Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[mrsap]

Sadly, our CL stay at BWI is over. It was our first stay at BWI, but it won’t be our last. Kids really liked being able to grab some juice or soda. Very convenient. Met fellow AP DISer @CaLuCa and her family. Always nice to put a face with a name!

Since I’m always asking about food, here is my report on offerings and CL at BWI.

Breakfast had the following every morning:
Hot Oatmeal
Grits or something similar
Hard boiled eggs
An egg dish (tortilla española, baked eggs, omelette station on Sunday)
Smoked salmon
Cheese and charcuterie (bresaola, chorizo, ham, etc).
Yogurt (not plain) in little cups
Pastries (including Kristin Kreme donuts)
Fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, pineapple or cantaloupe)
Dannon yogurts in the fridge
Coffee station, tea station, cappuccino station
Sunday had mimosa and Bloody Mary

Mid-day snacks:
Popcorn
Chips
Crudités with dip
Cheese and charcuterie
Two sandwich options (PB&J, turkey and ham, pork belly bao, etc.)
Egg and asparagus wrapped with smoked salmon or salmon wrapped in cucumber
Cookies
Make your own trail mix
Candies

Evening Appetizers:
There were two hot small plates every evening, cooked and plated by the Flying Fish chefs (Friday was curry chicken with white rice and fish with leeks, Saturday was Wagyu beef and shrimp cocktail and Sunday was pork belly with diced apples and a gastrique and swordfish with veggies cooked with herbes fines. These small plates were very good.
Crudités with dip
Cheese and charcuterie
Two small cold appetizers (caprese salad, muffuletta salad, etc.)

Evening Wines:
Chateau Ste Michelle cab
Indaba Chardonnay
Bolle sparkling rosé
Pinot Noir
Prosecco
Monastrell
Riesling (my DH says there was one, but I don’t remember this)

My only criticism is that we were there over a (busy) holiday weekend and there wasn’t enough seating for everyone, particularly Friday and Saturday apps and Sunday brunch. Would be nice if they could set up some additional temporary chairs and tables in the area outside the lounge when they are full.

BWI itself
We really liked it. It has a superb location (perhaps the best location at WDW?). The Boardwalk theme is carried throughout and they really have done a good job with it. Kids enjoyed Ample Hills downstairs. Pool area was very themed and the slide was a lot of fun. Foosball table at the pool was fun. Felt more adult than the average Disney hotel. Good bus service too!

On the downside, the layout is a little contrived. You have to either take the stairs to the Boardwalk and pool or a separate (single) elevator. Wouldn’t be the easiest to navigate with a stroller or an ECV. Didn’t affect us, but throwing it out as it may be something for other families to consider. Also, no real QS, only sandwiches and pizza.


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Sounds like you had a great time! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed Boardwalk! We are staying for the first time next month and I’m really excited to stay there! (I’ll be DVC though) I’m really looking forward to Ample Hills! Last trip I was overruled, the kids picked B&C! No excuses this trip since we will be only steps away! Thanks for your thorough review!!

 

[IceQueen182]

Hi all! Re-joining the CL thread after coming out of an extremely busy time at work... We've gotten a few more CL trips under our belts in the meantime, and we're off to our first stay at the YC CL in 11 days. Excited to try something new!! Glad to see some nice reports on the YC CL here. We enjoyed BC CL last summer, but found the long hallways and proximity to the pool annoying- I'm hoping YC CL is a little better in that regard but will report back!

 

[dismoose23]

Glad to see so many positive reviews for CL at BWI. DW and I will be staying at BWI CL next month and I am thinking BWI may become our new favorite resort (or at the very least top 3).

 

[IceQueen182]

We are staying at GF RPC mid-July. We are super excited as GF is one of the few Deluxes we’ve not yet stayed at! We have a TPV room booked.

Is there anything special I should request in terms of room location? I know very little about the RPC rooms in terms of distance to the lounge, view, set-up etc. I’m assuming they all have a daybed? Balconies?

I’ve had so little time to research...I’m usually way ahead of the curve by this point. Feeling a little behind this time around. I don’t even know which floor the CL is on haha!!

Anything else I should know?

Ooh...one more thing...my DH wants to know what kind of beer they are currently serving. Is it help-yourself like the Poly or do you need to be served?

Thanks!!

Hi! We stayed at the RPC last year, so someone may be able to give you more recent info but I'll try to help! The rooms are on the third, fourth and fifth floors. The lounge is on the fourth floor. We had a deluxe room on the third floor, but there was a staircase that went to the lounge so we didn't need to take the elevator every time. If you want to be on the same floor as the lounge, I'd request the fourth floor. (But being one floor away was really not too inconvenient.)

Being on the fourth or fifth floor might be a little quieter, since you're farther from the lobby noise. It was pretty noisy on the third floor.

You're set with balconies and daybeds. But I don't remember a stocked beer fridge all day like the Poly has... The Poly is the only place I think I've seen beer out all day.

The food at RPC is great, and make time to try the tea and scones one day! A nice little perk the other CLs don't have. Enjoy!!

 

[drwadadli]

Hi everyone. I'm trying to flip through 1100 pages and figured I would just ask.

LOL.....I am new to the CL experience and have been trying to read through every posts for the last several days. So, it was nice that I am not the only crazy one that was trying to read through them before throwing the towel in and just asking.

My wife and I are planning a big trip for my 50th birthday and was recommended to do the CL option. We have never done the CL option so this is all new to us. We were originally looking at one of the monorail resorts but then I read on here a lot of good reviews / comments about the Epcot resorts.

I have greatly enjoyed the recent comments by @Eastern , @Simba's Girl , and @Minnie1222 but would still like some further options / recommendations.

A little about us: We greatly enjoy both MK and Epcot and for a week long trip, we typically do two full days at Epcot compared to 1.5 days at MK. We are foodie which is one reason we do a lot of Epcot. We are also DINK or CFBC so don't end up doing a lot meet-n-greets. We love ALL the rides / attractions offered at both MK and Epcot. We also typically spend a day at AK and a day at HS for a week long trip.

We have stayed at all the monorail resorts in the past but I tend to flock to Poly for nostalgia reasons (where my family trips were when I was a kid) and I am an "island boy" after living on a Caribbean Island for 3 years. We have only stayed at BC (as far as Epcot resorts go) and that was a very short weekend trip just to do F&W.

We are looking at going Fall of 2020.

So, with all that pre-information, here are the questions:

If you had to pick a monorail resort CL, which would you pick and why? I looking at the CL option as I know the Contemporary is walkable to MK and one stop away (but monorail change) to Epcot; and that the Poly is walkable to TTC to go to Epcot and monorail / boat to MK; and GF is one stop away to MK.

Which do you prefer the RPC over the SLK and why?

What is the difference between CR CL on the 12th Floor and the 14th Floor (lol...besides one is higher up)?

Of the CL options at the Epcot resort, which one would you pick and why?

Do you take advantage of the CL FP+ option? I know there is a whole thread on CL FP+ but I wanted to what everyone's opinion was from here.

How much planning does the pre-planning staff do and do most of you take advantage of this?

Thank you in advance and I have enjoying reading almost all of the 1100+ pages.

 

[Dave006]

What is the difference between CR CL on the 12th Floor and the 14th Floor (lol...besides one is higher up)?

Very easy the Tower Club (14th floor) is primary suites: 1 BR and above. There are only 5 Std rooms on the 14th floor. TPV: two (2) Queen bed rooms, and two (2) slightly small King bed rooms. Bay lake view: one (1) Queen bed room. Also you can't book a Tower Club room online.

It can be very quite in the Tower Club or very busy depending on how the suites are being utilized during your stay. The Presidential suite (TPV) and Vice Presidential (Bay lake view) are also on the 14th floor.

Dave

 

[Nicnic]

Hi - we are at the BC now. So far it’s exceeded our expectations. We haven’t stayed here for a few years and have been missing it. No ones bands worked when we checked in for some reason. We had to bring all of our bands out to them to update or fix or whatever they did. We each brought 3 so it took a while. It looked like others were having similar issues. But they work fine now.

The offerings are much better than on our last trip here in 2014. We are really happy with them. In the evenings they have a few kinds of wine, 4 types of beer and a sangria. Ice cream available around the clock! That’s been a big hit with us.

We can text stone harbor club any questions. We’ve used it a couple times and they’ve been very responsive. It’s been a great trip with excellent food. Loving it so far! Let me know if you have any questions.

We are staying here in Aug, do they have the Angry Orchid cidre? Or prosecco? I'm not a wine and beer drinker!
Thanks

 

[kpm76]

We're back. Sad, but it was an amazing trip. We split between BWI CL and BWV. BW is definitely our home. They have the best CMs on property. They are all so pleasant and helpful. We really, really love CL at the BW. For us, none of the other CLs even come close to the BW.

The question of "worth" seems to come up a lot. At BW, they really are serving 3 meals/day now. Gone are the days when it was just chips and dip and we'd all debate on how much was an acceptable amount to consume while being thoughtful of others. Every night the chef was insisting we eat more because it would just get tossed otherwise. But aside from the food, it's the experience. Interacting with the CMs is a great deal of fun. Having a place to sit that's not a bed or the lobby is really nice. And this past week was HOT. I mean really HOT. So, having the bottles of water to take with us to the parks was a lifesaver.

This summer we're trying Gran Destino CL. I don't think anything will measure up to the BW, but we're excited to give it a try.

 

[reluctantredhead]

Yes, it is definitely worth it to spend the extra $ on CL (and this is from a non-drinking, "sugarfree" vegetarian).

H and I aren't sugar-free, but we are vegetarians and we rarely drink, and we agree it's worth it!

 

[Nadine and Fred]

Glad to see so many positive reviews for CL at BWI. DW and I will be staying at BWI CL next month and I am thinking BWI may become our new favorite resort (or at the very least top 3).

Oh, it will....it will!!! Fabulous location, staff, CL food, rooms .... just everything. Back again (was there 2/19 ) 9/19. I can not think of a better place to enjoy "the World"!!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I found the answer the other day, forgot it and now I can’t find it! lol Staying at AKL CL , standard room. If we want to be as close to the lobby (lounge) as possible, but still have a good savannah view, what should my room request be? Bonus points for close to pool! Yes, I want it all. But seriously, close to the lounge is our most important concern. Thanks!

"AKL CL rooms" and "close to the lounge" are two phrases that don't necessarily go well together, but I wouldn't let that deter you or overly influence your thinking.

I saw your concerns above about the rooms being on a different floor than the lounge. For better or worse, AKL CL is just an entirely different setup than the other CLs. In some ways it requires a different mindset and approach. Some people just can't get over it, and some love it. For us personally, being far from the lounge doesn't necessarily mesh with how we use CL (and I was pretty nervous about this before staying there), but we found ourselves really enjoying the overall resort and experience. Like all, there are various pros and cons.

So the AKL CL rooms all face the Arusha Savanna... either on the Kudu Trail or Zebra Trail. Rooms on the Zebra Trail are going to be closer to the Uzima Pool. The map below should help with a visual.

Our room was 4505 (the big red arrow). I'd need to go back to my posts at the time, but I think the average walk to the lounge was maybe 2-3'ish mins. That's the walk plus elevator up to the lounge.

Given what your describe, requesting "Zebra Trail, close to the lobby" or something similar seems to be a reasonable approach.

Check @RachelTori's recent post on this thread from a week or so ago. They're re-doing the rooms on one of the trails at the moment, I believe she posted which one, in case that impacts your trip.

Hope that helps!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We are staying at GF RPC mid-July. We are super excited as GF is one of the few Deluxes we’ve not yet stayed at! We have a TPV room booked.

Is there anything special I should request in terms of room location? I know very little about the RPC rooms in terms of distance to the lounge, view, set-up etc. I’m assuming they all have a daybed? Balconies?

I’ve had so little time to research...I’m usually way ahead of the curve by this point. Feeling a little behind this time around. I don’t even know which floor the CL is on haha!!

Anything else I should know?

Ooh...one more thing...my DH wants to know what kind of beer they are currently serving. Is it help-yourself like the Poly or do you need to be served?

Thanks!!

RPC TPV - nice! Sounds fun. The good thing is that's a pretty easy room type/location to understand... there's not much to it.

TPV rooms are on the 3rd & 4th floors and they are are all in the same location (I'm somewhat certain the 2nd floor rooms that are TPV are Deluxe Kings, but someone please correct me if I'm mistaken). This is a crude visual, but below is a map of the fourth floor that shows the lounge and bank of TPV rooms. You can also use Touring Plans room maps to tinker with the different floors as well.


The TPV rooms are down a long'ish (but not really) hallway and are well away from any lounge or lobby noise. It's effectively a dead-end hallway with rooms only on one side, so it's very quiet.

Looking at that bank of rooms from the outside, this is them. They are all effectively identical, except those far left rooms have an extended double-length balcony.



If this were me, I'd request "fourth floor" as to be on the same floor of the lounge, but I wouldn't lose any sleep if we were assigned the third floor. So, relatively simple.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[cakebaker]

"AKL CL rooms" and "close to the lounge" are two phrases that don't necessarily go well together, but I wouldn't let that deter you or overly influence your thinking.

I saw your concerns above about the rooms being on a different floor than the lounge. For better or worse, AKL CL is just an entirely different setup than the other CLs. In some ways it requires a different mindset and approach. Some people just can't get over it, and some love it. For us personally, being far from the lounge doesn't necessarily mesh with how we use CL (and I was pretty nervous about this before staying there), but we found ourselves really enjoying the overall resort and experience. Like all, there are various pros and cons.

So the AKL CL rooms all face the Arusha Savanna... either on the Kudu Trail or Zebra Trail. Rooms on the Zebra Trail are going to be closer to the Uzima Pool. The map below should help with a visual.

Our room was 4505 (the big red arrow). I'd need to go back to my posts at the time, but I think the average walk to the lounge was maybe 2-3'ish mins. That's the walk plus elevator up to the lounge.

Given what your describe, requesting "Zebra Trail, close to the lobby" or something similar seems to be a reasonable apporach.

Check @RachelTori's recent post on this thread from a week or so ago. They're re-doing the rooms on one of the trails at the moment, I believe she posted which one, in case that impacts your trip.

Hope that helps!

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Thanks, this was extremely helpful. Sounds like being closer to the pool might be a good option. I’m trying not to obsess over the different style of CL vs the Yacht Club. The price was excellent making CL a no brainer and I’ve always wanted to give AKL a try. While I doubt I’m going to be overly fond of CL there, I’m excited to experience AKL.

 

[ToyStory3]

We are staying here in Aug, do they have the Angry Orchid cidre? Or prosecco? I'm not a wine and beer drinker!
Thanks

I’ll try to pay closer attention tomorrow but I don’t recall seeing either of those. What I remember is bud light, yeungling, stella, and a 4th beer that’s escaping me. For wine I remember Pinot Grigio, Pinot noir, Riesling, Cabernet. But there may have been others. They also had a sangria that was great!

 

[ToyStory3]

Sounds awesome - do you recall the specific beer offerings? And if you happen to have a water view room, thoughts on best location? Thanks!

Hi they have yeungling, Stella, bud light, and a lager that I’m forgetting. But my husband liked it. We have a garden view room. But we stayed WV last time and I don’t think there’s a bad location at all! They’re all great.

 

[RachelTori]

Thanks, this was extremely helpful. Sounds like being closer to the pool might be a good option. I’m trying not to obsess over the different style of CL vs the Yacht Club. The price was excellent making CL a no brainer and I’ve always wanted to give AKL a try. While I doubt I’m going to be overly fond of CL there, I’m excited to experience AKL.

As @GADisneyDad14 mentioned, I was at AKL recently and posted about the refurbishment. As of last week, Kudu was the trail undergoing renovations and all CL rooms were on Zebra Trail.

The construction is daily from 9am to approximately 5pm. I don’t know the refurb schedule, but when Kudu is completely renovated (several months if I had to guess), they will start work on Zebra. The 2 short trails, Giraffe & Ostrich, will be last to be renovated (late this year or early 2020).

I think you will find, as most of us do, the Club Lounge being on a different floor is really a non-factor! Have a magical vacation!

 

[RachelTori]

Attempting to post photos........ If this works, it's the AKL lobby area where some of the check-in has been blocked off. Not sure what they're doing in there!

 

[RachelTori]

These will likely show up sideways (if at all!), but here is some of the signage that was up last week for Kudu.

Evidently I still need to learn how to post photos correctly, so that will be all for now! lol

 

[atkinstogram]

Jumping on the CL train right now - we had a Savannah View room booked for our trip in September 2020 and while casually nosing around the booking site, noticed the price difference between Savannah and CL was £406. For 14 nights.

At that price, there was no way we weren't going to give it a try... Hell, I could cover that cost in beer/wine alone..

It turned up at an opportune moment too, as going through our restaurant plans, particularly our desire to apparently only eat at Signatures (or at least it feels like that), then having breakfast / light meals available will certainly fill some gaps in what is apparently a trip that is less about the parks and more about the food! I was perilously close to pushing the button on DxDP..

 

[Eastern]

If you had to pick a monorail resort CL, which would you pick and why? I looking at the CL option as I know the Contemporary is walkable to MK and one stop away (but monorail change) to Epcot; and that the Poly is walkable to TTC to go to Epcot and monorail / boat to MK; and GF is one stop away to MK.

Which do you prefer the RPC over the SLK and why?

Of the CL options at the Epcot resort, which one would you pick and why?

Monorail resorts: Poly has best theming. Tropical and relaxing. Lounge can get busy. I didn't love the snack choices. CR has the best fireworks viewing. I found the snacks to be on the smaller side, but the lounge is convenient and it's nice that the monorail brings you right into the building. I think that the walk to MK is overrated; we only used it when leaving the park end of day when it was really crowded. I hate the flat sinks in the bathrooms. RPC has great snacks, daily tea time, live music. Housekeeping was perfect. Downside: price. I haven't stayed at Sugarloaf. My pick: RPC

Epcot resorts: BC very busy and a lot of kids. Stayed there many times in the past non-CL. Love the lobby and proximity to Epcot when using those side exits. BWI like the snacks and the lobby. Never had any extraordinary CM service in the lounge that you read about here, but it was fine. Bad luck with housekeeping in that they always seem to make up our rooms very late (4-5pm) This drives me absolutely crazy and requests for earlier times go nowhere. Kids just stayed in a regular room this past weekend and housekeeping came every day at 5pm. (Yes, they requested earlier.) YC stayed in January for the first time and really liked it. Rooms are refreshed and clean, no carpet. Breakfast and afternoon snacks aren't special but evening hour apps are good and appealing to many tastes. Only lounge that provides full size dinner plates for app hour. Boat dock right out front. Allow dogs. Quieter than BC. My pick: YC