Pool games: Take them or leave them?

[baymenxpac]

alright, i'm 13 days out from my next trip, but i wanted to go over something that i ran into last summer. it seems like this has become standard practice for all the resorts lately, but from the hours of about 1:00-4:00, there are "pool games" at most of the main pools.

not too much of a problem if you're, say...staying at old key west, where there are two quiet pools. different story if you're at bay lake, where there's only one pool.

my question is this: do you guys like them? does anyone? keep in mind, i don't have kids yet, so this may make me biased. but i do remember being a kid, and i'm almost sure i got along without having organized disney trivia screamed at me over a microphone. my parents, ya know...watched and entertained me.

i ask because i feel like it detracts from the ambiance of certain hotels. i do enjoy the main pool at old key west, even after the addition of the slide, which made it a touch more kid-heavy. but part of what i like about staying there the very laid-back feel. i like the sound track, i like to be able to kick back, have a drink, and relax, and i sort of don't want to hear, "WHO ARE DONALD'S THREE NEPHEWS?!?!" while i'm trying to do that. at bay lake, there's no escaping it, since they do the same stuff about 30 yards away at the contemporary pool, too.

i just feel like they could do that at SOME resorts, and not others? i'd imagine typical grand floridian or polynesian guests may feel the same way? i don't know...just feels very "one disney"-influenced to me.

 

[baymenxpac]

Hmmmm, so the "typical grand floridian or polynesian guests" are different from the other guests? This could be interpreted so many ways. I'm going to choose to not be offended, Grand Floridian/Polynesian/BC/CBR/POFQ/Pop/or wherever I decide to stay-guest-of-Disney-that-I-am. So if I have kids, who happen to love the pool games just as much as I love a couple of hours of chillin' by the pool while they're entertained, and also happen to be keen on deluxe accomodations, no go? I'd be forced to stay with the a-typical Grand Floridian or Poly guests? What resort might that be?

Disney is not a place for a quiet getaway. That's for sure. But talk to us in a few when you have some offspring running around screaming your name like it's the only word they know and think about how much you love a few hours of pool games then! You'll be thinking "OMG, thank God and Disney for pool games!" while your little ones play happily and you sip on a cocktail, reminiscing about your younger, less tolerant years. Then you'll think "turn it up louder-it drowns out the screaming kids!" You'll smile. Trust me.

in the second half of your response, you made it into a parents vs. non-parents thing. it's not that i'm not surprised, but that's not the point. each disney resort is supposed to be themed to something. i think it breaks the ambiance of a resort to have those kinds of activities that, when they're going on, are all encompassing to all guests.

also, your "disney isn't a place for a quiet getaway" is very telling. believe it or not, there was a disney that used to market itself as being a "resort" for guests of all ages. i guess since current management can't stop tripping over themselves to put more princess meet and greets everywhere that i should just stop spending money there for 10 years?

 

[disneygirl76]

alright, i'm 13 days out from my next trip, but i wanted to go over something that i ran into last summer. it seems like this has become standard practice for all the resorts lately, but from the hours of about 1:00-4:00, there are "pool games" at most of the main pools.

not too much of a problem if you're, say...staying at old key west, where there are two quiet pools. different story if you're at bay lake, where there's only one pool.

my question is this: do you guys like them? does anyone? keep in mind, i don't have kids yet, so this may make me biased. but i do remember being a kid, and i'm almost sure i got along without having organized disney trivia screamed at me over a microphone. my parents, ya know...watched and entertained me.

i ask because i feel like it detracts from the ambiance of certain hotels. i do enjoy the main pool at old key west, even after the addition of the slide, which made it a touch more kid-heavy. but part of what i like about staying there the very laid-back feel. i like the sound track, i like to be able to kick back, have a drink, and relax, and i sort of don't want to hear, "WHO ARE DONALD'S THREE NEPHEWS?!?!" while i'm trying to do that. at bay lake, there's no escaping it, since they do the same stuff about 30 yards away at the contemporary pool, too.

i just feel like they could do that at SOME resorts, and not others? i'd imagine typical grand floridian or polynesian guests may feel the same way? i don't know...just feels very "one disney"-influenced to me.

My DH and I don't have kids either. We usually stay at Deluxe Resorts and have stayed at the GF several times. When we go to the pool, we don't usually go to the quiet pool. I should state that we are not lay at the pool kind of people, at least not for a long time, so we are not at the pool for a very long time. And the games have never bothered us or interfered with the ambiance. GF is a actually one of the most family friendly resorts and we have never run into it disrupting the vibe of the resort. For my DH and I, we know we are going to WDW and even though they do a great job to cater to adults and having quieter more adult options, you won't really escape it the kid stuff.

 

[dreamfinder]

i just feel like they could do that at SOME resorts, and not others? i'd imagine typical grand floridian or polynesian guests may feel the same way? i don't know...just feels very "one disney"-influenced to me.

Can't do this. Otherwise they would have to allow pool hopping. Which is almost as dangerous territory as reusing refillable mugs.

And just because the parents chose to stay at GF, why should the kids suffer? It's not their fault mom and dad wanted to stay at a $500/night hotel.

Personally, I don't recall the noise level during the pool games being that much higher than the noise level before/after the games. It's entirely possible that my memory is clouded from listening to the flamingos squawk all day.

 

[bethymouse]

WDW is loud. Most restaurants are loud, and the pool is generally "buzzing". Pool games are not our thing, but the boys participate sometimes if they get the notion. (age 8) I guess that's why they have "quiet" pools (love the quiet pool at WL ). If you want peace and quiet, no matter what value, mod, or deluxe, then WDW is really not a place for you IMHO.

 

[Phonedave]

They seemed to have toned them down a bit. They were using the mic at WL, but the music was used sparingly. They would do maybe 10-15 min of a game, then take a 20 min break or so, then do another game. It was not constant. There was also pool volleyball (sort of - beack ball and no net) so that had no audio at all.

I will say, the MC was HORRIBLE. They guy could barely speak English, and was calling bingo so badly he was making fun of himself. "B twenty thirty, I mean twenty three. Part of winning is being able to understand me". There were about 20 people playing, and he says "OK, thats it, I called all the numbers" and everone just looked at each other because nobody had won yet.


-dave

 

[KCheatle]

We were at Wilderness Lodge in May and I noticed the pool games. I had never noticed them before? So I wonder if we were just there at a different time or are these relatively new? Either way, my kids weren't drawn to them. I didn't mind the music, but the yelling over the mic got old real quick (especially because most of the time I had no idea what (s)he was saying or if I could understand I had no idea what (s)he was talking about because I wasn't paying attention to the game). Having said that, a lot of kids did participate, so I'd hate to take it away just because my kids preferred to ride down the slide 700 times instead of playing. I guess in a Value Resort I could really see the kids liking the games because there is not a slide or anything to play on otherwise.