Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[NicoleLarson]

I concede I am being a bad DISer and asking a question without doing much research. Apologies in advance.

So.... AKL CL...room requests. There are some with bunk beds, right? Any suggestions for room recommendations and/or things I should know if requesting bunk beds?

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

Room requests can be tricky at AKL because it's a give and take. If you request close to lobby you will not have a very good view because "rocks" will block most of the savanna but your walk to the lounge will be A LOT more convenient . I wouldn't put close to elevators because there's a bank of elevators way down the hall. Then there's the Kudu vs zebra trail. If I'm looking at Arusha/main savanna from the lobby....Kudu will be on my left and zebra on my right. The pool and Mara are on the zebra trail, plus you'll more likely have better views because the rocks are more on the Kudu trail. The staircase to CL is on the Kudu, although it's at the Very beginning. I will say AKL has the fastest elevators of any resort I've ever been to. 99% of the time one comes right away, so I don't know if the back staircase is really a deal breaker. So with all of that being said, I would make a list of what is most important and go from there. If bunk beds are important, I would make that 1.


And just FYI, we learned last week that if you eat at Boma, Jiko or Sanna, you get 1 hour free kids club (Simbas Cubhouse), plus any additional hours are at a discounted rate with your AP. Our kids (dd8, ds5) had a blast at Simbas, I think 3 hours was under $30 and they fed them dinner. Just in case you want a couple night.

 

[CogsworthTN]

Thanks for the tip! I am so excited to get to BWI. We've visited/walked through many times over the years, but never really paid attention to everything there....just kind of wandered through. This is a girls trip, so we plan on taking it easy, do alot of shopping, relax by the pool, etc .

You will quickly fall in love with the resort, BWI club level, and the remarkable staff. DH and I have stayed the past three years and have left with great memories. It is a quiet resort with a great adult vibe. DH is celebrating his birthday this May at his dream resort Grand Floridian RPC, but we still had to get in our beloved home away from home ...BWI (last 4 nights; so our first split club level stay).

It is also nice to be able to walk to Epcot with ease. Have a great girls trip.

 

[Shellyb84]

We've never stayed CL before, but we've gotten some unexpected money come in lately so I'm thinking of splurging (probably a few nights at AKL CL). So forgive me for the dumb questions!

Are you able to take food and beverages with you from the lounge or do you have to enjoy them there? How are the views from the AKL CL rooms? Where are the CL rooms and which savanna do they overlook?

 

[ReadyToGoBack]

Excited for my CL stay at BWI in July. Looking for input on touring/ADR strategy on a CL stay. I'd like to maximize my value since I'm paying so much for CL. Do you schedule most of your ADRs for lunch so that you can enjoy the evening CL offerings or are the offerings more like an appetizer? Do you decrease your park time in order to take advantage of relaxing in the lounge? Would love to hear your tips!

 

[CogsworthTN]

Excited for my CL stay at BWI in July. Looking for input on touring/ADR strategy on a CL stay. I'd like to maximize my value since I'm paying so much for CL. Do you schedule most of your ADRs for lunch so that you can enjoy the evening CL offerings or are the offerings more like an appetizer? Do you decrease your park time in order to take advantage of relaxing in the lounge? Would love to hear your tips!

DH and myself enjoy the breakfast items offered daily and then we go off to the parks. We do schedule our ADRs for lunch everyday. We find it a way to relax and get out of the heat. We try to schedule those ADRs between 11:30-12:00. We usually try to return back to the resort around 4:30. This gives us time to freshen up. We then go to the lounge around 4:50-5:00 and enjoy a glass of champagne. We then enjoy the appetizers. BWI has a chef nightly that prepares the hot plates and they are delicious. We easily make this our dinner along with the other offerings. Around 6-7 we then leave for Epcot or HS for the night. If you happen to be there on a Wednesday, MK is open late hours and is worth going to. Definitely enjoy that lounge. We have not regretted doing our schedule like this at all. In fact we are doing the same itinerary in May. It is a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the parks and makes the trip so relaxing.

Also enjoy the boardwalk area at night. It’s beautiful. One other thing we do...we usually book a meal at the flying fish on our last night. We still enjoy the nightly appetizer offerings but we eat more lightly. The flying fish is beautifully decorated and has an amazing menu. In fact chef Redgie, that will prepare your appetizers nightly, is also a chef there. He will gladly give you recommendations. Enjoy!!

 

[NicoleLarson]

We've never stayed CL before, but we've gotten some unexpected money come in lately so I'm thinking of splurging (probably a few nights at AKL CL). So forgive me for the dumb questions!

Are you able to take food and beverages with you from the lounge or do you have to enjoy them there? How are the views from the AKL CL rooms? Where are the CL rooms and which savanna do they overlook?

No dumb questions! That's why we are here. Yes, you can take things back to your room, no problem. All CL rooms except the 5 DVC ones will overlook the Arusha savanna. That's the main one. If you see my post above, it hopefully explains the different "trails"(hallway) that your room can be on. Both are good... the further down the hall, the better view BUT the halls are long and not as convenient to the lounge. So it's a give and take.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Excited for my CL stay at BWI in July. Looking for input on touring/ADR strategy on a CL stay. I'd like to maximize my value since I'm paying so much for CL. Do you schedule most of your ADRs for lunch so that you can enjoy the evening CL offerings or are the offerings more like an appetizer? Do you decrease your park time in order to take advantage of relaxing in the lounge? Would love to hear your tips!

I have younger kids so my comments are probably impacted by that fact.

We are more resort folks than park commandos, as a general statement. We’ll usually do breakfast in the lounge, RD a park, larger lunch out, then back early/mid afternoon. We will sometimes/oftentimes just use evening apps as our meal as we find by that point we’re just not all that hungry for anything bigger.

But we will still sometimes do an ADR breakfast or ADR dinner, it just depends. I don’t totally work our plans and schedule around being around the resort for lounge offerings. We mix it up.

Having just been to BWI (our first time there), I did find I was debating my dining more there due to the fact that 1) the evening lounge offerings are AWESEOME, and 2) you’re within walking distance of a lot of dining options at BWI, the Epcot resorts, and Epcot.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[mickeynut1]

You will quickly fall in love with the resort, BWI club level, and the remarkable staff. DH and I have stayed the past three years and have left with great memories. It is a quiet resort with a great adult vibe. DH is celebrating his birthday this May at his dream resort Grand Floridian RPC, but we still had to get in our beloved home away from home ...BWI (last 4 nights; so our first split club level stay).

I love reading posts like this, makes me even more excited to get there! What a great split you have planned, the best of both worlds! I hope your DH has a great birthday .

Have a great girls trip.

Thanks so much!

We've never stayed CL before, but we've gotten some unexpected money come in lately so I'm thinking of splurging (probably a few nights at AKL CL). So forgive me for the dumb questions!

Are you able to take food and beverages with you from the lounge or do you have to enjoy them there? How are the views from the AKL CL rooms? Where are the CL rooms and which savanna do they overlook?

As NicoleLarson posted, you can take food/drinks out of the lounge. Also, there are no dumb questions, don't hesitate to ask about anything you want/need to know. Hope you have a great trip .

Excited for my CL stay at BWI in July.

Hope you have a great trip .

DH and myself enjoy the breakfast items offered daily and then we go off to the parks. We do schedule our ADRs for lunch everyday. We find it a way to relax and get out of the heat. We try to schedule those ADRs between 11:30-12:00. We usually try to return back to the resort around 4:30. This gives us time to freshen up. We then go to the lounge around 4:50-5:00 and enjoy a glass of champagne. We then enjoy the appetizers. BWI has a chef nightly that prepares the hot plates and they are delicious. We easily make this our dinner along with the other offerings. Around 6-7 we then leave for Epcot or HS for the night. If you happen to be there on a Wednesday, MK is open late hours and is worth going to. Definitely enjoy that lounge. We have not regretted doing our schedule like this at all. In fact we are doing the same itinerary in May. It is a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the parks and makes the trip so relaxing.

Sounds like a nice relaxing trip .

Maybe our trips will overlap. When in May are you going?

One other thing we do...we usually book a meal at the flying fish on our last night. We still enjoy the nightly appetizer offerings but we eat more lightly. The flying fish is beautifully decorated and has an amazing menu.

Have never eaten at Flying Fish, but just might have to try it in May .

No dumb questions! That's why we are here.

 

[CogsworthTN]

I love reading posts like this, makes me even more excited to get there! What a great split you have planned, the best of both worlds! I hope your DH has a great birthday .
Sounds like a nice relaxing trip .
Maybe our trips will overlap. When in May are you going?
Have never eaten at Flying Fish, but just might have to try it in May

 

[CogsworthTN]

Thank you mickeynut1. We will be staying at the Grand Floridian May 16-May 23 and then May 23-May 27 at BWI. May 16 is my husband’s birthday and it will be a resort day only. Just taking in the beauty and splendor of GF. We had a trip planned at GF in October to celebrate my 50th, but we had to cancel. So...I’m secretly celebrating my birthday too.

 

[sls23]

Does anyone know what types of beer are currently being offered at the GF RPC? It has been almost 10 years since we have stayed there so any information I had is very outdated. We are celebrating our 20th anniversary (we were married at the Wedding Pavilion and honeymooned there) at RPC this April so
i am trying to collect as much up to date information as possible.

Thanks!

 

[Dream Big Live Grand]

Thank you so much for the pics of the wine ohMom! Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[TxTiggergal]

Excited for my CL stay at BWI in July. Looking for input on touring/ADR strategy on a CL stay. I'd like to maximize my value since I'm paying so much for CL. Do you schedule most of your ADRs for lunch so that you can enjoy the evening CL offerings or are the offerings more like an appetizer? Do you decrease your park time in order to take advantage of relaxing in the lounge? Would love to hear your tips!

I have younger kids so my comments are probably impacted by that fact.

We are more resort folks than park commandos, as a general statement. We’ll usually do breakfast in the lounge, RD a park, larger lunch out, then back early/mid afternoon. We will sometimes/oftentimes just use evening apps as our meal as we find by that point we’re just not all that hungry for anything bigger.

But we will still sometimes do an ADR breakfast or ADR dinner, it just depends. I don’t totally work our plans and schedule around being around the resort for lounge offerings. We mix it up.

Having just been to BWI (our first time there), I did find I was debating my dining more there due to the fact that 1) the evening lounge offerings are AWESEOME, and 2) you’re within walking distance of a lot of dining options at BWI, the Epcot resorts, and Epcot.

Hope you have a great time!

I'd like to tack on a question along these same lines. DH and I will be at AKL in a couple weeks celebrating our 30th anniversary, so this trip is mostly about just enjoying the resort and relaxing, spending time in the lounge, along with some slow-paced theme park time as well. We will definitely be eating breakfast in the lounge and prob grabbing lunch while we are out and about. But here is what I am wondering...we are sit-down dinner folks so I have booked ADRs every night in the 7:00 - 7:15 time frame, sprinkled among Epcot, DHS, and AK. I am thinking we can visit the lounge between 5:00 to 6:00 for a pre-dinner glass of wine and still make our ADRs if we are willing to Uber/Lyft/cab from AKL if we leave the resort no later than 6:00. I'm hoping we can make it back in the evenings before the dessert/cordials are over too, but I guess we'll see how timely the dinners progress. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[trishadono]

I'd like to tack on a question along these same lines. DH and I will be at AKL in a couple weeks celebrating our 30th anniversary, so this trip is mostly about just enjoying the resort and relaxing, spending time in the lounge, along with some slow-paced theme park time as well. We will definitely be eating breakfast in the lounge and prob grabbing lunch while we are out and about. But here is what I am wondering...we are sit-down dinner folks so I have booked ADRs every night in the 7:00 - 7:15 time frame, sprinkled among Epcot, DHS, and AK. I am thinking we can visit the lounge between 5:00 to 6:00 for a pre-dinner glass of wine and still make our ADRs if we are willing to Uber/Lyft/cab from AKL if we leave the resort no later than 6:00. I'm hoping we can make it back in the evenings before the dessert/cordials are over too, but I guess we'll see how timely the dinners progress. Anyone have any thoughts?

You can get adult beverages upon request when the lounge is open 7a-10p. So grab a drink at 4P if you want and then head to the ADR. Also take what you may want for later. There are desserts out in the afternoon like brownies and cookies you could keep for later.

Don't be afraid to say " I'm heading out for dinner and may not be back can I possibly get X to take to the room for later?'

I have done that when dd wants to stay late in a park . That way I have something to look forward to if we are late.

 

[AggieJen05]

Exactly one week until we leave for our GF SL stay! We've only ever stayed CL at the Poly, and fell in looooove with it, but the prices for this trip were so high. I've never stayed at the Grand before, so pretty excited about that. I'm very nervous about the crowd levels during Spring Break, but Baby #2 is on the way and this is the last opportunity to take a trip as a family of 3. Sad that I can't enjoy the adult beverages this time, but hopefully I will get some more down time this trip to enjoy the lounge. Let me know if there is anything that I can look out for while we are there! Thank you so much to this thread for all of the valuable information!!

 

[trishadono]

Oops ! I tried to repost my pics of akl cl but I had used that hosting site so my pix are gone.

The room:

 

[TxTiggergal]

You can get adult beverages upon request when the lounge is open 7a-10p. So grab a drink at 4P if you want and then head to the ADR. Also take what you may want for later. There are desserts out in the afternoon like brownies and cookies you could keep for later.

Don't be afraid to say " I'm heading out for dinner and may not be back can I possibly get X to take to the room for later?'

I have done that when dd wants to stay late in a park . That way I have something to look forward to if we are late.

Good ideas and that's especially nice that they will give a glass of whatever for a nightcap should we miss the night offerings. I would not have any problem whatsoever asking for a glass of wine for later! (Or really at any time lol) And thanks for posting the pics. Seeing them adds to my excitement.

 

[RachelTori]

Oops ! I tried to repost my looks of akl cl but I had used that hosting site so my pix are gone.

The room:
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Great photos of the room! I would like to add that should guests get a "connecting room", that 4-drawer dresser is not in your room - that's where the connecting door will be. That leaves you with the 2 drawers under the TV and the closet, which normally only has about 8 hangars in it!

 

[ohMom]

Not sure if this has been posted prior, here is toiletries at YC currently

Also, we were temporarily in a king room, I took some pics, it was a weird room allllllll the way at the end of the second hall. Hence, the move. Would pics of that room be new for this thread? 5240 or 5420 ...

Also, cordials with dessert is the standard 4...Disaronno, cream liquor like Baileys, cognac, and Kahlua

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

Not sure if this has been posted prior, here is toiletries at YC currently

Also, we were temporarily in a king room, I took some pics, it was a weird room allllllll the way at the end of the second hall. Hence, the move. Would pics of that room be new for this thread? 5240 or 5420 ...

Also, cordials with dessert is the standard 4...Disaronno, cream liquor like Baileys, cognac, and Kahlua

I'd love to see pictures of the king room! I'm hoping for a king room for our honeymoon in April!