With all this talk about pool hopping I was wondering...

[Gabe]

What would stop anyone from pool hopping?

I mean, wouldn't anyone who wanted to just be able to walk into any resort and use the pool?

I understand that wristbands are required at SAB and that you are supposed to have a room key that says DVC Member on it to pool hop, but does any one check for this card? How strict is it.

We have never done it and now that we are DVC members will probably try it, but I was wondering what would stop anyone else
from doing it.

Just curious.

 

[vernon]

I would guess the thought of the embarrassment should a CM asking you to leave might deter most people. Granted there are a few people who know this is against the rules, but do it anyway because Disney is pretty lax about policing this rule. Some hotels are more difficult to sneak into than others and some do actually police the pool area to some degree, but if someone is determined to use the facilities with paying for them it's not easy to stop them.

 

[Dean]

They do check sometimes, especially at the more popular pools. But this is a real problem and likely the reason that PH has been restricted for DVC members as others crash the pools.

 

[wdwendyd]

One time we were staying at BWV over Thanksgiving weekend and they put up a temporary fence around the main pool. There were CMs asking to see your room key and stamping hands. So it does seem that at busier times, they do check.

 

[Lesley]

Oh, believe me....other people crash the pools. Locals crash the pools, people from off-property timeshares crash the pools....guests of other resorts crash the pools.

I know of a family who considers pool crashing their "Disney vacation on a budget".....

Personally I'd have no problem with wristbands or gated pools all year round. It angers me quite a bit that legal pool hopping could be taken away from DVC members while nothing is done to keep pool crashing from happening....great, make more room for the crashers by keeping ligitimate Disney guests away And certainly priority needs to be given to actual guests of the resort where the pool is.

 

[ez]

I totally forgot we weren't allowed to pool hop to SAB anymore. So there we were, happily showing our room key...and we were told sorry, no more pool hopping. By the way...SAB was almost empty that day. I'm still thinking they should allow pool hopping there on days like that. We were planning on tube rentals and frozen drinks, so they lost some revenue there too.

 

[Gabe]

I would like to see Disney police this more as well. Even if it meant wristbands at all resorts or gated off areas.

This is the way it is at Disneyland resort. Both pool areas for Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian require valid room keys to to gain access and if this is a big problem at WDW something should be done.

Then again, do the pools really get that crowded?

I guess we will see when we go in September!