Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[Bird003]

How confident are you all that AKL CL is actually opening at the end of August? My DH has to be in West Palm for a couple of days on business, so we booked AKL CL for the last weekend in August since no other CL is open then...so it's a great time for us to give it a try if it's actually going to be open. I just have my doubts since there wasn't a formal announcement about it (unless I missed something) like there was for the other CLs?!

We don’t know yet. Cast members have given mixed messages

 

[Dispro1]

We don’t know yet. Cast members have given mixed messages

That's what I thought, but I have a tendency to miss things so I thought I'd ask lol. We can always cancel if we find out otherwise, but I'm hoping that it will be open since I doubt we will ever try it once the others open (we have our favorites).

 

[Simba06]

Can the AKL rooms be located pretty far from the lounge? It's not all on the same floor, is it? Trying to debate if we want to switch our WL portion of our Thanksgiving trip over the AKL so we can have CL. We will have two small children, 6 and 1, and after a weekend away recently, we have decided CL would be really nice to have for extra space and convenience. I really wanted WL CL for this trip, but obviously thats not available. I am still holding out hope Poly CL will miraculously open since are booked there for the first part of the trip. I am also trying to stalk for a 1bedroom at CCV, but only spotty availability so far during our dates. I love the WL at Christmas time, but convenience might just win out this trip.

Also, how are the room sizes at AKL compared to WL? We love the spaciousness of the Poly rooms, and sometimes feel cramped at the WL, and that was before baby!

 

[Sarahslay]

Can the AKL rooms be located pretty far from the lounge? It's not all on the same floor, is it? Trying to debate if we want to switch our WL portion of our Thanksgiving trip over the AKL so we can have CL. We will have two small children, 6 and 1, and after a weekend away recently, we have decided CL would be really nice to have for extra space and convenience. I really wanted WL CL for this trip, but obviously thats not available. I am still holding out hope Poly CL will miraculously open since are booked there for the first part of the trip. I am also trying to stalk for a 1bedroom at CCV, but only spotty availability so far during our dates. I love the WL at Christmas time, but convenience might just win out this trip.

Also, how are the room sizes at AKL compared to WL? We love the spaciousness of the Poly rooms, and sometimes feel cramped at the WL, and that was before baby!

Most of the CL rooms are not on the same floor as the lounge, I know mine was on the floor below the lounge, and it was a walk (as most of the rooms at AKL are from anywhere unless you get lucky). They are around the same size at WL rooms, if not just a hair larger, but honestly I can't tell a difference.

 

[Simba06]

Most of the CL rooms are not on the same floor as the lounge, I know mine was on the floor below the lounge, and it was a walk (as most of the rooms at AKL are from anywhere unless you get lucky). They are around the same size at WL rooms, if not just a hair larger, but honestly I can't tell a difference.

That's helpful, thanks! Trying to decide if that would be an inconvenience or not...

 

[NicoleLarson]

Can the AKL rooms be located pretty far from the lounge? It's not all on the same floor, is it? Trying to debate if we want to switch our WL portion of our Thanksgiving trip over the AKL so we can have CL. We will have two small children, 6 and 1, and after a weekend away recently, we have decided CL would be really nice to have for extra space and convenience. I really wanted WL CL for this trip, but obviously thats not available. I am still holding out hope Poly CL will miraculously open since are booked there for the first part of the trip. I am also trying to stalk for a 1bedroom at CCV, but only spotty availability so far during our dates. I love the WL at Christmas time, but convenience might just win out this trip.

Also, how are the room sizes at AKL compared to WL? We love the spaciousness of the Poly rooms, and sometimes feel cramped at the WL, and that was before baby!

WL and AKL are the exact same size. Only the 6 DVC rooms are on the same floor at AKL. All other CL rooms are on the 4th floor since the 5th floor is DVC. Your AKL CL can be any room on the 4th floor overlooking the Arusha savannah (main). If you were horribly unlucky and got the roomat the end of the kudu trail I would say you would have a tops, 5 minute walk. Note, you get to see animals all along the way, so it goes fast.

 

[Bird003]

Can the AKL rooms be located pretty far from the lounge? It's not all on the same floor, is it? Trying to debate if we want to switch our WL portion of our Thanksgiving trip over the AKL so we can have CL. We will have two small children, 6 and 1, and after a weekend away recently, we have decided CL would be really nice to have for extra space and convenience. I really wanted WL CL for this trip, but obviously thats not available. I am still holding out hope Poly CL will miraculously open since are booked there for the first part of the trip. I am also trying to stalk for a 1bedroom at CCV, but only spotty availability so far during our dates. I love the WL at Christmas time, but convenience might just win out this trip.

Also, how are the room sizes at AKL compared to WL? We love the spaciousness of the Poly rooms, and sometimes feel cramped at the WL, and that was before baby!

AKL club rooms are on different floor

 

[Sarahslay]

WL and AKL are the exact same size. Only the 6 DVC rooms are on the same floor at AKL. All other CL rooms are on the 4th floor since the 5th floor is DVC. Your AKL CL can be any room on the 4th floor overlooking the Arusha savannah (main). If you were horribly unlucky and got the roomat the end of the kudu trail I would say you would have a tops, 5 minute walk. Note, you get to see animals all along the way, so it goes fast.

Unless your kids stop to look all along the way, in which case it could be a VERY long walk lol. There was a family there on my AKL CL trip that was towards the end of the building and their son (probably 3-4 years old) had to stop at the windows and just look as they walked along. The mom was always so frustrated by the time they got to the elevators. I was lucky and only about 1/4 of the way down the hall, but even that felt a long way away when I wanted a cup of coffee and a snack.

 

[Cinderella072004]

Yes

You're a very lucky person! That room is hard to get typically! Did you book that online or did you call?? This is usually referred to as the "Deluxe Queen" room on the GF thread because the Deluxe King room is a bookable category online in the main building and the Deluxe room has two queen beds, but you've always had to call to book this room previously, which is why I asked. There are only 6 in the main building and two of them are HA. 4319 and 4419 are the HA rooms. The HA rooms have a roll in shower instead of a tub, and I like to have a tub so if you don't need HA, you might want to specify no HA room in your room request.

We just bought it in Sandy Cove. It actually wasn't badly priced! There are plenty of liquor stores on the way to Disney from the airport. If you have a driver or are renting a car, you can stop on the way. I think most arranged transportation companies will allow a quick stop like that. We've done it before.

I did call for that deluxe room . Thanks for the info I am excited now!

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Since there is no CL at GF for Sept. any suggestions where to get wine to have and make your own little CL on the patio? I know it is available in the GF store but any other choices maybe at Airport?

If you go the driver route (which I have done on my last couple of trips), you can do an online order with Target INCLUDING WINE and still do curbside pick up to save time. You just have to show your ID to the pick up person.

I usually submit my cart to Target the night before and then say "On My Way" from the airport. If you want cold items, the Hunter's Creek Target has a small amount of space for things like milk and cream whereas the Vineland Target (which is closer) doesn't do any cold storage. But they do have wine ;-)

 

[Dispro1]

If you go the driver route (which I have done on my last couple of trips), you can do an online order with Target INCLUDING WINE and still do curbside pick up to save time. You just have to show your ID to the pick up person.

I usually submit my cart to Target the night before and then say "On My Way" from the airport. If you want cold items, the Hunter's Creek Target has a small amount of space for things like milk and cream whereas the Vineland Target (which is closer) doesn't do any cold storage. But they do have wine ;-)

What a great idea! We don't have wine at Target here, so that's good to know! Plus, I can always add a few more items to the list!

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

What a great idea! We don't have wine at Target here, so that's good to know! Plus, I can always add a few more items to the list!

I'll confess, too, @Dispro1 , that in addition to wine, cream, and bottled water, I have been adding a couple of inexpensive wine glasses to my Target carts for Disney stays. I know it sounds snobbish, but I don't like drinking wine out of plastic or paper cups and since Covid, they only have disposable cups in the room (and never enough) The $3 per glass is worth every penny of use I get out of them.

 

[Simba06]

I am 80% sure I want to switch our Thanksgiving WL reservation over to AKL CL, but finding it hard to pull the trigger! I think it's because I know if I change it, the chances of being able to switch back are nil. I tried searching for reviews in the thread, but because I think it's been so long since they were posted I am having trouble finding them. Can anyone post some pictures of AKL CL to help sway me to finally make the switch?

*of course I understand things may be different post-covid

 

[twinklebug]

I am 80% sure I want to switch our Thanksgiving WL reservation over to AKL CL, but finding it hard to pull the trigger! I think it's because I know if I change it, the chances of being able to switch back are nil. I tried searching for reviews in the thread, but because I think it's been so long since they were posted I am having trouble finding them. Can anyone post some pictures of AKL CL to help sway me to finally make the switch?

*of course I understand things may be different post-covid

I own at and adore AKV, but if there's one place on property I love even more, it's WL.
IMHO, I'd stay with the WL reservation for the holiday. They'll have the holiday decor up and it's an easy ride over to all the other resorts.

I know, I'm not helping here... LOL. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Simba06]

I own at and adore AKV, but if there's one place on property I love even more, it's WL.
IMHO, I'd stay with the WL reservation for the holiday. They'll have the holiday decor up and it's an easy ride over to all the other resorts.

I know, I'm not helping here... LOL. Just my 2 cents.

No that’s helpful! The reasons you give are exactly why I am having trouble making the switch. We are MK resort people typically. It’s just we pictured our next WL stay being CL during the holidays, and since that part can’t happen I am considering saving that for a future trip.

 

[Runnsally]

Not directly CL related, but appreciate the expertise on this forum in particular and haven’t seen a clear answer elsewhere…

Are the open deluxe resorts currently booking to full capacity? Seems like inventory is unexpectedly low on some pretty far out dates. Thanks!

 

[jemtx]

Not directly CL related, but appreciate the expertise on this forum in particular and haven’t seen a clear answer elsewhere…

Are the open deluxe resorts currently booking to full capacity? Seems like inventory is unexpectedly low on some pretty far out dates. Thanks!

Depending on your dates, some of the resin might be room refurbs. Currently half the CR (tower) is offline while they redo the rooms. It appears that when the tower refurb is done this fall, the garden wing rooms are unavailable, so the assumption is that they’re returning those.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Despite the location of WL, how is/was WL club level experience comparing to other resorts?
I checked out its Deluxe room online and it looks amazing!
My family stayed at YC recently and enjoyed taking the ferry to DHS and Epcot.
I thought we might enjoy taking the ferry to MK from WL, wouldn't we?

We stayed WL CL in May 2017. It will always hold a special place in my heart because it was my son’s first Disney trip. He was 18 months old. We really couldn’t have had a better experience there. The food was really good and the lounge had a spectacular view of the lobby. It was intimate, but open (due to the aforementioned lobby view). The resort itself is beautiful. I have stayed in several Disney resorts and while it’s hard to pick a favorite, WL is definitely in my top 2. I will say we were in a regular room, so we were on the CL floor. Our room looked out toward MK and we could see the fireworks at night. The boat ride to MK was nice…I’m not a huge boat person but my (at the time) toddler son loved it.

In short, (at least pre-Covid), I would 100% recommend WL. It was awesome.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Coronado is my new go to resort. It is beautiful, don't mind the size of it as I like to walk and get my steps in. Also, the price is much better than other resorts. While the tower is my favorite, I also don't mind the standard rooms. Booked CL for GDT for January. The lounge looks GORGEOUS!

GDT CL IS MY JAM!!! I only got to stay there once but I can’t wait to go back!

I also adore GDT even non-CL. It’s just soooo convenient (buses aside of course although when Minnie Vans were running I felt like a VIP being dropped off at the tower & back in my room in like 3 mins ) and the rooms are great!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Progress on the Hawaii rooms look good. Unfortunately, Tikiman is hearing end of the year for Club Level opening.

I’m getting a wee bit worried that by the time Disney opens their CLs they’re gonna have to close them again