Pool Changing Areas, Showers, and Amenities at the Disney Resort Hotels
Every Walt Disney World Resort hotel pool has nearby restrooms, but many guests don’t realize that most also offer dedicated changing areas with showers and amenities. Here’s what you can expect at Disney Resort pool facilities and how they can make your arrival and departure days easier.
Imagine it’s your travel day to Walt Disney World. You were up exceptionally early for your flight and arrived at the hotel just a little before lunchtime. Unfortunately, your room isn’t ready, and you don’t have any significant plans for the day. So you find yourself sitting at the resort’s food court for lunch, hoping to get the text that your room is ready sooner rather than later. It’s hotter than you anticipated, and you don’t feel like doing anything until you change into something more suitable. You realize it’s warm enough to swim, and spending the afternoon at the pool doesn’t sound so bad. The kids would enjoy that, and you could find a spot in the shade to relax and enjoy the warm weather. Anxiously, you look at your phone again, hoping the room notification will magically appear.
I say it all the time: You don’t know what you don’t know. In the example above, the busy mom worked hard to plan their family vacation. Their travel plans went smoothly, but that all stopped when they arrived. Had she known in advance, she could have packed a separate swim bag, stored their luggage with Bell Services, and headed straight to the pool’s changing area. Nearly every Disney Resort hotel pool (feature and quiet pool) has changing areas with showers and other amenities. You’ll first want to locate the pool restrooms. You’ll find these areas inside.
When You Might Need a Pool Changing Area
We’ve already discussed how you might need a changing area on your arrival day. Here are a few more examples:
- Check-Out Day (If you have a later flight, you can spend the day at the pool. If you’ve already checked out of your room, you can shower and change at the pool before you head to the airport.)
- Before Dinner (Say you spent the afternoon at the pool and have two or more adults who need to shower. You don’t want to leave the pool so early, so one person might return to the room to shower, and the other might use the shower at the pool.)
- You’ve been at the pool all day and want to shower and do a few things around the resort before you return to the room. Whether your kids need a quick rinse or you need to wash the chlorine out of your hair, you can do so at the pool showers.
Amenities: Most pool restrooms have a small curtain with a divider between the shower and changing areas. Each pool shower has built-in toiletries (body wash, shampoo, and conditioner). Fresh, complimentary towels are typically stacked near the shower. If you can’t find one, you can grab one from the towel bin at the pool.
Hairdryers: We get a lot of questions about hairdryers at the pools. In the past, every resort pool had a hair dryer available. Once, we got drenched in a downpour at Magic Kingdom before a dining reservation at the California Grill. So I went to the resort’s pool changing area to freshen up and dry my hair. It was a lifesaver. You couldn’t do that at every resort, but the Contemporary Resort’s changing area sits outside the fenced pool area in a public restroom. Anyway, I was once more confident about finding a hair dryer at the pool. But, in my experience, hairdryers have become more of a hit-or-miss item.
Lockers: Most resort pools have a locker area inside the pool restrooms. Some have an older key system, where you pin the key to your swimsuit until you’re finished. The newer lockers have a coded entry. They are all available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Accessible Showers: All the resort pool showers are either wheelchair accessible or have an accessible option.
Fitness Centers: Some of the pools at the deluxe resorts have nearby fitness centers. Often, the fitness centers have better shower areas than the pool. This especially goes for the Ship Shape Health Club at Stormalong Bay and the Zahanati Fitness Center at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Also, if you need the shower at Disney’s Boardwalk’s feature pool, use the one inside the Muscles and Bustles Health Club.
Here are a few photos of what to expect. We’ve labeled each photo with its location. We don’t have every changing room photographed, but as you can see below, they are all similar.
Final Thoughts
Spending time at the resort pool often becomes one of the most memorable parts of a Walt Disney World vacation. Knowing that most Disney Resort pools offer changing areas with showers, lockers, and basic amenities will put you one step ahead of the game. I would be willing to bet that the average guest is completely unaware that such amenities are available.
And if you’re choosing a resort based on the pool experience itself, you might consider whether features like a water slide or an area with a splash pad for younger children are important to your family. Some pools offer far more than just a place to cool off. Families traveling with younger children may also want to look at which Disney Resort pools are considered the best for kids before finalizing their resort choice. Just rest assured that whatever you decide, the amenities we’ve discussed will be nearby!
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In the Comments
Were you aware of these resort pool changing areas and other amenities? Did you find this article helpful? Let us know in the comments below.