Resort Thread Disney's Club Level (CL) Thread

[focusondisney]

@jods, sorry your Halloween party was a bust. Did the parades & outdoor shows happen? It is worth a stop at guest services in 1 of the parks to see if they’re giving any partial compensation. Our party on the 7th had torrential rains & severe lightning that started as the fireworks ended. The 2nd parade & outdoor things didn’t happen after 10 pm. We left right after it started. After reading a report that someone got compensation, I stopped at GS at MK. We were told a 1 day park hopper ticket was being offered, but since we had APs, the CM offered a $75 gift card each. The amount was determined because about half the party was fine, so they gave about half the cost as the credit.

 

[Eastern]

@jods, sorry your Halloween party was a bust. Did the parades & outdoor shows happen? It is worth a stop at guest services in 1 of the parks to see if they’re giving any partial compensation. Our party on the 7th had torrential rains & severe lightning that started as the fireworks ended. The 2nd parade & outdoor things didn’t happen after 10 pm. We left right after it started. After reading a report that someone got compensation, I stopped at GS at MK. We were told a 1 day park hopper ticket was being offered, but since we had APs, the CM offered a $75 gift card each. The amount was determined because about half the party was fine, so they gave about half the cost as the credit.

Lots of people complaining on the FB groups. 1 day hopper is nice compensation.

 

[focusondisney]

Lots of people complaining on the FB groups. 1 day hopper is nice compensation.

I think so too. Even as an AP holder, I was tempted to take that & use towards our renewals. My husband preferred the gift card & thought that would give us more flexibility. Every once in awhile I have to let him make a decision, so we went with the GC.

 

[jods]

@jods, sorry your Halloween party was a bust. Did the parades & outdoor shows happen? It is worth a stop at guest services in 1 of the parks to see if they’re giving any partial compensation. Our party on the 7th had torrential rains & severe lightning that started as the fireworks ended. The 2nd parade & outdoor things didn’t happen after 10 pm. We left right after it started. After reading a report that someone got compensation, I stopped at GS at MK. We were told a 1 day park hopper ticket was being offered, but since we had APs, the CM offered a $75 gift card each. The amount was determined because about half the party was fine, so they gave about half the cost as the credit.

Lots of people complaining on the FB groups. 1 day hopper is nice compensation.

Yes, they automatically gave everyone a 1 day hopper. We left as the rain was subsiding (my friend was done lol). We had a 645 am flight so it was an early day. We had a great day yesterday at AK and epcot. Had my favorites at food and wine. The lemon Grey goose slushie in France made me so happy lol. Im home now and exhausted. My dad is coming to dinner and I have work tomorrow, so that should be fun. I'll just leave these pictures here and I'll give my saratoga review this weekend.

 

[jods]

You guys are right, went to book a bounceback just to have it, and there are no CL rooms on the various made up dates I checked. Im going to do an all stars as a place holder so thank you to whoever said that.

Omg, I'm a liar. I just checked the same dates again since it was stored in my computer, contemporary, boardwalk and coronado are all giving me cl. Now I'm confused since I have no idea when I could go

 

[Dave006]

Omg, I'm a liar. I just checked the same dates again since it was stored in my computer, contemporary, boardwalk and coronado are all giving me cl. Now I'm confused since I have no idea when I could go

Just pick (1) or even all 3 it is just a place holder no pressure from your CL peers. How much money do you have to invest?

Dave

 

[jods]

Not much with 2 in college lol

Just pick (1) or even all 3 it is just a place holder no pressure from your CL peers. How much money do you have to invest?

Dave

Haha not much with 2 kids in college! That and my husband said he's never going again (he's said that before). I actually will book 2 definitely, since I may have 2 trips next year. Or none, who knows

 

[jods]

OK, my thoughts on Saratoga Springs. First, the place is huge, imo. People say it's walkable and not as big as it seems, well I think they lie it is a beautiful property and very quaint, but not really for me. We had an early flight and took an Uber to the resort. There were characters in the lobby and that was fun. We had a preferred room booked so that meant the springs, which is the area closest to the lobby, or congress park which is walkable to disney springs. I did online check in but my friend wanted to put her card on her magic band so we went to the desk. Spoke with a lovely CM. Now I know rooms are usually allocated in advance. Anyway, the CM asked about our trip and if we had room preferences because they had availability. We said we prefer the section by the lobby because we had no plans to go to springs this trip. My main reason for not wanting congress park is they do not have a drink/coffee station and you have to walk over to another section. Morning coffee is important to me. She said that should be doable as they had availability and did we prefer that over a room being available earlier. We said absolutely. Well we grab a bite to eat and head to the pool. We eventually got a room ready text and it's literally the closest room to disney springs. 1st floor, last room, practically in DS lol. I debated back in forth in my head forever about going to the lobby orjust taking it. I wouldn't have even considered it if we didn't have that conversation with the cm. I ended up going to the lobby and they were able to switch us to springs 2nd floor, with a room that was available. This cm was lovely as well. I have no complaints about any staff. Everyone we came across this trip was lovely. Our room was pretty and we had a nice view from our balcony. We don't rope drop so we had no issue being the last bus stop. Honestly, we would have been better off in a non preferred room. Even though we were "close" to the lobby/food/store, I still thought it was a hike to get a coffee. I felt like it was a 3 block walk lol. If our original room was at the other end of congress park I would have kept it because the walk to the other section with a refill station probably would have been the same. Uber picks up/drops off right at your building, which was nice at the end of the night. If I ever stayed there again, I would have tondo a grocery order which included a coffee pot and beverages. It was so hot I was literally sweating by the time I got back with my coffee It also reminded me how much I enjoy and need cl. I also managed to get heat rash by day 2. Anyway, so that's my thoughts on the resort. It was beautiful but just too spread out for me. Some pics.

 

[2vets]

Looking ahead to early next summer, would my veteran CL’s choose a resort view CL at GF or water view CL at Poly. I like the idea of not having to go to an outside building, but poly looks nice too. Poly is about $60-70:cheaper, thats not a big factor.

Another GF vote here. Poly is too crowded in general, and the lounge is insanity. For monorail resorts, I go GF>CR (at least there is seating outside the lounge)>>>Poly. I’d rather uber to Epcot in the morning!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Somewhat notable, YC has always had a few suites that were never listed on the WDW website and were only bootable by phone. Sometime over the past year they added the Turret Suite category online, and have now also listed the Commodore VP Suite and Captain’s Deck Suite.

AKL added their Royal Asante Presidential Suite online a few months ago as well.

Only a few suites left around WDW that aren’t bookable online these days.

 

[jemtx]

Another GF vote here. Poly is too crowded in general, and the lounge is insanity. For monorail resorts, I go GF>CR (at least there is seating outside the lounge)>>>Poly. I’d rather uber to Epcot in the morning!

Thanks!

 

[Wojodis]

Impromptu 2 day trip—couldn’t book a CL reservation that I was happy with (can’t bring myself to pay rack on a weekend “just to get away” for a couple days so I figured I’d check out the Wilderness Lodge for the first time and see if I could add on CL access at check in. Booked this stay 2 days ago and CL in any room here was not available at rack or with any discount (including “save on your next stay”—I could get the night of the 28th but not the 27th. In fact, I had to book two different room categories—Saturday (water view) and Sunday (resort view) just to make it work. Received room ready text around 12 and I arrived at the front desk around 12:45pm—a CM spotted me and approached within 10 seconds of me walking through the door (and it seems pretty busy down in that lobby today). I told her that I was hoping to add on CL access—she responded that she wasn’t sure if they were “offering that this weekend” but would check with her manager—2 minutes and $149 later—CL added on to our reservation (for the 27th). At 2pm, I received the welcome email from WDW Wilderness Lodge Concierge—I have to say that so far I very impressed with the professionalism, the attentiveness, the efficiency, and the easiness here.

So, I agree with what others have stated in the past—sometimes you can add it and sometimes you can’t and there is no way of knowing until you try to do it day of—and that’s definitely the impression I got today.

 

[Dave006]

So, I agree with what others have stated in the past—sometimes you can add it and sometimes you can’t and there is no way of knowing until you try to do it day of—and that’s definitely the impression I got today.

Thanks for the update on the CL add-on at WL.

Did you ask about staying in your Water view room tomorrow? It never hurts to ask, and it will save you the check-out / check-in cycle. It also saves Disney needing to clean (2) rooms tomorrow for a room turnover.

Dave

 

[Wojodis]

Thanks for the update on the CL add-on at WL.

Did you ask about staying in your Water view room tomorrow? It never hurts to ask, and it will save you the check-out / check-in cycle. It also saves Disney needing to clean (2) rooms tomorrow for a room turnover.

Dave

Haha. I checked 1/2 hour ago thinking the exact same thing as you—water view was available so I’ve already modified.

 

[Angehd2]

Hi CL friends! I was in a recent car accident and am suffering with a concussion and now am diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) . To make a long story short, I can't stand for long periods without my HR going nuts and me feeling just plain awful. As a result, I've had to shuffle around our Disney plans. We are now doing a Disney cruise vs. multiple days in the parks and only going to the parks for MVMCP and may try to do another park one day before the cruise (likely Epcot or HS). I plan to get a wheelchair/scooter to help with all the standing/walking. Which resort is most convenient for getting around and transportation? I prefer to stay CL if I can. Looks like my options are BC WV CL, WL deluxe CL, Poly WV CL, or GF Deluxe 2Q CL. Another option is to do Swan Reserve on points (non CL of course). Appreciate your thoughts!

 

[focusondisney]

Which resort is most convenient for getting around and transportation? I prefer to stay CL if I can. Looks like my options are BC WV CL, WL deluxe CL, Poly WV CL, or GF Deluxe 2Q CL. Another option is to do Swan Reserve on points (non CL of course)

Sorry you have such bad effects from your accident. Hoping you’ll still be able too enjoy your trip. As for your questions..

GF & Poly will have the monorail for getting to MK & the party, monorail with a change at TTC if you go to Epcot. Those will be easy with a wheelchair. You’ll need to take a bus to Studios from either.

WL has a boat or bus to MK, bus to the other parks.

BC has a boat to Studios, easy walk to Epcot & bus to MK for the party.

Swan Reserve, you walk across the street to get the boat to Studios or Epcot, they have a non Disney bus to MK Transportation Center, you take the monorail or ferry to MK from there.

So they all have bus transportation & an easier option, depending on which park you’re going to.

For the rooms, BC rooms & lounge are on the 5th floor, elevator access from the lobby.

WL deluxe rooms are on every floor, the lounge on a separate floor. So you have to go down the hall to the elevator to get to the lounge. Maybe not as convenient as you’d like.

GF Queen deluxe rooms are on the 4th & 5th floors, the lounge is on the 4th floor. There are elevators or a short staircase between floors. The halls aren’t that long, so getting to the lounge is pretty quick. Just FYI, the lobby is currently under construction, there have been a few reports of noise being heard in the rooms. However, we were there early this month. We were in a king deluxe room on the 5the floor. We heard no noise in the room. The lounge has a bit more substantial offerings, so you might not need to go anywhere else for meals if you don’t want to.

I haven’t stayed at Poly or Reserve.

 

[Angehd2]

@focusondisney thanks so much for your detailed response. I actually have stayed at all of them before aside from WL but never with mobility issues. I hadn’t considered the distance to the lounge at WL but that’s a good point. We also stayed at GF this summer and absolutely loved it. Noise was not a concern for us either and the closed off lobby didn’t phase me at all. We are going end of November so I’m hopeful construction may be wrapping up by then. Thanks so much! Trying to make the most out of a not so ideal situation.

 

[PolyRob]

I am so sorry about the accident and hope you have a wonderful time on the trip!

If you're splitting resorts pre and post cruise I would say GF for MVMCP and BC for Epcot/DHS. You would be able to use the walking paths at both resorts with your ECV. If you decided to use Disney transportation GF has the monorail which is ECV friendly and BC has the friendship boat which is also ECV friendly. Unfortunately both GF and BC are second stops (Poly then GF, YC then BC) on their bus routes so a bus could already be full with ECV users from the prior stop. This can add extra travel time so just be aware of it. If you're only picking one resort I say GF since you can take the monorail to Epcot. You do need to transfer at TTC, but I think it's easier to do that rather than waiting and loading an ECV on a bus.

WL alternates boat sizes to MK which unfortunately eliminated it as a resort for my group when an ECV was going to be needed. It was essentially a bus only resort and that doesn't help much in the MK area.

Poly is a wonderful resort, but it shows it's age in many places. Sadly elevators are one of those places. They are cramped and dark. I know this may sound silly, but you don't realize how bad the elevators are until you're maneuvering an ECV into them compared to a newer resort like GF or BC. You can pull straight into a GF and BC elevator and back up when it's time to exit. You need to angle ECVs into Poly elevators and it makes it much harder especially for a first time user.

Don't forget about the accessible Minnie Van service. You can pick the special "Select Access. Minnie Van" in the app and a larger van will come pick you and your ECV up. You don't have to sit on the ECV during transport either. The wait may be a little longer, but it's a great option if you don't want to take the bus and can't call a traditional rideshare.

Touring the parks with an ECV is a little different so I would also check which rides let you bring the ECV up the queue vs which require you to transfer into a wheelchair. Disney is always great dealing with the guests, but I personally find it to be less stressful when I know what to expect.

 

[Angehd2]

@PolyRob thank you so much! This is SO helpful!!!