Austin Family Blowout Aug. 2017

[JodyLynC]

Day Five: I was disappointed that we did not receive turndown service the previous evening so I stopped at the CL desk to request it for that night. I was curtly informed that YC no longer offered turn down service. I expressed surprise at this since it is one of the benefits of staying CL. The gentleman at the desk huffed a little and snottily said "Well, I can call down to housekeeping, but since we no longer offer the service, I don't know what they will do." I told him to forget it.

Breakfast at the YC Club Lounge consisted of deli ham, roast beef, cheese, hard boiled eggs, grits, oatmeal, serve yourself yogurt (greek, vanilla, strawberry), fruit, various breads, a mini muffin, coffee cake, and one or two other pastries. Beverages consisted of apple juice, milk, water, sparkling water, coffee, decaf, and the espresso machine. They also had flavored syrups you could add to the coffee or steamed milk.

This was our Hollywood Studios day. We did standby for TSMM. Loved it! Then we went over to the GMR. The standby line said 25 minutes, but that was just to get into the building. We had another 20 minutes after that. I was glad we did it as it is both DDs favorite ride.

We had reservations for Scifi Dine-in. BIL was still in town so he joined us. We love sitting in the cars. We all got the burger of the day which was a bacon and blue. We also did the wedge salad. The burgers were cooked perfectly. The fries were great. The salads were so refreshing! The amount of food is pretty generous. DH and I split one burger and one salad. The DDs did the same. Plus they got shakes. I've heard some less than stellar reviews, but the items we got were really good.

After lunch, we saw the Muppets. Then we walked by Star Tours. DH, BIL, and DD2 all wanted to ride it despite the 40 minute wait. DD1 and I went to see Walt's dream. Then we used our FPs for TSMM. We met up with the rest of the gang and went to the other Star Wars area near there. We met Kylo Ren. He was pretty frightening. Then we saw the March of the First Order. The Tower of Terror was next on our list. DD1 did not want to ride it so we went through some gift shops and grabbed some iced coffee. We met up with the rest of the gang in the TOT gift shop.

We were about done with the day so we headed to YC and got some evening snacks. There was a delicious wheat faro salad and a chickpea salad. The hot snacks was roast beef on mini toast, salmon with lentils, chicken nuggets, and the usual veggies and dip, PBJ shooters, and caramel dip w/apples. For drinks, there was the iced tea, lemonade, water, sodas, as well as beer, wine, and sangria which were served by the staff. We filled up on the food so we didn't order anything else for dinner.

When we returned to the room, we saw that Mickey came through for us. Not only did he leave an autographed picture, but there was also a beautiful frame for it as well as celebration buttons which said "for being an awesome volunteer." The girls wore them with pride the rest of the trip.

We went down to the arcade for while then returned for dessert. Same desserts from the day before. After that we decided to go down to the pool. We stayed mostly in the lazy river, only leaving when the pool closed for the night.

 

[JodyLynC]

Day 6: DH was meeting a friend later that morning and DD1 was still not feeling great so DD2 and I headed to breakfast at the lounge. There was salami, salmon, cheese, hard boiled eggs, grits, oatmeal, serve yourself yogurt (greek, vanilla, strawberry), fruit, various breads, a mini muffin, coffee cake, and one or two other pastries.

Since I missed much of Epcot on Day 4, I wanted to go back so DD2 joined me while DD1 stayed at the resort. DD2 and I reached the IG before the park opened so we went through the gift shop there. A few minutes later the park opened and we headed to Soarin'. After that we met Joy and Sadness, then rode Imagination. By this time World Showcase was about to open so we went over to Frozen. The line said 40 minutes, but it didn't feel that long. After that, we met Anna and Elsa. Since we were feeling hungry, we went to Mexico and got nachos from La Cantina. They were okay.

By this time, the heat was becoming unbearable again. Instead of going around World Showcase, DD2 wanted to catch the Friendship boat to Morocco which we did. We made our way to France while we stopped and got ice cream at L'Artisan des Glaces. The flavors sounded interesting, but the taste was unspectacular.

We poked through a few shops in the U.K. then went back through I.G. and went to the resort. DD2 was still not feeling well so I went down to the Market Place and picked up some cold medicine. I also grabbed her a salad there. On the way back to the room, I stopped by the lounge for water and fruit for her. The offerings were the same as the day before.

The previous day, the girls bought some things from the Muppet gift shop in HS. I asked at the CL desk, but there was nothing there for us. By this time, DH was back. He and his friend met at the Crew's Cup where they each got Clam Chowder. He said it was pretty good.

DH and DD2 went back to the pool for the afternoon while I rearranged the suitcases and kept DD1 company. When they returned, we went to evening snacks. There was the mozzarella bites w/tomatoes (again), loaded baked potato salad, lox (from the leftover salmon the day before), chicken skewers, mac and cheese bites (again), and the usual veggies and dip, PBJ shooters, and caramel dip w/apples. The same drinks which I could forgive if they kept the Breeze out.

We didn't eat much, but fortunately we had reservations at Beaches and Cream. DD2 was still not feeling well and just wanted to finish her salad. So the rest of us went. On the way out, I asked again about our delivery from the gift shop. The gentleman at the desk offered to call downstairs to see if they had it. Apparently, the person at the gift shop who wrote up the order forgot to add the room number so the delivery was left at the front desk. The CL conceirge loudly explained this to us when he got off the phone and asked if we forgot our room number. He said someone would bring it up and deliver it to the room. I thanked him and requested that we pick it up from the CL desk as DD1 was ill and shouldn't be disturbed. He said he would hold it for us.

We went to BnC. We weren't very hungry so we decided to get some ice cream drinks and split a sandwich. I ordered the vanilla ice cream soda. DD2 ordered the cherry. DH got the frozen sunshine which was rainbow sherbet, vanilla ice cream, and seltzer. To eat we got the chicken salad and chili fries. I love, love, love ice cream sodas, but this was the worst I had ever had. First there was hardly any ice cream or syrup in the drink. I asked the server if we could have more syrups in the sodas, but it didn't make them much better as the ice cream/soda water ratio was way off. Too little ice cream, too much seltzer. DH offered DD2 his drink which was fine and took the cherry ice cream soda for himself. As for the food, the chicken salad was okay. I think we ordered it because we wanted something cool. We liked the chili cheese fries. 2/5 for us

While we were eating the skies opened up and it started pouring rain. This made us nervous. We were scheduled for the Illuminations Cruise later that night. Fortunately it ended early and cooled the air. We went back to the room where I stopped by the CL desk to pick up our package. The same gentleman was there. When I approached the desk, he exclaimed loudly "oh look! It's the family who don't know what room they are in." I snapped "How can I control what the gift shop staff write on the form?" DH also snapped "They don't have computers at the front desk that show what room someone is in?" I think this guy realized he had pushed us too far and sullenly handed us our package.

DD1 was feeling a little better so after another dose of medicine decided to join us for the Illuminations Cruise. We had another family joining us. (Hi, Michelle!) They were wonderful! Our captain was young, but very competent. He asked us questions such as What is your favorite park? Your favorite ride? And so on. He gave us some interesting info about the hotels and scenery. There were tons of bagged snacks and a nice variety: Doritos, Cheetos, Popcorn, Lay's chips, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, soda, and water.

When it was almost time for the show, the boats (there were 5 in all that night) lined up just past the IG bridge into WS and tied together. The show was amazing. When it was done, we made one last loop in front of the Boardwalk before being dropped off at the YC Marina. Boardwalk and YC were all lit up. Everything was just beautiful!

 

[JodyLynC]

So day 7 was our transfer day from the YC to AKL (standard, not CL). Let's compare the Poly and YC CLs.

• Both resorts had someone take you from the lobby to club level.
• At club level checkin, Poly staff offered water or other drink. YC staff did not, but had a flavored water by the elevator you could get yourself.
• The room at Poly was bigger, but had the sinks in the same room as the toilet and tub.
• YC bathroom was better as the two areas were separated, but Poly had more counter space.
• Both had espresso machines, but the Poly's had an iced cappuccino option.
• YC offered flavored syrups for their coffee and steamed milk.
• Both lounges had people gathering dishes, but at the Poly there was a tray in the corner by the door where you could drop off your dishes. At YC the dishes sometimes stacked up before someone cleared them.
• Poly offered wraps with their afternoon snacks. YC did not although they seemed to have a few more items in general.
• Poly served their signature punch at afternoon, evening snacks, and dessert time. YC only served theirs in the afternoon.
• Poly had beer in the self serve fridge. YC did not.
• Poly had sliced lemons, limes, and oranges for their drinks. YC did not.
• Poly allowed you to serve your own alcohol. YC did not, except for the evening cordials. They were mostly unmonitored. Also, Poly had milk out with the cordials so you could make a mixed drink. YC did not.
• Poly had take out cups with lids and straws out near the drinks. They also had take out coffee cups with lids by the espresso machine. YC did not have any take out cups, but I found out later they did have coffee ones, but you had to ask for them.
• Poly staff was warmer, friendlier, more outgoing. YC staff was stiff and snooty (with the exception of the two ladies when we checked in. They were very sweet, but we did not see them again the other days of our stay.) Here is an example of the stiff behavior we experienced at YC. I was walking down the hall toward the desk area and passed one of the lounge staff. I smiled at him. He looked straight ahead. When I was returning to my room, we passed in the hall again. I laughed and said "Didn't we do this before?" I expected a chuckle or a smile. Instead he said rather coldly "Yes, ma'am." The Poly staff would have joked along with me. In fact there were a couple of instances in the Poly lounge where people almost bumped into staff and were met with smiles, "excuse me", and/or "shall we dance?" Not at YC.
• At the Poly, CL guests were more friendly. People generally gave way to each other in crowded spots, helped each other with the espresso machine, and chatted more with each other. Some guests borrowed board games from the CL staff and played in the lounge. Other guests might applaud or make comments as to who was winning. People greeted strangers with "good morning" at breakfast. They shared suggestions on how to use the cordials in the evening. (My "grown up latte" was courtesy of another guest.) An extended family who ordered too much O'hana feast shared their dinner with us and others. Was everyone 100% friendly and outgoing? No. One guy had to be told that the table was for eating not for him to use as a footstool. But overall the Poly had a very warm and welcoming atmosphere which extended towards the guests' behavior (or vice versa or a little of both.)
• At YC, CL guests were more snooty. They rarely looked at other people and had no problem barging in line in front of you without a word. No excuse me or may I get the item in front of you? Most guests kept to themselves and ignored staff and other guests. There were a few of us who would greet each other, offer up a table as we were departing, or say excuse me when nearly bumping into each other. I didn't realize how wonderfully laid back and friendly the Poly was until I experienced the coldness of the YC.
• Poly had fresher food than YC. YC seemed to use the same thing over and over with little variety. For example, Poly had shrimp lettuce wraps at afternoon snacks one day then offered shrimp salad at night, but the way it was used and prepared made it a completely different dish and didn't feel like leftovers. YC used salmon for three meals in a row with little change. They also served thin sliced roast beef at evening snacks then served it the next morning at breakfast. The exact same desserts were served at the YC every single night. The cupcakes were often stale.
• YC offered more items, but lacked variety. Poly offered fewer selections, but was much more varied.
• Poly's chef remained in the lounge during evening snacks. I saw YC's chef only once very briefly the whole time we were there.
• There was turndown service at Poly. None at YC, even upon request.

Overall when comparing the two resorts, the Poly was hands down the much better resort for us. Maybe if we stayed at YC first, we would have enjoyed it more, but in comparison Poly all the way. Poly 8.75 out of 10. YC 5 out of 10.

I think the next time we decide to go to WDW, we would consider a Poly/BWI split. We would not go to YC again.

 

[ChiefM]

Thank you for your updates! It's makes my upcoming trip more exciting hearing from someone that is already there. We decided to go with a cheaper room this trip but from your reports a stay at the poly or AK lodge might be in order for next trip!

 

[MamaCoop]

Thank you for comparing Poly and YC CL. If I ever get the chance to go to one of the more expensive resorts it looks like I will definitely go Poly.

 

[JodyLynC]

I am so sorry for the delay. We have been back home for a week and had to buy groceries and do back to school shopping. I should be able to finish up soon.