Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[TJA]

Having read some recent decline in service/perks/offerings posts, I am now debating keeping my CL reservation at the Poly for 2 nights in June... Any words of encouragement and/or caution for me? I need to make a decision on this ASAP. I am travelling with my DH and adult DD. Thanks for helping me make up my flippin' mind once and for all!

If you scroll up and also look at the past few pages of this thread, you'll see lots of recent chatter and some awesome pics from Poly CL building! I fall into the enabler category too, so I'm probably not the best person to comment on this topic. CL at Poly is wonderful largely due to the location of the CL building -- the views are gorgeous, you're close to the main pool and close to the main building too. If you have a pool day, it's so convenient to zip back and forth between the lounge and the pool to grab water, juice, pop, beer....

 

[AquaDame]

When we stay CL I usually have a plan for lunch somewhere, either CS in a park, or TS at a park or resort. Then snacks and drinks in the lounge. We may eat a light dinner later, or snacks.

Maybe book dinner ADRs now and see how you feel after the first day. You can always cancel them later.

True, but I do hate doing that since some people see that as "hoarding"..!

If you scroll up and also look at the past few pages of this thread, you'll see lots of recent chatter and some awesome pics from Poly CL building! I fall into the enabler category too, so I'm probably not the best person to comment on this topic. CL at Poly is wonderful largely due to the location of the CL building -- the views are gorgeous, you're close to the main pool and close to the main building too. If you have a pool day, it's so convenient to zip back and forth between the lounge and the pool to grab water, juice, pop, beer....

How are the garden views..? We don't have TPV availability for our dates...

 

[TJA]

True, but I do hate doing that since some people see that as "hoarding"..!



How are the garden views..? We don't have TPV availability for our dates...

I haven't stayed GV in a long time, but I think those views will be nice after the pool it faces is open (it might already be open or close to opening?).

Is LV available for your dates? If so, we like staying on the 1st floor and all of those rooms are now considered LV I believe (due to the bungalows). We don't mind the bungalows there -- we can still watch Wishes from our patio and we really like walking out onto the beach from our room.

 

[AquaDame]

I haven't stayed GV in a long time, but I think those views will be nice after the pool it faces is open (it might already be open or close to opening?).

Is LV available for your dates? If so, we like staying on the 1st floor and all of those rooms are now considered LV I believe (due to the bungalows). We don't mind the bungalows there -- we can still watch Wishes from our patio and we really like walking out onto the beach from our room.

Silly question but.. the patio door isn't able to lock behind you, right? If it did that would be a game changer but I think they have normal locks like at home where you have to lock from inside, right?

 

[Eastern]

True, but I do hate doing that since some people see that as "hoarding"..!

It's not hoarding, because you might need them! Hoarding is booking 2 or 3 places in the same time frame.

And if you don't book anything, people will say you are eating too many CL snacks. You can't win, really.

 

[outahere]

Silly question but.. the patio door isn't able to lock behind you, right? If it did that would be a game changer but I think they have normal locks like at home where you have to lock from inside, right?

Correct. You can not lock or unlock the sliders from outside the room.

 

[gwynne]

It's not hoarding, because you might need them! Hoarding is booking 2 or 3 places in the same time frame.

And if you don't book anything, people will say you are eating too many CL snacks. You can't win, really.

Exactly.
And I might add, you have far more options when you book TS and you are not doing the dining plan.
Sometimes we book a late lunch and have that be the big meal of the day. Other times we have a few snackies in the lounge, and then go to a TS. We often order a couple of salads and a couple of appetizers. That's plenty for us, and we like the variety. Occasionally we'll switch the salads for a couple of side vegetable dishes. It's lighter, and lots of variety.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

How are the garden views..? We don't have TPV availability for our dates...

I will caveat that only one of our Poly CL trips has been GV, but personally, I love the GV side just as much and it promises to be really nice now with the view of the Oasis Pool since it will be more of a scene than it was before. I also think Poly CL GV rooms are a good relative value, much easier on the wallet and you have the lounge to make up for no theme park view. Frankly any view of the Poly grounds is a great view, in my humble opinion. My one bit of advice would be to request a room towards the middle of the building. I wouldn't want to be in the first few (like 1-3) rooms from the elevator as you're kind of above a service entrance and looking more towards the side of another building. Our room was smack in the middle of the building and we loved it.

 

[BlueSkies]

Wanted to share our recent experience with Poly IPO with relation to booking ADRs....

On out 180 day mark I went on line...list in hand..ready to book all of our ADRs...a bit challenging too because we wanted BOG on day one...any way..I did not know that there was/is?? a glitch with booking ADRs recently..and could not book anything past our first day( yay at least we got the BOG ressie..whew..) ..and yes...everything was linked thru my MDE..when after the 3rd try I kept getting the dreaded error message... and since I knew knew that the IPO was not yet opened...I emailed them with details of what we would like them to book...including some allergies that needed to be listed on our ADRs...so absolutely no advance notice...just an early morning same day email....by 10am I had a call back...and shortly after had a email with all of our dining booked...much to my relief....So hats off to them for really being on the ball ...and being so nice too... The CM on the phone not only was professional and courteous..she was very reassuring that they could indeed get my dining booked in spite of the problems that I was having...

 

[AquaDame]

It's not hoarding, because you might need them! Hoarding is booking 2 or 3 places in the same time frame.

And if you don't book anything, people will say you are eating too many CL snacks. You can't win, really.

Some still do think it is quite naughty to take good ADRs if you aren't sure you want them... you have a very good point about eating too many snacks though! Decisions decisions...

Correct. You can not lock or unlock the sliders from outside the room.

Thank you!

Exactly.
And I might add, you have far more options when you book TS and you are not doing the dining plan.
Sometimes we book a late lunch and have that be the big meal of the day. Other times we have a few snackies in the lounge, and then go to a TS. We often order a couple of salads and a couple of appetizers. That's plenty for us, and we like the variety. Occasionally we'll switch the salads for a couple of side vegetable dishes. It's lighter, and lots of variety.

Oh heavens yes... we have never and will pay for the dining plan. We had it for free the first year we went and it was way too much food for us at once. We still ended up paying for a lot of things out of pocket anyway since we like appetizers more than desserts at dinner and if we order drinks (usually we just want water) it'd be something with alcohol in it. If we had paid for it we would have felt silly...! I like two sit downs a day - usually breakfast is one of them - and we don't tend to order an entree apiece, an appetizer and entree to split is sufficient... later in the evening we might get something sweet from a cart. Even then I feel like a balloon by day 2..! I've added it all up every year and we save a lot of money by just paying OOP even considering the drinks!

I will caveat that only one of our Poly CL trips has been GV, but personally, I love the GV side just as much and it promises to be really nice now with the view of the Oasis Pool since it will be more of a scene than it was before. I also think Poly CL GV rooms are a good relative value, much easier on the wallet and you have the lounge to make up for no theme park view. Frankly any view of the Poly grounds is a great view, in my humble opinion. My one bit of advice would be to request a room towards the middle of the building. I wouldn't want to be in the first few (like 1-3) rooms from the elevator as you're kind of above a service entrance and looking more towards the side of another building. Our room was smack in the middle of the building and we loved it.

In October we had one like that in a studio in Tokelau - it was right across from the DVC showroom entrance and I thought the people watching was rather fun there & if I leaned out and looked left I had a nice view of the lagoon at least! I tried looking at the pictures they have up on touring plans for each room and they seemed fine, even the ones on the end seem ok! I'm so happy to be staying at the Poly again!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Having read some recent decline in service/perks/offerings posts, I am now debating keeping my CL reservation at the Poly for 2 nights in June... Any words of encouragement and/or caution for me? I need to make a decision on this ASAP. I am travelling with my DH and adult DD. Thanks for helping me make up my flippin' mind once and for all!

No need for debate, KEEP IT! Any nits you see people comment on (myself included) are more than likely relatively minor in the overall scheme of things. And with only two nights, heck, if it turns out not being for you, really no harm done. Granted I am a Poly homer, but for a variety of reasons we really love it, especially CL there.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Wanted to share our recent experience with Poly IPO with relation to booking ADRs....

On out 180 day mark I went on line...list in hand..ready to book all of our ADRs...a bit challenging too because we wanted BOG on day one...any way..I did not know that there was/is?? a glitch with booking ADRs recently..and could not book anything past our first day( yay at least we got the BOG ressie..whew..) ..and yes...everything was linked thru my MDE..when after the 3rd try I kept getting the dreaded error message... and since I knew knew that the IPO was not yet opened...I emailed them with details of what we would like them to book...including some allergies that needed to be listed on our ADRs...so absolutely no advance notice...just an early morning same day email....by 10am I had a call back...and shortly after had a email with all of our dining booked...much to my relief....So hats off to them for really being on the ball ...and being so nice too... The CM on the phone not only was professional and courteous..she was very reassuring that they could indeed get my dining booked in spite of the problems that I was having...

This is great to hear, thanks for posting your detailed experience.

 

[tobin04]

Has anyone stayed CL (particularly the Contemporary) with a peanut/tree nut allergy? My son is 2 1/2 and this is his first trip with this diagnosis. We've stayed CL many times (GF, and Poly), but never the Contempo. I'm just a little nervous with him being so little, but he's going to want the cookies and things like his sisters will have!! Give me your thoughts! I know our reservation is marked with his allergy.

 

[tobin04]

Also-whenever I've emailed conceirge before our stay it's seemed kind of silly. I have a TA who books everything I need. It was usually a Hi-we're coming soon email, and just seemed awkward. But now I want to email and ask about a few things regarding allergies. For instance-the chocolates they put on the pillows-how do I find out if they are safe? Or if they have a safe option? Or if I should just pack some andes mints for him! HA!

 

[tarak]

I will caveat that only one of our Poly CL trips has been GV, but personally, I love the GV side just as much and it promises to be really nice now with the view of the Oasis Pool since it will be more of a scene than it was before. I also think Poly CL GV rooms are a good relative value, much easier on the wallet and you have the lounge to make up for no theme park view. Frankly any view of the Poly grounds is a great view, in my humble opinion. My one bit of advice would be to request a room towards the middle of the building. I wouldn't want to be in the first few (like 1-3) rooms from the elevator as you're kind of above a service entrance and looking more towards the side of another building. Our room was smack in the middle of the building and we loved it.

I just sent in my room request to Poly IPO and My request was for somewhere in the middle of the longhouse. I'd prefer a patio, but if not that I'd like the third floor since my mom and I do spend a lot of time on the balcony. I don't want to be near an elevator (spent three nights at Portofino Bay near a service elevator and it was brutally loud all night long).

Finally starting to get excited - 55 days out.

 

[gwynne]

Also-whenever I've emailed conceirge before our stay it's seemed kind of silly. I have a TA who books everything I need. It was usually a Hi-we're coming soon email, and just seemed awkward. But ncw I want to email and ask about a few things regarding allergies. For instance-the chocolates they put on the pillows-how do I find out if they are safe? Or if they have a safe option? Or if I should just pack some andes mints for him! HA!

You can email and ask, no reason to feel it's awkward. They answer emails all day long. If it were me, I'd always pack something that I knew was medically safe just in case.

 

[opusone]

Has anyone stayed CL (particularly the Contemporary) with a peanut/tree nut allergy? My son is 2 1/2 and this is his first trip with this diagnosis. We've stayed CL many times (GF, and Poly), but never the Contempo. I'm just a little nervous with him being so little, but he's going to want the cookies and things like his sisters will have!! Give me your thoughts! I know our reservation is marked with his allergy.

Our son has peanut and tree nut allergies, and we have stayed CL at Yacht Club, but not at Contemporary. Disney, in general, is phenomenal about food allergies, but you do have to inform them. So, even though you have added it to your reservation and hopefully ADRs (if you have any), you should tell the CMs/servers/etc each time what his allergies are, and ask them what is safe for him. At restaurants, they will usually send out the chef to discuss with you. The CL CMs should be able to find an ingredient list for anything they put out. I have even heard of them bringing the hotel chef to discuss, although we have not needed this. Our son usually just sticks to bagels/cream cheese, cereal, and/or bananas for breakfast which are all safe. We weren't really around for the CL afternoon snacks, and he usually just took a handful of Swedish Fish in the evening.

At 2 1/2, you will have to watch that he doesn't go after something that isn't safe. Our son was older, so he already knew to ask before putting anything into his mouth. I hope you have a great time!

Also-whenever I've emailed conceirge before our stay it's seemed kind of silly. I have a TA who books everything I need. It was usually a Hi-we're coming soon email, and just seemed awkward. But now I want to email and ask about a few things regarding allergies. For instance-the chocolates they put on the pillows-how do I find out if they are safe? Or if they have a safe option? Or if I should just pack some andes mints for him! HA!

Definitely e-mail them. This is exactly what they are there for, and one of the reasons you pay more for CL. Also, you should always bring Andes... just because they are so darn good!

 

[pas130]

I forgot to post yesterday friends, sorry...

The changes are:

7/28-8/1 Poly TPV CL
8/1-8/5 BWI CL

 

[TJA]

Wanted to share our recent experience with Poly IPO with relation to booking ADRs....

On out 180 day mark I went on line...list in hand..ready to book all of our ADRs...a bit challenging too because we wanted BOG on day one...any way..I did not know that there was/is?? a glitch with booking ADRs recently..and could not book anything past our first day( yay at least we got the BOG ressie..whew..) ..and yes...everything was linked thru my MDE..when after the 3rd try I kept getting the dreaded error message... and since I knew knew that the IPO was not yet opened...I emailed them with details of what we would like them to book...including some allergies that needed to be listed on our ADRs...so absolutely no advance notice...just an early morning same day email....by 10am I had a call back...and shortly after had a email with all of our dining booked...much to my relief....So hats off to them for really being on the ball ...and being so nice too... The CM on the phone not only was professional and courteous..she was very reassuring that they could indeed get my dining booked in spite of the problems that I was having...

This is nice to hear! As a matter of fact, I had a great experience with Poly IPO last July too. We had a birthday celebration and normally when I email with IPO about this topic, I get directed to the cake hotline number (which is fine...). But this time, the CM asked what kind and size cake I wanted and she took care of everything! No phone call was required for any of this -- just a simple email and the CM did the rest. The total was simply added to my hotel bill. Normally, I don't have great interaction via email with IPO - I just it's just luck of the draw.

 

[TJA]

I forgot to post yesterday friends, sorry...

The changes are:

7/28-8/1 Poly TPV CL
8/1-8/5 BWI CL

Jumping up and down - yay!! Hey, that sounds something like our 4th of July trip except we're staying at BWI CL deluxe room first, then Poly CL LV second.