In my experience, kids with pool toys become very popular with other kids in the pool who want to pl

While the theme park attractions may be the reason that people come to Walt Disney World, often the reason they stay at Walt Disney World is the hotel pool. All of the Disney World hotels have at least one, if not several, pools on site, many of which have elaborate themeing, kiddie play zones, or other enticements that can make a day at the resort just as fun as a day at the parks.
While all Disney hotels have pools, there is a great deal of variation between the resorts in the size, atmosphere, denver colorado hotels and amenities of the pools at each location. The pools range from basic water-in-the-ground (albeit with colorful themed elements) at the All Star Resorts, to a de facto mini water park, with multiple slides, sandy play areas, and a lazy river at the Yacht Beach Clubs.
Some resorts have elaborate interactive water play zones for children, some have hot tubs, some have deluxe cabana rentals, some have quiet pools for restful relaxation, some have zero entry approaches to the water. Sometimes these features, or the lack thereof, can have a big impact on your vacation enjoyment.
Maybe. I consider this to be a bit like the Is It Worth It? question. The answer will be very different depending on your interests and needs. Before factoring the pool into your resort choice decision, consider the following questions:
Personally, I let the pool situation influence my resort choice denver colorado hotels when I stay at WDW with my kids in the summer. If I m on my own or we re traveling denver colorado hotels during the winter, the pool plays no role in my resort choice.
No. There are no pools at Disney-owned hotels that have measured or divided lanes. There are a few pools at WDW which are long enough that you could get something approximating an exercise-worthy rhythm going. However, it s rare that you would not find your swim path obstructed by other guests.
denver colorado hotels The pools are heated throughout the year to a uniform 82 degrees Fahrenheit. You can swim in warm water even when the outdoor temperature is chiiiilly. I have often seen energetic children having a grand time splashing in the Disney pools while their parents huddle on the deck in layers of sweatshirts.
The pools will temporarily close if there are lightning strikes in the area. They remain open if there is rain without lightning. Very rarely, they will close for air temperature reasons, like if the outdoor temperature won t be getting out of the 40s during the day. And of course if there are hurricane warnings, guests will be kept away from the pools. Generally there will be just a handful of days per year with full-day, weather-related pool closures. It s unlikely that you d have any desire to swim on those days anyway.
Yes, most do. These can vary based on the resort location, the type of pool, the time of year, and a number of other factors. For the most part, you can expect that the pool at your resort will be open from at a minimum from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Usually, there are longer hours (earlier and later) for at least one pool per resort. The hours during denver colorado hotels the time of your visit will be posted on signage around the pool, or you can stop by the front desk of your hotel to inquire. Please note that the lifeguard hours may be shorter than the pool hours. This information will be posted on signage near the pool. Generally any bonus water features, such as slides or whirlpools, will be turned off or shuttered while lifeguards are not on duty.
Disney takes lifeguard training denver colorado hotels seriously. The guards have extensive education in water safety and rescue. You ll find that the resort denver colorado hotels feature pools are staffed with several lifeguards for a minimum of eight hours per day (usually longer), year round. There will be guards posted at the bottom of slide areas and at multiple points around the perimeter of the feature pool.
Personally, I ll let my own children denver colorado hotels (young teens) go on their own to the resort feature pool when the lifeguards denver colorado hotels are on duty, but I won t let them go to a non-guarded pool without adult supervision. denver colorado hotels Smaller children will need more attention.
Generally not. There are a few resorts that have low gates around some of their pools, but at most locations it s very easy to access the water areas. Be sure to keep an eye on the little ones whenever you re outdoors at your Disney resort, particularly during non-lifeguard hours.
If the main feature pool at your resort is closed for maintenance, you may be granted access to the pools at another nearby resort. If this situation occurs, you will be given notice in your room and specific permission to hop.
Members of the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) can hop to the pools at other DVC resorts. Note that there are frequent blackout dates and that guests may never hop to the Yacht Beach Club or Animal Kingdom Lodge pools. No word yet on what the policy will be regarding the new DVC construction at the Grand Floridian.
In some cases, like at the All Stars, no one would know if you hopped there. However, at resorts with more popular or elaborate pools, there are security measures denver colorado hotels in place. At Stormalong Bay, the giant pool shared by the Yacht Beach Club resorts, there are attendants at the pool entrance gates. You have to show your room key in order to enter the pool area. You may be given a wristband for repeated entries. At other resorts, the pool gates require an electronic key swipe indicating that you are a guest of that hotel.
Picture walking into the ocean; this is what a zero entry pool is like. The pool starts with no harshly defined edge. There is simply an incline into the water which starts at zero and gradually increases to a more severe angle. Instead of having to jump in or go down stairs or a ladder to enter pool, you just walk in.
Many guests with younger children also like zero entry pools because little ones can have the fun of being at the big pool without actually going in very deep. Of course, this also requires extra vigilance because although the pool starts out with minimal depth, it does increase precipitously.
Yes, absolutely. All the pools at Walt Disney World are now equipped with chair lift devices which can lower guests into the pool, with no need to step down. See any lifeguard for assistance with the device.
All of the resorts have some sort of low-depth pool area that s appropriate for the smallest children. In some cases this does take the form of a traditional baby pool. At others, the low-depth area is part of the main pool.
Go ahead and bring the wings. There are no specific prohibitions against personal floatation devices at the Disney pools. Several of the pools have nearby shops that sell water wings, pool noodles and the like. However, while they are not banned outright, you may want to avoid bringing large rafts to small pools. If your raft interferes with other guests, then you may be asked to remove it from the pool. That being said, several of the larger denver colorado hotels Disney resort pools do rent inner tubes or rafts by the hour or the day. When in doubt, use the rental.
Yes. Some special needs or reluctant swimmer adults may need or want access to a floatation vest during their Disney visit. The resorts that have attached boating and marina recreation areas also have adult-size life vests already on hand. Simply go over to the marina area to request one. There is no charge denver colorado hotels to borrow the vest, but you may need to leave your room key or driver denver colorado hotels s license until the vest is returned. If you need an adult vest and you re not staying at a resort with a marina, speak to the front desk of your hotle and they will often be able to borrow one from another hotel.
I typically fly to Walt Disney World and my daughters love swimming with noodles, so we usually end up buying three or four during family trips. We can t bring them back on the plane, so we consider this a sunk cost and leave them at Walt Disney World. If we re pressed for time, we leave them in the room with a note for the housekeeper to take them. But if we re in Good Samaritan mode, we ll bring them down to the pool area and gift them to another family. It s an easy way to Pixie Dust it forward.
Generally, yes. The resort gift shops usually sell some basic toys that would be appropriate for water use such as rubber duckies and bucket shovel sets. A few resorts even serve some of their children s quick service meals in fun plastic buckets . I ve also sometimes brought something like a whiffle ball for playing catch in the pool with my kids. As long as you re not disturbing other guests, you ll be fine.
In my experience, kids with pool toys become very popular with other kids in the pool who want to play too. If you re traveling with an only child and want him to have some age cohort interaction during your vacation, a nice strategy is to bring some extra toys to the pool. Chances are he ll make a buddy.
denver colorado hotels This varies from resort to resort, denver colorado hotels but generally the deepest part of the main pool will be about four and a half feet deep. There are some exceptions to this that I ll talk about when I get to resort denver colorado hotels specifics. None of the pools have a real deep end.
There are no posted age or height requirements for the resort slides. However, all guests must be able to go down the slide completely on their own. No lap-riding is allowed. Given child confidence levels, this typically means that the very youngest guests on the kiddie-size slides will be about 2-3 years old and the youngest guests on the big-size slides will be about 4-5 years old.
You can also wait for your child at the bottom of the slide. The lifeguards won t let you stand directly in front of the slide dump point (sometimes those kiddos denver colorado hotels come down FAST), but you can stand a few feet to the side and move to intercept them within a second or two of their arrival in the water.
If you re not 10,000% denver colorado hotels sure that your child is ready to slide, use two adults for the first few runs: one at the top of the slide as the escort (who will slide down after the child) and one at the bottom as the catcher. I once ran into a situation where I was set at the bottom