Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[mickeynut1]

We got the same letter, kept our room, and stayed CL last week (Jan 9-16). We neither saw nor heard any noise, construction, or disruption. Honestly, the only intolerable noise was in the club lounge one day when a family let their children run (full on RUN) around screaming through the lounge while people were trying to carry food and drink to the tables.

But as for refurb, we were not bothered by anything, and we didn't see any refurb activity.

Hope that helps!

Glad you had a great stay and weren't inconvenienced by any noise, construction, etc. (with the exception of the kids running and screaming through the lounge ).

I've been stalking/ reading this forum for months now as I have a trip planned 13-19 August. Right now I have booked CL at the Poly with the regular DP but am thinking of dropping it. I know the CL offerings don't replace meals but I'm wondering if it would be enough to grab something quick in the morning for breakfast before heading to the parks? We did the DP in 2014 but will now have another "adult" added and my son whose turned 3 in October to pay for so I am still doing the cost estimates on whether or not we'd be better off paying OOP. Anyone have any insights on CL and the DP? Also, I realize this is a DP question but since it is specific to CL I thought it would be better off posted here. Please let me know if I am incorrect. Thank you!

The breakfast offerings (IMO) are sufficient if you're looking for something quick before heading out for the day. As far as the DDP, having that with CL is a personal preference and while some feel it's too much food, we enjoy it with or without CL. When we stay CL it's more for the lounge and having another place to relax instead of in the room or around the resort. The food offerings are a nice perk, but that's not our main reason for staying CL. We have sit down meals every night for dinner whether we stay CL or not, so the DDP comes in handy for us. With that said, if you don't think you'll eat enough meals to justify the DDP, I'd pay OOP; otherwise, I don't think the DDP is a bad idea when staying CL (but that's just me ).

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I've been stalking/ reading this forum for months now as I have a trip planned 13-19 August. Right now I have booked CL at the Poly with the regular DP but am thinking of dropping it. I know the CL offerings don't replace meals but I'm wondering if it would be enough to grab something quick in the morning for breakfast before heading to the parks? We did the DP in 2014 but will now have another "adult" added and my son whose turned 3 in October to pay for so I am still doing the cost estimates on whether or not we'd be better off paying OOP. Anyone have any insights on CL and the DP? Also, I realize this is a DP question but since it is specific to CL I thought it would be better off posted here. Please let me know if I am incorrect. Thank you!

I think there's definitely enough in the lounge for breakfast. Unless you're looking for a big eggs and bacon type of meal. The lounge will always offer oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, assorted pastries, bagels, toast, cereal, and now most are also offering hard boiled eggs and cold cuts to balance out the bread items. I love the grits at the Beach Club, I eat a bowl of those along with some fruit and a cinnamon roll, I'm stuffed!
Afternoon offerings are mostly just crackers, cookies, light snacks. Definitely not a meal. Evening appetizers can be pretty hardy on a good night. Sometimes we call it dinner if it's something my kids like. Usually I schedule our sitdown meals for about 7:30 or 8:00 PM just in case we eat too much.
I'm not a big fan of the dining plan, but it would definitely be overkill to do both I think. Not that you couldn't do both but it wouldn't really be necessary.

 

[Disneytam]

I've been stalking/ reading this forum for months now as I have a trip planned 13-19 August. Right now I have booked CL at the Poly with the regular DP but am thinking of dropping it. I know the CL offerings don't replace meals but I'm wondering if it would be enough to grab something quick in the morning for breakfast before heading to the parks? We did the DP in 2014 but will now have another "adult" added and my son whose turned 3 in October to pay for so I am still doing the cost estimates on whether or not we'd be better off paying OOP. Anyone have any insights on CL and the DP? Also, I realize this is a DP question but since it is specific to CL I thought it would be better off posted here. Please let me know if I am incorrect. Thank you!

I agree with the other posters about doubling up the CL and dining plan, it's just too much food and wasted time. We have been doing the CL for years and feel that it saves us money and time. Breakfast is more than enough for a meal, and one day of our trip we will do a sit down breakfast to change things up a little. Most nights we will return in the late afternoon to our resort and have drinks and apps. in the lounge before heading out to a table service meal. Depending on what's offered in the lounge that night I may only have an app and dessert at dinner or just an entrée and enjoy desserts back at the resort after dinner or head back to the parks. We do plan out where we eat dinner so that it is close to the resort. Ex. we are staying three nights at the GF so on those nights we are eating at Narcoossee's(sp?),the Wave and doing the 8:15 Luau at the Poly. Then we are moving to the BWI for a week so we are having dinner at Epcot or some of the wonderful places around the boardwalk. This really works for us.

 

[mmmears]

I've been stalking/ reading this forum for months now as I have a trip planned 13-19 August. Right now I have booked CL at the Poly with the regular DP but am thinking of dropping it. I know the CL offerings don't replace meals but I'm wondering if it would be enough to grab something quick in the morning for breakfast before heading to the parks? We did the DP in 2014 but will now have another "adult" added and my son whose turned 3 in October to pay for so I am still doing the cost estimates on whether or not we'd be better off paying OOP. Anyone have any insights on CL and the DP? Also, I realize this is a DP question but since it is specific to CL I thought it would be better off posted here. Please let me know if I am incorrect. Thank you!

It really depends on what you like to eat, where you like to eat, etc. For my family, the CL breakfast is plenty. We don't need a big eggs and bacon meal. But we are pretty hungry at lunchtime and always schedule a sit down lunch. Dinner is harder, because it depends on what they have for appetizers. We don't use the DDP because we don't always order according to their plan -- we drink water, not soda, and sometimes will share an appetizer, couple of entrees and a dessert among 3 people. So for us, with CL the DDP is just way too much food. YMMV

 

[Eastern]

Breakfast is adequate. We usually do a CS or TS lunch. Evening appetizers are enough for me if I eat lunch. I usually do not eat any of the desserts. I'm not hungry and the desserts are really not that good at any of the lounges.

I would never do DDP and CL together. Too much food and too much planning.

 

[tigger1972]

After several stays at the GF RPC, DH and I decided to try BC CL for our most recent trip as we wanted to be close to Epcot/DHS.

We were surprised to find that BC actually closes the lounge for an hour at least twice a day and locks the doors at 10am (10:30?) and 4pm.

We stayed up very late one night and didn't make it to the lounge until just after 10:30am the next day, expecting to be able to use the Espresso Machine to make our morning coffee, like we always have at GF RPC. No luck - lounge was locked, and while the CL CM offered to go pour us a cup of coffee, it was definitely not the nice experience we have had at GF of being able to access the lounge for beverages anytime.

At night, I asked a CL CM for a bottle of water to bring to my room to take my vitamins with in the morning. At GF, this request was always met with "How many would you like". Not at BC. The CM informed me that "if you want a bottle of water, you need to go downstairs and buy one. Ever since we went green, we don't offer bottled water".

On checkout day, we had arranged for Tiffany Towncar to pick us up at 5:15pm. During our GF stays, we usually spend the last 2 hours or so in the lounge before leaving, to relax, get a drink/snack, and savor the last bit of Disney ambiance before heading to MCO. We were in the lounge, watching a NFL playoff game, when at 3:55, the CL CM informed us we needed to leave as they would be closing the lounge between 4-5pm for cleaning. I'm not a big football fan, but DH is. We had to leave with less than a minute left in the game, and DH was upset because he missed an important play (it was the game where a player missed an easy field goal attempt and that team ended up losing...). It was awkward basically being "kicked out" and then having to go downstairs to the lobby for an hour. We went back up right at 5, but only had 10 minutes to grab a drink before our town car arrived.

Obviously, we won't go back to BC CL again as the experience at GF was much better. However, we do love the Epcot resort area. Does anyone know if BWI closes and locks their lounge between food service hours? Or does BWI maintain a welcome atmosphere throughout the entire day like GF does? Are there any other CL lounges that lock up and lock their guests out like BC does?

Thanks!

 

[mmmears]

I really dislike that they close some of the lounges during the day. I know that both BC and YC close. AKL and Poly and GF are always open. Not sure about the rest of them.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

BWI also has doors that lock.

Sugar Loaf is open but they put everything away except the small fridge.

 

[Disneytam]

After several stays at the GF RPC, DH and I decided to try BC CL for our most recent trip as we wanted to be close to Epcot/DHS.

We were surprised to find that BC actually closes the lounge for an hour at least twice a day and locks the doors at 10am (10:30?) and 4pm.

We stayed up very late one night and didn't make it to the lounge until just after 10:30am the next day, expecting to be able to use the Espresso Machine to make our morning coffee, like we always have at GF RPC. No luck - lounge was locked, and while the CL CM offered to go pour us a cup of coffee, it was definitely not the nice experience we have had at GF of being able to access the lounge for beverages anytime.

At night, I asked a CL CM for a bottle of water to bring to my room to take my vitamins with in the morning. At GF, this request was always met with "How many would you like". Not at BC. The CM informed me that "if you want a bottle of water, you need to go downstairs and buy one. Ever since we went green, we don't offer bottled water".

On checkout day, we had arranged for Tiffany Towncar to pick us up at 5:15pm. During our GF stays, we usually spend the last 2 hours or so in the lounge before leaving, to relax, get a drink/snack, and savor the last bit of Disney ambiance before heading to MCO. We were in the lounge, watching a NFL playoff game, when at 3:55, the CL CM informed us we needed to leave as they would be closing the lounge between 4-5pm for cleaning. I'm not a big football fan, but DH is. We had to leave with less than a minute left in the game, and DH was upset because he missed an important play (it was the game where a player missed an easy field goal attempt and that team ended up losing...). It was awkward basically being "kicked out" and then having to go downstairs to the lobby for an hour. We went back up right at 5, but only had 10 minutes to grab a drink before our town car arrived.

Obviously, we won't go back to BC CL again as the experience at GF was much better. However, we do love the Epcot resort area. Does anyone know if BWI closes and locks their lounge between food service hours? Or does BWI maintain a welcome atmosphere throughout the entire day like GF does? Are there any other CL lounges that lock up and lock their guests out like BC does?

Thanks!

The BWI only closes the doors from about 10:15 pm to 6:30 am. I have never seen the doors closed during the day and we use the lounge in the later afternoon on our last day with no problems. I'm the one in tears on our last day at the hotel.

 

[pas130]

The BWI only closes the doors from about 10:15 pm to 6:30 am. I have never seen the doors closed during the day and we use the lounge in the later afternoon on our last day with no problems. I'm the one in tears on our last day at the hotel.

Me too. I can remember telling my DH on our last day at AKL, that they would have to pry me off the balcony because I wasn't leaving

 

[mickeynut1]

After several stays at the GF RPC, DH and I decided to try BC CL for our most recent trip as we wanted to be close to Epcot/DHS.

We were surprised to find that BC actually closes the lounge for an hour at least twice a day and locks the doors at 10am (10:30?) and 4pm.

We stayed up very late one night and didn't make it to the lounge until just after 10:30am the next day, expecting to be able to use the Espresso Machine to make our morning coffee, like we always have at GF RPC. No luck - lounge was locked, and while the CL CM offered to go pour us a cup of coffee, it was definitely not the nice experience we have had at GF of being able to access the lounge for beverages anytime.

At night, I asked a CL CM for a bottle of water to bring to my room to take my vitamins with in the morning. At GF, this request was always met with "How many would you like". Not at BC. The CM informed me that "if you want a bottle of water, you need to go downstairs and buy one. Ever since we went green, we don't offer bottled water".

On checkout day, we had arranged for Tiffany Towncar to pick us up at 5:15pm. During our GF stays, we usually spend the last 2 hours or so in the lounge before leaving, to relax, get a drink/snack, and savor the last bit of Disney ambiance before heading to MCO. We were in the lounge, watching a NFL playoff game, when at 3:55, the CL CM informed us we needed to leave as they would be closing the lounge between 4-5pm for cleaning. I'm not a big football fan, but DH is. We had to leave with less than a minute left in the game, and DH was upset because he missed an important play (it was the game where a player missed an easy field goal attempt and that team ended up losing...). It was awkward basically being "kicked out" and then having to go downstairs to the lobby for an hour. We went back up right at 5, but only had 10 minutes to grab a drink before our town car arrived.

Obviously, we won't go back to BC CL again as the experience at GF was much better. However, we do love the Epcot resort area. Does anyone know if BWI closes and locks their lounge between food service hours? Or does BWI maintain a welcome atmosphere throughout the entire day like GF does? Are there any other CL lounges that lock up and lock their guests out like BC does?

Thanks!

I'm sorry your BC CL experience wasn't the best. I hope your next CL experience is better .

I really dislike that they close some of the lounges during the day.

I agree. It would be nice if all lounges were kept open during the day, even between food service times.

 

[lala5176]

Someone posted pics a few pages back!

Great. thank you. I will look for those pictures.

 

[saintrob]

I loved RPC, but I didn't care for SL. The food offerings are the same in both, but the lounges are worlds apart (IMO). SL had more of a cafeteria atmosphere to me, whereas RPC had a comfortable/relaxed atmosphere with beautiful views. SL (in my experience) was also more chaotic. I'm glad I tried SL, but it's a CL I really have no desire to return to.

We stayed RPC for 10 nights last summer with a MK view. This year we've booked SL on the bounceback at Christmas. We did consider RPC again but the price difference was around $2400. We rarely used our balcony and yes, the lounge was relaxing but we couldn't justify the extra cost. It was nice to be able to listen to the orchestra when in the lounge but again maybe for a 'special' trip.

 

[tigger1972]

I'm sorry your BC CL experience wasn't the best. I hope your next CL experience is better .



I agree. It would be nice if all lounges were kept open during the day, even between food service times.

Thanks! It would have been different if it was our first CL stay and we had no expectations of the lounge always being open. But now that we have seen the difference, I think we only want to stay at CL's that stay open between food service hours. It is just a more relaxing and welcoming experience all around! We are looking forward to BWI in March!

 

[PamelaKay]

So I am excited and sad at the same time. Sad that they are changing the CL WL as I have gone there every year for at least 5 years now and it is my favorite. Excited that I am now booked CL Poly for Mar 5-9. Only 43 more days to go.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

I just wanted to say how excited I am to be celebrating my 35th birthday and first girls weekend jan8-11 at AKL CL!! Also very excited that I got a res for 7:20 at Cali Grill Friday night! Fingers crossed we get a good table for an unforgettable trip!

How was it?? We have our first stay at AKL CL this november

 

[TeeterTots]

How was it?? We have our first stay at AKL CL this november

Hooray for you! You'll love it! The trip was fabulous as usual! We mostly stay club level and really enjoy the food, staff and atmosphere!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Hooray for you! You'll love it! The trip was fabulous as usual! We mostly stay club level and really enjoy the food, staff and atmosphere!

Great!!! Looking forward to my stay in March.

 

[mickeynut1]

We stayed RPC for 10 nights last summer with a MK view. This year we've booked SL on the bounceback at Christmas. We did consider RPC again but the price difference was around $2400. We rarely used our balcony and yes, the lounge was relaxing but we couldn't justify the extra cost. It was nice to be able to listen to the orchestra when in the lounge but again maybe for a 'special' trip.

RPC is great and being able to listen to the orchestra from the lounge is very nice, but $2400 is quite a difference! I'm sure you'll have a nice stay in SL .

Thanks! It would have been different if it was our first CL stay and we had no expectations of the lounge always being open. But now that we have seen the difference, I think we only want to stay at CL's that stay open between food service hours. It is just a more relaxing and welcoming experience all around! We are looking forward to BWI in March!

We haven't tried a CL yet that the lounge closes between food service times, but I can see how you would be disappointed in limited access once you're used to having access around the clock at other CLs. I am always reading nothing but great things about BWI CL, so I hope you have a great time and enjoy it in March .

So I am excited and sad at the same time. Sad that they are changing the CL WL as I have gone there every year for at least 5 years now and it is my favorite. Excited that I am now booked CL Poly for Mar 5-9. Only 43 more days to go.

We love WL CL, but we're also looking forward to trying Poly CL later this year. The Poly is our favorite resort, so I'm very excited to try CL. Hope you have a great trip .

How was it?? We have our first stay at AKL CL this november

Hope you have a great time and enjoy AKL CL. We love AKL and have had 2 great stays, but are considering trying CL in December. Would love to hear your experience after your trip .

Hooray for you! You'll love it! The trip was fabulous as usual! We mostly stay club level and really enjoy the food, staff and atmosphere!

Good to hear you had a great time! AKL CL is one that seems to always get positive reviews .

 

[lovetotraveltx]

Hooray for you! You'll love it! The trip was fabulous as usual! We mostly stay club level and really enjoy the food, staff and atmosphere!

Great thanks! What is your favorite food there? Do they have protein at breakfast at all? And what do they offer during the day?