Is there a risk in booking two different resorts for the same dates?

[ww52]

Our preference is Beach Club in July 2025 (there will be 7 kids in our extended family party); Stormalong Bay will be closed for refurbishing through May. That could potentially get delayed - no guarantees.

First question - any comments / experience with Disney pool refurbishing schedules? Do they often run over?

Second question - Our agent at Dreams Unlimited suggested we consider booking a second resort for the same dates, then cancelling one as we approach the date. Somehow that sounds risky - would Disney even allow that (tying up multiple rooms knowing half will be cancelled?) What about park reservations / dining? Are they tied to a specific resort and if we cancel that one do we lose our reservations?

Beach Club for us is worth booking and hoping or believing the pool will be done. As opposed to booking a resort we'd rather not be at, only to find out the pool WAS ready in time and be disappointed we aren't at the Beach Club.

Thoughts, anyone?

Thank you!

 

[Pyxie]

I don't see any risks with that other than tying up the 2nd deposit until you cancel. As long as you cancel within the allowed timeframe, you should be fine.

 

[weather_lady]

There are no issues whatsoever with doing this. I've had as many as 3 different room-only bookings at 3 different onsite hotels, booked for the same dates and for the same people, and there was never a problem (so long as I was able to spare the money for all 3 deposits, and remembered to cancel the ones we decided against well before the cancellation window ended). Dining won't be an issue, as ADRs are not tied to a room reservation (except with respect to calculating when your window to make them opens: 60 days + length-of-stay, etc. -- if you've already made ADRs and are canceling one hotel reservation, just make sure your existing ADRs are within the ADR window for the hotel reservation you're keeping). Park reservations will presumably not be an issue for you in 2025, either: they're no longer required for date-based tickets. (I'm assuming you're not passholders, cast members, or otherwise using open-ended tickets.)

The reason we've done it in the past was similar to what you're facing: we had refurbishments going on at our first and second-choice resorts that had already been delayed and had the potential to be deal-breakers if they ran past their [latest] scheduled end dates, and thus, we also made a reservation at our third choice. Later, a VISA cardholder discount offer was released for our second choice which made it the least expensive option, so we modified that reservation to take advantage of it, and once we could confirm that the rooms in our booked category there had all been refurbished (removing the potential "dealbreaker" scenario for that hotel), we canceled the other two.

I should add - lest anyone think I was being a room hog - that we were visiting during a lower-crowd time of year (late August), so none of these hotels was sold out, and my backup reservations weren't preventing anyone else from booking the room of their choice.

 

[Skippyboo]

If you have date based tickets, you don’t need park reservations. APs are only people stuck making park reservations.

 

[Marthasor]

As PPs have noted, there is really no risk in doing this other than tying up your own financial resources with multiple deposits. On the pool re-furb front - who knows? There are always possibilities of delays or even a pool closing unexpectedly due to unforeseen issues (which happened at SAB a few years ago). If a pool is really important to you, I would pick a back-up resort with a pool you would be happy with. IMHO, SAB is not that great. It's really spread out and it's very difficult to keep track of kids there. The paths around the pool meander and it's easy to get lost. Heck, I "lost" my own 12 year old there once when he went with a friend to go down the slide (which is across a path and away from the pool's gated area) - slide closed unexpectedly and when we went to find them, we couldn't (they decided to go down the little slide instead). I'm not sure which resort your DU TA recommended as a back-up, but we think the slide at BWI/BWV is fantastic and it's very easy to keep track of kids there. The Poly pool is also amazing (IMHO), zero-entry, and has a splash area for smaller children.

 

[weather_lady]

IMHO, SAB is not that great. It's really spread out and it's very difficult to keep track of kids there. The paths around the pool meander and it's easy to get lost. Heck, I "lost" my own 12 year old there once when he went with a friend to go down the slide (which is across a path and away from the pool's gated area) - slide closed unexpectedly and when we went to find them, we couldn't (they decided to go down the little slide instead).

Sorry to veer off-topic, but repeating for emphasis: I totally agree with your take on SAB. It looks really cool, but trying to supervise children there is a nightmare, and the placement of the slide on the other side of the walkway, behind a whole other fenced-in area, makes it even worse. It's great for an adults-only group, or even for families with toddlers who just want to play in the sand-bottom shallow area (and whose parents don't mind staying right next to them as they do), but not so much for those with elementary-aged kids. They'll disappear instantly from your view behind the maddening array of lighthouses, bridges, trees, chairs, outbuildings, stairways, cabanas, and porticoes that are scattered in and around the pool area.

 

[ww52]

Thanks all for your thoughts. Now the tough part - getting everyone to agree on a second choice!

 

[ww52]

Just wanted to add that I appreciate the opinions of how it can be difficult to supervise children at SAB. It's a great point that my wife and our adult children are well aware of. We stayed at Beach Club twice when they were kids and they loved the pool and want their kids to experience it. We've recently stayed at the Swam/Dolphin with 4 of the grandkids and walked by SAB several times (on the way to Epcot, BW, Cape May, Beaches and Cream) and the kids were excited to know that was going to be our resort for this special trip (50th wedding anniversary).

Anyway - your points are VERY well taking and important, and I'll be sure to remind our adult children and their spouses.

Thanks again to the great people on DisBoards!

 

[Brian rhymes with dyin]

Let me be the nth person to say SAB is overrated to the point that I wonder why people with kids under 13 even recommend it at all. I went there with my almost 4-year-old and it was beyond stressful. Give me a dinky walk-in pool with intentional boundaries and sightlines any day of the week over SAB which gets an A for effort and aesthetics and a D for enjoyment and execution.

 

[ww52]

With all the valid concerns about SAB, I'm actually curious what they will be doing to the pool Jan-May 2025. Just routine maintenance or perhaps addressing these concerns to some extent.

 

[Marthasor]

With all the valid concerns about SAB, I'm actually curious what they will be doing to the pool Jan-May 2025. Just routine maintenance or perhaps addressing these concerns to some extent.

I am doubtful they could address these concerns without digging out the entire pool. It's the pathways and bridges that are so meandering that make it so confusing, IMHO. They would also have to completely redo the slide if they wanted to address the fact that the entrance is outside the pool area.

 

[teamsamant]

I hope they replace the slide during refurb. That thing has taken some pieces off of my back!