Stormalong Bay

[Sophiesmom]

Question here for the experts :

My husband and I have a 1BR villa reserved at BCV for 6 nights mid-March. We are DVC owners, but are paying cash for this reservation.

Accompanying us on this trip is my 18 year old daughter and 3 of her friends. They are staying at Wilderness Lodge. My question is.... could the 4 girls get access to Stormalong Bay one of the days we are there? My husband and I are the only 2 staying at the Beach Club, but have no plans to use Stormalong Bay. Since occupancy of our villa is 4, it seems as though there should be some way to enable the 4 girls to use SAB since it does not exceed the room occupancy capacity. Just not sure how to make this happen as I know that SAB scans Magic Bands for entry. Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[Pkltm]

You would have to add them to your reservation. They need to be a registered guest at the hotel.

 

[Amelia :)]

I don't think they should be using it if they aren't staying there themselves, I understand that you won't be using the facilities yourself, but that doesn't mean somebody can use them in your place, imagine if everybody did that. Couldn't they just go to a water park instead?

 

[Lynne M]

No, sorry, you'd need to add them to your reservation. SAB is the most tightly policed of the resort pools.

 

[Sophiesmom]

Not trying to start controversy, and everyone is entitled to heir own opinion, but the way I see it - paying out of pocket for a 1BR villa should allow 4 people of my choosing to utilize the pool area. I could have the 4 girls all stay at BCV, but they would be much more cramped there than at a 2BR villa at Wilderness Lodge. Not trying to get a freebie - I am paying for ALL the accommodations.

 

[westie55]

Not trying to start controversy, and everyone is entitled to heir own opinion, but the way I see it - paying out of pocket for a 1BR villa should allow 4 people of my choosing to utilize the pool area. I could have the 4 girls all stay at BCV, but they would be much more cramped there than at a 2BR villa at Wilderness Lodge. Not trying to get a freebie - I am paying for ALL the accommodations.

I can understand this logic. However, Disney policy is that guests must be listed on the reservation to gain access to SAB. Entry was heavily policed when I stayed at YC recently. I suppose you can ask a cast member for permission but I would expect the answer to be no. It would seem with the large number of guests at the resort, too many would have exceptions to allow for any to be accomodated.

 

[DLgal]

Not trying to start controversy, and everyone is entitled to heir own opinion, but the way I see it - paying out of pocket for a 1BR villa should allow 4 people of my choosing to utilize the pool area. I could have the 4 girls all stay at BCV, but they would be much more cramped there than at a 2BR villa at Wilderness Lodge. Not trying to get a freebie - I am paying for ALL the accommodations.

No, you are paying for 2 people to be guests at BCV, not 4. Unless you switch the girls to the BCV, they are not entitled to swim at SAB. Why didn't you book everyone at BCV?

 

[Sophiesmom]

No, you are paying for 2 people to be guests at BCV, not 4. Unless you switch the girls to the BCV, they are not entitled to swim at SAB. Why didn't you book everyone at BCV?

Incorrect. The 1Br villa at BCV accommodates 4 individuals. The price is no different for the room whether 4 people stay in the room or two. I booked the 2BR villa at Wilderness Lodge with my DVC points. There was no availability for a 2 BR villa at BCV. If there was, I would have booked their accommodations there.

 

[Marthasor]

As PP's have mentioned, SAB is the most monitored pool on property and anyone entering will have to have MB's scanned. Based on WDW rules (not opinion), only DVC owners have limited pool hopping privileges and SAB is not included in those pool hopping privileges. Only registered guests staying at YC/BC can utilize SAB. YC/BC does not have a "coupon" system in which you are given access to the pool based on your room occupancy. It's registered guests only. The only way you could get MB's for two of the girls would be to register them in your BC room for one night so they are registered guests with pool privileges. That will only get you two MB's for the two registered girls. The only way to get all 4 of them in would be to book an extra room BC or BCV for a night or upgrade your room to a 2-bedroom or suite that accomodates at least 6. Just because you are paying a lot of money for rooms in BCV AND VWL, does not entitle you to 4 non-registered guests using SAB.

 

[focusondisney]

Every guest entering Storm Along Bay gets their Magic Band scanned. And then you get a paper band that is color coded for that day. That is how they make sure only current hotel guests access the pool. So when your daughter & her friends get their bands scanned, they will be turned away. Cast members man each entrance to the pool, so there is no chance to avoid getting their bands scanned.

Storm Along Bay is the most popular pool on property. Disney sets rules so that current guests can enjoy the amenities they are paying for. I am not familiar with the villas, but in the hotels, there is an extra charge if there are more than 2 adults per room. So if you attempted to add 2 of the girls to your reservation, you would get charged that extra fee. I believe it is $25 per extra adult. So technically, even if the occupancy is listed as 4, you are only paying for 2 if you don't pay the extra fee.

 

[mab2012]

OP, if you're not planning to use Stormalong yourself, could you switch your reservation around so that all 4 girls are on the Beach Club reservation, and you and your spouse are "officially" at WL? Or even put the girls on *both* reservations?

You'd need to use the girls' bands to access your room at Beach Club, but otherwise I can't think of any reason this wouldn't work. I also don't know of any rules it would break, although I'm certain someone will quickly correct me if I'm wrong.

For what it's worth, I agree with you. As long as the number of guests actually using the pool doesn't exceed room occupancy, I don't see it as ethically wrong. Impact on the facilities is no worse than actually filling and using the room to capacity, and nobody would take issue with that. Those who feel that the circumvention of any rule is always wrong will of course disagree with me, and that's okay.

I have a somewhat similar situation where my sister's family will be staying off-site at WDW while we are at Beach Club. We don't often see them, and our visits only overlap for a couple of days. We are a family of 4 staying in a DVC studio, where the new occupancy limit is 5. I have considered whether there's any way my two nieces could go to the pool with my two kids for an hour or so; if I added one of them to my room reservation and loaned the other my magic band, I can't see how they'd know the difference, except perhaps by age. Not sure how much detail they get off the bands. I thought about asking here, but I knew I'd just get flamed for even suggesting such a grievous departure from the rules, so I didn't bother. We won't have much time anyway, so we'll just leave the pool out of our family visit.

 

[Nancyg56]

Not trying to start controversy, and everyone is entitled to heir own opinion, but the way I see it - paying out of pocket for a 1BR villa should allow 4 people of my choosing to utilize the pool area. I could have the 4 girls all stay at BCV, but they would be much more cramped there than at a 2BR villa at Wilderness Lodge. Not trying to get a freebie - I am paying for ALL the accommodations.

I understand that your logic makes this a plausible plan. Unfortunately, this is not how it works in Disney resorts, so in order to gain access for the girls you need to have them added to your reservation. If this was me, I would try to figure out how to have them on the reservation, rather than trying to change the rules. If you could have your DH the lead on the WL reservation, and move the girls to yours, they still have sleeping arrangements in place. You woudl just need to see if you could add the plastic room keys for DH and one of the girls, if that work around is possible. I dont know the logistics of MB and the old plastic keys used for scanning at parks and room.

 

[Nancyg56]

I also wanted to add that while SAB is a really nice pool, are you sure the girls even want to use it? I have tried to imagine the work behind pool hopping, (not saying this is what your situation is intended to be) and it boggles my mind. Who wants to pack up all the swimming gear for a different pool? I cannot imagine young ladies, in a resort on their own, going through all that to use a different pool than the one they are located near.DInner? Yes. Swimming? My DGD would not.

 

[EdmondD]

Are they cute? They could wait for a male lifeguard and flirt their way in. (I know I'll get flamed for this, but I'm just pointing out a technique that's worked for centuries.)

 

[Marthasor]

Are they cute? They could wait for a male lifeguard and flirt their way in. (I know I'll get flamed for this, but I'm just pointing out a technique that's worked for centuries.)

There are dedicated attendants who stand at the pool entrance and scan bands, not male lifeguards willing to risk losing their jobs by letting anyone in who bats their eyes.

OP, I wouldn't play around with switching around names on room reservations as that will most likely mess up any tickets and dining plans linked to MDE. I agree with the PP. Do the girls even want to swim there? WL has a gorgeous pool. Why go all the way to BC just to swim? If they really want great slides, etc. it would be easier to go to one of the water parks.

 

[Nancyg56]

Are they cute? They could wait for a male lifeguard and flirt their way in. (I know I'll get flamed for this, but I'm just pointing out a technique that's worked for centuries.)

Seriously? You know that this is pretty disrespectful towards professional employees.

A far more effective technique would be to simply ask the attendant and if there is space for the girls. People do this all of the time at the Disney pools. If the guest can be reasonable accomodated, often they are granted permission. If not, they are denied. Teaching young women to treat young men as though they have no integrity is not woth the the swim time, IMO.

 

[disnut8]

Incorrect. The 1Br villa at BCV accommodates 4 individuals. The price is no different for the room whether 4 people stay in the room or two. I booked the 2BR villa at Wilderness Lodge with my DVC points. There was no availability for a 2 BR villa at BCV. If there was, I would have booked their accommodations there.

But a standard room at any resort at Disney World is four individuals. It's just my husband and me and always will be. So, could I just bring in two other people staying onsite somewhere and put them into the pool any day I am at Disney World? So I could book myself and my husband at Yacht/Beach Club, put my son and his family of four into All Stars but let them use Stormalong Bay every single day? All of us could split the cost of both lodgings and we'd be fine? That's going down a slope I would never want to imagine for various reasons.

 

[Sophiesmom]

OP, if you're not planning to use Stormalong yourself, could you switch your reservation around so that all 4 girls are on the Beach Club reservation, and you and your spouse are "officially" at WL? Or even put the girls on *both* reservations?

You'd need to use the girls' bands to access your room at Beach Club, but otherwise I can't think of any reason this wouldn't work. I also don't know of any rules it would break, although I'm certain someone will quickly correct me if I'm wrong.

For what it's worth, I agree with you. As long as the number of guests actually using the pool doesn't exceed room occupancy, I don't see it as ethically wrong. Impact on the facilities is no worse than actually filling and using the room to capacity, and nobody would take issue with that. Those who feel that the circumvention of any rule is always wrong will of course disagree with me, and that's okay.

I have a somewhat similar situation where my sister's family will be staying off-site at WDW while we are at Beach Club. We don't often see them, and our visits only overlap for a couple of days. We are a family of 4 staying in a DVC studio, where the new occupancy limit is 5. I have considered whether there's any way my two nieces could go to the pool with my two kids for an hour or so; if I added one of them to my room reservation and loaned the other my magic band, I can't see how they'd know the difference, except perhaps by age. Not sure how much detail they get off the bands. I thought about asking here, but I knew I'd just get flamed for even suggesting such a grievous departure from the rules, so I didn't bother. We won't have much time anyway, so we'll just leave the pool out of our family visit.

Thanks for your response mab2012. I have been a member of Disboards for a VERY long time, and had forgotten why I don't post very often. People can be so judgmental. I have never understood why some individuals need to insert themselves beyond just answering the question posed. I was not looking for others opinions on the ethics of the situation. I am quite comfortable that we would be doing nothing "wrong" by 4 members of our travel party utilizing SAB facilities while we are paying out of pocket for a villa there.

Thankful that someone else in my situation chimed in.

 

[Sophiesmom]

I understand that your logic makes this a plausible plan. Unfortunately, this is not how it works in Disney resorts, so in order to gain access for the girls you need to have them added to your reservation. If this was me, I would try to figure out how to have them on the reservation, rather than trying to change the rules. If you could have your DH the lead on the WL reservation, and move the girls to yours, they still have sleeping arrangements in place. You woudl just need to see if you could add the plastic room keys for DH and one of the girls, if that work around is possible. I dont know the logistics of MB and the old plastic keys used for scanning at parks and room.

Thanks for your input. I may just put the girls on the BCV reservation and see if they can also have keys to the VWL villa placed on their MB's. If not, it would be too difficult to manage this. I will probably just place a call to Disney and pose some questions about this situation.

 

[Sophiesmom]

There are dedicated attendants who stand at the pool entrance and scan bands, not male lifeguards willing to risk losing their jobs by letting anyone in who bats their eyes.

OP, I wouldn't play around with switching around names on room reservations as that will most likely mess up any tickets and dining plans linked to MDE. I agree with the PP. Do the girls even want to swim there? WL has a gorgeous pool. Why go all the way to BC just to swim? If they really want great slides, etc. it would be easier to go to one of the water parks.

Agree Marthasor - we have had many issues with MB's over the years, and I am fearful of messing tickets and keys up. The reason I am trying to make it possible for the girls to utilize SAB is because my daughter has some health issues that make going one of the waterparks off the table. SAB would be fine for her though, and would give the girls who are interested in a waterpark something similar. Honestly, the biggest draw I have heard from all of them is a lazy river - which SAB has.