Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[SkyGuy]

We had one of those in October at AKL CL. We never could figure out how to work ours and my DH works in IT so he's pretty savvy. It looks super cute though.

We had one at AoA in September. We turned it off.

 

[nw6675]

This is crazy - CR is showing CL now. I've checked for over a week multiple times a day, even earlier today. They are all listed again now. Yay!

Can someone check behind me because they are gone again - when I pull CR for 5/12 - 5/18, CL doesn't even show as an option. It's not showing as booked - just completely missing.

 

[SkyGuy]

Can someone check behind me because they are gone again - when I pull CR for 5/12 - 5/18, CL doesn't even show as an option. It's not showing as booked - just completely missing.

Yes, the club level category for CR is not an option for me either for your dates. It’s simply not there.

 

[nw6675]

Gran Destino is missing some CL, too, and the one that even shows has a rate without an option to select it. I guess someone's trying to tell me it isn't time to plan yet.

 

[Maxie86]

Thank you! We are torn between trying to request a balcony or not... hubby wants a balcony room, I want one with a garden/patio We might leave it up to fate and just request to be in the first few closer to the lobby...

Another question for you - in the garden/patio room you had, could you shut the blinds in the loft area directly across from the bed? I am racing Dopey, so we normally are sleeping in until 10, 11, 12 every day!

Yes there is a power button at the bottom of the stairs. If you get one with a balcony, at least the one we were in, didn't have the loft area the upstairs was enclosed which also made it look smaller. I don't have time to do it now but I will look to see if I have any pics. I don't remember if took pics or not when we walked through.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

@daisyduckismyqueen - good luck with Dopey and those stairs in that room.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Cross posting from the YC/BC thread courtesy of @VAtink - they posted a pic of a recently renovated BC 1-BR suite that has a pull down bed (like what you see in some DVC units) vs a pull out sofa that those rooms used to have. They note this room is accessible so not sure if it’s unique to this room or in all the 1-BR suites, but if it’s all that’s a nice upgrade to that particular room type.

Post in thread 'Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions'
https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...s-information-questions.3400342/post-65191002

 

[Maxie86]

@daisyduckismyqueen - good luck with Dopey and those stairs in that room.

No issue with the stairs now. The treads are wider and not slippery any more.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

No issue with the stairs now. The treads are wider and not slippery any more.

That’s good to hear. Although as I could barely handle the Epcot monorail ramp after Dopey this year the idea of climbing a fight of stairs to my bed that night is a non-starter for me!

 

[aboveH20]

This got me to thinking . . .

Of course we all love CL. Looking at my week in March resort view is $421/night and CL is $809/night. For one person no way I can justify almost $400 a night more.

But what got me wondering is that obviously people who can afford $800/night (plus tickets, food, etc) are probably the same people who can afford DVC.

Do people “graduate” from CL to DVC?

Do people do both?

Do people who love CL just prefer that way to vacation and have no interest in DVC? And vice versa?

FYI for myself I always thought we would eventually own DVC but when we could finally afford it we were of an age where we didn’t want long term commitments. And ironically I usually travel solo (my husband likes Disney but I love a week to do whatever I want) so it’s hard to justify CL for one.

Bottom line, if the CL vs DVC issue has been discussed here I’d love to be pointed to those posts.

 

[pangyal]

This got me to thinking . . .

Of course we all love CL. Looking at my week in March resort view is $421/night and CL is $809/night. For one person no way I can justify almost $400 a night more.

But what got me wondering is that obviously people who can afford $800/night (plus tickets, food, etc) are probably the same people who can afford DVC.

Do people “graduate” from CL to DVC?

Do people do both?

Do people who love CL just prefer that way to vacation and have no interest in DVC? And vice versa?

FYI for myself I always thought we would eventually own DVC but when we could finally afford it we were of an age where we didn’t want long term commitments. And ironically I usually travel solo (my husband likes Disney but I love a week to do whatever I want) so it’s hard to justify CL for one.

Bottom line, if the CL vs DVC issue has been discussed here I’d love to be pointed to those posts.

It’s a great question .

Responding subjectively and based solely on personal experiences and preferences, we do DVC because it provides a true “home away from home” experience and you’d better believe we just make our own CL lol. That being said, we do own at AKL pretty much solely for the CL access and stay 4-5 weeks total there annually…best of both worlds .

We like the feeling of “all-inclusive” and padding out of the room to get food or liquid sustenance of some kind, and it just “feels” different from getting something out of your room fridge. Purely psychological, I know, but I personally would never want to give up our CL stays…or our DVC stays! I know that this is likely an incredibly unhelpful response, but the gist of it is that we would not want to choose or “graduate” to lose one or the other because they’re both wonderful vacations in their own way .

 

[Minnie1222]

Do people who love CL just prefer that way to vacation and have no interest in DVC?

Yes to Club. No to DVC.

 

[LoveDaisy]

Do people who love CL just prefer that way to vacation and have no interest in DVC? And vice versa

I love club level and have no interest in DVC. They are two very different experiences.

 

[mrsap]

This got me to thinking . . .

Of course we all love CL. Looking at my week in March resort view is $421/night and CL is $809/night. For one person no way I can justify almost $400 a night more.

But what got me wondering is that obviously people who can afford $800/night (plus tickets, food, etc) are probably the same people who can afford DVC.

Do people “graduate” from CL to DVC?

Do people do both?

Do people who love CL just prefer that way to vacation and have no interest in DVC? And vice versa?

FYI for myself I always thought we would eventually own DVC but when we could finally afford it we were of an age where we didn’t want long term commitments. And ironically I usually travel solo (my husband likes Disney but I love a week to do whatever I want) so it’s hard to justify CL for one.

Bottom line, if the CL vs DVC issue has been discussed here I’d love to be pointed to those posts.

When we first went to Disney, we stayed off property. A friend of ours gifted us her timeshare for that stay and that’s how we visited Disney for the first few years. We didn’t know we were missing out on anything!! lol Then DH’s co-worker told us he was staying WL CL, and wanted to come to Disney the same time as us. We planned on going to dinner one evening. He told us to meet him at WL, said we had to see it. He only stayed at WL CL, and literally everyone knew him by first name! lol It was late November and the tree was up!! He gave us a tour of his room and showed us around the CL lounge (desserts were out). I don’t think our jaws got off the floor during our little tour. We were blown away lol Needless to say, we stayed WL CL the next 4 years, and once construction started on CCV, we started trying other resort CL’s. We’d go to Disney once a year for 2 weeks - one week off property (we loved the off-site property we had originally stayed at) and then a week or so at Disney CL. But we wanted more A friend of ours had DVC, but we knew there was no Club level, so we avoided it at first. Then once Copper Creek was opening, and they offered Club Level, we were in!!!! Unfortunately, that CL sucked and was short lived, but it was enough to get our feet in the door. We started out going to Disney once a year for 2 weeks, and since buying into DVC, we added two more trips each year. We love being there, so it works for us! We still do Club level stays too! No reason why you can’t do both!! Funny, DVC Members are currently receiving surveys from Disney asking if we’d be interested in using our points for Club Level stays!! Best of both worlds would be wonderful. Sorry this was so long! Enjoy!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

This got me to thinking . . .

Of course we all love CL. Looking at my week in March resort view is $421/night and CL is $809/night. For one person no way I can justify almost $400 a night more.

But what got me wondering is that obviously people who can afford $800/night (plus tickets, food, etc) are probably the same people who can afford DVC.

Do people “graduate” from CL to DVC?

Do people do both?

Do people who love CL just prefer that way to vacation and have no interest in DVC? And vice versa?

FYI for myself I always thought we would eventually own DVC but when we could finally afford it we were of an age where we didn’t want long term commitments. And ironically I usually travel solo (my husband likes Disney but I love a week to do whatever I want) so it’s hard to justify CL for one.

Bottom line, if the CL vs DVC issue has been discussed here I’d love to be pointed to those posts.

IMO, big picture, they are two pretty different products. Personally, I don’t own DVC and while I’ve occasionally looked into it, it’s not the best fit for our particular lifestyle or vacation plans. That said, if I look back at what I’ve paid for CL rooms/suites over the years, I’d probably have way more points than I’d care to admit and likely would have ‘saved’ a ton of money. But the booking/planning/locked in nature of it just doesn’t work for us - I book and cancel a lot, I do last minute trips a lot, I tinker a lot - and while I know I could still conceivably do this with DVC, it’s less flexible. Kids are 13 and 9 just for context as that influences a lot of my thought process.

Early on I was also like “this is just a phase in our lives with kids, it’ll pass” and we didn’t want to feel locked in to Disney. As time went on we realized it was a place we all continue to enjoy as we march through life’s phases, but planning habits change - we need to navigate around increasingly complex and demanding school and sports schedules, parent health issues are more of a real fact of life, we like to do other things outside of WDW. Multiple short trips have replaced longer stays, at least for the foreseeable few years.

I must admit right after Covid Disney moved me from Poly CL (closed at the time) to a BLT 2BR - I loved that room so much I ran some serious numbers. As CL continued to be closed we later stayed in a Bungalow (gimmicky, IMHO), and sometime after that a WL Cabin (best accommodation on property, IMHO) - that one had me really considering it.

But the CL product just works better for what we want - I don’t need a kitchen, don’t care to mess with groceries on vacation, we’re four so can get by in a normal room and pay for a suite if we want something larger, I like the ‘pampering’ of having the CL lounge and CMs for small conveniences, etc. I like knowing where my room will be (generally) and for some the views provided. Probably hard to argue any of that is ‘worth it’ financially but it works for us.

I don’t know - maybe someday when we have the flexibility for longer stays I’ll reevaluate. I am mildly intrigued by the FW DVC Cabins and maybe Poly tower (although not sure I want to financially support that one, can’t tell if I love it or hate it, lol).

 

[Eastern]

Just tried booking BB for first week next December and there is almost nothing available. BWI regular room and CL still available, but YC/BC, GF, Poly, CR, nothing! No CL at AKL or CS. Didn't check WL And to be clear, regular-priced rooms are still available, just not BB discounts.

Booking BB is so tedious I wish we could do it online. I wanted to ask for more availability but that would start a new round of upselling by the CM and I just couldn't do it anymore. Memory maker, dining plan, Candlelight Processional, and on and on.

 

[focusondisney]

Just tried booking BB for first week next December and there is almost nothing available. BWI regular room and CL still available, but YC/BC, GF, Poly, CR, nothing! No CL at AKL or CS. Didn't check WL And to be clear, regular-priced rooms are still available, just not BB discounts.

Booking BB is so tedious I wish we could do it online. I wanted to ask for more availability but that would start a new round of upselling by the CM and I just couldn't do it anymore. Memory maker, dining plan, Candlelight Processional, and on and on.

We booked a BB for Labor Day week in early July, just days after they started being offered. There was almost nothing for CL then either. I just got back last night & need to call for February dates plus a few nights at the beginning of our September trip. Not expecting much to be available. It’s almost like they just added BBs to see if people will bite at whatever they’re offered, but not what they really want. I’m hoping other discounts later will have more variety of resorts & room types.

Edit: I’d love if they just gave a unique code so you could book online too. Could expire in 7 days after check out. But I guess then they wouldn’t be able to do the hard sell on packages & dining plans.

 

[jemtx]

Hi CL friends, Saturday night musing… last minute holiday trip… would you do a YC CL trip or a regular tower room at CR. The discounts are deeper at YC, so the two options are virtually the same price.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi CL friends, Saturday night musing… last minute holiday trip… would you do a YC CL trip or a regular tower room at CR. The discounts are deeper at YC, so the two options are virtually the same price.

Length of stay and is MVMCP and/or Jollywood involved?

 

[jemtx]

Length of stay and is MVMCP and/or Jollywood involved?

I wish there were parties involved. I really wanted MVMCP, but it’s all sold out. The trip is 3 nights/4 days.