Downtime at the pool.....

[Tomi-Rocket]

I have a friend who used to go to WDW frequently with her family but I was so surprised when she told me they had never once been to the pool at any of the resorts they stayed in. We have increased our times of going to the pool with each trip. As of now, we have planned to go to the pool 3 times either before or after a day in the park.

That got me thinking - do you schedule time to go to the pool? Do you "wing it"? Or like my friend never make or find the time to go?

 

[melmood2000]

With my family it depends on who is vacationing with us. This past vacation 2010 my 6 year old nephew was with us so we/he swam in the pool everyday. It is hard to resist a 6 year olds plea to swim. He would swim and we would eat dinner or just relax in the chairs by the pool. However when I have vacationed at disney with only adults the swimming is rare, and usually only a trip to the water park if the weather permits.

 

[disney magic 06]

We never have children with us and have never been in the resort pools. However, we have had down time from the parks at the pool BARS! :lookaroun

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Having been so many times, I usually give myself an hour or so at the pool in the afternoon to relax. I might not get on Pirates for the 4th time if I do this, but sometimes you just want a little relaxation on vacation.

 

[CamiLyn227]

We do not go with any kids (just us big kids). We try to go to the pool at least 3 times during the week we are there. We always go in July so it is nice to be able to cool off a little in the afternoon. We don't swim very long though, 30 mins to an hour usually. I feel like we pay for the pool so we need to use it!

 

[wm49rs]

We'll schedule both some time at the resort pool, and usually a day at one of the water parks. We're close enough to WDW, and have been enough times over the past few years that having a little "down time" at either locale is a nice way to enjoy part of our vacation without the parks......

 

[Mukta]

I'm not 'pool people'. I don't care for water/swimming in general. If the people I am with want to swim, I usually rest in the room while they do so.

 

[disneygirl1]

We don't spend too much time at the pool while we are in Disney... But I do, especially during the hotter months try to schedule a pool break in during the day so my DS can get refreshed. It's just to hot to be in the park from morning to night in my eyes.

 

[Magical Dreamer]

Last November we stayed at POR....

One of my fondest memories was walking hand in hand and talking with my 5 year old as we headed down to the main pool each morning.

The walk/talk was well worth the chill....

 

[Andrew54]

We just hit them when possible, no real plan.

 

[minniemickeyfan]

We always make time for swimming, however we don't really plan it. We will come back to swim if its a real hot afternoon in the park. Or if we have slept in after a late night in the park we will swim in the late morning.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

When I was a kid and went with family, we never once went to the resort pools.

Now, as an adult who goes either by myself or with other adults, we have also never once gone to a resort pool.

The one exception is the pool bar at POFQ, which is a good place to relax for an hour and watch the current sports event on ESPN...but pool, nope.

 

[sbkline]

My wife doesn't have the energy that I have and she has to come back to the resort midday for a nap, and now that we bring our son with us, he needs a nap, too. So I don't really have to schedule pool time, since I know I can just get in the pool when they're in the room for their naps. And on the early evenings (like if we just do a park until 3 or 4 and call it good for the day, go off property for shopping, etc) when we have no park planned for the evening, then I like to work in some pool time, too. But I don't always necessarily have it scheduled, just as long as I know to work it in different times during the trip.

 

[smk]

I spent a lot of time at and in the pool this past year when we went. It was HOT for September and when we got home from the parks it was just the right thing to do to take the edge off the day. My oldest daughter and I would head to the pool, her fiance joined us once but usually it was just the two of us! Usually we have a few evenings we head to the pool, nothing planned tho.

 

[Susan Savia]

We spend our days in the parks, rope drop to fireworks. No breaks. We rest when we return to our room in the evening. Going to the pool is something that we can do when we're home.

 

[bmarkelon]

We hit the pool almost every afternoon, it just wouldn't feel like the perfect family vacation without it. The kids are just as happy in the pool as they are in the parks.

 

[ThinkTink721]

When my family 1st began going to WDW, I have to admit that the pool was one of the last things on our to do list.
Now that we have visited the parks many times & we know our favorite things to do & see, that leaves us more time to plan to go to the pools & do more recreational activities.
:wave:

 

[Phonedave]

We hit the pool almost every night.

The last day of a trip always involves the pool. Park in the AM, come back to the resort, relax at the pool for an hour or two, grab a bite to eat, and then get on the DME rested and relaxing.

Of course having an AP makes the difference, that way you don't feel like you are "wasting" an admission by going to the parks just for a morning.

My kids and I all love pools. I'll spend 4-5 hours at our township pool on a Sunday if the weather is nice.

-dave

 

[ElvisMickey]

I definitely hit the pool in the afternoons almost everyday while I'm there. And definitely schedule one day for one of the water parks. I'm an up at the crack of dawn type of person, so I'm at whichever park I'm going to for rope drop. Will usually stay until just after lunch time, then head back to the hotel for some pool time and a quick nap. Then another shower and back out to the parks around 5-6.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

For my next 6 night trip we are planning on spending most of day at the pool at POFQ during one of the days, probably Thursday or Friday, since our 2 yr old will probably like that more than anything else.