Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[gwynne]

I have run across a lot more new CMs the last year or two. It use to be you'd always see the same faces, with an occasional addition of someone new. Now it seems like a sea of new people with a scattering of veterans.

Do you think this is misinformation or a policy change? I know there are some differences between CL resorts, but I think access to the lounge after check out time really should be uniform.
If you hear something before or during you upcoming AKL stay, Erika, please let us know. The assistance and information you provide here is always so appreciated!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Do you think this is misinformation or a policy change? I know there are various differences between CL resorts, but I think access after check out time really should be uniform.
If you hear something before or during you upcoming AKL stay, Erika, please let us know. The assistance and information you provide here is always so appreciated!

I honestly think it's a combination of issues. When Teena was still working at the BC she and I had a lot of long talks about the influx of young, inexperienced castmembers being thrust into the deluxe resorts. (Front desk, management, club level, etc.) They'll work for a lot less money and I don't think they get near enough training to equal the years of WDW experience the veteran castmembers have. I'm sure Disney tries to prepare them as best they can, but you all know as well as I do that it is a lot to cover and some of it just comes with time. Heck I've been working with Disney 24/7 for 15 years and I'm still learning new things. It's ever-changing and ever-growing!

 

[mickeynut1]

Thank you. I know a lot of people when the news came out about the refurb panicked and switched resorts (although a lot where DVC staying in Jambo, so I can kind of understand), but we just don't see the big deal and if it is noticeable when we are there we'll just chalk it up to a new experience. A day at AKL, even with a refurb going on, is still better than a day at work.

We're the same way. It wouldn't bother us if we were booked during a time the lounge was being relocated for a refurb. It might be a little bit of an inconvenience, but we'd still enjoy our stay .

AKL is so pretty, did I mention it's almost $2000 cheaper. AHHHHHHHHH

You know how I am Resort changer 4EVER. My DS15 was texting me AKL pics while I was a work yesterday. Enabler!!!

I agree, AKL is beautiful.....and CL gets great reviews! But I will say that a $2000 savings is something to consider . With that said, I would probably stick with Poly CL only because the Poly is my favorite resort overall, but I would give AKL CL some consider before making a final decision .

I just double checked and was definitively told "no, club access ends at 11am when you check out" I asked if it has always been this way and he said YES

The bolded part makes me think you were given wrong information because having lounge access end at 11 am has not always been the policy. CL guests having access to the lounge until midnight of the day you check out is no different than having access to that resort's amenities (pool, etc). You won't be able to have access to your room after 11 am, but you should have no trouble accessing the lounge.

My Aunt and Uncle just returned late last night from an AKL CL stay. They had a Red Eye flight back to San Fran and were in and out of the Lounge until 10:40PM when they had to go meet the Magical Express. They spent all day and night at the resort swimming, eating, relaxing in the lounge. No issues whatsoever using their MBs for access.

Thanks for verifying from someone's very recent experience .

Hope your aunt and uncle had a great trip!

wdwloverz,
I'm sorry if someone gave you that information, but that is not correct.
I just checked out yesterday after being at the AKL Club level for a week. What someone told you is not true, and I just confirmed that with a Manager. Please recheck your information with a Manager if you need to. We have stayed after 11am many times before. Most often out flights do not leave until later in the day. It is true that you will not be able to go back into your room, but your band will still work for access to the lounge area. And they truly do not mind anyone staying after check-out time.
And again I'm sorry that someone gave you wrong information.

Thanks for your input .

Hope you had a nice trip .

I was told the same thing back in Oct. about AKL CL. However, it was not correct at all, we used to lounge the whole next day and again in Dec. Was the guy named Tim that told this to you? I double checked with a manager both times and they said yes, you have full access until midnight. AKL has some new people, that I believe just didn't get trained well. I miss Don, I haven't seen in up there in a while but maybe we just always miss him but he was fantastic. Maybe I'm a bit partial because we share the same birthday. Anyways, I to believe wdwloverz you got told some bad info. Let us know if you talk to a manager and he confirms what you've been told.

I agree, I think the CM gave bad info!

 

[Nikki0401]

This is our first time staying club level and I am coming up on my 180 days. Should I have the IPO office make my ADR's or should I just do it myself? Is there any advantage to having them do it? I have the forms they emailed but I have seen some people talking about how they don't even bother filling any of the paperwork out. What is everyone's opinion???
Thanks

 

[OhThePain]

This is our first time staying club level and I am coming up on my 180 days. Should I have the IPO office make my ADR's or should I just do it myself? Is there any advantage to having them do it? I have the forms they emailed but I have seen some people talking about how they don't even bother filling any of the paperwork out. What is everyone's opinion???
Thanks

For the most part I like to do things myself. I think this time the only things I had them book for us were the Wanyama Safari (only available for AKL guests and has to be booked through IPO anyway) and the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise. If we weren't able to get the other reservations we wanted, I would have let them know, but that ended up not being the case.

 

[wdwloverz]

So I called this morning to let someone downstairs know what was being told to guests up here in the kilamanjaro lounge. I had to explain why I wanted a mgr and the CM laughed and said "ok well I'll pass that along". I said "it's really not funny because some folks plan on having access to the lounge later in the day due to late flights, etc., so to hear we are locked out after 11am is upsetting!" He said ok hang on let me check on that", he came back and said that I was in fact correct and would have access to the lounge until midnight and they would look into the misinformation being passed along".. So I do feel better but never did get to speak to a mgr, lol thanks all for your input

 

[gwynne]

So I called this morning to let someone downstairs know what was being told to guests up here in the kilamanjaro lounge. I had to explain why I wanted a mgr and the CM laughed and said "ok well I'll pass that along". I said "it's really not funny because some folks plan on having access to the lounge later in the day due to late flights, etc., so to hear we are locked out after 11am is upsetting!" He said ok hang on let me check on that", he came back and said that I was in fact correct and would have access to the lounge until midnight and they would look into the misinformation being passed along".. So I do feel better but never did get to speak to a mgr, lol thanks all for your input

It must have been so annoying to have to use valuable vacation time asking multiple CM's.
I am very glad this has worked out for you.

 

[wdwloverz]

It must have been so annoying to have to use valuable vacation time asking multiple CM's.
I am very glad this has worked out for you.

Well.... It kinda was. Like I said before, a very first world problem but I was made to feel unwelcome and like I was asking about something rather unreasonable. It was "gently" explained to me that "just like my magic band won't open my room door after 11 AM it also would not grant me access to the Kilimanjaro club lounge after 11 AM, seeing as how that was CHECKOUT time".

 

[mickeynut1]

This is our first time staying club level and I am coming up on my 180 days. Should I have the IPO office make my ADR's or should I just do it myself? Is there any advantage to having them do it? I have the forms they emailed but I have seen some people talking about how they don't even bother filling any of the paperwork out. What is everyone's opinion???
Thanks

I, personally, like making my own ADRs, so I have never used IPO. With that said, if you don't have the time or don't want to take the time to get online or call, I'd let IPO do it. IPO has the same chance/sees the same availability as you do, so it's really just a matter of preference .

For the most part I like to do things myself.

Same here .

So I called this morning to let someone downstairs know what was being told to guests up here in the kilamanjaro lounge. I had to explain why I wanted a mgr and the CM laughed and said "ok well I'll pass that along". I said "it's really not funny because some folks plan on having access to the lounge later in the day due to late flights, etc., so to hear we are locked out after 11am is upsetting!" He said ok hang on let me check on that", he came back and said that I was in fact correct and would have access to the lounge until midnight and they would look into the misinformation being passed along".. So I do feel better but never did get to speak to a mgr, lol thanks all for your input

I'm glad you finally got the correct information .

One question.....did you call the front desk from your room? If so, those calls are routed to a call center, so you weren't speaking to someone downstairs, but rather to someone in a call center that might not even be in Florida.

It must have been so annoying to have to use valuable vacation time asking multiple CM's.

I agree!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

This is our first time staying club level and I am coming up on my 180 days. Should I have the IPO office make my ADR's or should I just do it myself? Is there any advantage to having them do it? I have the forms they emailed but I have seen some people talking about how they don't even bother filling any of the paperwork out. What is everyone's opinion???
Thanks

I used IPO one trip to make ADRs but I prefer to do it myself. As others have said, there is no real advantage to having them do it other than perhaps saving you time or worrying about getting up early. They don't have any special access or anything. What I didn't like about using them was not being able to adjust things on the fly if, say, a specific ADR wasn't available on the original requested day. At least if I'm doing it myself I can take into account my options, our touring plan, etc, and make an adjustment right there.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I have received an email from AKL CL clarifying that the lounge is definitely available to guests on their checkout day. Management is aware of the misinformation and they want us all to know we are very welcome to be there and they want us all to feel at home.

So we can gladly put this confusion to rest. There are no policy changes and all is well.

Also I have to say I'm very honored to have any Disney castmember reading this thread, you guys are all amazing, THANK YOU!!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I was just over on tikiman's website trying to decide what room requests to make for Poly this summer. What do you guys think????

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I was just over on tikiman's website trying to decide what room requests to make for Poly this summer. What do you guys think????

We had 1503 and LOVED it!! I could see the castle just over the bungalow

 

[pas130]

@pas130 Guess what???? I got the kids' summer school schedule and they've changed the dates! So we can go to WDW earlier than usual! I just booked Poly LV CL for July 20-27!!!

NICE! I am still bummed we moved it up to August. Alas, I had to go with DHs work schedule. I ch-ch-changed from Poly. And we are now at AKL CL 8/6-14 Saved a bundle, and the family is excited more than ever.

I agree, AKL is beautiful.....and CL gets great reviews! But I will say that a $2000 savings is something to consider . With that said, I would probably stick with Poly CL only because the Poly is my favorite resort overall, but I would give AKL CL some consider before making a final decision .

I wish Poly was my favorite, I wanted to love the decision to stay there...but I couldn't. I guess two previous lackluster check-in experiences jaded me LOL That and DH and DD11 complaining about the monorail. The true selling point was the price. We just had our taxes done and OUCH. What I normally use to payoff my trip is nonexistent this year

I have received an email from AKL CL clarifying that the lounge is definitely available to guests on their checkout day. Management is aware of the misinformation and they want us all to know we are very welcome to be there and they want us all to feel at home.

So we can gladly put this confusion to rest. There are no policy changes and all is well.

Also I have to say I'm very honored to have any Disney castmember reading this thread, you guys are all amazing, THANK YOU!!!

This is great news!

I was just over on tikiman's website trying to decide what room requests to make for Poly this summer. What do you guys think????

I would pick 3rd floor, a balcony is awesome! I was so happy to get a balcony at BC last year We have stayed 1st floor which is lovely, but after seeing snakes at OKW and BC I just can't LOL. I doubt any LV room in Hawaii is a bad one though

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

We had 1503 and LOVED it!! I could see the castle just over the bungalow

Did you bring your patio chairs inside? Or leave them out?

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

NICE! I am still bummed we moved it up to August. Alas, I had to go with DHs work schedule. I ch-ch-changed from Poly. And we are now at AKL CL 8/6-14 Saved a bundle, and the family is excited more than ever.

I wish Poly was my favorite, I wanted to love the decision to stay there...but I couldn't. I guess two previous lackluster check-in experiences jaded me LOL That and DH and DD11 complaining about the monorail. The true selling point was the price. We just had our taxes done and OUCH. What I normally use to payoff my trip is nonexistent this year

This is great news!

I would pick 3rd floor, a balcony is awesome! I was so happy to get a balcony at BC last year We have stayed 1st floor which is lovely, but after seeing snakes at OKW and BC I just can't LOL. I doubt any LV room in Hawaii is a bad one though

I didn't realize you moved! You probably told me and I forgot. BUMMER!

 

[mmmears]

Thanks for clearing up the Lounge times... It really is something that the CMs who work in CL should know about (this isn't all that complicated after all). Nice to hear there is no change in policy.

As for Poly CL, we had the 2nd to last room on the 3rd floor on our last trip (3517) and the walk wasn't bad. The view was spectacular but that was before the bungalows were added. I do love those 3rd floor rooms (I can't remember which other ones we have had) for watching Wishes and the EWP, but then we don't mind using the stairs. I think the elevator in that building is a bit slow and small.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Thanks for clearing up the Lounge times... It really is something that the CMs who work in CL should know about (this isn't all that complicated after all). Nice to hear there is no change in policy.

As for Poly CL, we had the 2nd to last room on the 3rd floor on our last trip (3517) and the walk wasn't bad. The view was spectacular but that was before the bungalows were added. I do love those 3rd floor rooms (I can't remember which other ones we have had) for watching Wishes and the EWP, but then we don't mind using the stairs. I think the elevator in that building is a bit slow and small.

I don't mind being at the end, it's a small building, but I'm wondering if I should upgrade to TPV just to raise my chances for 3rd floor. I didn't realize there were only 2 LV rooms on that floor.

 

[mickeynut1]

What I didn't like about using them was not being able to adjust things on the fly if, say, a specific ADR wasn't available on the original requested day. At least if I'm doing it myself I can take into account my options, our touring plan, etc, and make an adjustment right there.

This is how I feel. I've never used IPO as I like to book myself, but being able to make spur of the moment changes during the booking process is something that comes in handy sometimes .

I wish Poly was my favorite, I wanted to love the decision to stay there...but I couldn't. I guess two previous lackluster check-in experiences jaded me LOL That and DH and DD11 complaining about the monorail. The true selling point was the price. We just had our taxes done and OUCH. What I normally use to payoff my trip is nonexistent this year

I'm sorry your Poly check in experiences haven't been very good in the past. We are fortunate to have had great experiences at all resorts we've stayed at for all of our trips, so I hate seeing when others have bad/lackluster experiences.

Congrats on the change to AKL CL, as well as on the savings (sorry about the taxes, though). I think you'll have a great time. AKL is an awesome resort and CL gets great reviews .

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I was just over on tikiman's website trying to decide what room requests to make for Poly this summer. What do you guys think????

For TPV, I like to request a third floor room (first preference), close to the lounge (secondary preference). I will put a range of room numbers because I don't want to be those first few from the elevator but I don't want to be all the way at the end either. But like you said, it's not a big building and I wouldn't mind if I were at the end, it's just a few steps closer with the kiddos. This is the view from roughly 3506 or 3508 (can't remember).