Concierge/Club Level Information - Part II (Sept 2009)

[sfbank]

KerryCM-It was so nice to meet you! Now I have a face to go with the name Girls weekend is going to rock next year! Poor Lorenzo won't know what to do Totally agree with you on the food. We don't stay for that. We stay for the convenience and the staff. Just like family

 

[mdrob214]

Made reservations last weekend for Poly CL over July 4th 2010, so I am subscribing here to keep up to date!

Question--I got an email from disney destinations thanking me for my reservation and telling me to go to the WDW site for myvacation info. For our last trip this past July, they emailed the actual reservation information (and I think they sent it via snail mail, too). Should I expect another email from the IPO sooner or later?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Made reservations last weekend for Poly CL over July 4th 2010, so I am subscribing here to keep up to date!

Question--I got an email from disney destinations thanking me for my reservation and telling me to go to the WDW site for myvacation info. For our last trip this past July, they emailed the actual reservation information (and I think they sent it via snail mail, too). Should I expect another email from the IPO sooner or later?

Yes you should be getting an e-mail from the Polynesian IPO department, however if they don't e-mail you then you should either call them or e-mail them yourself.

 

[Poppinsme]

Disturbing news.
DH and I have dear friends that go to WDW every year (they turned us on to Disney). This couple ALWAYS stay CL for 8 days a year. And they have stayed at all deluxe resorts.
Yesterday they got back from 8 days at the Poly CL LV. I just got off the phone as I couldn't wait to hear about it. My friend told me how disappointed they were with service and food offerings in the lounge. That it was nothing at all like last year. Now these are people that go to signature restaurants on every visit to WDW and don't depend on the food offerings in the lounge for main meals. And all the CMs know these people at CL deluxe resorts. You know rich!
They asked about the changes and were told that Disney is making changes because too many people are using the lounges as there main food source. And that the food was never supposed to be a substitute for meals. So Disney is losing money and having to cut back. Also there has been a lot of complaints about the lounges running out of food and drinks and to much over crowding.
My friends were just upset that when they wanted a snack that they were out of food. Or they had to wait for a different time to be served. They have never seen this.
My friend wanted me to ask all of you if you had been hearing this or was it just the Poly?
I'm thinking now of changing our ressies in Dec. 2010 from Poly LVCL to Poly LV. DH and I have never used the lounges for our food source, just yummy snacks.

 

[KerryCM]

KerryCM-It was so nice to meet you! Now I have a face to go with the name Girls weekend is going to rock next year! Poor Lorenzo won't know what to do Totally agree with you on the food. We don't stay for that. We stay for the convenience and the staff. Just like family

Stacey, it was great to meet you and nascargirl too. Jim reminded me, too late of course, that we should have gotten a picture of the 3 of us!!!
I am sure you had a great time. Isn't it just the best to go away and feel so welcome and comfortable. I love all those people so much. My son goes tomorrow with my grandaughter.

Had the food changed while you were there? I am sure it has alot to do with families making a meal out of the offerings, I know my husband sure tried to until I gave him the evil eye!! Lorenzo kept telling me to leave Jim alone!! That guy is in for all kinds of fun next October.

 

[blissventure]

KerryCM-It was so nice to meet you! Now I have a face to go with the name Girls weekend is going to rock next year! Poor Lorenzo won't know what to do Totally agree with you on the food. We don't stay for that. We stay for the convenience and the staff. Just like family

Hi sfbank, So good to meet you and nascargirl! I was sorry we arrived too late to meet KerryCM.
We absolutely loved the resort. I don't think we'll ever stay anyplace else. BWI-CL was an incredible experience for us.

 

[Tess]

Disturbing news.
DH and I have dear friends that go to WDW every year (they turned us on to Disney). This couple ALWAYS stay CL for 8 days a year. And they have stayed at all deluxe resorts.
Yesterday they got back from 8 days at the Poly CL LV. I just got off the phone as I couldn't wait to hear about it. My friend told me how disappointed they were with service and food offerings in the lounge. That it was nothing at all like last year. Now these are people that go to signature restaurants on every visit to WDW and don't depend on the food offerings in the lounge for main meals. And all the CMs know these people at CL deluxe resorts. You know rich!
They asked about the changes and were told that Disney is making changes because too many people are using the lounges as there main food source. And that the food was never supposed to be a substitute for meals. So Disney is losing money and having to cut back. Also there has been a lot of complaints about the lounges running out of food and drinks and to much over crowding.
My friends were just upset that when they wanted a snack that they were out of food. Or they had to wait for a different time to be served. They have never seen this.
My friend wanted me to ask all of you if you had been hearing this or was it just the Poly?
I'm thinking now of changing our ressies in Dec. 2010 from Poly LVCL to Poly LV. DH and I have never used the lounges for our food source, just yummy snacks.

Perhaps Disney should discontinue the practice of upgrading folks for free to the CL. . .that might help out with the increased costs and running out of food/drink issue. When the staff prepares for XX number of guests, then the PTB upgrade an additional XXX guests, the food preparation is off.

I have also heard some of the same information your friend relayed. I did not, however, hear the complaint that folks were making the lounge their primary food source.

Additionally, I have heard that the CL has been lacking in full rate bookings and, therefore, to maintain a 100% occupancy, upgrades galore were being given--somewhere in the neighborhood of 45% of the census. . .

I have seen the smaller serving bowls and dishes being utilized in order to cut down and better control portion size. Not sure that is going to work--if a person is of the mind to eat to his/her heart's content, they will not be concerned about the next guest having nothing left. Then again, when there were huge serving vessels, there was a good deal of waste. It has to be tough (and I know it is difficult through experience having been part of a four person volunteer crew cooking for 200-300 people at a crack) to prepare just the perfect amount so that all may enjoy.

We had the same issues in May with desserts. There were many evenings we strolled in at 8:30 and the desserts were decimated. Further, there were minimal choices. In the past there was a good variety to choose from--this year, not so much.

CL seems to go through cycles--offerings decline, people complain, offerings increase, Disney cuts back, offerings decline. . . .and on it goes. We typically stay between 8-10 days a year and have also stayed at the CL at other WDW resorts. We've experienced the same issues at each and every one.

We returned a couple of weeks ago from F&W. We opted to forego CL because we felt with the two of us it wouldn't be beneficial on this trip. Other than breakfast service and the wonderful CMs we've come to know over the years, I can't say we missed CL at all and the cost of our trip was significantly less in a water view at BC vs a CL anywhere.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

It was by tasting a few of the offereings in the CL at AK that we were willing to try Boma and Jiko. I don't recall anyone eating more than a taste of things but I am also not used to patroling such things while on vacation.

If CL food offerings are going to change and meal plans are going to have fees during high traffic then the next thing you know there will be drink patrols over the dang issues over the refillable mugs.

 

[KerryCM]

I am looking at the current menu for the Atrium Club and Tower Club and a lot of their current items seem to be what you would call finger food. For example the BBQ Short Rib in Spring Roll which is one of the two hot items offered on Thursday's is not the biggest thing which they offer. So it's going to be intresting to see what exactly happens with these changes.

I think their interpertation of "finger foods' and yours is very different! Yes, you could eat those foods mentioned with your fingers, though I would probably use a fork. I think you may be very surprised on your December trip to find more cheese and crackers and petite size appetizers that are definatelyy not enough to make a meal out of. I knew these changes would be coming, but like I stated before, this is not my reason for staying club level.

 

[hstrickland]

WOW! The above posters have me worried!! We have booked Poly CL in May. I sure hope we have done the right thing. Is it really that bad?? This will be our first CL stay. Maybe I should rethink this. Basically we were staying CL for the location, the breakfast in the morning and the IPO. Hmmm......we actually have the Dxdp so don't need the food in the lounge. What do I do????

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I think their interpertation of "finger foods' and yours is very different! Yes, you could eat those foods mentioned with your fingers, though I would probably use a fork. I think you may be very surprised on your December trip to find more cheese and crackers and petite size appetizers that are definatelyy not enough to make a meal out of. I knew these cahnges would be coming, but like I sated before, this is not my reason for staying club level.

Well your right I will have to wait until I am back there in December to see if these changes have been happening. When I told my family this news I don't think they wanted to believe it because my dad said what are we paying extra for, if they want to cut down on the food sizes? Obviously they know part of it includes having the IPO department make your ADR's and etc before you arrive, however he meant the stuff which is included while your in the lounge. He also said maybe they should cut down on all the beer and wine which they serve, because this way they wouldn't need to cut down on the food portions.

 

[jackemail]

Just back from a wonderful stay at the Innkeepers Club at BWI. Pete, Lorenzo, Jackie and others helped make our visit special....and I met nascargirl and sfbank!

Boardwalk Inn is truly amazing.

 

[Tess]

WOW! The above posters have me worried!! We have booked Poly CL in May. I sure hope we have done the right thing. Is it really that bad?? This will be our first CL stay. Maybe I should rethink this. Basically we were staying CL for the location, the breakfast in the morning and the IPO. Hmmm......we actually have the Dxdp so don't need the food in the lounge. What do I do????

IMHO, there is nothing "bad" about CL at the Polynesian, changes happen at all of the resorts regardless of the level. If you are utilizing CL for the purposes stated in your post AND you have DxDP, you most certainly won't be eating in the lounge often enough to worry about the offerings. The pre-planning alone will be a big help with your ADRs for the number of meals you will have on the DxDP.

If you follow the posts, I'm sure you will see the same old discussions about CL. It is the repeat, repeat and repeat guests who notice the changes. I love the Polynesian and its CL. I just know that we have to weather the service changes from year to year.

 

[RachelTori]

WOW! The above posters have me worried!! We have booked Poly CL in May. I sure hope we have done the right thing. Is it really that bad?? This will be our first CL stay. Maybe I should rethink this. Basically we were staying CL for the location, the breakfast in the morning and the IPO. Hmmm......we actually have the Dxdp so don't need the food in the lounge. What do I do????

Don't second guess yourself. The location IS amazing, the breakfast offered should be fine for your family to start their day, and as long as you establish communication with the IPO and get your requests to them in time, they won't let you down! If, at any point, you feel you are getting less than the service you deserve from the IPO, call them. They are there to serve you and I'm sure they want to meet or exceed your expectations.

 

[sfbank]

Blissventure-It was great getting to meet you too! Told you BWI was a great place. They brainwash or something Kerry, the food had not started to change when we left but we were not there in the evenings so could not tell you on that front. It is like Linda said, the whole idea has always been to sample things from the restaurants and intice you to go eat there, not make meals out of finger foods in the lounge. Continental breakfast? Yes. Finger foods for an entire meal? No. Like some have said before though, some will go back plate after plate after plate, then there is nothing left for some people who have gotten nothing. No wonder they are cutting back. Oh well, we will still stay because we stay for the people, not the food Great to meet you both again

 

[nascargirl]

I guess it is my turn to chime in. I had a ball meeting KerryCm, blissventure, and Jackemail. It was nice to put a name to a face on those who post so frequently. The food changes also will not change our mind about staying CL. We love the castmembers, the atmosphere, the easy access to 2 parks, and the evening entertainment. I look forward to my January trip back to BWI-CL with DH. I hope those who are there during 1/10-18th will introduce themselves. I think by then the changes should have taken place. I hear this change could be for the best and people will be pleasantly happy. Only time will tell. SFBANK and I look forward to planning our 3rd annual girls trip. We are also happy that KerryCM will hopefully be able to join us.

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Decisions, decisions.......

Would like to get the Disney Visa 40% discount on our reservation for January. It is available on a standard Atrium Club room or a tower MK view room without concierge. We have booked the MK view Atrium Club for which the code is not available. Ahhhhhh!!! What to do? What to do??

 

[KerryCM]

Well your right I will have to wait until I am back there in December to see if these changes have been happening. When I told my family this news I don't think they wanted to believe it because my dad said what are we paying extra for, if they want to cut down on the food sizes? Obviously they know part of it includes having the IPO department make your ADR's and etc before you arrive, however he meant the stuff which is included while your in the lounge. He also said maybe they should cut down on all the beer and wine which they serve, because this way they wouldn't need to cut down on the food portions.

I think you and your father looked at club levl as a substitution for a meal. This is not what it was originally intended for. As sfbank stated it was to be used to sample some of the food from the resort restaurants so you would be inclined to eat there.

I stay club level for the service, availability of a quiet place to enjoy a cold drink and mainly for the cast members. Yes, it is nice to have a few appitizers in the evening, but not to sit and make a meal out of it. We either ate a late lunch or early dinner and would use the appitizers for a snack. The plates have gotten smaller since last fall. In April they were using
dessert sized plates, but I guess that didn't stop people from retuning many times as if it were a buffet.

I am sorry you will propbaly be disappointed in the evening offerings, but maybe now you will be able to enjoy some of the wonderful restaraunts WDW has to offer.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I think you and your father looked at club levl as a substitution for a meal. This is not what it was originally intended for. As sfbank stated it was to be used to sample some of the food from the resort restaurants so you would be inclined to eat there.

I stay club level for the service, availability of a quiet place to enjoy a cold drink and mainly for the cast members. Yes, it is nice to have a few appitizers in the evening, but not to sit and make a meal out of it. We either ate a late lunch or early dinner and would use the appitizers for a snack. The plates have gotten smaller since last fall. In April they were using
dessert sized plates, but I guess that didn't stop people from retuning many times as if it were a buffet.

I am sorry you will propbaly be disappointed in the evening offerings, but maybe now you will be able to enjoy some of the wonderful restaraunts WDW has to offer.

We don't look at it as a meal replacement because even on the nights when we would have the offerings we would then go to a counter service location, like the Contempo Cafe or Gasparilla's Grill & Games. What he meant was aside from the services that the Cast Members offer he also thinks the food offerings are included with all of that, because the rooms themselves are more expensive and if the IPO makes all our ADR's before we arrive, what's the point of having the lounge?

 

[Momtomouselover]

We just stayed at the Poly CL level last month. I would have to say that compared to my last stay at CL level (in the GF) it was definitely less. The plates were smaller and the offerings were uninspired. If they were meant to make you want to try the restaurant offerings than they are certainly not doing that job. However, as a before meal appetizer of mostly cheese, crackers, veggies and hummus it was ok. They had one hot dish a night like a chicken skewer, or curry rolls of some sort. Drink offerings were broad and I did like that (including the Captains punch!!).

Bfast was a plus. It gave us he ability to relax in the morning and eat a good continental bfast. If you like a hot bfast than you will want to go elsewhere but there is plenty of drinks, cereals, rolls/croissants, fruit and oatmeal. The convenience of just walking downstairs to get Bfast vs. counter service or sit-down was the best perk!

I like the Poly for the theme, the pool, the location, and the friendliness we experienced. I would probably not book the CL again though. IMO right now it was NOT worth the extra money unless you get it with some sort of deal/discount. Furthermore, I overheard the staff griping more than once about the guests, the guests "eating too much", the guests "taking advantage", the guests "wanting it all for nothing", and they even griped when people asked for paper plates to take snacks outside, etc. Not really a warm fuzzy feeling. I also did not receive any help from the concierge during my stay AND they never contacted me prior to my stay (although I admit we only booked weeks ahead of time not months).