FW guests discussing their choice to hop to WL pool

[F4disneyfan]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1408195

I thought that this was funny there are a few people on this thread I linked that feel pool hopping from FW to WL and the CR is perfectly fine and legal as they don't have nice pools LOL.

 

[dwelty]

Give me a break!

 

[eliza61]

Never really understood the desire to pool hop. It seems to take up so much time to travel to another resorts pool and if I wanted to do that why not just go to a water park?

 

[elijahpep]

Pool hopping is something I understand to be special to DVC members for them to be able to visit allowed pools not under black out dates to other DVC properties during their stay. The exception is SAB which is for BC/YC guests staying there only.

It appears that this isn't allowed by regular guests of WDW resorts to go in between resort pools of Disney Resort properties, of which they aren't staying during their visit.

My question would be, "What would prevent and stop the non-DVC normal regular guest staying at a value,mod or deluxe resort from pool hopping to a resort for which they are not registered? "

The pool hopping scenario could become the bew "bus"issue. What's to prevent any WDW guest (holding park tickets only staying off site) to go to Epcot, pack the kids suits, take the boat or walk to BWV, let the kids swim and the adults hang out and rest, THEN boat or walk over to MGM for dinner and night time park activity. OR DTD visitors walk over to SSR have a nice swim at the Pool and then walk back over and catch a bus to their off property resort or other Disney resort. Abuse could run over. If you have little ones and don't want to pay a water park ticket for the fun slides and such for the whole family, then a free Disney transportation via boat ,bus or walking is just minutes away for an off site park guest or another Disney resort guest.

We went pool hopping over to BWV from SSR our last stay and no one asked for anything showing that we did or didn't belong there. How would Disney monitor pool hopping by anyone?

~DW

 

[Amy5000]

F4disneyfan:

Hi I read the thread. I'm a newbie so I don't have a lot to say on pool hopping. I really don't have a sense of how prevalent it is at Disney resorts. That said, I totally didn't get what you were saying in post 10 you told chrisj to check out renting a 2 bedroom DVC villa since he or she was staying at FW for budget reasons. I mean the poster wrote:

We are camping for the first time this time. For us it was a budget thing. There are 7 of us and 3 of my kids are considered adult age by Disney 10yrs + and a resort would mean 2 rooms vs. 1 campsite. Because we could save so much on lodging we were able to splurge on the Disney Dining Plan. We don't really spend much time at the resorts and my kids would rather be at the water parks than the pools so it just made sense this time around. I'm not a camping fanatic, but it is mostly cause I hate to cook and do dishes at a campsite. So, with the Dining Plan I don't have to!

and you quoted chrisj's post and replied:

You should have looked into renting points for a 2 bedroom DVC villa and you could have had all teh space you needed plus a mommy and daddy only room. You can also get teh dining plan renting points. The other great thing is you have a full kitchen and a washer and dryer so you don't need to pack nearly as much stuff as you can throw the stuff in the wash and head out to the parks. We love the DVC villas for this reason precicely as we can pack half the clothes we used to and have clean clothes for the entire time plus we do all our laundry the night before checkout so we have no clothes to wash when we get home we just unpack and put them away.

A week with 7 people at Fort Wilderness this May is $590 (including tax). A week at a 2 Bedroom Villa at OKW is 285 pts....at $10 per point that's $2,850 for the same week. I have to admit, I was confused. Are you suggesting that an additional $2260 is chump change...


oh well, let them eat cake...

 

[F4disneyfan]

F4disneyfan:

Hi I read the thread. I'm a newbie so I don't have a lot to say on pool hopping. I really don't have a sense of how prevalent it is at Disney resorts. That said, I totally didn't get what you were saying in post 10 you told chrisj to check out renting a 2 bedroom DVC villa since he or she was staying at FW for budget reasons. I mean the poster wrote:



and you quoted chrisj's post and replied:



A week with 7 people at Fort Wilderness this May is $590 (including tax). A week at a 2 Bedroom Villa at OKW is 285 pts....at $10 per point that's $2,850 for the same week. I have to admit, I was confused. Are you suggesting that an additional $2260 is chump change...


oh well, let them eat cake...

I was posting an option and giving them an idea as to renting points rather than camping.

 

[Snookies]

Never really understood the desire to pool hop. It seems to take up so much time to travel to another resorts pool and if I wanted to do that why not just go to a water park?

Exactly!
This has always been our view. If we need to get dressed for the pool, travel to another resort, enjoy the pool, and travel back to our resort to refresh after being in the water, we may as well spend the day at one of the Water Parks.

With respect to another poster's question: 'What would prevent and stop the non-DVC normal regular guest staying at a value,mod or deluxe resort from pool hopping to a resort for which they are not registered?' I don't know how effective it is or would be, but my answer would be ethics.

 

[tjkraz]

We went pool hopping over to BWV from SSR our last stay and no one asked for anything showing that we did or didn't belong there. How would Disney monitor pool hopping by anyone?

They don't and it's been going on for years. It's not limited to WDW resort guests either. People will drive or shuttle in from off-site resorts with the swimsuits in a bag and follow the morning at a Disney park with an afternoon at a Disney pool.

Between the cost of trying to enforce any pool use rools and the reality that Disney doesn't like to come across as the bad guy, I doubt you'll ever see any open enforcement. The only reason they make an attempt at Stormalong Bay is due to the line of thinking that SAB pool hopping would cut into revenues at TL or BB.

 

[elijahpep]

Exactly!
This has always been our view. If we need to get dressed for the pool, travel to another resort, enjoy the pool, and travel back to our resort to refresh after being in the water, we may as well spend the day at one of the Water Parks.

With respect to another poster's question: 'What would prevent and stop the non-DVC normal regular guest staying at a value,mod or deluxe resort from pool hopping to a resort for which they are not registered?' I don't know how effective it is or would be, but my answer would be ethics.

ITA with you about the time it takes to pool hop. We only did it the last time to check out BWV since our daugther wanted to stay there in the fall and to see if the kids like it well enough to enjoy a stay throughout the next visit to WDW. They of course loved it and we will try BWV for the first time. They swam and we enjoyed some adult drinks in the shade.

I think you are right about the ethics, we would never even have thought about pool hopping previous to DVC. I would have just felt it was wrong.

~DW

 

[elijahpep]

They don't and it's been going on for years. It's not limited to WDW resort guests either. People will drive or shuttle in from off-site resorts with the swimsuits in a bag and follow the morning at a Disney park with an afternoon at a Disney pool.

Between the cost of trying to enforce any pool use rools and the reality that Disney doesn't like to come across as the bad guy, I doubt you'll ever see any open enforcement. The only reason they make an attempt at Stormalong Bay is due to the line of thinking that SAB pool hopping would cut into revenues at TL or BB.

It's amazing and I believe you are absolutely correct. It probably does go on daily and Disney wouldn't chance making someone's trip unmagical. I guess its like alot of other things in life, suggestions not rules.

Thanks for the insight. I just have wondered about this topic since our first stay at SSR.

~DW

 

[spiceycat]

It's amazing and I believe you are absolutely correct. It probably does go on daily and Disney wouldn't chance making someone's trip unmagical. I guess its like alot of other things in life, suggestions not rules.

~DW

if disney got alot of complaints from the moderate, value or deluxe guests - saying they could not use their pool because people staying offsite were using it - believe disney would do something.

first of all that is what the security guards are there for - to make sure no one gets on the property without an good reason - eating, shopping is at good reason - swimming in that pool is not.

but if people are going to lie and many do.

I still remember the first trip I could afford staying onsite at Disney - stayed at CBR.

that first night I went to swim in the pool next to us. Some people were there told me it was a private party and I would need to go elsewhere. Well I told them I was calling the front desk - because I wasn't told this was happening.

well guess what they all left - they were not staying at CBR or onsite at all - Florida tags - and this way before florida tags were on rental cars.

the reason that SALB is like it is - because too many people from Epcot were coming over to swim. when the lifeguards started to demand a room key to get towels. these jerks just went to the quiet pool and got them. or brought them from home.

they say they had a RIGHT to swim at WDW - because they paid so much to go to the WDW theme parks.

this is a mind set. that won't be changed until Disney puts fences around all its pool and only allows their guest to use the pool.

Disney know it. We know it. Disney won't do anything until enough paying guest complaint about not being able to use the pool. then guess what Disney will do first - yea right - tell DVC member we can't use that pool.

 

[elijahpep]

Seems there could be a better answer, but you're right as well. This will continue and nothing will be said. So really DVC pool hopping isn't that big of a deal in reality, cause it's already being done by many people who are on and off site guests without having to pay MFs or otherwise.

Like you state SpiceyCat, they paid a big price for the park ticket and feel that they should have the right to use any Disney pool at anytime they choose.

There are really some diverse folks out there tho I got to say. I could never goto another property pool prior to DVC and now only to DVC pools when allowed. Guess again, it's different strokes for different folks~

~DW

 

[jodifla]

I think some of this has to do with changing rules. I used to camp at FW in the 70s and 80s, and I remember being told you could use other resort pools, like the ones at the Contemporary.

Back then, though, we had River Country, so we normally went there.

 

[diznyfanatic]

My question would be, "What would prevent and stop the non-DVC normal regular guest staying at a value,mod or deluxe resort from pool hopping to a resort for which they are not registered? "

We went pool hopping over to BWV from SSR our last stay and no one asked for anything showing that we did or didn't belong there. How would Disney monitor pool hopping by anyone?

~DW

On a recent stay at both BCV and BWV, you had to show your resort ID and they were attaching wristbands. The process was slightly different, however, between BCV and BWV.

At BWV, they were attaching the wristband at the towel cart in order to get a pool towel. At BCV, they had a CM stationed at the entry of SAB and were attaching a wristband there before you could even enter the pool area.

In fact, I saw one very unhappy mom who had a couple of young children at SAB when she was asked for her Resort ID. She said she didn't bring it down from the room because she said she had called the front desk from her room to ask and was told she wouldn't need it. Despite her being upset, this family was NOT admitted to SAB.

We didn't see the wristbands being attached at VWL or SSR, but frankly, if they aren't doing so, I wish they would.

There were never enough chairs at the VWL main pool and getting one at SSR on some days has been reported as iffy.

As someone else mentioned, I've never understood the attraction in Pool Hopping. Wastes to much time for us.

 

[Sammie]

I agree that Disney will not intercede until, one it costs them money, or they get many complaints or the over crowding become a safety hazard.

I was told that they fenced SAB because it simply became so crowded it was becoming dangerous.

If enough guests complain then they might become more proactive.

I thought that the Guests at FW were given a sheet a check in that explained that the pool at WL was off limits. Not that, it would stop some as the signs posted at the pool go unheeded.

Disney hates to interceed because of the affect it has on the child of the parent who had no respect for rules and guidelines. It truly is not the child's fault his parents are jerks.

 

[Disneynut71]

My last stay at BCV We had to show our room key and get a wrist band to swim in SALB