Which is worse: Pool hopping, using FPs outside the time window, ...

[wvdisneyfamily]

We were turned away once for showing up after our FP time. Sometimes they are very strict on the time window.

 

[pax_65]

Again, I do not think that it is the "getting in for cheaper" that bothers a lot of people. I think that the rub is that a person who is doing this could be setting a bad example for the child

Walking into MK one day, I had a friend tell her daughter, "If anyone asks, tell them you're 9" when in reality she was 10.

I couldn't believe it. This just isn't something I would do - you're not just telling the kid it's ok to lie, you're encouraging it - even ordering it!

My daughter had just turned 10, but was younger than her daughter, and we paid full price for her. My friend was annoyed with us - she couldn't understand why we would pay full price when we could have easily gotten our daughter in for the child rate like she did.

Just because you can get away with something doesn't mean you should. Be a parent, set an example, and do the right thing.

 

[MousDad]

Walking into MK one day, I had a friend tell her daughter, "If anyone asks, tell them you're 9" when in reality she was 10.

I couldn't believe it. This just isn't something I would do - you're not just telling the kid it's ok to lie, you're encouraging it - even ordering it!

My daughter had just turned 10, but was younger than her daughter, and we paid full price for her. My friend was annoyed with us - she couldn't understand why we would pay full price when we could have easily gotten our daughter in for the child rate like she did.

Just because you can get away with something doesn't mean you should. Be a parent, set an example, and do the right thing.

With friends like that, who needs anemones?

 

[yankspy]

I always stay on Disney Property...usually at POP or the campgrounds....if I stay at the campgrounds I take the boat to the MK..but I will tell you ..that as far as I can remember if I am staying at POP..I will park at the Polynesian and I will take the monarail to the MK and stay there all day long...

I LOATHE the parking lot and the trams..so I just make it easier on myself..

Now some may say I am wrong and some may say it does not matter...but it is what I do and have been doing for years..I have never had a problem parking there and I have never been told I had a set amount of time to stay in the parking lot...:shrug:I also know of a lot of other people that have done the same thing with no problem at all.

Doug..as for the pool thing..we used to do that when we were little all the time..go swimming at the Poly..I still remember some of the people we met there doing the same thing.

No matter what...people are going to have something to say about lying and stealing and setting a better example for your kids...


So while I may not get Maggie in free till she is 5..or whether I only use the pool at the resort I am staying at..it is not my place to judge people who do those things...

Please do not take what I said as judgemental. I am only stating the argument. I know you did not quote me but I get the feeling that my posts were on your mind when you wrote the post. My personal opinion on the matter is that I do not necessarily mind if people try and do some of these things. (Heck, I am from N.Y. home of the greased palm for a better seat or better table) My problem comes when the person gets caught and gets mad and and becomes beligerent about it. I am not saying that you would do that but I have seen people who have.

I read it and I applaud YOU. There is so much to deal with in life that we really shouldn't sweat the small stuff.

I have an autistic child that I will be taking care of for the rest of my life. When we go to Disney, I go out of my way when I spot a family with someone who has disabilities (yes, I have this autism radar going at all times and I can spot them from a mile away!) I try to give them some tips so that their Disney experience will be more enjoyable and memorable, like others have done for me. I believe in PAY IT FORWARD.

And if anyone on this forum is totally and completely 100% honest 24/7, I tip my hat to you, but that would be a rarity. We are all human and THAT doesn't make us perfect...

Absolutely. However, we should always strive for that ideal.

 

[Scooter]

If a family is pool hopping and one of their children slips and falls while running around that pool deck and cracks his or her head open and is seriously injured, who is responsible?:veryconfu

 

[maggiegrace1]

Please do not take what I said as judgemental. I am only stating the argument. I know you did not quote me but I get the feeling that my posts were on your mind when you wrote the post. My personal opinion on the matter is that I do not necessarily mind if people try and do some of these things. (Heck, I am from N.Y. home of the greased palm for a better seat or better table) My problem comes when the person gets caught and gets mad and and becomes beligerent about it. I am not saying that you would do that but I have seen people who have.

Absolutely. However, we should always strive for that ideal.

:lol:It is okay..I was really just stating it to everyone...

Not taking what you say as judging me at all..:wave:

Now..I would never get angry if we were told we had to leave the Poly after a set amount of time or they flat out told us know..I would just leave and go to the Contemporary..:lol:

As for the other issues..IF I did do those things..I would never get angry..I mean I am the one breaking the rules..why get mad because they caught me..:lol:

 

[EpcotServo]

I always use Fastpasses outside their window, I get water for free just by asking, I (before Watergate) parked at the contemporary and walked across to Kingdom, and a long time ago I even went swimming in a Disney hotel pool and I wasn't even staying in ANY resort, let alone a Disney one. Not to mention the hundreds of times my family used to bring in lunch we made ourselves in coolers, and use all the Disney condiments to our disposal.
:lol:

Yeah, I cheat and have cheated the system before. I did it and I'm proud! Proud I tell you! MUAHA HA HA HAHAHAHAH!

 

[AnimalMagnetism]

If a family is pool hopping and one of their children slips and falls while running around that pool deck and cracks his or her head open and is seriously injured, who is responsible?:veryconfu

The child, who should have been more careful; and to a lesser extent the parents, who should have been paying closer attention to their child.

But of course, in today's society, everyone is responsible apart from those people.

 

[fosse76]

I guess it becomes a problem when the pool is one of the major selling points for staying at a certain resort, such as Stormalong Bay at YC/BC.


The cost of the pool, unlike the cost of dining at a restaurant, is included in your room rate. It's all wrapped up together in the deluxe package, which costs more than staying at a value, or off site.

It may be irritating to some to not be able to find a chair, or have to wait in line for a longer amount of time for the slide, because people who have not paid for that amenity (the fancier pool) are using it.

I think this last part is the more relevant. While on its face it shouldn't matter if someone from a Value is using the pool at a Deluxe, what happens when the pool is so crowded at the Deluxe that you can't get chair...or you have to stand in line for the slide...or there are too many people in the pool? If I am at the Grand Floridian and wanted to lie by the pool, I would be mad to find that I couldn't because people not staying at the resort have taken all the chairs. Granted, I don't thik the average hotel guest pool hops...that seems to be Disney fan trait...most are probably satisfied with their pool.

Guests have not paid extra for a FP, so it isn't an issue (to me) if someone comes late.

Agreed. I think the people who return at a later time probably matches the rate of people who don't return at all (or don't use the FP), so it evens out, keeping the lines flowing properly.

People have paid extra (through their increased room rate compared to a comprable offsite hotel) for EMH, so it may be irritating to see someone who is not a guest getting the same benefit.

I agree. EMH is a perk for staying on property. Though it seems the morning hours are the only ones with real value.

The same goes for someone lying about a child's age. If person A has paid for his 4 year old, and person B has lied, and gotten the child in free, it is annoying.

I'm not so sure. I think most people try to avoid paying high rates for children as much as possible...especially when they probably won't be able to do much more at 4 than they did at 3, so I don't see it as a huge problem or annoyance.

 

[dox]

Pool hopping is fine with me as long as there is plenty of room in the pool area for everyone using to have a chair and towel. If there isn't room, then limit the access to paid guests only - fine.

Totally agree with you. I'm guilty of doing some minor pool hopping on a vacation a few years back. I think it was over Labor Day of 2002. We were staying POFQ and had lunch on 2 separate days at the Coronado and AK Lodge. After lunch both times we took a dip in each pool. We made a point at AK of taking a beach chair far away from the pool in a not so prime location so we wouldn't be intruding on anyone. Pool wasn't super crowded, just busy and there were plenty of chairs everywhere. As for Coronado, the pool was dead. There must have been some major convention b.c. no one was at the pool. At both resorts we ordered plenty of drinks from the bar (thus spending money) and paid using our resort IDs and not a single waitress/bartender said boo to us. Of course, neither one of us was aware at the time that this no pool hopping rule was in effect. I think we were in the AK pool about an hour and at Coronado a bit longer.


Oddly enough the Universal Resorts have a stated policy of allowing pool hopping among resort guests. So this idea of the person staying at Royal Pacific paying less than a Portofino guest and yet using the Portofino pool seems to be a non issue. I believe even hotels in Cancun allow pool hopping. That said, since I found out about the rule I haven't pool hopped at WDW, but I'm not saying I will never do so again. Well other than the pools between POFQ and RS as that is allowed. Clearly, Disney doesn't care too much about this rule as they only seem to enforce this rule at one pool, i.e. YC/BC (which I totally agree with as it is 2 hotels sharing one pool and is next to Epcot so the potential for abuse is quite great).

As for the other three issues..eh...I don't think any of those things are such a big deal. Without a doubt using fast passes past the time window is not an issue at all as Disney allows that so not sure why that is even on the list. Even the EMH is just one of those things that must be rare. How many guests could have friends/family staying offsite on an EMH and then how many of those people would even try such a thing. Plus, not sure I'd be such a grouch about it if I saw that as I figured they just wanted to share some time in the greatest place on earth. Lastly, the age thing is just silly... I say ALL guests should pay regardless of age. LOL

The things that do bother me at WDW affect my enjoyment of the parks way more than any of the above. For example, line cutting, one person holding a place for a large group, talking/screaming during rides, flash photography in really dark rides, and people who don't bathe.

 

[sarabi]

Fastpass well outside your time slot. A minute or two isn't so bad, but abusing it and knowing your abusing it is bad. It screws up the lines for everyone.
EMH is a close second.
I don't care about the pool hopping, and what other people pay for their vacation doesn't affect me.

 

[Mstr Gra-c]

Short and sweet

Pool Hopping: If you want to use a pool at a specific resort it is really easy to do...PAY FOR IT. Otherwise use your own.

EMH: If you want to use the EMH's...its really easy, PAY FOR IT, STAY IN RESORT. Otherwise you dont get to come.

Lying About Kids Age: Easy...DONT LIE!!! Also, I scoff at the "well it may be really hard for some people to pay for a full ticket...and they have children...and, and, and" Look if you cant afford it...DONT DO IT. Wait a year, save up more cash and then be an honest person instead of a LIAR.

Fast Pass: This is easy as well. You get an entire hour to show up...if you cant do that...dont inconvenience those who can. If your party shows up late, but before me, and I show up within the alotted time slot...thats just rude. That means I have to wait extra time due to your TARDINESS. Disney may look the other way, but that just means that they want to provide convinience for the rude ones and dont want to force a poor CM to work as a gatekeeper.

 

[markjohns1]

Interesting topic - and interesting answers. Relativism 101.

I'll try to answer the OP's question - but I'm not sure if the OP is asking which is ethically worse, or which I find the most annoying personally. If I were to answer on moral/ethical grounds:

Anything that involves lying or stealing would be ranked highest. Since the child ticket issue involves both, I rank that the worst. You're lying about your child's age, and stealing directly from Disney.

I would put pool hopping and EMH wristbands tied for 2nd. Both involve dishonesty and deception instead of outright lying. Both are not stealing monetary value, per se, but rather getting more value than what entitled for, based on what you paid.

I would not consider FP window an ethical violation on any level, because it involves neither lying, dishonesty, or theft. Plus, Disney CMs will confirm that it is allowed. They, obviously, would not in the other 3 situations.

You definitely hit the nail on the head here with the moral/ethical grounds. As far as my personal feelings on these, none really bother me at all. The majority do not partake in these activities, so its effect on me is likely to be negligible. Am I really going to notice if there are an extra 10, 100, or 1,000 people in the park for EMH? Probably not. The parks are big. Am I going to know about someone lying about their child's age? Not unless I hear it, and even then I'd probably just find the humor in it. As far as pool hopping, unless the pool is packed with people, it is not even an issue in the first place. And as far as fastpass return times go, I didn't care about it as a CM and I don't care about it as a guest.

Flash photography during a 3D movie bothers me more than anything pointed out here, but mostly because I'm baffled by what these people think the pictures will look like.

 

[palmage]

I always thought that being an on-property guest at WDW meant that you were welcome to use other resort amenities such as pools. Now this is being taken away too? I guess WDW doesn't need loyal repeat customers anymore, plenty of others to take my place.

Another Value resorter heard from.................we really need fences around the Deluxe resorts:ROFLOL::lol:

 

[EpcotServo]

Fastpass is screwing up both lines anyways, so I'll continue to gladly show up with my 11:49AM to 12:49PM Fastpass at 6:37PM.

 

[dox]

Check out this question and answer from Anita Answers on AllEars.net re: fast pass use outside of the window.
http://allears.net/aa/aa081108.htm#ques2

This has always been my understanding of the issue as well.

 

[goofntink]

Wanted to give my 2 cents as to pool hopping.I do not think is is right.If I am paying to stay at say GF, I do not think it is fair for a guest staying at AS to be using the pool or amenities at GF.Thet did not pay for that right. To add,I have also heard of Disney Park guests staying off property,sneaking into the resorts and using the pools and amenities.

 

[Timmay]

lying about the age of your child so you pay a reduced ticket rate or don't pay at all, or getting extra EMH wrist bands for people who aren't staying on property.

For me it's got to be a tie between pool hopping and the EMH wristbands as these are the two that probably affect me the most directly.

Seriously...does it even matter?? I tend to worry about myself at WDW and not what other people may or may not be doing.:brick:

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Just because I'm staying at the Hillbilly Inn on 192 for $30 a night I can't stay for extra magic hours? Gosh!

:ROFLOL:Might as well pool hop while your at it.

Seriously pool hopping IMO is just wrong, swim where you stay. But i'm usually having too much to worry about others. if they want to be dishonest then that is thier problem.

 

[WhatJaneSays]

Some people game the system, some people don't and some systems game people. In any case if you're spending your vacation nitpicking on the psychological reasons people do things ... well, you probably need more fiber in your diet. Yes, all of the situations are "wrong" according to the rule and law of Disney (and one could be a felony fraud). But you really think Disney doesn't know? You think they really care? The great majority of guests would never even think about most of these actions and any monies lost from the few that do is far less that the cost and annoyance of preventing them from doing it in the first place.

I wouldn't do any of those things, but I don't really care if the people in the ride car next to me do.

So here's a resounding "Meh" from the Jain.