Hello
CandleontheWater! We just stayed CL at CR last weekend with our three boys, and I can share our experience, in case that's helpful. (We've also stayed CL at BC and BWI, but this was our first CR stay.)
First, we LOVED the club lounge at CR. The space was comfortable, the CMs were truly outstanding and very child-friendly and we think booking CL made a huge difference in our CR stay. It's so completely convenient with kids.
I thought the lounge was particularly child-friendly, in part because of the CMs, and in part because we were fortunate to be staying there with other very friendly guests (including other children.) The little TV in the corner featured Disney Junior or similar channels and was set up in front of a small table with little seats for the kids. Our 12- and 13-year-olds usually sat with us, but our 5-year-old liked to sit in the child seating area and make friends.
We did have a brief issue with our 5-year-old when we checked in and sat down for breakfast. He was a little too excited and yelled out at my husband. I took our 5-year-old out right away and he calmed down. He apologized to his dad and to the guest closest to him when he yelled, and she (the mom of two young kids) was as sweet as could be.
The CMs were always very friendly and great with all sorts of things, like printing out boarding passes and giving us tips for
MNSSHP! They were some of the most friendly and interactive CL CMs we've met so far. They engaged with our kids and the entire stay was really comfortable.
Our room was VERY close to the lounge - 4812, I think. Just across the elevator bank from the lounge with a Bay Lake View. We thought everything was relatively close and the floor wasn't too spread out, but you could contact IPO and let them know you'd like to request a room close to the lounge. (And a room with a tub in the bathroom.) We didn't make any requests with IPO for CR, but we've done that in the past for BC and BWI. I know you can also call CRO, but I've done this with IPO in the past and it's always worked out.
As for the lounge, it's technically open 24 hours because there aren't any doors on it. And the refrigerator with juice boxes, sodas, etc. is there and open at all times. But they don't restock it after 10pm, so one of the CMs suggested that we take whatever we wanted back to our room for post-10pm. Last weekend, we did a split stay with BC, and took a cab over to CR at 6:30am. The lounge was open and serving guests at that time. The official breakfast hours begin at 7am, but coffee starts at 6:30am and I think they had everything out a few minutes early.
As for wine/beer in the afternoon, we took the same kind of break that you mentioned. My husband requested a glass of wine for me in the afternoon around 4pm, and that was no problem. We could also take a glass of wine or beer back to our room at any time.
I hope you love it as much as we did! We would definitely return to CR for part of a split stay, but I don't think we'd book there without CL - that added so much to the stay. It was so convenient and made the resort feel much more cozy and personal. Would have been less convenient to go down to the main concourse for meals, snacks, etc.