Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[focusondisney]

And Tower Club breakfast yesterday

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Are you really confused? Let's be honest, you're just using a lazy phrase. You're also being lazy because you took this out of context instead of reading the entire conversation. Which is the same thing I called you on earlier, and clearly you didn't like that.

Thanks for the response.


I see you are new to this forum and this thread. Welcome!

This thread is a very friendly thread where we try to provide each other with helpful information. It started in 2015 as a continuation of an even earlier thread. (see post #29.)

I only quoted you once before this reply, because I found your post confusing.

The Gran Destino lounge offers board games and coffee table books for guests to enjoy. Most CL's have televisions. Just about all of the WDW hotels have coloring pages and crayons for children to enjoy. If a family wants to play a game, or watch a few cartoons, that is why those amenities are there.

The CM's at many CL lounges often take time to go over all of these amenities at check-in. They usually make a considerable effort to make us feel we are welcome to enjoy the lounge as much as we wish. I don't tend to hang out there myself, but sometimes we stop in mid-day to pick up some snacks, and the CL's are almost always empty mid-day.

I don't tend to pay much attention to what other people are doing or eating, but greatly enjoy seeing everyone's smiles.

I think that's why the general vibe of this thread is generally so positive, most of us enjoy the CL's very much, and all the hard working CM's we've met over the years.

I hope you'll come to enjoy the CL's.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Can someone please tell me how to pronounce her name? I know who she is because of her name tag but I've never heard her name out loud. She always addresses me by name even when I've run into her away from the Innkeepers lounge. I'd like to be able to courteously do the same.

spelled out I guess it's kinda Len (rhymes with Ben) a (like a in father)

my husband has it in his head it's Len-a (long a) and he always has to correct himself. Once he gets a thing in his head, it's there.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Recently stayed at the Contemporary with access to the Atrium lounge. It was so small with very few tables. We went in one time and there was nowhere to sit so we left and never bothered going back all week. I can't imagine how annoying the Tower Lounge must be if it's even smaller.

Since there are so few rooms on the Tower level, with very few guests, it doesn't have much of a seating problem. We were there for NYE and never had issues finding a seat Tower level.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Just checked out yesterday from a one night staycation at BC CL - live locally. I've stayed there many times but haven't since 2015. I was happily surprised to see how many more food offerings they have now. We did not buy food at all in the 24 hours we were there (and no we did not sit in the lounge all day like a previous poster I saw, was suggesting about their experience.)

We did online check in, requested room to be ready 1st since it was a 1 night stay. We arrived at 8:00am and it was ready at 10:50am. We had a resort view room and that's what we got. We had 4 ppl on the room and it slept 4, no daybed.

Food was great, delicious, and fresh. The CMs had a very difficult time keeping up with stocking the food and getting adult drinks. They seem conflicted which was more important. A CM admitted to us that they cut everyone's hours and refuse to give them overtime or schedule extra days despite appearing stressed and concerned with guest demand. Since we didn't have a time schedule (except getting seats at SAB,) we patiently waited for restock. The 4th was by far the worse. It seemed everyone had the same idea to do a staycation that day and avoid the parks. By 9:30pm, they completely ran out of desserts and only replenished some sugar cookies from the snack hours. We chose to stay at SAB and watch fireworks from there thus missing the huge EPCOT rush after the park cleared. Summer and Allie in particular were amazing CMs, both got cast compliments.

For those wondering about SAB, the 3rd we got in line at the Beaches and Cream gate at 9:30am and were the 3rd family. On the 4th we went down at the same time and was the 15th family. I sent DH to the slide gate and there was only 7 ppl ahead of him. He was able to secure spots since that gate opened 1st (on both days.)

If anyone has questions, please let me know! We are staying at CR CL at the end of the month so I'm curious to see how it compares since it's been around 10 years since I've been to that club.

 

[tinabina919]

you are making me a bit nervous for SAB at the end of the month now! We stayed at YC for the first time in September and it was slightly crowded but we always found a spot when we were ready for the pool, never had to line up before opening. Is it that much busier in July or maybe it was just for the 4th?

Wish I could remember the CM name at YC but I sent DH up for some water and beers while we were at SAB in Sept and he came back with two bags full of cookies and loaf cakes. He said when he told the CM he was grabbing drinks for the pool she said we needed snacks too lol

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

you are making me a bit nervous for SAB at the end of the month now! We stayed at YC for the first time in September and it was slightly crowded but we always found a spot when we were ready for the pool, never had to line up before opening. Is it that much busier in July or maybe it was just for the 4th?

Wish I could remember the CM name at YC but I sent DH up for some water and beers while we were at SAB in Sept and he came back with two bags full of cookies and loaf cakes. He said when he told the CM he was grabbing drinks for the pool she said we needed snacks too lol

Summer is a very popular time for the resort. At lot (like us) who are local and don’t have APs that are active or just don’t want to go to parks will do staycations at the resorts like YC bc of the pool. If you’re wanting a table with umbrella you’ll need to get in line around 9:30. If you don’t care about that then you will likely be okay to go around 10. I would say summer is generally busy but the 4th is one of the more busier weeks. Can’t speak for the chairs towards the yacht side but on the beach side for sure the tables we’re gone shortly after 930 and I really can’t say about the lounge chairs with umbrellas since that was not our focus lol We did not go past the lazy river area since we do not have kids that would play in the sand area.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

you are making me a bit nervous for SAB at the end of the month now! We stayed at YC for the first time in September and it was slightly crowded but we always found a spot when we were ready for the pool, never had to line up before opening. Is it that much busier in July or maybe it was just for the 4th?

Wish I could remember the CM name at YC but I sent DH up for some water and beers while we were at SAB in Sept and he came back with two bags full of cookies and loaf cakes. He said when he told the CM he was grabbing drinks for the pool she said we needed snacks too lol

On prior visits, we had to line up when entering SAB mid-afternoon. The reason we had to line up is because they needed to check each person to verify the were hotels guests. We had no trouble getting in though.

I imagine SAB was popular given the weather has been in the mid-90's, (often) with threat of afternoon storms. Afternoon storms are very common in summer at WDW, and the pools close if there's any sign of lightning in the vicinity. Today, there's an 80% chance of thunderstorms, for example.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We stayed at the Beach Club over the 4th of July a few years ago. The resort had a huge "beach" party with plenty of activities. SAB was very crowded during that time because of all the fun activities. I would guess that it was unusually crowded for July and it wouldn't be as crowded at the end of the month. But it is always good to go early in the day if you want a table.

 

[jods]

I booked airfare for me and a friend for September to enjoy food and wine. So excited. Now the hotel debate begins. Thinking of skipping cl this time since the focus will be food and wine. I feel like prices jumped from last year. My friend said to book whatever so not helpful at all lol. She's only been once for the day. I must have looked at hotels a million times since yesterday. It's not helping that I just got the college bill for ds yesterday. So when I see 500/600 for regular rooms I just keep thinking tuition lol. I even debated a villa but no epcot area villas are available my dates (not dvc owner, through regular disney booking). I feel like I need epcot hotel because food and wine. So excited. Oh, and my kids didn't want the Christmas party where did I go wrong!?!

 

[TJA]

Just back from a 5-night stay at Poly, first 4 nights CL. It was a relatively last minute decision to go and the only CL room I could get was resort view. As many of you know, some of our favorite trips have been on the lagoon side of Hawaii over July 4 holiday, so this felt very different being on the resort side of Hawaii.

There was no dedicated area on the beach on July 3 for CL guests, so our only option was to watch the show from the lounge. It was ok…nice to have a table and fairly good view. But we totally missed watching from our balcony and no way were we going to fight crowds for a spot outside. July 4 required wristbands for beach access and also had a dedicated area for CL guests, but July 3 was a free-for-all.

It ended up being a good thing that I couldn’t secure CL for July 4-5. The only room I found was regular TPV room, so I snagged it and we moved to Tuvalu in the morning on July 4 and we had a fantastic view! It rivaled the old view from Hawaii pre-bungalows. We still had use of the lounge, so I have some pics of July 4 food too.

So onto the lounge and food….this was our first stay back at Poly since Covid. As a family of 4, we found it super difficult to find a table in the lounge as most were for 2 people. I think there were only 3 (huge) spots for families of 4 or more, plus the long table with stools.

People were swarmed at the food station, so I only took pics of the food on our table. We are coming off an April trip to WL CL and a May trip to Portofino CL, so this Poly appetizer food wasn't as ideal to us…it kills me to say that. It wasn't necessarily the taste (because we actually liked most of the food), but we're not fans of the tiny plates. Poly had around 4 different apps on tiny plates each night, one big pan of what was I assume the kids’ option, no side dishes of salads or anything like that. Just the normal raw veggies and cheeses. Sometimes had pineapples or strawberries.

A really big plus was we loved Poly’s breakfast now! I’m so happy CL’s are doing scrambled eggs and sausage/ham/spam and sometimes pancakes and french toast sticks. Plus all the normal stuff.

Afternoon snacks were still blah as reported on here - just chips, nuts, m&m's, etc. Loved when they used to do the lettuce and chicken or shrimp.

Desserts were good! They had the tub of vanilla ice cream and toppings each night. Plus the normal little bites which were all pretty good, macaroons, and many cookies.

The kids' large pan each night was different: mac n cheese one night, chicken nuggets one night, hamburger roll-up one night, and July 4 had the corn dogs.

Onto pics now. DH sometimes combined the tiny plates to make easier to carry. The chefs stood right there watching and when someone took a tiny plate, they immediately replaced with another plate. They were super nice and I believe took pride in their creations. They did have many times when they couldn't keep up because it took a fair amount of time making each tiny plate.

 

[Ricguz]

I booked airfare for me and a friend for September to enjoy food and wine. So excited. Now the hotel debate begins. Thinking of skipping cl this time since the focus will be food and wine. I feel like prices jumped from last year. My friend said to book whatever so not helpful at all lol. She's only been once for the day. I must have looked at hotels a million times since yesterday. It's not helping that I just got the college bill for ds yesterday. So when I see 500/600 for regular rooms I just keep thinking tuition lol. I even debated a villa but no epcot area villas are available my dates (not dvc owner, through regular disney booking). I feel like I need epcot hotel because food and wine. So excited. Oh, and my kids didn't want the Christmas party where did I go wrong!?!

Did you look at the 25 percent off sale? I looked for you although I don’t know your dates. The week of the 18th to 24th September there are discounted regular and CL rooms? Halloween party is a blast at that time of year. Food and wine is also great, I have done it w/CL and used food and wine for lunch so it did not interfere with CL service.

 

[focusondisney]

@TJA thanks for your Poly report. I was debating between garden view CL Poly & a king standard at CR (theme park view). We intended to watch MK fireworks on the 3rd & then move to BW & Epcot fireworks on the 4th. I’ve heard the Poly beach view is the best but Poly doesn’t thrill me. We decided in CR. Our view from our balcony in the 3rd was great. Knowing the beach was a free for all anyway I guess I made the right choice.

 

[jods]

Did you look at the 25 percent off sale? I looked for you although I don’t know your dates. The week of the 18th to 24th September there are discounted regular and CL rooms? Halloween party is a blast at that time of year. Food and wine is also great, I have done it w/CL and used food and wine for lunch so it did not interfere with CL service.

There is some availability but limited. We're going for a long weekend. That's a good call about eating food and wine early in day. That never occurred to me. I hate being in charge of everything lol. I need to see what she wants to do. If we are hanging at the resort cl may make sense. I usually do f and w at night so completely forget it's all day.

 

[TJA]

@TJA thanks for your Poly report. I was debating between garden view CL Poly & a king standard at CR (theme park view). We intended to watch MK fireworks on the 3rd & then move to BW & Epcot fireworks on the 4th. I’ve heard the Poly beach view is the best but Poly doesn’t thrill me. We decided in CR. Our view from our balcony in the 3rd was great. Knowing the beach was a free for all anyway I guess I made the right choice.

Yes, same. The desk CM's felt really bad as many guests were inquiring about not having a roped area on July 3 for CL guests. I've never really paid attention in previous years because we've always had a lagoon-side room in Hawaii and we'd watch the show from our balcony or patio. Since there were so many people on the beach, we opted for a table in the lounge (we're lucky we got one....). It was nice with the music piped in the lounge and snacks and drinks to enjoy. I'm glad we had the experience, but we do highly prefer watching that spectacular show outside on either our balcony or possibly the beach.

Oh - we deeply missed the patriotic water parade during the fireworks! When did that stop?? It added so much to the show....

 

[PPFlight75]

I booked airfare for me and a friend for September to enjoy food and wine. So excited. Now the hotel debate begins. Thinking of skipping cl this time since the focus will be food and wine. I feel like prices jumped from last year. My friend said to book whatever so not helpful at all lol. She's only been once for the day. I must have looked at hotels a million times since yesterday. It's not helping that I just got the college bill for ds yesterday. So when I see 500/600 for regular rooms I just keep thinking tuition lol. I even debated a villa but no epcot area villas are available my dates (not dvc owner, through regular disney booking). I feel like I need epcot hotel because food and wine. So excited. Oh, and my kids didn't want the Christmas party where did I go wrong!?!

Did you check out the Swan or Dolphin? Their rates might be better while keeping you near Epcot.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

There is some availability but limited. We're going for a long weekend. That's a good call about eating food and wine early in day. That never occurred to me. I hate being in charge of everything lol. I need to see what she wants to do. If we are hanging at the resort cl may make sense. I usually do f and w at night so completely forget it's all day.

If you are looking to cut costs, perhaps consider Swan Reserve (Swan or Dolphin). If you are a AAA holder, look for the AAA discount. There's also a AAA discount on dining there. The Swan Reserve is new/nice, and they have room service. Not the same as CL, but the breakfast menu has some nice options. The food quality was very high, IMO, better than some of the CL offerings.

Another option is the hotels in Flamingo Crossing. The FC hotels are not as fun as the WDW ones, but they are all relatively new and very clean. I think the oldest opened in 2019. I think all the hotels include morning breakfast, but only the Home2Stuites has a water slide. Depending which hotel you chose, suites with bedrooms and full kitchens are an option. (I think only Fairfield is no suites.) One downside is you'd need transportation, but the hotels savings should offset the cost. They are usually in the 150-300/night range. The FC plaza has a small Target, a Walgreen's, plus a number of places to get food. The restaurants aren't that exciting, but everything is right there if you are hungry after leaving Epcot. (Pieology, Hash House a Go Go, Starbucks, Firehouse Subs, a brewpub, Ben & Jerry's, etc.)

 

[jods]

If you are looking to cut costs, perhaps consider Swan Reserve (Swan or Dolphin). If you are a AAA holder, look for the AAA discount. There's also a AAA discount on dining there. The Swan Reserve is new/nice, and they have room service. Not the same as CL, but the breakfast menu has some nice options. The food quality was very high, IMO, better than some of the CL offerings.

Another option is the hotels in Flamingo Crossing. The FC hotels are not as fun as the WDW ones, but they are all relatively new and very clean. I think the oldest opened in 2019. I think all the hotels include morning breakfast, but only the Home2Stuites has a water slide. Depending which hotel you chose, suites with bedrooms and full kitchens are an option. (I think only Fairfield is no suites.) One downside is you'd need transportation, but the hotels savings should offset the cost. They are usually in the 150-300/night range. The FC plaza has a small Target, a Walgreen's, plus a number of places to get food. The restaurants aren't that exciting, but everything is right there if you are hungry after leaving Epcot. (Pieology, Hash House a Go Go, Starbucks, Firehouse Subs, a brewpub, Ben & Jerry's, etc.)

Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely check out the Swan. I went mini golfing last year, is that the reserve right there? The only bad thing is crossing the street to get to epcot but could be worth it. Is there a bar inside? I did throw around the idea of a Disney springs hilton, I think the palace one. I get great rates at times on hilton properties for friends and family. I would uber everywhere if I stayed there. I just really love the boardwalk area. Family trip, I would have cl booked already. Friends trip, I'm hesitant of cost. Especially with tuition and we recently spent close to 10,000 on my dog. She was recently diagnosed with diabetes and went from ok to thinking I was going to lose her. Thankfully she is doing awesome! I'm so torn. I need to just su k it up and book an epcot hotel lol.

 

[DisDVCfam]

Just booked a quick vacation for Stone Harbor Club. It's our first stay at BC and are quite excited for Stormalong Bay. Just curious for the pool area, is there a preferred area to get a chair with kids under 9? I'd love to get under an umbrella. I've never really paid much attention to the pool and seating areas, so I'll be going in blind so to speak.
We've done Atrium Club and Kilimanjaro Club and enjoyed those. I'm hoping SHC will have died down a bit from the review above about July 4th. Atrium Club was next to empty when we stayed there (second week that they opened after Covid shutdown of lounges), and Kilimanjaro definitely felt much busier last November.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely check out the Swan. I went mini golfing last year, is that the reserve right there? The only bad thing is crossing the street to get to epcot but could be worth it. Is there a bar inside? I did throw around the idea of a Disney springs hilton, I think the palace one. I get great rates at times on hilton properties for friends and family. I would uber everywhere if I stayed there. I just really love the boardwalk area. Family trip, I would have cl booked already. Friends trip, I'm hesitant of cost. Especially with tuition and we recently spent close to 10,000 on my dog. She was recently diagnosed with diabetes and went from ok to thinking I was going to lose her. Thankfully she is doing awesome! I'm so torn. I need to just su k it up and book an epcot hotel lol.

Yes. Crossing the street is pretty easy. There is a crosswalk button, and the light is timed to respond quickly once a pedestrian presses the button. A good part of the traffic is busses, and they know to be careful.

I thought we'd mind the walk, but we didn't. The path is nice going towards Epcot. I like the Boardwalk portion coming from that direction. To HS, I'd maybe take the boat, but it is not bad walking. We had a car and drove to MK and AK.

Yes, there is a bar. I think there are multiple options. They all looked very nice, though I can't say I tried them. I'm not sure why. We tend to be focused on the parks when we visit. The breakfast in our room was delicious.

We have tried the Boardwalk Deli though. The Pastrami sandwiches - twice- were pretty greasy. Chicken was very good. Desserts there are EXCELLENT though! They have some of the prettiest, most delicious desserts anywhere! We also stopped by Amorette's too!


Sorry to hear about your dog. I once had a diabetic dog. It was a bit tricky (to be confident in giving her insulin), but she lived a very good, long life. I was initially very worried, but she got very good at letting us know if she didn't feel well and needed help (like low blood sugar) and regulating her own eating. We also got more skilled too! She was a pretty amazing dog. I am sorry to hear the price of insulin has gone up so much! We used to get hers at a regular pharmacy, not the vet. We often had to board her at the vet's those years, but they took great care of her. They loved her like we did!