Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[gwynne]

Has anyone ever booked the extra fast passes when they booked club level? I called and they told me I could only purchase at 90 days out and they were the ones that had to book my fast passes. Does this sound right?My concern is you are able to make fast pass selection on line sooner than calling and honestly I would rather do it myself than have someone do it for me. Thought I would ask here before calling back and asking another cast member.

We have booked 3 days of our trip with CL fastpasses. I called at 90 days from checkout, had an outline of what FP's I was looking for. I asked them to book the CL (only they can change) FP's for the first three of the day. The last three are ones I can change easily as I wish. They either work on them with you on the phone, or call you back with the plan.

For us, so far it's been really helpful. My "actual" FP day was a couple of days ago. It was so nice to have the hard to get FP's already booked, and I could then turn to getting a few on other days.

 

[Eastern]

Are Club Level rooms ever deeply discounted? Like I know sometimes they have regular deluxe rooms for up to 30 or 35% off - do they ever discount CL like that? Thanks!

There are CL rooms available now at GF and YC for 35% off using the Visa cardholder discount. The general discount is 25% max for CL right now.

Random note: I checked military discount for 6 nights at CR CL std for 2 adults: January 2019 $3600. November 2019 $4700.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Just a heads up for folks keeping an eye out for the 2019 Military Salute. The information is up online under Places to stay, then View special offers.

We were able to get Military Discount for Club Level, Main Building, Theme Park View at Grand Floridian. We already had an existing reservation in a non-club level, outer building. By calling in, the reservation was altered to give us the Military discount.

 

[firsttimemom]

FWIW.... I can put up with a lot of room noise for a great CL rate!

While it is true I did find our Atrium-facing room in April 2017 a touch on the noisy side... noise wouldn't necessarily be on my go/no go decision list for staying at SL (I'd put other factors in front).

Caveat that my DD was 2.5 during that particular SL trip... so squarely in napping/sleeping zone so we were likely more attune to any noises than many other travelers.

Plus contrast that with my end of hall room last weekend that was probably among the quietest rooms I've ever had at any WDW resort.

My DH is the same way but excessive noise makes my eye twitch. I just didn't want to risk it so I booked a marina view room at the poly instead. We have 3 nights at the BWI club level first and then 2 nights non-club. I'm sure we will survive....

 

[mickeynut1]

We were able to get Military Discount for Club Level, Main Building, Theme Park View at Grand Floridian. We already had an existing reservation in a non-club level, outer building. By calling in, the reservation was altered to give us the Military discount.

Congrats on the discount! Hope you have a great trip .

 

[debandbill]

Just returned from a wonderful stay at GF Sugar Loaf (9/23 - 9/29) with my sisters. It was my first Club Level stay since 2005 at BWI (and my sissies have never stayed on the park.) GADisneyDad - we were your neighbors in 6305 . So glad you posted pics and review so I don't have to - lol. I received the room ready notice around 3:30 pm but we were still on the road and arrived around 5pm...were greeted in front of the main building by a cast member with pad who walked us to Sugar Loaf and checked our room to make sure our bands worked. I did see others being brought by larger golf carts at times. We had the same room type as Dad...3rd floor dormer with smaller balcony (although we weren't bothered by it and loved our view and the quiet of being off the center of the building.) We had the two queen beds with the day bed just like in Dad's pics...I slept on the daybed and it was reasonably comfortable. I used the roll out desk that fit under the big desk as my bedside table. We all three had our own "nests." I did note the paint dings and some bad caulking but no dirty corners and the room felt and smelled beautifully clean. The drapes and sheers were very clean, connected and on track which is my pet peeve at most hotels and cruise ship rooms. We were missing bar soap and shampoo and slippers?? (are slippers standard in CL rooms?) the first night but after that we were kept well stocked and serviced. Most afternoons (4-5) we would get the turn down knock and accept just the chocolates as we were getting ready for ADRs.

The lounge attendants were awesome....friendly and diligent with keeping used plates, etc. cleared from our tables. There was one male concierge that was rather dull and dreary. I was having issues with looking at the dining plan credits and fussing about how slow MDE was but when he went into his system - it was down as well. He did not seem amused when I said, "Now you feel my pain." He did eventually print the status for me but never seemed particularly engaged or never really smiled during my entire visit. All other interactions throughout the resort were friendly and helpful. We tried to do laundry mid-week late at night...no machines in Sugar Loaf and only one set of Washer/Dryers in the main building (unless we were told incorrectly.) The Laundry App told us others were available in, for instance, Boca Chica, but upon arriving - they were in use. We used the main building units and suffered thru waiting on two loads plus needed to get a front desk CM to access the second floor after 10 pm...aaack - really the only aggravating event during our trip.

One afternoon, we saw the wedding carriage and white horses as they trotted thru the middle of the resort - so pretty. Another morning, there was a bride to be in Sugar Loaf having pics made. I loved the piano and the orchestra in the afternoons and evenings in the Main building...the piano player resplendent in his tux. I loved sitting at the boat dock at dusk with a cool breeze and at night for EWP. We just had a great trip! The weather was oppressive so coming back to the GF after a hot sweaty day at the parks was amazing. Next visit, I think, will be RPC...I have to try it.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Just returned from a wonderful stay at GF Sugar Loaf (9/23 - 9/29) with my sisters. It was my first Club Level stay since 2005 at BWI (and my sissies have never stayed on the park.) GADisneyDad - we were your neighbors in 6305 . So glad you posted pics and review so I don't have to - lol. I received the room ready notice around 3:30 pm but we were still on the road and arrived around 5pm...were greeted in front of the main building by a cast member with pad who walked us to Sugar Loaf and checked our room to make sure our bands worked. I did see others being brought by larger golf carts at times. We had the same room type as Dad...3rd floor dormer with smaller balcony (although we weren't bothered by it and loved our view and the quiet of being off the center of the building.) We had the two queen beds with the day bed just like in Dad's pics...I slept on the daybed and it was reasonably comfortable. I used the roll out desk that fit under the big desk as my bedside table. We all three had our own "nests." I did note the paint dings and some bad caulking but no dirty corners and the room felt and smelled beautifully clean. The drapes and sheers were very clean, connected and on track which is my pet peeve at most hotels and cruise ship rooms. We were missing bar soap and shampoo and slippers?? (are slippers standard in CL rooms?) the first night but after that we were kept well stocked and serviced. Most afternoons (4-5) we would get the turn down knock and accept just the chocolates as we were getting ready for ADRs.

The lounge attendants were awesome....friendly and diligent with keeping used plates, etc. cleared from our tables. There was one male concierge that was rather dull and dreary. I was having issues with looking at the dining plan credits and fussing about how slow MDE was but when he went into his system - it was down as well. He did not seem amused when I said, "Now you feel my pain." He did eventually print the status for me but never seemed particularly engaged or never really smiled during my entire visit. All other interactions throughout the resort were friendly and helpful. We tried to do laundry mid-week late at night...no machines in Sugar Loaf and only one set of Washer/Dryers in the main building (unless we were told incorrectly.) The Laundry App told us others were available in, for instance, Boca Chica, but upon arriving - they were in use. We used the main building units and suffered thru waiting on two loads plus needed to get a front desk CM to access the second floor after 10 pm...aaack - really the only aggravating event during our trip.

One afternoon, we saw the wedding carriage and white horses as they trotted thru the middle of the resort - so pretty. Another morning, there was a bride to be in Sugar Loaf having pics made. I loved the piano and the orchestra in the afternoons and evenings in the Main building...the piano player resplendent in his tux. I loved sitting at the boat dock at dusk with a cool breeze and at night for EWP. We just had a great trip! The weather was oppressive so coming back to the GF after a hot sweaty day at the parks was amazing. Next visit, I think, will be RPC...I have to try it.

Omygoodness, just your description of the serenity of GF makes me now want to do a GF CL resort only trip with just DH...
(We've already added on an AKL only stay at the end of our February trip.)
And this is how it begins...
"Hi, my name is NonnaT, and I'm a Disney addict!"
(Hope nobody's offended by that)

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

Omygoodness, just your description of the serenity of GF makes me now want to do a GF CL resort only trip with just DH...
(We've already added on an AKL only stay at the end of our February trip.)
And this is how it begins...
"Hi, my name is NonnaT, and I'm a Disney addict!"
(Hope nobody's offended by that)

Hello.......names Bruce!!! Remember fish are friends not food!!!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

@DisneyLifePapioNe

Hello.......names Bruce!!! Remember fish are friends not food!!!

 

[TJA]

Next visit, I think, will be RPC...I have to try it.

If you are like me, you will love it!! It sets the bar pretty high, especially during a holiday season. Thanks for posting about your trip!

 

[trishadono]

Just returned from a wonderful stay at GF Sugar Loaf (9/23 - 9/29) with my sisters. It was my first Club Level stay since 2005 at BWI (and my sissies have never stayed on the park.) GADisneyDad - we were your neighbors in 6305 . So glad you posted pics and review so I don't have to - lol. I received the room ready notice around 3:30 pm but we were still on the road and arrived around 5pm...were greeted in front of the main building by a cast member with pad who walked us to Sugar Loaf and checked our room to make sure our bands worked. I did see others being brought by larger golf carts at times. We had the same room type as Dad...3rd floor dormer with smaller balcony (although we weren't bothered by it and loved our view and the quiet of being off the center of the building.) We had the two queen beds with the day bed just like in Dad's pics...I slept on the daybed and it was reasonably comfortable. I used the roll out desk that fit under the big desk as my bedside table. We all three had our own "nests." I did note the paint dings and some bad caulking but no dirty corners and the room felt and smelled beautifully clean. The drapes and sheers were very clean, connected and on track which is my pet peeve at most hotels and cruise ship rooms. We were missing bar soap and shampoo and slippers?? (are slippers standard in CL rooms?) the first night but after that we were kept well stocked and serviced. Most afternoons (4-5) we would get the turn down knock and accept just the chocolates as we were getting ready for ADRs.

The lounge attendants were awesome....friendly and diligent with keeping used plates, etc. cleared from our tables. There was one male concierge that was rather dull and dreary. I was having issues with looking at the dining plan credits and fussing about how slow MDE was but when he went into his system - it was down as well. He did not seem amused when I said, "Now you feel my pain." He did eventually print the status for me but never seemed particularly engaged or never really smiled during my entire visit. All other interactions throughout the resort were friendly and helpful. We tried to do laundry mid-week late at night...no machines in Sugar Loaf and only one set of Washer/Dryers in the main building (unless we were told incorrectly.) The Laundry App told us others were available in, for instance, Boca Chica, but upon arriving - they were in use. We used the main building units and suffered thru waiting on two loads plus needed to get a front desk CM to access the second floor after 10 pm...aaack - really the only aggravating event during our trip.

One afternoon, we saw the wedding carriage and white horses as they trotted thru the middle of the resort - so pretty. Another morning, there was a bride to be in Sugar Loaf having pics made. I loved the piano and the orchestra in the afternoons and evenings in the Main building...the piano player resplendent in his tux. I loved sitting at the boat dock at dusk with a cool breeze and at night for EWP. We just had a great trip! The weather was oppressive so coming back to the GF after a hot sweaty day at the parks was amazing. Next visit, I think, will be RPC...I have to try it.

You mentioned lots of things I also like at gf sl. I just remembered we did not get slippers in rpc earlier in Sept.

There is always "one" that isn't friendly, do they not know it's Disney???

In rpc for me it's Tom

Note to others : I called and requested 7pm for turn down and that was awesome! No 4pm interruptions while I'm getting "dolled up" for appetizers

 

[trishadono]

We have booked 3 days of our trip with CL fastpasses. I called at 90 days from checkout, had an outline of what FP's I was looking for. I asked them to book the CL (only they can change) FP's for the first three of the day. The last three are ones I can change easily as I wish. They either work on them with you on the phone, or call you back with the plan.

For us, so far it's been really helpful. My "actual" FP day was a couple of days ago. It was so nice to have the hard to get FP's already booked, and I could then turn to getting a few on other days.

Sounds like the fp stuff worked good for you

Nice!

 

[mickeynut1]

Just returned from a wonderful stay at GF Sugar Loaf (9/23 - 9/29) with my sisters. It was my first Club Level stay since 2005 at BWI (and my sissies have never stayed on the park.)

Thanks for your review. Glad you had a nice trip and enjoyed GF SL .

 

[pixarmom]

Couple of last comments...

- Totally uneventful check-in experience. Checked-in at the main building and was given CL paperwork there. No introduction or hand off to SL CMs, were told to walk over ourselves. After being greeted and whisked away at AKL earlier this year, these other experiences just never seem to live up!

- I have read reports of GF making one week out phone calls direct from the resort CL CMs, but I never heard from them. I am not sure how consistent this new practice is and seems to only be some resorts.

- We were out every night so didn't get to experience desserts.

- Room was serviced every day before we returned mid day (usually 1ish) which I very much appreciate.

- I like how both GF pools have legitimate pool-side servers. Something some other resorts (ahem, Poly) don't do well.

- Being able to go to either pool and find seating and (usually) shade is such a nice change of pace from places like Poly. I love Poly, but gosh does the pool chair crowding get old sometimes. GF is much easier and worry-free, at least in our travels.

- The orchestra in the main building in the evenings is just one of the coolest things out there.

- Monorails were quick and efficient (excluding the MNSSHP return trip, ugh).

- Took a Minnie Van a few times, love having that as an alternative for certain trips.

- Missed seeing Richard out front.

Thanks for putting up with the post hogging with all the pics, happy to answer any questions.

Completely fantastic review and photos! So helpful. We booked lagoon view at GF for marathon weekend in January, and our youngest is really lobbying for CL. Last time we stayed at GF, it was RPC, but I'm just not loving the price this year. I was considering keeping an eye out for SL discounts, but I think the it would be way too crowded for us, and there is no way we would take advantage of that much food. I'm guessing he would prefer to grab something from Gasparilla's in the morning and read in an empty, quiet outer building lobby instead.

Regarding the BWI vs RPC question posted previously, we've stayed BWI CL several times and RPC once. In the past, I was a huge fan of BWI CL, and our youngest would say it's one of his favorites. CMs there are fantastic - love Jackie. But the rest of us (husband and older boys, ages 18 and 19) aren't as crazy about it because the lounge has been getting so incredibly crowded, in our experience. Last BWI CL stay, we barely used the lounge because it was so packed - particularly with the chef in there. So five of us ended up bringing everything to the room all the time, which was tight and defeated one of our purposes in booking CL - lounge space. I know many people love the additional food, but we found it was just way too much food for anyone (even hungry teen guys) in our family to eat before dinner, and the cart took up a ton of space. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and space in the RPC lounge - very relaxing and great views.

Finally, I know this is a WDW CL thread, but I just stayed at the Disneyland Hotel with our youngest this summer and that club lounge is fantastic. Good amount of space, friendly fellow guests, great views, mickey waffles every morning, desserts are better than we purchased in the parks, and they serve the mickey sugar cubes too! Great discounted price in August and loved everything about it. Happy to answer questions about it if anyone is headed out there!

 

[IrishNYC]

Are Club Level rooms ever deeply discounted? Like I know sometimes they have regular deluxe rooms for up to 30 or 35% off - do they ever discount CL like that? Thanks!

I just booked 3 nights in February with the Gift of Magic offer, BWI CL. It was a 25% discount.

Has anyone ever booked the extra fast passes when they booked club level? I called and they told me I could only purchase at 90 days out and they were the ones that had to book my fast passes. Does this sound right?My concern is you are able to make fast pass selection on line sooner than calling and honestly I would rather do it myself than have someone do it for me. Thought I would ask here before calling back and asking another cast member.

They have to book them for you. It's $50 per person/per day, 3 day minimum. I wouldn't hesitate to have them book for you - you'll get exactly the times you want for all 6 FPs each day. What's to worry about?

 

[TwinkleKS]

We are going CL this year for our Christmas trip, mainly to give the FP thing a try. We have stayed CL before at GF and it was nice, but not necessary as we also had the DxDP. This time we are going with CL at the BC to try out the extra FPs. I called yesterday (the first day I could) to make the selections and it was super easy - basically saying I want 7DMT from 9-10, BTM from 10-11, Space Mountain from 11-12, etc. I'm excited to see how it all works out.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are going CL this year for our Christmas trip, mainly to give the FP thing a try. We have stayed CL before at GF and it was nice, but not necessary as we also had the DxDP. This time we are going with CL at the BC to try out the extra FPs. I called yesterday (the first day I could) to make the selections and it was super easy - basically saying I want 7DMT from 9-10, BTM from 10-11, Space Mountain from 11-12, etc. I'm excited to see how it all works out.

Hope it works out and you get just what you want .

 

[GADisneyDad14]

GADisneyDad - we were your neighbors in 6305 .

Ha! Sorry if we made too much noise.

Actually, you checked in the day we checked out, so it wasn't me!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Finally, I know this is a WDW CL thread, but I just stayed at the Disneyland Hotel with our youngest this summer and that club lounge is fantastic. Good amount of space, friendly fellow guests, great views, mickey waffles every morning, desserts are better than we purchased in the parks, and they serve the mickey sugar cubes too! Great discounted price in August and loved everything about it. Happy to answer questions about it if anyone is headed out there!

I'll be OT with you. I stayed a night there earlier this year and really liked it too. Actually I wasn't looking forward to to DL Hotel at all - it just didn't appeal to me from afar - but once there I was really digging both the resort and CL. Maybe it was just because it was something totally new/different (my first time at DL) but I'd absolutely go back in a heartbeat!

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]