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Best Feature Pools in Walt Disney World Resorts

Life Jackets for Kids at Resort Pool
Credit: DisneyTips

Location, theming, cost – these are all common considerations when choosing a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel.  But have you taken the time to research the many amazing feature pools that call Disney Resorts home?  This is another important criterion in any Resort Hotel search, because while you can visit other Disney Resorts during your stay, you won’t be able to swim in a Resort pool unless you’re a Guest at that Resort. 

While we haven’t found any bad pools in Walt Disney World, they’re definitely not all created equal.  Here are a few of our favorite feature pools at WDW Resorts, with options for all three main tiers of Disney Resorts – Deluxe, Moderate, and Value – so that no matter your budget, you can enjoy some spectacular pool-side fun during your vacation!

Lost City of Cibola Pool

Think only Disney’s Deluxe Resort Hotels boast fabulous feature pools?  Think again!  One of our favorite pools on WDW property is the Lost City of Cibola Pool at the Dig Site, at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.  It’s hard to miss, with its gigantic (50-foot) Mayan temple centerpiece, complete with waterfall.  It makes a spectacular backdrop for this unforgettable pool.  

Take the Jaguar Slide through the jungle into the pool, or enjoy the biggest hot tub in Walt Disney World.  There are plenty of pool-side activities to keep Guests busy here, from beach volleyball to arcade games, and a kiddie pool for younger Guests.  

Copper Creek Springs

This feature pool in Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort has a very special claim to fame: it actually begins in the Resort lobby (which in itself is worth spending time in, especially during the holidays).  Visit the springs in the lobby, and follow Copper Creek down the rocky path and over boulders until it erupts out of the water slide into the pool, and see for yourself! 

Guests can enjoy waterfalls, hot and cold whirlpool spas, and a fun splash area for little ones.  Don’t forget to watch for Fire Rock Geyser, which you’ll have an excellent view of as it explodes regularly throughout the day.

Fuentes del Morro Pool

A dip in the feature pool at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort feels like you’ve been transported to the set of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  Themed as a Spanish colonial fort, you’ll swim among beautiful fortress walls and towers, zoom down two waterslides, and relax in a 12-person spa. 

The spraying cannons add even more fun to Fuentes del Morro Pool.  Swashbuckling is just plain fun for everyone, no matter the age, and this pool is one of the best in a Disney Moderate Resort Hotel.  Aspiring young pirates can play in the shipwreck play area.

Big Blue Pool

At Disney World, just because you’re on a budget and staying at a Value Resort doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy your time outside of the Parks.  Guests at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort know this well, because they have free reign over the biggest pool anywhere on Disney World property!  

At a whopping 308,000 gallons, the Big Blue Pool is appropriately themed after ‘Finding Nemo’, so you’ll find lots of fun, larger-than-life nods to the movie, including all of your favorite characters.  “Just keep swimming” under the water, and you’ll magically hear music and sounds.  The zero-entry pool is perfect for little ones, but there’s also a Schoolyard Sprayground especially for younger Guests.

Ol’ Man Island 

When you think “best feature pool”, typically the words “abandoned sawmill” do not come to mind.  Yet that is the theme of the feature pool at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, and it somehow works!  

Ol’ Man Island is reached by three wooden bridges, and feels like its own special hideaway.  With lots of wooden chutes overhead that leak out water in various spots, and strategic buckets and water spouts to play in, this feature pool is a delight for all ages.  It includes a waterslide, a whirlpool tub, and a kiddie pool for Walt Disney World’s youngest Guests.

Stormalong Bay

Shared by Disney’s Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts, Stormalong Bay is the unofficial champion of pool complexes on WDW property.  For starters, its three-acre size gives it a leg up – it truly feels like a Water Park.  There’s a lazy river where you can tube the day away, and smaller Guests love the beach entry to the main pool, with its sandy bottom.  

Those craving a thrill can climb atop the massive replica of a shipwreck and zoom down the 230-foot waterslide, one of the longest in Walt Disney World.  There’s also a smaller waterslide for little ones in the Shipwreck Pool, and no less than three whirlpool spas.  If you’re staying at Beach Club Resort or Yacht Club Resort, take full advantage of Stormalong Bay by planning a Resort day to enjoy it all!

Bottom Line

Sure, the focus of your next Walt Disney World vacation will probably be spending time in the Theme Parks, and pools might rank fairly low on your WDW to-do list.  But water-loving Guests will no doubt want to spend some time exploring their Resort’s feature pool, and Disney World has some absolute gems on property!  Whether you’re staying at a Disney Deluxe, Moderate, or Value Resort, there’s a splash-tacular feature pool that’s perfect for your family.

About Stacy Milford

Stacy has lived in 4 countries on 3 continents, and travels whenever humanly possible. Passionate about music theatre, dessert, and adventure in the great wide somewhere, she visits Walt Disney World every year, usually during Halloween! Stacy currently divides her time between writing and teaching English as a second language to children in China, and is pretty sure growing up is over-rated.