Polynesian guest check at pool

[slappy magoo]

I never understood why someone would want to pool hop. It seems a lot more work than its worth. You would have to board a bus to a theme park or downtown Disney and then take the bus to the resort you want to pool hop. Then, after being in the pool, you would have to find a place to change into some dry clothes then take the bus to A theme park or down town Disney to baord the bus to your resort. Why not visit one of the water parks?

Well, speaking as someone who hasn't ever pool hopped, I can think of other ways and reasons one can pool hop, the main reason is "break in the day." Something that can apply to any park goer, but especially to those who don't feel like traveling back to their current resort if it's a: a bit of a schlep or b: not staying at a Disney resort. For some people, the idea of going to the MK, taking a break at one of the monorail resorts for lunch and a dip and then go back to the MK has some allure. Ditto trying to sneak into the Boardwalk or Swan or Dolphin pools if you're visiting Epcot or the Studios one day. Considering how often the AK closes super-early, I can imagine some people considering going to AKL for dinner and a dip then hopping a bus to a park having late night EMHs. Hell, I can even imagine people not going to a park one day but to DTD deciding to cool off by walking to Saratoga and jumping in the main pool or any of the quiet pools, and it'd probably be the one resort where such pool hopping would be encouraged. Where you visit the parks wearing your bathing suit instead of shorts or under your clothes, OR you pack something, I can easily imagine people opting to do that rather than go back to their hotel in those circumstances, which is much different than deciding to spend a day specifically pool hopping.

 

[Scooter]

I think we're getting a little off topic here.
They are probably checking resort ID's at The Polynesian Resorts Main pool because the quiet pool is being refurbished. All Poly guests must use the Main volcano pool so they don't want pool hoppers in that pool or it would be way too crowded.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I know why they check IDs at Stormalong Bay; because it's practically a mini waterpark. But the Poly pool... I mean, the waterfall and waterslide are nice, but nowhere near as awesome as Stormalong. I didn't know poolhopping was particularly a problem at the Poly. (I didn't mean for that to be an alliteration, I swear! :ROFLOL

I was surprised to hear about this at the Poly, too. I didn't know their pool was considered desirable for pool hoppers. Yacht and Beach Club, yes, Boardwalk, sure, but not the Poly. It's pretty and all, but not worth making a drive over for.

Odd.

 

[Scuttle]

Here's my question, I thought all "key to the world" room keys were identical. Everytime I go it's identical. Never been to Y&B, so I don't know the procedure there. This must mean it is day guests who are taking advantage of this. I have done it in the past.

 

[Brian Noble]

Scuttle: your resort is encoded in two of the digits on your KTTW ID number. It's pretty easy to tell who is who.

add me to the camp that don't understand why people pool hop.

Me either. If I want a break, I'd rather just go "home".

 

[slappy magoo]

I was surprised to hear about this at the Poly, too. I didn't know their pool was considered desirable for pool hoppers. Yacht and Beach Club, yes, Boardwalk, sure, but not the Poly. It's pretty and all, but not worth making a drive over for.

Odd.

Maybe not worth a drive. But if you're spending the day at MK, and want to take a dip during the afternoon heat but don't want to take much time traveling because you intend to go back to the MK, maybe you'd be more tempted to try to sneak into a monorail resort's pool.

 

[marlaine8]

Do they give you the blue bracelet when you check in to the Poly? Or is there a table set up checking your KTTW cards and issuing them at the pool?

 

[Epcotdad]

I got a couple of questions on this. Is there an actual rule in writing that says no one can pool hop or is it just a courtesy rule. The second one is what will they do to you if you get caught. I have to say that my family pool hops and not one time in all of our trips have been asked to show ID.

 

[cheezbat]

I completely agree. It's enough to get to and from your OWN resort's pool, let alone traveling across property to go swimming at another hotel.

Sure, it's free, but water is water. If you wanted a water slide at your pool, you should have booked at a Moderate Resort instead of a Value. Otherwise, just get in, cool off, and go change in the room.

That sounds great and all, but that's basically segregating guests. Not everybody can afford the more expensive hotels. Heck, some people can't afford the Disney hotels period! They are expensive as crap, so I totally understand. As America stands right now, there are far more and more lower class and lower middle class people who couldn't afford the prices at Disney already...if you make everything out of reach for 70-80% of Americans, I'm sorry, but you've taken what Walt wanted (a place where families can come and spend quality time together) and made it something only for the rich.

Anyway, I think more than anything, the reasoning for doing this right now is not because everyone is doing it and it's getting out of hand, I think it's more just because the park is working on the other pools, so there's far less room for hotel guests to swim as it is. During the busy summer months, I totally understand them cracking down on this at the pools though.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I got a couple of questions on this. Is there an actual rule in writing that says no one can pool hop or is it just a courtesy rule. The second one is what will they do to you if you get caught. I have to say that my family pool hops and not one time in all of our trips have been asked to show ID.

It is a stated rule. There is a sign at each pool that says that the pool facility is for the exclusive use of the guests of that specific resort. From the All Stars to the Grand Floridian this is a rule that is clearly posted. If they check and you can't prove you stay there then they have every right to make you leave. Like you said, they don't always ask but they can and sometimes will. As you can see with the Polynesian now (and always with Stormalong Bay) they are checking to make sure that people are resort guests.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

That sounds great and all, but that's basically segregating guests. Not everybody can afford the more expensive hotels. Heck, some people can't afford the Disney hotels period! They are expensive as crap, so I totally understand. As America stands right now, there are far more and more lower class and lower middle class people who couldn't afford the prices at Disney already...if you make everything out of reach for 70-80% of Americans, I'm sorry, but you've taken what Walt wanted (a place where families can come and spend quality time together) and made it something only for the rich.

Anyway, I think more than anything, the reasoning for doing this right now is not because everyone is doing it and it's getting out of hand, I think it's more just because the park is working on the other pools, so there's far less room for hotel guests to swim as it is. During the busy summer months, I totally understand them cracking down on this at the pools though.

Unfortunately though, that is life. Not everyone can afford and have access to everything that they want all the time. Wouldn't most of us love to live in huge houses, drive sportscars, and have all the latest and greatest technology? However, as you said most people can't do that. Disney, like all other vacation destinations, isn't there to be equitable to everyone. Those that can afford the better accomodations will get more benefits. And yes, Walt wanted to create a place for families, but he also created his own system where wealthier people received better benefits. Let's not forget that the original A-E ticket greatly benefited those that has the ability to buy more E tickets during their visit.

 

[stratman50th]

First, I'm all for checking ID's. As said earlier, there's nothing to keep the local Orlando population from jumping on a Disney resort bus at DTD and hitting a resort pool.
I enjoy the quiet pool at Poly immensely. I could care less about the volcano. Let the kids have it.

As far as using the pool, to all of you who think it's a waste, you know what they say about opinions. I happen to like going to the pool on my vacation. I guess it's because I don't have a YMCA around where I live. I'm also glad that Disney doesn't base their resort accommodations on the opinions of those who would be happy sleeping in a cardboard box, next to a port-a-potty and a garden hose just as long as they can commando the parks for the length of stay. I want the entire experience, parks, deluxe accommodations, which I utilize, eating and shopping.

Finally, pool hopping was one of the things that was fun about staying on property at Disney World back in the day. For those of you who don't remember, there was a time when there was only the Magic Kingdom. Then the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. As much fun as the parks were, you didn't always go to a park every day of your stay. You had to fill the vacation time with something else and pool hopping was one of the things you did. It went with River Country and Discovery Island. So that's where it came from.

Do they give you the blue bracelet when you check in to the Poly? Or is there a table set up checking your KTTW cards and issuing them at the pool?

I was staying at the Poly last June and they weren't doing it yet. Things must be starting to get out of hand now, or as said, just too much pressure on the volcano pool with the quiet pool down for a refurb.

 

[Fractal514]

I am not for segregation, at all, but I fear that it is an unfortunate and necessary reality at WDW. People who stay on property are making a choice to spend more money than those who stay off property, and that choice comes with certain privileges. Among those privileges are Disney's Magical Express, Extra Magic Hours, and use of the hotel amenities, like the pools. As for segregating value/moderate/deluxe resorts, well... it's the same principal.

I get that folks would LIKE to be able to hop around the different resorts, and all, but in reality, why should anyone be allowed to. If someone has paid extra for a privilege, isn't it wrong for Disney to hand that same privilege out to others who haven't paid for it? Furthermore, doesn't that serve as a disincentive for staying on Disney property?

 

[ProfSlim]

I was at the Poly last week (April 30 - May 6). One of the fist things I noticed in the pool area (next to the outlet of the water slide) was a sign that clearly stated the pool was for Poly resorts guests only. I'm not sure if this sign every existed before but I had never noticed in my many trips spent at the Poly.

Within 10 minutes of being pool-side (around 11am) my group was approached by a Poly CM and asked if we were guests. We needed to show a valid (current) room key and were all given the new wristbands for the day (including all the children). We asked about the new change and the CM informed us that a few months ago, when they started to "check" if pool-goers were actual Poly guests, they were surprised at the amount of pool-goers that were NOT guests. So they started to crack down.

We were approached each day during our stay. They seemed to be less strict later in the afternoon and evenings.

We did see one individual escorted off the property. The "guest" tried to show an invalid room key from 2010...that didn't fly !

 

[ProfSlim]

Do they give you the blue bracelet when you check in to the Poly? Or is there a table set up checking your KTTW cards and issuing them at the pool?

A Poly CM, somewhat informally, roams the pool area and looks to see if you have a blue wristband on....if you do NOT they stop and ask for a room card. Once they verify it's valid they give you the wristband. For my family of 5 they only needed to see one card for the family and then gave us 5 wristbands.

 

[stratman50th]

A Poly CM, somewhat informally, roams the pool area and looks to see if you have a blue wristband on....if you do NOT they stop and ask for a room card. Once they verify it's valid they give you the wristband. For my family of 5 they only needed to see one card for the family and then gave us 5 wristbands.

Do you know if it's good for length of stay, or do you have to do the wrist band drill every day? I guess every day only because a wrist band would be like a key, you could just hang on to it and reuse it.

 

[ERich2010]

okay so i guess ill be the devils advocate here, since everyone else seems to be in agreement.

my family simply cant afford to stay at a deluxe hotel. heck, we can barely afford to go to Disney when we do. so when we go, we often take a "resort day" as a break form the normal madness. we'll normally go to a deluxe resort, have dinner there, walk around, and maybe take a dip in the pool. i dont see it as such a big deal/problem:shrug:

 

[captainkidd]

okay so i guess ill be the devils advocate here, since everyone else seems to be in agreement.

my family simply cant afford to stay at a deluxe hotel. heck, we can barely afford to go to Disney when we do. so when we go, we often take a "resort day" as a break form the normal madness. we'll normally go to a deluxe resort, have dinner there, walk around, and maybe take a dip in the pool. i dont see it as such a big deal/problem:shrug:

I really can't believe anyone could not see the issue with this.

Instead of going for a dip in the pool, why not just sneak into one of the rooms, freshen up with a shower, and take a nap?

 

[PhilharMagician]

Is it BLT/Contemporary that have the card-swipe gates around the pool? I like that idea. No, it won't keep out people trailing someone else in, but it will cut down on unethical usage.

I think this was a great idea with the card swipe locks on the gates and this should be done at the other pools. We once overheard a conversation at the AKL pool that sounded like the family was from another resort outside of Disney. The kids were upset they had to leave and go to back to their cheap resort pool with no slide.

I imagine this happens a lot all over WDW.

That too....but it's hard for me to decide what would and wouldn't offend someone, because virtually nothing offends me :lol:

Oh I bet we could find something :lookaroun

 

[captainkidd]

Unfortunately though, that is life. Not everyone can afford and have access to everything that they want all the time. Wouldn't most of us love to live in huge houses, drive sportscars, and have all the latest and greatest technology? However, as you said most people can't do that. Disney, like all other vacation destinations, isn't there to be equitable to everyone. Those that can afford the better accomodations will get more benefits. And yes, Walt wanted to create a place for families, but he also created his own system where wealthier people received better benefits. Let's not forget that the original A-E ticket greatly benefited those that has the ability to buy more E tickets during their visit.

Yeah well, that's just not right!!! The guy down the street from me has a nicer car. Why can't I have it?