Storm along bay?

[DisneyLove2015]

How awesome is Stormalong bay? We're looking at adding one day before our off property time share for thanksgiving at Beach club (they had an awesome rate for military!) and we would mainly be just hanging at the pool. We have a 7 year old and 9 month old.

Thanks!

 

[Coconut8473]

It's amazing, but, unfortunately, weather at Thanksgiving can be very hit-or-miss as far as being pool weather. We've gone at Thanksgiving time and worn shorts and t shirts, and gone other years and had to wear sweaters! Even on those trips where it was warm, honestly, it was never quite that stay-at-the-pool-all-day kind of hot, so not sure if I'd recommend a resort-only stay if your ONLY reason was to use the pool - too risky that time of year!

 

[maxiesmom]

It is awesome, but it is also very big. I would only attempt it with small children if you are comfortable being in the pool with them, and with keeping them confined to one area at a time. The way SAB is laid out you sometimes have to get out of the pool in order to get to a different section. Plus, in order to use the large slide you have to walk away from the pool area, and cross a public sidewalk. And the area the slide dumps into is small and deep. It is not a pool at which I would be comfortable letting little ones out of my sight.

 

[Disneylover99]

I thought I would love it, but I didn't. It was really busy and crowded and a bit confusing to navigate.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

I thought I would love it, but I didn't. It was really busy and crowded and a bit confusing to navigate.

Totally agree. For us it was a waste to try & use. The room was horrible & overall the stay at BC was our worst on property.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We loooooved it - we were there end of August and it was perfect crowd-wise. Most nights we had one little area all to ourselves. And the sand bottom is the best thing ever.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you are only booking it to swim, I wouldn't do it. We were there the weekend before Thanksgiving last year and it was cold and rainy. We had fun in the parks, but didn't go swimming the entire time we were there.

 

[TeamSy]

It is by far our favorite onsite pool. We were there end of Aug/Beg of Sept and it was practically empty!

 

[mickeynut1]

How awesome is Stormalong bay? We're looking at adding one day before our off property time share for thanksgiving at Beach club (they had an awesome rate for military!) and we would mainly be just hanging at the pool. We have a 7 year old and 9 month old.

Thanks!

We weren't wow'd by SAB as we thought it was just ok. I'm glad we tried it, but it's not one that's at the top of our list of favorite pools. As others have said, it's very spread out, can get very crowded as it's shared with the YC, and you have to walk out of the main pool area across a sidewalk to get to the slide. With that said, I wouldn't book the BC just to use SAB, especially in November when the weather could be too cold to swim (but that's just me).

 

[DisneyLove2015]

Thanks everyone! We're only booking one night pre-timeshare so it's not a whole week there . Ive been going for Thanksgiving since 1987, so I know weather can be insanely varied! I believe the pool is heated and my son will swim in any weather. He usually spends at least a few hours in the pool at our timeshare that week. I wouldn't be too upset to not spend the entire day pool side. I'm hoping to do downtown disney (bc we normally don't have time later in the week to go), dinner and a little pool time that day. I couldn't pass up $260 for BC. Most other hotels are booked for that day or don't have a military rate. Only other hotel my DH Wanted to try is Wilderness Lodge and it's not available. Eh, it's an extra night on vacation. Maybe we will get lucky to have nice weather for a few hours to swim. Maybe not.
Interesting to see how varied the responses are!

 

[drea21]

We were there in July and I fell in love!! I have a 2 year old and 5 year old and we stuck to the sand bottom pool the whole time. I could see the entire thing and the kids could swim independently in there. (the "sand" was also a great exfoliater, like a sugar scrub!). We never felt it was crowded, never had a problem getting chairs or anything, but we did have a good bit of dreary weather.

We have always stayed MK resorts, but I am now a huge fan of the Beach Club. I think I will always do a splits monorail/BC stay from now on. Our room was gorgeous, BRAND new, literally took the plastic off of the hair dryer. Best part, door to a grey goose slush in my hand was 5 minutes

 

[Nancyg56]

We were not fans. With little ones this pool can be very stressful. The slide is across the "street", there are a lot of twists and turns, and holy HUGE! My DGD was 10 and a very strong swimmer, and the life guards were incredibly attentive, but we are an eyes on the child at all times family, so it was pretty hard to manage.

If you are booking just for the pool, like we did, be prepared to compare this pool to others, and it may not win the competition. ALso, we arrived on Thanksgiving Day, and HOLY COLD! WE are fro CT, used to open ocean and breeze, but we were unable to enjoy the pool for a good deal of our stay. It's funny, but when we stayed at AKL during a January vacaiton, the pool area seemed more sheltered and even though it was not HOT, we were much more comfortable.

 

[MissMet]

We prefer BWV so I haven't been to BCV all too often lately... with that said...maybe it was just my last two visits were not the norm, but it use to be SO much better!! The last time I went, there was no longer the pool with the jets shooting up from the bottom, or the pool with the current similar to...well...a toilet bowl. We loved it as kids but going back as an adult was a whole new experience- and not that impressive. I was so disappointed with it.

 

[thisismyusername]

My kids LOVE SAB. And so do I. But I love it now that my kids are of similar swimming ability. It's a difficult pool to enjoy and relax at if you have an infant (who will want to be in the sand/shallow area) and an older child who may want to be in the deeper part--it usually requires parents splitting up and manning each child. If your 7 year old doesn't swim and wants to dig in the sand as well, I think you'll do great if it's not a cold day (thus requiring you to submerge yourself in the water fully to stay warm) since Thanksgiving weather is so variable.

If you'll be happy at BC for other reasons besides just SAB, I'd definitely book the one night. It's a great resort and definitely one of our favorites post refurb.

 

[PirateKing]

Stormalong bay is the best pool we have been to. We all loved the water slide and the sand bottom of the pool.

 

[vettegirl]

It's amazing! It keeps us coming back to the BC among other qualities we love about that resort

 

[BabyFu18]

We loved SAB when we stayed at BC last summer (July) but we are a family of all adults (youngest is a teenager) so no problem with having little ones or non-swimmers. But I don't think BC would be my first choice for a stay in the winter months as I don't think we'd get a ton of use out of the pool in the cooler months just because it is so spread out. We stayed at WL in December and I did swim there but I found the pool small enough that I didn't have to walk around the pool deck much and it was close to our room so I could get back indoors quickly. At BC it was a long walk to the pool and a lot of walking around on the pool deck to get to things (bathrooms, slide, bar, pool chairs, etc.).

 

[abolanwoski]

We were there the first week in September and spent several hours every day. It wasn't crowded and the water was warm and relaxing. Having said that, DD7 (who is quite tall for her age) could really only be in the kiddie sand pool without help because so many areas are very deep. THe whirlpool was REALLY strong current and I worried about her getting sucked under. The lazy river is 8 ft deep, so no going there without a parent either. DD11 was fine everywhere. They both did the slide ad nauseam. And I loved just laying in the sandy bit while she dug sand castles (her favorite part) The only thing that would have made it better would be if you could sit in the water with your drink. But alas, drinks must be kept 4 feet from the water line...killjoys

 

[Mlkim]

We're going to BC the first week of Nov and I booked it because of proximity to Epcot and HS, but mainly because my 6 y.o. loved the way the pool looked on-line and my 3 y.o. LOVES sand. I hope it's warm enough to swim!

 

[AThrillingChase]

But alas, drinks must be kept 4 feet from the water line...killjoys

lol.

OP just popping in with a helpful reminder that you are able to use the resort amenities the entire day even after you check out officially. So even with a one night stay, you can go to the pool twice! I love the YC/BC. And with the brand new refurbed rooms it looks great. The pool is very relaxing for me because it feels like an entire park. I really like the chairs above the gazebo. Captain's Grille at the YC is a quick walk over and one of my favorite resort breakfasts, too!