Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[TinkerBelle_325]

Hello All!

My September trip is quickly approaching! We leave in 18 days The first few nights of our stay were booked at Animal Kingdom Lodge and just yesterday I was able to upgrade to Savanna View Club Level with a passholder discount! We've stayed at AKL numerous times and have always wanted to try Club Level. I've already taken care of our dining reservations as we are staying for 10 nights total (moving to Coronado Springs for a week after our AKL Club Level stay).

I don't expect the Itinerary Planners to reach out as we've booked on such short notice. However, I did email them to inform them of our expected arrival time at the resort, our room location requests and to note the celebration of my parents 37th wedding anniversary.

Do they typically respond to emails within 24-48 hours?

Does anyone have recent Kilimanjaro Club experiences to share? What have the recent evening offerings been like?

Thanks so much!

 

[Rachel GB]

Hello All!

My September trip is quickly approaching! We leave in 18 days The first few nights of our stay were booked at Animal Kingdom Lodge and just yesterday I was able to upgrade to Savanna View Club Level with a passholder discount! We've stayed at AKL numerous times and have always wanted to try Club Level. I've already taken care of our dining reservations as we are staying for 10 nights total (moving to Coronado Springs for a week after our AKL Club Level stay).

I don't expect the Itinerary Planners to reach out as we've booked on such short notice. However, I did email them to inform them of our expected arrival time at the resort, our room location requests and to note the celebration of my parents 37th wedding anniversary.

Do they typically respond to emails within 24-48 hours?

Does anyone have recent Kilimanjaro Club experiences to share? What have the recent evening offerings been like?

Thanks so much!

@DSS responded to me in less than 24 hours, however, calling them gives you an immediate response! 407-939-7777.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hello All!

My September trip is quickly approaching! We leave in 18 days The first few nights of our stay were booked at Animal Kingdom Lodge and just yesterday I was able to upgrade to Savanna View Club Level with a passholder discount! We've stayed at AKL numerous times and have always wanted to try Club Level. I've already taken care of our dining reservations as we are staying for 10 nights total (moving to Coronado Springs for a week after our AKL Club Level stay).

I don't expect the Itinerary Planners to reach out as we've booked on such short notice. However, I did email them to inform them of our expected arrival time at the resort, our room location requests and to note the celebration of my parents 37th wedding anniversary.

Do they typically respond to emails within 24-48 hours?

Does anyone have recent Kilimanjaro Club experiences to share? What have the recent evening offerings been like?

Thanks so much!

Your trip is soon!

DSS will typically respond within 24 hours (M-F) but on occasion it has been closer to 1.5 days. Maybe even two once or twice.

Just wanted to check, which e-mail address did you use? You say "Itinerary Planners" so just making sure you didn't e-mail the old IPO offices.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Your trip is soon!

DSS will typically respond within 24 hours (M-F) but on occasion it has been closer to 1.5 days. Maybe even two once or twice.

Just wanted to check, which e-mail address did you use? You say "Itenerary Planners" so just making sure you didn't e-mail the old IPO offices.

Oh! I might have used the old address then...I sent an email to animal.kingdom.lodge.itinerary.planning@disneyworld.com Is that outdated? Thanks!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Oh! I might have used the old address then...I sent an email to animal.kingdom.lodge.itinerary.planning@disneyworld.com Is that outdated? Thanks!

Ahh, yes. The IPO setup was removed late last year and replaced with a new service called Disney Signature Services (DSS) earlier this year. It's like IPO, just a centralized office that handles all CL guests. Here is their contact info:

(407) 939-7777

disney.signature.services@disneyworld.com

Hope that helps!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Ahh, yes. The IPO setup was removed late last year and replaced with a new service called Disney Signature Services (DSS) earlier this year. It's like IPO, just a centralized office that handles all CL guests. Here is their contact info:

(407) 939-7777

disney.signature.services@disneyworld.com

Hope that helps!

Thank you so much!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thank you so much!

No problem. Hope you have a great trip!

Seems like someone was just posting about AKL CL over the last few days. Maybe @cwis? Might want to scroll back a few pages if you have some free time.

I've never been to AKL CL but hope to someday.

Have a great trip!

 

[karen4546]

Hey Guys would you do Wilderness Lodge CL or YC club level for September? I have YC booked now, and it is F&W festival. Cost is not the issue just wondering about the lounge offerings, turn down, and general CL staff.

thanks!

 

[karen4546]

Hey Guys would you do Wilderness Lodge CL or YC club level for September? I have YC booked now, and it is F&W festival. Cost is not the issue just wondering about the lounge offerings, turn down, and general CL staff.

thanks!

update: just called and the WL was booked before i got through. I guess I am keeping the YC reservation. I really need to stay off here. i keep second guessing myself. I see some people posting about the lack of turndown (and this is important to me since I think it is a nice touch), not being greeted curbside, and the different interactions with the CMs. Here's hoping to a great stay before our cruise.

 

[conandrob240]

YACHT Club CL Qs- are all these rooms on the 5th floor? Are all renovated? Do all have balconies?

And what's the latest on turn down service? is it back or not?

 

[mickeynut1]

Hello All!

My September trip is quickly approaching! We leave in 18 days The first few nights of our stay were booked at Animal Kingdom Lodge and just yesterday I was able to upgrade to Savanna View Club Level with a passholder discount! We've stayed at AKL numerous times and have always wanted to try Club Level. I've already taken care of our dining reservations as we are staying for 10 nights total (moving to Coronado Springs for a week after our AKL Club Level stay).

I don't expect the Itinerary Planners to reach out as we've booked on such short notice. However, I did email them to inform them of our expected arrival time at the resort, our room location requests and to note the celebration of my parents 37th wedding anniversary.

Do they typically respond to emails within 24-48 hours?

Does anyone have recent Kilimanjaro Club experiences to share? What have the recent evening offerings been like?

Thanks so much!

Congrats on the discount for AKL CL! I can't comment on CL as we've never tried CL at AKL, but wanted to say I hope you have a great trip .

update: just called and the WL was booked before i got through. I guess I am keeping the YC reservation. I really need to stay off here. i keep second guessing myself. I see some people posting about the lack of turndown (and this is important to me since I think it is a nice touch), not being greeted curbside, and the different interactions with the CMs. Here's hoping to a great stay before our cruise.

I'm sorry WL CL wasn't available, but I'm sure you'll have a great time at YC CL. Enjoy both your cruise and resort stay .

YACHT Club CL Qs- are all these rooms on the 5th floor? Are all renovated? Do all have balconies?

And what's the latest on turn down service? is it back or not?

All standard CL rooms are located on the CL floor and all (with the exception of I think one) have a balcony. Hopefully someone will confirm that or correct me if I'm wrong. I haven't been following the refurb so I can't answer about the rooms, but hopefully others will be able to answer that question (as well as the latest on turn down) .

 

[Loraleelovesdisney]

I'm on the fence about upgrading to club level... other than the food, I have a hard time seeing the advantages. Please share special advantages that you've experienced by being a club level guest. Also, is the food served in the morning and evening enough to be a meal, or should it be planned only as a snack. Thanks!

 

[conandrob240]

I'm on the fence about upgrading to club level... other than the food, I have a hard time seeing the advantages. Please share special advantages that you've experienced by being a club level guest. Also, is the food served in the morning and evening enough to be a meal, or should it be planned only as a snack. Thanks!

We thought it enough to make a meal ( breakfast and dinner) most days. We either had a big lunch or maybe shared some apps later on for dinner. We drank lots of beer & wine so made it more worth it. I think if you aren't going to be at the hotel much, you don't get the value. If you're doing a more resort-focused, limited park trip, it is really nice

 

[GADisneyDad14]

YACHT Club CL Qs- are all these rooms on the 5th floor? Are all renovated? Do all have balconies?

And what's the latest on turn down service? is it back or not?

I am relatively certain all the YC CL rooms are renovated. They started at the top and worked down and think they finished the CL floor much many months back.

The no turndown thing at BC/YC bubbled up in the last few weeks. A DISer at BC CL this past week reported a few days ago they all of a sudden started getting turndown service one night. I don't think we've seen an update about YC, but both resorts tend to act as one on many things. I don't follow the BC/YC thread (which has a ton of active/knowledgeable folks), not sure if there have been any updates there.

Hope that helps.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

update: just called and the WL was booked before i got through. I guess I am keeping the YC reservation. I really need to stay off here. i keep second guessing myself. I see some people posting about the lack of turndown (and this is important to me since I think it is a nice touch), not being greeted curbside, and the different interactions with the CMs. Here's hoping to a great stay before our cruise.

Well, at least your decission is made and your plan is set! Sometimes just having a plan is a nice relief, right?

DIS can be a blessing and a curse. It's a fountain of knowledge to help you get an idea of the CL experiences at each resort, but then a couple of bad reviews can make you question everything! I try to take it all in stride until I can experience something for myself and get a better perspective.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm on the fence about upgrading to club level... other than the food, I have a hard time seeing the advantages. Please share special advantages that you've experienced by being a club level guest. Also, is the food served in the morning and evening enough to be a meal, or should it be planned only as a snack. Thanks!

The "advantages" are relatively subjective and in many cases depend on the resort itself for some folks. For instance, booking CL guarantees certain room locations/views.... a top floor, a specific building, etc, depending on the resort. That level of control over where I'll be has a certain amount of appeal to me, particularly at the MK resorts that I tend to enjoy (Poly CL-Hawaii building; CR Atrium Club-12th floor; GF RPC-main building, etc, etc).

We tend to be "resort people," not park commandos, so I put a lot of emphasis on the room, accommodations, view, balcony space, etc - CL gives us more control over many of those aspects.

I'm not a heavy user of the pre-arrival planning service (DSS), but I do like having them available to quickly submit my room requests, do more obscure reservations like booking a cabana (which otherwise requires calling), etc. The ability to do all of that quickly over e-mail is a nice benefit for me.

I'm a big fan of the concierge texting service while on site. I use it quite a bit actually. We're prone to changing our plans on the fly based on the flow of the day, so sometimes need to tweak or cancel an ADR. A quick text and it's usually taken care of (otherwise I would have to call if less than 24 hours... who wants to be on the phone in a theme park with family).

We enjoy the lounge space as an extra "room" to be during various times of the day...like when someone is still sleeping, getting ready, taking a nap, etc. Some of the lounges are quite fantastic places to just "hang out" and relax for a few minutes.

I often use the word "convenience" a lot when describing why CL works for us. It adds a certain level of convenience overall that has value to us. I don't have to "think" about breakfast and feeding the kiddos - it's just there. I don't have to "think" about where to get a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine at night - it's just there.

We enjoy the interactions with certain CL CMs and have gotten to know several of them. Seeing familiar faces can sometimes make a repeat visit more fun/enjoyable.

There are other small, inconsequential touches that aren't all that important, but are kind of nice to have. DS lost a tooth last summer at Poly CL. He showed his new gap to a CL CM (he was proud of it). She went away for a few minutes and came back with a little wooden tooth-shaped box to put the tooth in for the tooth fairy. It was very cute and a nice touch of guest service.

In my opinion, the breakfast offerings are definitely enough to be a meal. We will still do some breakfast ADRs occasionally just to break things up, but often we stick to the lounge for breakfast.

Evening apps are really only meant to be a snack and not a meal replacement. However, our typical style is to eat a larger lunch and we will have probably snacked a bit in our travels during the day. Often by evening, we're just not all that hungry and the lounge offerings are plenty. Again, I wouldn't necessarily plan on it being a meal substitute, that's just how it sometimes works for us. We don't make it a point to be at the lounge for apps... only if it happens to fit in the flow of the day.

Ok, that was long...sorry. Sort of a complicated question which can be answered from lots of angles. Just one person's/family's perspective, but hope that helps!

(Edited to correct a few spelling typos)

 

[GoGoBeans]

update: just called and the WL was booked before i got through. I guess I am keeping the YC reservation. I really need to stay off here. i keep second guessing myself. I see some people posting about the lack of turndown (and this is important to me since I think it is a nice touch), not being greeted curbside, and the different interactions with the CMs. Here's hoping to a great stay before our cruise.

Hope you have a great stay! We too are on the bubble with eeks, a BC stay coming up and these reviews have me questioning it. Add to it - and this is a big snap moment for me - I forgot that the BC/YC lounges close so often during the day and night. So that clips into our convenience to pop in or stay past 10pm. I'm bummed for sure.

And yeah, I called to see what else I could get but couldn't get better. Including non CL Poly. Instead I'm focusing on the fun I know we'll have. Hope you do too. Cheers!

 

[GoGoBeans]

Hello All!

My September trip is quickly approaching! We leave in 18 days The first few nights of our stay were booked at Animal Kingdom Lodge and just yesterday I was able to upgrade to Savanna View Club Level with a passholder discount! We've stayed at AKL numerous times and have always wanted to try Club Level!

boom! Awesome on getting to upgrade. The club level is nice. Has a family room feel to it the way it's set up with the big tv and couches. I do miss the lobby when we're in the lounge. And enjoy the relaxing vibe in the lounge. Enjoy!

 

[jods]

I'm on the fence about upgrading to club level... other than the food, I have a hard time seeing the advantages. Please share special advantages that you've experienced by being a club level guest. Also, is the food served in the morning and evening enough to be a meal, or should it be planned only as a snack. Thanks!

I'm similar in style with gadisneydad. I like the lounge for convenience. It's great for coffee and other drinks during the day/evening. Not having to go down for breakfast is great too. We always do CM and Ohanas, the other breakfasts are all in the lounge. We are sometimes there for apps and sometimes not. I think location is also important in the MK area hotels, specifically the poly. There are So many longhouses there and it's nice to know which building and that it is centrally located. I just got back today from BC CL and I feel location is less important here. We don't spend all day at the parks so it's nice having the lounge. If we were park commando I don't think club level would be as worthwhile. It's really how you will use it which will determine if it's worthwhile.

 

[jods]

Hope you have a great stay! We too are on the bubble with eeks, a BC stay coming up and these reviews have me questioning it. Add to it - and this is a big snap moment for me - I forgot that the BC/YC lounges close so often during the day and night. So that clips into our convenience to pop in or stay past 10pm. I'm bummed for sure.

And yeah, I called to see what else I could get but couldn't get better. Including non CL Poly. Instead I'm focusing on the fun I know we'll have. Hope you do too. Cheers!

Just got back from BC today. The 10pm closing was a bummer. also the fact that they would only give you opened bottles of beer, which meant so saving one or two for when we got back after 10. The evening apps we were there for were delicious though. Afternoon snacks were the same everyday except for 1. Gummies, goldfish, homemade potatoes chips. Trail mix and fruit.