Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[GADisneyDad14]

Afternoon snacks were the same each of the two days we were there during service times.

Two types of cookies.


Carrot sticks, tomatoes, and broccoli along with some dips. Seasoned chips.






Make your own trail mix. These "bag" jars are so stinkin' cute. But with the world's smallest bags and the world's smallest spoons, you have to work hard to get more than a couple of bites. Probably for the best though I guess.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We were only around for apps one night, unfortunately. CR Atrium Club suffers a bit from lack of service areas compared to some CLs and it shows at evening app time.

The main serving area. I do like how the lounge is relatively wide open so you can always keep an eye on kids at the kid's table if needed/applicable to you.


Some veggies, olives, etc. A flavorful noodle dish. A very small selection of cheeses.



They do have a monitor just above this that lists the menu, but I didn't get a pic. The little plates were some kind of shrimp/seafood dish. Serious rolls and butter... yum.



A few meats and some crackers that you second guess if they are edible or part of the decoration.



One hot plate dish. Again, I'm not sure exactly what this was - it was a beef, rice, and veggie mixture. It was OK, not great. Beef was a little chewy.



Kids (and adults) options included nice big and meaty chicken nuggets!



And PBJ shooters.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

In the past I've been really impressed with CR CL desserts (little artsy chocolates and such), but it was a little basic this time around.

Same cookies as afternoon snacks....



A smores bar and some kind of cookie with creme in the middle.



Something along the lines of Key Lime tart shooters.



Evening cordials. Serve yourself.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Wine is limited to one white, two reds, and one sparkling. It's kind of a shame to have such a limited selection when there is such abundance just two floors up, although I guess I'm just being picky. It is self-serve during evening service times, as is the beer which is in the fridge. Available upon request at all other times.



Closer look at the beer/wine list.


CR does have a decent selection of beverages. Again, beer is in the fridge in the evening services - self serve. Also Coke, Diet Coke, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid Lemonade, and apple juice boxes. This was left stocked overnight, which is a nice touch.


CR has the smaller Nespresso machine common at most CLs except for Poly and AKL. This was turned off overnight and not available.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Like with any CL stay, you'll go through periods of a crowded lounge and times where it's pretty empty. This was 6:53pm (towards the end of evening apps) and no one is around.




Among the best attributes of the Atrium Club lounge is the MK/Seven Seas Lagoon view. Sunsets are often quite lovely up here.




There are three balconies off the Atrium Club lounge that make for ideal HEA viewing. There are speakers on each and the audio quality is great.



Some people don't like that the parking lot is a dominant view feature here, but it doesn't bother me.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

As far as our room, we booked "Standard Room - Atrium Club Level" which is really a "Bay Lake View" room.

I am not necessarily a fan of having a room over the Chef Mickey's side of CR, but I rolled the dice and didn't do any room requests just to keep things simple. We had Room 4811, pretty much in the middle/slightly on the Chef Mickey's side. Noise was evident even here (the first song/cheer at the restaurant is around 7:40 it seems), but it was fine overall. We had a few late nights so just happened to be sleeping in each day. This is just an observation, not a complaint.

Crude overall map of the Atrium Club floor and our room. No room is far from the lounge here, which is nice.



This was outside of our room looking south. Chef Mickeys and Contempo Cafe are below.



We've stayed on both view sides (TPV and Standard) and think I fall in the camp that says booking the cheaper room on the "standard" side is the way to go and use the lounge for your MK viewing fix. With the exception of maybe a Poly TPV room or some of the BWI boardwalk view rooms, this is hard to beat if room views are your thing. And a nice huge balcony. There's something comforting about booking CR since you pretty much know what you'll be getting in terms of room size, location, balcony, and view.


Room toiletries:





CR is one of the resorts with Keurig coffee machines.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So, that's the quick update from CR CL. Overall, it fit our travel needs well and we had a pleasant weekend. A lot of new looking CMs, but several faces we recognized from past trips as well. I'm pretty sure the 12th floor was full, so they were always quite busy but very attentive.

CR is one of the CLs that has consistently had small bottles of Dasani, and this was still the same this trip, upon request. It's a nice touch.

I'd by lying if I said the food services didn't make me think back to those few months of "cutbacks" back in, what, 2016ish(?) that hit all the CLs, but CR CL has always had a bit lighter offerings compared to others so I'm not sure my feelings were anything new. In fairness, one night of evening app experiences isn't a full body of work so we didn't really see enough to form a full assessment.

Also side note for those with kids, we dumped ours (did I say that?) at the Pixar Play Zone one night and had dinner up at California Grill. Best-Disney-decision-ever and my kids seemed to really enjoy it.

Happy to answer any questions.

 

[AngiTN]

I just talked to a CM today who insisted the limit is 7 days for AP unless it’s a continuous stay. My friend and I are going on a trip in July and I am going with my husband and daughter this August. This will effect us on these trips since I would need to hold 11 days of fastpasses between them. We are staying onsite each time. I called after my friend was warned about the 7 day limit by a CM also on the phone today. The CM I spoke to as well as the one my friend spoke to were adamant about the 7 day limit unless the stay was continuous. They said the limit was for anyone.

We travel multiple small trips all the time, 5-day trip, 30-45 days apart.
I've always been able to book FP for each of them. I never book off site so never have issues with the 7 day limit involving those.
Recent examples was a 5 day stay at NYE, another 4 days over MLK in January and a 5 day stay in Feb, FP booked for all trips, then, before we did the Feb trip (over Valentines Day), we book FP for a 4 day trip in April. Before that trip I will book for a 7 day trip in June

Had to go back and look at the dates, the first grouping in bold gave us 14 days of FP, then the NYE and MLK trips had been completed when I booked for April so I was able to hold 5 days in Feb and 4 days in April (9 days at once).
When I book the June trip it will be 11 days total FP

 

[Mzpalmtree]

We travel multiple small trips all the time, 5-day trip, 30-45 days apart.
I've always been able to book FP for each of them. I never book off site so never have issues with the 7 day limit involving those.
Recent examples was a 5 day stay at NYE, another over MLK in January and a 5 day stay in Feb, FP booked for all trips, then, before we did the Feb trip (over Valentines Day), we book FP for a 5 day trip in April. Before that trip I will book for a 7 day trip in May

I believe you and I told the CM that I knew people were able to do it even though he was adamant it was not possible without a continuous stay. It’s very frustrating though when you have multiple CMs telling you you can’t and some people have had problems with it as well. We have CL stays booked for both trips plus one right before that may also cause issues with overlap and I’ll be calling DSS tomorrow to see what they say. I’m very frustrated because I am a first time passholder and I probably would not have upgraded if I knew this was a thing.

 

[AngiTN]

I believe you and I told the CM that I knew people were able to do it even though he was adamant it was not possible without a continuous stay. It’s very frustrating though when you have multiple CMs telling you you can’t and some people have had problems with it as well. We have CL stays booked for both trips plus one right before that may also cause issues with overlap and I’ll be calling DSS tomorrow to see what they say. I’m very frustrated because I am a first time passholder and I probably would not have upgraded if I knew this was a thing.

The only time I have ever heard of a consistent problem is when there is any type of FP booked that doesn't involve an onsite stay. Either someone local who books a random day or someone books an off-site stay

CM really do not have a clue, they rarely book that many on-site stays personally. Most AP questions are related to locals and they do have the 7 day limit. They just didn't give them the proper information for guests who book multiple, frequent on-site stays with AP.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I hate to say it, but often folks on the DIS are more knowledgeable about FP/MDE quirks than CMs, and DSS is no different.

This subject came up on this thread a few weeks ago and I spent some time testing it and made 23 days of FPs over 3 different on-site resort trips. No magic to the 23 other than I got tired of messing with it. The general advice is that you 'should' be fine with multiple on-site stays and length-of-stay FP bookings. Things after 14 total days get a little less well documented, but that would only apply to a small section of people for many practical circumstances anyway.

I'd suggest that situations such as SOG or the good neighbor resorts with 60 day beneifts have the potential to mess up the length-of-stay privileges as 'sometimes' those resorts can interact differently with MDE, and any day of FPs booked without a resort stay will definitely trigger the 7 day max rule.

I'm like @AngiTN and often have a few smaller trips in short windows and I can't think of a time where I've ever triggered the 7 day max rule.

I'm not saying that there isn't a bit of "YMMV" on this topic as strange things can happen given individual circumstances, but I wouldn't stress too much.

 

[AngiTN]

No, that day hasn't passed yet. It's March 23. Ironically, I booked SOG for the 22nd just last week because we wanted to go to SeaWorld and I couldn't really find anything that great price wise with it being a Friday night of spring break, so I figured we could just hit AK emh the next morning. I'm also having a problem with SOG reservations "sticking" in MDE. I put them in and then they disappear the next time I log in. IT told me that has been happening and they aren't sure why. So strange, as another SOG in April has stayed put after entering it only once.

That SOG could also be a problem with your FP, since it's a "hybrid" stay
Not quite on site, not quite off.

If you can remember, come back and update after the 23rd and see if you can go beyond 7 days (unless the SOG continues to be problematic)

 

[AngiTN]

Was able to call DSS to move up some of the CL passes. THEY WERE GREAT (had a minor snafu when my granddaughter accidentally cancelled a regular FP (she was trying to move up the time on my phone) The DSS CMs were able to reinstate the FP (it was to Pirates of the Caribbean... one of our faves)

Man do I wish they'd fix this. This one thing is the sole reason we won't participate in the extra CL FP system. I move FP around all.the.time. Having to call them to move their FP around is simply not feasible for the way we tour. We'd be on the phone all the time. If they change that, and we would be in

 

[trishadono]

Wine is limited to one white, two reds, and one sparkling. It's kind of a shame to have such a limited selection when there is such abundance just two floors up, although I guess I'm just being picky. It is self-serve during evening service times, as is the beer which is in the fridge. Available upon request at all other times.
View attachment 387764


Closer look at the beer/wine list.
View attachment 387765

CR does have a decent selection of beverages. Again, beer is in the fridge in the evening services - self serve. Also Coke, Diet Coke, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid Lemonade, and apple juice boxes. This was left stocked overnight, which is a nice touch.
View attachment 387767

CR has the smaller Nespresso machine common at most CLs except for Poly and AKL. This was turned off overnight and not available.
View attachment 387768

Meiome is my favorite Pinot noir. Also. Many gf fans miss the Rosa Regale that I noticed CR has.

 

[PPFlight75]

So, that's the quick update from CR CL. Overall, it fit our travel needs well and we had a pleasant weekend. A lot of new looking CMs, but several faces we recognized from past trips as well. I'm pretty sure the 12th floor was full, so they were always quite busy but very attentive.

CR is one of the CLs that has consistently had small bottles of Dasani, and this was still the same this trip, upon request. It's a nice touch.

I'd by lying if I said the food services didn't make me think back to those few months of "cutbacks" back in, what, 2016ish(?) that hit all the CLs, but CR CL has always had a bit lighter offerings compared to others so I'm not sure my feelings were anything new. In fairness, one night of evening app experiences isn't a full body of work so we didn't really see enough to form a full assessment.

Also side note for those with kids, we dumped ours (did I say that?) at the Pixar Play Zone one night and had dinner up at California Grill. Best-Disney-decision-ever and my kids seemed to really enjoy it.

Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you for the great review. The views from CR are fabulous!!

 

[KerryCM]

I hate to say it, but often folks on the DIS are more knowledgeable about FP/MDE quirks than CMs, and DSS is no different.

This subject came up on this thread a few weeks ago and I spent some time testing it and made 23 days of FPs over 3 different on-site resort trips. No magic to the 23 other than I got tired of messing with it. The general advice is that you 'should' be fine with multiple on-site stays and length-of-stay FP bookings. Things after 14 total days get a little less well documented, but that would only apply to a small section of people for many practical circumstances anyway.

I'd suggest that situations such as SOG or the good neighbor resorts with 60 day beneifts have the potential to mess up the length-of-stay privileges as 'sometimes' those resorts can interact differently with MDE, and any day of FPs booked without a resort stay will definitely trigger the 7 day max rule.

I'm like @AngiTN and often have a few smaller trips in short windows and I can't think of a time where I've ever triggered the 7 day max rule.

I'm not saying that there isn't a bit of "YMMV" on this topic as strange things can happen given individual circumstances, but I wouldn't stress too much.

Thank you for your review. I will be at the CR for our first CL stay in just 3 weeks. I will admit I did try chancing ti the GF, but no cast rates there. I am going to be the matron of honor in a good friend’s wedding at the GF, so thought the CR would be more convenient than my usual BW! Looking forward to trying something different.

 

[Eastern]

Quick report from a short three night stay at CR Atrium Club this past weekend.

I just hate getting anything served in a jar. I don't get it.

 

[Eastern]

I'd by lying if I said the food services didn't make me think back to those few months of "cutbacks" back in, what, 2016ish(?) that hit all the CLs, but CR CL has always had a bit lighter offerings compared to others so I'm not sure my feelings were anything new. In fairness, one night of evening app experiences isn't a full body of work so we didn't really see enough to form a full assessment.

My mother was there recently and was disappointed by evening apps. Same soup three days in a row, and the same pork appy two nights running, iirc. Just wasn't wowed. Can't beat the fireworks viewing and location, though.

 

[mickeynut1]

Quick report from a short three night stay at CR Atrium Club this past weekend. We had not been to CR since Sept 2017, so it had been awhile.

We enjoy staying here when we have a short trip with a purpose and lots of MK time given the convenient walking access to/from MK.

Thanks for another great review, love all the CL pics .

 

[Babsy]

I hate to say it, but often folks on the DIS are more knowledgeable about FP/MDE quirks than CMs, and DSS is no different.

This subject came up on this thread a few weeks ago and I spent some time testing it and made 23 days of FPs over 3 different on-site resort trips. No magic to the 23 other than I got tired of messing with it. The general advice is that you 'should' be fine with multiple on-site stays and length-of-stay FP bookings. Things after 14 total days get a little less well documented, but that would only apply to a small section of people for many practical circumstances anyway.

I'd suggest that situations such as SOG or the good neighbor resorts with 60 day beneifts have the potential to mess up the length-of-stay privileges as 'sometimes' those resorts can interact differently with MDE, and any day of FPs booked without a resort stay will definitely trigger the 7 day max rule.

I'm like @AngiTN and often have a few smaller trips in short windows and I can't think of a time where I've ever triggered the 7 day max rule.

I'm not saying that there isn't a bit of "YMMV" on this topic as strange things can happen given individual circumstances, but I wouldn't stress too much.

Thank you for the review. I agree with staying on the lake side as the better choice. We do like watching the fireworks from our balcony though, so we tend to mix it up.

I must say that the offerings appear singularly unimpressive! Happy that we moved our CR to the YC CL for next Dec. Really wanted the BWI, but nothing so far for our dates. Will keep trying but don't have a lot of hope with SWGE.