Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[eeyore81]

Today is our last day of our AKL stay. We have had a great time. We did decide to branch out for our May trip. Now we are doing a split stay. First 3 days at Poly club level then the final 4 days AKL club level. I know absolutely nothing about the Poly so I'm going to have to read this thread from the beginning to get all my info. We are excited to try somewhere new but also we could never come to Disney without a stay at AKL.

 

[michashell]

We statyed 2 nights at PBH. On first day, we arrived around 2pm, checked in and went to HP world. Next day we got up early and did HP stuff all day (until about 5pm). I had planned on doing the last morning at HP world but kids wanted to get to Disney so we checked out and took a taxi to Disney (it was a reasonable price and readily available).

Price: the problem with Universal is that they like you to stay longer, so their 'deals' are usually if you are staying several nights or more. We stayed only 2 nights so not much in the way of discounts, although compared to Disney, I thought the CL price was a deal! I switched back and forth between Orbitz and booking direct. Turns out that booking direct was my best price by about $80 for the 2 nights CL at PBH. Prices change so keep watching.[/QUOTE]

I have a silly question that I feel stupid asking. Is there a walking path from the Hogwarts Express in IOA to the other side at UO? If there's an extremely long wait and you don't want to stand in line for an hour, is your only option to go all the way back to the front of a park? Thanks!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Today is our last day of our AKL stay. We have had a great time. We did decide to branch out for our May trip. Now we are doing a split stay. First 3 days at Poly club level then the final 4 days AKL club level. I know absolutely nothing about the Poly so I'm going to have to read this thread from the beginning to get all my info. We are excited to try somewhere new but also we could never come to Disney without a stay at AKL.

LOL, I sort of feel the same way about Poly... I have trouble going to Disney without staying there and feel I'm cheating if I stay anywhere else.

No need to worry about not knowing anything about Poly, it's EASY, especially CL. Arguably one of the easier resorts/CLs to get your arms around, be it location, lounge, views, etc. It's all pretty simple (which is one of the reasons it's tops on our list).

AKL is quickly moving up our list of must-try's and I was close to booking there for our upcoming post-Thanksgiving trip. I have to admit we spent way more time at AK during our travels this year than other trips, with DS getting older it's really opened up that park for more options. I had once dismissed it as a half-day park but I must admit I was wrong!

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Well, finally have plans complete, and yes, we're officially nuts. It's a post-Thanksgiving festivus!

The plan is to feed 'em and street 'em Thanksgiving day then fly to MCO that evening. Spending the first night at the MCO Hyatt then off to WL first thing Friday. Staying at the airport the first night is partly due to Disney availability (or lackthereof), partly due to it being materially cheaper than another night at Disney, and party because it'll be a little late and just easier to get DD to bed close to a reasonable bedtime.

Excited to 1) try out a Deluxe WL room, 2) maybe check out the new lounge if it's open by then (not keeping my hopes up), 3) get back to WL, which is the place we stayed years ago that started this whole mess, and 4) start off the holidays at Disney!

Plus it's all four of us this time! DW says we cannot leave until an appropriate group photo worthy of a holiday card is secured. A strange box arrived today which I suspect may contain (gasp!) matching shirts.....

Anyone have any WL tips or things to keep in mind? We went years ago (non-CL) when we were Disney newbies and have always wanted to go back (but must admit the allure of the monorail resorts has kept us away). Do they still do the thing where you can sign up to raise the morning flag?

Just a short trip this time (darn school)...11/25-11/28. But planning on a holiday party, Early Morning Magic at MK, and maybe try to figure out the Candlelight Processional thing if we want to punish ourselves with squirmy DD.

Thanks all! Will report back when we return!

Sounds wonderful - I've heard the holiday decorations there are beautiful! We've stayed there twice - 4/16 and 4/15 - but not club level. I'm interested to hear about the new lounge if it's open! Regarding the morning flag...they weren't doing it 4/16 due to refurbishments, so hopefully they are doing it again by now. We inquired on our 4/15 trip when we checked in - we couldn't do it as it was already booked during our stay. The CM at check-in said that it's very popular so usually only people with a longer stay can book, if that makes sense. Can't hurt to ask!

 

[mickeynut1]

Well, finally have plans complete, and yes, we're officially nuts. It's a post-Thanksgiving festivus!

The plan is to feed 'em and street 'em Thanksgiving day then fly to MCO that evening. Spending the first night at the MCO Hyatt then off to WL first thing Friday. Staying at the airport the first night is partly due to Disney availability (or lackthereof), partly due to it being materially cheaper than another night at Disney, and party because it'll be a little late and just easier to get DD to bed close to a reasonable bedtime.

Excited to 1) try out a Deluxe WL room, 2) maybe check out the new lounge if it's open by then (not keeping my hopes up), 3) get back to WL, which is the place we stayed years ago that started this whole mess, and 4) start off the holidays at Disney!

Plus it's all four of us this time! DW says we cannot leave until an appropriate group photo worthy of a holiday card is secured. A strange box arrived today which I suspect may contain (gasp!) matching shirts.....

Anyone have any WL tips or things to keep in mind? We went years ago (non-CL) when we were Disney newbies and have always wanted to go back (but must admit the allure of the monorail resorts has kept us away). Do they still do the thing where you can sign up to raise the morning flag?

Just a short trip this time (darn school)...11/25-11/28. But planning on a holiday party, Early Morning Magic at MK, and maybe try to figure out the Candlelight Processional thing if we want to punish ourselves with squirmy DD.

Thanks all! Will report back when we return!

Disney during the holidays is amazing! Have a great time and enjoy WL CL .

Today is our last day of our AKL stay. We have had a great time. We did decide to branch out for our May trip. Now we are doing a split stay. First 3 days at Poly club level then the final 4 days AKL club level. I know absolutely nothing about the Poly so I'm going to have to read this thread from the beginning to get all my info. We are excited to try somewhere new but also we could never come to Disney without a stay at AKL.

Glad you had a great time! The Poly is amazing, you will love it! Safe travels home. Enjoy the planning for your May trip .

 

[trishadono]

Today is our last day of our AKL stay. We have had a great time. We did decide to branch out for our May trip. Now we are doing a split stay. First 3 days at Poly club level then the final 4 days AKL club level. I know absolutely nothing about the Poly so I'm going to have to read this thread from the beginning to get all my info. We are excited to try somewhere new but also we could never come to Disney without a stay at AKL.

I will be happy to return the favor of helping. PM me if any q's. I did poly Cl gv , lv and tpv and my last stay was just this past July. I love poly lounge and building location. I do enjoy the tastes and quality of the food but I do find there is less of it compared to other resorts.

THE view tho is priceless from that lounge every single hour of the day

 

[trishadono]

I have a silly question that I feel stupid asking. Is there a walking path from the Hogwarts Express in IOA to the other side at UO? If there's an extremely long wait and you don't want to stand in line for an hour, is your only option to go all the way back to the front of a park? Thanks!

I haven't been there since WWOHP opened but I don't know of any other way than to walk around.

Hopefully someone else can clarify.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I have to say that dd and I found getting to the park for Rd or in a hurry we prefered using the bus to MK. They came continuously and were pretty empty. We then used the boat when we wanted to relax.

Say you are at AKL/Hs/Epcot. We take the bus/mono to a mono resort mid day and eat there. (Usually poly) . Then we mono either to MK or CR and take the boat to WL. (I do this in reverse when staying at a mono resort, I bus to WL and eat then head to my resort by boat). I enjoy the resorts as much if not more than the parks/rides.

I am not sure with construction what is still there but ds always loved exploring each floor for the randomly placed rock cases. He loves rocks!

Seeing ewp is always a fav and of course the geiser.

The wilderness salad with walnuts and apple bits is my quick serve meal at RF.

Matching shirts! I got my kids to match me but if it's not a solid dh is a big NO lol.

Bet they make for a nice family picture tho, so enjoy! N

( and I am totally jealous, sounds like a great plan)

Thanks! Funny you mention that salad, that's what I ate pretty much every day when we stayed there last time. The other Deluxe QS locations we've stayed have somewhat similar salads, but I've never found anything I enjoyed as much as the one at RF!

Thanks again for the tips!

 

[eeyore81]

AKL secret stairs

 

[eeyore81]

The stairs lead to the back of the lounge.

 

[trishadono]

AKL secret stairs

thanks!!!
Checked in today for our akl cl trip!

 

[JohnDaleswife]

The stairs lead to the back of the lounge.

How do they keep non CL guest out with this set of secret stairs?

 

[eeyore81]

How do they keep non CL guest out with this set of secret stairs?

The gate is opened with your magic band just like the elevator access.

 

[Eastern]

I have a silly question that I feel stupid asking. Is there a walking path from the Hogwarts Express in IOA to the other side at UO? If there's an extremely long wait and you don't want to stand in line for an hour, is your only option to go all the way back to the front of a park? Thanks!

I'm pretty sure you have to go back to the park entrance if you want to walk between parks. Remember you need a park to park ticket if you want to ride the train.

 

[thisismyusername]

I'm not sure if this was reported yet or not, but today is the first day of the new WL CL lounge. Unfortunately, we checked out yesterday, so we weren't able to check it out, but it was confirmed that it was going to open today. Also, CMs said that people staying in regular rooms would have the option to upgrade to CL privileges upon check in since the CL floor has been so drastically reduced with the closure of the one wing for the new DVC rooms.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm not sure if this was reported yet or not, but today is the first day of the new WL CL lounge. Unfortunately, we checked out yesterday, so we weren't able to check it out, but it was confirmed that it was going to open today. Also, CMs said that people staying in regular rooms would have the option to upgrade to CL privileges upon check in since the CL floor has been so drastically reduced with the closure of the one wing for the new DVC rooms.

I like that first part!!!

Don't like the second part, but whatevs! I wonder what the "upgrade fee" is.

Thanks for checking in!

 

[thisismyusername]

I like that first part!!!

Don't like the second part, but whatevs! I wonder what the "upgrade fee" is.

My guess is that it's the same cost as a regular CL room.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Upgrade fees can vary. The best offer I ever had was $50/night. But that was in value season.

 

[eeyore81]

We make our dining reservations for our May trip in a week. Should I plan on making them myself? We have a split stay Poly/AKL. When we originally booked our trip it was all at AKL. I did receive a welcome email from AKL but it did not say anything about dining reservations and it did not attach the typical itinerary planner. We just booked our Poly stay last week but I haven't heard from them at all.

 

[got15]

Just started packing tonight for our first ever CL stay at BWI--- we leave on Saturday! Can't wait!!!