Storm along Bay

[Goofy22]

Can someone tell me about this waterpark or pool at BCV? Why does everyone love it so much? What is it all about? I have 2 kids and we're going to disney in November and will be booking our dvc in apprx a week! I don't own DVC and have only been there once and been to OKW and loved it! My parents own DVC and we are using their points since they will not be! And this Storm along Bay has my interest with 2 children! If anyone could tell me about it! That would be great! We were leaning towards the BWV . Now I'm re-thinking it!

 

[jade1]

All resorts are great for certain reasons. You cant go wrong with BWV, but since you ask SAB is hands down the best swimming facility at a WDW Hotel. If you plan to swim a lot you may want to attempt a ressie there. You can easily walk to the Boardwalk and EPCOT also. That said, it is not a water park. Just a huge ongoing sand bottom pool with different areas-one has tubes like a lazy river, one has bubbles, one has a circular current and it has a very long slide etc. It is fabulous. It also has Beaches and Cream next to SAB for great burgers and ice cream. Have fun.

 

[OneMoreTry]

SAB would be preferable if you feel comfortable letting your kids swim and play poolside by themselves. There's a lot more to do than at other pools. There is so much to do it's hard to keep track of kids. They tend to go off on their own. (There are lots of life guards at all DVC resorts.) There's actually a good little kids area with a sandy beach and shallow pool.

Boardwalk has more restaurants.

If you stay at BCV you can easily walk to and use the Boardwalk and its entertainment. If you stay at BWV you CANNOT use the SAB pool. I don't think the pool is that much of an advantage unless you plan to spend at least a half-day there during your stay.

If I were you I would FLIP a COIN. It's too hard a decision. They're both great.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I don't really care for SAB. Don't tell my son and husband because they love it. I'm not a great swimmer, so the deep parts of SAB, plus the strong current in some places really bother me. I hate the sinking sands. The more shallow areas are usually really crowded. Give me Dunes Cove any day.

 

[imsorry]

We go to the Beach Club twice a year and have gone on trips where we don't even go to the parks - just spend our days at the pool and eat out at night (we don't have kids). However, your kids will love it! The slide is great!
I love the sand bottom, and have never seen it too crowded - it's just so big. The scenery is beautiful. If you go on ALLEARS.NET you can see lots of great pictures of the various parts of the pools. The hot tubs are also great.
HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[lisareniff]

SAB is a great pool with lots of added features. Just a warning... if your kids are at an age where they can swim but you still need to watch them, it can be a bit of work. You can not see from one end of the pool to the other. To get to the slide entrance you have to leave the main pool area and cross the path to the shipwreck portion of the pool. It's hard to explain. I went alone with my then 2yro and 7.5 yro (good swimmer) and it wasn't quite as fun as I was thinking. My DD2 only wanted to play in the sand and not be held in the deeper water while my DD7 wanted to swim in the main section which I couldn't see from the sand area. I was happy when DH came and we could split up.

It is a great pool and we will enjoy it in the future, just for some families it could be a little more stressful then the average pool. But then again I'm a little over cautious about the water.

 

[Granny]

Sometimes, several pictures are worth several thousand words. The best set of Stormalong Bay pictures I've seen is by our own Tagrel on his site. Here's the link.... http://www.tagrel.com/Tours/Flash/sab.shtml

 

[slp87]

We have decided to split our stays between BCV & BWV. Our main reason for staying at BCV is Stormalong Bay. I love being able to float all around, go in the whirlpool and walking on the sand bottom. It's just unique. I will agree with others that you almost have to be in the pool with your kids or restrict them to a certain area. My DD actually likes the pool at BWV better and you can enjoy the community hall. There are things we like about both, so that's why we split our stay.

Tagrel also has a photo tour of the Boardwalk Pool.

Luna Park Pool

 

[DrBond007]

I hate the sinking sands.

Does the sinking sands area work? Did they fix it?

 

[gopherit]

We have 3 kids (ages 4,8,and 10). We also had our 2 nephews with us on our last trip (ages 4 and 8 mos). We stayed 2 dyas at BCVm then moved to BWV for 8 more. WHy the switch? So we could "try" SAB and determine our feelings on it. And we were glad, in the end, that we had done it this way.

For starters, let me agree with everyone else, both are great resorts. We liked the laid-back feeling of BCV, and B&C and Cape May are great eating places. BWV has the close access to all those eateries (like ESPN, SPoodles, etc.) Location of either resort is great. But when it came to the pool... well ,SAB was just so much WORK for us! At Luna Park, we could see everything from several vantage points. If child A hit the slides while Child B stayed under the elephant spray, I could readily see that. Pools are busy places; I like knowing where my crew is at all times! At SAB, it became difficult. The boys wanted to hti the slides -- which meant they disappeared as they went across the sidewalk, around and up into the crow's nest. Can't see that from the pool. And if you go where you CAN see it, then you can't seen them exit the slide into the pool you just left! If youngest wants to go to the shallow sand area, then you can't see the older kids in the deeper sections. My dd couldn't make up her mind WHERE she wanted to be -- she kept going from pool to ship to sand to pool -- AUgghh! For that much effort, I can go to Blizzard Beach! When we come back from the parks, we like to relax at the pool -- it was just too much work. Not bad for just a day at the pool -- but too much work at the end of a busy day. I think it is probably great for families whose kids are old enough to venture on their own -- they can feel like they are "apart" from Mom and Dad while being somewhat nearby. But for my age set, it was fun but more taxing than we like. We like VWL pool and also Luna Park...and SSR was quite nice as well. We love the "true" water parks, TL and BB, so we always put at least one of them into a trip. As a result, it's not that imperative to have a "water park" pool at our resort. A nice open pool and a slide pretty much do it for us! We are looking forward to trying OKW again -- it's been a long time since we've stayed at our "first love" resort, and we are excited about the pool refurbs and slide there! But alas, we're using pts this summer for HHI first....

As always, so many resorts, so little time!

Good luck with your planning!

 

[rocketriter]

Once you (or your kids) are old enough, the spread-out nature of SAB is part of its charm. You can't see the whole thing from any one vantage point. Instead you can spend hours frolicking in one area, then moving on and exploring another.