No matter how you became a Disney Vacation Club Member, there is one perk that can keep you cool during your Walt Disney World stay. You may have heard the term “pool hopping” before and wonder exactly how that works, and is it really a benefit to DVC members. I was bound determined on my last trip to Disney in October to pool hop, so I did my research, and this is what I found.
Complimentary Alternative Pool Use (a.k.a Pool Hopping) is a way for members and their overnight guests (when staying on your membership) to enjoy resort pools when throughout Disney property. This also includes members that are staying at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. You will have access to other pools at DVC resorts and throughout Walt Disney World Resort hotels, with the following exceptions.
Off-Limit Pools
There are a few pools on property that are highly desirable and restrict non-resort guests from crowding the pools. Here is a list of the pools that you are not able to pool hop to:
- Art of Animation Resort – All Three Pools
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort – Bay Cove Pool
- Beach Club Villas – Leisure Pool
- Grand Floridian Resort & Spa – The Courtyard and Beach Pool
- Polynesian Village Resort – The Lava Pool and Leisure Pool (feature picture)
- Wilderness Lodge – Boulder Ridge Cove Pool and The Copper Creek Springs Pool
- Yacht Club Resort and Disney’s Beach Club Resort – Stormalong Bay
In addition to these pools, during the dates ranging from the end of June to mid-August, both the Uzima Pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge– Jambo House and the Samawati Springs Pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge – Kidani Village are restricted. The exact dates are posted on the Disney website.
Blockout Dates
During busy times of the year, Disney has restricted pool hopping to cut down on high occupancies. The dates or restriction are usually around: Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July week, Labor Day weekend, Thanksgiving weekend, and Christmas through New Year’s. These exact dates are also posted online.
Capacity Limitations
When visiting a resort pool that is not where you are currently staying at, you run the risk of being asked to leave if the pool reaches full capacity. This is in order to accommodate guests that are staying at that particular resort. On the Disney website, they recommend checking with the front desk at the resort you wish to visit before accessing the pool.
Other Things to Consider
Resort pools can become unavailable at any time for reasons such as maintenance or projected capacity for that day. The Complimentary Alternative Pool Use is a perk that can be discontinued at any time. You also must present your MagicBand or a valid DVC Membership card (blue or white) in order to gain access to other resort pools, so don’t forget it!
Unfortunately, during my trip to Disney, we ran out of time to be able to enjoy other pools on property. There seems to be a lot of restrictions to which pools you can go to, so make sure to check the website before you plan to visit other resort pools. It’s hard to gauge whether the restrictions poise an issue when members are staying on property. Let me know if you have ever pool hopped to a different resort and your experiences while pool hopping!
Shelby LaFlash
DVC Member Since 2017
Polynesian & Riviera
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Sounds like pool hopping would be too tricky to bother
We bought DVC in 1993 and Stormalong Bay was part of the sales pitch, as a “waterpark pool” without the extra cost. The year before they removed that from our list of available pools, we were there in Jan. and we the ONLY people in the pool/area besides the gloved and jacketed lifeguards! Citing “crowds” is why Disney removed it LOL! We would go to each new resort as it opened to try out the pool, but, we found the traveling around not worth the time…pretty much a pool is a pool, especially at Disney resorts. Stormalong is the only “special” pool. Of course, when we stayed at BC, we were once again able to enjoy that pool…but to tell the truth, the grandkids enjoyed the quiet pool almost as much!
Easier to list the pools that can be used. Too restrictive to be a real benefit.
We love OKW, but the pool is not too friendly to toddlers and little kids. The is not much of a splash pad or shallow area for them. Pool hopping helped when we could bring them to the pirate splash area in the CBR and splash area of the Paddock pool at the SSR.