Disney pools to be locked/ inaccessible in the overnight hours

[EvilQueen-T]

we've always been able to swim after official hours during stays at allstar music, movies, sports, pop, poly, wl, contemporary, por, pofq, csr, akl, and cbr. we were just at sports in august and (for the first time in our presence anyway) at closing time the lifeguards made a loud announcement that official life guard protected hours were over and from then on it was swim at your own risk. remember too the 14 y/o that drown this summer was also pulled out of the pool and had a guest who was a firefighter start cpr so he didn't go untreated it's just that even if a life guard pulled you out of a pool at noon doesn't mean they can save you.

 

[MissingDisney]

We have always come back to swim after a long day in the parks. Often we were swimming until well after midnight. Especially at Caribbean Beach where the pool is huge. My kids are really going to miss "Night Swimming." I'm really going to miss the hot tub after a long day.

 

[bethymouse]

Sad to think the WL quiet pool would have a fence around it.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Most people are not trained to know what drowning truly looks like. They think it looks like what they show in movies and on TV.

"It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening." Great article on what drowning is really like - Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

Brrr....that article is unnerving.

 

[mickey2008.1]

Just got back from pors, and all pools were 24 hours, just no water slide or features, quoted directly from front desl and bell hop. And yes, magic bands are required at storm along bay at beach club, and that pool is not 24 hours, so it depends on a particular resort.

 

[GoofGoof]

The pools will remain open all night, but clothing will be optional after 10PM. They want to appeal to the European and South American crowd.

 

[flynnibus]

And I do not mean to step on toes, but where were the parents? Seriously why are we paying the price for the Darwin award people?

In the case of the latest case.. the parents were basically right there. Drowning unfortunately can be a silent thing...

 

[jkl2000]

Not entirely depressing as we stay at the BC 99% of the time.

Does this not affect the Beach Club?

 

[MOXOMUMD]

I wasn't aware any of their pools were accessible after hours.
Certainly none of the larger ones were.

When we stayed at ASMusic last month we made it a point of swimming every night after returning from the parks. The main pool always had the music going and the fountains going with people enjoying the swim. We always swam in the quiet pool and it was amazing that at 130 am the piano pool was quite full. The people were very quiet. I think they were just trying to ease their muscles. Even the youth groups (there was a choir thing going on during our stay) were having fun but quiet.

Putting fences up is also crappy because sometimes it's quicker to walk through the pool area to get to the main building than go all the way around it. I also wonder how (like the values) they are going to incorporate use of the laundry as the pools boundary includes their entrance.

 

[Allym146]

FP+ for the pools!!!!!!!!

Seriously, POP would be a to put fences around.

And I do not mean to step on toes, but where were the parents? Seriously why are we paying the price for the Darwin award people?

This is a pretty gross remark...Darwin award people? This was a 13 year old kid who drowned. Parents can't be watching every second of every day. Stuff happens, and it's tragic. I truly hate that Darwin saying, that kid didn't deserve to die, which is essentially what Darwin Award insinuates.

 

[King Racoon 77]

This si going to take a lot of fencing.because i doubt most of the quiet pools at the mods have fences.However i can see the logic behind this for Disney as all it takes is one death after hours when there is no lifeguard and bingo bango instant lawsuit that will cost more than the cost of 23 miles of fencing + gates.

 

[alissafalco]

I have no problem with this at all. If you want to swim after hours that badly then stay off property or get your own pool at home. By law a persons private home pool must be gated so why should a hotel be any different?

 

[HatboxGhost]

I wasn't aware any of their pools were accessible after hours.
Certainly none of the larger ones were.

Same here. I just got back from AOA and thought that 11pm was the closing time while around 9pm was when the lifeguards went off duty. I would rather have the pools closed late at night. The last thing I want to hear are some idiots making noise outside my window at 2am while I am trying to sleep.

 

[HatboxGhost]

Parents can't be watching every second of every day. Stuff happens, and it's tragic.

Now that is where you are wrong. Parents NEED TO BE watching EVERY SECOND in a pool situation. If I had children you can bet that not only would I be watching them but I would actually be in the pool with them. My Wife and I were SHOCKED at how many parents we saw with very young children who were not even paying attention but instead playing with their phones. It was horrible. We saw MANY occasions that could have turned bad and ALL was the fault of the neglect of the parent or parents, not the lifeguards who were VERY good at monitoring everyone, but as we know if something happens, its Disneys fault. Sad.

 

[ford91exploder]

This is a pretty gross remark...Darwin award people? This was a 13 year old kid who drowned. Parents can't be watching every second of every day. Stuff happens, and it's tragic. I truly hate that Darwin saying, that kid didn't deserve to die, which is essentially what Darwin Award insinuates.

It's too bad the kid died, But as a society we HAVE to stop catering to the STUPID with guards and warning labels and interlocks which actually make machines MORE dangerous. People think they should be able to go through life in in a thick layer of bubble wrap.

Teen's especially it's monkey see monkey do, in movies/YouTube they see people doing stupid c--p which ordinarily gets people hurt. We had a bunch of teens get killed up our way 'Car Surfing' where they hang ten on the roof, Car stopped suddenly and physics took over and the kids won their 'Darwin Awards' they were stupid and died for it as nature intended.

 

[Allym146]

@HatboxGhost I don't know, when I was 13 and with my sister(15) we didn't always have my parents hovering over us when in a pool. At that age you're getting to the point where your parents give you a little more freedom. We could go down to the lobby to get a snack by ourselves, or take a quick swim. This kid wasn't 7. The report said he wasn't alone in the pool either, he was with friends.

@ford91exploder I agree, kids do really dumb stuff, and it's a shame when it results in their death, but in THiS situation I don't think it's right to automatically jump to "he was dumb, too bad so sad". He wasn't car surfing, he was swimming. Maybe he did jump into the shallow end. That could happen to any kid! And it happens so fast that a parent could be right there and not be able to stop it. I have a feeling if his death didn't result in fencing...no one would have so many negative thoughts about it. Also, heaven forbid something like this happens to someone close to you and everyone else is all " what an idiot! They were so dumb!" But maybe, by the sound of your post, you'd join in.

It's the law where I live to have a fence around an in inground pool or put your ladder up for an above ground pool. While the logistics may be hard, hopefully they can figure something out to make the pool areas safer for everyone and not an eyesore.

 

[75disney]

I think it makes sense that Disney close their pools after a certain time, not only for safety issues, but for guest consideration as well. Over the summer we stayed at a hotel in Williamsburg where the pool was open all night. I was awake at 2AM because people were partying at the pool. It was extremely annoying. 11PM is an appropriate time to close the pools.

 

[MissingDisney]

Closing the pool at 11 PM any resort area that is often open and kicking until well after midnight or 1 AM is absolutely absurd. If People are concerned about pool noise, then they should select the room location far away from the pool. We have kids and are always at the pool very late at night after returning from the parks. We're not screaming and yelling disturbing other guests, just relaxing from a long day. Part of the reason we started staying moderates instead of values was because they have hot tubs. If I can't use that hot tub after 12 hours in the Magic Kingdom, my money is wasted. As for the novelty of swimming, we also have a pool at home. But there's a huge difference between swimming in our own backyard swimming at the World. If they need to put a fence and gate for security and safety purposes, that's fine. Just don't lock them.

 

[Victor Kelly]

This is a pretty gross remark...Darwin award people? This was a 13 year old kid who drowned. Parents can't be watching every second of every day. Stuff happens, and it's tragic. I truly hate that Darwin saying, that kid didn't deserve to die, which is essentially what Darwin Award insinuates.

Life is what it is. I make no apologies for people specifically parents that cannot, or will not take interest and control of their kids. Watching your kids every second of the day is what a parent does and is supposed to do. You stating that it cannot be done, is what is wrong with society today. The constant erosion of personal responsibility is why there are so many lawyers and lawsuits out there today. People refuse to take responsibility for their actions.

You may not like what Darwinism states, but it is fact. I suppose you deny that nature is red in tooth and claw as well? The kid died, a 13 year old that should have known better, who should have had the common sense not to dive into a pool that could be less than 3 feet deep. It does not ever take a rocket scientist to know what can happen. Yet it happened, does anyone ask why? Nope, instead a lawsuit happens. The rest of the public that has common sense not only gets punished by not being allowed to use the pools, but has to pay higher costs through hotel fees, and admission prices and concession prices.

Ever think of why retail prices are so high? Pilferage by employees and customers. The costs associated with products are higher due to anti theft devices, loss prevention, security, cameras, etc. It the actions of the few, the ones who cannot be bothered by personal responsibility that make ALL of us pay the price.

It is for this reason, Darwinism makes total sense, despite personal ideas, that in life the strong survive. If anyone doubts this, watch the discovery channel sometime, especially the stuff about Africa. Life is brutal in nature. Life can be brutal in society, but the fundamental laws of nature are in motion 24/7/365 and will be so when we are all gone.


As to closing times due to noise factors, I can agree with that. Having rowdy people by or in the pools after 11pm can be disturbing to other guests. Besides which, that is when chemicals are put through the pool such as high amounts of chlorine.

 

[Allym146]

@Victor Kelly I suppose I would be more inclined to believe that if the number of careless people without personal responsibility were in the decline, but it seems we have more of those and less and less people with better reasoning skills/common sense.

Also, I laughed that "oh yea, noise factor, totally agree with that, and those chemicals...I can understand closing because of that" So, close the pools at night because of noise and chemicals (which hey, can cause damage to your health so shouldn't that not matter to you? People should know better after all) but people possibly dying....Outrage!!! At the thought of closing it at night or making it safer in any way.