Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[mickeynut1]

Well it seems to me that breakfast goes until 10:30. Then just beverages and always a fruit bowl (apples and maybe oranges and/or bananas) until 11:30 when snacks come out. And those snacks are very minor things like goldfish, cookies, gummie bears, things like that. If we are spending the afternoon at the pool, we sometimes ask the CM's for other things like yogurt so we can have some healthier alternatives at the pool.

You are always very helpful and informative about CL .

We have had wonderful luck with CL IPO we go over Christmas or the week before and I had two restaurants (BOG) & Liberty Tree Tavern that were not loaded in yet for ADR's & they popped up a week later in MDE & email conformation. Do you fill out the form they send and fax it back??? I guess it depends on who u get some CM in IPO go above & beyond & know tricks & some I know more then them! Haha

I agree about the helpfulness depending on who you get as some IPO CMs do a lot more than others when it comes to helping guests.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Pics of my view!
https://twitter.com/erika_murphy/status/742413938357374976

 

[mmmears]

I'm loving all your pics so far. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I'm loving all your pics so far. I hope you have a great trip!

Thanks!!!!

 

[pld5]

Hi all, just wanted to pop in and report quickly on our YC CL stay last week June 5-10. In past years, we've stayed CL at WL, BWI and now YC.

We stay CL for the conveniences of coffee and continental breakfast options in the morning and wine and beer in the evening. We had wonderful interactions with cast members at WL and at BWI, but during our YC stay there were no standouts. I don't think the layout of the lounge allowed for as much interaction with the CL CM's as at BWI, and the interaction was missed by my family. The lounge did met our needs, and my son and husband are in love with Stormalong Bay at YC, but overall we didn't feel this stay was quite as "special" as ones we have had in the past. I understand that there have been cutbacks over the years, so perhaps our expectations were inflated due to our past experiences.

My husband mentioned how disappointed he was that we weren't greeted and checked in on the CL floor. Because of that, he felt our arrival was a nonevent. Me, I was glad to get the text with our room number at 2pm, precisely when I predicted we would arrive when I did online check in, but I understand his disappointment because of our other experiences. We did get great attention from Bell Services not only when taking our luggage to our room initially, but each time we walked by their station in the downstairs lobby we were greeted very warmly.

Would we do it again? Probably someday simply because of the pool area, location and the breakfast options and wine and beer in the lounge. But we are planning a trip in August and I'm already looking elsewhere with fond memories of BWI. My son says we should try BC (he loved that pool!).

What we liked:
Plentiful options for continental breakfast - pastries, bagels, croissants, hard boiled eggs, cantaloupe, strawberries, quinoa, oatmeal, grits, cereals, coffee, tea, apple and orange juice, espresso......
Location of the lounge and elevators in the resort were convenient for transportation (bus or boat).
Staircase took us down to a pool entrance (but not back to the 5th floor).
Stormalong Bay was a lot of fun and honestly never felt crowded.
Full balcony but no real view (front of resort, bus stop) - we booked Standard and had room 5210. Very quiet room, not close to the lounge, but not too far either. Had windows on two sides of the room.
Wine and Beer options and Cordials - My husband loved the Longboard beer. I drank my fair share of Pinot Grigio.
Snacks - Homemade plain and old bay chips - Cookies, Swedish fish, wasabi pea snack mix.
Nice selection of merchandise in the Gift shop.
Location was great to several restaurants and food options within YC and BC resorts.
Bus Board telling us when to expect buses for parks.
Proximity to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

What we less than liked:
Lounge closed at various points of the day. Between 10:30 and 11:30. Between 4:00 and 5:00. There is no seating outside or around the lounge like there is at WL and BWI, so when it is closed you have nowhere to hangout.
The pool entrance was limited to one entrance closer to BC. I found myself wondering if it was due to staffing cutbacks.
Would have liked to be greeted upon arrival other than via text message.

We were at Disney World, so of course the week was great, and you can see my likes outweighed the less than likes.

 

[Eastern]

Pics of my view!
https://twitter.com/erika_murphy/status/742413938357374976

I liked that hotel very much.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi all, just wanted to pop in and report quickly on our YC CL stay last week June 5-10. In past years, we've stayed CL at WL, BWI and now YC.

We stay CL for the conveniences of coffee and continental breakfast options in the morning and wine and beer in the evening. We had wonderful interactions with cast members at WL and at BWI, but during our YC stay there were no standouts. I don't think the layout of the lounge allowed for as much interaction with the CL CM's as at BWI, and the interaction was missed by my family. The lounge did met our needs, and my son and husband are in love with Stormalong Bay at YC, but overall we didn't feel this stay was quite as "special" as ones we have had in the past. I understand that there have been cutbacks over the years, so perhaps our expectations were inflated due to our past experiences.

We were at Disney World, so of course the week was great, and you can see my likes outweighed the less than likes.

Thanks for your review. We've never stayed CL at YC/BC, but have stayed WL CL and I agree about the lounge. It is nice having a place to sit and relax any time of day without worrying about the lounge being closed. I'm sorry your YC CL stay didn't feel as special as your BWI CL and WL CL stays, but glad you had a nice trip overall .

 

[miracledaughter]

polynesian garden view CL room is almost $100/night more than GF sugar loaf CL standard room. Any advice on which to go with? Pros and cons of each? Safety aside (I hope they find that boy and figure out how to prevent any future alligator attacks!!)...

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Safety is the same at both--they both are on the water. Don't get too close to the water.

Poly CL is my absolute favorite, but part of that is just my memories of great experiences there with my kids and how much I love the theming of the resort. The view from the lounge is really great.

We stayed at GF Sugarloaf in a nothing-special-view room (not sure what they called it, but it was the lowest level) in March and really enjoyed it. I don't think any of the views in that building are bad--we looked out towards the marina and it was so peaceful and just lovely. We thought the lounge was great there--so convenient and we always had plenty of room. But there's no view there, and I don't think you'd find yourself just wanting to sit there and relax a while like you might at the Poly. It's more of an enjoy your snacks or grab a soda on the way out the door place. The building is super-convenient to the pool, the main building, the boat launch, and the quick-service restaurant.

 

[mickeynut1]

polynesian garden view CL room is almost $100/night more than GF sugar loaf CL standard room. Any advice on which to go with? Pros and cons of each?

We haven't tried CL at the Poly, but have stayed GF SL and my choice between the two would be Poly CL. I'm glad I tried SL, but I wasn't impressed. I found the lounge small and chaotic with not enough seating to accommodate the number of guests staying there. Also, since the lounge is located in the lobby as you enter the SL building, there are no windows/views. SL is convenient to the courtyard pool if you will be spending a lot of time poolside, but other than that, I didn't find anything extra special about it (just my opinion). Good luck.

 

[Tntfras]

Has anyone stayed WL club level recently? Any reviews? We just booked a two night deluxe club level for August.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Has anyone stayed WL club level recently? Any reviews? We just booked a two night deluxe club level for August.

We weren't there recently (about a year ago) but love the deluxe rooms. We had a great room that overlooked the pool and the lake. The only problem with the deluxe rooms is that they are not on the CL lounge floor. We loved that there was plenty of seating and you can sit all day long - whether the lounge is open or not. They also had a nice variety of food. The CMs were very nice to us. If they were going to close the lounge - they would come out to people sitting and asking if they wanted anything before they closed it. We love the WL lodge and can't wait to stay CL again.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

I'm thinking of staying CL again at WDW, but I am having such an internal debate over which resort to stay CL at, I'm considering going in early May or late April, or early December. (what a variety of choices right?)

So I guess I would like an opinion on the following club levels/resorts, because I only have experience with a few WDW resorts and only one experience for CL at WDW. I've done AKL and I absolutely loved it, I wouldn't mind going back but I would love to try a new resort out.
So here are my options/I'll have some questions too for some of hte resorts
a) Contemporary/Bay Lake Tower: I know these are linked kind of right? One of the reasons why I would love to stay here is cause you can get a really good theme park view it seems but I do not like the exterior of the resort. It reminds me of lego's. But what is the Club Level like, and would it be good for an adult only trip?
b) Wilderness Lodge: what's everyone's general opinion about this one? I've seen pictures and I love the design of it, kind of reminds me of other resorts at other Disney properties. Same question as above though when it comes to an adult only trip.
c) Beach Club/Yacht Club: I know they're two different resorts but they seem so close, so I guess which resort is the better option and has a better CL.
d) Grand Floridian: This is pricey, but the person I am going with is obsessed with the way it looks and really wants to stay here but doesn't want to stay if the services aren't great and the price doesn't feel worth it.

Those are my five options, I thought about Boardwalk, but it looks like it's so far away but it's by Epcot and that's my favorite park but I just don't know I haven't heard a lot about it and I was reading up on it and it seems really cool and that there is a lot to do there, I'm just afraid of the distance to the other parks.. granted I know that there are no central location resorts that are Deluxe right? I'd be open to Boardwalk, but I'd need to know a lot of information and read lots of reviews.

I also considered the Polynesian but the rooms seem really compact compared to the other rooms at other resorts.

Also of all my choices I know that Contemporary and Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge are closer to Magic Kingdom but how long does it take to get to the other parks? And what are the buses like? Some resorts share buses right?
Same question for Beach Club/Yacht club, I know they are close to Epcot.

 

[TJA]

@Snap Crackle Pop Those are some really nice CL choices! The most "elite" is probably GF if you are considering staying in the main building CL (RPC). It was a notch above all others, plus the GF itself was amazing. The food was constant without "down-time" like some other CL's we've stayed at, mainly referring to afternoon time when most other CL's just put out minor things like goldfish, while GF puts out scones, banana bread, plus all the normal minor things too.

Having said that, as your favorite park is Epcot and this is an adult trip, an Epcot resort may be better suited for you. We have an upcoming stay at BWI CL and I've read mainly all great things about it and how it's comparable to GF. It's a very short walk away from International Gateway which takes you right into Epcot countries....VERY convenient to Epcot. We've stayed BC CL many, many times and it's also great and newly re-done in the last year or 2. YC is getting a refurb, maybe it's done by now or will be done by the time you go. Something to consider is what type of lounge you would enjoy most -- we've grown to love lounges with a great view. I'm not sure yet how BWI is, but BC is enclosed without a view. Also, consider balconies. As adults, we LOVE our balcony time with a drink and nice view. Not all BC rooms have balconies. Not sure about YC and BWI. Also, I believe the lounge in all 3 closes at various times of the day for cleaning, etc., and the doors are also locked at night after dessert time. We're not fond of this at all.

CR....we loved our CL stay there. The views are Amazing!! The lounge is comfortable, food was good. I get what you mean about the appearance, though. We loved it mainly because our kids loved it -- it really felt so Disney-ish being right next to MK, the monorail, the views, Chef Mickeys. Not sure how we'd feel going there without our kids.

WL...we stayed once and thought it was ok. The CL itself was pretty good -- I think it was more the other aspects that didn't appeal to us. But being that you're going without kids, you wouldn't mind the smallish rooms and closed panel balconies as much as we did, most likely.

As a side note, Poly rooms are not compact. If you're referring to size, they are actually quite spacious. And the view from the lounge is amazing!

Somewhere on this board is the actual transportation time to parks from various resorts. Honestly, buses are usually luck of the draw. Sometimes we get to the bus stop as our bus is driving away and therefore have to wait quite a while. Other times our bus is just arriving when we do, so we hop right on. Bus-sharing sometimes depends on the time of the year and how busy it is. I don't bother saying our experiences anymore because we've had awful bus experiences as well as great bus experiences at every resort we've stayed it. Bottom line is a walking path is the easiest/most convenient way to travel to parks because you travel on your own time without any waiting. At CR, you can walk to MK. At BC, YC, and BWI, you can walk to Epcot (and HS).

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I'm thinking of staying CL again at WDW, but I am having such an internal debate over which resort to stay CL at, I'm considering going in early May or late April, or early December. (what a variety of choices right?)

I love many of your choices. Here are our feelings about your choices:
GF CL - we stayed at the Sugar Loaf CL and didn't love it. It was a few years ago when the food was plentiful but didn't love the CM's. Some were just cold. No interaction at all. We didn't love the location. I hear the main building is better and if I did GF CL again it would be in the main building.

CR CL - we love the CR and the CL. The staff was friendly and some of the CMs were really sweet. We enjoyed the food and loved the view from the lounge. Our room had a Bay view and it was lovely. We love the monorail and love that you can walk to MK.

Poly CL - we loved the lounge and loved that it was open all day. The CM's were hit or miss. Some were really nice and some weren't. They ran out of some breakfast foods about 45 minutes before it closed on 2 days and they didn't replenish it. This was last year. We were there during construction and didn't love all the mess. We are trying it again this summer.

WL CL - we absolutely loved the WL. We had a deluxe room and it was lovely. We loved our view of the pool and lake. We loved the grounds and the lobby. We love that you can sit in the lounge all day and night. We will absolutely stay there again. We took the boat to MK - it was great.

The EPCOT resorts. We love the EPCOT area and the resorts. If buses are your issue these are great choices. You walk to EPCOT and take a boat to HS or you can walk (it is about 15-20 minutes but you can.) So you only need to take a bus to MK and AK. We also love the nightlife on the boardwalk. So much activity and so much fun.

BC CL - the new lounge is huge and they have a huge variety of food. The CMs weren't that friendly when we last went. None stuck in my mind. We don't like that the lounge closes during the day and at night. They could just put the food away and allow us to sit in there. We would stay there again but it is not top on our list.

YC CL - the lounge and the resort need to be refurbished. Not sure of the timeline for this. We love Regina one of the CMs there. Any issue that we had she took care of. Again - you can't sit in the lounge all day since they close it at times. The food was good. The YC and BC share the same pool which is nice but the YC seems more reserved.

BWI CL - we love the BWI CMs. Anita and Lorenzo are truly wonderful CL CMs. We have stayed there several times and love both of them. Truly we pick to stay there just for them. They went out of their way to help with anything we needed. The food choices were good. We also get a deluxe room there because we are a family of 6 and we all can fit. Nothing like the WL deluxe rooms but very nice and we love our Boardwalk view. We love to sit on the porch with that view.

I think any of these resorts are good for an adult only trip. I hope this helps. Ask any other questions that you might have.
One other thing is that you can also take a cab going to any of the parks except MK. We did that when it was really hot and no buses.

 

[andigomeep]

Hello! In a momentary lapse of judgement, I booked 5 nights at YC CL for September. We're old pros at Disney but we've never stayed CL. I'm trying to learn all about it so hopefully my questions are okay. I've been playing around with the room view finder on TP but since there aren't that many rooms, would there be any real benefit to using it or just let them assign me whatever room? With online check in and texting room numbers, are you still greeted and brought up to the CL check in area or just text and go straight to your room? We have to switch to 5 days garden view after the first stay, is there ever a chance of late check out? I'd like to avoid having to drop the bags but hopefully just go from one room to the next directly. I'm off to read as much as I can. Thanks!

 

[got15]

Can't stay away from Disney!! Just booked our first BWI and BWI CL stay for our 10 year anniversary and my 40th birthday! (also DS6 Birthday). We will be staying there Nov 27-Dec 2!

 

[LinnyNad]

Anyone have a current list of the food offerings at BWI/CL? I'm just curious as we have never stayed there before and I am looking forward to it. We have stayed CL at Poly, BC and GF/RPC and hands down Poly has been the most amazing with RPC coming in last sadly. Also does anyone have any room requests we should maybe put in at BWI?

 

[ellie&mattys mom]

We leave in a month still trying hard to keep the club level part a secret staying at Old Key West first!! kids are 17 and 20!! looking forward to a washing machine for a few days!!

 

[AliceIn]

polynesian garden view CL room is almost $100/night more than GF sugar loaf CL standard room. Any advice on which to go with? .

I really hated my stay at Sugar Loaf, and I would not stay there again. The room was nice, probably the nicest on property. The lounge was noisy, chaotic, and almost never enough seating during breakfast and evening services. The CMs there were not friendly, and were not helpful even when we asked for help with basic things like getting a DVD for the kids. The food was not replenished consistently, so there were times when we were not able to get something basic like yogurt at breakfast. Evenings were even worse. The food would be gone within minutes, and no replacements for 20 to 30 minutes.

We loved our BC, CR, and YC club stays. We are looking forward to our first Poly stay next month. I will never go back to Sugar Loaf, but I will try RPC.

For the record, our favorite CL thus far has been the CR.