Small children on resort pool slides (particularly CSR)

[Kairi_7378]

DS will be turning 4 on our next trip, and does not know how to swim yet. We'd like to take him to the pool at CSR. Are lifejackets available for use on the water slides? Should I take some water wings for him? I know that we can't ride the slide with him. We were thinking of having one parent ride the slide first and wait at the bottom to "catch" him. Is that okay?

Also, are towels available at the resort pools, or do I have to bring them from our room?

I can't believe that this is my fourth grown up trip, and I still haven't been in a resort pool.
:swim: :snorkel:

[BrerGnat]

Catching kids at the bottom of the pool slide is usually not allowed. Depends on the lifeguard. Also, technically, kids that ride the slides must be able to swim without swim aids (vests or floaties). Again, that's at the discretion of the lifeguard. Some will allow it, some won't.

You can try, but be aware that those slides require a certain amount of body control, especially the longer ones like at CSR. My little one has gotten hurt a few times on waterslides when he was younger (between 3-5 years old) due to getting turned around mid slide and then hitting his head on the side as he lost his balance. Also, the part where the slide ends and you end up in the pool can be quite turbulent. Your child will most certainly go underwater with a lot of water rushing into his face. Prepare him ahead of time for that, and have him close his mouth and plug his nose, if necessary.

[Kairi_7378]

Yikes, I hadn't thought about the turbulance ON the slide. Thanks for sharing your experience. The only time DS has been on water slides was when we were in Sesame Place, and most of those are tube slides that allow a parent to ride along. I'll make sure that we don't talk about the pool slide too much before our trip so that expectations aren't too high!

[BrerGnat]

Yeah, my boys love waterslides, but our 6 year old even got hurt at Hershey Park earlier this year because a slide was really fast and twisty, and he lost his balance and ended up on his stomach, feet first at the end. He had hit his head pretty hard when he got turned around. :(

I have not been to CSR, but I have heard the slide is quite long and thrilling, so I'd recommend you try it first and see if you think your son can handle it.

It's kinda hidden too, so he might not really notice it if you don't point it out.

[RBrooksC]

We just got back from staying at the WL. My daughter, who is 3, wore her water wings from home. She was more comfortable with those and all she did when we were in the pool was go down the slide.

There was no issue with her. She would slide off the bottom of the slide, and then clear the area to go on it again.

There was nothing said by the lifeguards.

Also, at the water parks, my daughter had to wear their life vests and she went down all the slides in the kiddie area and in the main area that had no height restricton.

She loved every minute of it and many time would have rather played on the slides than go to the parks.

[spinnerf]

I think the pool slides would be too dangerous if your child cant swim. Our last trip (Bay Lake Tower) had a "beginners" slide, and my 2 year old did it and lifeguards had no problem with one parent pushing, the other catching.

[Sam&Alex&Josh'sMOM]

My daughter was 6 when we went last year adn stayed at BWV with the clown slide. She can swim, but was more comfortable with the vest, they had no issues with that. My 4 year old wore the vest and went down once, but got turned around and ended up back wards and completely scared. She refused to go for the rest of the trip (no problem we would never push her) she was happy to just splash around with one of us. I will say tho that while my other daughter (the 6 year old) went down the slide, we stayed "near" the clown mouth... you could not stay right there at the bottom... ;but we stayed near there for her to swim just a short ways to us when she got out and not be scared if she had turned around or gone under water.

[Keneva]

Our kids went down the resort slides at 3 & 5 years old. They wore floaties and we were at the bottom of the slide with all of the other parents catching the kids as they came down. The kids will go under at the end of the slide for a second but they pop right back up. They do need to go down feet first or the lifeguards will say something.

[BrerGnat]

We just got back from staying at the WL. My daughter, who is 3, wore her water wings from home. She was more comfortable with those and all she did when we were in the pool was go down the slide.

There was no issue with her. She would slide off the bottom of the slide, and then clear the area to go on it again.

There was nothing said by the lifeguards. .

Just want to point out here that the WL slide is VERY tame compared to the one at CSR. The lifeguards at the other moderates (POFQ and CBR) and at the WL are more lenient about little ones with water wings/floaties because the slides themselves are very short/slow.

By comparison, at Stormalong Bay (YC/BC) they are extremely strict about the "no floatation devices" rule and the ability to swim independently at the end. There is a rope that cuts off the slide exit point from the rest of the pool, and no one is allowed to "wait" in that area. That slide is very long and fast, hence the more strict rules.

CSR's slide falls in between the one at BC/YC and WL in terms of length and speed so you will probably get conflicting answers on the floatie/wait at the bottom question there. It's highly subject to the lifeguard on duty at the time.