Pools at Disney Resorts

[PrincessMom84]

Ok... I searched on here to see if there was a thread specifically on pools and I couldn't find one.

I just have some thoughts on pools to share:

1. How important is the pool at your resort to you? My kids will be 2 and 5 during our next trip and I am considering changing our current reservation which is at POP, because there is no water slide. My kids loved the splash pad with kids' waters slides at Wilderness Lodge the last time we went. Now I feel spoiled and feel like it will be hard to stay at a value resort with no water slide.

2. Also, does an ugly pool ever keep any of you from wanting to stay somewhere? When I was looking at some moderates and even deluxe resorts, I came across these pools that are just scary and ugly. I know my girls would be terrified of these images and not want to use these pools. What were they thinking when they designed these? I will never stay at Boardwalk or Port Orleans French Quarter because these water slides are scary! Too bad because the kids water play area at French Quarter looks great. But the dragon or whatever it is at the main pool would make my kids cry! And the creepy clown at Boardwalk? I get that it is circus themed, but this is just so off-putting for me!

3. What are your favorite Disney Resort pools and why?

 

[Nancyg56]

I do consider pools when making resort decisions. In fact when my DGD was little we chose POFQ becuase of that little pool. SHe was a little thing and scared of slides, but King Triton Nope, she loved it. The slide was not huge and she was able to use it. IMO, this pool was the best for a youngster.

 

[westie55]

YMMV and all kids are different, but I think King Triton slide at POFQ is incredibly appealing to children. I was a child when it first opened and I was mesmerized by it; I remember looking at photos and wanting to stay at POFQ so badly. Last year we did stay there and my almost 3-year-old loved the slide. It was a perfect first slide for him. He went down all by himself over and over again (in a life jacket). It's a very mild slide that is perfect for little ones.

I do consider pools but truthfully kids love all pools and will have a great time even without the slide. A slide is awesome but not a must for us. My kids are still little but thus far they have been scared of the dumping water in the children's splash pads (this was true at POFQ and the GF) so those don't draw us in as much.

 

[Disneylover99]

Pools are important to me. We like to be close to one. My main priorities are finding a chair and shade. For that reason, SAB at YC/BC was once and done for me. Slides were never important to my kids. They just wanted to swim. So in that respect, any pool will do.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The pool is important to us because we spend at least 2, half-days there during our trips. When my DS was younger, the splash pads and smaller slides were fantastic and were factored in to our resort decisions. Now that he is older, he is bored out of his skull at smaller pools (like WL) and can't use the splash pads, so we tend to stay at places with larger pools and bigger slides. The slide at BWI is actually his favorite on property.

 

[goofy4tink]

BW is our favorite resort, followed closely by POR. My dd's first pool slide was as POR (then Dixie Landings). She grew up yelling 'Clown barf' as she slid out of the clown's mouth at Luna Part at Boardwalk!!! She was afraid of clowns when she was young but this one didn't seem to bother her in the least.
I don't care for SAB...way too spread out and easy to lose track of your child. And it's ridiculously difficult to get a seat where you can actually see your child in the water! So, no, pools aren't a big deal for us.

 

[GPC0321]

1. I don't have kids, but the pool is still a consideration for me. One of the reasons I shy away from value resorts is because their pools seem more basic, lack as much shade as some of the mods and deluxes, and don't have the nice pool bars/grills of the others.

2. I haven't been to either Boardwalk or POFQ, but their pools weren't the deterrent. I'd be find with either of those pools. Both of those resorts appeal to me for other reasons, and I wouldn't hesitate to book either one. Aside from the value resorts and their pools, I can't think of any others that would be a deal-breaker for me. but I've never been afraid of clowns or cartoon dragons, and I don't have young children (which...ironically, I believe these pools are meant to appeal to).

3. I've only been to three Disney resort pools: Coronado's, Grand Floridian's (Beach pool), and Kidani's. I enjoyed all three, though the two deluxe pools were a more relaxing experience than Coronado's. All three have slides and good pool bar/grills and extensive seating with shady areas and umbrellas. Kidani has an amazing splash play area. Grand Floridian is my favorite of the bunch. Only one pool day there, but having lobster sliders brought out to our poolside chairs (under an umbrella), and then later lounging in the shallow/zero-entry end of the pool, watching the monorail glide by overhead. Yeah. Good times.

 

[cvjw]

My boys grew up using the slides at POFQ and the BWV. Both of them survived the “scary” slides without one nightmare or bad experience. On the contrary, both had great experiences at both pools. We had some great family memories at both resorts.

In fact, we had such great experiences at BWV, that we bought a dvc contract there. It is still one of our favorite resorts.

 

[hawkeyesparks]

Resort Pools have become more important as my kids have grown older, and I'm sure they will reach an age where the importance will begin to decline. For my family it's definitely something we look at. It doesn't make or break the deal, but it's definitely part of the research.

We haven't stayed at a ton of places, but the ones we have, have had great pool areas. Contemporary is big and nice. Grand Floridian too. We like Boardwalk a lot. The best though is the Wilderness Lodge so far for us.

 

[monorailsilver]

I love a pool and swimming is a must in Disney....need summer trips so I can swim from pool opening to closing on my pool days.

I do have kids and they enjoy the slide and other pool activities. They are all teens now but last summer still played games. We did the BC/Poly and I know they got more out of the pool at the BC mainly volleyball and the lazy river. The Poly which was all they knew before that trip, I think they were less then thrilled at the small pool (they forgot) and they are too big for the water pay area although if allowed, I am sure they all would be in there.

So yes the pools are important and we did go to a water park and I planned that on our Poly days.

 

[rdaky]

The pools do play into our decision. We found a good deal on Boardwalk but my kids said that they didn't want to slide out of the clown's mouth. LOL. I can't really blame them.

For a nice pool, you can bump yourself up from Pop to Caribbean Beach and not pay that much more. My kids really like that pool even better than at least one of the deluxes.

 

[kiford]

It never used to influence our decision because we barely spent any time, if any at all, in the pool. But we've been going more frequently so now consider our trip to be part parks and part resort so the pool is becoming increasingly important. We got APs last December with the intent of going 5 times over the year and doing all of the deluxe resorts we hadn't yet done. We spent some time last trip walking around the Poly and decided to take it off the list partly due to the pool (other reasons too, but the pool was a big one). It's just too small and too shallow for us so it's crowded and not some place where we can just chill in the water and chat. We like the pools at BC/YC, AKL, WL and GF. We haven't stayed at the BWI for a while and when we did, we spent most of it in the quiet pool. We're staying at CR in May so we'll see what that one is like. No kids and we don't do water slides, so I can't speak to the slides or the scary factor. I would say our two favourite pools so far are BC/YC and WL (both pools).

 

[bumbershoot]

I’m phobic of clowns AND love the clown pool.

The pool is nice and big and you can actually swim, and the slide is top notch.

When using the slide you don’t see the face. When using the pool you can turn your back and not see the face. It’s the people NOT using the pool that really see it.

I have yet to see a picture that actually looks like it does in person. In person it’s totally fine. In pictures it’s creepy.

I think it’s a big mistake to go by the pictures, to ignore those of us who have been there and say it’s fine, and leave a fabulous pool and slide behind.



Kids like simple pools. Kids like fancy pools. Kids like pools.

I think the value pools are among the best for swimming. And since that’s what I do in a pool, I like the value pools a lot.

Don’t ever let an idea that kids like a fancy pool stop you from understanding that a kid wont also LOVE a square pool at the Super8 just as much.

She grew up yelling 'Clown barf' as she slid out of the clown's mouth at Luna Part at Boardwalk!!!

Yep!

And thinking of the slide being its tongue; poor clown having to have backsides sliding down it all day! I mean, really, it’s sad, not scary.

And we decided last trip that his hair looks like spaghetti-os.

Nothing about that is scary.

I don't care for SAB...way too spread out and easy to lose track of your child.

I finally got a chance to walk by it last month, and I agree. I wouldn’t go there with kids. At least not kids I was in charge of.

 

[jess20k]

I do consider pools sometimes. It's more of both pool and my favorite resorts. I have stayed at almost all of the resorts, excluding the values, GF, and The Poly. My favorite by far is the pool are at The Yacht and Beach Club Resorts. It's a mini water park called Stormalong Bay. It has a lazy river, sand bottom pools, and a great beach kids area. It cannot be beat imo. I also love the pool at Coronado Springs. It is huge and the atmosphere is lovely. The pool slide is also good. It's not the biggest, but it is fairly long. Animal Kingdom Lodge also has a great pool.

We used to like POFQ, but now prefer CSR for a moderate resort. When my son was younger, the pool at FQ was great for him. I think now, for us that pool is actually more for kids, and of course on the small side. BTW, the dragon is really not scary. Kids usually think the "tounge slide" is pretty cool lol. We stayed at The Boardwalk Inn, and trust me..I am not a fan of clowns, but it really did not bother me at all. The slide itself is long and fun. The pool is on the smaller side compared to some other resorts but not too small, but we enjoyed it. Not my favorite, but I would go again. The BWI Resort is really a wonderful place. However, for that area if available I would prefer Yacht or Beach Club first.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

I do consider pools sometimes. It's more of both pool and my favorite resorts. I have stayed at almost all of the resorts, excluding the values, GF, and The Poly. My favorite by far is the pool are at The Yacht and Beach Club Resorts. It's a mini water park called Stormalong Bay. It has a lazy river, sand bottom pools, and a great beach kids area. It cannot be beat imo.

In addition, Stormalong Bay has a pool solely designated for small children and it has it’s own little kids slide. The entrance to that is gated off and is back by where you enter for the main water slide.

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

We went back in August so the pool was definitely a consideration for us. We stayed at POR and used the quiet pools, main pool, and the pool at POFQ. My kids said they loved the main pool at POR the best. I personally liked the layout better than at POFQ - much easier to watch from a lounge chair at POR. And much easier to find an empty chair. I agree, though, with the poster who said that kids just like pools. Had we stayed at a value and not had a slide, my kids would've never known the difference.

 

[sponica]

Since my in-laws pool doesn't have a slide, I'm not sure if my daughter would be disappointed by the lack of a slide.

Pools are a secondary requirement to us right now as we don't plan resort days.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

I've never seen someone describe the POFQ slide as scary before. My 6 year old had no issues sliding down it several times last fall.

To answer your question-yes, pools are important to us. We didn't swim in it because it was too cold, but the Pop pool looked nice. No, it doesn't have the features (slide, large splash area) of a mod or deluxe but it's still nice. The reason I booked Pop during the winter was because I knew we probably wouldn't swim. We just booked BC for our next trip and the main reason (aside from proximity to Epcot/HS) was for the pool. Our touring style involves a LOT of downtime at the hotel, so the pool factors into our decision.

 

[PrincessMom84]

I've never seen someone describe the POFQ slide as scary before. My 6 year old had no issues sliding down it several times last fall.

To answer your question-yes, pools are important to us. We didn't swim in it because it was too cold, but the Pop pool looked nice. No, it doesn't have the features (slide, large splash area) of a mod or deluxe but it's still nice. The reason I booked Pop during the winter was because I knew we probably wouldn't swim. We just booked BC for our next trip and the main reason (aside from proximity to Epcot/HS) was for the pool. Our touring style involves a LOT of downtime at the hotel, so the pool factors into our decision.

Haha - I am from Michigan! We would swim anytime of year down there!

 

[PrincessMom84]

This is what I'm talking about. I haven't seen it in person. I just know my girls would be scared of it. Not cute to me, either.