Disney pools are our favorites! We are enthusiastic fans of the whimsical elements mixed into the pools, slides and splash areas. We deeply appreciate the safety-minded cast members, and we love the thoughtful amenities like water bottle fillers and comfortable seating. If you stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel, we hope you will spend loads of time at the pools! In the interest of helping you make the most of your time at the Disneyland hotel pools, we have tips for what to bring (and what not to bring).
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What is Provided at the Disneyland Resort Hotel Pools
In our experience, the hotel pools reflect Disney’s talent for anticipating guest needs, which means a lot of what you need is already at the pools.
When you arrive at the pools, the pool attendant will ask you for your reservation name and room number. You need to be a guest at the hotel to use the pool. This cast member will then give each member of your party a wristband and towel for use at the pools that day. So, there is no need to bring towels from home or from your hotel room. In fact Disney requests that you please do not bring the bath towels from your room into the pool area.
The Disneyland pools have restrooms and showers. Depending on the hotel, these may be individual shower stalls or outdoor showers heads where you can simply rinse off. If you need a swim diaper, you can speak to the pool attendant.
We also like that there are water fountains and water bottle fillers near the pools. You could bring a water bottle with you (like we do), or ask for a cup at the poolside eateries. Each Disneyland Resort Hotel pool has some kind of snack stand or restaurant where you can purchase food or beverages, both alcoholic or non-alcoholic.
If you opt to rent a cabana (or daybed or pod), you would have even more amenities. Cabanas are not how we choose to spend our vacation budget, so we cannot offer you much advice on those. You can get a list of amenities on the Disneyland website.
Finally, Disney provides life jackets for guests to borrow. These are free to use while at the pool and distributed on a first-come first-serve basis. Keep in mind that Disneyland’s website list restrictions on many other flotation devices.
Swim Attire for the Disneyland Resort Hotel Pools
If you have read some of our articles about the Disneyland Resort Hotel pools, you will get the idea that they are not just pools. In addition to pools and hot tubs, the pool areas at the Disney hotels include slide, splash areas, dining areas and sometimes other activities. For this reason, we wear pool attire that can withstand varied activities. What follows are some of our recommendations.
Swim Wear for Moms and Active Women
If you are a mom who spends your pool time chasing toddlers or an adult who would never dream of skipping the water slides, you will probably want a swim suit that does more than just look good. Over the years, I have gravitated towards a few swimwear brands that hold-up over an active day at the pool or beach. Finding a good swimsuit is hard, so I thought I would share a few suggestions.
I have purchased a few nice swim tops from Title Nine. They also have good quick-drying clothing that I like to wear to the parks at Disneyland. I have also bought some nice long-lasting swimwear from Nani Swimwear.
One of my favorite swimwear companies is Carve Designs. I really like their Lorenzo swim shorts, because they are all-in-one with nice coverage over a classic swim-bottom liner. I also have some links to their rashguards coming-up.
Why We Love Rash Guards
A rash guard is a close-fitting swim shirt. They formerly were used mostly by surfers—for protection from sun and chafing—but today you see them on adults and kids doings all kind of water sports. We use rash guards at our local pool and the beach. The right swim shirt provides good sun protection, and that means less worrying about whether you got enough sunscreen spread around a wiggly little body. Our kids regularly wear rash guards and we do too.
We especially like to have rash guards at the Disneyland Resort Hotel pools, because they provided great extra protection for some of the non-pool elements. When you are sliding down the water slides, a swim shirt provides a comfortable and slippery layer between your bare back and the slide surface. This goes a long way towards protecting from general chafing and abrasions (especially if you want to do those slides over and over again). We find that they also help to keep us warm and protected from the wind when we are waiting in line for those same water slides or playing in the splash areas. They are even nice if we are going to another hotel’s pool (keep reading for more on that).
Rash Guards Shopping List
Rash guards are helpful at the Disney pools, because there is so much to do outside of being submerged in the pools. Here are some rash guards we like:
I like Carve Designs rash guards for women, because they have some adjustable features, and I feel comfortable wearing them as a shirt for traveling to and from the pool. Here is a short sleeve version, and here is a long sleeve one.
Quicksilver is a reliable surf brand. Unfortunately, it seems to be closing shop in 2025, but you can still find their products for the time being. Here is short sleeve rash guard for men, and a long sleeve version. Roxy is the brand’s name for the women’s equivalent. Again, here is a women’s short sleeve rash guard and a long sleeve one with a floral print. Quicksilver also has rash guards for kids, like this one.
O’Neill is another established surf brand with rash guards for men and for women.
Hurley is yet another surf brand, and they have two-piece sets you can find for kids with rash guards and swim bottoms. Here is an example, and here is one with swim trunks. There is even a two-piece set for women.
Pool Cover-ups for Staying Warm
Rash guards are great. But, depending on when you visit, you might also want some dry attire to help you stay warm. As a result of their location between tall hotel towers, the shade at the Disney pools can shift significantly over the course of one day. This makes a big difference in temperature around the pools, so we like to be prepared with pool cover-ups that can warm-up our kids.
Robes are great for this. If you already have some kids’ robes at home that you use and like, consider bringing them with you for your Disney vacation. They are easy to take on and off and inherently cozy (extra points for hoods). Here is an example of a cozy kids’ robe. The drawback to packing robes is that they do take-up a fair amount of space in luggage, so perhaps take into account how often you actually plan to use the pools.
Sweat pants and sweatshirts are a good and versatile alternative, and they can double as practical attire for rooftop fireworks viewing. Here is a set for your little mermaid, and another cozy kid option.
Read This Before You Skip a Pool Cover-Up
We know some folks do not see much need to put anything over their swim attire while visiting the hotel pools in warm weather. You know what works for you, but we do want to offer a bit of advice on this. First, it is likely that you will need to traverse some public non-pool areas of your hotel on the way to the pool, so think about whether you would like to have some extra clothing in places like the (air conditioned) elevators.
Second, we want to point out a unique Disneyland Resort Hotel policy. If a Disneyland Resort Hotel pool is closed, Disney offers that hotel’s guests the option to use the pool at another designated Disney hotel. In our experience, this policy applies even if just the waterslides are closed!
During a recent stay at Pixar Place Hotel, we headed down to the pool only to discover that Crush’s waterslide was unexpectedly closed. When we spoke to the pool concierge about the estimated downtime, he reminded us that we could use the pool and slides at Disneyland Hotel during the slide closure. That was exactly what we decided to do, but to reach Disneyland hotel, we had to walk along the roads between the two hotels. We were glad to have our clothes and shoes with us for the trek. Unfortunately, the wait for elevators at Pixar Place Hotel can get rather long, and we did not want to go back up to our room and down again.
This is a specific situation, but it illustrates why having your clothes for unexpected circumstances is useful! We got to visit two different hotels’ pools that day. Our kids had a blast.
Quick-dry clothes, like those we suggest wearing to the parks, work great as cover-ups.
Shoes for Disneyland Resort Hotel Pools
We know some people like to skip wearing shoes to the pool. We do not recommend it. You will almost certainly need to walk through some public areas to get to the pool, which is itself also a public area. Plus, there is always the scenario we mentioned in the last section, where you could end up leaving your hotel pool to walk to another one. But what shoes are good for the Disney hotel pool areas?
If you want shows that will do double duty and work at the parks and the pools, we recommend fisherman-style sandals. We like Keen sandals for this, and we share recommendations about them in this post: What to Wear to Disneyland: Part 3, Shoes.
If those closed-toe sandals are not for you, consider throwing some flip-flop thong sandals in your bag. They take up minimal space and are functional for wearing to the pool. Plus, they are nice to have if you plan to use the pool shower facilities at the Disneyland Resort Hotels pools. We just do not recommend flips-flops for the parks.
If you are not planning to visit the pool often, you could even just wear the gym shoes you wear to the parks down to the pool. They will not be the most comfortable with wet feet, but they should work fine if you do not want to bring another pair of shoes on vacation. Plus, you will notice plenty of cast members on the pool deck in sneakers.
Dining and Drinking at the Disney Hotel Pools
All of the Disney Resort Hotels have eateries near their pools. At Pixar Place Hotel there is Small Bytes; at Disneyland Hotel (and Villas) you can choose from Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar and Grill, Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar and Palm Breeze Bar. Finally, at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa you can find GCH Craftsman Grill and GCH Craftsman Bar. Depending on the hotel and time of day, there is also the potential for poolside service.
You can buy food and drinks from these hotel restaurants. You can also bring our own, with some restrictions. Food and drinks are prohibited inside the actual pools, but you can eat and drink on the pool decks. No outside alcohol (or coolers) are allowed in the pool area, but you can purchase alcohol from the hotel restaurants we just listed.
We might bring our water bottles to the Disneyland Resort hotel pools, but we do not typically bring other beverages and food. The exception to this would be on check-out day on a recent trip. We brought a large salad to the covered seating near the pool and enjoyed a simple healthy lunch before leaving.
As for the water bottles, we appreciate that there are water bottle fillers near the pools. Staying hydrated is so important. It is easy to forget this while we are on vacation or thrown-off by a different climate, so we try to keep our water bottles close!
Tips for Goggles and Sunglasses
Our kids like to wear goggles while they are swimming. Since they take up minimal space in luggage and keep our kids comfortable, so we always pack them.
We are still trying to find our favored kids’ goggles, so we will not suggest any particular ones here. However, we think these goggle strap covers are fantastic: other parents frequently ask where we got them. We like those covers for preventing hair snags and other discomfort and heartily recommend them.
Since our kids would rather swim than lounge, we do not bring sunglasses to the pool for them. As adults, we do bring sunglasses. We both like to wear them in the water and on the deck as we are watching our kids, because we appreciate the eye protection when we are acting as parent “lifeguards.”
We have quite a few pairs of Goodr sunglasses and like how they stay put even on the sweatiest days. Here’s their “OG” sunglasses in black. Also in the category of sunglasses for active folks, we like Sifosi shades: here’s a tough pair of Sifosi sunglasses for grown-ups.
SPF! Sun Protection for the Disneyland Resort Hotel Pools
Health professionals recommend reapplying sunscreen after two hours or after swimming. If we are planning a long session at the pool, we will bring sunscreen to the pool deck with us.
If you are looking for something compact to have on hand, we recommend sunscreen sticks (also TSA friendly). Here is a higher-end sunscreen we like, here is a mineral sunscreen stick we use, and here is a lower cost sunscreen stick that spreads more easily than the mineral formula. In our experience, the first two recommendations are small and best for faces, but the third suggestion works well anywhere.
What We Bring to the Pools at Disneyland Resort Hotels (A Summary List)
We have just recounted a lot of our experiences and supplied you with even more explanation. In case you lost track along the way (I do not blame you), here is a summarized list of what we wear to the pools at the Disneyland Resort Hotels:
- swim attire that can handle a lot of activity
- easy cover-ups (shorts, robes, quick-dry tees, etc)
- shoes
- rash guards
- goggles (for kids)
- sunglasses (for grown-ups)
And, here is what we bring with us to the pools deck at our Disneyland hotel:
- our room key
- water bottles
- sunscreen
What We Do Not Bring to the Pools at Disneyland Resort Hotels
There is no need to bring the following items to the pools at Disneyland Resort. In fact, some of these items are prohibited by the hotels.
- pool toys or floaties (there is already so much to do, and many of these items are prohibited by the hotels)
- alcohol
- coolers
- anything glass
- food (usually)
Thank you for reading this post on what we bring to the Disneyland Resort Hotel pools.
Basically the answer of what we bring down to the pools at the Disneyland hotels is… not much. But, we hope this article has helped you focus in on your own essentials. On a final note, we recommend putting a compact packable tote bag in your luggage. We like bringing backpacks to the parks, but we also like having a light tote on hand for groceries or trips to the pool.
For other tips on what to pack for a Disney trip, be sure to read Disneyland Travel Essentials: What You Need to Pack part of our Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. Thanks again for reading!
