VWL quiet pool. DVC or not?

[Canadian Tom]

Hello: I remember reading a while back that with the VWL and WlL pools there was a problem with the people from Fort Wilderness campground using the pools at WL. Is this problem been solved or is it still a problem? Thanks

 

[JimC]

At BWV, BCV and VWL we have shared facilities. I doubt if there is a separate maintenance team or separate housekeeping staff or separate operating supplies inventory -- one for the WDW resort and one for the DVC resort. Most likely it is a shared common infrastructure. So my guess is that all maintenance and operations at the combined resorts are prorated between DVC and WDW. So DVC and resort guests are all paying for the entire package, probably allocated based on occupancy, as another poster suggested.

 

[mbw12]

After reading these posts, just thought I would add my 2 cents!

It annoys the heckout of me that FW campers would be using either pool at WL!!!!

I don't care if WL guests use both pools, as I would not want to be restricted from using the theme pool, since I am DVC.

Bobbi

 

[JimC]

Are FW and WL/VWL connected? Wouldn't they need to drive or boat from one to the other? Maybe the closing of the water park over there contributes to the problem. We miss that water park, it had an old fashioned charm to it.

 

[Granny]

FW has its own pool, though it is plain and non-themed. There is a boat that circles Bay Lake and they can catch it to go back and forth from WL. I've watched many, many people come off of the boat wearing their swimwear, toting their beach bags and they weren't coming back from another pool.

It's a problem, but as long as Disney doesn't care (ie, WL & VWL guests don't throw hissy fits), then I guess it will continue.

And I agree that the closing of the water park at FW (River Country) has contributed to this greatly. I wish they'd at least open the pool portion of that. It would solve the problem overnight.

 

[LakeAriel]

MBW12
Hope my info on Rocking Horse Ranch was useful! I'm jealous, miss the place!
The pool hopping has gotten out of hand! Another perk everyone uses but members! At Animal Kingdom Lodge people were taking busses from Animal Kingdom and using the pool. They weren't guest of any Disney property! Now FW! I sent an Email to member services asking them to please utilize bracelets for guest at check in. I couldn't get a seat once in seven days at the pool they were so crowded. That's just wrong! I may be a DVC owner but can't afford to subsidize other peoples vacations. I went out on a limb to buy, to SAVE money.

 

[KNWVIKING]

Any pool costs we share with WL is all speculation since we don't have those numbers availible to us. We may pay a portion of the WL pool upkeep and I really don't have a problem with it. The reason I don't is because I feel we members use their pool much more then they use ours. We stay at VWL in Dec. Not exactly prime pool weather, put there is always a fair amount of activity at the WL pool and virtually none at ours. Even on our May & Oct trips to OKW and BCV we make a point of visiting WL- we simply love the resort - and again we see very little activity at our pool. I'm sure there are time we our pool is max'ed out, but I can truely say I've never seen more then a handfull there.

As for the FW parasites...... well, I don't like it, but it's hard to blame them. WDW needs to spend some money and give that resort a first class pool. They used to be able to swim in the lake-gone. They used to hace RC in their backyard-gone. Whats left ? The same pool they have back home at the YMCA.

I believe there is some connection between WL & FW. Even in the Events flyer we get at checkin lists the hayrides and campfire/movie nites.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

This thread would have a different tone if we were talking about the use of the SSR, OKW, HH or VB pools and ammenities by non-members. I don't think DVC members at BCV, BWV and VWL should be left with the impression that we DVCers use the "mother resort" facilities in a parasitic manner. We pay (in part) for the shared ammenities at these resorts (valet, front desk services, transportation, pools and other recreation facilities). I never thought of the VWL pool as the WL's quiet pool since it was not there prior to the villas. Do you think the WL paid anything for the VWL's pool construction??

I don't see the cost of the pool maintenance as a major issue, but members should be clear what our dues go for. I don't think that is always the case. Also, I don't claim to be an expert on the topic.

Other members have crunched the numbers of these "shared services" and found discrepancies in the way these items are divided up and paid for by the different resorts. One thread specifically talked about the transportation costs at BWV, BCV, YC and BC.

 

[crisi]

Non members use those pools all the time, either as cash staying guests or as guests of DVC members.

What we are really talking about is hopping. DVC members can hop, others can't. Its hopping for a FW guest to come over to the WL - therefore against the rules. Is it hopping for a BC guest to use the BCVs quiet pool? I think you'd have a hard time making a case for that. Disney doesn't seem to think it is - as they have all the pools marked on the maps with times for guests at the "hotel" portion of these resorts.

The next question becomes, are they subsidizing the amenties for hotel guests using our dues? Don't know. Is it a big enough deal to care? Don't know. Strikes me as the kind of thing it takes more money and effort to look at than it would solve (unlike bus transportation - which is a fairly major expense).

If I had to guess, and I, of course, don't know -- I'd guess that pool maintenance for the hotel/DVC resort as a whole is paid for on one line item and then prorated and billed back to DVC based on the proportion of rooms - there would be no seperate break out for our "DVC quiet pools." If this is the case, we are probably getting a pretty good deal - as I'd guess us frequent Disney guests use the pool more often than the occational Disney commando.

 

[FLYNZ4]

Originally posted by crisi
What we are really talking about is hopping. DVC members can hop, others can't.

From what I have seen, there is nothing that prevents any WDW hotel guest, or a guest staying off-property, or local Orlando residends from using any WDW pool, with the occasional exception of SAB.

We have probably made 10+ hotel stays (typically over 2 weeks each) to Y&BC, and we have only been asked for our room IDs a couple of times. I have never been asked at any other resort.

I know that we consider "pool hopping" a perk of DVC... but in reality, I think it is something that anyone can generally do anytime they want.

/Jim

 

[jimmytammy]

As a WLV owner, I dont have a problem with WL guests using the quiet pool. We use the other facilities in WL. I dont think that many WL guests realize the quiet pool is there, at least when we have been home.