This Disney World Pool Gives Me Anxiety and I Know I’m Not the Only One

We have to seriously mentally prepare ourselves before visiting this Disney World hotel pool!

Disney World is home to some pretty incredible hotel pools. From the massive Finding Nemo-themed Big Blue Pool at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort to the impressive 50-foot Mayan pyramid at the Dig Site Pool in Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, the ultra-themed pools can be a big selling point when picking a hotel. But Disney World’s BEST hotel pool also has a serious downside to consider before you go all-in on planning your time poolside.

Stormalong Bay is one of the shared pools for Disney’s Beach Club Resort & Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, and it is the undisputed final boss of amazing Disney World hotel pools. In fact, calling it a pool might be underselling it a bit, since it’s practically a mini water park.

On top of the massive pool itself, Stormalong Bay also features a lazy river, a sand bottom pool, and a 230-foot-long water slide…which comes out of a shipwreck, because why not add some extra flair, right?? All the fun elements of Stormalong Bay span 3 acres, making it a destination in itself, and some people even choose to stay at the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts specifically so they can experience it.

What could we possibly be anxious about at such a fun pool? Well, Stormalong Bay’s status as a legendary pool isn’t exactly a secret. Again, some people literally plan their hotel stay around it! And that means Stormalong Bay can rack up some SERIOUS crowds.

The crowds can descend at any time, given its popularity, but Stormalong Bay is typically EXTRA busy during peak times of the year, like around holidays and spring break season. Plus, with people looking to cool off in the hot weather, it pretty much stays packed all summer long.

The massive crowds at Stormalong Bay can make it hard to find a pool chair during the day, unless you get there right when the pool opens. Plus, the actual pool and water park elements themselves get super busy, so you’ll be wading through TONS of people. That’s one way to make the lazy river feel not so lazy! And to top it all off, all those people having fun in the pool can make for lots of noise and commotion, so it’s probably not the best place to go if you’re looking to relax and decompress. With all those factors combined, we can’t help but feel a bit anxious when we visit Stormalong Bay during those peak times!

Even though the crowds can be overwhelming, there are still ways to experience Stormalong Bay when it’s not quite as overstimulating! First, if spending a lot of time in Stormalong Bay is at the top of your priority list, try to avoid vacationing around peak times like holidays, spring break, and summer, if you have flexibility in your dates. Also, it tends to be less crowded first thing in the morning and in the evening after about 6 PM, so you can try to head there either before or after the crowds typically peak in the afternoon.

If you decide the Stormalong Bay commotion is just too much for you, there are also three leisure pools at the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts that you can head to instead! The leisure pools don’t have the same bells and whistles of Stormalong Bay (you’ll just find a simple, smaller pool and a whirlpool at each location), but if you’d prefer a relaxing day poolside, those will be your better option.

Stormalong Bay is a huge hit with Disney guests, and we’re no exception! We love splashing around and enjoying the fun of a water park right outside our hotel room. But, we’re definitely strategic about when we visit to avoid the chaos of peak season at this ultra-popular pool!

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Have you been to Stormalong Bay? Share your experience in the comments!

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