Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[lovetotraveltx]

We just booked AKL club level for November. Our first time in club level at WDW. Did paradise pier in Disneyland twice. What's your favorite part of club level at AKL? Any pointers? Thank you!

 

[Lovinallthingsdisney]

We are at AKL now, and I have to say I am not impressed this time with the staff. We stayed 2 years ago and LOVED it. This year, just meh! Lot's of changes and I was afraid my expectations would be too high. It is still nice and CM's are not rude or anything...maybe just indifferent. The lounge was packed last night at 5:15...SRO. Crazy busy with the holidays approaching, but all in all still a good trip. Eleven days CL so somethings g is bound to be "off" once in a while.

 

[baler31]

Our CM in our family told us once, while she was training some certain guests get VIP treatment i.e. drove to where they want to go to. Can't remember exactly if that what she said. OR it could be someone who its their first trip.

Yes, that is usually what they say when this service is involved. Not offered anymore but still used by some long time guests and VIP's. V

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Having a great stay at Sugar Loaf!!!
Jordan is an awesome castmember, I really enjoy talking to him.... we haven't had any trouble finding seating, and there's plenty of food and snacks. Housekeeping has been stellar. I really can't say one thing bad about our stay so far except I didn't get my welcome chocolate!!

 

[schwaa]

Hi everyone,

I'm a little worried about booking CL at AKL now. I just called to make sure they put in a request for Bunk Beds for us (since it wasn't listed as a request on my email reservation). Just like Lovinallthingsdisney said above, the agent was ... not rude ... but definitely not friendly. It was like I was bothering him. He interrupted me with "NO. The request is not going to show on your confirmation" (which I may be wrong about but all my other reservations showed my requests. I even have a trip booked at POR in December at that showed my requests). Anyway, he then abruptly said "Concierge does not guarantee bunk beds". I never said guarantee; I asked for a request. It really felt like I was bothering him. Isn't it his job to help me?

I'm really worried now. Is this common with Club Level now? Last year, the IPO at Yacht/Beach club was sooooooo nice and helpful. I spoke with several people several times, and they were always excited to answer my questions and make me feel like my trip will be great.

The bunk bed is not a huge deal. It would be nice to not share a bed with my nephew. Do you think I should move to a non-club level room with a bunk bed? Should I look at another resort that has a daybed? I keep reading mixed reviews about CL now. I was thinking maybe POLY, but I've read some bad stuff there.

Any help or advice would be most welcome. I'm at a loss at this point. I understand that millennials don't have the same work ethics as Gen Xers, but it's Disney. Shouldn't they be trained to and held to a high standard? I'm really disappointed and am really questioning if CL is worth it. (the thing is it's like $140 more than a savannah room with bunks, so I though 'no brainer')

 

[mmmears]

Personally, I love AKL CL. The lounge is just so lovely and we like the snacks up there as well. While we aren't staying there on our next trip, when I have called IPO it has rolled over to AKL IPO twice, and I had the BEST, most helpful CMs on those two calls. When you do call the IPO number you don't always get to the "right" IPO office... if AKL is busy it will automatically route your call over to another IPO office. So, either you got a not-so-great AKL IPO CM, or one from another resort. I would call again at a different time and hope to get a more helpful CM if it's really worrying you. We have had our BEST CL experiences (both IPO and lounge CMs) at AKL to be honest, although some were just ok. I think it's hit-or-miss at any of the WDW resorts; it shouldn't be, but it is.

 

[schwaa]

Personally, I love AKL CL. The lounge is just so lovely and we like the snacks up there as well. While we aren't staying there on our next trip, when I have called IPO it has rolled over to AKL IPO twice, and I had the BEST, most helpful CMs on those two calls. When you do call the IPO number you don't always get to the "right" IPO office... if AKL is busy it will automatically route your call over to another IPO office. So, either you got a not-so-great AKL IPO CM, or one from another resort. I would call again at a different time and hope to get a more helpful CM if it's really worrying you. We have had our BEST CL experiences (both IPO and lounge CMs) at AKL to be honest, although some were just ok. I think it's hit-or-miss at any of the WDW resorts; it shouldn't be, but it is.

Thank you.

 

[eeyore81]

We are at AKL now, and I have to say I am not impressed this time with the staff. We stayed 2 years ago and LOVED it. This year, just meh! Lot's of changes and I was afraid my expectations would be too high. It is still nice and CM's are not rude or anything...maybe just indifferent. The lounge was packed last night at 5:15...SRO. Crazy busy with the holidays approaching, but all in all still a good trip. Eleven days CL so somethings g is bound to be "off" once in a while.

This is exactly how we felt that last time we stayed. We have been staying Club Level at AKL for several years. Our most recent stay was in May 2015. We hade a good time and have booked again for May 2016 but our last experience was just ok. We had previously had awesome stays with the CMs going above and beyond and the food offerings being delicious and plentiful. If we didn't love seeing the animals so much I think we probably would stay somewhere else.

 

[Luv2trav]

This is our last day at Poly CL. I over estimated how much we would actually use the lounge. We have yet to experience night time food other than desserts. We have been In the parks at night. That's ok because my family has loved location and view. My sons love the idea of walking down to lounge to just grab snack or drink. Our whole week has been amazing. Hot tub is even working now.

I seriously think we will never stay anywhere else. Good thing DVC is here We also received extend your stay off for discounted room through New Years. Boy I wish we could.

I even got Ohana reservation today for dinner tonight. Transportation has been great.

 

[tsme]

We just booked our trip for BC CL 9-10 - 9-16. It's been a few years since we last stayed at BC. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[NicoleLarson]

We are at AKL now, and I have to say I am not impressed this time with the staff. We stayed 2 years ago and LOVED it. This year, just meh! Lot's of changes and I was afraid my expectations would be too high. It is still nice and CM's are not rude or anything...maybe just indifferent. The lounge was packed last night at 5:15...SRO. Crazy busy with the holidays approaching, but all in all still a good trip. Eleven days CL so somethings g is bound to be "off" once in a while.

Is Tim up there? That guy needs to go or get retrained. He has the personality of a stick and never tells us the correct info. I haven't seen Don in awhile, he was always awesome. However I know what you mean, it seems like the littlest request is a big deal. For instance, we had a cake for my son and I totally forgot to get candles and something to light them with. I asked if there was anyway I could get one or if they had any. They simply said check the gift shop. So I went on a hunt through the lodge and found some at Jiko. It wasn't the biggest deal but one would think that's something they could have done....called down to a restaurant and asked. It's just all those little extra touches have faded away.

 

[OregonGirl]

Hi everyone!

After several challenging months in my professional world, which jeopardized our Disney vacation, it looks like our March 1-5 GF RPC vacation is back on the table! Yay! Followed hopefully by a week on Holland America, Southern Caribbean. Its been a few years since a Disney vacation or a cruise, and DH and I are very much looking forward to it. Thanks for all the helpful information on this thread.

Quick question: Our wedding anniversary is February 19th and hubby's birthday is March 18. Do you think it would be appreciate to 'celebrate' both occasions at Disney? I always feel a little weird claiming a celebration that is a few weeks off... but on the other hand it's part of our treat to each other fr both occasions, so I think it makes sense.

- Carey

 

[dansdad]

Hi everyone!

After several challenging months in my professional world, which jeopardized our Disney vacation, it looks like our March 1-5 GF RPC vacation is back on the table! Yay! Followed hopefully by a week on Holland America, Southern Caribbean. Its been a few years since a Disney vacation or a cruise, and DH and I are very much looking forward to it. Thanks for all the helpful information on this thread.

Quick question: Our wedding anniversary is February 19th and hubby's birthday is March 18. Do you think it would be appreciate to 'celebrate' both occasions at Disney? I always feel a little weird claiming a celebration that is a few weeks off... but on the other hand it's part of our treat to each other fr both occasions, so I think it makes sense.

- Carey

It is ALWAYS appropriate to Celebrate a milestone while at Disney no matter when the actual date is. One of the many, many things I love about WDW!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

This is our last day at Poly CL. I over estimated how much we would actually use the lounge. We have yet to experience night time food other than desserts. We have been In the parks at night. That's ok because my family has loved location and view. My sons love the idea of walking down to lounge to just grab snack or drink. Our whole week has been amazing. Hot tub is even working now.

I seriously think we will never stay anywhere else. Good thing DVC is here We also received extend your stay off for discounted room through New Years. Boy I wish we could.

I even got Ohana reservation today for dinner tonight. Transportation has been great.

We have missed the evening appetizers and desserts several times this week too. We've been so busy it's hard to fit them in! Did you guys have the boat driver tonight who was training??? Oh my gosh she hit the dock so hard coming into the GF I thought the boat was going to split in two!!!!! LOL

 

[Miked0292]

I noticed today while eating breakfast up here that they added some more food items i.e. the meats and chesses

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I noticed today while eating breakfast up here that they added some more food items i.e. the meats and chesses

Yep, I believe they've done that at all the club lounges across property. Too many complaints that the breakfast offerings were all carbs and breads.

 

[disprincess2213]

Hello everyone! We are looking to plan a CL trip for next september/october and are so very excited! I was wondering if there was any information on when the best time to book would be because I know many discounts come out for fall (Late September, early October). Are CL rooms included on these discounts? I am curious to know how to get the best price possible. Do the prices decrease drastically from what the listed price is now? I have no idea what to expect as we have never looked into CL before! Thanks guys!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Hello everyone! We are looking to plan a CL trip for next september/october and are so very excited! I was wondering if there was any information on when the best time to book would be because I know many discounts come out for fall (Late September, early October). Are CL rooms included on these discounts? I am curious to know how to get the best price possible. Do the prices decrease drastically from what the listed price is now? I have no idea what to expect as we have never looked into CL before! Thanks guys!!

Yes CL rooms are typically available with discount promotions while supplies last. Late September is free dining, so the price of the room you see listed won't change, but you'll get the dining plan for "free".

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Hello everyone! We are looking to plan a CL trip for next september/october and are so very excited! I was wondering if there was any information on when the best time to book would be because I know many discounts come out for fall (Late September, early October). Are CL rooms included on these discounts? I am curious to know how to get the best price possible. Do the prices decrease drastically from what the listed price is now? I have no idea what to expect as we have never looked into CL before! Thanks guys!!

There are also other types of fall discounts. Room-only, AP, etc.

Here's a helpful chart: http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codechart

 

[mickeynut1]

This is our last day at Poly CL. I over estimated how much we would actually use the lounge. We have yet to experience night time food other than desserts. We have been In the parks at night. That's ok because my family has loved location and view. My sons love the idea of walking down to lounge to just grab snack or drink. Our whole week has been amazing. Hot tub is even working now.

I seriously think we will never stay anywhere else. Good thing DVC is here We also received extend your stay off for discounted room through New Years. Boy I wish we could.

I even got Ohana reservation today for dinner tonight. Transportation has been great.

Glad you had a great time! Sorry you weren't able to extend your trip, but you can start planning the next one .

We just booked our trip for BC CL 9-10 - 9-16. It's been a few years since we last stayed at BC. I'm looking forward to it.

Congrats! Happy planning .

Hi everyone!

After several challenging months in my professional world, which jeopardized our Disney vacation, it looks like our March 1-5 GF RPC vacation is back on the table! Yay! Followed hopefully by a week on Holland America, Southern Caribbean. Its been a few years since a Disney vacation or a cruise, and DH and I are very much looking forward to it. Thanks for all the helpful information on this thread.

Quick question: Our wedding anniversary is February 19th and hubby's birthday is March 18. Do you think it would be appreciate to 'celebrate' both occasions at Disney? I always feel a little weird claiming a celebration that is a few weeks off... but on the other hand it's part of our treat to each other fr both occasions, so I think it makes sense.

- Carey

Glad your trip is back on! Sounds like an awesome trip staying RPC followed by a cruise . Enjoy the anticipation and planning .

Definitely add your anniversary and your DH's birthday to the reservation .

It is ALWAYS appropriate to Celebrate a milestone while at Disney no matter when the actual date is. One of the many, many things I love about WDW!

I agree .

Hello everyone! We are looking to plan a CL trip for next september/october and are so very excited! I was wondering if there was any information on when the best time to book would be because I know many discounts come out for fall (Late September, early October). Are CL rooms included on these discounts? I am curious to know how to get the best price possible. Do the prices decrease drastically from what the listed price is now? I have no idea what to expect as we have never looked into CL before! Thanks guys!!

If you are going regardless of a discount, I'd book now to make sure you get what you want. With that said, CL rooms are included in promos but like all discounts, not all resorts are always included so you might have to be flexible with your resort when/if discounts are released. The discount sometimes varies from resort to resort as some CL rooms could be offered at the highest percentage off (which lately has been 30% for GP and 35% for AP holders), with others being offered at 15-25% off. You can also check Orbitz for discounts. Sometimes Orbitz offers an additional discount on top of Disney's discount. I've never booked through them, but I have read positive reports on these boards from others who have .