Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[eeyore81]

In AKL in a 2 bedroom resort suite (not DVC) is there a highchair? Is there one in the Club area?

I don't know about in the suite but there are high chairs in the Club level lounge.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

What makes you say Poly has the worst food? Thanks again for your help.

I will caveat this by saying it appears from reviews all around that the CLs are upping their game in the food department and some have reported better food offerings at Poly too. Hard to tell exactly what that means without more pics/updates though. So my comments may be dated.

I probably should not have used the word "worst." I don't really think it's all that bad, it's just that other CLs do a better job with variety, freshness, flavors. This is mostly noticeable in the evening apps... the menu has tended to be more generic, mass-produced, often-fried items - potstickers, chicken wings, basic California roll, meatballs, mushroom risotto in a little pastry, etc. Usually two hot items per night. Plus a kids item, mini-corn dog, PBJ, etc. Also the usual standards... cheese/crackers, veggies, etc.

We find it plenty for the kids to serve as dinner, borderline for the adults. But nothing a few desserts later can't fix. Cap't Cooks is a 1 minute walk away, we'll sometimes grab something there and bring to the lounge if we're really hungry.

BTW, I think your Poly/AKL split stay sounds like a great idea. Totally something I could see us doing. You sound a lot like us in terms of your usual days, I think Poly is a great choice to "try something new" like you said. I always like something short like a four night stay at a new CL so you can get a feel if you like it or not before blowing $ on a longer stay.

Hope that helps!

 

[marymac123]

We were there at Christmas and if those were upgraded food choices, I would hate to think about what it was like before.

And simply the worst CM experiences we've had and we've had some doozies.

The only good thing I can say is that we did the OHana room service in the lounge and it was amazeballs.

But I think if they offered me a free stay at Poly Club Level, I would pass unless there was proof they had cleaned house.

We stayed Poly CL last year for the 1st time. I don't think I would ever do that again. We were there in Aug/Sept. and the offerings were slim and very "boring" as DD11 said. The CL CMs made me/us feel as if we were bothering them just being in there, forget about asking a question. Though, DH thought Irv was nice and helpful. We are used to WL CL CMs, Loyda, Mike, Rob and Anna they are like aunts and uncles to my daughter that we visit once a year. But, I just cant seem to get any discounts for WL or we would be booked again this year. Trying the BC CL this year with a great deal we could not pass up. Hoping it will be nice but we will go to visit WL and our "family" again this year.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Feb 24 to March 8. I am still holding out hope. We were there at the same time last year and had lunch at Flame Tree while watching the construction and I kept thinking there is no way they are going to be ready on time. Little did I know...Lol.

Lol. Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I have ADRs booked at Tiffins every night during my President's Day trip JUST IN CASE. Someone on the ROL thread was saying 2/12 but who knows!

 

[mickeynut1]

You guys are scaring me. We have the Poly Club Level booked for 4 nights in May. Should we move? We have 2 rooms, with 4 adults and two 4 year olds.

I can't offer an opinion on Poly CL from personal experience as we haven't stayed CL at Poly yet, but I think you should keep it and give it a try. All resorts/CLs get good and bad reviews and while all clubs have been getting not-so-great reviews lately with offerings, perks, etc being taken away, it seems Disney is stepping up their game on CL and making changes for the better (like GADisneyDad posted). It's hard to choose a resort/CL with so many options and varying experiences/opinions, but I think it's worth a try (just my opinion). Good luck!

Just a bit more feedback regarding Disney Signature Services. I had read here that they offered to order a cake for someone. I just called them to inquire and was given the number for the cake hotline. FYI

They have been very helpful with everything else, including making sure Kilimanjaro Club will have soy milk for us during our stay.

I'm sorry they aren't offering much help on the cake, but glad they have been helpful with everything else .

Thank you so much for your input. We typically stay at AKL and this stay is actually a split stay between Poly and AKL. Both stays are club level. We utilize the lounge a lot. We have two 4 year olds in our party. We plan on going to MK 2 days and Epcot 1 day during our Poly stay. We are staying Saturday-Wednesday at Poly and then Wednesday-Saturday at AKL. Wednesday being a non-park day. We thought that on this trip we would try something new. We have stayed once at GF and once at Beach Club. All the other stays have been AKL. We typically eat breakfast in the lounge, hit rope drop, eat lunch at a park and are back to the hotel by about 3. We like to swim and hang out at the hotel in the evenings. We enjoy the evening offerings. We typically make a meal out of the evening offerings by adding some items from the quick service restaurant. I picked the Poly because of the monorail, being able to see Wishes and watching the Electrical Parade on the lake in the evening. What makes you say Poly has the worst food? Thanks again for your help.

What a great split! We love both AKL and Poly and are excited to try Poly CL later this year (and hopefully AKL CL, as well). Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Maxie86]

The sad thing about the Poly CL is that it used to be the best. I was last there in August and couldn't believe the difference from our last stay a few years ago. Hopefully they are upgrading their food offerings like the other CL's. We found all the CM's to be very pleasant and helpful though and Irv is awesome!! I wouldnt hesitate to stay there again. I love the whole feel of the resort.

Hi mickeynut.

 

[eeyore81]

Thanks everyone. We are going to keep our Poly stay! I'll report back and let you know now it goes.

 

[DisDad4Life]

Hi all! We are booked for a CL stay at the Boardwalk Inn for Apr 1-9. Very excited to try the Boardwalk ... and a little apprehensive about club level but hoping for a wonderful experience...

Two years ago we stayed at the YC CL for the first time. When we arrived we were immediately greeted, escorted up to the 5th floor and given wonderful "welcome drinks" while discussing the club level amenities with a CM at the CL desk. The service was impeccable and the staff seemed to go out of their way to make us feel special throughout our trip. They even recognized us each night and would often provide our adult beverages of choice without even asking!

We returned this past June. No one was there to meet us when we arrived. We knew where to go, so when we reached the 5th floor we got a "welcoming nod" from the CM behind the desk and continued on to our room. Throughout that trip the service and hospitality ranged from ok to disinterested. The club lounge was still nice to have but the overall experience was very meh.

So on to the Boardwalk! I've read some wonderful things about the Innkeepers Lounge and am hoping to recapture some of the special magic feeling about staying CL (also have stayed at AKL CL a couple of times with very nice experiences).

Hmm...I didn't intend for this post to be this long, but anyone who has stayed at the Boardwalk recently I would love to hear your feedback! Is what we experienced at the YC last year kind of the new CL norm or was that more of a bad anomaly?

Thank you!

 

[gwynne]

Hi all! We are booked for a CL stay at the Boardwalk Inn for Apr 1-9. Very excited to try the Boardwalk ... and a little apprehensive about club level but hoping for a wonderful experience...

Two years ago we stayed at the YC CL for the first time. When we arrived we were immediately greeted, escorted up to the 5th floor and given wonderful "welcome drinks" while discussing the club level amenities with a CM at the CL desk. The service was impeccable and the staff seemed to go out of their way to make us feel special throughout our trip. They even recognized us each night and would often provide our adult beverages of choice without even asking!

We returned this past June. No one was there to meet us when we arrived. We knew where to go, so when we reached the 5th floor we got a "welcoming nod" from the CM behind the desk and continued on to our room. Throughout that trip the service and hospitality ranged from ok to disinterested. The club lounge was still nice to have but the overall experience was very meh.

So on to the Boardwalk! I've read some wonderful things about the Innkeepers Lounge and am hoping to recapture some of the special magic feeling about staying CL (also have stayed at AKL CL a couple of times with very nice experiences).

Hmm...I didn't intend for this post to be this long, but anyone who has stayed at the Boardwalk recently I would love to hear your feedback! Is what we experienced at the YC last year kind of the new CL norm or was that more of a bad anomaly?

Thank you!

I think you'll be fine at the Boardwalk CL. I was there in August and it was wonderful, just as it always is.
We are booked for a Boardwalk CL stay in Oct and can't wait!
I've had great visits to YC CL and one odd one. I do think they are trying to upgrade all the CL's so one of these days I'm sure I'll stay at YC CL again.

 

[got15]

Thinking about doing a quick trip for a weekend....so excited about being a Passholder! Does anyone have any recent opinions on WL CL v AKL CL? They seem to have the availability but haven't heard much about either. We will have kiddos in tow (DS 3 &7). We plan to have pool afternoons. Just for reference we have stayed Poly CL, RPC, and BWI CL.

 

[NYCANC]

As I mentioned before, we were there from 1/7-1/17. We were happy with the service.
I agree with everything GADisneyDad has said.

For the CM's in the Hawaii building- we had a few great ones and others I could tell did not really care.
1. The CM that helped me when my DD had a medical issue was amazing.
2. The CM that helped when my DD's tooth came out! I ran downstairs to see what they had from the "Tooth Fairy" and they actually have stuff there for that!

On the flip side-
1. The CM that checked us in messed up (I have no idea how!) but when we got to MK an hour later, our passes were coming up "not valid" and we had to go stand in the customer service line for 30-45 min. Apparently, she did not check us in correctly and they had to call over to the Poly to make sure we were guests. When I told another CM that evening about it, they muttered out a sorry. I never saw the 1st CM again during the 10 days we were there or I would have spoken to her.

I mentioned a few times on here before that we were happy with the food (and the beer).

I love how you know where you are staying when you do CL at the Poly. That is very important to me.
And I love how even if we are not in the MK during Wishes- we can watch it right there in the lounge with the music. We enjoyed that 3-4 nights.
We are a RD to close family so it was huge to go into the lounge, grab some breakfast to go and head to a park.
I would definitely stay there again (our stay in Oct. 2015 was in a TPV room at the CR).

 

[eeyore81]

Thinking about doing a quick trip for a weekend....so excited about being a Passholder! Does anyone have any recent opinions on WL CL v AKL CL? They seem to have the availability but haven't heard much about either. We will have kiddos in tow (DS 3 &7). We plan to have pool afternoons. Just for reference we have stayed Poly CL, RPC, and BWI CL.

We haven't stayed at WL but love AKL. Our last stay was in November. I do believe they have added some kid friendly options in the evening. I think AKL is perfect for kids. The views can't be beat. We love the kiddie pool area and the playground. There are lots of activities at the resort. I have never found this to be a negative but some people think AKL is too far from Magic Kingdom. We have never had any trouble with the buses. The cast members have always been friendly. Although there have been times with the front desk CMs were more helpful than the club level CMs. I want to stay at WL sometime soon but we love AKL. If you are ok with not being right there at MK I say go for AKL, your kids will love it.

 

[pas130]

I'm back!!!! Had a great trip! The guest list is updated as well.

Welcome back Erika!!!

@trishadono Thank you for your pics!!!!! I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddddd to stay there again NEED

@DisDad4Life I will second @gwynne BWI CL is amazing, and honestly leaps and bounds about any other CL for us. Both with a trip just DH and I and one with my 5 kiddos (2 on the spectrum). We did YC CL in December and received a magical upgrade, and the CMs were nice. That said no "warm fuzzies" like at BWI or GF. Poly CL was just "meh" for us (only stayed once a few years ago), but I am trying it again. This time a suite (if I don't change )

 

[GoGoBeans]

I agree with most all of this. We find the Poly CL to be the most convenient and easy to pop into. Love the proximity to the pool and the view from the lounge. Its relaxing and where we find the be resort/lounge combo.

We experienced some fantastic CMs that we really enjoyed, plenty that were helpful and only one we did not like.

I thought the food choices at Poly were eh. I see you're also doing AKL. We really like that lounge too. It's not super convenient to the pool, but we did find that we spent considerable time there. CMs were nothing special and the least friendly/helpful of all stays.

Our least favorite CLs are YC and BC. I feel boxed in with no views and much like I'm in a hotel if that makes sense. A few great CMs though.

We did like the lounge at CR, but don't care for it as a resort. View is spectacular and the short rib rolls TDF.

 

[AliceIn]

Fun! Have you been following the IPO discussion recently? It's been replaced by a new service called Disney Signature Services, but there were several months there with no service at all.

Reports are they have been calling folks with CL reservations (started last week), although I have several upcoming reservations and haven't heard anything. Below is the phone/e-mail I cut and paste from a PP. I'd go ahead and e-mail or call if you want to / need something, no harm in doing that.


Disney Signature Services: 407-939-7777, disney.signature.services@disneyworld.com

I got a call from Signature Services today while I was out. This is the message they left (note that the translator my voice mail has leaves JUST a little bit to be desired):

Good afternoon this message is for XXXX and family this is XXXX from Walt Disney World. Just wanted to reach out to you from Disney signature services and let you know that we are part of your exclusive club level service. I see you're coming to Disney's Beach Club in August and wanted to reach out and give you our contact information. Our phone number is 407-939-7777 and our email is needs that signature.services@disneyworld.com. We're here seven days a week from 9 to 5 Eastern Time. And we're happy to assist you with any of your pre-arrival needs. So anything from dining reservations to fast passes questions concerns to her information or other type of fun experiences you can do while you're here. So we're cutting your one stop shop to make all that happen for you. If you need anything feel free to reach out and other than that we look forward to your upcoming stay and I hope you have a magical might."

 

[KrazeeK120]

We stayed Poly CL last year for the 1st time. I don't think I would ever do that again. We were there in Aug/Sept. and the offerings were slim and very "boring" as DD11 said. The CL CMs made me/us feel as if we were bothering them just being in there, forget about asking a question. Though, DH thought Irv was nice and helpful. We are used to WL CL CMs, Loyda, Mike, Rob and Anna they are like aunts and uncles to my daughter that we visit once a year. But, I just cant seem to get any discounts for WL or we would be booked again this year. Trying the BC CL this year with a great deal we could not pass up. Hoping it will be nice but we will go to visit WL and our "family" again this year.

When are you looking to go? I literally booked a WL CL discounted room last weekend for my May trip. I hope you get what you want! It's going to be our first stay at that resort and our son's first trip.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi mickeynut.

Hi Maxie

Thanks everyone. We are going to keep our Poly stay! I'll report back and let you know now it goes.

You won't regret it, the Poly is amazing! Have a great trip!

Hi all! We are booked for a CL stay at the Boardwalk Inn for Apr 1-9. Very excited to try the Boardwalk ... and a little apprehensive about club level but hoping for a wonderful experience...

We haven't stayed BWI CL, but I am constantly reading great things about it. Hope you have a great time .

When are you looking to go? I literally booked a WL CL discounted room last weekend for my May trip. I hope you get what you want! It's going to be our first stay at that resort and our son's first trip.

You will love WL CL! It's been quite a while since our WL CL stay, but any reports I read of recent stays mirror the awesome stay we had. Hope you have a great time and enjoy the lodge .

 

[trishadono]

Thinking about doing a quick trip for a weekend....so excited about being a Passholder! Does anyone have any recent opinions on WL CL v AKL CL? They seem to have the availability but haven't heard much about either. We will have kiddos in tow (DS 3 &7). We plan to have pool afternoons. Just for reference we have stayed Poly CL, RPC, and BWI CL.

I just posted lots of pix on this thread and the Jambo thread. After checking those pm me if need anything else.

Should only be a few pages back we returned 1/20.

 

[Scott MC]

We're so excited to say that we have a surprise CL stay coming up! My future brother-in-law is holding his bachelor party at WDW and we will be staying in the Old Faithful Club in a deluxe room! We're excited to try another Disney CL (we'll now be up to 6) and it will be DF's first stay at WL! If possible, could we be added to the guest list on page one? Thanks!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We're so excited to say that we have a surprise CL stay coming up! My future brother-in-law is holding his bachelor party at WDW and we will be staying in the Old Faithful Club in a deluxe room! We're excited to try another Disney CL (we'll now be up to 6) and it will be DF's first stay at WL! If possible, could we be added to the guest list on page one? Thanks!

Bachelor Party at OFC? You might be putting this thing to the test.... Have fun!