Tell Me About SB Pool Slide

[cdpa4d]

I have a few questions about the Stormalong Bay Pool Slide. Is it tubular/covered or is it open? Would a 5 year old girl be able to handle it? How deep is the water at the end of the slide?
Thanks in advance!
ADP

 

[TammiMcMan]

My 8 year old loved the slide. It's actually a pretty long ride. From my not so mechanical mind, it looked like it starts out at about 2 stories high and it is enclosed. It emptied out into a smaller pool area and she was able to stand up. Just an FYI, they do have to walk across the public pathway to get from the splash down area to the slide. I got my exercise escorting DD back and forth.

 

[tar heel]

My ds was not interested in doing the big slide when he was 5. It comes out of a shipwreck, is largely covered and I would think taller than two stories. The good news is that SB has a second slide, which he loved. That slide is 8-10 feet long, totally open water slide. Water there is 3 feet deep.

 

[ducklite]

The slide is mostly covered with just the very end of it being open.

She needs to know how to swim, she can not war a life vest on it, and you are not allowed to wait at the bottom for her.

The water is probably about four feet deep where it empties out.

Anne

 

[PartyOf5a]

Personally, I don't like the layout off the SAB big slide. I don't like the fact that you have to cross the public walkway to get to the stairs. I wish it were more enclosed. It's not relaxing for me to have to watch such a big area and I also find myself going back and forth when I'm not usine the slide.

That being said, it might be easier for you to go on the slide as well. I would recommend you go down first and wait for your daughter at the bottom. I have always found that if you stand to the side and tell the guard you are waiting for a little one they are more than happy to let you stay until the child comes down. Just make sure she would be willing to come down after you!



Enjoy!

 

[prince of thieves]

Ok, lemme help out a bit with this one. For some specific info about the slide and pool in general refer to this site, the July 18 entry:
http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Ysmile

Now for little ones, this is very tricky. Partyof5a is somewhat correct with the info that they gave out. The depth at the bottom of the slide is at 4ft and there is a rather strong current that flows through it. The straight part of the slide is covered but at the top of the slide you will see where the tube opens up. The biggest problem that SAB has with guests at the slide is not moving out of the way once they get at the bottom. A lot of parents will want to wait at the bottom and catch their child. The problem with this is that us lifeguards cannot see who is going down the slide at all times so we do not know who is next to come down. Think about it, what if you were to go down the slide before your child and want to catch them and then before you know it, the next person that comes down is an adult and they smack you in the face. This could happen b/c the child might get scared at the last minute and decide not to go down. Another reason not to wait down at the bottom is b/c the lifeguards need to be able to see through the water at all times, particularly at the slide. If for some reason there is a little booger eater that doesn't make it back to the surface fast enough after they come down the slide it is our duty to make sure we get there ASAP, which means that we need to have a clear pathway in the water. So please understand that if we ask you to move out of the way it is only b/c of safety reasons that us lifeguards need to make sure are in effect and in our control. Inspecific the area in question means the entire slide area that is roped off. As long as you are behind the rope then you are ok.

If you have a question about your child's ability with the slide then you can also to a quick swim test, which is done at the smaller pool inside the ship. All the child has to do is go down the smaller slide and swim to the lifeguard WITHOUT touching the bottom of the pool at all. If they can do this then they can go down the slide. Do make sure and tell the lifeguards that you want to do the swim test so they know what is going on and can tell the lifeguard at the top of the slide if they are able to or not. There have been many times where the lifeguards will question whether or not a child should be able to go down the slide but it is only for safety purposes. I hope this helps you out a great deal and if you have any other questions then send me a PM.

 

[Sammie]

I totally agree with the others. This is a slide you will probably have to evalutate after you see it. As stated the stairs to the Crow's Nest are across the walkway near the lake. If you walk your child over and go up the stairs to the slide and down the slide, your child will be left at the top of the tall spiral staircase. If you wait at the bottom of the slide without going down it, your child must walk a good distance for a little one, climb the spiral stairs to the top and go down the enclosed slide. Since there is only the spiral staircase up to the slide, it is not a very good slide to change your mind once you get up there, as then the stairs are full with others waiting, making a descent tricky.

There is a smaller slide in the kids area right behind the entrance to the main slide.

 

[cdpa4d]

Thanks everybody for your great responses. It is very helpful to hear your insights. It sounds like it may be in our best interest to skip the slide this year and wait. Regardless of the slide there are many other reasons to enjoy WDW! No sense trying to push a 200FT + slide on a 5 year old.
ADP

 

[vicb]

All these reasons are why part of why we stayed at BWI the last two trips, we knew our kids might not be ready for that slide, well atleast DS. But on our last trip we went over and really looked over the SAB area and the kids said they wanted to stay there next year. They will be 10 and 13, both strong, independent swimmers and we will let them have free run of SAB.

But it was very nice staying at BWI and letting them think they had free run of the Luna Park pool, there you can actually see them easily from your chair, or from the pool bar which is where we enjoyed putting our feet up after a long day in the parks! The Keister Coaster is a cool slide, all open but has a bit of a thrill to it. The lifeguards are very friendly there too.

When our kids were real young, 3 and 6, we stayed at the Poly, that was the old pool though, don't know what the volcano pool looks like.

 

[kathleena]

I think the enclosed part is shorter than the open part, maybe they are about equal. I don't think it is longer. When you stand at the top, you can see the daylight at the end of the tube. It' s not really that long. It is big enough for a small child to sit up on the way down. Adults and taller kids will need to lay down.

If you lay down, you start out slow, but gets quite fast near the end of the tube.

After the tube, you have a right curve, then a little straight, then a left curve then a dump into the pool. There are two waterfalls that splash you along the way.

If your child is able to go on the BWV slide, then they might be OK if they get up to the top and see that they can see daylight at the end of the tube. Once my DGS saw it and had it explained he was OK with it. But looking at the slide from the walkway, he was not.