Most families walk into a Disney trip thinking it is all parks, all day. Then they get there and realize the resort pool is where a big piece of the magic actually happens. This week Chip is back with me, and we are ranking our top 9 Walt Disney World resort pools.

We each ranked our own top ten, swapped lists, and found out we agreed on almost everything. After one friendly disagreement, we trimmed it down to a top nine (sorry, Old Key West). From there we count all the way up, from the Big Blue Pool at Art of Animation to the pool that lands at number one. Along the way we talk slides, zero entry, theming, crowds, and price, because the best pool for your family is not always the fanciest one. We also get into which pools work best for little kids, where the crowds hit hardest, and when a value resort pool can quietly beat a deluxe one.

I explain why Animal Kingdom Lodge is almost always the cheapest deluxe resort and tends to hold the biggest discounts, and why your room request there can make or break the whole stay. Chip shares the strange story behind our number one pool, which started out closer to a ten foot deep aquarium than a place to swim. We also get honest about the resorts everyone hypes up that quietly missed our list, and why the price of a room has to be part of how you judge a pool.

And near the end, we break down why the most beautiful pool on property still could not reach the top two, and we tease a brand new resort pool that could shake up this entire ranking in a couple of years.

02:00 How we built the list (and why Old Key West got cut)

03:11 Number 9

06:23 Number 8

10:15 Number 7

13:18 Number 6

18:00 Number 5

21:04 Number 4

25:11 Number 3

29:15 Number 2

37:45 Number 1

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