EXPIRED: Part ONE of 2015 CLUB LEVEL (CL) INFORMATION and HELP Thread DO NOT POST HERE!!!

[calismic]

Is there anything good to be said about SL? We have a reservation there for President's Week and now I'm wondering if we made a mistake.

I am one of the few that prefer SL. #1 because it saves me a LOT of money for the same offerings, and #2 because I love the intimate feeling of the lounge. My last stay my husband and I had a tendency to be out late and even if the lounge was technically closed, the cooler was always stocked. They cannot gate it off like they can other Clubs since its necessary to get to your room.

 

[Koh1977]

I think I asked this, but don't remember seeing a response…

Related to PP…Is BWI CL open like SL all the time? (to possibly get a drink from the cooler at night after it's technically closed or during the day during non-serving hours)

 

[Disneytam]

I think I asked this, but don't remember seeing a response…

Related to PP…Is BWI CL open like SL all the time? (to possibly get a drink from the cooler at night after it's technically closed or during the day during non-serving hours)

No the doors are closed at about 10 pm so we always put a drink or two in our in room fridge for late night drinks. As far as during the day I don't remember the drinks being out all afternoon but the cast members have a desk in the lounge room and you can ask them to get you a drink.

 

[Koh1977]

Thanks, Disneytam!

 

[Mrsktbrown]

When is the best time to contact IPO? As in how many days in advance? I'm staying at WL, and I saw that I should contact them at the 200 day mark. Is that an appropriate time frame? I am really hoping to use their help to get a reservation at BoG!

 

[Metz172]

How soon after you make the reservation should you expect to hear from IPO?

 

[mickeynut1]

I am sooo impressed with Poly IPO!!! Today is my ADR day. At 3:20 am (west coast time) I had an email with ALL of my requests, including BOG!!!!! Even the exact times I asked for!!!!! The best part......I didn't have to wake up at 3 AM to snag them. Yay Poly CL!!!!!

Glad IPO was able to get everything you wanted .

When is the best time to contact IPO? As in how many days in advance? I'm staying at WL, and I saw that I should contact them at the 200 day mark. Is that an appropriate time frame? I am really hoping to use their help to get a reservation at BoG!

You can contact them anytime with any requests, ARS, etc .

How soon after you make the reservation should you expect to hear from IPO?

There's really no set time frame in which to hear from IPO. Some people receive an email a day or two after booking, while others might get an email a couple of weeks after booking (and some not getting anything at all). The few times I've booked CL in the past, I have always heard from IPO within a few days after booking. With that said, in October I booked a trip for this August and I just received a welcome email from Poly IPO last week, which is 4 months from when I booked and 6 months out from my trip. If you recently booked and don't hear from them within a week or two, you could always email them to introduce yourself with your arrival information, requests, ADRs, etc. I'm not sure why some people hear from them and others don't, but it is nice that guests can contact them anytime .

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi SeaSpray, long time no see.

If you haven't been back since Chef **** left, it is different for sure. Much less creativity in the food offerings but especially in the layout. He made some really lovely displays. A lot of the food is the same, like the cheese cubes and veggies. Some nights are better than others overall.

(Edited to add the Chef's first name is starred out by the DIS, not by me, lol, because it's also a part of the male anatomy and automatically censored.)

Hi Chamonix!!! How are you????

We have been back a few times since the famous Chef "D" left the Polynesian, and you're right, there's nowhere near the creativity that he displayed for us each day and evening. I remember the first time I met him 10 years ago, I felt like I was meeting a celebrity. LOL

 

[LisaCM614]

I just saw that there will be a Spring Training Game while we are in WDW. Would you work with the Concierge to arrange tickets and transportation to ESPN WWOS?

 

[kerryamayo]

Interesting about the table "squatters" at AK. We have stayed CL at YC at least 15 times, most recently 2 weeks ago. We noticed this behavior for the first time this trip. There seemed to be a group of several families traveling together. YC lounge is small, with 2 larger tables which seat about 6 people, 2 tables for 4 & 3 tables for 2. Almost every time of we were in the lounge, we noticed this group taking up the majority of tables, doing the same type of table saving seen at counter service restaurants. If there were empty chairs at an occupied table, they would drag the chair to their tables. We were walking past the lounge as it was being opened 1 evening & there was 1 of the dads, waiting at the door to claim their tables & get the TV tuned to his preferred station. They would stay at the tables visiting even when other groups were standing to eat their breakfast.

I realize that part of what you pay for when you book CL is use of the lounge. But everyone else on CL paid for lounge access too. It is just rude to monopolize the space at every service time when others are waiting. IMHO. I won't even get into the loud table to table conversations so everyone in the lounge knew every detail of their days.

We stayed CL at Yacht Club in September and had a similar experience. Part of the reason for the table hogging IMO (besides people being rude) is that the lounge at Yacht Club is so small! They really need to expand it to fit a few more tables- that might alleviate the temptation to "save" spots…although some people will do it anyway because they just don't care.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Thought I would share - We got back Monday from SugarLoaf. We had Room 6420 which is a Deluxe "Turret" room. Because it is on the 4th floor, there is no balcony.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/126378019@N02/sets/72157650715847646/

 

[emmabelle]

Is there anything good to be said about SL? We have a reservation there for President's Week and now I'm wondering if we made a mistake.

We did SL a year ago and it was the best CL we've ever done. We haven't done RPC though, just YC, BC, BWI and Poly. We just came back from the Poly CL and found it to be a waste of money. The selections were the slimmest we've ever seen. I had to ask for a yogurt every morning, there were no hard boiled eggs and at night there was only 2 hot appetizers, other CL levels in the past have had 2 cold apps too. Not sure if all the CL's have cut down on the offerings since it had been a year since we had been to WDW.

 

[shannon006]

Returned home from AKL CL Tuesday evening. The CM's were great. Great "snacks" and atmosphere. We did find however the table saving. It was only DH and I. We would go down in the morning time and get our breakfast, and then no tables. Although many were "occupied" by one person while the rest of the group got their food and drinks. So DH and I would stand and eat, and usually those saved tables were still only occupied by one person even after we were done. The CM did bring in additional tables, but it still wasn't enough. We noticed others standing too, or would get their items and go. Our room was spotless and mousekeeping and turn down service was great. Our view however wasn't so good. We were in room 4515. and our view was of the tree tops or almost tree tops. So we couldn't see the giraffes or much of anything unless they were on our side of the trees. Also we were close enough the the viewing area , where they do night vision goggles that we really couldn't sit on our balcony and enjoy it. There were almost always people down there, but the volume of the people was very loud. We ended up viewing the animals from a viewing area. That was quite disappointing as we have stayed here before and had awesome savannah views non club level.

 

[grubens]

We did SL a year ago and it was the best CL we've ever done. We haven't done RPC though, just YC, BC, BWI and Poly. We just came back from the Poly CL and found it to be a waste of money. The selections were the slimmest we've ever seen. I had to ask for a yogurt every morning, there were no hard boiled eggs and at night there was only 2 hot appetizers, other CL levels in the past have had 2 cold apps too. Not sure if all the CL's have cut down on the offerings since it had been a year since we had been to WDW.

Thank you for the continued good stories about SL. We head down Saturday morning and can't wait.

 

[mommyrosa2]

We did SL a year ago and it was the best CL we've ever done. We haven't done RPC though, just YC, BC, BWI and Poly. We just came back from the Poly CL and found it to be a waste of money. The selections were the slimmest we've ever seen. I had to ask for a yogurt every morning, there were no hard boiled eggs and at night there was only 2 hot appetizers, other CL levels in the past have had 2 cold apps too. Not sure if all the CL's have cut down on the offerings since it had been a year since we had been to WDW.

Oh no...this makes me a little worried. We are booked at the Poly CL in August and specifically chose CL because of all the great reviews I had read. I sure hope we didn't make a mistake now.

 

[JessLUVSminnie]

We just got home last night from a split stay with AKL CL being our last 3 nights. I thought I'd post a mini review of our experience. In regards to the staff many of the CMs were very helpful and nice. It seemed to be an either/or issue with that. There was an issue with our check-in and then with our room when it finally was available. A little pixie dust was bestowed upon us and greatly appreciated. The lounge was nice and exceptionally clean every time we used it. But there was a serious issue with the tables. It was nearly impossible to find a table most times of the day. We ate at the lounge two of the three mornings and the breakfast offerings were more than adequate. The fresh fruit offerings were delicious. Overall I must say that I was most impressed with the breakfast food that was available. I will say that I was a bit disappointed with the "new" system for evening hours. They had a chef cooking the two hot appetizers in the lounge and had CMs bring them around to the tables. With the lack of tables, this system magnified the problem due to the fact that people had to linger longer to even get a chance to try the offerings. And the chef in the lounge took up enough room for at least one more table. On our last day we planned our stopping in to get a snack and a few drinks while waiting for the magical express. No such luck because the lounge was closed at 3:30 in the afternoon for 'a deep cleaning.' And the staff member who informed us of this was very rude about it. Overall the good outweighed the bad for this trip but I doubt that we will visit AKL CL again.

 

[psac]

Thought I would share - We got back Monday from SugarLoaf. We had Room 6420 which is a Deluxe "Turret" room. Because it is on the 4th floor, there is no balcony.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/126378019@N02/sets/72157650715847646/

Did the Once Upon a Time pillow come with the room or was that yours?
Nice room though!

Returned home from AKL CL Tuesday evening. The CM's were great. Great "snacks" and atmosphere. We did find however the table saving. It was only DH and I. We would go down in the morning time and get our breakfast, and then no tables. Although many were "occupied" by one person while the rest of the group got their food and drinks. So DH and I would stand and eat, and usually those saved tables were still only occupied by one person even after we were done. The CM did bring in additional tables, but it still wasn't enough. We noticed others standing too, or would get their items and go. Our room was spotless and mousekeeping and turn down service was great. Our view however wasn't so good. We were in room 4515. and our view was of the tree tops or almost tree tops. So we couldn't see the giraffes or much of anything unless they were on our side of the trees. Also we were close enough the the viewing area , where they do night vision goggles that we really couldn't sit on our balcony and enjoy it. There were almost always people down there, but the volume of the people was very loud. We ended up viewing the animals from a viewing area. That was quite disappointing as we have stayed here before and had awesome savannah views non club level.

We just got home last night from a split stay with AKL CL being our last 3 nights. I thought I'd post a mini review of our experience. In regards to the staff many of the CMs were very helpful and nice. It seemed to be an either/or issue with that. There was an issue with our check-in and then with our room when it finally was available. A little pixie dust was bestowed upon us and greatly appreciated. The lounge was nice and exceptionally clean every time we used it. But there was a serious issue with the tables. It was nearly impossible to find a table most times of the day. We ate at the lounge two of the three mornings and the breakfast offerings were more than adequate. The fresh fruit offerings were delicious. Overall I must say that I was most impressed with the breakfast food that was available. I will say that I was a bit disappointed with the "new" system for evening hours. They had a chef cooking the two hot appetizers in the lounge and had CMs bring them around to the tables. With the lack of tables, this system magnified the problem due to the fact that people had to linger longer to even get a chance to try the offerings. And the chef in the lounge took up enough room for at least one more table. On our last day we planned our stopping in to get a snack and a few drinks while waiting for the magical express. No such luck because the lounge was closed at 3:30 in the afternoon for 'a deep cleaning.' And the staff member who informed us of this was very rude about it. Overall the good outweighed the bad for this trip but I doubt that we will visit AKL CL again.

Wow, similar stories about the tables. The chef cooking sounds like one of those ideas better on paper than in practice.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Did the Once Upon a Time pillow come with the room or was that yours?
Nice room though!





Wow, similar stories about the tables. The chef cooking sounds like one of those ideas better on paper than in practice.

They pillow is in the room.. I thought about taking it home, but I know they will carge about $200 like the other pillows on their site.

I did just order a robe for my daughter. During her photoshoot, she would put the robe on because it was 48 outside. The hotel uses a company in Monroe NC and I ordered it for far less than Disney charges you

 

[perditax]

Aw, I'm getting sad for my upcoming AKL CL stay now. it sounds like the lounge is difficult to enjoy.

 

[perditax]

So if the AKL CL lounge is always crowded/no tables available, I guess that implies they are overbooking Club rooms, or have allocated too many rooms to 'club' status?