Concierge/Club Level Information- Part IV, July 2012

[Ofinn]

I think if we had that "throwdown service," after already complaining, my wife would have gone nuclear on the manager.

We also had missed turndown service a fee nights, and even one day we called and requested early regular housekeeping, it wasn't done by 3 or 4:00...

We have found turn down to be pretty hit or miss. I really don't care. At YC they would come around 4:30 and ask if we wanted it. We have had mousekeeping issues at just about every resort CL or not. My pet peeve is coming back to the room at 2:00 to 3:00 pm and the room hasn't been cleaned. I kind of find this unacceptable, and I address it on every survey.

 

[ngress]

Can someone tell me if I'm being unreasonable. We decided on a fairly last minute disney world vacation. We booked about 8 weeks out. I initially did not book club level, but after hearing the reviews everyone seemed to think the the club level concierges were worth it. So I booked the majority of my dinners myself online and then I called the concierge to make a few of the hard ones. The reply I got was "the computer shows no availability". I am trying to get a few hard ones (be our guest, crystal palace and a better Ohana time), but they are not helping me at all. I guess my question is what do I really get for club level?

 

[kathie859]

Can someone tell me if I'm being unreasonable. We decided on a fairly last minute disney world vacation. We booked about 8 weeks out. I initially did not book club level, but after hearing the reviews everyone seemed to think the the club level concierges were worth it. So I booked the majority of my dinners myself online and then I called the concierge to make a few of the hard ones. The reply I got was "the computer shows no availability". I am trying to get a few hard ones (be our guest, crystal palace and a better Ohana time), but they are not helping me at all. I guess my question is what do I really get for club level?

Interesting first post I never use the CL CM's to book my ADR's (I'm a bit of a control freak that way). If you read the DisBoard much, you know if there's a particular ADR that you want, you should check online often since things change constantly. The CL CM 's can't create an opening out of thin air.
And I gather you really know what CL gets you--what it doesn't get you is a personal wizard

 

[CoolPool]

Can someone tell me if I'm being unreasonable. We decided on a fairly last minute disney world vacation. We booked about 8 weeks out. I initially did not book club level, but after hearing the reviews everyone seemed to think the the club level concierges were worth it. So I booked the majority of my dinners myself online and then I called the concierge to make a few of the hard ones. The reply I got was "the computer shows no availability". I am trying to get a few hard ones (be our guest, crystal palace and a better Ohana time), but they are not helping me at all. I guess my question is what do I really get for club level?

By Disboards standards 8 weeks out is like yesterday. There many many people on this board that plan vacations two years out and book dinner reservations at 180 days +10. But I actually agree with you. Paying for club level SHOULD get perks. There should be tables held back to offer to club guests and those tables can be released to others resort guests when they aren't used. I'm not saying tens of tables, I'm saying some. It would have no greater impact on reservations than those others that book BOG for every night of there 7 day vacation and only intend to go once or twice.

 

[psac]

Can someone tell me if I'm being unreasonable. We decided on a fairly last minute disney world vacation. We booked about 8 weeks out. I initially did not book club level, but after hearing the reviews everyone seemed to think the the club level concierges were worth it. So I booked the majority of my dinners myself online and then I called the concierge to make a few of the hard ones. The reply I got was "the computer shows no availability". I am trying to get a few hard ones (be our guest, crystal palace and a better Ohana time), but they are not helping me at all. I guess my question is what do I really get for club level?

I think they should have offered to try for you over the next few weeks to see if they could get a cancellation spot.

 

[focusondisney]

By Disboards standards 8 weeks out is like yesterday. There many many people on this board that plan vacations two years out and book dinner reservations at 180 days +10. But I actually agree with you. Paying for club level SHOULD get perks. There should be tables held back to offer to club guests and those tables can be released to others resort guests when they aren't used. I'm not saying tens of tables, I'm saying some. It would have no greater impact on reservations than those others that book BOG for every night of there 7 day vacation and only intend to go once or twice.

And if they did, those tables would be gone way before 8 weeks out. With what, 8 resorts with club level (& GF having 2 different clubs), a few tables at each popular restaurant wouldn't go very far.

 

[CoolPool]

And if they did, those tables would be gone way before 8 weeks out. With what, 8 resorts with club level (& GF having 2 different clubs), a few tables at each popular restaurant wouldn't go very far.

I hear you. But if cancellations come in, they could be held first for club level and resort guests first. I maintain there should be additional perks for being club level and also for staying on site. No I'm not going to do the process management of how it would work but it could be done. Sadly Disney has conditioned us to pay high and expect intangible things like "magic" in return.

 

[dfarner]

Hello folks,

I am considering an upgrade to Sugarloaf. We leave in just a few days, and are currently booked garden view. My question is...how long can we use the lounge and pool after checking out? Will my key still access the lounge for the remainder of the day, even if we've settled the bill and all? Can we still enjoy the pool area?

 

[Ofinn]

Can someone tell me if I'm being unreasonable. We decided on a fairly last minute disney world vacation. We booked about 8 weeks out. I initially did not book club level, but after hearing the reviews everyone seemed to think the the club level concierges were worth it. So I booked the majority of my dinners myself online and then I called the concierge to make a few of the hard ones. The reply I got was "the computer shows no availability". I am trying to get a few hard ones (be our guest, crystal palace and a better Ohana time), but they are not helping me at all. I guess my question is what do I really get for club level?

I always book ADR's last minute. I haven't booked my September one's yet. I usually do it about 3 weeks before. We eat late after 8pm so it's never a problem getting ADR's. Ohana is a really tough one to get unless you book 3-4 months out. I don't know why I don't care for it. I would try yourself several times a day. People do cancel.

What do you get with Club level? Snacks, alcohol, and a lounge. The concierges aren't going to get you into a restaurant that's not available.

 

[ngress]

Thanks for everyone's response (even the snarky ones). I get it that if there are not tables available that I'm not going to get them. However, I am sure if I forked over enough money for platinum status, a concierge would get us in. I've stayed a a ton of very nice hotels and walked to a concierge, and "magically" they get me concert tickets to a "sold out show" or reservations at the newest restaurant in town. I typically don't pay for these services and since I am, I assumed I would get the same attention. I guess I was wrong. $1200 for snacks, liquor and a room does not seem all that beneficial.

 

[vicki_c]

Hello folks,

I am considering an upgrade to Sugarloaf. We leave in just a few days, and are currently booked garden view. My question is...how long can we use the lounge and pool after checking out? Will my key still access the lounge for the remainder of the day, even if we've settled the bill and all? Can we still enjoy the pool area?

Until midnight of your check out day.

 

[vicki_c]

Thanks for everyone's response (even the snarky ones). I get it that if there are not tables available that I'm not going to get them. However, I am sure if I forked over enough money for platinum status, a concierge would get us in. I've stayed a a ton of very nice hotels and walked to a concierge, and "magically" they get me concert tickets to a "sold out show" or reservations at the newest restaurant in town. I typically don't pay for these services and since I am, I assumed I would get the same attention. I guess I was wrong. $1200 for snacks, liquor and a room does not seem all that beneficial.

Disney club level isn't a concierge like that. Which is most likely why they stopped calling it concierge quite a few years ago and changed to the club level terminology. We don't feel we are paying for those services (booking ADRs). We like it for the lounge, the snacks, the locations, etc.

 

[dfarner]

Until midnight of your check out day.

Super, thanks!

 

[Ofinn]

Thanks for everyone's response (even the snarky ones). I get it that if there are not tables available that I'm not going to get them. However, I am sure if I forked over enough money for platinum status, a concierge would get us in. I've stayed a a ton of very nice hotels and walked to a concierge, and "magically" they get me concert tickets to a "sold out show" or reservations at the newest restaurant in town. I typically don't pay for these services and since I am, I assumed I would get the same attention. I guess I was wrong. $1200 for snacks, liquor and a room does not seem all that beneficial.

I hope I didn't come across as snarky. I didn't mean too. CL at Disney is what it is. It's not like concierges level at other hotels. I often wonder why I pay extra for it. You are right it is a lot for snacks, alcohol and a lounge. I guess I should have explained what I meant better.

 

[BringingUpDisney]

Once you get the AP, there's no going back. They rope you in with AP room discounts for more trips, then the additional trips make it more cost effective to renew the AP, so you book more trips, etc... Next thing you know you're doing three WDW land trips and one DCL cruise in the same year!

Oh yeah, it's happening to me and I haven't even gotten the AP yet. It all started with a trip to WDW in December where APs and TIW made more sense. Then I added a trip to DLR inSeptember, so figured might as well get the Premiere card. Soon I will be thinking that we should to each within the year to maximize value...

 

[HBGdancermom]

Once you get the AP, there's no going back. They rope you in with AP room discounts for more trips, then the additional trips make it more cost effective to renew the AP, so you book more trips, etc... Next thing you know you're doing three WDW land trips and one DCL cruise in the same year!

Lol! Definitely don't need to look into that yet. I will wait til after we win the Powerball. Then we might just move in Cinderellas castle!!!

 

[BringingUpDisney]

Lol! Definitely don't need to look into that yet. I will wait til after we win the Powerball. Then we might just move in Cinderellas castle!!!

I like the way you think!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Can someone tell me if I'm being unreasonable. We decided on a fairly last minute disney world vacation. We booked about 8 weeks out. I initially did not book club level, but after hearing the reviews everyone seemed to think the the club level concierges were worth it. So I booked the majority of my dinners myself online and then I called the concierge to make a few of the hard ones. The reply I got was "the computer shows no availability". I am trying to get a few hard ones (be our guest, crystal palace and a better Ohana time), but they are not helping me at all. I guess my question is what do I really get for club level?

Ohana is very hard to get. What you can do though is show up at Ohana the day you want to eat around like 4:00 PM and they have a special cue line where you can wait for people who don't show up for their reservation. We did that last year and got a table after waiting about 30 minutes. But that only works if you don't mind eating early that day. Be Our Guest is also impossible, we lucked out and got to eat there twice last winter. Try calling your IPO again... the club level castmember I spoke with at the Poly put me on the "Keep checking" list. They also offer a cue line where you can line up the day of and check for openings. I'm not sure what the success rate is for that. I'm surprised you haven't been able to find anything for Crystal Palace??? Usually they have openings if you aren't picky about the time. Are you using the online booking page or are you calling? Are you going during Free Dining? That could explain your problem. Good luck, and yes it does stink the CMs can't get us into the restaurants we want but that stopped years ago when the dining plan was introduced. Eating in any of these popular WDW restaurants takes months of planning.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Ohana is very hard to get. What you can do though is show up at Ohana the day you want to eat around like 4:00 PM and they have a special cue line where you can wait for people who don't show up for their reservation. We did that last year and got a table after waiting about 30 minutes. But that only works if you don't mind eating early that day. Be Our Guest is also impossible, we lucked out and got to eat there twice last winter. Try calling your IPO again... the club level castmember I spoke with at the Poly put me on the "Keep checking" list. They also offer a cue line where you can line up the day of and check for openings. I'm not sure what the success rate is for that. I'm surprised you haven't been able to find anything for Crystal Palace??? Usually they have openings if you aren't picky about the time. Are you using the online booking page or are you calling? Are you going during Free Dining? That could explain your problem. Good luck, and yes it does stink the CMs can't get us into the restaurants we want but that stopped years ago when the dining plan was introduced. Eating in any of these popular WDW restaurants takes months of planning.

Also remember that on any given day there are hundreds if not thousands of people staying in Disney deluxe resorts on club level. How many club levels are there on property? Gosh I think about 12 clubs, maybe more, that's got to be well into 4 figures of guests. Can you imagine how they could possibly get that many people the reservations they want??? If you are in NYC staying at the Plaza or something I'm sure they only have maybe 100 people to take care of. So it's easier to give them what they want. Plus you have to respect the people staying in the value resorts who booked Be Our Guest six months ago, are we supposed to kick them out???

 

[wdwfan]

Thanks for everyone's response (even the snarky ones). I get it that if there are not tables available that I'm not going to get them. However, I am sure if I forked over enough money for platinum status, a concierge would get us in. I've stayed a a ton of very nice hotels and walked to a concierge, and "magically" they get me concert tickets to a "sold out show" or reservations at the newest restaurant in town. I typically don't pay for these services and since I am, I assumed I would get the same attention. I guess I was wrong. $1200 for snacks, liquor and a room does not seem all that beneficial.

I have stayed club level a few times before and during one of my trips I had an ADR at one of the restaurants in Epcot, but it was pouring outside. We were staying at BWI. We asked the concierge what was available at the Epcot resort restaurants and we were able to get a table at the Yachtsman Steakhouse. So, with a break in the rain, we made our way over there with a last minute ADR and saying that the BWI concierge just made the ADR for us got us in... so the "magic" works sometimes. There was probably a last minute cancellation, but the concierge was able to help us out. I don't think we would have gotten in literally last minute like that without them.