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

[mickeynut1]

We just booked WL CL for July 21-27 with the military discount! (I heard my first "magical" during the call!) My clan wanted to go back to the Poly this summer, but I convinced them to wait until the work is finished there. The Wilderness Lodge is my fav, so I'm happy to be going back. This will be our first time at CL, so I'm making my way through this thread of great information!

So... is CL going to spoil us so much that we'll always want it after this trip?

Congrats on booking your first CL stay. You will love WL CL as it's amazing!! CL does spoil you, but it's not a necessity for us. We do enjoy staying CL, but we don't stay CL every trip and we have just as good of a time without it as we do with it.

 

[Pumba's Truth]

Good morning folks.

Well DW and I have had the chance to stay in BC CL back on our honeymoon, but this was only by chance, a true ixiedust: moment, we were upgraded on arrival.

Soooo we didn't know any of the pre-arrival advantages etc. Nor did we know all the great things we could enjoy etc.

However, we were headed back to WDW this time to BWI for a pre-thanksgiving trip. (DW, DS14, DS2, DD<1* (7 months)). We check-in the last day of FD so we luck out in that sense, but the toss up was between upgrade to DxDDP or go "Club".

I chose the latter!!!! That's what brings me here.

I've already done a lot of my reservations, and IPO called me the day after I upgraded to discuss some particulars. They are going to keep an eye out for a ressie that I haven't been able to snag as of yet.

My question is what else can I be looking forward to?

Is there anything particular about the BWI CL that I should keep an eye out for?

Oh, an another question, IPO, probably by mistake, stated that I would be on the 4th floor. My understanding is that there are Std. CL rooms on both the 3rd and 4th no? Not that it truly matters, in addition I've asked for a garden view as I have little ones and had heard that the noise for the BW could be problematic for sleep. LOL

Oh Oh Oh. I had also heard that you can see Illuminations from the Inn Keepers balcony. Is this true? Do you know if they are able to pipe in the music, dialogue like they do for Wishes at the Poly?

As you can tell I'm pretty phsyched!! Lots of time before we head out but I like to enjoy the pre-departure dreaming as well.

 

[abk96]

Good morning folks.

Well DW and I have had the chance to stay in BC CL back on our honeymoon, but this was only by chance, a true ixiedust: moment, we were upgraded on arrival.

Soooo we didn't know any of the pre-arrival advantages etc. Nor did we know all the great things we could enjoy etc.

However, we were headed back to WDW this time to BWI for a pre-thanksgiving trip. (DW, DS14, DS2, DD<1* (7 months)). We check-in the last day of FD so we luck out in that sense, but the toss up was between upgrade to DxDDP or go "Club".

I chose the latter!!!! That's what brings me here.

I've already done a lot of my reservations, and IPO called me the day after I upgraded to discuss some particulars. They are going to keep an eye out for a ressie that I haven't been able to snag as of yet.

My question is what else can I be looking forward to?

Is there anything particular about the BWI CL that I should keep an eye out for?

Oh, an another question, IPO, probably by mistake, stated that I would be on the 4th floor. My understanding is that there are Std. CL rooms on both the 3rd and 4th no? Not that it truly matters, in addition I've asked for a garden view as I have little ones and had heard that the noise for the BW could be problematic for sleep. LOL

Oh Oh Oh. I had also heard that you can see Illuminations from the Inn Keepers balcony. Is this true? Do you know if they are able to pipe in the music, dialogue like they do for Wishes at the Poly?

As you can tell I'm pretty phsyched!! Lots of time before we head out but I like to enjoy the pre-departure dreaming as well.

The standard rooms are all on the 4th floor. There are 5 deluxe rooms on the 3rd floor and 5 on the 4th floor.

You can see the fireworks from the lounge but I don't recall them playing any of the music while we were there.

Happy planning! You're gonna love the BWI!

 

[Pumba's Truth]

The standard rooms are all on the 4th floor. There are 5 deluxe rooms on the 3rd floor and 5 on the 4th floor.

You can see the fireworks from the lounge but I don't recall them playing any of the music while we were there.

Happy planning! You're gonna love the BWI!

Thanks much ... I'm sure I could find an MP3 of the music and play it for my little guy LOL

I like the fact that we'll be on the 4th. It will be nice with two little ones and a 14 year old, who will most likely escape to the lounge from time to time.

 

[abk96]

Thanks much ... I'm sure I could find an MP3 of the music and play it for my little guy LOL

I like the fact that we'll be on the 4th. It will be nice with two little ones and a 14 year old, who will most likely escape to the lounge from time to time.

You're welcome!

 

[Mainemama]

Hi,
We upgraded our Poly stay to CL about 3 weeks ago. The ressie is all set, but I have never been contacted by the IPO. I already have reservations made, but wanted to get an anniversary/birthday noted on some reservations. Plus, to be honest, I just want that Disney touch! Does IPO always contact, or am I responsible for calling? Thanks! (First time CL!)

 

[DisneyLover0610]

Hi,
We upgraded our Poly stay to CL about 3 weeks ago. The ressie is all set, but I have never been contacted by the IPO. I already have reservations made, but wanted to get an anniversary/birthday noted on some reservations. Plus, to be honest, I just want that Disney touch! Does IPO always contact, or am I responsible for calling? Thanks! (First time CL!)

The first time I stayed, I had to reach out to them. I was a little sad because I wanted that magic too - but being the control freak I am, all my reservations were made
For our upcoming trip, I received an email from IPO about two weeks after my first payment.
Good luck!

 

[PrncessA]

We just came back from a wonderful 9 nights at WDW (6 nights at YC CL and 1 night at WL CL)! We had booked the WL CL, but we were magically upgraded to YC CL!! I had been looking for opennings at YC CL, but nothing came available before our trip, I was going to ask at check-in as well, but had decided against it, then pixie dust brought us to the 5th floor!!

We can not say enough good about YC CL, it was just so wonderful! We enjoyed every minute of it. For some reason we did not feel the same way about WL, I think it was the spread out feel of the floor or the the feeling of the smaller room. The upgrade convinced us that YC CL is our home at WDW from now on! I had a dream about the veggie spring rolls and dipping sauce last night!! Yumm!!

Our only complaint about the YC is the bus service to MK, seemed very spotty and we waited for almost 30 minutes for the MK bus a few times, while once we saw 3 AK buses come and go. We gave ourselves 1 hour and 15 minutes to make it from YC to Poly for dinner, and it took us 1.5 hours to get there, which is was crazy! The ability to walk to Epcot or take a boat to Epcot and DHS was a definite plus for us!!

 

[Koh1977]

We just came back from a wonderful 9 nights at WDW (6 nights at YC CL and 1 night at WL CL)! We had booked the WL CL, but we were magically upgraded to YC CL!! I had been looking for opennings at YC CL, but nothing came available before our trip, I was going to ask at check-in as well, but had decided against it, then pixie dust brought us to the 5th floor!! We can not say enough good about YC CL, it was just so wonderful! We enjoyed every minute of it. For some reason we did not feel the same way about WL, I think it was the spread out feel of the floor or the the feeling of the smaller room. The upgrade convinced us that YC CL is our home at WDW from now on! I had a dream about the veggie spring rolls and dipping sauce last night!! Yumm!! Our only complaint about the YC is the bus service to MK, seemed very spotty and we waited for almost 30 minutes for the MK bus a few times, while once we saw 3 AK buses come and go. We gave ourselves 1 hour and 15 minutes to make it from YC to Poly for dinner, and it took us 1.5 hours to get there, which is was crazy! The ability to walk to Epcot or take a boat to Epcot and DHS was a definite plus for us!!

Hated the buses from BC when we stayed there a couple of years ago...too many resort stops to and from and for some reason it seemed BC was the first going and last coming back...

Did like the boats though and the overall feel of the resort. I'm sure YC CL was amazing. How'd you get upgraded?? Did they tell you when you went to check in at WL?

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[Koh1977]

Hi, We upgraded our Poly stay to CL about 3 weeks ago. The ressie is all set, but I have never been contacted by the IPO. I already have reservations made, but wanted to get an anniversary/birthday noted on some reservations. Plus, to be honest, I just want that Disney touch! Does IPO always contact, or am I responsible for calling? Thanks! (First time CL!)

I just received an email today and we are basically 4 weeks out from our stay at WL CL. I may contact them a bit later and make sure a few room requests are noted, etc.

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[mickeynut1]

Hi,
We upgraded our Poly stay to CL about 3 weeks ago. The ressie is all set, but I have never been contacted by the IPO. I already have reservations made, but wanted to get an anniversary/birthday noted on some reservations. Plus, to be honest, I just want that Disney touch! Does IPO always contact, or am I responsible for calling? Thanks! (First time CL!)

From posts I've read in the past, if you upgrade to CL rather than book CL from the beginning, you most likely will not be contacted by IPO. I'm not sure why it happens that way, but a lot of people have reported this happening. I would contact them and let them know of any requests/special occasions you want noted. Have a great trip .

We just came back from a wonderful 9 nights at WDW (6 nights at YC CL and 1 night at WL CL)! We had booked the WL CL, but we were magically upgraded to YC CL!! I had been looking for opennings at YC CL, but nothing came available before our trip, I was going to ask at check-in as well, but had decided against it, then pixie dust brought us to the 5th floor!!

We can not say enough good about YC CL, it was just so wonderful! We enjoyed every minute of it. For some reason we did not feel the same way about WL, I think it was the spread out feel of the floor or the the feeling of the smaller room. The upgrade convinced us that YC CL is our home at WDW from now on! I had a dream about the veggie spring rolls and dipping sauce last night!! Yumm!!

Our only complaint about the YC is the bus service to MK, seemed very spotty and we waited for almost 30 minutes for the MK bus a few times, while once we saw 3 AK buses come and go. We gave ourselves 1 hour and 15 minutes to make it from YC to Poly for dinner, and it took us 1.5 hours to get there, which is was crazy! The ability to walk to Epcot or take a boat to Epcot and DHS was a definite plus for us!!

Congrats on the upgrade, glad you had a great trip .

Hated the buses from BC when we stayed there a couple of years ago...too many resort stops to and from and for some reason it seemed BC was the first going and last coming back...

We had the same unpleasant experience with the buses during our BC stay .

 

[PrncessA]

Hated the buses from BC when we stayed there a couple of years ago...too many resort stops to and from and for some reason it seemed BC was the first going and last coming back...

Did like the boats though and the overall feel of the resort. I'm sure YC CL was amazing. How'd you get upgraded?? Did they tell you when you went to check in at WL?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

It was a complete surprise!

We booked at POR for our first two nights (booked through Orbitz), 6 nights YC garden view w/ dining and tickets, 1 night at WL CL (booked through Orbitz). When we went to check in at YC that morning the gentleman checking us in just smiled and said that he needed to get someone from upstairs to check us in. We were upgraded to a water view CL room! We had originally booked CL for August, but then downgraded and moved to June. We were put in a handicap accessible room, so no tub, but who's complaining?? We were really blessed that is for sure!!

 

[Koh1977]

It was a complete surprise! We booked at POR for our first two nights (booked through Orbitz), 6 nights YC garden view w/ dining and tickets, 1 night at WL CL (booked through Orbitz). When we went to check in at YC that morning the gentleman checking us in just smiled and said that he needed to get someone from upstairs to check us in. We were upgraded to a water view CL room! We had originally booked CL for August, but then downgraded and moved to June. We were put in a handicap accessible room, so no tub, but who's complaining?? We were really blessed that is for sure!!

Awesome!! How was the transfer from POR to YC? Did you take a taxi or Disney transportation? We are going next month and doing a split stay - POR to WL CL

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[prgal0715]

I just returned from my first CL stay at BC! The resort was really lovely; I adore the decor, the pool and the overall ambiance. I also love being able to walk to both Epcot and HS, especially during SWW.

CL was very nice, but I didn't feel as though the CM's really were into spreading the Disney magic. For example, I inquired about check out and storing my bags for the day. The CM gestured towards the elevator and said, "Oh, just bring them downstairs and bell services will take them." Um...was I wrong to expect that they would assist me with my bags? (Again, I'm a CL novice so perhaps my expectations were too high?) Later that day, two CM's were chatting about getting blood work done and what a bummer it was to fast and how the nurse said she had crappy veins. Again, not quite what I expected!!

Another thing that threw me off a bit were the two families staying CL who hovered outside of the lounge waiting for it to open. They descended on the food like vultures, piling their plates high and grabbing as much beer from the fridge as they could. They allowed one of their children to repeatedly cut people in the line to grab additional food. Has anyone else experienced this sort of thing?!?

This August, I'm staying CL at WL. We were visiting WL for dinner at AP, so I asked if we might be able to tour the Old Faithful Club and the CM's happily accommodated my request. I'm really looking forward to that CL stay as everyone was incredibly friendly, chatty and genuinely happy to assist us.

Now - for all of you CL experts - was my BC stay just a dud or is that the norm? Thanks in advance!!

 

[PrncessA]

Awesome!! How was the transfer from POR to YC? Did you take a taxi or Disney transportation? We are going next month and doing a split stay - POR to WL CL

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When we did our transfer from POR to YC, we did take a taxi over, since we were under time restraints with our kids being on a Pirate Cruise. With our transfer from YC to WL, we left YC went to Epcot and when and headed to WL that afternoon.

 

[mickeynut1]

I just returned from my first CL stay at BC! The resort was really lovely; I adore the decor, the pool and the overall ambiance. I also love being able to walk to both Epcot and HS, especially during SWW.

CL was very nice, but I didn't feel as though the CM's really were into spreading the Disney magic. For example, I inquired about check out and storing my bags for the day. The CM gestured towards the elevator and said, "Oh, just bring them downstairs and bell services will take them." Um...was I wrong to expect that they would assist me with my bags? (Again, I'm a CL novice so perhaps my expectations were too high?) Later that day, two CM's were chatting about getting blood work done and what a bummer it was to fast and how the nurse said she had crappy veins. Again, not quite what I expected!!

Another thing that threw me off a bit were the two families staying CL who hovered outside of the lounge waiting for it to open. They descended on the food like vultures, piling their plates high and grabbing as much beer from the fridge as they could. They allowed one of their children to repeatedly cut people in the line to grab additional food. Has anyone else experienced this sort of thing?!?

This August, I'm staying CL at WL. We were visiting WL for dinner at AP, so I asked if we might be able to tour the Old Faithful Club and the CM's happily accommodated my request. I'm really looking forward to that CL stay as everyone was incredibly friendly, chatty and genuinely happy to assist us.

Now - for all of you CL experts - was my BC stay just a dud or is that the norm? Thanks in advance!!

Thanks for your review. I'm sorry your BC CL stay wasn't the best. We've stayed at the BC, but have not tried CL and honestly, it has come off of my list of CLs to try as I have read a lot of negative things about it. Everyone seems to say the lounge is very small (although it is soon to be refurbed/expanded), the food offerings are so-so, and the CL CMs aren't very friendly/accommodating. I know everyone's opinion/experience is different and we won't know if it's for us unless we try it for ourselves, but while we did enjoy trying the BC, there are other resorts we prefer (plus we weren't wow'd by SAB and didn't see all of the hype it gets). With that said, we love the WL and thought WL CL was amazing. The food offerings were great, the lounge was spacious with a lot of seating, and the CL CMs were top notch. I can't compare BC CL to WL CL since we've never tried CL at the BC, but I think you will love WL CL.

 

[prgal0715]

Thanks for your review. I'm sorry your BC CL stay wasn't the best. We've stayed at the BC, but have not tried CL and honestly, it has come off of my list of CLs to try as I have read a lot of negative things about it. Everyone seems to say the lounge is very small (although it is soon to be refurbed/expanded), the food offerings are so-so, and the CL CMs aren't very friendly/accommodating. I know everyone's opinion/experience is different and we won't know if it's for us unless we try it for ourselves, but while we did enjoy trying the BC, there are other resorts we prefer (plus we weren't wow'd by SAB and didn't see all of the hype it gets). With that said, we love the WL and thought WL CL was amazing. The food offerings were great, the lounge was spacious with a lot of seating, and the CL CMs were top notch. I can't compare BC CL to WL CL since we've never tried CL at the BC, but I think you will love WL CL.

Thank you so much for the info! I'm really, really looking forward to my CL stay at WL in August. Just the little taste I got when I visited is enough to know I'll have a fantastic time!

 

[mickeynut1]

Thank you so much for the info! I'm really, really looking forward to my CL stay at WL in August. Just the little taste I got when I visited is enough to know I'll have a fantastic time!

You're welcome. I'm sure you'll have a great time as the WL is a beautiful resort .

 

[rea59]

I just returned from my first CL stay at BC! The resort was really lovely; I adore the decor, the pool and the overall ambiance. I also love being able to walk to both Epcot and HS, especially during SWW.

CL was very nice, but I didn't feel as though the CM's really were into spreading the Disney magic. For example, I inquired about check out and storing my bags for the day. The CM gestured towards the elevator and said, "Oh, just bring them downstairs and bell services will take them." Um...was I wrong to expect that they would assist me with my bags? (Again, I'm a CL novice so perhaps my expectations were too high?) Later that day, two CM's were chatting about getting blood work done and what a bummer it was to fast and how the nurse said she had crappy veins. Again, not quite what I expected!!

Another thing that threw me off a bit were the two families staying CL who hovered outside of the lounge waiting for it to open. They descended on the food like vultures, piling their plates high and grabbing as much beer from the fridge as they could. They allowed one of their children to repeatedly cut people in the line to grab additional food. Has anyone else experienced this sort of thing?!?

This August, I'm staying CL at WL. We were visiting WL for dinner at AP, so I asked if we might be able to tour the Old Faithful Club and the CM's happily accommodated my request. I'm really looking forward to that CL stay as everyone was incredibly friendly, chatty and genuinely happy to assist us.

Now - for all of you CL experts - was my BC stay just a dud or is that the norm? Thanks in advance!!

We stayed BC CL last year and WL CL the year before that. My experience at the BC was also not so spectacular. I was very dissapointed with the food selections, amount of food and overall service from the CM's. I have to agree that I also wasn't wowed by SAB. We actually spent more time at the quiet pool since there were 5 of us and it was pretty difficult to find seating together at SAB. On the other hand we loved our WL CL experience. The hotel is beautiful. There was such a wide variety of food offerings in the evening and the CM's always greeted us with a welcoming smile and a hello. They even came over to talk about what our plans were for the day and offered suggestions. I don't think you'll be dissapointed with WL.

 

[CSI007]

We stayed at the Yacht Club CL in May of 2012 for 3 nights. Our experience was so magical we decided to do it again this year.

We will be staying the same location but for 5 days (we were booked for 7 but decided to switch two of our beginning nights to a Portofino Bay suite to take advantage of free express pass and be able to go back to a room closer to the park)

The food was amazing, the CMs were very nice. The club was a decent size and the food and beverages were always out when we arrived to sample stuff. Didn't really run into anyone hovering and taking drastic amounts of food and beverages while we were there.

I told my two kids to go easy on the food. if they ate what they took they could go back for more. The only thing my youngest really seemed to go back repeatedly for where the hard boiled eggs in the morning. LOL