Update on kids in pools

[jellymoon]

Thanks for the link. I'll probably never swim again.

That was totally gross--- especially the part about how *all bottoms* have fecal matter. Now I'm worried even about the adults only pool--- I can imagine there are a lot of sloppy wipers out there.

I must say, though, that I was pretty baffled because it talked about risks of kids swimming with diarrhea. Who on Earth would presume to put a kid with diarrhea in a pool? Doesn't that go without saying? If you have diarrhea, or vomiting, or a fever, or a flu STAY IN YOUR CABIN!!!! Let alone, stay out of the pool.

We keep our kids VERY clean. We know when they poop. We change diapers immediately--- in a bathroom (could you believe the line about not changing diapers on TABLES!!?!?!?!?!?!), and scrub our hands and theirs. It is so hard to imagine how someone could be so irresponsible as to not be aware of their child's toileting habits, to allow them to swim with diarrhea, or to CHANGE A DIAPER OUTSIDE A BATHROOM. Oh my goodness!!!

 

[SueEllen]

Interesting article. Thanks for the link.

It just goes to show that with proper chemicals and filtration, ecoli is gone in less than 60 seconds! Following the recomendations in the article (which Disney does) would keep the pool safe. This just makes me NOT understand even more why the change in the policy. Keep the chemicals in balance and the water turned over and there shouldn't be a problem!

Sue Ellen

 

[jellymoon]

I too would pay the same rate for my younger kids if there were activities for them. That said, there is an increased cost for the kids, in that you still must purchase a cabin which will accomodate them. In our case, as a family of six, that means we are split into two cabins. As a result, each of our kids over three must pay the adult fare because you pay the first/second occupant cost regardless of age. With DH assigned to one cabin, and myself to another that means both kids pay substantially more than they would if we didn't have the toddlers with us. Mind you, I'm not complaining--- the cost makes sense to me. The point is just that it isn't necessarily true that the tiny ones cruise for free.

 

[shmoogrrrl]

The Disney Park anaolgy that has been passed around on this thread as an example of why the pool being closed isn't such a big deal, because our kids can't ride "everything" at Disney is a great example!

It is true that my daughter can't ride Space Mountain (EEEK! I have a strange picture in my head of her riding Space Mountain now...) But there ARE other rides that she can ride. There are NO other activities for her unless we abandon her in Flounders Reef all day.

I'm just lucky that my child will only be 10 months old and probably not care too much about missing the pool. I can't imagine how ticked off I'd be if she were old enough that I've let her watch the video and showed her pictures of the pool, then had to tell her "well, you can't play there anymore."

Kathy

 

[DISNEYGATOR]

Didn't mean to gross everyone out, just found those articles interesting.. especially the fact that that crypto bacteria can live in clorine pools of up to a WEEK!!!

Definitely need to be sure we are telling kids to NEVER swallow pool water.

 

[jellymoon]

I think the issue isnt' just the ecoli. (Please know, I'm not changing my stance on being extremely disappointed about the pool being closed). It is some of the other, more difficult to destroy bacteria.

The CDC article mentioned Shigella, which my 24 year old brother recently got. We aren't sure how he got it, but the guess was hit him when he went to retrieve a model airplane out of a creek running near his home. Anyway, this was a terrible illness. Bloody, uncontrollable diarrhea, terrible cramping, fever. And terribly embarrassing. It lasted for nearly a month, and for the first couple weeks he couldn't leave his house it was so bad. in fact, when it hit him it hit so hard that he was at work and didn't make it to the bathroom in time. Can you imagine being at work, and having to find a phone to call your wife to ask for a COMPLETE change of clothing because you'd had a major "accident." After that, wherever he went, he carried a backpack with plastic bags and a couple changes of clothes whenever he left hte house. Which wasn't often. He lost a TON of weight.

Anyway, it is so scary to think about what is out there. I hate knowing about germs. I'm one of those people that won't touch public bathroom doors. I scrub my hands, turn off the faucet with a pre-torn paper towel, and open the door with my foot. Then, I scrub my hands with disinfectant gell when I get outside the door. When the kids were really little, I had ziplock baggies to "protect" bottles, pacis and other things that went into the mouth before going into a dreaded public bathroom--- I'd ziplock them, and then bury them as deeply as possible in the backpack or diaper bag.

Iwish I didn't know this about pools!!!

 

[Michelle]

Deep breath time here.

Okay, I think we all have the update. The policy has been changed. Yes, parents of little ones are understandably upset, especially those traveling soon. Yes, DCL definitely needs to think about offering some sort of non-immersed water activity for little ones that does not compromise the health of any children (and knowing how responsive they are to guest concerns, I have to believe they are already thinking about this).

The fact remains that DCL HAD to make this choice due to health concerns and regulations. They can't disregard what they have been told and what they believe to be a threat to guest health. Is it unfortunate that the change was so abrupt? Yes. Is it unfortunate that those who have cruises planned soon and have small children cannot cancel without penalty, should that be their choice? Yes. But that doesn't change the facts.

You all are WELCOME to continue this discussion on the Debate Board, where you can debate the merits of this decision and the repercussions. We have received the update, we all know the situation, and we have debated it enough here.