Using pools if not a guest

[LilyWDW]

He and his family might have been added to the reservation. Which is 100% allowed by Disney.

 

[Robber Baron]

I don’t know if it’s allowed but I recently saw Fort Wilderness guests blatantly taking the boat over to Wilderness Lodge, using the pool and boating back.

We have stayed at A LOT of resorts. We have stayed at WL, I think 7 times, and find WL the absolute hardest resort, by far, to get a chair at the pool.

I wouldn't mind seeing them add wrist bands like Yacht & Beach at their pool.

 

[elvispursley]

I think all the resorts should have wristbands for the pool. And they should have a bar code on them you have to scan in at the pool. Especially the resorts in the skylines, MK, and Epcot resorts. I’d also have no problem asking to speak to someone at the front desk but k ie the standard part line that would be given…”there’s nothing we can do”

 

[hardcorestitch]

Hi,
I was watching a well know vlogger today (probably the most well know) and they had been invited to use the pool at Kidani village for the day by a friend who was staying there, is this allowed?
I was under the impression that it was supposed to be hotel guests only using the pools, I am a DVC owner at GFV and have seen that some hotels seem to be checking room keys/bands to confirm if you are a hotel guest.(edit..this seems to have just been for Memorial weekend)

If you’re not a hotel guest, you are NOT ALLOWED to use resort pools, whether inspections occur or not.

 

[Dave006]

I’d also have no problem asking to speak to someone at the front desk but k ie the standard part line that would be given…”there’s nothing we can do”

That would be a waste of time just talking to the Front desk. Ask to speak to the on duty Manager if you really want to make a complaint about the abuses at the pools or any other issues that may impact you stay.

Also you might ask for their contact contact information (email address), and that you would like to follow-up with the Resort General Manager by also asking for the GM's email address.

ETA: add more details on making your concern stick vs just being dismissed.

Dave

 

[ahcupcake]

I guess this means we can all turn up at Tims house and use his pool ?

Well since they don't use it I'd say lets all show up at the Tracker's house

 

[SwanVT2]

They should have it so you have to scan your magicband to get into the pool. Easy fix. We are going to Saratoga in July and it would make me so mad to see, for example, Paddock overrun with non guests!

 

[sam_gordon]

How would one know whether someone else (presumably a stranger) is a hotel guest or not?

Obviously not referring to those resorts that use wristbands.

 

[NaptownMom]

They should have it so you have to scan your magicband to get into the pool. Easy fix. We are going to Saratoga in July and it would make me so mad to see, for example, Paddock overrun with non guests!

Even if you can technically get past by piggy backing on a guest, it would discourage the practice.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I think the wristband feature is part of what's kept BCVs resale value so high. Yes it's all about the pool but without the wristbands it would be as crowded as a public beach on Memorial Day Weekend and less would want to own or be there. There's something very nice about being scanned in.

 

[NaptownMom]

I think the wristband feature is part of what's kept BCVs resale value so high. Yes it's all about the pool but without the wristbands it would be as crowded as a public beach on Memorial Day Weekend and less would want to own or be there. There's something very nice about being scanned in.

This is EXACTLY the reason I bought at BCV.

 

[Carouselofplanning]

I get that it’s a staffing issue - just like SAB they would have to have a pool team cast member sit at the gate under an umbrella wristbanding new guests and checking for wristbands as people enter. But honestly it would be staffed by an hourly college program employee - how much does it really cost to keep your guests happy and comfortable?

Lakeshore Lodge is rumored to be getting a lazy river too. They’re absolutely putting wristbands on over there, but there’s so much evidence this is a big issue at all deluxe main pools not just the mini water parks.

 

[Harmacist]

We have stayed at A LOT of resorts. We have stayed at WL, I think 7 times, and find WL the absolute hardest resort, by far, to get a chair at the pool.

I wouldn't mind seeing them add wrist bands like Yacht & Beach at their pool.

We had a DVC room (booked through Disney) overlooking the main pool at WL last summer. That pool was hopping from open until close, granted it was August. What's funny is that DVC area pool was basically empty, so we used that one insetad. They are almost right next to each other.

 

[VAtink]

We have stayed at A LOT of resorts. We have stayed at WL, I think 7 times, and find WL the absolute hardest resort, by far, to get a chair at the pool.

I wouldn't mind seeing them add wrist bands like Yacht & Beach at their pool.

Funny you mentioned this, we're here now and haven't been able to get a chair at the WL lodge pool all week! Fortunately the DVC pool has had open chairs.

 

[Dave006]

Funny you mentioned this, we're here now and haven't been able to get a chair at the WL lodge pool all week! Fortunately the DVC pool has had open chairs.

And the Bolder Ridge Cove pool (what a mouthful) is a Zero entry pool. We enjoy it often when staying at the WL.

Dave

 

[cchs82]

Reposting from a different thread concerning the pools at the GF. Sorry for the duplicate, but this is a hot button topic for my wife and me.................



Wife and I were at the GF the week after Easter. First time at the GF since 2005. We usually stay at the BC/YC but decided to try something different since SB is down.

We stayed in Club. Loved the room, the Club, and the monorail access. However, the pool experience was terrible. No chairs available at the main pool and tons of kids in the hot tub. Plus, the kids were clearly under-age and were unsupervised. The CMs did not monitor the hot tub. Made it tough to enjoy.

The pool experience alone is enough for us to say no to any future stays at the GF.

 

[bookbabe626]

We're at SSR right now, no enforcement of any type at the Paddock pool, pretty over-run every time DH went over the weekend.

Last night he witnessed an encounter between a couple of 10-12yo kids that led him to believe the second family was not staying at SSR. Kid1 was trying to find out if his new friend's room was near his, Kid2 couldn't even give a building or floor, let alone a room number. Trying to be charitable, maybe Family2 had just arrived and the kid was bad at directions? But a 12yo should be able to at least point towards a building and give a floor with some confidence. DH definitely got the not-staying-here vibe from the whole family once he looked over at their setup.

Considering how small the Paddock pool is, extra people definitely turns the experience sour.

 

[Carouselofplanning]

We're at SSR right now, no enforcement of any type at the Paddock pool, pretty over-run every time DH went over the weekend.

Last night he witnessed an encounter between a couple of 10-12yo kids that led him to believe the second family was not staying at SSR. Kid1 was trying to find out if his new friend's room was near his, Kid2 couldn't even give a building or floor, let alone a room number. Trying to be charitable, maybe Family2 had just arrived and the kid was bad at directions? But a 12yo should be able to at least point towards a building and give a floor with some confidence. DH definitely got the not-staying-here vibe from the whole family once he looked over at their setup.

Considering how small the Paddock pool is, extra people definitely turns the experience sour.

I would think that’s an uncommon pool to crash. There’s no mass transit nearby, just bus and it’s not adjacent to a park.granted the bus drops you right at the main pool lol. It’s a very long walk from Disney Springs parking to that pool. Plus there’s a gatehouse so you need to have a golf res or a dining res to enter if not a guest. I do agree that both slide pools do get crowded though.

 

[kylenne]

I would think that’s an uncommon pool to crash. There’s no mass transit nearby, just bus and it’s not adjacent to a park.granted the bus drops you right at the main pool lol. It’s a very long walk from Disney Springs parking to that pool. Plus there’s a gatehouse so you need to have a golf res or a dining res to enter if not a guest. I do agree that both slide pools do get crowded though.

You'd be surprised, imo the current uptick in pool hopping is pretty much entirely down to TikTokers and "private" FB groups sharing "hacks" about skirting Disney rules and regs and I could absolutely see these pricks encouraging people to pick pools like SSR precisely because they know they'll be less crowded and you don't have to tap to get in. SSR is huge but it's adjacent to Disney Springs so it would be trivial to park at DS and then hop the bus or the boat over there. It's not just offsite guests doing it either, but people staying at other Disney resorts. Requiring people to tap in is not really a deterrent though because the Poly pools are both gated and people are constantly piggybacking (moreso at the Lava pool, at the Oasis pool it's suspiciously obvious when folks do it because there's less traffic over there).

Personally I wish the way they had it Memorial Day weekend is the way it could be all the time. Even though we were only there very briefly due to inclement weather hitting a few minutes after we parked ourselves there, it was fantastic being able to just go to the Luna Park pool at BWI during our midday break and find umbrella chairs with no problem, because a CM was checking folks. I plan on sending an email about it actually, not that I expect it to really do anything but as much as we know they monitor these boards and socials I feel like it's not enough to complain here, we have to tell them directly.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We saw a couple pushing a stroller get "busted" in October at Poly! It was like seeing a speeder on the highway get pulled over. They left mumbling something about "trying again tomorrow".