's a great spot for little ones. They also have a kidde pool with a small slide just the right size for little ones.

I forget what the float rental cost. Seems like $8. You really only needed it for the lazy river. If you're driving, you may want to consider bringing a fun noodle, kids love them and they take up very little trunk space. If fact they make good cushions for things you don't want to knock toghether in the trunk.

 

[njfamily]

Thank you for the reply's. They were both helpful. Here I post a few questions and then I am gone form the boards for a few days. Very rude of me, don't you think?

My DD will be almost 6 and my DS will be almost 4 for this trip. DD has been taking swim leasons since she just before her 3rd B'day and is a fish. She goes swimming about 3 days a week at the local YMCA, in their after school program. She will be looking for the water slide, the bigger the better.

DS just started taking swim lessons and is still a little scared of the water. The kiddie pool with the small slide sounds perfect for him. We will look around to see if any shovels and pails are up for 'adoption'. DS is happiest playing in the sand and chasing any birds that come his way. (Don't worry, he never gets very close) My guess is DH and I will split up, one staying close to DD and the other watching DS.

Perhaps I incorrectly assumed that you could not take your own floaties, We are flying from NJ, but is still might be cheaper to buy some fun noddles for our stay rather then renting floats. Can anyone confirm for me that it is 100% OK to bring your own floatie? If so, this might call for another stop on the way from the airport to the hotel.

 

[Disneylunatic]

The pool at the Beach Club is sand bottom w/big mound of sand in the middle for kids to play. Float vests for the kids are free if you ask. Also, there is a child water slide all the way behind the pool on the other side of the big pirate ship toward the lagoon just for kids. My kids are like fish in the water too. We are staying at Boardwalk after 7-day Western Disney cruise. After staying at Beach Club in June, we had such a terrific time, that we tried to switch from Boardwalk to Beach Club for October and were unable to do so. Your kids will have a terrific time at Beach Club. My kids loved it so much, that they did not want to leave the hotel.

 

[Scoootch]

Originally posted by njfamily



Perhaps I incorrectly assumed that you could not take your own floaties, We are flying from NJ, but is still might be cheaper to buy some fun noddles for our stay rather then renting floats. Can anyone confirm for me that it is 100% OK to bring your own floatie? If so, this might call for another stop on the way from the airport to the hotel.

They do allow some floaties -- fun noodles (they even sell these right there at the BC - we bought ours there for $3.00) , baby float boats and arm swimmies are also aloud. They just don't allow you to bring your own big raft or something of that size.

As previously mentioned though, they do rent the big tubes both by the hour and by the day and although they are best for the lazy river, they do allow them in the other pools too

Have a great trip!

 

[ducklite]

1. Are there any beach chairs in the shade? If so, are any close enough to the pool to make it easier to watch the kids?

Yes. You can also grab an umbrella table to keep you in the shade. Be careful with the seats under the trees though. The birds hang out in the trees if you catch my drift. Keep in mind that SAB is an entire swimming complex with three pools. The main pool has several distinct sections. If you are watching your son at the kiddie pool you will not be able to watch your daughter on the slide, they are about 30 yards away from each other with quite a bit of people, landscaping and a curve in between. Also as an FYI, your daughter needs to be able to go down teh slide on her own, no floaties, and you can't wait at the bottom. The bottom there is about 5' deep.

2. Since they call it a Beach Club, there must be a beach, right? Are there sand castle building toys for the kids? The big questions… if they have them are they free or do they charge for them? If so how much? We do not want to bring them with us from home; we are trying to pack light.

There is a sandy play area at the kiddie pool There is also a beach, but it is not part of the pool complex. There are no toys provided, sometimes you'll find things cast off by others, but that's not guaranteed. You're more likely to find sand toys in the pool area than on the actual beach.


3. I am sure that I read somewhere that there are float rentals at SAB. Anyone have any recent costs? Are they by the hour or can you rent them for the day?

You can rent tubes $3/hour or $10/day. You can bring your own, although there is a possibility that you won't be allowed to use them if they aren't clear plastic. They sell noodles or you can bring your own, I don't recall the price of those. You can't bring things like rafts. Your kids can wear swimmies, but not on the water slides. They also have life jackets which *I think* are free to borrow for the kids. The lazy river area is where you are allowed to use the tubes. During slower times you can take them to other parts of the pool, but when crowded they restrict them. That area ranges from 4' to 8' or more deep. It is not particularly child freindly, and not suggested for non-swimmers due to a farily strong current in some parts.

Enjoy your trip!

Anne

 

[BraveMom3]

We drive, therefore bring everything my kids can cram into the car! In June we had our own buckets/shovels, etc...and the kids enjoyed playing in the sand, but you can forget building a sand-castle. This sand does not pack. It has a very coarse texture. I found myself having to guard my little girl's "supplies" from other children who would come by and help themselves to them. I can understand really small children not quite knowing better than to do this, but it kind of irritated me that their parents did not correct them, and made me be the "bad guy". Anyway, my kids LOVE this pool, and when they were too small to go down the big slide, we really enjoyed the small slides on the "ship".

 

[Kallison]

I'm packing my own tubes -- got them at the dollar store and Target for $1 and $3. They are pastel colored and you can see through them. They fit flat in the suitcase before blown up of course. My parents are driving and they will pack the noodles in their van. Does anyone know for SURE if you can use your own tubes??? I grew up in Warren County.

 

[ducklite]

I've seen people with their own in the past--but don't know the current rules.

I'd suggest calling the resort directly, and asking to be transfered to SAB directly and ask there. I wouldn't rely on the switchboard or front desk, I think that quite often they don't really know the answer and just agree to be agreeable.

Anne