. I just couldn't give it up. I've always wanted to stay there, so hopefully it's wonderful!
Hi all,
Please could you share with me what is available in general at the Beach Club club level? I've read a few negative experiences so just wondering if I have made the right decision! We got free DDP as well. Thanks so much
Thank you for your honest and fair review. I can relate to much of what you've said. Especially about the CMs. It's not whiny it's honest. SL CMs very very warm and friendly I will tell you that much. And you are not incorrect, normally there's a nice box of chocolates as a welcome gift. Mousekeeping was so nice too, that's who we chatted with when we were there. I'm glad you and your DS have this "boys" time, what wonderful memories you're making! Thank you again for your review
I have a feeling it will be!!!
So excited we just booked a stay at the Grand Floridian for August 4th to 8th to celebrate my sister's graduation! Looking forward to experiencing the Royal Palm Club!
.I'm back at RPC...for now. Although if I change resorts again my husband may divorce me
.. 
Hello again CL peeps. Now that I've been back for a few days I wanted to share a few observations from my GF RPC trip. I hesitate to even provide unsolicited thoughts because I certainly realize travel opinions are just so subjective, but hopefully they provide some perspective. I've had the good fortune of several CL trips over the last few years and have now done the full monorail loop, so feel I'm starting to get a decent handle on the pros/cons of each.
This was a five night trip, Wednesday-Monday. It was just me and DS5. I know it's a bit odd but we've done a couple of these "boys" trips since DD was born, we can cover so much ground as a two-some and just have the best quality time together. We brought DD on our trip to CR awhile back - she doesn't get the invite again until she's older!
I would say that the GF never really appealed to me much from afar, we had walked the resort on prior trips but just never found the theme that appealing. I booked it somewhat reluctantly but felt we needed a change from too many Poly trips and the AP discount was somewhat reasonable.
Here's the good...
- I really liked the layout of RPC and being in the main building. It made getting to the monorail so convenient and there certainly is something special about being around the constant buzz in the lobby. The secret elevator was great for getting down to the pool quickly.
- I posted my room views a couple of days ago. Very pleased with the room and location.
- RPC food quality, selection, and variety certainly win hands down over my other CL experiences (Poly and CR). That being said, it wasn't like some fundamentally different CL experience, but it was overall better on the food front - by this I'm mainly referring to the evening appetizers.
- Really enjoyed both pools and the food/drink options at both. It's a better overall setup than the Poly and more space to spread out, although I'll be interested to see how it feels at Poly when the Oasis pool opens.
- Housekeeping was fantastic and so pleasant. The staff we'd say hi to in the hallways were nicer than most of the CL CM's.... We tend to rope drop a park and then be back by 1 for a nap or pool time more often than not, room was always prepped by mid day. Last Poly trip daily service was pushing past 3 which just seems way too late. I thought the promptness of the service and cleanliness of the room were big winners here. Actually got a small towel animal one day, which was a nice surprise.
- The texting service was great - worth the money for CL alone! Used it daily for FP adjustments, additions, and a couple of dining tweaks.
I wouldn't say these are complaints, more just observations, but some things I wasn't so fond of....
Overall, I didn't really feel much "magic" at RPC. I don't really know what the means or how to describe it, I just know I wasn't in love with it. But that being said, did we have a fantastic trip? YES! Was it one of our bests? YES. Would I go back to RPC? Yes and No - I'd like to try SL someday, but I think I'd rather put my Disney dollars towards the Poly, especially while our kids are still young. I could see us migrating to GF as they get older perhaps. RPC is certainly a treat and I'm glad I did it. To me a lot of it comes down to the vibe of the place, and I just wasn't as into RPC as other places we've stayed.
- This is going to sound harsh but I was not really a fan of the RPC CMs, both food service and concierge desk. I don't try to be BFFs with CMs but we do say hello, thank you, how is your day, idle chit chat, etc. DS is a talker who never meets a stranger. I didn't have any rude or offensive interactions or anything I'd ever really complain about, they just weren't, in general, that pleasant or helpful. Saw two manager types in suites throughout our stay who were very pleasant in the best Disney sense, but that didn't seem to extend to other CMs.
- To be fair, I saw just as many what I consider rude and demanding guests. Might explain the above!
- CMs would leave tables uncleared in the lounge for far too long. Like almost always dirty dishes on tables at all points of the day. It's not like there's an unlimited amount of tables there!
- On a related note, and sorry if I offend someone with this, but I am shocked at how people will just leave stockpiles of dishes at tables and walk out like someone will clean up after them. I guess that is a CM's job but that's just not how I was raised!
- I can't really hold this against Disney because certainly no other hotel would ever aknowledge a birthday, but we checked in on my birthday and it was never mentioned. It was supposed to be noted on my reservation but it either wasn't or the CM who checked us in didn't read it. I went down to the CL desk later in the day to ask for a birthday pin. The CM gave it to me, handed me a sharpie and said "you can probably do it better than me." We stayed once at Poly for my birthday and once for DS's birthday - both times the CM checking us in made an unsolicited big deal about our birthdays and did the buttons with our names, little Mickey's etc. Maybe I was spoiled by both of those experiences, I was just a little surprised that here I sit in the grandest of all Disney CL's, and nothing!
- Does GF not give a welcome gift like other CLs? Poly and CR both have the box of chocolates, didn't get anything at GF?
- Was disappointed that mid-day snacks never changed any day we were there. The exact same, everyday. Heck, even Poly changes up the snack mix each day! Also I wasn't there for dessert each night but the ones I did also had the exact same items - no variety at all. I found that strange compared to past CL experiences.
Re-reading the above some of it sounds pretty whiny, obviously those are all small nuances and not deal killers, but just wanted to pass along some of my thoughts. I've really come to enjoy trying new Disney resorts, no matter what I read online or even if I end up not liking it that much, so the opinions above probably aren't worth two cents! Thanks again to all who post on this thread, you're all an invaluable resource to us relative CL newbies.
. They did ask me to provide her name, and I still might...I know I really should. How could a problem CM be "observed" by management if they don't know her name? I need to reply to that email!
All the RPC pics and reviews prompted me to make a change. I know, I know, shock and awe
So 7/28-31 2 RPC Standard rooms
7/31-8/5 BWI CL 2 rooms (with bounceback rate)
Hello again CL peeps. Now that I've been back for a few days I wanted to share a few observations from my GF RPC trip. I hesitate to even provide unsolicited thoughts because I certainly realize travel opinions are just so subjective, but hopefully they provide some perspective. I've had the good fortune of several CL trips over the last few years and have now done the full monorail loop, so feel I'm starting to get a decent handle on the pros/cons of each.
This was a five night trip, Wednesday-Monday. It was just me and DS5. I know it's a bit odd but we've done a couple of these "boys" trips since DD was born, we can cover so much ground as a two-some and just have the best quality time together. We brought DD on our trip to CR awhile back - she doesn't get the invite again until she's older!
I would say that the GF never really appealed to me much from afar, we had walked the resort on prior trips but just never found the theme that appealing. I booked it somewhat reluctantly but felt we needed a change from too many Poly trips and the AP discount was somewhat reasonable.
Here's the good...
- I really liked the layout of RPC and being in the main building. It made getting to the monorail so convenient and there certainly is something special about being around the constant buzz in the lobby. The secret elevator was great for getting down to the pool quickly.
- I posted my room views a couple of days ago. Very pleased with the room and location.
- RPC food quality, selection, and variety certainly win hands down over my other CL experiences (Poly and CR). That being said, it wasn't like some fundamentally different CL experience, but it was overall better on the food front - by this I'm mainly referring to the evening appetizers.
- Really enjoyed both pools and the food/drink options at both. It's a better overall setup than the Poly and more space to spread out, although I'll be interested to see how it feels at Poly when the Oasis pool opens.
- Housekeeping was fantastic and so pleasant. The staff we'd say hi to in the hallways were nicer than most of the CL CM's.... We tend to rope drop a park and then be back by 1 for a nap or pool time more often than not, room was always prepped by mid day. Last Poly trip daily service was pushing past 3 which just seems way too late. I thought the promptness of the service and cleanliness of the room were big winners here. Actually got a small towel animal one day, which was a nice surprise.
- The texting service was great - worth the money for CL alone! Used it daily for FP adjustments, additions, and a couple of dining tweaks.
I wouldn't say these are complaints, more just observations, but some things I wasn't so fond of....
Overall, I didn't really feel much "magic" at RPC. I don't really know what the means or how to describe it, I just know I wasn't in love with it. But that being said, did we have a fantastic trip? YES! Was it one of our bests? YES. Would I go back to RPC? Yes and No - I'd like to try SL someday, but I think I'd rather put my Disney dollars towards the Poly, especially while our kids are still young. I could see us migrating to GF as they get older perhaps. RPC is certainly a treat and I'm glad I did it. To me a lot of it comes down to the vibe of the place, and I just wasn't as into RPC as other places we've stayed.
- This is going to sound harsh but I was not really a fan of the RPC CMs, both food service and concierge desk. I don't try to be BFFs with CMs but we do say hello, thank you, how is your day, idle chit chat, etc. DS is a talker who never meets a stranger. I didn't have any rude or offensive interactions or anything I'd ever really complain about, they just weren't, in general, that pleasant or helpful. Saw two manager types in suites throughout our stay who were very pleasant in the best Disney sense, but that didn't seem to extend to other CMs.
- To be fair, I saw just as many what I consider rude and demanding guests. Might explain the above!
- CMs would leave tables uncleared in the lounge for far too long. Like almost always dirty dishes on tables at all points of the day. It's not like there's an unlimited amount of tables there!
- On a related note, and sorry if I offend someone with this, but I am shocked at how people will just leave stockpiles of dishes at tables and walk out like someone will clean up after them. I guess that is a CM's job but that's just not how I was raised!
- I can't really hold this against Disney because certainly no other hotel would ever aknowledge a birthday, but we checked in on my birthday and it was never mentioned. It was supposed to be noted on my reservation but it either wasn't or the CM who checked us in didn't read it. I went down to the CL desk later in the day to ask for a birthday pin. The CM gave it to me, handed me a sharpie and said "you can probably do it better than me." We stayed once at Poly for my birthday and once for DS's birthday - both times the CM checking us in made an unsolicited big deal about our birthdays and did the buttons with our names, little Mickey's etc. Maybe I was spoiled by both of those experiences, I was just a little surprised that here I sit in the grandest of all Disney CL's, and nothing!
- Does GF not give a welcome gift like other CLs? Poly and CR both have the box of chocolates, didn't get anything at GF?
- Was disappointed that mid-day snacks never changed any day we were there. The exact same, everyday. Heck, even Poly changes up the snack mix each day! Also I wasn't there for dessert each night but the ones I did also had the exact same items - no variety at all. I found that strange compared to past CL experiences.
Re-reading the above some of it sounds pretty whiny, obviously those are all small nuances and not deal killers, but just wanted to pass along some of my thoughts. I've really come to enjoy trying new Disney resorts, no matter what I read online or even if I end up not liking it that much, so the opinions above probably aren't worth two cents! Thanks again to all who post on this thread, you're all an invaluable resource to us relative CL newbies.
Thank you for taking the time to post such an honest and detailed review. For what it's worth, I don't consider anything as whiny -- quite the contrary. I do hope you'll consider emailing guest communications with feedback. I have done that my last few trips and received almost an immediate response from them, and the response is never "form-like," it's a very much thought-out response that touches on everything I wrote. Like your post above, I list all of the positives about my stay -- especially exaggerating on the texting service for 4th FP because that's a service that would ensure our family always booking CL without a doubt. I give specific CM names who were especially friendly and helpful, hoping that they will be rewarded or at least recognized. Then, I list the not-so-great aspects of our trip being sure to keep the tone light (just like you did above) so they don't take it as a "complaint," but rather as suggestions of things that should be addressed. I'd say your post is spot-on with other recent reviews I've read, and hopefully if everyone gives similar feedback, improvements can be made.
I'd like to say how disappointing it was to read about your birthday pin. I know, I know....we're adults and it's just a pin, but still. Talk about taking away a magical moment! I can't remember if you've stayed at BC CL, but there's a CM there named Neil who makes amazing birthday pins. He does this for my girls every Easter trip. Even if he's not at the desk when we check in, when he sees us in the lounge, he remembers us and immediately gets to work on designing pins. It's those little touches that make trips special. I will also say that there were some terrible CM's at BC CL -- one in particular who was very rude and we quickly learned to stay away from her whenever we saw she was working. I did address this in my feedback to guest communications, but I didn't give her name
The little things, such as the bday pin and a welcome gift......even though they're just "little thing," they really do set the tone for the trip. Small gestures go a long way. In your shoes, I would definitely mention in feedback.
So glad to read about your thoughts on the evening appetizers! We're starting out at POR and will go to parks a lot during those 3 days, so when we get to RPC, we do plan to have some down-time and enjoy everything GF has to offer, including lounge time. Hoping we enjoy the lounge, food, and room as much as you did. Thanks again for the review!
I also agree that a letter or phone call to guest services can be very helpful. Disney needs to be made aware of the problems, and we are their best resource. I always come at it from the side of friendly constructive criticism, which I feel is well received.
We absolutely would stay there again in a heartbeat, here are my pics and report: https://erika_murphy.silvrback.com/disney-s-contemporary-resort
). Good luck! .
We had a wonderful stay there thanks to a fantastic CM named Paula! She went above and beyond for us.
My only cause for concern is the overall cutbacks with CL. I recommend checking our guest list on page 1 and watching to see if someone else here on the DIS has a CL stay they can give you a recent report on.
Although, DW just found my receipt from RPC and realized what I paid per night. I may never be allowed to go back to Disney again!!! Ha!
