Water Slide Rules- CR & Moderates

[lovethemouse2]

We love the BCR...BUT on their water slide they won't allow a rider that cannot swim independently and then they dump you into water that is 4ft deep. No floates or lifejackets allowed either!!! My son is 4 ft tall exactly this year which brings the water depth to his eyeballs. They also don't allow you to go WITH your child so he cannot do the slide. HUGE disappointment with him.

He's learning to swim but he still hasn't mastered it yet.

This year we are booked at CR but considering switching to CBR or CSR. Of these 3, does anyone know about the slide rules? I guess the main question is...How deep is the water at the bottom?

 

[floridafam]

I think the rules are the same at all Disney parks. Most of what you just mentioned.

I have read somewhere on these posts about certain pools being more shallow than others. Maybe someone can give you some more information.

At VB, you can stand at the bottom of the slide and "catch" your little one coming down the slide but you cannot go down with him/her. Many parents were catching their little ones under the armpits as they came down and then their faces wouldn't go under water.

Maybe you should find out if you can catch.

Good luck.

 

[pouncingpluto]

Hi there,

I was a lifeguard for a lot of years, including a stint at a pool with a waterslide (not Disney), and we had the same rule... you can't go down unless you can swim independently. I think it's a great rule, and here's the reason for it:

Waterslides emptying out into pools cause whirlpools at the bottom. Maybe you can't see it, and maybe you barely feel it as a full grown person, but it's there. I've had to fish out kids... even kids who can swim, and even ones taller than the water is deep... who simply can't get out under their own power, not even walking.

We would not want anyone trying to catch a child coming down the waterslide, as that is an accident waiting to happen, and maybe you wouldn't sue if you were badly injured by a flying child, but somebody would, and that person would shut down the waterslide for everyone else.

Additionally, we did not allow floaties or life jackets. Those things tend to give parents a false sense of security and result in them not watching their children as carefully as they should.

These rules aren't written for the 99% of the time when everything would be fine. They're written for the 1% precedents when things haven't been fine.

 

[lovethemouse2]

FYI, You can't "catch" at BCR. They wouldn't accomodate us in any way on this subject.

1. No catching
2. Child must be an independent swimmer or taller than 4ft
3. No floaties or life jackets
4. No double riders.

They DID however have a little slide in the kiddie pool which he liked, so that smoothed things over last year. He will be swimming with just a little more practice but being winterlike weather here, our trip will be the first swimming we will be doing this season so he won't be ready. Thanks for the reply.

 

[gepetto]

I'm almost positive that I saw kids in the yellow life vests going down the slide at AKL.

 

[CRCrazy]

Last March, my 5 year old wore a life jacket at the CR's slide - but same rules for sliding down - they won't let you wait underneath - I would go down first - then swim off to the side and wait. She didn't have any trouble. The hotel was practically empty that week however - now, with SOG there - it is much more crowded. We went back in December, but she finally mastered the art of swimming over last summer - so didn't need a life jacket any more.

Good Luck!

 

[DisneyVa.]

We have stayed at all three resorts. Just to let you know the CBR has the "calmest" and shorter slide of the three resorts.

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR allows lifejackets. They give them out at the pool.

 

[robinb]

We selected AKL for part of our next trip for this very reason.

I think the rules are different for Stormalong Bay and the slides at other resorts. I know I saw children with swimmies and yellow Disney swim vests go down the slide at the Polynesian and the Contemporary. I also know that they are not allowed on the big SAB slide. My 3.5 year old DD likes the small SAB slide, but I find the tiny pool behind the ship really boring. So, we chose AKL since it has a small slide that my DD will be able to use with floataion help .

 

[kmc]

i have stayed at cbr-por-porfq-wl-and csr and my son was allowed to wear his floaties at all of them.
and at por i went down double with him a few times as well as many other parents did and the lifeguard did not say anything to us-- for the other resorts i did not try to go down double because he loves going down by himself but i did see others go double but only with children under4

 

[mrsmom]

I don't know about other resorts but we swam at PORFQ and my then 4 year old wore a life jacket and went down the slide by himself and he doesn't know how to swim. The lifeguards were watching all the kids doing this.
Mrsmom

 

[CuteKatCar]

We stayed at CR in 2001. I was able to "catch" my DD (5) there as long as I was not right in front of the slide. It worked perfectly. Her head would pop up and I would grab her. She could swim, but I agree with the other poster about the whirlpool and, also, they come down pretty fast. That's why the lifeguard didn't want me waiting in front of the slide - to avoid a crash. I just waited off to the side and moved closer when it was her turn.

I also saw kids with lifejackets coming down the slide.

 

[CarolA]

Personally, I would have a hard time letting my child who could not swim independently go down the slide.

I was also a lifeguard. The lifeguards at Disney have no idea how well your child can swim so they probably do let kids down who would not get that privledge at a camp or program where the swimmers are known.

That said, it only takes a second for a kid to be in trouble in the water. Granted you may get to the kid or the lifeguard may in time, but there is damage done. I have seen children who thought they were ready for things likd slides just traumatized by the actual drop into the water. In most cases they go in over thier head (even with a life vest, you face will get wet!)


Now I know that when it comes to water I am probably erring on the cautious side. I was AMAZED last weekend that some 10 year old girls were allowed to swim at OKW with no adult supervision. My caution comes from pulling children and adults out of the water one too many times because they overestimated their skill set. I have a friend who was a lifeguard who actually had a man drown at her pool. It still haunts her.

 

[pouncingpluto]

Originally posted by CarolA
Now I know that when it comes to water I am probably erring on the cautious side. I was AMAZED last weekend that some 10 year old girls were allowed to swim at OKW with no adult supervision. My caution comes from pulling children and adults out of the water one too many times because they overestimated their skill set. I have a friend who was a lifeguard who actually had a man drown at her pool. It still haunts her. [/B]

I am right there with you. I think the majority of parents do not pay enough attention to their kids in the water, and it really bothers me. Like they don't really understand.

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by pouncingpluto
I am right there with you. I think the majority of parents do not pay enough attention to their kids in the water, and it really bothers me. Like they don't really understand.

Encouraging the "majority of parents" to pay attention to their children in the water is a-OK. But for the rest of us, the slides are perfectly safe. We're always in the water with her. My daughter is taking swimming lessons and she always wears floation devices when swimming out of her class.

 

[maryliz]

My 3 yr old ds has had no problem going down the slides at AKL and CBR. He was really little at AKL, but he had floaties on, and I stood at the bottom, off to the side so as not to crash, and grabbed him as he hit the water. Now there was literally only 6 people in the entire pool when we were there, so I had no concerns. We were at CBR in Feb, and he went down the slide by himself with floaties. I stood back far enough that he went into the water, and then I could stretch out my arms and he would grab my hands. As well, at CBR, the slide is really short and you can see by the mirror if it's your child about to come down. When the slide got busier, I just said "no more". There were kids about 7 years old that started hanging around us in the pool, and when I asked them where there parents were, they pointed to a totally different area, where the parents could not see their kids from where they were sunbathing. I just couldn't believe it ... but my dh and I are both "fish" and love the water, so we are always in with them.

Mary Liz

 

[lovethemouse2]

My son is the only child of two overprotective parents. We NEVER leave him unattended in a pool. I realize all the risks and totally understand pool rules and slide rules.

I'm the one who started this tread. At BCR I was told that the reason you couldn't double was because there is a sharp turn while you are going pretty fast and children can be slung from the parents grasp. Understandable. I don't know why they wouldn't allow floatation devices. I wish these slides dumped into water about 3.5 ft deep instead of 4ft. 6 inches means about 2 years age difference.

We have a waterslide here where I live and it dumps into water that is 5ft deep!!! I'm only 5 ft tall myself so I can barely touch. That's not a good design at all! Half the kids in line are shorter than me which means they HAVE to be swimmers to slide. And there is no signage at the top of the slide stating this fact. I was shocked the first time I went down and couldn't feel the bottom.

But even so, I put his lifejacket on him, go first and wait for him at the bottom. We never have any problems.

 

[Robin]

Not a Disney Resort... but pretty darn close. The Swan/Dolphin allows lifejackets on the slide.

 

[crew2002]

Just to let you know..when we stayed at WL and POR they allowed the kids to go down with life jackets. Remember the great area at Blizzard Beach for kids just his age! Have a great time and happy swimming/sliding.