Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[GADisneyDad14]

Evening apps....

A continuing theme here. Lots of variety, fresh/healthy options. You can actually eat reasonably well here and not feel too guilty.

Two reds....


Two chilled whites.



I think what's on the screen is accurate...



Beer was Heineken, Yuengling, Bud Light, and Tusker.



Meats and cheeses were out nightly....


Along with assorted breads...



I'm sorry for the hyperbole here... but the hummus options were sooooo good.



Hummus and veggies.





A chef was plating two hot items each night....

 

[GADisneyDad14]

More apps...







For the kids... apple slices with dipping sauces...



Kids options on another night...mini corn dogs and PBJs....


More veggies....


Slightly different dips this night, but some the same....


Nearly everything they serve compliments the theme of the resort so well.



Bad pic, but one of the chef's hot dishes one night.


Yum....

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Rounding out evening apps....



I love the honey comb, mustard, and chutney toppings. Nice touch.



Similar, but slightly different spread setup this night.











Here's the chef's station. Loved how they are right out in the open, fully accessible. Great CM interaction here.

 

[dansdad]

Great job as always @GADisneyDad14!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Here are some pics of evening desserts. Nothing too crazy here. Just nice and simple. A few offerings, some beverages. I appreciated the simplicity.

Unfortunately these mix up multiple nights, sorry about that.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I tried to capture the screen that has the rotating info on offerings... but sort of felt weird standing there so missed some!

This is generally more info than you'll get on the daily menu than at any other CL.












(Note, I missed the afternoon tea/scone page they have from 3pm to 4pm (I think it's 4)

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'll finish things off here with a few pics from around the resort.

The pool at Jambo House was crowded, but never really crazy. Since Poly is a normal stomping ground, I have a high tolerance for pool crowds. Had a lot of fun here.


There's a little balcony off the elevator lobby on the 6th floor you take to get to the lounge. Nice place to catch the sunrise. If you look closely, you can see a Pandora floating mountain in the distance.


I mentioned the walk to/from the lounge. This is one of the reasons it's a pleasant walk - little view corridors such as this along the way.



I mentioned earlier why we liked being on the Zebra Trail. This elevator was literally steps from my room. Being proximate to the pool and the Victoria Falls lounge came in handy.


Another random spot to stop and check out the savanna.









Coolest mailbox in all of WDW...


About half way through the week we discovered the Kidani Village pool. I knew it was there, but just figured it was a basic pool. WRONG. Much better slide and much better kids area. Absolutely loved it here. Great pool bar too.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Second to last post....

Was totally impressed with the daily activities. My son got into the "bead activities" and it became his mission to collect them all. This took some time/effort and some back/forth between Jambo and Kidani, but it really got us to explore different parts of the resort that we might not have otherwise. There is a slight educational slant to them as well - 7 was a pretty good age to really take in/absorb each lesson/activity.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Last post.... promise.

Final thoughts....

• Greeted by a CM with an iPad specifically looking for us and taken straight to the lounge (this has not happened since our first trip to WL way back in 2013).

• Was offered a beverage while checking in (had never happened at any CL stay before).

• On the whole, I found the CMs here excellent. Desk CMs were friendly. Lounge CMs were busy but always available if you needed anything. Tables were quick to be cleaned. Seemed like a mix of regular CMs who have been there a long time and maybe some new faces (saw some in training).

• The lounge seemed to always be well staffed.

• To go cups and trays were available upon request.

• I'm not sure about bottled water - I did not see anyone ask for them and we didn't ask either.

I'm sorry for the hyperbole, but we had an excellent time and and excellent overall stay. We purposely didn't do much park time this trip, instead spent a lot of time around the resort. We came back happy and refreshed.

DD is still asking what the flamingos are doing (we'd go see them every morning).

Honestly, I hadn't done much research on AKL at all. I had zero expectations, or more accurately, I had low expectations. I figured the distance to the lounge would get on my nerves.

But alas, great trip, great CL, very happy to have given it a shot.

Always happy to answer any questions! Thanks for letting me hog thread space.

 

[thaggie1]

Staying at GF Royal Palm Club in July. I have a Deluxe room booked. Looks like only 3 rooms on 3rd floor and 3 on 4th floor. Anyone have any thoughts on which to request. Looking for a quiet room. The ones overlooking the GF are a different shape than the other two.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi, for the Wayamai safari and dinner. Is it served family style or does everyone at the table get their own plate of food.? Thanks

Sorry I burried your post in all of mine.

It's served family style - they bring out the food on big plates and you pass it around.

 

[disneymomma76]

We watched both nights from our room since we had a TPV room. I use these pics below a lot, but it pretty much sums it up to me. Awesome!

For the 7/3 and 7/4 shows they use that island launch point in the middle of the 7 Seas Lagoon (in addition to the regular MK locations) so it really makes for great viewing from Poly.
View attachment 314953

They pull the EWP barges up in front of Poly (you can see below) and play the music from there as well, which is good because there were a few issues with Poly audio at the time, which I think have been fixed now.
View attachment 314954

Here's a pic of the reserved CL viewing area, which is pretty much prime.
View attachment 314955

My one complaint with the show... it's a bit short. Like 14ish minutes. Compared to something like HEA (18 minutes), the show itself left me wanting more. But - beggars can't be choosers - it's still a great show.

We are staying at the Poly CL over the 4th. The last pic.......you're saying they reserve seating on the beach for CL? If so, that's awesome! Was it super packed? We are planning on watching from the Poly and I'm looking at all our options. TIA!

 

[GoGoBeans]

@GADisneyDad14 Love, love, love seeing your photo tour and exemplary remarks of my beloved AKL. Our family has had so many happy times there; I’m just so thrilled yours did too. I think it’s the best all around resort in so many ways and is an amazing place to make memories with your family. Thank you for sharing with us.

I don’t think I’ve ever paid attention to that mailbox. Super cool!

The Wayaman Safari looks like a great way to immerse. And ha, totally get the awkward start of dinner with stranger groups like that. A couple of our food wine events were like that last year but we ended up having those meals being high on the highlight. You got me thinking if I should flip a Jiko dinner for the Safari. There will be at least seven of us.

When your kids get old enough to do the Wild Africa Trek, put that on your must do. So amazing riding around Kilimanjaro in the truck just gazing. Walking the rope bridge, listening and learning from those so passionate about the animals, land and care around them.

 

[disneymomma76]

What are the offerings like these days at the Poly CL? Anyone have any pictures to share? I know there use to be a menu, but not sure if there is still one since the recent changes. TIA!

 

[Sajchinook2015]

Thanks for all the pics, you got me thinking about staying at AK lodge. Such a beautiful place.

 

[jods]

Thanks for the great pics GAdisneydad! I always wanted to give it a try but dh thinks it's too far from everything. We uber most times to our adrs anyway so it's not that big a deal. He only wants to stay at MK resorts. If we do a resort time heavy trip that may be a nice option. Did you miss not seeing fireworks from the resort?

 

[RachelTori]

The Wayaman Safari looks like a great way to immerse. And ha, totally get the awkward start of dinner with stranger groups like that. A couple of our food wine events were like that last year but we ended up having those meals being high on the highlight. You got me thinking if I should flip a Jiko dinner for the Safari. There will be at least seven of us.

When your kids get old enough to do the Wild Africa Trek, put that on your must do. So amazing riding around Kilimanjaro in the truck just gazing. Walking the rope bridge, listening and learning from those so passionate about the animals, land and care around them.

I totally agree re Wild Africa Trek! Have done it twice and can’t wait to do it again!

Wanyama is awesome! A great way to spend an evening

 

[SL6827]

Ice? Plenty of ice in the lounge? I have an addiction to it.

 

[no one]

Sounds like you are having a wonderful trip!
Maybe I missed it but can you post what the current wines are at WL? Also what are some of the evening apps and desserts? Do they offer any other hot items in the morning except oatmeal? And one last question.... If you don't mind to ask a CM, are there any rooms with a king bed (non suite) on the CL floor?

Hi, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Just sipping my Nespresso while overlooking the lobby and the lake here in the CL lounge. I asked the CL CM about the king size bed. There is only one room with a king size bed, room 7062 which is only three doors down from the lounge not far from our room, you would be woods view and would probably see the fireworks from that room. The ceiling mirror and stripper pole would be an extra charge

For wine they have red, white and the bottles have corks. Just kidding. We are not really drinkers but here is the following list: Michelle brut, sparkling wine, Chateau St. Michelle, Riesling, Millbrandt traditions, Chardonnay, Millbrandt traditions, Cabernet Sauvignon, Wild Hills, Pinot Noir. I could type out the descriptions but then you would have to use the stripper pole for me as payment.

For breakfast the only hot item is the oatmeal, we have been here five nights. But they mix up the meats offered each morning, rotating turkey, ham, and prosciutto type meats. They vary muffins, this morning blueberry, alternate the croissants between plain and multigrain.

Dinner offerings have varied each night, last night a shrimp pasta, a cute chicken vinaigrette in a small mason jar. They have had Shepherds pie, and roasted chicken with vegetables (sort of a stir fry). Desserts have varied, last night a nice smore which is in a small mason jar with marshmallow cream on top, chocolate in the middle and then a graham cracker flavored mousse at the bottom. They have had a lemon curd also which as delicious. The cupcakes have varied, with wild berry last night and blood orange the other night. They usually have one warm dessert, last night was an apple cobbler and another night it was a berry cobbler.

Very much have enjoyed the stay. We are going to BC CL today, will not check in until the evening as we are going to Universal today.

 

[dansdad]

Thanks for the great pics GAdisneydad! I always wanted to give it a try but dh thinks it's too far from everything.

The only thing AKL is "far" from is MK. It is closer to everything else than the MK resorts are.