Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[GADisneyDad14]

Wanted to chime in with a (glowing) few posts about WL CL this past long weekend. Some of these are pretty repetitive with @gillep's excellent recent posts, so apologies.

This was our third stay at WL - prior visits were 2013 non-CL, 2016 CL - so it had been some time.

I'll do a summary at the end, but yesterday DW (who usually has no opinion on Disney matters) told me this was her favorite CL, no debate.... so there's that!

Starting off with Breakfast - it's more or less the 'typical' CL offerings, with subtle differences. The types of meats varied a bit each morning. Hard-boiled eggs each morning too. My only quasi-complaint about WL CL is that the eggs aren't kept cold. Sounds so high maintenance I guess but approaching room temp eggs don't do it for me, I'd rather have those suckers cold. But anyway, minor nit. Maybe my timing was just off.



Assorted pastries that varied a bit each day.



Oatmeal and various toppings. Nice deep bowls.



The Bicher Muesli is unique to WL CL. It's an interesting flavor and texture.



Berries and cereal - Fruit Loops, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, and either Special K or Frosted Flakes (not totally sure).


Meats on a different morning.



Pastries on a different morning.



Better look at the berries.



Plain bagels, cinnamon raisin bagels, white toast, and English muffins. They had a good multi-grain toast out on other mornings too. Toppings (cream cheese, butter, peanut butter, and grape jelly) are in individual containers - many CLs have them in scoop yourself bowls.


Continued on next post.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Afternoon Snacks included a reasonably good selection, in my opinion....






The pinwheel sandwiches were out a couple of days.





PBJ shooters instead of the Pinwheel Sandwiches mentioned above on this day...



A different type of cupcake on this day.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We particularly enjoyed the evening apps, generally speaking. And I love the fact that the daily menu is posted each morning - something I wish every CL would do.

You can tell the influence from the kitchens at the resort.

We were only there a few nights, but here were the Thursday-Sunday menus:

 

[GADisneyDad14]

And some Evening App pics.

Cheeses and crudite pretty standard nightly.









The rib night was probably the best night, in my opinion.







Another night.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Two more Evening App pics from another night:

 

[mrsap]

Two more Evening App pics from another night:

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View attachment 393497

Everything looks amazing! (Although I don’t see any nuggets! ) Happy you enjoyed the Lodge, it’s one of my favorites. Thanks for all the pictures, very helpful and detailed, as always.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Desserts were simply prepared and presented, which is totally fine with us. Also some things that are unique to WL CL and really go well with the theme.

Cordials. Note the port and whiskey.



They like to put things in jars at WL CL.







The same Miner's Treasure I had just paid gosh knows how much for at Storybook Dining downstairs.



Another night.



The jar desserts generally changed nightly.



The cupcakes varied by night.



As did the cobbler (I think). If they could take a queue from BC/YC CL and have some vanilla ice cream around to add to the cobbler, that would be awesome!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Beverages....


Spa Water of the Day (water & fruit, it changed daily), Geyser Gros, Tea, Lemonade, and Sparkling Water.



More CLs need TWO fridges like this. General beverage availability. Note the bottled water, silk soymilk, and individual Oikos yogurts - not available at many CLs.



Coffee and Nespresso machine setup. They had the tiniest to-go cups out on the counter. In 2016 they had larger versions, I never did ask to see if any were hiding in the drawers.



Need.



Current beer selection. So nice to actually have this out and visible during the day.


Beers appear in the fridge for Evening Apps. There's a CM stationed here for the most part.



The CM works the taps and pours the wine.



Current wine list.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

A few pics around the lounge:

Food serving area:


The lounge has two balconies that face the MK. The castle isn't really visible (it's behind those trees) but fireworks are. They play the music here.



Cute kids area with small tables/chairs, TV. The coloring paper and crayons are a nice touch that I don't think I've seen at other CLs. While I thought CM presence in the lounge and cleaning up tables was fantastic the whole trip, in full disclosure we did sit here for over 30 minutes with those tables empty and no one touched the dishes. This was around noonish yesterday. This was the exception, not the norm from our few days.


There's a table outside the lounge that has the wine list, evening app menu, and usually has some some wrapped up muffins all day.



The food service area does close overnight and in between services, but the lounge itself is open all the time.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I was incredibly thankful for WL CL leaving out water and bagels all three mornings for the runDisney races. YC CL in Feb only did it for the Half.

Loved the sign....

 

[mrsap]

I was incredibly thankful for WL CL leaving out water and bagels all three mornings. YC CL in Feb only did it for the Half.

Loved the sign....
View attachment 393532

View attachment 393533

If this was a report for school, you’d definitely get an A+ along with a star sticker. Nice job

 

[mrsap]

I was incredibly thankful for WL CL leaving out water and bagels all three mornings. YC CL in Feb only did it for the Half.

Loved the sign....
View attachment 393532

View attachment 393533

Love, love, love the sign

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I had submitted two room requests - bunk beds as our main priority, MK view as second priority (but bunk beds were more important). We were assigned room 7043, which had bunk beds but was a courtyard facing room. Totally fine with me as that was noted as our more important request I'm not even sure if there are any bunk bed MK facing rooms?

We arrived around 1pm and the room was ready, so bonus. We did have some HVAC issues in the room (wouldn't get cool), but it was addressed by maintenance quickly.

This Touring Plans floor plan is lacking in several respects, but it gives you a general lay of the land. Our room was in red. The lounge and CL CM desk area is in yellow, the two elevators are in red. Nothing is very far at WL.



The 7th floor (CL) courtyard facing rooms are in yellow. Yes, at WL CL you get the famous dormer/well balconies on either side of the hallway.


Room view looking left.



Facing straight. Being able to crack the balcony door and listen to the roaring water from the falls below was great. Probably second only to cracking a Poly balcony door and listening to the soundtrack.


Facing right...



I get the knock on the dormer balconies. Obviously not ideal, but it didn't really bother us.



A beautiful sunrise one morning...


Robes, but no slippers.



WL still rocking the Cuisenart coffee makers.

 

[dansdad]

Excellent job as always @GADisneyDad14!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So, those are the WL CL highlights. Couple of other notes:

• We received an e-mail around a week out directly from the WL CL CMs (as has been well reported on this thread). I get that it's probably much easier to handle at WL CL given the incredibly small guest count relative to other CLs, but it's a shame this is only a mainstay here. Such a nice touch.
• Check-in was fantastic - probably the best check-in/CL greeting we've had at any resort in years. Greeted out front with someone specifically looking for us, escorted upstairs, full tour of the lounge, explanation of service times, the posted menu, beverages available, explained HEA viewing and show audio, explained we should just leave dishes on the tables and don't worry about cleaning up after ourselves, etc. It was top-notch, in my opinion. If I didn't know anything about CL, I would instantly be up to speed. I saw this time after time for other guests during our stay.
• CMs were very personable and friendly. Food was replenished quickly, tables generally cleared quickly. Not too in your face but not distant either - it was a nice blend.
• I did feel the CL guest count in the lounge picked up from Thursday-Sunday, but tables were always available. I've had bad luck at some CLs recently with tables being full, so it was nice for that not to be a concern here. I'm sure it can happen at times though.
• We hadn't been to WL since Geyser Point opened so this is an outdated observation - but wow, what a huge addition here. Granted the weather this time of year is great for outdoor dining, but the setting, views, and food can't be beat. The pool bar being so 'far away' from the main pool is a minor gripe, but I can live with it given the quality of Geyser Point. Maybe someday they'll replicate something similar at CR... pretty please!
• Saturday was a pretty busy pool day - that afternoon we tried to find a place to sit at both pools and couldn't find a single lounge or chair. None! That and the people soup pool were Poly-esque! I'm guessing a big check-in/out day... it wasn't nearly as bad at other times.
• The resort and resort grounds were beautiful. We were mainly there for the races and resort/pool time, not much park time - WL was a perfect fit.
• This always gets asked around the boards, but right now when HEA is at 9:15pm, the Electrical Water Pageant runs at WL immediately (and I mean immediately) after HEA. And it was blaring loud in the courtyard rooms as always.

Anyways, sorry as always to take up so many posts - happy to answer any questions.

 

[Rachel GB]

So, those are the WL CL highlights. Couple of other notes:

• We received an e-mail around a week out directly from the WL CL CMs (as has been well reported on this thread). I get that it's probably much easier to handle at WL CL given the incredibly small guest count relative to other CLs, but it's a shame this is only a mainstay here. Such a nice touch.
• Check-in was fantastic - probably the best check-in/CL greeting we've had at any resort in years. Greeted out front with someone specifically looking for us, escorted upstairs, full tour of the lounge, explanation of service times, the posted menu, beverages available, explained HEA viewing and show audio, explained we should just leave dishes on the tables and don't worry about cleaning up after ourselves, etc. It was top-notch, in my opinion. If I didn't know anything about CL, I would instantly be up to speed. I saw this time after time for other guests during our stay.
• CMs were very personable and friendly. Food was replenished quickly, tables generally cleared quickly. Not too in your face but not distant either - it was a nice blend.
• I did feel the CL guest count in the lounge picked up from Thursday-Sunday, but tables were always available. I've had bad luck at some CLs recently with tables being full, so it was nice for that not to be a concern here. I'm sure it can happen at times though.
• We hadn't been to WL since Geyser Point opened so this is an outdated observation - but wow, what a huge addition here. Granted the weather this time of year is great for outdoor dining, but the setting, views, and food can't be beat. The pool bar being so 'far away' from the main pool is a minor gripe, but I can live with it given the quality of Geyser Point. Maybe someday they'll replicate something similar at CR... pretty please!
• Saturday was a pretty busy pool day - that afternoon we tried to find a place to sit at both pools and couldn't find a single lounge or chair. None! That and the people soup pool were Poly-esque! I'm guessing a big check-in/out day... it wasn't nearly as bad at other times.
• The resort and resort grounds were beautiful. We were mainly there for the races and resort/pool time, not much park time - WL was a perfect fit.
• This always gets asked around the boards, but right now when HEA is at 9:15pm, the Electrical Water Pageant runs at WL immediately (and I mean immediately) after HEA. And it was blaring loud in the courtyard rooms as always.

Anyways, sorry as always to take up so many posts - happy to answer any questions.

THANK YOU for yet another wonderful review @GADisneyDad14 ! Glad you had a great trip!
What was the state of the room? I’ve read recent reports of the rooms being run-down.
TIA!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

THANK YOU for yet another wonderful review @GADisneyDad14 ! Glad you had a great trip!
What was the state of the room? I’ve read recent reports of the rooms being run-down.
TIA!

Thanks for the kind words.

My opinion is that the WL resort rooms have a darker theme and dated look to them overall (some of which could be intentional!), but as far as condition and cleanliness, no issues at all.

WL still has the smaller TVs and a lack of outlets (and no USB ports) around the room. Some of the outlets have the “loose connection” problem that Poly (for example) has. If you don’t be careful, your phone might not be charging.

Seeing what Disney can do with these smaller type rooms at places like YC and AKL, I’d be fine with something refreshed here, but I didn’t feel like it absolutely needed it.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Totally fine with me as that was noted as our more important request I'm not even sure if there are any bunk bed MK facing rooms?

The one time we stayed on the seventh floor we were initially given a bunk bed room that faced the MK. So I know they have at least one of them.

We agree that WL CL is really nice. We have also stayed at BC CL and found that we enjoyed WL better. The WL CM's are more accessible than the BC CM's because they rotate throughout the lounge area. Although there were nice things about the BC CL, the CM's either sit at desks in front of the lounge, or are dressed like kitchen help rather than full-fledged Disney staff. The WL lounge is more relaxing, too, with tables scattered about and a great view of the lobby. The BC CL is a very busy place and not very relaxing.

 

[Rachel GB]

Thanks for the kind words.

My opinion is that the WL resort rooms have a darker theme and dated look to them overall (some of which could be intentional!), but as far as condition and cleanliness, no issues at all.

WL still has the smaller TVs and a lack of outlets (and no USB ports) around the room. Some of the outlets have the “loose connection” problem that Poly (for example) has. If you don’t be careful, your phone might not be charging.

Seeing what Disney can do with these smaller type rooms at places like YC and AKL, I’d be fine with something refreshed here, but I didn’t feel like it absolutely needed it.

Thank you for your reply @GADisneyDad14 ! Did you prefer your bunk bed room to a deluxe room?

 

[mickeynut1]

Here are the desserts from our final night at WL CL. We tried both the treasure dessert from the character meal downstairs as well as the s'more dessert and found both to be way too sweet, didn't finish more than a bite each, but we tend to find the vast majority of WDW desserts too sweet so I wasn't surprised.

View attachment 393422 View attachment 393423 View attachment 393424

We arrived home safely late Friday night and had an electrician out Saturday. Thankfully we came home. Basically, our electrical panel is bad and this is a known issue with this brand of panel, the maker is actually out of business due to lawsuits. When we had the failure in one of the outlets it should have turned off that breaker but it did not, good thing we asked our dog sitter to turn it off so we were safe enough, but not something I want to chance. The electricians will replace the electrical panel tomorrow, and then go in each of the outlets on the circuit that failed and figure out what went wrong and fix it. Thankfully, they are bringing me a generator so that I can work. I lost all of the food in my refrigerator and freezer but that can be replaced (I have been cooking up a storm all weekend trying to restock). What really annoys me is that we have had multiple electricians out to the house performing jobs and none of them let me know about this even though they all worked with the panel. The electrician that upgraded our pool equipment let me know that our panel was obsolete, so we wouldn't be able to get parts for it in the future, but that's a far cry from the actual situation that we had in our house, I mean, I have owned three houses and I have yet to purchase parts for our electrical panels so it didn't seem like a critical issue. A quick Google search shows that this is a well known issue, and has been known for a LONG time. The electrician that came out on Saturday even had an entire binder dedicated to this issue that they took out and showed us! Oh well, the house and dog are safe and we can get this fixed.

We will be back at WDW for F&W in September, but no CL, just a BCV/Poly stay (we were able to move our two Poly nights that we skipped on this trip thanks to a great WL CM). Back to AKL CL in January!!!!

Thanks for all of the great pics! I'm glad everything is getting taken care of/fixed at home. Sorry you had to cut your trip short, but glad you will be back in Sept and again shortly after that in January! Enjoy the planning for both trips .

I called Disney and there isn't much left under the bounceback I have for December. Reaching out to my TA to see what he can do. I kept BWI on the list. BWI and AKL are the only two deluxe resorts I have never tried and I need to check them off one day AKL may have to wait until the refurb is done OR if there is a great refurb discount and cute pins I am sold!

If you have the time, keep checking back as sometimes availability changes. Good idea, though, to have your TA check things as well. We've stayed at AKL but not CL, so that's a CL on my list to try. Hoping to get there either at the end of this year or sometime next year .

That is so reassuring! I was a little sad on DME that my next planned trip was a quick weekend in the fall for MNSSHP. I think a summer Poly CL trip may be needed. Its my overall favorite resort and "it calls me"

I think you're right.....Poly CL in the summer is a must...lol. I have loved all the resorts we've stayed at, but the Poly will always be my fav .

Wanted to chime in with a (glowing) few posts about WL CL this past long weekend.

Love all the pics, thanks for sharing .

If they could take a queue from BC/YC CL and have some vanilla ice cream around to add to the cobbler, that would be awesome!

Excellent job as always @GADisneyDad14!

I agree