Concierge/Club Level Information- Part IV, July 2012

[mickeynut1]

Hello all! I want to start by saying, we LOVE WDW!!! We just got back from our 7th trip in 5 years. We have stayed at the GF before & loved it, but 2 stays ago got some pixie dust at the Contemporary & were upgraded to CL & we were hooked on CL, it was amazing. So on our last trip we booked CL again at the Contemporary. This trip (June 2013) we went back to the GF & booked Sugar Loaf CL. The good...the re-do on the main pool was GREAT -my 6 year old never wanted to leave the pool! The new splash area was also really cute. Gaspirillas is open again & there is also service for drinks & food at both pools that was very nice. The construction did not bother us at all during our stay. The major disappointment came with CL. Maybe we were spoiled by CL at CR but this was a major let down! Prior to our arrival they were not able to secure us a single dining reservation that we wanted, but i was able to get them on my own. I tried to stay positive before our arrival...

But, it did not get better. The cast members are overwhelmed to say the least. The club is packed due to the size of the building & the fact that anyone staying in the suites at GF has access to the CL area. There are never any tables to sit at. Several mornings they ran out of breakfast foods. Several nights they ran out of desserts and we had to buy snacks to watch the fireworks even though desserts were supposed to be served until 10:00 PM. A few nights the drink fridge was totally empty. One morning while having a late bite to eat for breakfast, they were stacking tables/chairs & cleaning the floors with the power cleaners while we were still eating! Not typical for a 5 Star resort. But the worst part was not once during our stay were we greeted by name. Not a cast member remembered our Daughters name or our last name. Every time we walked into CL at the CR we were greeted.

Again, maybe we were previously spoiled, but 1/2 way through our stay I spoke to the CL manager & he told me "we have too many guests", not a comforting response & he never took the opportunity to try to make it "right", IE a small gift for our Daughter, a credit for the snacks I purchased on our room to watch fireworks since there were no snacks left, etc..

CL was a total waste of money at GF. I was happier with the resort in our normal rooms there on our previous two stays and was blown away by the level of service we got at CL at CR.

Beware if you are expecting to be treated to a luxury, save your money & spend it on other things. Management needs to revamp on Sugar Loaf CL. We will be headed back to CL at CR!

I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience in SL. I stayed SL in January 2010 and I didn't care for it, either. I thought the lounge was too small for the amount of guests that were staying there and it was always hectic and chaotic (especially in the morning). I'm glad to hear good things about CR CL as that is one we are considering for a few nights in December .

Poly CL CMs seem to be the friendliest

This isn't the first time I have read this about Poly CL. We are trying Poly CL for the first time in December and it's comments like this that get me more excited every day .

I am going to have to work on him for next year. What time of year is best?

Fall or winter is probably the best time price-wise. We were originally booked for this July, but decided to change to December right before Christmas. By making the change, our price went down $1,000 (and we have a veranda cabin in December vs an ocean view with 1 large porthole that we had for July). I hope you are able to get your DH on board (pun intended ) as cruises are really a lot of fun .

 

[HBGdancermom]

I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience in SL. I stayed SL in January 2010 and I didn't care for it, either. I thought the lounge was too small for the amount of guests that were staying there and it was always hectic and chaotic (especially in the morning). I'm glad to hear good things about CR CL as that is one we are considering for a few nights in December .

This isn't the first time I have read this about Poly CL. We are trying Poly CL for the first time in December and it's comments like this that get me more excited every day .

Fall or winter is probably the best time price-wise. We were originally booked for this July, but decided to change to December right before Christmas. By making the change, our price went down $1,000 (and we have a veranda cabin in December vs an ocean view with 1 large porthole that we had for July). I hope you are able to get your DH on board (pun intended ) as cruises are really a lot of fun .

That sounds great! I will check into that. I heard the kids clubs were fantastic.

 

[Twelvevman]

We are taking our first DCL cruise in December (we have cruised before, but never DCL) and I seriously considered booking CL, but it would have cost an extra $1,000 for a 3 night cruise to upgrade (we are a family of 4). As the pp mentioned, the food is awesome on cruises and is available to you 24/7, so I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra money for just a few little extras. The private deck would be nice, but I didn't see it as $1,000 nice . A lot of people think cruises are too expensive, but for what you get, it's really not. It's not only your lodging, but it's your entertainment as well as all of your food.....and the food is amazing and as much as you want whenever you want . I hope you can convince your DH to take a cruise (start with a short 3 night one), because it really is an amazing experience .

I have never cruised on DCL before but have done 4 cruises in the past and have 2 more booked. I think cruising is one of the best vacation values you can get. Cost covers your room, food and entertainment. I couldn't imagine a 3 night cruise...my next 2 are 12 and 11 nights

 

[mickeynut1]

That sounds great! I will check into that. I heard the kids clubs were fantastic.

This is our first DCL cruise so I can't comment on the kids clubs, but I also have heard they are great and the kids like being in there more than being with mom and dad .

I have never cruised on DCL before but have done 4 cruises in the past and have 2 more booked. I think cruising is one of the best vacation values you can get. Cost covers your room, food and entertainment. I couldn't imagine a 3 night cruise...my next 2 are 12 and 11 nights

I agree.....cruises are a great value . My DH and I have cruised in the past (with our favorite being Alaska on Princess ), but our DSs have never cruised. My oldest is a little hesitant, so I figured a 3 night would be a good way for him to experience it (and I get to try DCL, which I've always wanted to do ). It will go fast, but it will also be enough time for him to see what it's like and form an opinion of whether or not he likes it. I just didn't want to book a 7 night and have him hate it and want off the boat after a day or two (not that that would happen, but some people just aren't into being on a ship in the middle of LOTS of water).

 

[bluejasmine]

We didn't bring our teens on our DCL cruise last Sept but several friends did, plus some that had you get kids. They all said the kids couldn't wait to go to the clubs.. Had a lady sit next to me a show that was complaining she hadn't seen much of her child since they set foot on the ship! Lol

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & CR Sept 8-15, 2013

 

[HBGdancermom]

I have never cruised on DCL before but have done 4 cruises in the past and have 2 more booked. I think cruising is one of the best vacation values you can get. Cost covers your room, food and entertainment. I couldn't imagine a 3 night cruise...my next 2 are 12 and 11 nights

Wow! That must be fantastic. I can only get my DH to stay away from work for 6 days tops. Lol. I need to look into this though in the coming years!

 

[HBGdancermom]

This is our first DCL cruise so I can't comment on the kids clubs, but I also have heard they are great and the kids like being in there more than being with mom and dad .

I agree.....cruises are a great value . My DH and I have cruised in the past (with our favorite being Alaska on Princess ), but our DSs have never cruised. My oldest is a little hesitant, so I figured a 3 night would be a good way for him to experience it (and I get to try DCL, which I've always wanted to do ). It will go fast, but it will also be enough time for him to see what it's like and form an opinion of whether or not he likes it. I just didn't want to book a 7 night and have him hate it and want off the boat after a day or two (not that that would happen, but some people just aren't into being on a ship in the middle of LOTS of water).

I heard the same thing about the kids club and them not wanting to leave it. Lol

I bet your DS will love it but don't blame you for giving it a test run first!

 

[HBGdancermom]

We didn't bring our teens on our DCL cruise last Sept but several friends did, plus some that had you get kids. They all said the kids couldn't wait to go to the clubs.. Had a lady sit next to me a show that was complaining she hadn't seen much of her child since they set foot on the ship! Lol

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & CR Sept 8-15, 2013

That is great!! It really is a vacation for both parents and kids.

Do most people visit the parks first for a few days?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

BWI CL has large glass bottles of Evian. We've only seen the plastic bottles at the YC and BC and you have to ask for them they aren't out to take.

I think it really depends when. As of last summer, we were never offered plastic bottles during an of our CL stays.

This past April- we were given plastic bottles at both YC and CR. It was my first stay at YC, but we've had several CR stays before. We drink lots of water, so I always ask. Previously, we have only been offered the glass bottles. I have seen multiple changes over the years.

I do wonder though...if water bottles are only offered seasonally. The old CL thread that predates this one, has conflicting reports on the subject.

Put me firmly in the camp of folks who feel that WDW CL's should always offer it. Water is much healthier than canned soft drinks.

 

[mickeynut1]

I bet your DS will love it but don't blame you for giving it a test run first!

I'm thinking he will love it once he gets there . But, just in case he doesn't, the 3 nights should be go fast .

Do most people visit the parks first for a few days?

From what I've read, a lot of people do WDW first and then the cruise. We are staying at a Disney resort both before and after .

 

[HBGdancermom]

I'm thinking he will love it once he gets there . But, just in case he doesn't, the 3 nights should be go fast .

From what I've read, a lot of people do WDW first and then the cruise. We are staying at a Disney resort both before and after .

That is awesome!!

 

[lomillerin]

We checked into YC club level today. They staff was extremely friendly. We stayed BWI club level and AKL club level before so we can compare those. We liked both of those and so far YC seems good too.

We got the gold cards. They added our UCT park tickets to the room key. We created a code for room charging. We got all of our room requests-near lounge and a daybed. The lounge is four rooms down and is close to elevator but not so close we hear much noise. It is nice. The room was clean. We always bring Lysol wipes to wipe remote and knobs etc.



The staff told us we could ask for bottled water for the parks and beer during afternoon if we wanted it.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to find answers.

 

[mickeynut1]

That is awesome!!

I'm very excited and can't wait for December to get here .

We checked into YC club level today. They staff was extremely friendly. We stayed BWI club level and AKL club level before so we can compare those. We liked both of those and so far YC seems good too.

We got the gold cards. They added our UCT park tickets to the room key. We created a code for room charging. We got all of our room requests-near lounge and a daybed. The lounge is four rooms down and is close to elevator but not so close we hear much noise. It is nice. The room was clean. We always bring Lysol wipes to wipe remote and knobs etc.



The staff told us we could ask for bottled water for the parks and beer during afternoon if we wanted it.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to find answers.

I hope you have a great trip and enjoy the YC .

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Most CL opinions posted here are highly personal. Much has to do with the CM's you happen to get, and everyone's mood that week. I've had a few service jobs myself. Sometimes a kind or rude guest affected me for hours or days. I've been to WDW enough times to say, multiple visits to the same resort can be widely variable.

IMO, The two least valuable criteria are (individual) CM experience and CL food variation between resorts. Food is pretty similar in all the resort CL's. Food is an important part of staying CL (or not) just not variation between CLs - unless you happen to know you really want something like a certain brand of beer offered at only one resort.

Each resort has pros and cons. I find the best criteria are: price points, theming, layout, and amenities you plan to use. (transportation, recreation) You kind of can't go wrong with Disney. Split stays are also another fun option.

Judging a resort based on the CM's that another guest happened to encounter months or years before your visit...probably not the best criteria.

 

[mirage0306]

It was funny but I had a couple of CM's that worked at quick service restaurants ask me why my card was yellow. I told them that they were club level cards but I felt a little funny saying that. I didn't want to seem pretentious as we are a very middle class family .

ITA w/this. Of course, we were also uncomfortable with the incredibly dedicated level of service we got at BWI--we are totally the type of people who are just like, hey, good morning, how are you, ok I'll go get my coffee now, no need to chat further

We *almost* didn't go back to CL for this upcoming trip because we felt out of place, feeling like we were the only people in there who weren't wealthy. Which I am sure is not true. But it kind of felt that way. But DH has wanted to do the Sunrise Safari for years, so we upgraded and I am sure it will be great.

 

[Twelvevman]

This is our first DCL cruise so I can't comment on the kids clubs, but I also have heard they are great and the kids like being in there more than being with mom and dad .



I agree.....cruises are a great value . My DH and I have cruised in the past (with our favorite being Alaska on Princess ), but our DSs have never cruised. My oldest is a little hesitant, so I figured a 3 night would be a good way for him to experience it (and I get to try DCL, which I've always wanted to do ). It will go fast, but it will also be enough time for him to see what it's like and form an opinion of whether or not he likes it. I just didn't want to book a 7 night and have him hate it and want off the boat after a day or two (not that that would happen, but some people just aren't into being on a ship in the middle of LOTS of water).

I can understand the desire to do a test run. Hopefully your sons will love cruising and want to go again. My 3 year old has already been on 2 cruises and can't wait to "go on a big boat again"

 

[mickeynut1]

I can understand the desire to do a test run. Hopefully your sons will love cruising and want to go again. My 3 year old has already been on 2 cruises and can't wait to "go on a big boat again"

I hope so, too, because my youngest would love to cruise to Alaska (and I wouldn't mind going back ). That is so cute that your 3 yo loves it so much that he's excited to go again......looks like you have many cruises in your future .

 

[shellypaige]

Okay silly question... What type of beer do they offer at the Poly club? My husband says we can only stay at club level if they have good beer. I'm desperately trying to convince him

 

[HBGdancermom]

We checked into YC club level today. They staff was extremely friendly. We stayed BWI club level and AKL club level before so we can compare those. We liked both of those and so far YC seems good too.

We got the gold cards. They added our UCT park tickets to the room key. We created a code for room charging. We got all of our room requests-near lounge and a daybed. The lounge is four rooms down and is close to elevator but not so close we hear much noise. It is nice. The room was clean. We always bring Lysol wipes to wipe remote and knobs etc.

The staff told us we could ask for bottled water for the parks and beer during afternoon if we wanted it.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to find answers.

Yeah!!! Thanks for the update. Have fun!!

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

Okay silly question... What type of beer do they offer at the Poly club? My husband says we can only stay at club level if they have good beer. I'm desperately trying to convince him

I know for sure that they have Kona Long Board Lager. Not sure what other kinds they have. If your DH likes a good beer, he will love that one.