Club Level at Pixar Place

[StarlitNight05]

It seems odd to only allow guests to eat in the lounge. Does any one know if there any other DL or WDW club lounges that have a policy like this?

I hope it's only temporary since it's certainly not uncommon to have someone grab food and/or drinks for the rest of their party.

 

[Pluto468]

It seems odd to only allow guests to eat in the lounge. Does any one know if there any other DL or WDW club lounges that have a policy like this?

I hope it's only temporary since it's certainly not uncommon to have someone grab food and/or drinks for the rest of their party.

Yes, it is odd. I know DLH club lets you bring food back to your room.

 

[DizMe]

Yes, it is odd. I know DLH club lets you bring food back to your room.

At both GCH and DLH, we used to make "sandwiches" out of croissants, ham, cheese, and bring fruit with us from the lounge for lunch in the park. I brought my own ziploc bags but the CMs in the lounge helped me pack!

Some years back when I was at either GCH or DLH they had instituted a "no water bottle" policy at the hotels for environmental reasons, so it could be that that's why you don't see water bottles in the lounge. I'm not sure whether or not they still have that policy.

Thank you for reporting back on your experience!! Going forward, I sure hope this isn't the way concierge will be, as it sounds like you get less than what the motels offer across the street.

 

[disneymum58]

There was fruit salad but no apples, bananas etc. No ham or cheese slices to put in a bun for lunch. There were hard boiled egg halves. They had bakery items and a toaster. The "hot" item was cheese blintzes. There was also oatmeal and toppings. My kids ate the cereal. We only ate breakfast there once as they open at 6:30 and we were anxious to get to the park. We also had an 8:30 reservation for Minnies Breakfast one day.

 

[Reepicheep]

I found a video that includes footage of the Creators Club:

Creators Club lounge

The segments filmed in the lounge are as follows:

1m to 6m: shows the afternoon snack offerings, as well as a good tour of the entire lounge. I thought the models on display of the ride vehicles at Toy Story in Disney World look interesting. This is the first time I've heard of a "popcorn bar".

17:50 to 18:18 - evening meal. I wonder what ratatouille tastes like.

20:45 to 21:12 - breakfast

All in all, the food looks pretty good.

 

[Pluto468]

That all looks great! Thanks for posting

 

[Reepicheep]

I found another short video which gives an overview of the food available in the club lounge. The sandwiches on offer during the day look good, although earlier in this thread @disneymum58 said that they were pretty dry so they probably don't taste as good as they look.

If there wasn't the "food and drink can only be consumed in the club lounge" rule, I'd probably give club level a try, but without the ability to take food and drink back to the room and into the parks I think I'll pass. It would be nice if I could return to the lounge at mid-day, have a couple of beer and sandwiches, and then bring sandwiches back to the park for my wife and daughters.

Creators' Club at Pixar Place

 

[Riss]

I found another video just uploaded that goes over the lounge and shows all of the options for the first day that they were there.

Pixar Place Hotel Club Level & Premium Room: Full Tour

 

[Reepicheep]

I found another video just uploaded that goes over the lounge and shows all of the options for the first day that they were there.

Pixar Place Hotel Club Level & Premium Room: Full Tour

Thanks, that's the type of detailed review I was looking for (i.e. the reviewer takes samples of the various foods, takes a mouthful of each on camera, and gives an assessment). Overall, the food looks fine.

At around the 4m mark, the reviewer states that alcohol isn't served before 5pm. If true, that is very disappointing. During my earlier pre-covid stays at the Paradise Pier, alcoholic drinks were available all day on request. For example, I saw many guests order mimosas for breakfast. I'm not a mimosa fan, but I did enjoy taking a break from the parks around 2pm for a quick visit to the lounge for a couple of beers and some snacks.

 

[Reepicheep]

This thread already has numerous links to youtube videos about the food offerings in the lounge, but I thought I'd post a link to one more video, which is notable for a couple of reasons:

(1) it provides very good close up views of the foods which are offered during snack time, and
(2) it confirms that food and drink, other than "to go" cups which are available upon request, must be consumed in the lounge.

I'm now content with the quality and variety of the food being offered during the day, but the rule that food can't leave the lounge is a deal breaker for me. Unless this rule changes I won't be staying at the Pixar Place Hotel.

I'll be watching for videos that confirm alcohol is only offered after 5pm. While not a deal breaker for me, this would be disappointing, if true. I turned into a senior citizen a month ago, and since my stamina isn't what it used to be, returning to the hotel in the early afternoon for a food and drink break (including having a couple of beer) is important to me.

I've watched numerous Disney World club level videos by this reviewer (I think her youtube channel used to be called "Mickey and Me", or some such thing, but presumably Disney made her change her handle), Based on my past experience with her videos, I suspect she may post additional videos covering the breakfast, supper, and dessert offerings. If she does put up additional videos, I'll post the links in this thread, since she always provides nice closeups of the food.

Snack time food offerings

 

[Reepicheep]

As expected, the reviewer I linked to in my earlier message has posted a video about the 4 pm to 6:30 pm food offerings. There is a good chance she will soon post additional videos about the dessert and breakfast offerings:

KA-CHOW Happy Hour Food Offerings

***************************

More importantly, I found a TripAdvisor review dated July 14 (excerpt below) which contains a very interesting comment which I've highlighted in RED below:

...At club level Pixar, aka Creators Club all there were were RULES!! And the food was Horrible!!! The worst ravioli and they had it twice in three days , apparently made too much . It opened for dessert from only 7-8pm, parks close at 10 and midnight. We were at the door one night at 8:03, only to be told they had a schedule and they were closed, I asked for a Diet Coke and yes the answer was no we’re closed! I asked for a cup another afternoon to take popcorn to my grand daughter in the room trying to rest and the answer was no! Food cannot leave the room!! One employee in there Martha was the best and she did all she could to be helpful. Found out this club level is contracted out not a part of Disney! ...

I've tried to find confirmation of this claim elsewhere on the web, but was unsuccessful. If this reviewer is correct, and Disney has contracted out the operation of the Creator's Club lounge, then it would certainly explain why the rules are different than the rules at other clubs. A worst case scenario is that Disney has contracted out the operation of this lounge as a test case, and is considering contracting out ALL their Disneyland and Disney World lounges.

 

[Iceman93]

I suppose it makes sense since they contracted out the other restaurants to Great Maple. Disney, for decades, has been pushing to outsource some functions I consider core. Sometimes (like with the shift from the Mandara Spa to the Tenaya Stone Spa), they reverse course and pull things back in-house.

 

[Reepicheep]

I suppose it makes sense since they contracted out the other restaurants to Great Maple.

I didn't realize that Great Maple is also managing The Sketch Pad Cafe and Small Bytes (reviews I just read by Disney Food Blog and Undercover Tourist confirm this to be the case). I'd say this fact makes it almost a certainty that Great Maple is managing the Creators Club as well.

 

[DizMe]

I would never pay that much extra for CL with those restrictions. How ridiculous.

 

[Reepicheep]

I suppose it makes sense since they contracted out the other restaurants to Great Maple.

The final piece of this puzzle has fallen into place. I found a youtube video from two days ago that has a family entering the lounge and checking into the hotel at the lounge front desk. The employee then gives the family a quick tour of the lounge, and then says: "let me introduce you to our Great Maple staff",,,

We can conclude with 100% certainty that Great Maple is in charge of managing the Creators Club. Hopefully the other Disneyland and Disney World resorts won't also be contracting out the operation of their club lounges.

 

[Riss]

With the lounge being managed by Great Maple, I wonder if the no food out of the lounge thing has something to do with their contract. On the same note, I would assume that if they went the route of contracting out the other club lounges, they might get similar rules implemented.

 

[Reepicheep]

With the lounge being managed by Great Maple, I wonder if the no food out of the lounge thing has something to do with their contract.

I suspect there is a profit motive behind these rules (i.e., the lower the amount of food consumed by club guests, the higher the profit for Great Maple).

I wonder if Great Maple is basically paying the equivalent of a "franchise fee" to Disney tor the right to operate the three restaurants and the club lounge.

 

[DizMe]

I wonder what would happen if you had leftovers on your plate and put them in a ziploc you brought in your bag? Would they stop you? If you can do this at a restaurant, I don't see why you couldn't at the lounge as long as you weren't bagging up things from the buffet platters.

When I stayed CL at GCH and DLH, the staff actually got to-go boxes for me and helped me put together a whole "meal" to take with me to the airport and extra snacks for my kids. This new brand of CL is a very serious downgrade and I hope hope hope they don't change to the same system at DLH and GCH. They've already downgraded the food quality.

 

[crystal1313]

We were considering staying a night or two at Pixar place Club level to experience it and have a rest day. We have teens and I know they would prefer to grab food and take it back to our room and eat it. I would also prefer to go back to my room, especially if we grab a cocktail/beer and even more so if we have a view room of DCA. The club lounge doesn’t not have a view of the park. I believe it’s on the 2nd floor. I just don’t understand this new rule and because of it, we no longer have interest in staying club level at Pixar Place.

 

[Reepicheep]

I've earlier posted links to a vlogger I follow, who did two videos covering snack time and dinner time in the lounge. She has now posted a third video which covers breakfast:

Creators' Club breakfast tour

She mentions that guests can ask for mimosas, and that alcohol is available all day upon request. Alas, she again confirms the "food cannot leave the lounge" rule.

The only food offering she hasn't covered is dessert time. Hopefully, she will post that video within a day or two,