Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[reluctantredhead]

I wonder if the change regarding Flying Fish and the BWI lounge had to do with fish/shellfish allergies as well?

Someone mentioned upthread that there is no ventilation in the lounge (and I've definitely noticed the cooking smells wafting pretty far down the hallway on our trips there), so I'm wondering if it had to do with worries about airborne allergens. This has been in the news with regard to fish quite a bit in the last 6-12 months, and I do know it can be quite serious and dangerous for some people. I myself am allergic to fish and shellfish, but only if I actually eat it, and I have no problems with being around people who are eating it or smelling the fumes from it. But maybe corporate decided it was too risky with it being a high profile news item of late???

I'm not trying to stir up controversy or start a debate...the idea just occurred to me that it could be the reason behind the switch.

 

[gwynne]

I wonder if the change regarding Flying Fish and the BWI lounge had to do with fish/shellfish allergies as well?

Someone mentioned upthread that there is no ventilation in the lounge (and I've definitely noticed the cooking smells wafting pretty far down the hallway on our trips there), so I'm wondering if it had to do with worries about airborne allergens. This has been in the news with regard to fish quite a bit in the last 6-12 months, and I do know it can be quite serious and dangerous for some people. I myself am allergic to fish and shellfish, but only if I actually eat it, and I have no problems with being around people who are eating it or smelling the fumes from it. But maybe corporate decided it was too risky with it being a high profile news item of late???

I'm not trying to stir up controversy or start a debate...the idea just occurred to me that it could be the reason behind the switch.

Trattoria Al Forno has fish and shellfish on their menu. I would expect the chef in the lounge to continue to utilize ingedients available to them.
It would be good if they come up with a some sort of quiet ventilation system.

 

[lbv7]

I wonder if the change regarding Flying Fish and the BWI lounge had to do with fish/shellfish allergies as well?

Someone mentioned upthread that there is no ventilation in the lounge (and I've definitely noticed the cooking smells wafting pretty far down the hallway on our trips there), so I'm wondering if it had to do with worries about airborne allergens. This has been in the news with regard to fish quite a bit in the last 6-12 months, and I do know it can be quite serious and dangerous for some people. I myself am allergic to fish and shellfish, but only if I actually eat it, and I have no problems with being around people who are eating it or smelling the fumes from it. But maybe corporate decided it was too risky with it being a high profile news item of late???

I'm not trying to stir up controversy or start a debate...the idea just occurred to me that it could be the reason behind the switch.

You could be right about allergies etc at the BWI CL, but what about Cape May Café in the Beach Club? The smell of fish pervades the lobby, and I don't hear anyone argue that the restaurant should be closed or the menu changed because some people are allergic to fish.

 

[sfbank]

We may be in the minority but we definitely do not stay BWI club level for food offerings. We stay for the location, convenience, and above all the cast members that have become like family to us over the last 14 years. DD and her friends have not cared as much for the offerings the past couple of years so they find things at BW to Go or other places. We like the current offerings and love Reggie, but have never made anything a full meal at anytime. Everyone is different for sure so it will be interesting to see the impact.

 

[KerryCM]

Seems like the wrong move to me. It will alienate the many returning BWI CL returning guests, who generally rave about the current food offerings. If they make the change and you are a first timer it wont matter, because you wont know that anything is different. Replace giant scallops, wagyu beef, sirloin steak, fresh fish, etc. with pasta and pizza seems like nothing more than a cost savings measure. Having more "kid friendly" items is just an excuse; sure some kids might not like the current offerings, but on my many BWI CL stays very rarely do you see a lot of pre teens and young children in the lounge. And, most importantly I know one frequent returning guest he wont be happy with a menu change @KerryCM and her husband!!

I am not too happy to hear about the changes, but will see. I have faith that Reggie will put his spin on the traditional foods and make them tasty. I also don’t see them totally getting rid of the more popular dishes. Time will tell!

 

[AngiTN]

Seems like the wrong move to me. It will alienate the many returning BWI CL returning guests, who generally rave about the current food offerings. If they make the change and you are a first timer it wont matter, because you wont know that anything is different. Replace giant scallops, wagyu beef, sirloin steak, fresh fish, etc. with pasta and pizza seems like nothing more than a cost savings measure. Having more "kid friendly" items is just an excuse; sure some kids might not like the current offerings, but on my many BWI CL stays very rarely do you see a lot of pre teens and young children in the lounge. And, most importantly I know one frequent returning guest he wont be happy with a menu change @KerryCM and her husband!!

No, after many discussions with both the CL management and their new kitchen supervisor in the past few months it this change was prompted by complaints from guests both due to the cooking smells and the sheer volume of requests for kids meals. It's not just an excuse. The kids meal thing has really become a problem. Because when you do for one, out of kindness, you do for the next, and the next, and the next. Everyone wants it when they see one with it. Fewer and fewer guests will tell their children to make do with what is there and not expect special treatment (which is what I demand from DD and DGD). And the smells too have become a major concern too. So much that they just ripped the carpet out of the lounge, again. And it was just replaced late last year, less than 1 year ago. I was there the day the lounge opened late because it took longer than expected to get it completed. The entire thing is going through another redo. And ways to change ventilation have been part of that discussion too. I do not know if they developed any plans for that or not. I know I talked to Jay (before he departed) about how they should consider one of those counters that holds a retractable hood. And like I said, during our trip in April so many complained about the Sea Bass one night they stopped the chef from cooking it in the lounge and took it all away. They returned with a lightly battered and fried version done in the kitchen downstairs instead. This was not a cost saving measure, it was a guest related issue. And it wasn't the first time we'd encountered the guest voicing this concern

But really, it was not that long ago that they did offer menu items from Trattoria and ESPN along with Flying Fish. Personally, having been going regularly since then and now that it was Flying Fish only, I really did prefer the variety from having 3 restaurants as a source instead of 1. The menu they had was the same 8 or so items, paired together the same each time and just rotated, day in day out, no variety. Good offerings, no doubt but for any repeat visitors, a tad boring. Now, I know it's going to be 1 restaurant again but one with a slightly larger ingredient list and hopefully, maybe, one where they can explore some variety so you don't get the same 8 offerings, even as excellent as they are.

 

[Cotillard]

Back at the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge. We are in a brand new room on Kudu Trail, overlooking Arusha Savanna. It’s gorgeous. Bathroom is much improved, although I miss the wallpaper. Room feels more spacious. And definitely lighter/brighter. Strange to have bare floors (no rugs) but I am very happy to get to check out one of the new rooms.
There are several pieces of equipment bordering the savanna to one side of our view.
Lobby and front desk are free of partitions, but fourth floor above front desk is curtained off. Blends in well and you don’t notice it.
Incredible animal viewing this evening after rain shower. Wildebeest stampede, three or four zebra, giraffes and more.
Lounge offerings are very nice so far. Cast members have been excellent. We were given such a warm welcome.
Lounge was pretty busy this evening.

I have many pictures to share but they show up sideways so I will work on that-

 

[lbv7]

No, after many discussions with both the CL management and their new kitchen supervisor in the past few months it this change was prompted by complaints from guests both due to the cooking smells and the sheer volume of requests for kids meals. It's not just an excuse. The kids meal thing has really become a problem. Because when you do for one, out of kindness, you do for the next, and the next, and the next. Everyone wants it when they see one with it. Fewer and fewer guests will tell their children to make do with what is there and not expect special treatment (which is what I demand from DD and DGD). And the smells too have become a major concern too. So much that they just ripped the carpet out of the lounge, again. And it was just replaced late last year, less than 1 year ago. I was there the day the lounge opened late because it took longer than expected to get it completed. The entire thing is going through another redo. And ways to change ventilation have been part of that discussion too. I do not know if they developed any plans for that or not. I know I talked to Jay (before he departed) about how they should consider one of those counters that holds a retractable hood. And like I said, during our trip in April so many complained about the Sea Bass one night they stopped the chef from cooking it in the lounge and took it all away. They returned with a lightly battered and fried version done in the kitchen downstairs instead. This was not a cost saving measure, it was a guest related issue. And it wasn't the first time we'd encountered the guest voicing this concern

I am sure that you are right in everything that you said, but I can never envisage any situation where CL management tells a guest that they are making food changes as a cost savings measure. Plus, if the smell, ventilations, complaints are that numerous, why don't they just get rid of the chef and have the prepared hot foods brought up from the kitchen downstairs like in "the old days"?

 

[RADOPT]

Back at the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge. We are in a brand new room on Kudu Trail, overlooking Arusha Savanna

Thanks for psting! We will be there in November - can’t wait. Have a great time.

 

[Cotillard]

Thank you, @RADOPT I think you are in for a treat.

Here are some more photos - our view of Arusha last night and this morning

 

[mickeynut1]

Back at the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge. We are in a brand new room on Kudu Trail, overlooking Arusha Savanna. It’s gorgeous. Bathroom is much improved, although I miss the wallpaper. Room feels more spacious. And definitely lighter/brighter. Strange to have bare floors (no rugs) but I am very happy to get to check out one of the new rooms.
There are several pieces of equipment bordering the savanna to one side of our view.
Lobby and front desk are free of partitions, but fourth floor above front desk is curtained off. Blends in well and you don’t notice it.
Incredible animal viewing this evening after rain shower. Wildebeest stampede, three or four zebra, giraffes and more.
Lounge offerings are very nice so far. Cast members have been excellent. We were given such a warm welcome.
Lounge was pretty busy this evening.

I have many pictures to share but they show up sideways so I will work on that-

Hope you're having a great time .

Here are some more photos - our view of Arusha last night and this morning

Love the pics! Thanks for taking time out of your trip to share them .

 

[vinotinto]

@Cotillard , thanks for the pics! Do you have pics of the view of the machinery. Just wondering how obstructive that is.

 

[AngiTN]

I am sure that you are right in everything that you said, but I can never envisage any situation where CL management tells a guest that they are making food changes as a cost savings measure. Plus, if the smell, ventilations, complaints are that numerous, why don't they just get rid of the chef and have the prepared hot foods brought up from the kitchen downstairs like in "the old days"?

Because they want to have a chef preparing food in the lounge. They are trying to "have their cake and eat it too" by revamping things. Why is that such a bad thing this time? This is one time when they are trying to make a change to pleases the most people instead of just throwing it all out and giving up, which is what Disney has tended to do lately. This should be seen as a good thing, even if some are digging on the menu change. But typical I guess, anything Disney changes has to be negative and is always about money, can't be for the better, ever. Trust me, getting rid of the lounge chef totally and having food brought up would have WAYYYYYYYY more pushback. People LOVE that feature and do choose and stay there just for it.
And I'm not in talks with the CL management alone.

 

[Minnie1222]

Back at the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge. We are in a brand new room on Kudu Trail, overlooking Arusha Savanna.

Does this mean that they have moved all the club rooms from the typical Zebra trail to the Kudu trail for the time being? Thanks.

 

[Cotillard]

Partitions are down in lobby. So nice. You can see curtained off area on fourth floor.

 

[iona]

Thank you, @RADOPT I think you are in for a treat.

Here are some more photos - our view of Arusha last night and this morning

Looks lovely! Can’t wait to see and hear more.

 

[Cotillard]

@vinotinto Right now I don’t hear anything but 10 min. ago I did see and hear work going on. Doesn’t bother me but it might a first-timer. I’m sure it would.
Here is a bit of equipment, but that is not my view. I consider my view to be of the wider savanna.
@Minnie1222 , I don’t think they’re putting all CL guests on kudu, as it is under construction. However from zebra you could be looking out across the savanna at equipment, whereas I look out across to the zebra trail side of the resort. No equipment over there.
There are many animals on the savanna right now, so they’re not all scared off by the work. The white pelicans have moved from their driftwood perches though, out onto the savanna under some trees.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Decided about 5 months out that we wanted to try this Artist Point Snow White dining for dinner but all reservations were gone. Kept trying for a few days on my own, set Touring Plan alerts, emailed DSS- no ADRs to be found. On the phone yesterday with them to book the MK Food Tour and asked at the end if they could check again for me and boom! Found one on the second of my potential 3 nights! Touring Plans hadn't even alerted me to it. Luck favors the bold y'all so go ahead and ask DSS to check for that hard to find ADR next time you're talking to them for something, you never know! What wasn't there a minute earlier when you checked might be there the next minute. (Honestly is was weird- I've never had luck with DSS stumbling on hard to find ADRs.)

 

[CT Disney]

...the sheer volume of requests for kids meals. It's not just an excuse. The kids meal thing has really become a problem. Because when you do for one, out of kindness, you do for the next, and the next, and the next. Everyone wants it when they see one with it. Fewer and fewer guests will tell their children to make do with what is there and not expect special treatment (which is what I demand from DD and DGD).

This is really ridiculous and actually pretty frustrating. I can't imagine asking for something special for my kids like this. The CMs bust their behinds putting on a great spread...they don't need the extra nuisance of preparing something else my kid may prefer to eat. In fact, CL is where my kids have learned to be a bit adventurous. Every visit they try new things. I remember what a big deal it was when they tried (and liked!) sushi and tuna tartare at the Poly. We stayed at BWI this past Christmas. I really enjoyed the more sophisticated feel of the lounge and the food. I just hope they don't go the route of making a majority of the choices kid-friendly (i.e.: boring, bland, and lacking complex flavor).

Sometimes I just wish Disney would say no to guests.

A side note...when we were at BWI CL in December we saw a kid (maybe 8 or 9 years old) tip the entire contents of the marshmallow bowl right into this mouth. And then, when he discovered that he didn't like having a bulging mouth full of marshmallows, he proceeded to spit them all back into the bowl. A CM and my family saw the whole thing happen. The CM quietly removed the bowl and replaced it with a new one. This is one instance where I wish the CMs wouldn't coddle the guests...that kid (and his parents) needed a talking to

 

[AngiTN]

This is really ridiculous and actually pretty frustrating. I can't imagine asking for something special for my kids like this. The CMs bust their behinds putting on a great spread...they don't need the extra nuisance of preparing something else my kid may prefer to eat. In fact, CL is where my kids have learned to be a bit adventurous. Every visit they try new things. I remember what a big deal it was when they tried (and liked!) sushi and tuna tartare at the Poly. We stayed at BWI this past Christmas. I really enjoyed the more sophisticated feel of the lounge and the food. I just hope they don't go the route of making a majority of the choices kid-friendly (i.e.: boring, bland, and lacking complex flavor).

Sometimes I just wish Disney would say no to guests.

A side note...when we were at BWI CL in December we saw a kid (maybe 8 or 9 years old) tip the entire contents of the marshmallow bowl right into this mouth. And then, when he discovered that he didn't like having a bulging mouth full of marshmallows, he proceeded to spit them all back into the bowl. A CM and my family saw the whole thing happen. The CM quietly removed the bowl and replaced it with a new one. This is one instance where I wish the CMs wouldn't coddle the guests...that kid (and his parents) needed a talking to

Exactly! Last summer in the lounge DGD tried mussels for the first time. And LOVED them. She ate all she could. I didn't force her, heck I don't like them. But I always suggest trying something before making a decision. She did and now loves all similar food. If it hadn't been in the lounge she'd have never had it. She didn't love all the food but that's when we went to the Boardwalk and bought her something