Guests at Pools

[RustySpork]

"There's a sign! Let's try to go against rules on the sign!"

You seem like a real blast at parties.

A sign is not a rule book, or set of laws. A sign is a guideline. Some signs need to be obeyed verbatim, a stop sign for example. There is a law that states if you see this sign you must stop a certain distance before the sign before proceeding. Other signs, like a sign that indicates that if you have several medical / health conditions you should not ride Dumbo do not have to be followed verbatim. These signs are there for liability protection. So, unless you can point to which law is being broken when a guest who has received permission from a resort to bring a non-guest to the pool brings a non-guest to the pool I suggest you take your little ball and go home.

 

[RustySpork]

From just now:

Me: I have an upcoming stay at a Disney World resort and I have a friend who lives in Orlando. If they come to see me, will they be allowed in to the resort pool area if I accompany them?

Disney: That would be at the discretion of the resort. I know in particular Stormalong Bay at Disney's Yacht Club Resort and Disney's Beach Club Resort requires that each guest scan a MagicBand to get into the pool area, because that is a particularly popular pool.

Me: I'll be staying at the Grand Floridian

Disney: Typically the resort will be understanding, but I would double check with the front desk once you arrive to confirm.

That CM should be fired! HOW DARE THEY! DON'T THEY KNOW THERE ARE SIGNS! SIGNS!

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Facts don't care about your feelings.

I need that on a T-shirt asap!!

 

[Dead2009]

A sign is not a rule book, or set of laws. A sign is a guideline. Some signs need to be obeyed verbatim, a stop sign for example. There is a law that states if you see this sign you must stop a certain distance before the sign before proceeding. Other signs, like a sign that indicates that if you have several medical / health conditions you should not ride Dumbo do not have to be followed verbatim. These signs are there for liability protection. So, unless you can point to which law is being broken when a guest who has received permission from a resort to bring a non-guest to the pool brings a non-guest to the pool I suggest you take your little ball and go home.

Actually when a sign says "this pool is exclusive to that pools hotel guests" that, by definition, would be a rule. Its like when you're at a community pool and you cant get in unless you're a member of said pool.

 

[LeighM]

Unless I overlooked a few posts (which is completely possible), I don't remember anyone arguing that the OP could break the rules or saying it's okay to have guests. I know I wasn't. I saw a bunch of people advising her to ask her resort to see if she could get permission. Not suggesting she break any rules, or mooch, or willfully ignore the all important signs. The signs are there for us, as guests. We cannot decide which rules to follow or ignore. That is Disney's rules for us. However, it is completely up to Disney, the resorts, and their representatives on which rules they can make exceptions for depending upon circumstance. We can't decide that it's okay for us to bring a guest or two to our resort's pool. But the employees technically can. When I asked for permission if a visitor can use the pool with us (not knowing if it would be allowed or not) the Disney cast member said that I was allowed to have the visitor at a quiet pool with us. It was within their right to say no (there are rules and signs!) but they still allowed us to have a guest at a quiet pool. They did not come right out and say no we could not use the large pool with the slide but I was able to interpret "it would be better to use a quiet pool" to mean don't try and use the feature pool. Following that logic, it makes sense that if we could not have a guest in the main pool, of a moderate, during a non-busy time, with many pools open,then it stands to reason that a guest asking for permission for a visitor to use the main pool at a deluxe under construction would probably be told no. But asking the resort hurts no one and, if staff allow it, then the decision is theirs. You never completely know until you try. If the OP explains things to the staff then they might make an allowance or know of an alternative solution. Maybe I need to go back to the beginning so I can read all of these rule breaking posts

 

[Gabe1]

Goodness. Rules stated are for liability. Beyond that save a few exceptional resorts i.e. the Beach Club-Disney just turns a blind eye to Day Guests. If you ask you are asking for a no. My Sis for 20 years has come in for a day and parked at our resort, paid and gone into the parks, dined at our resort, used transportation and spent countless dollars joining us for a single day during our vacation. I find this all more a fan issue than a Disney Problem. I can understand the fan indication but I don't believe Disney shares that same indication for customer add-ons spending hundreds of dollars per day visits because of relatives joining in for the day, quite the opposite I'd guess. It is revenue with zero expense.

 

[disney4life2008]

Goodness. Rules stated are for liability. Beyond that save a few exceptional resorts i.e. the Beach Club-Disney just turns a blind eye to Day Guests. If you ask you are asking for a no. My Sis for 20 years has come in for a day and parked at our resort, paid and gone into the parks, dined at our resort, used transportation and spent countless dollars joining us for a single day during our vacation. I find this all more a fan issue than a Disney Problem. I can understand the fan indication but I don't believe Disney shares that same indication for customer add-ons spending hundreds of dollars per day visits because of relatives joining in for the day, quite the opposite I'd guess. It is revenue with zero expense.

Agreed. But this exact issue is why they are looking at charging for parking at the resorts. One could argue your sister is abusing the system. I don't find a problem with that at all but i understand.

 

[DreamalittleDisney]

No.


No.


No.

"This pool area is for the exclusive use of Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort Guests."

Case closed.

We've just booked for WL for Oct18.. I know they are renovating another pool at I think Boulder ridge as guests of WL are you able to use this pool as well as main one with it being on the same site or not?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We've just booked for WL for Oct18.. I know they are renovating another pool at I think Boulder ridge as guests of WL are you able to use this pool as well as main one with it being on the same site or not?

Yes, I believe so. I know you can use Kidani Village's pool when staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House, for example.

 

[King Racoon 77]

 

[21stamps]

Unless I overlooked a few posts (which is completely possible), I don't remember anyone arguing that the OP could break the rules or saying it's okay to have guests. I know I wasn't. I saw a bunch of people advising her to ask her resort to see if she could get permission. Not suggesting she break any rules, or mooch, or willfully ignore the all important signs. The signs are there for us, as guests. We cannot decide which rules to follow or ignore. That is Disney's rules for us. However, it is completely up to Disney, the resorts, and their representatives on which rules they can make exceptions for depending upon circumstance. We can't decide that it's okay for us to bring a guest or two to our resort's pool. But the employees technically can. When I asked for permission if a visitor can use the pool with us (not knowing if it would be allowed or not) the Disney cast member said that I was allowed to have the visitor at a quiet pool with us. It was within their right to say no (there are rules and signs!) but they still allowed us to have a guest at a quiet pool. They did not come right out and say no we could not use the large pool with the slide but I was able to interpret "it would be better to use a quiet pool" to mean don't try and use the feature pool. Following that logic, it makes sense that if we could not have a guest in the main pool, of a moderate, during a non-busy time, with many pools open,then it stands to reason that a guest asking for permission for a visitor to use the main pool at a deluxe under construction would probably be told no. But asking the resort hurts no one and, if staff allow it, then the decision is theirs. You never completely know until you try. If the OP explains things to the staff then they might make an allowance or know of an alternative solution. Maybe I need to go back to the beginning so I can read all of these rule breaking posts

You did the correct thing by asking. I think where the topic got muddy is when "local friends" were brought up. In my experience, when someone was a visitor of mine, they had to be added to the room. On Labor Day weekend in 2015 a friend of mine was not even allowed to park until I met her at Poly's entrance. I had a notation on my reservation that someone would be joining me for 2 nights.
It was an embarrassing few moments for her, and a little frustrating, but it was a busy weekend, so maybe that's why.

As you know, resort pools can get very busy, chairs aren't the easiest to find, if non guest "friends or fam" start dropping by, then its even harder for actual resort guests to find chairs. I think that's why the rules are there, not just for liability.- that's where the "rule breaking" comes in, when people just completely disregard something for their own benefit. You didn't do that, and you didn't say that.

I agree with you that it doesn't hurt to ask, especially in the OPs situation. I would definitely ask for wristbands though.

 

[rob0519]

If you don't ask, they can't say, "yes".

One reason they've gotten strict at WL about pool access is due to the closure of the old Hidden Springs pool, leaving the resort with only one pool.

DVC members can pool hop at any DVC resort with limitations - I'm not sure they are allowing pool hopping to WL right now.

I don't think it has much to do with only one pool. On an earlier trip we were staying at the Contemporary. My wife asked the front desk at the WL if she could use the pool for about an hour because we had not stayed there before. The answers was "no, you have to be a registered guest". She came back to the CR and asked our Concierge if maybe they could get approval. The answer still came back no. I have to tell you it was pretty annoying to be spending that kind of money for a week and not be able to use another pool for an hour. So the next trip we booked the WL just to be able to use the pool.

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

I have had a couple of @stamps situations. The first being the weekend AOA opened. My sister and her family were staying there and my family was staying at CSR. The resorts issued both families keys to the kingdom cards and expressly told us it was to get into resort and use any and all amenities on property. I furthered clarified the use of the pool, since my sis was kind enough to keep our DD for a night, so we could have a date night. Management said yes and enjoy both resorts.
Another instance was last summer at AKL when a friend was visiting me for a couple of hours while traveling through Orlando. Her name was added to my ressie for that day and information relayed to the guard shack. She had no trouble getting into the resort. We didn't swim but we did explore the property with no problems. The photopass person at the resort did take the best pics of us seeing each other for the first time in over a year as she came into the resort. Those pics are priceless to me.
Just ask and hope you have a great vacation.

 

[21stamps]

I don't think it has much to do with only one pool. On an earlier trip we were staying at the Contemporary. My wife asked the front desk at the WL if she could use the pool for about an hour because we had not stayed there before. The answers was "no, you have to be a registered guest". She came back to the CR and asked our Concierge if maybe they could get approval. The answer still came back no. I have to tell you it was pretty annoying to be spending that kind of money for a week and not be able to use another pool for an hour. So the next trip we booked the WL just to be able to use the pool.

But really, if I'm staying at Poly in a theme park view room, should I have access to the club lounge because I'm spending more money per night than people in a standard club level room? Of course not.
I don't think how much you're spending has anything to do with it.

I have had a couple of @stamps situations. The first being the weekend AOA opened. My sister and her family were staying there and my family was staying at CSR. The resorts issued both families keys to the kingdom cards and expressly told us it was to get into resort and use any and all amenities on property. I furthered clarified the use of the pool, since my sis was kind enough to keep our DD for a night, so we could have a date night. Management said yes and enjoy both resorts.
Another instance was last summer at AKL when a friend was visiting me for a couple of hours while traveling through Orlando. Her name was added to my ressie for that day and information relayed to the guard shack. She had no trouble getting into the resort. We didn't swim but we did explore the property with no problems. The photopass person at the resort did take the best pics of us seeing each other for the first time in over a year as she came into the resort. Those pics are priceless to me.
Just ask and hope you have a great vacation.

I'm glad to hear that someone else had a similar experience! Even more glad to hear that you had a wonderful time!

 

[rob0519]

But really, if I'm staying at Poly in a theme park view room, should I have access to the club lounge because I'm spending more money per night than people in a standard club level room? Of course not.
I don't think how much you're spending has anything to do with it.



I'm glad to hear that someone else had a similar experience! Even more glad to hear that you had a wonderful time!

Not exactly apples to apples. The club lounge gives you access to "complimentary food and drink" which you would have to pay for elsewhere on the resort. Thereby taking profit away from the resort. Using the pool for an hour is zero cost to Disney. I think a small accommodation like an hour of pool use is not unreasonable for Club Level Guests. The answer was no and we moved on. Not a big deal.

 

[Nemo14]

Speaking of moving on, the OP got an answer and suggestions for the original question, so isn't it time for the rest of the posters here to move on?

 

[Laketravis]

Oh brother. The paranoia is strong with this one.

That really was odd, wasn't it? The truth is that by the second page of this thread I had forgotten the OP had said they would be staying at WL and the conversation turned to pools in general. My point with the chat session was that it's relatively simple to find the correct answer.

 

[larryz]

Unless I overlooked a few posts (which is completely possible), I don't remember anyone arguing that the OP could break the rules or saying it's okay to have guests. I know I wasn't. I saw a bunch of people advising her to ask her resort to see if she could get permission. Not suggesting she break any rules, or mooch, or willfully ignore the all important signs. The signs are there for us, as guests. We cannot decide which rules to follow or ignore. That is Disney's rules for us. However, it is completely up to Disney, the resorts, and their representatives on which rules they can make exceptions for depending upon circumstance. We can't decide that it's okay for us to bring a guest or two to our resort's pool. But the employees technically can. When I asked for permission if a visitor can use the pool with us (not knowing if it would be allowed or not) the Disney cast member said that I was allowed to have the visitor at a quiet pool with us. It was within their right to say no (there are rules and signs!) but they still allowed us to have a guest at a quiet pool. They did not come right out and say no we could not use the large pool with the slide but I was able to interpret "it would be better to use a quiet pool" to mean don't try and use the feature pool. Following that logic, it makes sense that if we could not have a guest in the main pool, of a moderate, during a non-busy time, with many pools open,then it stands to reason that a guest asking for permission for a visitor to use the main pool at a deluxe under construction would probably be told no. But asking the resort hurts no one and, if staff allow it, then the decision is theirs. You never completely know until you try. If the OP explains things to the staff then they might make an allowance or know of an alternative solution. Maybe I need to go back to the beginning so I can read all of these rule breaking posts

Stop. Common sense and logic have no place in your life when you have a sign you can blindly obey.

 

[JusticeDisney]

Because there's no sign that says "staff aren't allowed to give out fastpasses or perform guest recovery on merch or F&B." If Disney (the people in charge) want staff to have leeway in a certain area, they wouldn't post signage expressly prohibiting it.

Well, I've been with you for most of the way here, but your last point simply isn't valid. There are plenty of businesses and establishments that have clearly-stated rules, but then allow some leeway with those rules at the discretion of their employees. A perfect example is Vegas nightclubs. There are dress code rules stated in black and white, unequivocally. Despite that, however, the people working the door often choose not to strictly enforce those rules.

I'm not saying Disney is wrong to have pool rules (indeed, I am in favor of them). I'm just pointing out that, contrary to what you said, the mere posting of rules does not necessarily mean that the employees have no discretion to finesse or even break said rules.

 

[AndrewsJ]

Yes I'm able to read English quite well thank you. I just don't see the need for everything to be black or white. If it was okay with the castmember I spoke with, then no need for you to get so upset lol. Plus, I was speaking of a quiet pool at a moderate not a busy pool at a deluxe.

If you read English well why did you have to ask the cast member? It is clearly stated on the sign. If there had been an accident who would your cousin have sued? That specific cast member or Disney? It is very simple. You should have never put the cast member in that position. You can try and rationalize all day and night but what you did is still wrong on all accounts.