Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi there! We just booked a "last minute" trip to see our DD who is a CP at WDW. Our DD was able to get us 50% off at The Polynesian GV Club Level!! We are super excited!! We check in on Sept 13th for 7 nights. We stayed at the Poly club level back in 2010 when my DD (same one that is a CP) won a deluxe disney trip off of a local radio contest. She was 13 at the time. We are bringing our DS 7 with us and he will turn 8 during our trip. We plan to spend a lot of time at our resort since we were at WDW back in January for two weeks. We are only doing 3 park days plus MNSSHP one night. I'm wondering what has changed with Poly club level since 2010? Also what kind of activities does the Poly have for children? Thank you!!

Dang...I think Poly CL GV is one of the best values to begin with and that is an AWESOME discount! That is an awesome time to go as well, in my humble opinion. Lower Sept crowds, MNSSHP going on, F&W will already be going on this year. I'd go every year in September if I could.

Not sure what Poly CL was like back in 2010 but they upgraded/changed their food offerings earlier this year. Afternoon snacks are more substantial/improved (eg, lettuce chicken or shrimp wraps, chips, granola mix, etc) and evening apps are now 3-4 "small plates" with decent variety, flavors, etc. I always tended to rate Poly CL food relatively low among the CLs I've been to, but this new setup is a big improvement in my opinion.

One new thing about CL is that the old Itinerary Planning Office (IPO) is no more, instead replaced with a new centralized service called Disney Signature Services (DSS). DSS is basically just like IPO, just centralized and not specific to a particular resort/CL. They can assist with various pre-planning needs, adding requests to your reservation, noting the birthday on your reservation, etc. You can contact them via: (407) 939-7777 disney.signature.services@disneyworld.com

Kids activities generally include afternoon pool party games/activities, outdoor movies on select nights, campfire/marshmallows on select nights, etc. We made some Mickey Tie Dye t-shirts two afternoons this past weekend at the pool. This one has a small fee, but it's a great way to get the kids engaged with making a lasting souvenir.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Hey guys
Just got the guest list updated and I noticed we have some photos that were donated to this thread by other DISboard members which are now unavailable. Photobucket has recently changed their policy on 3rd party hosting. Luckily all of my pics are still working since I have a paid account with them, but the others I will need to replace or migrate to my account. If you donated please send me a private message so we can figure out what to do. thanks!

 

[NicoleLarson]

Hey guys
Just got the guest list updated and I noticed we have some photos that were donated to this thread by other DISboard members which are now unavailable. Photobucket has recently changed their policy on 3rd party hosting. Luckily all of my pics are still working since I have a paid account with them, but the others I will need to replace or migrate to my account. If you donated please send me a private message so we can figure out what to do. thanks!

Good to see you Erika, we miss your insight on all things CL! Could you change the info on page 1 about the individual IPOs and put the new DSS info on there?

 

[mickeynut1]

That is an awesome time to go as well, in my humble opinion. Lower Sept crowds, MNSSHP going on, F&W will already be going on this year. I'd go every year in September if I could.

We love Sept, too. We've gone a couple times at the very end of Sept/beginning of Oct and it was great, just an awesome time to go with so much going on .

 

[Eastern]

Happy to answer any Poly questions, I know many of you have upcoming trips!

Room 3511, third floor just past the 'middle' of the building as you walk away from the lounge.

What room requests would you make for LV CL room? Did you just request third floor?

I just saw that they have LV and TPV for CL rooms in Hawaii. What is the difference? If LV is only going to be a first floor garden view, essentially, should we just save the money and pay for GV?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

What room requests would you make for LV CL room? Did you just request third floor?

I just saw that they have LV and TPV for CL rooms in Hawaii. What is the difference? If LV is only going to be a first floor garden view, essentially, should we just save the money and pay for GV?

Poly has both LV and TPV rooms. For LV, most of the rooms are on the first floor but there are some on the second and third floors as well that have a direct castle few blocked by a tree (there aren't that many of these though). If it were me, I would request first floor as the first/primary request and being close to the lounge as a secondary request. That second part is probably optional, I just like being a few steps closer to the lounge, front entrance, etc. The Hawaii longhouse isn't that big at the end of the day.

Does that help?

@TJA is more of a LV pro than me, maybe she can give her input as well.

 

[Eastern]

Poly has both LV and TPV rooms. For LV, most of the rooms are on the first floor but there are some on the second and third floors as well that have a direct castle few blocked by a tree (there aren't that many of these though). If it were me, I would request first floor as the first/primary request and being close to the lounge as a secondary request. That second part is probably optional, I just like being a few steps closer to the lounge, front entrance, etc. The Hawaii longhouse isn't that big at the end of the day.

Does that help?

@TJA is more of a LV pro than me, maybe she can give her input as well.

Why would you request first floor? This is for a relative. They thought LV = TPV as GV and LV were the only two booking categories they saw from the TA. Do you see fireworks from any LV room?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

@Eastern To add, the LV rooms face the beach so you do have water/bungalow/beach views. You can see upper fireworks, you just can't see the castle except for a sliver here and there between Bungalows depending on your room. With a first floor room you can walk right out to the beach to play in the sand, walk over to the left for a better fireworks view, etc. Overall I consider that a better view than GV. It's sort of "TPV Light" if you will.

As my kids are getting older, I'm actually starting to find the first floor LV rooms a bit more appealing than TPV to some extent.

Why would I request first floor? Well, I don't want a second floor at all due to no balcony, so for me having a first floor room with a patio is the primary driver.

 

[Eastern]

@Eastern To add, the LV rooms face the beach so you do have water/bungalow/beach views. You can see upper fireworks, you just can't see the castle except for a sliver here and there between Bungalows depending on your room. With a first floor room you can walk right out to the beach to play in the sand, walk over to the left for a better fireworks view, etc. Overall I consider that a better view than GV. It's sort of "TPV Light" if you will.

As my kids are getting older, I'm actually starting to find the first floor LV rooms a bit more appealing than TPV to some extent.

Why would I request first floor? Well, I don't want a second floor at all due to no balcony, so for me having a first floor room with a patio is the primary driver.

ok thanks, that helps.

 

[TJA]

@Eastern we have stayed in a Poly CL LV room many times. Pre-bungalows, we always booked TPV and requested (and received) 3rd floor. However, one year we received a 1st floor room and I was really upset until we walked in our room and out on our patio - I sort of fell in love with the room and view! My girls were maybe around age 8 at the time, so it was perfect for them to enjoy the beach/sand whenever we had a little bit of downtime in the room. Now that the bungalows exist, the 1st floor view cannot compare to what it used to be, but we still love it and now book LV and request "full patio/balcony." I used to add "near lounge" as a secondary request, but I'm hesitant now because I fear they will only fulfill one of the requests and therefore give us a room near the lounge but on the 2nd floor (no balcony).

Yes, you see the fireworks! We were just there this last week for the 4th and walked out onto the beach for a bit of the show just to compare with our patio view. Really, the only difference is you can see the Castle from the beach, while you cannot really see the Castle from your patio. Is this important? For the new HEA show, YES I'd say it's extremely important to see the Castle. But for the July 4 show, the Castle only seemed to have a small part in the show while the focus was more on the firework display/music, so we were happy with the 1st floor room in this case.

This week we had Room 1501 which is on the 1st floor closest room to the lounge. While it's a very convenient room, the view to the left wasn't as great as our normal 1st floor rooms because of the shrubs which have grown a LOT in the last year. Our favorite 1st floor LV room to date is 1503. It's close enough to the lounge but far enough away from the shrubs. These are a few pictures from 1501:

TO THE LEFT:



STRAIGHT AHEAD:



STRAIGHT AHEAD FROM EXTREME LEFT OF PATIO:
Zoomed in to show Castle



TO THE RIGHT:

 

[Eastern]

@Eastern we have stayed in a Poly CL LV room many times. Pre-bungalows, we always booked TPV and requested (and received) 3rd floor. However, one year we received a 1st floor room and I was really upset until we walked in our room and out on our patio - I sort of fell in love with the room and view! My girls were maybe around age 8 at the time, so it was perfect for them to enjoy the beach/sand whenever we had a little bit of downtime in the room. Now that the bungalows exist, the 1st floor view cannot compare to what it used to be, but we still love it and now book LV and request "full patio/balcony." I used to add "near lounge" as a secondary request, but I'm hesitant now because I fear they will only fulfill one of the requests and therefore give us a room near the lounge but on the 2nd floor (no balcony).

Yes, you see the fireworks! We were just there this last week for the 4th and walked out onto the beach for a bit of the show just to compare with our patio view. Really, the only difference is you can see the Castle from the beach, while you cannot really see the Castle from your patio. Is this important? For the new HEA show, YES I'd say it's extremely important to see the Castle. But for the July 4 show, the Castle only seemed to have a small part in the show while the focus was more on the firework display/music, so we were happy with the 1st floor room in this case.

This week we had Room 1501 which is on the 1st floor closest room to the lounge. While it's a very convenient room, the view to the left wasn't as great as our normal 1st floor rooms because of the shrubs which have grown a LOT in the last year. Our favorite 1st floor LV room to date is 1503. It's close enough to the lounge but far enough away from the shrubs. These are a few pictures from 1501:

wow, thanks for all that

 

[wanderingdee]

@Eastern we have stayed in a Poly CL LV room many times. Pre-bungalows, we always booked TPV and requested (and received) 3rd floor. However, one year we received a 1st floor room and I was really upset until we walked in our room and out on our patio - I sort of fell in love with the room and view! My girls were maybe around age 8 at the time, so it was perfect for them to enjoy the beach/sand whenever we had a little bit of downtime in the room. Now that the bungalows exist, the 1st floor view cannot compare to what it used to be, but we still love it and now book LV and request "full patio/balcony." I used to add "near lounge" as a secondary request, but I'm hesitant now because I fear they will only fulfill one of the requests and therefore give us a room near the lounge but on the 2nd floor (no balcony).

Yes, you see the fireworks! We were just there this last week for the 4th and walked out onto the beach for a bit of the show just to compare with our patio view. Really, the only difference is you can see the Castle from the beach, while you cannot really see the Castle from your patio. Is this important? For the new HEA show, YES I'd say it's extremely important to see the Castle. But for the July 4 show, the Castle only seemed to have a small part in the show while the focus was more on the firework display/music, so we were happy with the 1st floor room in this case.

This week we had Room 1501 which is on the 1st floor closest room to the lounge. While it's a very convenient room, the view to the left wasn't as great as our normal 1st floor rooms because of the shrubs which have grown a LOT in the last year. Our favorite 1st floor LV room to date is 1503. It's close enough to the lounge but far enough away from the shrubs. These are a few pictures from 1501:

TO THE LEFT:
View attachment 249431


STRAIGHT AHEAD:
View attachment 249432


STRAIGHT AHEAD FROM EXTREME LEFT OF PATIO:
Zoomed in to show Castle
View attachment 249433


TO THE RIGHT:
View attachment 249434

Can you see any of the electrical water pageant from a LV room? If not, do you know where the closest place to watch it from is?

 

[pas130]

Hi CL peeps!! I'm so MIA and very very sorry Even sorrier I missed the @TJA @Dispro1 and @GADisneyDad14 Poly party. We are all on summer break from school and I am working like a mad woman. Despite wanting to switch to BWI....we have an upcoming Contemporary stay. We will be in a GW Hospitality suite with CL access, and it will be awesome.

Pros: I saved $ over 2 rooms for sure
No walking through the hotel in swimsuits
Close to the pool and beach
Oh MY the size of the suite!
Close to laundry...(I know I like clean clothes)
@trishadono approved hug

Cons: Long walk to lounge

This is a short but "suite" first stay at CR before our Epic CL Universal split stay. I've been loving these pics friends! Keep on keepin' on!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi CL peeps!! I'm so MIA and very very sorry Even sorrier I missed the @TJA @Dispro1 and @GADisneyDad14 Poly party. We are all on summer break from school and I am working like a mad woman. Despite wanting to switch to BWI....we have an upcoming Contemporary stay. We will be in a GW Hospitality suite with CL access, and it will be awesome.

Pros: I saved $ over 2 rooms for sure
No walking through the hotel in swimsuits
Close to the pool and beach
Oh MY the size of the suite!
Close to laundry...(I know I like clean clothes)
@trishadono approved hug

Cons: Long walk to lounge

This is a short but "suite" first stay at CR before our Epic CL Universal split stay. I've been loving these pics friends! Keep on keepin' on!

Nice! I've always been intrigued by the Garden Wing suites. I follow someone on Twitter who stayed in one last month and their morning/evening photos looking out at the water were gorgeous. Dumb question, is the Hospitality Suite on the first floor, or are there ones on each floor? I've never looked into the Garden Wing enough to know the floorplans there very well.

I'm trying to find a fall window to do a MNSSHP trip and I'm finding horrid availability! I'd like to stay at CR for that one, but frankly I can hardly find a room anywhere!

Hope you have a great EPIC trip.

July 4th Poly CL party next year?

 

[trishadono]

Hi CL peeps!! I'm so MIA and very very sorry Even sorrier I missed the @TJA @Dispro1 and @GADisneyDad14 Poly party. We are all on summer break from school and I am working like a mad woman. Despite wanting to switch to BWI....we have an upcoming Contemporary stay. We will be in a GW Hospitality suite with CL access, and it will be awesome.

Pros: I saved $ over 2 rooms for sure
No walking through the hotel in swimsuits
Close to the pool and beach
Oh MY the size of the suite!
Close to laundry...(I know I like clean clothes)
@trishadono approved hug

Cons: Long walk to lounge

This is a short but "suite" first stay at CR before our Epic CL Universal split stay. I've been loving these pics friends! Keep on keepin' on!

Trust me! 3 doors to your room, so fancy!

2 full and 1 1/2 bath!

A microwave "drawer" ! We loved that so much we put in one in our new kitchen!

Turndown service!

So close to pool!

It's really not that far to lounge! Walk to lobby then up elevator! Um not hard!

Walk to MK by leaving at 8:45 sleeping in and knowing still there for opening at 9A!

Fireworks end, again walk home and no huge lines! Woohoo

We loved the space!

Most importantly trying CR is a "must do"!

 

[TJA]

Can you see any of the electrical water pageant from a LV room? If not, do you know where the closest place to watch it from is?

We could see the parade from our 1st floor patio until it went behind the first bungalow. I'm not sure how the parade view would be from other parts of the Poly such as near the main pool/boat dock area, but I'm suspecting it would be a pretty good view. Alternatively, I'll bet you'd get a good view right from the lounge cause it's on the 2nd floor and you should be able to see "over" the bungalows.

 

[TJA]

Trust me! 3 doors to your room, so fancy!

2 full and 1 1/2 bath!

A microwave "drawer" ! We loved that so much we put in one in our new kitchen!

Turndown service!

So close to pool!

It's really not that far to lounge! Walk to lobby then up elevator! Um not hard!

Walk to MK by leaving at 8:45 sleeping in and knowing still there for opening at 9A!

Fireworks end, again walk home and no huge lines! Woohoo

We loved the space!

Most importantly trying CR is a "must do"!

Wow, I'm not the one with that room booked, but you have me convinced it's a winner, lol. Great listing of the perks!

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi CL peeps!! I'm so MIA and very very sorry Even sorrier I missed the @TJA @Dispro1 and @GADisneyDad14 Poly party. We are all on summer break from school and I am working like a mad woman. Despite wanting to switch to BWI....we have an upcoming Contemporary stay. We will be in a GW Hospitality suite with CL access, and it will be awesome.

Pros: I saved $ over 2 rooms for sure
No walking through the hotel in swimsuits
Close to the pool and beach
Oh MY the size of the suite!
Close to laundry...(I know I like clean clothes)
@trishadono approved hug

Cons: Long walk to lounge

This is a short but "suite" first stay at CR before our Epic CL Universal split stay. I've been loving these pics friends! Keep on keepin' on!

Hi pas . Good to "see" you!

Sounds like you have a great trip planned at the CR and then over to Universal .

July 4th Poly CL party next year?

Now that would be a good time!

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

Some of you may already know this, but I just left Poly and learned that if there are no gluten free dessert options available (which is often the case), you can call private dining and they will deliver a gluten free dessert to your room or the lounge free of charge! I would assume if you can do this at Poly, you can do it at any CL?? I would certainly ask! The chocolate fondue was delicious! I will say that I wasn't impressed with Captain Cook's gluten free options because they couldn't get me a gluten free pizza and gasparilla grill at GF and the BW pizza window both have gluten free pizza! Captain Cook's has flat bread pizzas so why no gluten free crust?? Also, Gasparilla Grill always got a manager to take my order which I think is a good idea since the young guy at Captain Cooks was like" uh...I think so"!

I did NOT know this. Thanks. I've made a note.

At the BW they would order me food which was nice. I had Mickey waffles for breakfast and I also had Erin McKenna mini cupcakes for dessert.

Simone else posted that their dad got bagged chips - I'm a little bummed that the chips aren't gluten free. At the GF they were and they were soooo yummy!!

One month today we check into RPC at the GF! So excited We've stayed at the GF before and loved it but this is our first time staying club level at any resort.

To get me even more excited for our trip, would anyone who has stayed at RPC tell me what you just loved about it? I know it's pricey but many of you keep coming back. Just wanted to hear what makes it so wonderful!

It's so wonderful there. The ambiance is spectacular. The service is great too. But my favorite of all disney stays is staying in one of the deluxe king rooms, in the corners of the building, and listening to the band and piano player play. You can lie in bed and hear the music. We'd have to go to bed early because we were with me son, who we put in the walk in closet then in the crib provided to us, and listen to the music in bed while reading or playing on our phones. It was awesome!!!! If you request a room close to the lounge you may be able to hear the music too from your room!

 

[VAfamily1998]

@Eastern To add, the LV rooms face the beach so you do have water/bungalow/beach views. You can see upper fireworks, you just can't see the castle except for a sliver here and there between Bungalows depending on your room. With a first floor room you can walk right out to the beach to play in the sand, walk over to the left for a better fireworks view, etc. Overall I consider that a better view than GV. It's sort of "TPV Light" if you will.

As my kids are getting older, I'm actually starting to find the first floor LV rooms a bit more appealing than TPV to some extent.

Why would I request first floor? Well, I don't want a second floor at all due to no balcony, so for me having a first floor room with a patio is the primary driver.

A little off topic, but I thought I remembered reading posts on the DIS from people who had first floor rooms at Poly on the beach, and random people would be on their patio, sitting in the chairs, or taking the chairs out to the beach area to watch the fireworks! Is that still an issue?