Hello Margot! Welcome back to planDisney. Thanks for stopping by with another great question. We love it when our Guests come back to visit!
Oh my goodness. Margot. I thought my little princess was the only one who was terrified of buckets in the water play areas! She takes the Haunted Mansion in stride, and couldn't wait to be tall enough to join her older brother on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but those "dump buckets" get a hard pass from her. Last summer we stayed at
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, and leading up to the vacation, I couldn't wait for my kids to try out the water play area at the resort. My son, a veteran of Disney Resort Hotel splash pads, had a fantastic time slipping and sliding his way around the water features. My daughter would barely even step inside the gates once she glimpsed the foreboding bucket. Fortunately, the main slide at the
Copper Creek Springs Pool was to her liking, so we spent most of our time there.
Margot, because my little fish of a son loves the water play areas so much, they are a must-have when my family is choosing our resort, and we have tried nearly all of them. Most are similarly designed, and all feature some sort of bucket that dumps water. I'm sorry to tell you that even the water play area at the
Paddock Pool at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort includes a bucket; however the Grandstand Pool at this resort as well as the pool at
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort and the Samawati Springs Pool at
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village all have splash pads without buckets, but these do not offer the same miniature water slides featured at other water play areas.
I can share one last glimmer of hope, Margot! A few months ago, we celebrated my daughter's fourth birthday at
Disney's Riviera Resort, and much to our surprise and delight, she loved the S'il Vous Play water play area! It is built so that water from the bucket, lovingly filled by an adorable elephant from
Fantasia, cascades
outside of the structure rather than inside and onto unsuspecting swimmers. After watching for a few moments to ensure her total safety, my daughter dove right in and had a fantastic time. I'm hoping that the experience emboldened my little one, and she'll be ready to take on the most grandiose water play area of them all at
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort on our next vacation. Fingers crossed!
I hope everything going swimmingly for you on your upcoming trip, and that your little Nemo braves new waters. If there is anything else we can do before your adventure begins, stop by again, and we'll happily lend a fin.
Bon voyage!
Betsy