What "floaties" are allowed in WDW?

[sassymom]

I am just wondering if Disney allows children who can't swim to wear swim assists? Now of course one of us will be with our DD5 and DS2 at ALL times when we are in the water. Also my son will be wearing the swim diapers, but I just wasn't sure about swim assists. It is so much more fun when they have these on so we can twirl them and let them play. My DD can swim with just the water wings. I know some places ban these so any first hand knowledge and/or product suggestions would be greatly appreciated for my DS2.

 

[dvcnewgirl]

My daughter wore water wings in Disney pools and at typhoon lagoon. They actually sell them in the gift shop. I don't think they are banned anywhere. Hope that helps!

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We asked the lifeguards once and they said it depended on how crowded the pools were that day. We have never seen anyone turned away but I guess they keep the option open if it is too busy.

 

[Selket]

The resort pools (at least at mods and deluxes) have life vests you can check out for free. I think as long as the item your child is using is wearable and fits next to them it isn't a problem.

 

[tjmw2727]

Yes, anything the child is actually wearing is ok, like a life vest, arm bands etc.

Things like noodles, kick boards or swim rings and such are allowed most of the time. If the pool is crowded or the life guard isn't comfortable with them they may ask you to remove them. They also prefer things like swim rings be clear color (seethrough?) so they don't block the lifeguards vision.

TJ

 

[jorodopo]

I highly recommend safe-t seal floaties
http://www.swimways.com/safetseal-popup.html
We have used it with DS9, DS7 and now DD2. It has multiple pads in front and in back. We really like how it keeps the kids more upright than the arm wings.
As the kids started swimming better I took the pads out one at a time without telling them. When they were down to 1 in front and 2 in back I showed them that they were really swimming by themselves and it really helped the transition out of the floaties.

We have used them at both water parks and 4 different onsite pools without any comments from the lifeguards.

Have a great trip

 

[alisonbestford]

Whilst we were at the pool at CSR last year the lifeguards wouldn't let a little boy (around 3yrs) use a swim ring
The pool wasn't crowded but, as TJ suggests, maybe the staff had experienced problems in the past and weren't comfortable with them

Both little boy and mum were pretty upset at first but the guard wasn't going to back down.
They soon 'recovered' though and a good time was had by all

 

[sassymom]

I was thinking of something like this for DS2...
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...1?_encoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B0007USKHS
Has anyone used one of these? Or something similar? As for the rings I would just assume leave those at home, I can't imagine DH or I trying to blow one up. (We are both smokers ) We will most likely use water wings for DD since she does great with them in our aunt's pool. Thanks for the replies everyone!!

 

[Amrita]

my 4 year old son was wearing the water wings, (i think thata is what they are called, the inflatable things that go on your arms) when he almost drowned! He normally wore his swim vest, but he was gaining confidence so he did not want to wear the vest anymore. I agreed to just let him wear the wings. He was playing in my mothers pool with my 4 year old nephew and they were jumping in the pool. When my son jumped in the pool the wings flew off! Warning to everyone out there, these wings are not safe and I knew this. Thank God my son actually kicked his feet and moved his arms until i was able to reach him. The obvious is to never take your eyes off your children in a pool, but if they use wings, be prepared for them to slide off if your child jumps in a pool!

 

[Kaybee]

When my son was younger he wore water wings all the time at Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach and the hotel pool and no one ever said anything to him. I watched him like a hawk while he "swam" but he enjoyed not having the restriction that a life jacket has.

 

[mjmcca]

you are staying at POP and all of the pools at POP have lifevests available for use by the guests at no charge. They will allow you to use the water wings at least they did on my last visit there this summer.You should also be able to use that swimsuit that you posted.

 

[Stephres]

I was thinking of something like this for DS2...
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...asin=B0007USKHS

My kids wore suits like these everytime we go to the pool at BCV with no problem. It made me feel a lot better too!

 

[LauraAnn630]

ASMu allowed my 3 yr old DS to use one of the blow up rings. It was a small one. He was just bobbin' in the pool like a fishin' bobber! ( I think thats what they are called...lol) It was not a clear one either.

This worked out nice for us because we didnt have to hold him the hole time.
We stayed with him of course.

My 8 yr old DS was not allowed to use his larger ring.

I found anything goes at night when the lifeguards are not there. As long as you are quiet.

There was a group at the pool one night that was obviously doing some partying. They all decided to jump in with there clothes on! For a minute I thought the might take them off! But they didnt.

 

[Tinky]

What does everyone use for little ones, around 10 months?

 

[tjmw2727]

Amrita's post is a good reminder that no flotation device replaces common sense and parental supervision. Any type of kids swimming aide can fall off or malfunction, even a coast guard approved PFD can get a kid into a prediciment if not used properly.

We never let our kids out of reach in the pool until they were old enough to trust and tall enough to touch as well as able to swim.

TJ

 

[sassymom]

We never let our kids out of reach in the pool until they were old enough to trust and tall enough to touch as well as able to swim.

TJ

That is of course our plan too. Two parents 2 kids, so we will be able to each stay with one. Like is said before it is just more fun for them if we are able to spin them and let them play swim. This is what we do at home, but rules are always so varied in public swimming places, I just wanted to find out what was and wasn't allowed. Thanks for all of your replies!

 

[jessica52877]

We stayed at Pop in October and in the gift shop they were selling wings, rings and even the float thing you kind of lay on. Used all with no problems!