Concierge/Club Level Information- Part IV, July 2012

[CuteAsMinnie]

Hi - have a question regarding the IPO. I had requested to have some reservations for golf and cabana rental at the Poly. I am 90 days out today from the date of the actual tee time/ cabana rental (less from my actual arrival date). I have not had any confirmation sent to me. Should I email them to make sure all is ok? Or is it normal that I haven't heard yet. First time I am having IPO do any reservations for me.

I would send them an email inquiring on the status of your ressies. Sometimes they get backed up.

Question for those of you who have stayed club level. Did you find the need to purchase the refillable mugs? Or because of the provided the drinks, they really aren't a useful purchase?

Not necessary at all!

WL CL is amazing!

 

[disnmooner2013]

Does anyone know if White Zinfandel is offered at WL CL?

 

[mickeynut1]

Question for those of you who have stayed club level. Did you find the need to purchase the refillable mugs? Or because of the provided the drinks, they really aren't a useful purchase?

They aren't necessary when staying CL, but we buy them every trip whether we stay CL or not as we use them at home .

 

[disneydee6]

IMHO, they aren't really necessary if you are staying CL.

Not necessary at all!

They aren't necessary when staying CL, but we buy them every trip whether we stay CL or not as we use them at home .

Thanks all!

 

[focusondisney]

I dont drink coffee like the rest of the world, but I do drink tea to get my caffeine fix in the a.m., now at times I have found this to be a mysterious substance to some when I travel south.

So my question is, is tea or hot water readily available at Poly club level??

Cheers, Todd

We have stayed at the YC & GF club levels. Thay always have hot water & tea bags. Now the problem is, they have several varieties of the Twinnings tea bags. I can.t always find a regular old orange pekoe. So I sometimes bring my own Lipton tea bags!

 

[polyfor4]

I dont drink coffee like the rest of the world, but I do drink tea to get my caffeine fix in the a.m., now at times I have found this to be a mysterious substance to some when I travel south.

So my question is, is tea or hot water readily available at Poly club level??

Cheers, Todd

We will be staying there for the first time in May but I have seen pictures of hot water and a wide tea selection! They show it in this YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPT0EFkDosc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[jennabcassell]

IMHO, they aren't really necessary if you are staying CL.

No! You can even take one or two with you when you leave! I have also taken a beer with me to the pool except you have to pour it in a cup! I also asked for some water to drink at night and they gave me an entire big water bottle!!! I just put some wrap on the top and drank it for the day!!Ahhhhhhh...the life!!

 

[mom_of_2]

My DH, DS5, DD3 and I will be staying at the BC in august and staying CL for the first time. I was thinking about my dining reservations and that leads to my question. How do you plan your ADRs? I know there is food the the lounge...do you forgo the ADRs and just eat in the lounge grabbing snacks in the park or do you still make reservations? I am having a hard time trying to organize and plan our trip food wise so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AliceIn]

My DH, DS5, DD3 and I will be staying at the BC in august and staying CL for the first time. I was thinking about my dining reservations and that leads to my question. How do you plan your ADRs? I know there is food the the lounge...do you forgo the ADRs and just eat in the lounge grabbing snacks in the park or do you still make reservations? I am having a hard time trying to organize and plan our trip food wise so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I had the same questions. We have the DDP free for the trip, so we're going to do at least one ADR each day. I know we'll eat breakfast in the lounge every day, and likely do a quick service at the parks on those days. I'm assuming we'll have afternoon breaks to swim and grab a snack, and then possibly an appetizer on a few of the nights. We will likely do some early reservations and miss appetizers at the hotel. I know it will be a huge amount of food, so more than likely we'll only be using the lounge to the fullest for breakfast.

 

[Mousemommy1]

My DH, DS5, DD3 and I will be staying at the BC in august and staying CL for the first time. I was thinking about my dining reservations and that leads to my question. How do you plan your ADRs? I know there is food the the lounge...do you forgo the ADRs and just eat in the lounge grabbing snacks in the park or do you still make reservations? I am having a hard time trying to organize and plan our trip food wise so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We found the DDP and CL to be too much food, thus not allowing us to really enjoy the CL offerings. One suggestion I have seen is to make your ADR's for lunchtime and then enjoy the evening app's in the lounge.

We have just decided not to do the DDP this time around.

 

[mickeynut1]

My DH, DS5, DD3 and I will be staying at the BC in august and staying CL for the first time. I was thinking about my dining reservations and that leads to my question. How do you plan your ADRs? I know there is food the the lounge...do you forgo the ADRs and just eat in the lounge grabbing snacks in the park or do you still make reservations? I am having a hard time trying to organize and plan our trip food wise so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

When we stay CL, it's more for the convenience of the lounge itself rather than the food offerings. The food offerings/snacks are great, but they aren't really meant to replace meals (although depending on how one eats, the appetizers and other offerings can be a meal). With that said, we do plan ADRs when we stay CL. Since we do spend alot of time at the resort, we do get our use out of the lounge and I could easily make a meal out of the appys and other offerings, but my DH and both DSs need actual meals, so we eat regularly even with the snacks/drinks throughout the day that are offered in the lounge.

 

[AngiTN]

I had the same questions. We have the DDP free for the trip, so we're going to do at least one ADR each day. I know we'll eat breakfast in the lounge every day, and likely do a quick service at the parks on those days. I'm assuming we'll have afternoon breaks to swim and grab a snack, and then possibly an appetizer on a few of the nights. We will likely do some early reservations and miss appetizers at the hotel. I know it will be a huge amount of food, so more than likely we'll only be using the lounge to the fullest for breakfast.

This is what our plan is. Planning to eat mostly at the CL lounge is going to be really tough to mesh with being in parks. I intend to eat breakfast in the lounge most mornings. We have a couple of breakfast ressies. On those days I expect to venture back to the resort for an afternoon break. Then we'll get to enjoy some of the afternoon offerings and then head back out for a dinner ressie somewhere. But I can't see using the lounge instead of making an ADR for the entire trip. Even with CL the Dining Plan was needed for us.

 

[disneydreamin247]

My DH, DS5, DD3 and I will be staying at the BC in august and staying CL for the first time. I was thinking about my dining reservations and that leads to my question. How do you plan your ADRs? I know there is food the the lounge...do you forgo the ADRs and just eat in the lounge grabbing snacks in the park or do you still make reservations? I am having a hard time trying to organize and plan our trip food wise so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I like to do DDP with CL. I plan my ADRs for breakfast or lunch. In the evening we will go to evening service and get something from CS later in the evening if we get hungry. I plan dinner ADRs for nights we don't like the offerings in the lounge.

 

[polyfor4]

We're trying to figure out the same thing! I think the DDP and CL will be too much for our family but we'll be staying CL for the first time in May. We still have a few reservations (CM and BOG) and plan on snacking and eating our big meals at lunch time. After everything I've read, CL offerings are by no means meal replacements. However my family is always disgusting full from the DDP so I can't imagine adding CL snacks to that. Since its free dining, I would just take advantage of the one table service that day but if you plan on using the lounge too, you probably won't come close to using all of the DDP credits. A sit down lunch would probably do the trick because the breakfast offerings are extremely convenient and the dinner appetizers are the best foods of the day. I think all lounges start serving "dinner" at 4:00 so you could take a late afternoon pool break to enjoy those options.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Try reading back over this thread a bit, as this question gets asked quite a bit. For us, the lounge is not enough by itself, but DDP is too much.

The lounge provides a continental breakfast.

For lunch you are on your own, but that's when you want to be in the parks anyhow. We're happy with quick serve lunches. It might also be a good time to do an ADR. If you are hainging out at the resort, you can certainly get a beverage/cookie in the lounge.

Dinner is where it gets tricky. To use the lounge, you have to go to the lounge, and that can be a pain. Typically, we either go for drinks before dinner/appetizers OR we get desserts before 10pm OR we do a buffet (and skip the lounge). At dinner, we do make ADR's, but only get an entree, maybe share something. Most CL appetizers are greasy: cheese, fried dumplings. There's just no way I could get full of greasy homemade kettle style chips- I'd throw up first. Especially with rides.

You are allowed to keep food in your fridge, so if we return to the CL for desserts one night, we might pop an orange, a cookie, or a soda in the fridge for later. Also, there is also nightly turn down service. Each resort has it's own treat: taffy or chocolates. I personally prefer to bring them home...but a few become "dessert."

In truth, I'm not all that big on desserts. I also don't drink too many soft drinks, but we do drink water. We usually get our own bottled water. I've heard reports that CL will give you bottled water, but when I've asked, they've always given me glass. You can take them to the room, but not the parks. They do always have paper cups and ice on hand. So you could make up a paper cup of ice/water. It's easy enough to bring a drink to the pool.

You can also get basic apples, oranges, sometimes bananas from the lounge. Personally, I'm not willing to carry an orange around for very long, and the apples are not th kind of apples I like. The oranges are plain 'ol Sunkist- not yummy FL oranges. The apples are icky "delicious" variety industrial apples, so again, not nearly as appealing as a treat from the Main St. Bakery.

The one resort with slightly more substantial food is GF- provided you like peanut butter on white bread. They also have slightly better appetizers.

Last....and I'm not sure how to say this, but there is a certain unspoken ettiquette in the lounge. I don't see folks hoarding large piles of food, or having a whole lot of alcohol. I see folks who nibble/graze. It's sort of like going to a business party where all the women are "on a diet," and everyone talks about how pretty the food is, but nobody really eats all that much beyond a "skinny latte" or maybe a glass of wine. I've never seen anyone drunk. Rarely will you have a group that's audible beyond their own table, but even the kids are usually quiet. Everyone smiles politely, and someitmes they comment to strinagers on how nice the weather is. Sometimes, you'll see businessmen talking shop over breakfast ora beer. Sometimes you'll see folks in pj's getting coffee or desserts. When folks come from the pool, they wear a cover-up. the plates are appetizer sized, and it's rare to see someone go for seconds.

 

[Dis703]

Hello!

We are contemplating a club level stay at BC for May and had a few questions.

First, (and I asked this on the BC thread too) does club level book up generally? Since I'm really unsure I may wait until closer to the trip before upgrading but don't want to completely miss out if they fill up fast.

Second, anyone know what beers they have available and when? I was reading the timeline of food they put out and it only mentioned beers from 5-7 which is when we'll normally be at dinner. I'm sure DH would love to relax at the end of the day with a cold beer.

And lastly, has anyone with food allergies stayed club level recently? I read some awesome reviews about chefs going above and beyond to provide food for guests with food allergies, but then I've also read others who were very disappointed and had little to eat. I'm not sure if it was a matter of who they talked to or how much advanced notice they needed or what. I can't eat wheat and my son has various food allergies. But if we can't eat much of anything this many not be worthwhile.

Thanks so much for your help!!

 

[TJA]

My DH, DS5, DD3 and I will be staying at the BC in august and staying CL for the first time. I was thinking about my dining reservations and that leads to my question. How do you plan your ADRs? I know there is food the the lounge...do you forgo the ADRs and just eat in the lounge grabbing snacks in the park or do you still make reservations? I am having a hard time trying to organize and plan our trip food wise so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We eat breakfast in the lounge most days (oatmeal, cereal, Danish, bagels, fruit). Then a sit-down ADR at lunch. Then back to our resort around dinner to have the appetizer offerings which is usually more than enough food for us since we had a big meal at lunch. If not, then we just pick up quick-service later on. Desserts in the lounge later on are always fun too.

 

[tnkrbell]

We are at yacht cl now and I have to say its not the cl of years ago. Service still very good Shakira is the bomb! But food really not what it use to be.

 

[mom_of_2]

Thank you so much to everyone for your help. It seems as though breakfast in the lounge is the way to go, which is what I was thinking. ADRs for lunch is a great suggestion and then appetizers in the lounge and a quick service if still hungry later. You all definitely made my meal planning much more clear.

 

[MomofDisneyLoversx3]

I'm a dissenter. (what new). If ddp was free I would certainly take it but if I was paying for CL on top of that I would do the following. CL for quick breakfast. Qs for lunch. Hang out in lounge, swim etc at resort. Grab a wine or beer and some apps. Slightly later ADR for TS...and if possible skip a night or two of ADR and do a signature meal on the remaining. I would never again do DDP with CL. Waste of money for us. We are 'snacky people' according to DH. 2 flatbreads and 2 Caesar salads from Mara was more than enough for the 5 of us. We took desserts everytime (because I kept thinking 'we already paid for this'). We are also mostly water drinkers. My DHs 'big treat' with a QS meal was a Sobe or power aide. I ran the numbers...def makes more sense for us to eat OOP plus with the CL works better with our life.

Heather