River Country Rumor

[Soarin08]

I don't see them re-doing River Country just so FW can have a pool area. If they wanted to do a pool area for that resort, then I think they would want something more accessible and more updated...

When I was there we were told to just direct them over to Wilderness Lodge for anything that FW didn't have... which always struck me as really lazy on Disney's part. No one in charge seemed to care, it was just more of "Well if they don't like the food then tell them where to go at the Lodge" and "If they want a bigger pool then tell them to go to the Lodge."

I bet that makes Lodge guests happy to know that the FW guests who pay less get to use their amenities and pay less for their resort stay...

No kidding!! But FW dreadfully needs work, mostly in the food department... I never liked having to take paying guests out of the resort they were staying at and send them to another one they WEREN'T staying at but I didn't have much of a choice... I wouldn't just go over to a resort and use the pool if I wasn't staying there.

[Wizzard419]

Here's a question: is there something else that can be done with River Country besides it being a water park?

Parking lot, giant mound of earth,etc.


I just did a quick check to compare prices for the cabins, campground, and so forth and I was surprised how there was only a few hundred dollar difference between the deluxe (or whatever the top level is) resort and the moderate level cabins. The campground was dirt cheap at less than half the cost.

I wouldn't feel too weird about directing people to other dining areas since it's still on property and you're not directing them to spend money outside of Disney.

[mindflipper]

I wouldn't feel too weird about directing people to other dining areas since it's still on property and you're not directing them to spend money outside of Disney.

Dining-hopping between resorts is not unusual and is very much encouraged; however, pool-hopping not necessarily. Some resorts try to limit their pools to that resort's guests only.

[Polynesian Princess]

Here's a question: is there something else that can be done with River Country besides it being a water park?

Parking lot, giant mound of earth,etc.

Additional campsites or cabins? Playground? Marina?

The campground was dirt cheap at less than half the cost.

I wouldn't really call the campground dirt cheap. My family did a lot of camping and usually only paid about $10-15 a night for similar amenities (power, water, and a sewage line). I understand that it is the cheapest option per night at Disney, but at $60-125 per night, that's a higher markup percentage for the fact that it's at Disney than most of the hotel rooms.

You also have the added expense of driving or towing the camper (both of which seriously guzzle gas) however far you're coming from, not to mention the cost of the camper itself. And of course something on the camper always breaks at the worst times, ruining part or most of your trip. Can you tell I hated going camping and FW?

[Wizzard419]

It's dirt cheap compared to other options. At $48/night, for the time I was using, it's actually cheaper than the national/state parks in some areas (I think, I don't camp because I am not aspiring to emmulate homelessness). Just a quick glance at the sheet shows some sites have base fees of over $100 during the peak season (I'm not sure if that's for a night or a week or what).

[Brian845]

I wouldn't feel too weird about directing people to other dining areas since it's still on property and you're not directing them to spend money outside of Disney.

Dining-hopping between resorts is not unusual and is very much encouraged; however, pool-hopping not necessarily. Some resorts try to limit their pools to that resort's guests only.

From what I've read they've reportedly asked guests at the pool of the Wilderness Lodge for their resort IDs, to ensure they weren't coming over from Fort Wilderness, but no one ever asked us while we were there.

And in case anybody is wondering, it seems to be ok to go swimming with your Key to the Kingdom in your bathing suit pocket (I didn't want to leave it with my stuff on the chaise lounge). I'm sure the chlorine would weaken the plastic over time, but I didn't have any problems using it for the week we were there.

[Polynesian Princess]

And in case anybody is wondering, it seems to be ok to go swimming with your Key to the Kingdom in your bathing suit pocket (I didn't want to leave it with my stuff on the chaise lounge). I'm sure the chlorine would weaken the plastic over time, but I didn't have any problems using it for the week we were there.

My husband does the same with our cards and we've also never had an issue.

[Amy]

I wouldn't feel too weird about directing people to other dining areas since it's still on property and you're not directing them to spend money outside of Disney.

Dining-hopping between resorts is not unusual and is very much encouraged; however, pool-hopping not necessarily. Some resorts try to limit their pools to that resort's guests only.

From what I've read they've reportedly asked guests at the pool of the Wilderness Lodge for their resort IDs, to ensure they weren't coming over from Fort Wilderness, but no one ever asked us while we were there.

And in case anybody is wondering, it seems to be ok to go swimming with your Key to the Kingdom in your bathing suit pocket (I didn't want to leave it with my stuff on the chaise lounge). I'm sure the chlorine would weaken the plastic over time, but I didn't have any problems using it for the week we were there.

Aren't you allowed as a Disney hotel guest to use the other pools? I could see them not wanting people that are staying off property to come and use the facilities for free, but I would think it would be ok to use another resort's pool...

[Wizzard419]

I think they kind of would like/require you to stay at your own hotel's pool but don't enforce the rule with an iron fist. If I recall, even DLR's pools don't require room cards to use them.

I think the reason might not be so much about mooching but rather having soggy people taking transportation.

[Amy]

I think they kind of would like/require you to stay at your own hotel's pool but don't enforce the rule with an iron fist. If I recall, even DLR's pools don't require room cards to use them.

I think the reason might not be so much about mooching but rather having soggy people taking transportation.

One would hope that people would be smart enough to dry off or change first Or they could always claim they were caught in a sudden cloudburst!

[Soarin08]

Aren't you allowed as a Disney hotel guest to use the other pools? I could see them not wanting people that are staying off property to come and use the facilities for free, but I would think it would be ok to use another resort's pool...

Not much anymore, most of them ask for a room key, especially the nice ones such as Stormalong Bay. I agree with it too. If you want to use those amenities so bad, cough up the money and pay to stay there, my opinion. On my last program, one of my roommates was a lifeguard and had a friend who worked Stormalong Bay, and we were invited to use the pool, but we never did because we felt guilty using something that guests have to show a room key to use themselves. Just because we were invited to do so didn't mean we were going to take advantage of it.

[Wizzard419]

I wouldn't worry too much about it (though I hate all chlorinated pools now that I've used a salt water one) since it's not like there is a finite amount of pool to be enjoyed.

[Polynesian Princess]

If you want to use those amenities so bad, cough up the money and pay to stay there, my opinion.

I agree with you when you're talking about someone not even staying on property or staying at a value and going swimming at a deluxe, for example. However, I don't think it should be a problem to hop within your resort level. It doesn't seem unreasonable to me that someone staying on the monorail could want to go swimming at one of the neighboring resorts - same at the Boardwalk. If they were going to start enforcing it that way, they would probably need color coded cards based on what resort level you're staying at.

If they ever did open RC as a FW pool, I'm sure they would have to treat it like SAB and card people.

[mindflipper]

I wouldn't worry too much about it (though I hate all chlorinated pools now that I've used a salt water one) since it's not like there is a finite amount of pool to be enjoyed.

Salt water pool? How do they handle the corrosive nature of the salt water?

[Wizzard419]

I'm guessing they must use PVC or copper pipes rather than steel. Though, now that you bring it up. I am curious as to what effect that will have on any exposed iron products near open windows/outdoors.

I know someone who lives on the water and I was visiting/there to help with a computer upgrade. The area around the back case fan was solid rust because all that lovely salt air kicked up by the pacific ocean just ruins it.