Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[IceQueen182]

Guys - too late now but it looks like Disney increased 2018 rack rates. I was working on booking a Poly stay this AM and the rates weren't quite matching some nerdy research that I keep on rates. Just saw another thread with someone questioning the same thing.

I checked some other resorts and compared my reservations and see similar results. Looks like increases in the $15-$20 per night range from what I spot checked.

Odd to see a mid-year rate increase like that.

Wish I had locked in a few trips before this.... grrr.....

I agree, this is frustrating. Thanks for the heads up though- I hadn't noticed the increases! I've been holding off on whether to book our November Poly CL stay, and now wish I had just pulled the trigger.

Some of the prices are getting truly ridiculous for the quality of the hotel rooms. If I weren't such a fan of the ease of transportation at the Poly and BWI (and a huge fan of the CLs at those resorts), I would likely switch to the Four Seasons at these prices!

 

[mrsap]

Guys - too late now but it looks like Disney increased 2018 rack rates. I was working on booking a Poly stay this AM and the rates weren't quite matching some nerdy research that I keep on rates. Just saw another thread with someone questioning the same thing.

I checked some other resorts and compared my reservations and see similar results. Looks like increases in the $15-$20 per night range from what I spot checked.

Odd to see a mid-year rate increase like that.

Wish I had locked in a few trips before this.... grrr.....

@GADisneyDad14

 

[mickeynut1]

This is the first time in over 20 years of on site stays that I ever remember them raising rates randomly like this.

I agree. In the past you could assure people that once the rates were out there would be no change....now not so much .

I've been holding off on whether to book our November Poly CL stay, and now wish I had just pulled the trigger.

I'm in the same boat. I've been toying with the idea of booking AKL CL for the end of November, but decided to hold off...now I wish I would have just gone ahead and booked .

 

[sls23]

Hi,

Does anyone have any information on recent food offerings at the GF RPC?

Thanks.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

We love the BWI CL - so excited for you. The food is delicious. Actually everything about it is wonderful....location, food and CMs. They are the best CMs on property in our opinion. Say hi to Lorenzo, Anita, Joe and Steven - they made the experience there magical. We loved coming back to the lounge to talk with them. It truly felt like family to us. I would love to hear your experience. Also we usually get the Deluxe rooms since we are 6 people - but when we had two rooms we never had a bad view - although we do love a boardwalk view. Enjoy!

Thanks! That's what I keep hearing - everyone raves about the food and the CMs - and I already love the location, especially for F&G! I will say hi to your CM pals - it sounds like you've had some wonderful experiences there! I will have to check out your videos - I'm still catching up now that I have my laptop back! We've stayed at BC/YC about three times so we've walked past and seen it from afar. I've always wanted to try BW, but I never realized how much my kids wanted to try it there until I was asking about this trip! They were all over it, lol...

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Ouch. Mid-year hike. Geez Disney. What a money grab.

Looking forward to your review of the Inn Keepers club.

Thanks for the heads up. I looked at the rates for my September stays too. YC club level up about $17. GF RPC $18 - 20; king standard weekend rate up $24. CR theme park atrium CL up $18.

Mousesavers resort rate page lists the rates that were released last year. So you can use those to compare to the rates currently showing on the Disney site. This is the first time in over 20 years of on site stays that I ever remember them raising rates randomly like this. But I guess we have to pay for those wonderful new security checks that are keeping us all so safe.................


I have loved WDW since my first visit in 1993. We have vacationed there at least once a year ever since. YC & GF CL are heaven to me. We are getting 4 trips with our APs this year, & we are from Buffalo. But this is all really getting to me. We have a great income for just 2 of us. But these costs are really getting crazy. The parks are so crowded, I just don't know how average families are affording it. My head is telling me enough, my heart says keep going. Pretty soon my bank account is going to say NO MORE.

It is disappointing - especially when you consider that Disney recently has extended some of the on-site benefits to the Good Neighbor hotels, which to me de-values the on-site stay to some degree. We LOVE WDW and we've only stayed on-site because we love that too, but I feel like we will need to start exploring off-site after this trip if I'm going to keep up my "habit".

 

[Disneytam]

Thanks for the heads up. I looked at the rates for my September stays too. YC club level up about $17. GF RPC $18 - 20; king standard weekend rate up $24. CR theme park atrium CL up $18.

Mousesavers resort rate page lists the rates that were released last year. So you can use those to compare to the rates currently showing on the Disney site. This is the first time in over 20 years of on site stays that I ever remember them raising rates randomly like this. But I guess we have to pay for those wonderful new security checks that are keeping us all so safe.................


I have loved WDW since my first visit in 1993. We have vacationed there at least once a year ever since. YC & GF CL are heaven to me. We are getting 4 trips with our APs this year, & we are from Buffalo. But this is all really getting to me. We have a great income for just 2 of us. But these costs are really getting crazy. The parks are so crowded, I just don't know how average families are affording it. My head is telling me enough, my heart says keep going. Pretty soon my bank account is going to say NO MORE.

I have to agree with you. We will be arriving at the BWI next week and it will be our second trip with our AP. We have been going to Disney since our honeymoon in 1991 and the last couple of years the money grab is really starting to bother me. We have started to do some split stays with Universal instead of staying two weeks at Disney. For our upcoming trip we wont be arriving until about 10 pm so I booked one night with just a standard room at the BWI and then the next morning we will switch to the CL for the rest of the stay. But this will be a short stay of only 5 days to do Flower & Garden instead of our usual 10-14 day stay. We might be back for another short stay in October before our AP run out but then that will be it for awhile. I think the increase in the AP rates is just crazy so we will probably take a break for awhile with just a trip to Universal planned for 2019.

When my head, heart and checkbook all agree that enough is enough it's time to listen!

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Thanks! That's what I keep hearing - everyone raves about the food and the CMs - and I already love the location, especially for F&G! I will say hi to your CM pals - it sounds like you've had some wonderful experiences there! I will have to check out your videos - I'm still catching up now that I have my laptop back! We've stayed at BC/YC about three times so we've walked past and seen it from afar. I've always wanted to try BW, but I never realized how much my kids wanted to try it there until I was asking about this trip! They were all over it, lol...

We also have stayed at the BC/YC several times and enjoyed our stays there but never felt like we do at the BWI. Our last visit at the BWI there was a manager around and no matter where we saw him he would ask how our day was and if we needed anything. That never happened at the BC/YC. Enjoy your stay.

 

[LandonDunes]

It is disappointing - especially when you consider that Disney recently has extended some of the on-site benefits to the Good Neighbor hotels, which to me de-values the on-site stay to some degree. We LOVE WDW and we've only stayed on-site because we love that too, but I feel like we will need to start exploring off-site after this trip if I'm going to keep up my "habit".

I think I’ve seen one of the Marriott properties designated as a “good neighbor.” What does this mean, exactly? Can you book FP’s 60 days out or use and link up magic bands for your stay? TIA

 

[IceQueen182]

Hi,

Does anyone have any information on recent food offerings at the GF RPC?

Thanks.

I was at RPC about a month ago. Breakfast (started at 7) was very nice- there was the standard cold fruit, cereal, pastries, yogurt but also gourmet deviled eggs, some small frittatas, oatmeal, and warm nut/sticky buns. There was also someone making fresh Mickey waffles every other day.

Midday snacks were also nice, but more standard (cupcakes, gummy bears, crudite, housemade chips with various dips).

I really loved the afternoon tea with warm scones (in addition to the things described above).

Hors d'oeuvres were impressive. There was always a hot offering. Someone was making chocolate salted caramel creme brûlées one day. There was a really fantastic cheese offering, a cold soup, pork belly... it surpassed the Poly (but maybe not the Innkeepers Club!).

And evening desserts were fairly standard, but fairly good wine and champagne selections. It was great to enjoy dessert and a glass of wine while the band played.

My biggest complaint about the food was that the coffee was lukewarm and really watery- every day.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

I think it means that they have guest services to help assist with Disney planning and offer transportation. I'm not sure about all of the details with respect to Magic Bands and such, but here's the thread about the new benefits to the Good Neighbor hotels, although I'm not sure if it's all of the them or just the Disney Springs ones...

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...ing-now-in-effect-no-packages-needed.3653361/

This link has more info about the Good Neighbor hotels - I'm not sure about the Marriott properties but I think there is a link to a list of all of them...

https://www.wdwgoodneighborhotels.com/about/

ETA: I meant to quote you in my reply, @LandonDunes!

 

[GoGoBeans]

I have to agree with you. We will be arriving at the BWI next week and it will be our second trip with our AP. We have been going to Disney since our honeymoon in 1991 and the last couple of years the money grab is really starting to bother me. We have started to do some split stays with Universal instead of staying two weeks at Disney. For our upcoming trip we wont be arriving until about 10 pm so I booked one night with just a standard room at the BWI and then the next morning we will switch to the CL for the rest of the stay. But this will be a short stay of only 5 days to do Flower & Garden instead of our usual 10-14 day stay. We might be back for another short stay in October before our AP run out but then that will be it for awhile. I think the increase in the AP rates is just crazy so we will probably take a break for awhile with just a trip to Universal planned for 2019.

When my head, heart and checkbook all agree that enough is enough it's time to listen!

Totally. I feel a bit relieved that we had our surge this year thanks to our APs and already have all of our trips booked. Big price increases will make me less sad when we don’t renew. Edited to add we weren’t planning on renewing anyway.

Got the vague mailer on the additional FPs for our late summer stay the other day. We’re well before 180 days out. Excited that may still be around for us to make use of it. I already have my spreadsheet of parks, rides and times.

 

[LandonDunes]

I think it means that they have guest services to help assist with Disney planning and offer transportation. I'm not sure about all of the details with respect to Magic Bands and such, but here's the thread about the new benefits to the Good Neighbor hotels, although I'm not sure if it's all of the them or just the Disney Springs ones...

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...ing-now-in-effect-no-packages-needed.3653361/

This link has more info about the Good Neighbor hotels - I'm not sure about the Marriott properties but I think there is a link to a list of all of them...

https://www.wdwgoodneighborhotels.com/about/

ETA: I meant to quote you in my reply, @LandonDunes!

Thank you for this info. I have 5 nts booked at Poly CL and would love to save the dough by staying at one of these but this will likely be our last “big” Disney trip as far as staying on site so I have to go all in.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Thank you for this info. I have 5 nts booked at Poly CL and would love to save the dough by staying at one of these but this will likely be our last “big” Disney trip as far as staying on site so I have to go all in.

I hear you! I love the Poly but have not stayed there for a few years so I definitely would not be giving that up, especially CL with that view! That's how I feel about this trip too, which is how I think the kids convinced me to do the short split stays! I want to stay everywhere, lol! Hope I get back to the Poly some day - enjoy your trip - hope you get to Trader Sam's! Love it there!

 

[gwynne]

Please excuse my late reply...my laptop suddenly took ill and had to go to the laptop doctor - and a couple days before my FP day for added excitement! My middle-aged fingers don't enjoy typing longer messages on my phone! I'm more of an old-school typist! Then I was out of town for a couple of days so now catching up!

Anyway, thanks for the info! And apparently, my family has collectively lost any good sense and now we've changed our 5 night AKL CL stay to a 2 days BW CL and 3 Days AKL CL. We're starting with 3 days at Universal so it should be quite an adventure. We've done lots of split stays but never twice in a trip before, but they all wanted to try BW. My kids are a bit older - 13yo and 11 yo - and we're not unpackers, so hopefully eliminating bus trips for a couple of days will balance out any other inconveniences!

When I booked the BW CL, it was definitely like you said - either a Standard CL with pool view, Deluxe CL (with the boardwalk view) and the Outer bld-garden rooms. We booked a standard CL. But looking at it again, it's a little confusing, since it doesn't list an option for a standard size CL room with a Boardwalk view, but from some posts (like yours above) and other descriptions I've read, there are some - or at least there used to be. The Deluxe CL rooms state that they all have a boardwalk view but also that they are larger (sleep up to 6)than the standard rooms so it's curious! Am I making sense?

I'm not really worried about the view; it was more just curious to me...although I'm sure a boardwalk view would be amazing! For us, it's more about location and trying a new resort...and maybe my family's desire to watch me unpack and pack multiple times...I kid - they will be managing their own stuff!

I am so excited to try the Boardwalk Inn!!

No worries at all, good to hear from you.
I really like your split! Two completely different resorts in one vacation. Actually, adding in Universal, make that 3. Fun!!
You are correct about the rooms, and you can always make a request for a boardwalk view with the Standard CL room. (Assuming they have gone back to the old way of doing things.)
The location can't be beat in my opinion. We love being able to walk thru the International Gateway to Epcot. Even on days when we have spent time in other parks, I find myself zipping over for a little time in France or further afield.

Happy planning and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts about your experience when you return.

 

[GoGoBeans]

changed our 5 night AKL CL stay to a 2 days BW CL and 3 Days AKL CL. We're starting with 3 days at Universal so it should be quite an adventure. We've done lots of split stays but never twice in a trip before, but they all wanted to try BW. My kids are a bit older - 13yo and 11 yo - and we're not unpackers, so hopefully eliminating bus trips for a couple of days will balance out any other inconveniences!

Great split with the best of both worlds. Eliminating bus time logic makes total sense to me. So hard to choose with all resorts having their perks. Fun to squeeze a couple in. Go big or go home!

We tagged on a few days at Universal a couple years ago and stayed Hard Rock CL. Evening apps were generous and they do a daily speciality drink that was fun. Overall glad we tried it even though we decided we were Disney people. Dee on the BC thread had good Universal trip reports that helped me learn the lay of the land. Have fun! And boo on the laptop.

@mickeynut1 - hope you get to try AKL some day!

 

[PPFlight75]

Thanks! That's what I keep hearing - everyone raves about the food and the CMs - and I already love the location, especially for F&G! I will say hi to your CM pals - it sounds like you've had some wonderful experiences there! I will have to check out your videos - I'm still catching up now that I have my laptop back! We've stayed at BC/YC about three times so we've walked past and seen it from afar. I've always wanted to try BW, but I never realized how much my kids wanted to try it there until I was asking about this trip! They were all over it, lol...

We love BWI and CL there as well. We are doing a split stay this summer with a similar strategy as you. This will be our first split stay BWI and Poly CL.

We usually have days at each park kinda sprinkled throughout the trip but we are going to try doing only EP and HS during our BWI stay and MK and AK during our Poly stay. I thought this would minimize some travel time and be a bit more relaxing. We will see how it goes!

Have a great time at the BWI! Make sure to stop by the new ice cream place on the Boardwalk. It's awesome!!

 

[jbb4me]

Ok all-knowing CL friends, we have an adults-only trip scheduled for Poly CL in April and I just found out that we could stay at GF CL (Sugarloaf) for a tiny bit more a night. We have never stayed at either of these resorts, so I'm really torn. If you had the choice between the two, which would you choose and why? This will be our last trip for a while and it's short (only 3 nights) so I'm not interested in doing a split stay. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!!

 

[Disney & ME]

Thanks for the heads up. I looked at the rates for my September stays too. YC club level up about $17. GF RPC $18 - 20; king standard weekend rate up $24. CR theme park atrium CL up $18.

Mousesavers resort rate page lists the rates that were released last year. So you can use those to compare to the rates currently showing on the Disney site. This is the first time in over 20 years of on site stays that I ever remember them raising rates randomly like this. But I guess we have to pay for those wonderful new security checks that are keeping us all so safe.................


I have loved WDW since my first visit in 1993. We have vacationed there at least once a year ever since. YC & GF CL are heaven to me. We are getting 4 trips with our APs this year, & we are from Buffalo. But this is all really getting to me. We have a great income for just 2 of us. But these costs are really getting crazy. The parks are so crowded, I just don't know how average families are affording it. My head is telling me enough, my heart says keep going. Pretty soon my bank account is going to say NO MORE.

We are right there with you. We are planning our 4th AP trip before our 13 month pass runs out and we are from Maine.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Ok all-knowing CL friends, we have an adults-only trip scheduled for Poly CL in April and I just found out that we could stay at GF CL (Sugarloaf) for a tiny bit more a night. We have never stayed at either of these resorts, so I'm really torn. If you had the choice between the two, which would you choose and why? This will be our last trip for a while and it's short (only 3 nights) so I'm not interested in doing a split stay. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!!

Gut, honest reaction - I would not pay MORE to stay at GF SL over Poly CL. Like not even a debate in my mind.

But ultimately I think with an adults only trip it probably comes down to which resort appeals to you more and where you’re most likely to spend your time. I am perhaps jaded since we have the kids in tow, so Poly is a better overall setup for us. I also really love the Polynesian vibe / theming - that says to me, big time.

But I could see adults really liking the somewhat calmer confines of the GF a bit more, being steps away from the Courtyard Pool, dining options, shopping, etc.

If I’m going to judge purely on CL alone.... Poly lounge beats most others hands down for views and ambiance. GF SL is probably my least favorite lounge of the resorts we’ve tried... just a generic space that serves its purpose, but I don’t want to really hang out there.

GF will have better food (generally speaking from most folks perspectives), Poly has really improved things but it’s still not quite up to par with other CLs.

The good thing is, you can’t make a WRONG decision here, from my perspective.