Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[trishadono]

I called about these rooms yesterday and I was told that the Deluxe Queen CL rooms in the main building can only sleep 4 people (I even referred to the BO code like someone said to do because I did not believe them). I was given the choice of Std CL (40 rooms available) or 1 BR suite CL (2 available) in main building for 5 people. I talked to two different CMs and both seemed knowledgeable...This was for May 2018.

Prices just for fun: 1BR suite $1945 per night...TPV CL $1476 per night...Std CL $1274 per night Memorial day week (these prices are probably averaged with tax included and will vary depending on whether there is a Saturday stay or holiday in your booking (more expensive).

Thanks for the info!

Prices for fun or fright lol?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Prices for fun or fright lol?

Post of the day!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We've just returned from six nights at AKL staying in a 1 bedroom villa, using our DVC points to stay club level. Unfortunately it was the most disappointing of all our CL stays over the years. We love AKL and again the hotel didn't disappoint but the CL left a lot to be desired when compared to other resorts.

The main issue was the lack of service/warmth from the CMs who were working on the CL floor. There was little or no interaction such as 'welcome back' from staff on the desk and CMs would walk past us rather than say hello.

As beer and wine are now on request, on occasion we felt that we were being an inconvenience when we asked for a drink. We were also disappointed with the food. Breakfast was fine but afternoon tea was very repetitive, as were the appetisers and desserts. What did surprise us was the emptying of the fridge at 10pm of all soft drinks. At both the CR and SL we were always able to obtain a soft drink if returning late.

My husband had a 'big' birthday whilst at AKL and I wanted a speciality birthday cake for a meal at the Cali Grill and asked the CL staff for some help - they could offer no assistance bar the phone number of the Contemporary.

On checking out of the resort not one member of staff wshed us well etc.

We then spent four nights in a DVC studio at the Poly and it was like 'coming home'. The staff were fabulous and CL here will be on our list. We are huge fans of CL and have loved every experience so far but this was so disappointing.
It was such a pity as the resort is beautiful.

Thanks for the detailed review. It's funny to me how AKL CL has some of the most inconsistent reviews on this thread. It's either one side or the other, hardly anyone in between! Oddly enough I can't wait to try it someday.

If it makes you feel any better, I had very similar feelings about GF SL CM's last week.

So I'm just curious, you own DVC but also do cash/resort trips too?

 

[trishadono]

I must confess I was born in France and part of my DNA forbids me from drinking wine in a plastic cup

Me too!

I just sat in the lounge at akl then after drinking for a min got up and walked out. I kept the glass(washed) in a drawer in case I was desperate later.

Last summer at gf non cl I bought wine in the gift shop and the cm asked me if I had a glass in the room? When I said no she grabbed one from the cupboard behind me, wrapped it up and off I went!

I have purchased a Disney wine glass some non cl trips for the room. I like my wine at 4-5pm before heading out for dinner or evening activities. I need GLASS!

 

[KrazeeK120]

Does anyone know if they have bottled water in the WL club lounge? I thought I read that they didn't, but I saw a recent picture on a Facebook group and it appeared that they do.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Does anyone know if they have bottled water in the WL club lounge? I thought I read that they didn't, but I saw a recent picture on a Facebook group and it appeared that they do.

They did not put bottles out in late November of last year, although that's a bit dated now so things could be different. I 'assume' they had some in the back upon request, but we didn't ask and I'm not sure about that. Sorry that's a pretty worthless anwer.

Separately, really haven't seen too many people staying WL CL on this thread in awhile, but hopefully someone with more recent experience can chime in.

 

[allsaintsatx]

I would love some honest feedback from the CL experts here. I booked a 16th birthday girl's trip for my daughter, 9/21-9/24. It is me, my daughter, my mom and my sister. Currently I have us booked in a garden view CL room at the Poly. After booking, I have read some not-so-great reviews on the upkeep of the rooms at Poly and the lounge in general. Additionally, mom and sister are pretty low-key and we definitely want a resort with a more "grown-up" feel (yeah, I know it is Disney...). Thinking Poly might not be the way to go. Now considering moving us to BWI, BC or YC CL. Struggling, because DD has always wanted to stay at Poly and this is HER trip. Can anyone counter the negative reviews on the CL service and the state of the rooms at Poly right now?

We stayed in December and it was pretty awesome. It has the same feel as the rest of the resort, vintage tiki but more so than the other longhouses, mostly because it has it's own mini-lobby just through the front doors with lots of great artwork and statues that you can only really see if you're staying CL. And there's a beautiful staircase just off the lobby that leads to the lounge on the 2nd floor. It sort of feels like it's own resort. The rooms at the Poly may be bigger than my first apartment in NYC. The housekeeping we received was on par with every stay we've had at a deluxe resort at WDW which was completely satisfactory - they cleaned the rooms and came every night for turndown service. We never really saw them. I didn't notice any more or less kids in the lounge than I do at every other square inch of Disney property. At the very least, none of them were screaming, which is a plus. Honestly, most of the kids were glued to the TV set that was playing Disney cartoons. It seemed like during our stay it was mostly adults. We visited the 2nd weekend in December. If you enjoy the theming of the Poly then you will love the lounge. The lounge itself is spectacular - 2 stories tall, with a floor to ceiling window that overlooks the beach and the MK. Maybe I'm just easy to please, but it was one of the best trips we have every taken to WDW and a lot of that positivity resulted from the experience we had staying CL at the Poly. Wherever you stay, you will have a great time! But, if you are doubting the Poly because of some bad reviews, well then here's a positive one! Have a great trip!

 

[allsaintsatx]

Thanks for the detailed review. It's funny to me how AKL CL has some of the most inconsistent reviews on this thread. It's either one side or the other, hardly anyone in between! Oddly enough I can't wait to try it someday.

If it makes you feel any better, I had very similar feelings about GF SL CM's last week.

So I'm just curious, you own DVC but also do cash/resort trips too?

To add to the inconsistency, we just returned from a CL trip at AKL and absolutely loved it! Great food, great CMs. The CMs were actually pretty amazing, and we interacted with maybe 20 different CL CMs during our stay. As far as food, I ate so many of these little pork thingies in a salsa sauce -ohhh so good!! And they had a chicken chowder soup that was amazing! The CM ended up filling up a soup cup for me to the tippity top, instead of the lil' ones they put out, because he saw how much I liked the soup! That was our first time there and we are definitely going back!

 

[beesly]

We've just returned from six nights at AKL staying in a 1 bedroom villa, using our DVC points to stay club level. Unfortunately it was the most disappointing of all our CL stays over the years. We love AKL and again the hotel didn't disappoint but the CL left a lot to be desired when compared to other resorts.

The main issue was the lack of service/warmth from the CMs who were working on the CL floor. There was little or no interaction such as 'welcome back' from staff on the desk and CMs would walk past us rather than say hello.

As beer and wine are now on request, on occasion we felt that we were being an inconvenience when we asked for a drink. We were also disappointed with the food. Breakfast was fine but afternoon tea was very repetitive, as were the appetisers and desserts. What did surprise us was the emptying of the fridge at 10pm of all soft drinks. At both the CR and SL we were always able to obtain a soft drink if returning late.

My husband had a 'big' birthday whilst at AKL and I wanted a speciality birthday cake for a meal at the Cali Grill and asked the CL staff for some help - they could offer no assistance bar the phone number of the Contemporary.

On checking out of the resort not one member of staff wshed us well etc.

We then spent four nights in a DVC studio at the Poly and it was like 'coming home'. The staff were fabulous and CL here will be on our list. We are huge fans of CL and have loved every experience so far but this was so disappointing.
It was such a pity as the resort is beautiful.

I'm sorry to hear you were disappointed at AKL! There were a couple of CMs who were less than welcoming during our trip, but I thought the majority were wonderful!

I do agree that the breakfast and afternoon foods were repetitive, but I loved the breakfast and the fresh evening offerings enough to make up for that. We usually had lunch elsewhere anyway. I don't think the afternoon offerings are meant to replace a lunch meal.

I never felt like an inconvenience when asking for a drink, but perhaps that was my own attitude. If I'm paying for a service, I don't feel like an inconvenience when requesting that service, even if the server acts like I'm an inconvenience (which was the case with one CM at AKL CL).

When checking out, I sat down and had a lengthy conversation with one CM who I'd gotten to know during our time there (Sue - she is so friendly!).

I love the Poly, too (haven't stayed CL there yet), but I hope you'll give AKL another chance!

 

[GoGoBeans]

Hey guys. So, after some consideration, I'm between YC CL and GF SL. Do you feel one is better than the other? Are there more offerings at GF? I'm torn on whether to stay put at YC and be with our friends or do our own thing and stay at GF. Thanks in advance for your advice!

I'd pick to stay with friends. We travel often with friends and enjoy being able to meet up, relax over a beverage or two.

We liked YC CL. I'd be excited to see the new space and new rooms.

 

[JodyLynC]

I have a split stay with Poly and YC (both CL) this August. I understand that both serve pastries at breakfast. Are the pastries pretty much the same across all the resorts or do they try to switch it up?

 

[mrsap]

I'd pick to stay with friends. We travel often with friends and enjoy being able to meet up, relax over a beverage or two.

We liked YC CL. I'd be excited to see the new space and new rooms.

Thanks for your response! We have been traveling with them for the past few years now, so it would be weird not to be in the same hotel! I am definitely excited to experience the new rooms! Now the countdown begins!

 

[disnmooner2013]

What are the travel times from the parks to AKL vs parks to YC? We will be taking our daughter back in the afternoons to the hotel for naps. We are going for a week in June 2018 and down to AKL CL or YC regular room boardwalk view. My daughter loves animals; but just concerned about the travel times for AKL vs YC.

 

[saintrob]

Thanks for the detailed review. It's funny to me how AKL CL has some of the most inconsistent reviews on this thread. It's either one side or the other, hardly anyone in between! Oddly enough I can't wait to try it someday.

If it makes you feel any better, I had very similar feelings about GF SL CM's last week.

So I'm just curious, you own DVC but also do cash/resort trips too?[/QUOTE

We're from the UK and have
260 DVC points. We come over three times a year and mainly do cash stays. We then 'save' our DVC points and do a splurge! Last year we combined nearly two years worth of points and used them at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. This stay we had 6 nights in a 1 bedroom villa at AKL club level followed by 4 nights in a lake view studio at the Poly. I know that we could use the points more profitably but it's not cost effective to fly over more than three times a year unfortunately.

 

[Eastern]

Thanks for the info!

Prices for fun or fright lol?

ha, I actually said something like, 'wow, those prices are frightening!'. I was just so dumbstruck; words failed me. I was expecting high prices but they really outdid themselves. I do hope they come down a bit as it gets closer to our dates.

This is why I have not booked GF for the past 20 years. I saw a good deal a few months back for the outer building CL but I want to stay in the main building. There are never any good deals there!

 

[AggieRach99]

Thanks to everyone for the Poly feedback. Sounds like I just need to stop overthinking and leave it alone. Appreciate you guys!

 

[Babsy]

What are the travel times from the parks to AKL vs parks to YC? We will be taking our daughter back in the afternoons to the hotel for naps. We are going for a week in June 2018 and down to AKL CL or YC regular room boardwalk view. My daughter loves animals; but just concerned about the travel times for AKL vs YC.

My personal rule of thumb: Staying in a deluxe resort closest to the theme park that you plan to visit the most will save you the most travel time.

AKL is the furthest from the MK, so the travel difference compared to other resorts is the greatest when travelling to/from the MK. You need to add about 5-10 minutes to your bus travel time (takes about 20-25 minutes once you are on the bus) for this location. Everywhere else, we didn't find a huge difference. The big exception is when you are able to walk to a park from your resort. Really, the length of time waiting for the buses/boats adds a lot more variability to the commuting time. We have taken as long as 1 1/2 hours to get to the MK from the YC (waited well over an hour for that bus) and as little as 20 minutes, so the time it takes to go anywhere to/from any resort can be short or lengthy, largely dependent upon wait times. The length of time actually travelling on the busses varies by at most 10 minutes more or less, IMO.

Obviously, when comparing AKL to the YC, travel times can be longer from the AKL as you can walk to/from the YC and either DHS or Epcot.
If you plan to spend a lot of time in Epcot or DHS, then the YC is a convenient place to choose. You can walk or boat to both. Again walking will save you time over the buses. The walkway to DHS is about 15 - 20 minutes and the walk to Epcot about 10 minutes. A lot depends upon the route you take and where your room is located in this resort where hallways can be long and convoluted. You can actually be at the park while

We have come to completely disregard travel times except in cases like yours.

With young children and strollers, we always recommend staying in a monorail resort. Usually the park most visited is the MK with small children and the ease/speed of transportation from the monorail resorts is unparalleled when going to the MK. This is especially true of the CR where walking means you always know that you will arrive in about 5 - 10 minutes from leaving your room (depending upon walking speed). You can be that long getting to the bus stop from some rooms at certain resorts.

Have fun!!!

 

[disnmooner2013]

My personal rule of thumb: Staying in a deluxe resort closest to the theme park that you plan to visit the most will save you the most travel time.

AKL is the furthest from the MK, so the travel difference compared to other resorts is the greatest when travelling to/from the MK. You need to add about 5-10 minutes to your bus travel time (takes about 20-25 minutes once you are on the bus) for this location. Everywhere else, we didn't find a huge difference. The big exception is when you are able to walk to a park from your resort. Really, the length of time waiting for the buses/boats adds a lot more variability to the commuting time. We have taken as long as 1 1/2 hours to get to the MK from the YC (waited well over an hour for that bus) and as little as 20 minutes, so the time it takes to go anywhere to/from any resort can be short or lengthy, largely dependent upon wait times. The length of time actually travelling on the busses varies by at most 10 minutes more or less, IMO.

Obviously, when comparing AKL to the YC, travel times can be longer from the AKL as you can walk to/from the YC and either DHS or Epcot.
If you plan to spend a lot of time in Epcot or DHS, then the YC is a convenient place to choose. You can walk or boat to both. Again walking will save you time over the buses. The walkway to DHS is about 15 - 20 minutes and the walk to Epcot about 10 minutes. A lot depends upon the route you take and where your room is located in this resort where hallways can be long and convoluted. You can actually be at the park while

We have come to completely disregard travel times except in cases like yours.

With young children and strollers, we always recommend staying in a monorail resort. Usually the park most visited is the MK with small children and the ease/speed of transportation from the monorail resorts is unparalleled when going to the MK. This is especially true of the CR where walking means you always know that you will arrive in about 5 - 10 minutes from leaving your room (depending upon walking speed). You can be that long getting to the bus stop from some rooms at certain resorts.
Have fun!!!

Thanks Babsy. We are pending half a day at DHS and a day at Epcot. We will be spending 1-1/2 days at MK. We will have a car and can't afford the prices of the monorail resorts. We already stayed at WL CL so down to AKL CL or YC regular room boardwalk view.

 

[mickeynut1]

We've just returned from six nights at AKL staying in a 1 bedroom villa, using our DVC points to stay club level. Unfortunately it was the most disappointing of all our CL stays over the years. We love AKL and again the hotel didn't disappoint but the CL left a lot to be desired when compared to other resorts.

The main issue was the lack of service/warmth from the CMs who were working on the CL floor. There was little or no interaction such as 'welcome back' from staff on the desk and CMs would walk past us rather than say hello.

As beer and wine are now on request, on occasion we felt that we were being an inconvenience when we asked for a drink. We were also disappointed with the food. Breakfast was fine but afternoon tea was very repetitive, as were the appetisers and desserts. What did surprise us was the emptying of the fridge at 10pm of all soft drinks. At both the CR and SL we were always able to obtain a soft drink if returning late.

My husband had a 'big' birthday whilst at AKL and I wanted a speciality birthday cake for a meal at the Cali Grill and asked the CL staff for some help - they could offer no assistance bar the phone number of the Contemporary.

On checking out of the resort not one member of staff wshed us well etc.

We then spent four nights in a DVC studio at the Poly and it was like 'coming home'. The staff were fabulous and CL here will be on our list. We are huge fans of CL and have loved every experience so far but this was so disappointing.
It was such a pity as the resort is beautiful.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy AKL CL, but glad you enjoyed the Poly. Besides the less than stellar stay at AKL CL, I hope you had a great trip overall .

It's funny to me how AKL CL has some of the most inconsistent reviews on this thread. It's either one side or the other, hardly anyone in between! Oddly enough I can't wait to try it someday.

AKL CL is on our list, too. We've had 2 stays at AKL and love the resort, so I'm thinking we'll love CL .

To add to the inconsistency, we just returned from a CL trip at AKL and absolutely loved it! Great food, great CMs. The CMs were actually pretty amazing, and we interacted with maybe 20 different CL CMs during our stay. As far as food, I ate so many of these little pork thingies in a salsa sauce -ohhh so good!! And they had a chicken chowder soup that was amazing! The CM ended up filling up a soup cup for me to the tippity top, instead of the lil' ones they put out, because he saw how much I liked the soup! That was our first time there and we are definitely going back!

Glad you had a great time .

My personal rule of thumb: Staying in a deluxe resort closest to the theme park that you plan to visit the most will save you the most travel time.

AKL is the furthest from the MK, so the travel difference compared to other resorts is the greatest when travelling to/from the MK. You need to add about 5-10 minutes to your bus travel time (takes about 20-25 minutes once you are on the bus) for this location. Everywhere else, we didn't find a huge difference. The big exception is when you are able to walk to a park from your resort. Really, the length of time waiting for the buses/boats adds a lot more variability to the commuting time. We have taken as long as 1 1/2 hours to get to the MK from the YC (waited well over an hour for that bus) and as little as 20 minutes, so the time it takes to go anywhere to/from any resort can be short or lengthy, largely dependent upon wait times. The length of time actually travelling on the busses varies by at most 10 minutes more or less, IMO.

Obviously, when comparing AKL to the YC, travel times can be longer from the AKL as you can walk to/from the YC and either DHS or Epcot.
If you plan to spend a lot of time in Epcot or DHS, then the YC is a convenient place to choose. You can walk or boat to both. Again walking will save you time over the buses. The walkway to DHS is about 15 - 20 minutes and the walk to Epcot about 10 minutes. A lot depends upon the route you take and where your room is located in this resort where hallways can be long and convoluted. You can actually be at the park while

We have come to completely disregard travel times except in cases like yours.

With young children and strollers, we always recommend staying in a monorail resort. Usually the park most visited is the MK with small children and the ease/speed of transportation from the monorail resorts is unparalleled when going to the MK. This is especially true of the CR where walking means you always know that you will arrive in about 5 - 10 minutes from leaving your room (depending upon walking speed). You can be that long getting to the bus stop from some rooms at certain resorts.

Have fun!!!

I agree with everything Babsy posted .

Thanks Babsy. We are pending half a day at DHS and a day at Epcot. We will be spending 1-1/2 days at MK. We will have a car and can't afford the prices of the monorail resorts. We already stayed at WL CL so down to AKL CL or YC regular room boardwalk view.

We've never stayed at YC, but have stayed at AKL and BC and my choice would be AKL CL. We haven't tried CL at AKL yet, but I have read many great things about it. As Babsy posted, it takes maybe an extra 5 minutes to get around compared to other resorts. We have had 2 stays at AKL and visit every trip to eat at Boma and have never found the buses to be a problem. Good luck choosing. I hope you have a great trip .

 

[Babsy]

Thanks Babsy. We are pending half a day at DHS and a day at Epcot. We will be spending 1-1/2 days at MK. We will have a car and can't afford the prices of the monorail resorts. We already stayed at WL CL so down to AKL CL or YC regular room boardwalk view.

It is a tough call.

I would probably go with the theme that I would enjoy the most. We definitely prefer the theme at AKL over that of the YC. Plus the transportation isn't difficult from the AKL and you will have your own car to use going to the DHS and Epcot if you don't want to wait on buses. I would take the bus from here to the MK because it bypasses the TTC. It is also nice to have the CL which you have booked at the AKL.

However, if you plan to use Disney transportation and would like to use the boats to DHS and Epcot, then the YC gets the edge. we do like the boat rides and you can simply roll the stroller aboard, so it is easy with DD. Another transportation plus here at the YC if you plan any dinners in WS or if you plan to watch Illuminations during the trip. One caveat: I wouldn't book lagoon or pool view at the YC anymore. We had this booked at the YC for a special vacation and we had the worst view of an ugly roof top then trees and Storm Along Bay. IT was definitely NOT worth the money and a long walk to the elevators and lounge. we have had much nicer garden and standard views than this one was. Also, the pool was noisy during the day and could affect DD naps. If booking YC, I would book the garden view and request a room near the elevators at the YC.

I'm not sure if that is any help. LOL!

Good luck choosing!!!!