Stormalong bay questions

[jaredkari]

My 7.5 month pregnant wife and I are going to be taking a quick "last trip before the baby" trip to WDW in a few weeks :mickey:. We will only be staying for 2 days, but we are going to stay at Beach Club, as she is very excited about swimming, and it will be easy access to Epcot (likely the only park we will visit on this trip). A few questions...

1. Do you have to pay to rent the inner tubes? If so, what is the cost/length of use?

2. We are going to be there over Easter weekend...we know it will be crowded. Even during busy times, will we still be able to have fun at the pool without constantly running into other swimmers?

3. How late is the pool open?

4. How "quiet" are the quiet pools at Yacht/Beach club?

5. Could someone describe the different pools? I know there is a sort of "lazy river," but I also heard of a snorkeling pool? What does this entail?

Thanks so much! Can't wait to be there in a couple weeks!!!!!:party:

[Basket Mommy]

There are actually several sections to the pool. There is a small circular area with jets that push you like a river current in a circle. There is also the larger area where the the water slide empties out. You can go from the section that empties out at the slide into the sinking sand area (it's *really* cool!) There are several little coves with waterfalls as well as a lazy river which doesn't connect to any other part of the pool. The section right in front of the Yacht club is very shallow and has an artificial beach where the kids can dig. There are also several 'hot tubs' located around Stormalong Bay . A separate wading pool area (with sand) is located near the ShipWreck water slide entrance for small children and includes a kid sized water slide.

There is a shack which rents tubes and noodles. I don't remember how much they are to rent. We keep our own noodles in our Owner's Locker, so I've never rented any.

I wouldn't consider any part of Stormalong Bay to be quiet. There is a separate quiet pool around the corner from the BC entrance if you want a standard pool in a quieter location.

I've never been any other time than Value, so I cannot speak to the crowds. It was fairly crowded when I've been there during Value season, but I never bumped into anyone in the pool.

The snorkeling reef you're referencing is probably the Shark Reef at Typhoon Lagoon. While you could snorkel in the pool at Stormalong, you wouldn't see anything but concrete and sand ; )

[Scar]

I've been there Easter week (not weekend.) The main pool was busy, but not crowded. They do a great job keeping pool hoppers away. The quite pool was not at all busy, pretty normal.

[Maleficent's Dad]

I don't know exactly when you're traveling, but Disney just announced that a significant portion of Stormalong Bay will be closed from April 9-30.
From DVC News:

The closure is expected to impact the Flying Jib slide as well as well as the pool areas immediately surrounding the slide exit. Approximately 20% of the pool is expected to close as workers repair portions of the filtration system. The kiddie pool, lazy river, hot tubs and other areas of Stormalong Bay are expected to remain open.


1. Do you have to pay to rent the inner tubes? If so, what is the cost/length of use?
Yes to paying for renting the inner tubes. However it's an hourly rate so availability isn't usually an issue.


2. We are going to be there over Easter weekend...we know it will be crowded. Even during busy times, will we still be able to have fun at the pool without constantly running into other swimmers?
SAB is a popular pool so unless there's a cold spell, it usually is fairly busy. We've been during extremely crowded times but never had a problem in the pool. We have had problems, at times, with finding lounge chairs as they all seem "taken" even though the pool wasn't crowded. :huh:


3. How late is the pool open?
Varies greatly - since April is a busy time with (usually) great weather, my guess would be that it's open late. There doesn't always seem to be a set schedule. We've been to the BC when the pool closes at 7 PM, and we've been when it closes at 12 midnight.


4. How "quiet" are the quiet pools at Yacht/Beach club?
BC has two additional pools - one by the villas, one close to the International Gateway. Both are significantly less crowded than SAB. The Yacht Club's "Admiral's Pool" (aka quiet pool) is the least used pool of the entire resort complex. Any of the three quieter pools will bring you more tranquility than SAB; but we've never found SAB to be too over the top!


5. Could someone describe the different pools? I know there is a sort of "lazy river," but I also heard of a snorkeling pool? What does this entail?
No snorkeling pool at the BC/YC.

[MaresHappy]

Hello! I've been at BC during Easter time and the SAB pool area will become crowded, which means that all of the lounge chairs by about mid day will be spoken for - BUT! - the pool itself and surrounding area is never so crowded that you aren't still able to enjoy the pool. I would plan to arrive poolside sometime by 10-ish to ensure you have a landing spot (beach chair or table) where you desire. There are many nice shady spots to aim for too - or even up on the deck of the beautiful pergola, although that requires up and down stairs to reach them.) Note that portions of the pool area will close for a bit in April and may coincide with your trip, but the majority of the pool will remain open. One thing the Mom-To-Be will probably love is the sand bottom of the pool. Some areas end up having deeper sand than others, and it is a wonderful feeling for tired footies - especially Mom-To-Be footies!:cloud9: