Concierge/Club Level Information - Part III (October 2010)

[Stitch'sCousin]

The original post of the thread says that concierge level services is offered at an additional fee. So, does this mean that it costs money to get the services to help book dining and other services mentioned? I have never stayed club level before and staying at the Beach Club, Concierge Level in April this year. Thanks in advance for the help!

We just finished using the Poly IPO to do all of our dining ADRs for our trip this August. They were fantastic and did it exactly at our 180 day mark. We got everything at the times we requested using the form they sent to us. If you haven't heard from the Beach Club CL, you can send them an email letting them know you are coming and they will send you out a form to fill in with your requests etc. There should be a list of email addresses at the the start of this thread. You will need to call them with credit card information if you want an ADR at certain restaurants like character meals. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We have booked WL CL and BWI CL for our stay. Thanks for all your advice!

The first time that we ever booked BWI CL we did not know that you check in upstairs. We went to the regular desk and the CM helping us didn't seem to know about it either, as she told us our room wasn't ready and told us to return at 4pm. (We had arrived at 1pm). When we returned at 4pm she told us our room still wasn't ready but that she would give us our keys and she gave us regular (blue) key cards and said she would page us when they were ready. At this point DH and DD were getting tired, but luckily just then a manager happened to be behind her and stepped in and changed the color of the key cards. Again, I didn't know they were supposed to be a different color. She said our room was ready and sent us upstairs and we met Pete and he was surprised that they weren't informed we had arrived. But I wonder now if we could have saved 3 hours and perhaps our room was ready and the CM just didn't know. Well we didn't know any better then.

At our next visit however, we were greeted at the driveway and brought upstairs just like everyone here says. This was very pleasant as my mom happened to be with us and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. We hadn't been in touch with IPO because we really don't need any ADR's and such - I make them myself. It seems like they were alerted by the gate that time.

So, this time, should I rely on the gate informing the CL of our arrival or should I tell them ahead of time? How do I do this, by online check in or by contacting the IPO? I have not received any emails but then, I just booked yesterday.

Also, any advice on what kind of CL room to request at WL? We would like to see the boats coming and going, but not be too far from the lounge.

I know when you arrive by car the Cast Member working at the guard shack see's your checking in and that it's for a Club Level reservation, because at the BWI they give you a gold parking pass and not standard white one. Then they get on their radio and let their main Bellman at the front know you are driving up and a description of your car so they know who to meet.

 

[turningleaf]

Thank you for letting me know about the parking pass. I'll keep it in mind. I never noticed that before.

 

[MartyM]

Hello, and thanks for the informative thread!

My DBF and I have booked Standard CL (Hoping for a King) at Boardwalk for October 25 through November 1. We booked with the 35% off bounceback from my trip to AKL this past January, and we are more than exited to try BWI for our first club level experience at Disney.


I have a few questions about the BWI CL, if anyone has a moment:

1. What kind of beer does one find in the lounge?
2. How would you rate the lounge coffee? What's the machine like? Are espresso drinks like cappucino and latte offered?
3. What are the CL standard room locations/room numbers or ranges of room numbers? What about the std. kings?

I'm sure that there will be many more things that come up, but I'd sure be appreciative for any help i can get with those questions.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thank you for letting me know about the parking pass. I'll keep it in mind. I never noticed that before.

You're welcome.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Hello, and thanks for the informative thread!

My DBF and I have booked Standard CL (Hoping for a King) at Boardwalk for October 25 through November 1. We booked with the 35% off bounceback from my trip to AKL this past January, and we are more than exited to try BWI for our first club level experience at Disney.


I have a few questions about the BWI CL, if anyone has a moment:

1. What kind of beer does one find in the lounge?
2. How would you rate the lounge coffee? What's the machine like? Are espresso drinks like cappucino and latte offered?
3. What are the CL standard room locations/room numbers or ranges of room numbers? What about the std. kings?

I'm sure that there will be many more things that come up, but I'd sure be appreciative for any help i can get with those questions.

1) I have seen them have Bud Light, Heineken, Sam Adams and I can't remember if they had another brand.

2) I don't drink their standard Coffee, however in their machine they have Cappucino and Espresso available which are both very good.

3) I don't know which of their room numbers have just King Beds.

 

[ClareH37]

Hello, and thanks for the informative thread!

My DBF and I have booked Standard CL (Hoping for a King) at Boardwalk for October 25 through November 1. We booked with the 35% off bounceback from my trip to AKL this past January, and we are more than exited to try BWI for our first club level experience at Disney.


I have a few questions about the BWI CL, if anyone has a moment:

1. What kind of beer does one find in the lounge?
2. How would you rate the lounge coffee? What's the machine like? Are espresso drinks like cappucino and latte offered?
3. What are the CL standard room locations/room numbers or ranges of room numbers? What about the std. kings?

I'm sure that there will be many more things that come up, but I'd sure be appreciative for any help i can get with those questions.

My last couple of stays I've had room 4237, standard Cl room, king bed with a view of the boardwalk and directly opposite the lounge.

A few pictures:

seating area in the hallway outside the room, with the entrance to the lounge just beyond

views from room

king bed

Re. the boardwalk view, there's only about 7 standard cl rooms with that view, however, the garden view is equally as lovely and some rooms have a great view of illuminations.

(sorry about the size of the first photo, it won't let me resize )

 

[turningleaf]

Oh my goodness we are 3 days away and thinking of changing the first part from WL to GF SL. Am I overdoing it?

Our proposed schedule for our first full day is breakfast at lounge, go to MK. lunch at CP, then go to Wonderland Tea Party at GF for DD at 2pm. The following morning I am hoping to book a pirate adventure for her at GF, then check in at BWI. OR, move to BWI then put her in pirate adventure at YC. Both start at 9.30am so I think the GF one makes more sense meaning we don't have to hurry out of the hotel so quickly in the morning if we were staying in that area.

How do you get to GF from WL? Should we just drive?

I'm excited to try WL CL and already been in touch with IPO, but I've never stayed at either hotel. Would you recommend against it now due to construction at GF? (It is more expensive too.) DH and DD will especially want to hit the pool and I'm wondering what the situation is like there. I remember someone else having on this thread having doubts about booking GF because of the construction. In the end what did you decide to do? If we stay at SL will we be affected at all? Should we stay put at WL?

Finally, of course I could just cancel Wonderland Tea Party and do it later this year. It just so happened two activities we are interested in this year happen to be at GF.

Thank you sooo much for any advice!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Oh my goodness we are 3 days away and thinking of changing the first part from WL to GF SL. Am I overdoing it?

Our proposed schedule for our first full day is breakfast at lounge, go to MK. lunch at CP, then go to Wonderland Tea Party at GF for DD at 2pm. The following morning I am hoping to book a pirate adventure for her at GF, then check in at BWI. OR, move to BWI then put her in pirate adventure at YC. Both start at 9.30am so I think the GF one makes more sense meaning we don't have to hurry out of the hotel so quickly in the morning if we were staying in that area.

How do you get to GF from WL? Should we just drive?

I'm excited to try WL CL and already been in touch with IPO, but I've never stayed at either hotel. Would you recommend against it now due to construction at GF? (It is more expensive too.) DH and DD will especially want to hit the pool and I'm wondering what the situation is like there. I remember someone else having on this thread having doubts about booking GF because of the construction. In the end what did you decide to do? If we stay at SL will we be affected at all? Should we stay put at WL?

Finally, of course I could just cancel Wonderland Tea Party and do it later this year. It just so happened two activities we are interested in this year happen to be at GF.

Thank you sooo much for any advice!

We have the same split as you booked for spring break: first BWI/CL then WL/CL. We love WL/CL. Unlike GF/SL, all the rooms are on the same floor as the lounge and the seating area is MUCH larger. It wraps around the entire lobby below - similar to RPC.

So are you only staying one night at WL and the rest at BWI? To get to the GF from WL just take the boat over to the CR and then the monorail to the GF. You won't be able to park at the GF unless you have an ADR and then it's only for 3 hours.

I had RPC booked for the summer, but changed due to the possible construction view we would have. I'm going to wait until after the DVC is built to re-consider RPC. But, if it's only one night for you and you're not staying RPC, then you wouldn't have any construction view from SL. You would only really see it from the feature pool area.

 

[turningleaf]

Yes WDWKOOK, it's exactly the same split except we are booked WL 2 nights then BWI 2 nights! (We used to stay put at CR because when DD was younger we only did MK. Doing Epcot has us doing a split stay and allowed us to discover BWI which I just love.)

We will get to WL around 3pm so I count that as our first day. It's the following day that I have planned an MK morning, CP lunch and Wonderland Tea Party which is 2pm-3pm. Wonderland Tea Party requires advanced payment so I think we'll be able to park at GF as if we had an ADR. Another alternative would be to take the monorail from MK directly to GF. But it occurred to me this would totally make more sense if we were already staying at GF to begin with - we would just be so much more relaxed, DH could take off to the room, etc.

On the 3rd day, the Pirate Cruises are 9.30am at both GF or YC. This is the day we switch resorts. I'm already thinking that being at GF makes more sense since we can drop her off, check out and load the car, hang out at the CL, and pick her up at the beachfront at 11.30am, then move to BWI. To do it the other way, we would have to rush through breakfast wherever resort we are, checkout, drop her off at YC then check in early at BWI, then go back to YC...hmmm. Sounds like I'm doing a transfer to SL esp since you say we won't be affected by any views from there. It is more expensive but at least only for 2 nights, and it saves us travel time.

Sorry to bother with all these details, but my dates are so close that I'm getting flustered and starting to second guess myself, and DH says to decide already and that I'm spending way too much time on the internet!

So any room view from SL will be ok? Should I request to face the pool or the lagoon? I'm planning to request first floor to make pool access easy. What kind of disruption is there if you use the feature pool (which we are planning to use btw) - any fences, cranes, noise, etc?

I was looking forward to trying out WL CL based on your glowing recommendations, but I'm also bothered that the rooms are going to be refurbished after our stay. Another plus for GF is I really have a thing for tea, and I'm dying to have it at the lounge.

Now I think I understand about the SL seating being not as plentiful as RPC. Is the seating at RPC comparable to WL in that there's much more seating available? Is there a view from RPC where you wouldn't see construction (of course there's no guarantee you would get that view, so now I see why you cancelled your reservation there). Lastly, can you get into RPC if you are staying at SL? I'm only asking this because I wish I could experience hearing the band from the lounge. But of course I can always sit in the lobby!

I am already in touch with BWI IPO about my ADR's so I just have to contact the GF IPO for the room request and the arrival time info, assuming I can change my resort tomorrow.

Thanks so much WDWKOOK for that quick reply! I hope you enjoy your stay at BWI.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Yes WDWKOOK, it's exactly the same split except we are booked WL 2 nights then BWI 2 nights! (We used to stay put at CR because when DD was younger we only did MK. Doing Epcot has us doing a split stay and allowed us to discover BWI which I just love.)

We will get to WL around 3pm so I count that as our first day. It's the following day that I have planned an MK morning, CP lunch and Wonderland Tea Party which is 2pm-3pm. Wonderland Tea Party requires advanced payment so I think we'll be able to park at GF as if we had an ADR. Another alternative would be to take the monorail from MK directly to GF. But it occurred to me this would totally make more sense if we were already staying at GF to begin with - we would just be so much more relaxed, DH could take off to the room, etc.

On the 3rd day, the Pirate Cruises are 9.30am at both GF or YC. This is the day we switch resorts. I'm already thinking that being at GF makes more sense since we can drop her off, check out and load the car, hang out at the CL, and pick her up at the beachfront at 11.30am, then move to BWI. To do it the other way, we would have to rush through breakfast wherever resort we are, checkout, drop her off at YC then check in early at BWI, then go back to YC...hmmm. Sounds like I'm doing a transfer to SL esp since you say we won't be affected by any views from there. It is more expensive but at least only for 2 nights, and it saves us travel time.

Sorry to bother with all these details, but my dates are so close that I'm getting flustered and starting to second guess myself, and DH says to decide already and that I'm spending way too much time on the internet!

So any room view from SL will be ok? Should I request to face the pool or the lagoon? I'm planning to request first floor to make pool access easy. What kind of disruption is there if you use the feature pool (which we are planning to use btw) - any fences, cranes, noise, etc?

I was looking forward to trying out WL CL based on your glowing recommendations, but I'm also bothered that the rooms are going to be refurbished after our stay. Another plus for GF is I really have a thing for tea, and I'm dying to have it at the lounge.

Now I think I understand about the SL seating being not as plentiful as RPC. Is the seating at RPC comparable to WL in that there's much more seating available? Is there a view from RPC where you wouldn't see construction (of course there's no guarantee you would get that view, so now I see why you cancelled your reservation there). Lastly, can you get into RPC if you are staying at SL? I'm only asking this because I wish I could experience hearing the band from the lounge. But of course I can always sit in the lobby!

I am already in touch with BWI IPO about my ADR's so I just have to contact the GF IPO for the room request and the arrival time info, assuming I can change my resort tomorrow.

Thanks so much WDWKOOK for that quick reply! I hope you enjoy your stay at BWI.

Given what you've told me your plans are, I do think you would find it easier to stay at GF. WL will be there for a future trip and the rehab should be completed for your next potential visit. For your MK, tea and pirate plans, the GF just seems a much better fit this trip for you. Although, any monorail resort would work well for you, I think this time around, GF will work best.

Sugar Loaf has two possible views: The courtyard (not-so-quiet pool) and the marina/Sago Cay building. The lounge is on the first floor, so if you want to be on the same floor as the lounge, you should request that.

RPC has seating on floors 3, 4 and 5 of the main building and balconies on the 3rd floor. One balcony faces the courtyard and the other faces the monorail station. So to answer your question, not all RPC lounge views nor RPC room views would face toward the DVC construction/chapel/Poly. Only an RPC LV room would. We had reserved a Deluxe room and requested a LV which would have faced that way. The only other option for us would have been a courtyard/pool view which we didn't want.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend visiting the wonderful GF thread hosted by k&a&c'smom. She has lounge photos, etc... on the first page and everyone is very helpful and friendly and can answer questions much more in depth than I can. I've not yet stayed at the GF, but I've enjoyed that thread and doing lots of research about the GF/RPC.

There are many - 4 pages - of current DVC construction photos and even a video here:

http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-1284.asp

Let us know WHEN you switch to SL today

 

[mickeynut1]

Oh my goodness we are 3 days away and thinking of changing the first part from WL to GF SL. Am I overdoing it?

Our proposed schedule for our first full day is breakfast at lounge, go to MK. lunch at CP, then go to Wonderland Tea Party at GF for DD at 2pm. The following morning I am hoping to book a pirate adventure for her at GF, then check in at BWI. OR, move to BWI then put her in pirate adventure at YC. Both start at 9.30am so I think the GF one makes more sense meaning we don't have to hurry out of the hotel so quickly in the morning if we were staying in that area.

DH and DD will especially want to hit the pool and I'm wondering what the situation is like there. I remember someone else having on this thread having doubts about booking GF because of the construction. In the end what did you decide to do? If we stay at SL will we be affected at all? Should we stay put at WL?

Thank you sooo much for any advice!

It seems that the GF would be the easiest for you since you have a few things planned there. The SL building is great for using the courtyard pool as it's right there by the pool and it's very convenient for running into the lounge for drinks or snacks . But it's not too far from the beach pool either .

Unlike GF/SL, all the rooms are on the same floor as the lounge and the seating area is MUCH larger. It wraps around the entire lobby below - similar to RPC.

I totally agree that the seating area at WL CL is much larger than at SL. I didn't care too much for SL as I thought it was kind of cramped. The lounge is on the first floor right when you walk into the building and it always seemed busy with not alot of seating for the amount of people staying there. The food offerings in both RPC and SL are the same, but the lounge atmospheres are totally different. My choice for CL at the GF would be RPC as it's so much nicer and there's ALOT more room in the lounge to relax and enjoy yourself .

Wonderland Tea Party requires advanced payment so I think we'll be able to park at GF as if we had an ADR.

So any room view from SL will be ok? Should I request to face the pool or the lagoon? I'm planning to request first floor to make pool access easy.

Lastly, can you get into RPC if you are staying at SL? I'm only asking this because I wish I could experience hearing the band from the lounge. But of course I can always sit in the lobby!

Our SL view was of the marina and I loved going out on the balcony first thing in the morning.....it was such a peaceful view .

If you stay SL, you will not have access to RPC; but staying RPC gives you access to SL . Having stayed both GF CLs, you really can't beat RPC and sitting in the lounge listening to the band playing .

RPC has seating on floors 3, 4 and 5 of the main building and balconies on the 3rd floor. One balcony faces the courtyard and the other faces the monorail station. So to answer your question, not all RPC lounge views nor RPC room views would face toward the DVC construction/chapel/Poly. Only an RPC LV room would. We had reserved a Deluxe room and requested a LV which would have faced that way. The only other option for us would have been a courtyard/pool view which we didn't want.

I just wanted to add that the views from the RPC lounge are fabulous . I especially loved having my morning coffee while looking out over the courtyard pool.....it was so peaceful watching the resort "wake up" in the morning .

Good luck on your decision. It is so hard sometimes to choose as there are so many great resort choices.

 

[turningleaf]

The RPC extra spread out seating sounds great and I'm dreaming of sipping tea while listening to the band... But even with the FL discount, we have to draw the line somewhere, maybe save it for a special occasion or when DD is older. Or like WDWKOOK, after the DVC construction is finished. Plus I know it may sound weird but I don't want to spoil DH with RPC the first time we stay at GF. Because then he might not appreciate BWI anymore!

So thank you for your replies! I'm going to try to change as soon as the reservations systems are back online. The phone message said to call back this afternoon. Cross fingers. I've never changed my resort this close to checking in.

Edited to say I finally did it! Will report back how it turns out!

 

[mirage0306]

Hi all!! I have a couple of questions about the BWI lounge. If anyone knows the answers, that would be great.

First of all, is the lounge actually *open* all day? Do they have snacks/coffee out even after breakfast has been taken away and before the actual designated afternoon snack time?

Second, I was wondering if the lounge has whole milk (or if you can get it).

Third, I know there are cereal choices there. Would anyone happen to know if one of them is something plain, like Cheerios or corn flakes?

I know these are kind of odd and specific questions, and I can email IPO if need be, but any help is appreciated!

 

[mirage0306]

Double post!

 

[poohfriend]

went back and forth between BC and YC, but landed on YC for our one night stay in March.

Very excited. Plan on going to HS. And hope it's nice enough to enjoy the pool!

Any tips for YC CL? We'll be arriving early in the day so we don't expect our room to be available yet. Do we check our bags downstairs when we come in with Bell Services or bring them on up to CL with us to check-in.

I've never stayed CL. Looking forward to seeing what it is like!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Hi all!! I have a couple of questions about the BWI lounge. If anyone knows the answers, that would be great.

First of all, is the lounge actually *open* all day? Do they have snacks/coffee out even after breakfast has been taken away and before the actual designated afternoon snack time?

Second, I was wondering if the lounge has whole milk (or if you can get it).

Third, I know there are cereal choices there. Would anyone happen to know if one of them is something plain, like Cheerios or corn flakes?

I know these are kind of odd and specific questions, and I can email IPO if need be, but any help is appreciated!

Yes their lounge is open all day from 6:30 AM - 10:00 PM. Breakfast items is from 7:00 AM - 10:30 AM and that's the time when it's taken down.

I know the lounge has Skin Milk, however I am sure you can request Whole Milk.

As for their Cereal I believe they had the two you mentioned, however I can't remember 100%. Even though I stayed there multiple times the only Cereal I ever had there was a different brand with Berries and Nuts inside it, so I never paid much attention to their other ones.

 

[WDWKOOK]

went back and forth between BC and YC, but landed on YC for our one night stay in March.

Very excited. Plan on going to HS. And hope it's nice enough to enjoy the pool!

Any tips for YC CL? We'll be arriving early in the day so we don't expect our room to be available yet. Do we check our bags downstairs when we come in with Bell Services or bring them on up to CL with us to check-in.

I've never stayed CL. Looking forward to seeing what it is like!

YC was our first CL resort, too!

When you drive-up to the porte-cochère, the bellman will come to your car and take your bags and hand you a claim ticket. When we checked-in, the CL runner didn't see us and we ended-up wandering around the lobby a bit, looking lost, trying to figure out where to go. The CL runner then found us in the lobby and escorted us up to check-in on the 5th floor. Your room might be ready, especially if it was unoccupied the night before. When you do get into your room, just hit the Bell Services button on the phone, and they will bring your luggage up.

While the lounge is quite small, they do a good job of keeping it neat and tidy and clearing tables off. I liked that they had sliced hard boiled eggs at breakfast. When I asked if they had Sprite Zero they said, "no", but when I returned to our room in the evening, there was a 12-pack on the dresser. I thought that was very thoughtful of them.

 

[poohfriend]

YC was our first CL resort, too!

When you drive-up to the porte-cochère, the bellman will come to your car and take your bags and hand you a claim ticket. When we checked-in, the CL runner didn't see us and we ended-up wandering around the lobby a bit, looking lost, trying to figure out where to go. The CL runner then found us in the lobby and escorted us up to check-in on the 5th floor. Your room might be ready, especially if it was unoccupied the night before. When you do get into your room, just hit the Bell Services button on the phone, and they will bring your luggage up.

While the lounge is quite small, they do a good job of keeping it neat and tidy and clearing tables off. I liked that they had sliced hard boiled eggs at breakfast. When I asked if they had Sprite Zero they said, "no", but when I returned to our room in the evening, there was a 12-pack on the dresser. I thought that was very thoughtful of them.

thank you for the info!

 

[WDWKOOK]

thank you for the info!

You're welcome. More advice: Make sure you tell the gate guard that you're staying CL. I didn't do that on our first CL stay and I told you how we got overlooked when we pulled-up and had to wander around the lobby asking where CL check-in was. If you tell the guard, then he should notify the runner to greet you, if they aren't busy or elsewhere at that moment.