Click Here to take a 360 Panorama Tour of Disney Vero Beach Resort from VirtualEscape! The pool at DVBR, for us at any rate, was the resort's main attraction. Like most pools at Disney resorts it's very kid friendly. Most of the pool, which is shaped somewhat like Mickey Mouse, is shallow enough for a 5-year old to stand with their head above water. The deepest portions are about 5 feet deep, shallow enough for a parent (or a dad, at least) to stand while holding kids. Another thing I've noticed about pools at Disney resorts are the lifeguards. It's not just that they are always on duty, it's the way they're on duty. To begin with, I noticed that no single lifeguard ever seemed to be on "active duty" for more than about an hour (although I wasn't exactly standing there with a stopwatch). Good thing, too, because the lifeguards on active duty are extremely alert and attentive, constantly scanning the pool for possible trouble or (more often) people breaking the rules ("Please do not hang on the rim of the basketball hoop - Thank you", "Please come down the slide one at a time - Thank you"). The pool also has a deceptively tame looking waterslide. It's built as a tower structure on the pool's south side with the slide circling the tower and emptying into the pool. To begin with, I think Disney used their old "forced perception" trick in reverse. From the ground the tower doesn't look that tall, but once you're inside and you climb the spiral staircase in the tower to the top, you realize how high up you are. The view from there of the ocean and resort is really quite nice. Coming down the slide I was very surprised what a wild ride it is. (I wouldn't want to discourage anyone who doesn't like wild rides, so I'll point out that I usually came down the slide lying on my back. If you come down in a sitting position the ride is much tamer. Natalie came down the slide many times - usually sitting up - and had no problem.) If you go to DVBR, the waterslide is an absolute must.

One problem with the pool is that people tend to "stake out" claims on lounges early in the day by placing their stuff on them when they don't intend to use them for a while. While I found this annoying, I must admit that we did it too. If we hadn't, we would have had a hard time finding a good spot. In our defense, we got to the lounges within an hour or so of staking our claim while some seemed to go unoccupied for hours. On the other hand, there are plenty of lounges by the pool and I don't recall seeing anyone sitting on the ground for want of a lounge chair. There are a lot of family-oriented activities available at the resort. In the pool area there is a sauna, well-equipped workout room and masseuse. Near the pool is a sandy "tot area" and a surprisingly challenging 9 hole miniature golf course with decorations inspired by the history and environment of Vero Beach (one hole has a broken ship's mast, another a cannon, another alligators, one with sharks, etc.) There is also a pirate ship called The Tiger Lilly with water spraying from its masts and a small slide. There is a sign posted nearby announcing that the Tiger Lilly is for the use of children 5 and under. Charlie was a bit dubious, but Nat loved it. There are organized activities for the kids throughout the day. Many are informal and seemingly spontaneous (contests to see who can retrieve the largest number of plastic fish from the pool and the like) and some are more organized but still free (scavenger hunts, etc.) There are also organized activities for small children, most appeared to be crafts oriented. For a fee, there is Disney Discovery Club (2DC) for kids 4 to 10 (or possibly 12). These organized evening activities run from 6 PM to 9 several nights a week. We signed Nat up for 2DC on Monday, but she decided not to go. It's a pity, I think she would have enjoyed it. Across the highway - and connected to the main resort complex by an underpass walkway tunnel - is an annexed area containing tennis & basketball courts and a nature trail named The 100 Acre Wood. It's a nice place for a cool walk in a wooded area. We rode bicycles over there. If you use a bike from Eb & Flo's, be sure to check it out first. I was nearly unable to ride the one I got. One word of warning: the ground had a lot of soot on it from campfires held nearby - and from what looked like burning to clear a trail - and your feet or shoes get very dirty. Leave the white pumps in your room. We did participate in the campfire on Monday night - a lot of fun in a silly sort of way. Nat & I also participated in a scavenger hunt. I thought we did pretty well, though we weren't one of the winning teams. The home base for most of the resort activities is "Eb & Flo's", which is near the pool. This is where you get any equipment you need and sign up for various activities. Much of what they offer is free, and the things they did charge for are reasonably priced (Golf clubs for mini golf are $3, $1 for DVC members as an example). Disney Banner Network