Large party at different resorts swimming together?

[CaptainAmerica]

I'm sure this has been asked but I haven't been able to phrase it in a way where the search knows what I'm looking for.

Say I'm going to WDW in a large group. Grandma and Grandpa want to stay at Old Key West, Auntie 1 wants to stay at Animal Kingdom, Auntie 2 wants to stay at the Poly, and I want to stay at Saratoga Springs. Is there any legitimate way for us to swim together in one of the resort pools? Let's assume for this exercise that none of us are DVC members and Stormalong Bay isn't one of the pools in question.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

The official Disney policy is that pool hopping isn’t allowed unless you are a DVC member. And Stormalong isn’t the only pool that checks MagicBands to determine you are a guest of the resort. Offhand, I know Poly often checks. Coronado Springs has been known to check as well.

The only “legitimate” way I can think of is if you were to ask the front desk of your resort to add the family members not staying at your chosen swimming resort as “day guests” but even then there is no guarantee and it’s at the discretion of the resort in question.

 

[lanejudy]

Is there any legitimate way for us to swim together in one of the resort pools?

No. The best option is to plan a day at a waterpark.

 

[stephk1981]

Many times we stay at a resort just to do the pool for the weekend. We have had luck twice out of maybe half a dozen attempts asking if my DS could bring in a friend. Both times were at SAB at BC during low crowd times. It really is up to the resort, in our case we weren't meeting our room capacity and they added his friend on as a ' day guest'. I don't know if you'd have luck with bringing multiple people though.

 

[Marthasor]

No. The best option is to plan a day at a waterpark.

Many times we stay at a resort just to do the pool for the weekend. We have had luck twice out of maybe half a dozen attempts asking if my DS could bring in a friend. Both times were at SAB at BC during low crowd times. It really is up to the resort, in our case we weren't meeting our room capacity and they added his friend on as a ' day guest'. I don't know if you'd have luck with bringing multiple people though.

I agree with the above recommendations. Either plan a day at a water park or, if one of you has booked a room and you have not reached guest capacity in that room, you could try adding your family members for a day on the room reservation - prepare to pay any extra adult fees for the day they are added.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

There are reports out there of folks being told there is no pool hopping, including DVC, since they began reopening the resorts in summer of 2020. There is no question your best bet for swimming together is at the water park. Maybe look at one of their cabanas and make a full, leisurely day of it!

 

[DizneyFamof4]

It never hurts to just ask at the desk of the resort that you want to do this at. The worst that will happen is they say no, not a big deal.

 

[Brett Wyman]

OP can your group not come to together on a single location? That will save a lot more hassle outside of just pool meetups. Seems like the OKW, SSR and AKV(I'd vote SSR in this case) folks could come to an agreement easily enough. That Poly hold out may be tougher though.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I do agree. It really doesn't hurt to ask! But another potential problem you could see. Let's say in the OP's example you settle on trying to get together to swim at Poly. The members of your family not staying at Poly will likely need to take Disney transportation to get there, since they're likely not going to let anyone without a reservation (resort or dining) to park there.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

I do agree. It really doesn't hurt to ask! But another potential problem you could see. Let's say in the OP's example you settle on trying to get together to swim at Poly. The members of your family not staying at Poly will likely need to take Disney transportation to get there, since they're likely not going to let anyone without a reservation (resort or dining) to park there.

Good point

 

[Wood Nymph]

The best chance of getting everyone at the same pool is to do it OKW or SSR. Those resorts do not charge an extra fee for additional adults, even you pay cash instead of using points. You could add the additional people as guests if you have room. You could also ask at the front desk.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

The best chance of getting everyone at the same pool is to do it OKW or SSR. Those resorts do not charge an extra fee for additional adults, even you pay cash instead of using points. You could add the additional people as guests if you have room. You could also ask at the front desk.

That could lead to a different challenge. Having the same people on multiple Disney room reservations at the same time can cause problems with MDE, Magic Bands, and even room access. Asking at the front desk of the resort you wish to swim is your best chance.

 

[Wood Nymph]

That could lead to a different challenge. Having the same people on multiple Disney room reservations at the same time can cause problems with MDE, Magic Bands, and even room access. Asking at the front desk of the resort you wish to swim is your best chance.

You are right about that.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

OP can your group not come to together on a single location? That will save a lot more hassle outside of just pool meetups. Seems like the OKW, SSR and AKV(I'd vote SSR in this case) folks could come to an agreement easily enough. That Poly hold out may be tougher though.

Grandma and Grandpa can't share a queen bed and don't want to sleep on a pull-out. For DVC (resale so no Riviera), that means Old Key West or Saratoga, which are not the preference of anyone else in the party.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

FWIW even DVC cannot pool hop right now.

 

[Marthasor]

That could lead to a different challenge. Having the same people on multiple Disney room reservations at the same time can cause problems with MDE, Magic Bands, and even room access. Asking at the front desk of the resort you wish to swim is your best chance.

Simply create other profiles in MDE for the extra guests using their first initial or middle name and get key cards for those guests - nothing needs to be linked to a MB.

 

[Mle8308]

I'm sure this has been asked but I haven't been able to phrase it in a way where the search knows what I'm looking for.

Say I'm going to WDW in a large group. Grandma and Grandpa want to stay at Old Key West, Auntie 1 wants to stay at Animal Kingdom, Auntie 2 wants to stay at the Poly, and I want to stay at Saratoga Springs. Is there any legitimate way for us to swim together in one of the resort pools? Let's assume for this exercise that none of us are DVC members and Stormalong Bay isn't one of the pools in question.

I really don't think anyone will question you if you are at a quiet pool. Feature pool, yes. And how large is large? I'm not encouraging you to do anything "illegal", in my experience at the quiet pools, I have never seen a CM question anyone - just take drink orders! And I've stayed at most properties and always use the normally uncrowded quiet pools.