Will Disney's Water Parks & Pools Open This Summer?

[Mainsail Minnie]

What do you think? We have a late July trip booked and are losing hope for the theme park experience being worth a trip, but we could possibly do a shorter trip to only enjoy the water parks and Stormalong Bay. It's so frustrating to have no hard information when you're trying to keep the hope alive. But talking about it can help. Thoughts?

 

[Taylor'sMom]

I was wondering about this earlier today. We have a July trip booked also, and definately enjoy a mid-afternoon swim to cool down.
The Podcast team said earlier today they don't believe the waterparks will be open for quite some time. It wouldn't surprise me. And resort pools are likely to be an issue also. Just due to the impossibility of enforcing distance between guests.
Hope I'm wrong though!

 

[Gentry2004]

I really just don’t think anyone knows. Will there be masks? Lines 6 feet apart?

 

[minthorne]

Yes. But only for the ducks.

 

[westie55]

I think resort pools will be open. However anything is possible. I don't believe the surveys sent to guests mentioned resort pools being closed as a potential modification and the Orlando task force or whatever the proper name is hasn't disallowed them. We will all have to wait for an announcement from Disney and go from there.

 

[cakebaker]

It’s easy to limit capacity at the resort pools. There’s no reason not to have them open. I don’t know if water parks will be open or not, but with capacity limits, easier to control than the parks.

 

[DisLiss]

See, now I think it's very hard to enforce social distancing in pools because people move around in them constantly and unlike lines, you can't as easily guide people to certain spots at all times.

 

[vinotinto]

We were just discussing this in the rumors Board thread on modifications.

It sounds to me that they can open pools, as long as they sanitize gates and chairs and space them according to guidelines. They’ll need to limit capacity, so perhaps have a CM at the gate. Chlorine is used to disinfect, so the pool itself should be fine to use. They just need to pay attention to the areas around it and to the capacity.

 

[cakebaker]

See, now I think it's very hard to enforce social distancing in pools because people move around in them constantly and unlike lines, you can't as easily guide people to certain spots at all times.

You’ll be standing in heavily chlorinated water, the risk is probably greatly lessened. I think social distancing is a goal. It’s going to be breached now and then. I’m sure we’ll see reminder signs everywhere. They’re all big pools, not hard to keep your distance from others with capacity limits in place.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

This would be an awesome opportunity for stationed CMs to begin scanning MBs for access to all of the resort pools, not just Stormalong Bay. That would cut down on the crashers who contribute to crowding.

 

[randumb0]

This would be an awesome opportunity for CMs to begin requiring MBs for access to all of the resort pools, not just Stormalong Bay. That would cut down on the crashers who contribute to crowding.

It is required at many, if not all pools

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

It is required at many, if not all pools

No. Only Stormalong Bay has CMs stationed at the pool entrances to scan bands to let guests in. The other pools have gate tap ins, which don't work well as crashers easily hitchhike in after resort guests. And resort guests can easily and illicitly bring non-resort friends and extended family members to join tham at those tap-in gate resort pools.

 

[brockash]

See, now I think it's very hard to enforce social distancing in pools because people move around in them constantly and unlike lines, you can't as easily guide people to certain spots at all times.

It's no harder than enforcing social distancing walking around the parks.

 

[MomOTwins]

If a gift shop can be open, a pool can be open. Neither one has any fixed places for people to stand and relies on guests to use common sense to keep our distance from others, just like at home.

 

[pooki1]

What if you bought a park hopper plus ticket? The plus is water parks not resort pools would Disney compensate you in some way if they were closed? These are all good questions!

 

[TCRAIG]

Even if the pools are open - if they limit capacity - you’d have to expect you may not get a chance to use them as normal...

 

[brockash]

What if you bought a park hopper plus ticket? The plus is water parks not resort pools would Disney compensate you in some way if they were closed? These are all good questions!

Definitely....if you bought from Disney.

 

[cakebaker]

What if you bought a park hopper plus ticket? The plus is water parks not resort pools would Disney compensate you in some way if they were closed? These are all good questions!

Same thing for AP holders.

 

[DisLiss]

You all swim with more self-aware people than I do, LOL! I find that especially with kids, once they enter a pool they forget anyone else exists. No matter how few people are in a pool I never seem to be able to maintain a quiet corner where I can swim in peace--whether in public or at home!

(Although it's not just kids...and it's not just pools, because I used to run into the same issue when I went shopping with toddlers and babies. I'd pull into a huge, mostly empty parking lot, park half a mile from the store, have my cart parked next to my car and have 3 doors open, trying to wrangle kids and grocery bags and toys and blankets and car seats and inevitably someone would come try to park right next to us. Apparently I have always tried to socially distance while other people seem to have a weird radar that makes them get into my space! )

 

[Kaadk]

This is one of the things I'm keeping an eye out for. We bought PH+ tickets for the first time, with the intent to hit the two waterparks for the first time. According to the other family travelling with us, if they're going to be closed at the time of our trip, that just might be the final straw for backing out of our trip. Up until now, they've been very adamant, due to the fact this is their one and only chance for disney, that they still wanted to go. But then they brought this question up just the other day.