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

[TheLittleKatie]

Hey everyone! I'm just looking for a little advice, and instead of making a new thread I figured I'd ask you guys first.
We're booked to stay at the Poly CL with a Theme Park View September 22nd - October 6th.
I'm really excited but I'm a little apprehensive about the construction at the quiet pool. I'm pretty anti-noise pollution so if it's really bad, I might want to move resorts part way through our stay.

• If I were to keep all my plans as they are now, what are my options for moving resorts once we actually get there?
• We're staying at a fairly quiet time of year, but do the CL rooms generally fill up early?
• We would probably want to either move to the Beach Club (which I assume would be cheaper than what we have paid) or the Contemporary (maybe more expensive?) I assume we'd have to pay extra to move to the Contemporary, but would we be refunded the difference if we moved to the Beach Club?
• Is any of this even possible..?!!

I'm just trying to talk myself out of changing my plans now really. I'd love to stay at the Poly the whole time and not have to move, so I'd like to wait until we get there to see how bad the construction is. But I'm thinking changing resorts might be easier said than done.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

 

[sea nymph]

We arrived home Sunday from our week stay at the BC CL and were not too impressed. This was our 3rd BC vacation, 2nd at CL. We were surprised how "beat-up" the room was already since the remodel. Stained carpets, sofa and chair, paint chipping and scratched woodwork. We also had the pleasure on the last two nights to have a smoker next door. They would go into their bathroom and puff away. The smell would come thru the bathroom vents into ours. The lounge was nice and the CM's did their best to keep items stocked. We had no issue with the alcohol servers, only the unruly children that free ranged the halls and lounge (running around). There was one grouchy desk CM and he didn't hesitate to show it (it was NOT Neil). The BEST CL feature was the texting service! It was GREAT! We did a lot of fast pass juggling with our kids constantly changing their minds. The ability to text the CM's to make changes made it stress free! They were our personal assistants for the week!
Finally, meeting Daymon John from Shark Tank was a plus! He was kind enough to let me take a photo of him with my one daughter. Needless to say, my other two kids were jealous they didn't take a walk with us!

 

[TJA]

Hey everyone! I'm just looking for a little advice, and instead of making a new thread I figured I'd ask you guys first.
We're booked to stay at the Poly CL with a Theme Park View September 22nd - October 6th.
I'm really excited but I'm a little apprehensive about the construction at the quiet pool. I'm pretty anti-noise pollution so if it's really bad, I might want to move resorts part way through our stay.

• If I were to keep all my plans as they are now, what are my options for moving resorts once we actually get there?
• We're staying at a fairly quiet time of year, but do the CL rooms generally fill up early?
• We would probably want to either move to the Beach Club (which I assume would be cheaper than what we have paid) or the Contemporary (maybe more expensive?) I assume we'd have to pay extra to move to the Contemporary, but would we be refunded the difference if we moved to the Beach Club?
• Is any of this even possible..?!!

I'm just trying to talk myself out of changing my plans now really. I'd love to stay at the Poly the whole time and not have to move, so I'd like to wait until we get there to see how bad the construction is. But I'm thinking changing resorts might be easier said than done.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

My personal feelings are that as long as you're staying on the lagoon side (which you are), you shouldn't be overly affected by construction noise. We are staying on that side (lagoon) in a couple months, and we're not at all worried about the east pool happenings.

That being said, if it does indeed bother you too much, then I don't think it's ever a problem to switch resorts. Especially due to construction noise. I don't think the CL rooms at other resorts would be completely filled at the end of September....it gets a bit more crowded once October hits, though.

 

[TJA]

We arrived home Sunday from our week stay at the BC CL and were not too impressed. This was our 3rd BC vacation, 2nd at CL. We were surprised how "beat-up" the room was already since the remodel. Stained carpets, sofa and chair, paint chipping and scratched woodwork. We also had the pleasure on the last two nights to have a smoker next door. They would go into their bathroom and puff away. The smell would come thru the bathroom vents into ours. The lounge was nice and the CM's did their best to keep items stocked. We had no issue with the alcohol servers, only the unruly children that free ranged the halls and lounge (running around). There was one grouchy desk CM and he didn't hesitate to show it (it was NOT Neil). The BEST CL feature was the texting service! It was GREAT! We did a lot of fast pass juggling with our kids constantly changing their minds. The ability to text the CM's to make changes made it stress free! They were our personal assistants for the week!
Finally, meeting Daymon John from Shark Tank was a plus! He was kind enough to let me take a photo of him with my one daughter. Needless to say, my other two kids were jealous they didn't take a walk with us!

Wow I'm shocked a new room was already showing wear and tear. What a shame that some guests are so reckless, and also a shame about the smoker . Our room was very well kept and I did look around for wear and didn't find any. I probably would've mentioned to a CM that I smelled smoke (lol) hoping they'd check on it. Housekeeping must've noticed there were smokers in that room, you'd think. My kids just die over cigarette smell, so we wouldn't have been able to deal with it very well.

I had posted earlier about our experience over Easter week and how much the texting service impressed me! What a trip changer, I agree. We are staying at Poly CL in a couple months and I'm really hoping the texting service is as top-notch there as it was at BC.

 

[AliceIn]

• If I were to keep all my plans as they are now, what are my options for moving resorts once we actually get there?
• We're staying at a fairly quiet time of year, but do the CL rooms generally fill up early?
• We would probably want to either move to the Beach Club (which I assume would be cheaper than what we have paid) or the Contemporary (maybe more expensive?) I assume we'd have to pay extra to move to the Contemporary, but would we be refunded the difference if we moved to the Beach Club?
• Is any of this even possible..?!!

I'm just trying to talk myself out of changing my plans now really. I'd love to stay at the Poly the whole time and not have to move, so I'd like to wait until we get there to see how bad the construction is. But I'm thinking changing resorts might be easier said than done.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

You'd be able to move if there were room at the resort you wanted. Your stay coincides with the Gartner Symposium (October 4 through October 8th), so you might find that there is no availability to switch at all. Gartner is a huge conference (10-15K attendees, plus all the Gartner workers), so most of the resorts fill up completely at that time. I went last year and all the Epcot resorts were completely sold out. There were rooms available at the Contemporary Garden wing only during that week. (I had to get a room for a co-worker and that was the only option).

If I were you, I'd change now if I felt that the possibility of being near construction would ruin my trip. If it would be a minor nuisance that I could live with, then I'd stay put at the Poly. It's really more about what you can tolerate risk wise than anything.

 

[AliceIn]

You'd be able to move if there were room at the resort you wanted. Your stay coincides with the Gartner Symposium (October 4 through October 8th), so you might find that there is no availability to switch at all. Gartner is a huge conference (10-15K attendees, plus all the Gartner workers), so most of the resorts fill up completely at that time. I went last year and all the Epcot resorts were completely sold out. There were rooms available at the Contemporary Garden wing only during that week. (I had to get a room for a co-worker and that was the only option).

If I were you, I'd change now if I felt that the possibility of being near construction would ruin my trip. If it would be a minor nuisance that I could live with, then I'd stay put at the Poly. It's really more about what you can tolerate risk wise than anything.

I just looked - there is not a lot of availability on club level for your dates as it is now. The Beach Club is already completely sold out for your dates. The Yacht only has Lagoon/Pool Club available, Boardwalk has only Standard Club available. The Contemporary only has Theme Park view available now for Club level. GF has both Sugar Loaf and RPC rooms available. If you are thinking about switching, I'd do it now.

One nice thing is that the Gartner people are not in the parks during the day, so even though the resorts are sold out, it doesn't have a big impact on lines.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

• If I were to keep all my plans as they are now, what are my options for moving resorts once we actually get there?
• We're staying at a fairly quiet time of year, but do the CL rooms generally fill up early?
• We would probably want to either move to the Beach Club (which I assume would be cheaper than what we have paid) or the Contemporary (maybe more expensive?) I assume we'd have to pay extra to move to the Contemporary, but would we be refunded the difference if we moved to the Beach Club?
• Is any of this even possible..?!!

1. Look at what is available. Disney can only give you what is available.
2. Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. Seems they are filling up more now that the rates are posted beside regular rooms.
3. yes, you would only pay the rate of the room you want. However, if you have a discount code now (or then) only a certain number of rooms are allocated for each discount, and they are only available certain dates. Also, if you have a package deal (room+plus ticket and maybe +dining plan via WDW), then you have to consider that as well. It is possible to book a room only (buy tickets separately), two room only , or a package/room only combo. (If you currently have a package deal, you'll want to keep the package for the first part, and make the second resort room only). Disney makes it cost prohibitive to book two packages, you're far better off doing the second hotel as room only.

When you book a package, you pay $200 now, with the balance due at 45 days, and penalties for cancelling closer than 45 days. If you book room only, you pay one night now, with the hotel balance due at check-in. You can also cancel up to 5 days before you go with full refund. Often that's the better way to go, IMO.

If you simply modify room only, no changes. If you change your reservation from a package to room only- technically Disney has to refund your deposit- then recharge it, but you probably won't notice, unless your cc is about to close for the month.

There are more detailed explanations available on the parent website of the DIS.

We like split stays. It takes a little creative packing, but with CL, splits = new lounge, new resort, new pool, different park proximity. Disney will also transfer bags for free, you just have to use bell services. (and maybe lose half a day of room access)

 

[Wheelwatcher]

Wow I'm shocked a new room was already showing wear and tear. What a shame that some guests are so reckless, and also a shame about the smoker . Our room was very well kept and I did look around for wear and didn't find any. I probably would've mentioned to a CM that I smelled smoke (lol) hoping they'd check on it. Housekeeping must've noticed there were smokers in that room, you'd think. My kids just die over cigarette smell, so we wouldn't have been able to deal with it very well.

I had posted earlier about our experience over Easter week and how much the texting service impressed me! What a trip changer, I agree. We are staying at Poly CL in a couple months and I'm really hoping the texting service is as top-notch there as it was at BC.

Wait a minute! Is the texting service being offered at ALL the CLs now? We participated in a "test" of the texting service at CR Atrium CL last July, but I didn't know they had rolled it out to the other resorts! I hope it is available at BWI CL! Anyone know?

 

[cpdisney]

I too am interested in the texting. I posted my question on BC thread and no one responded. I'll be CL BC tomorrow. I received a welcome letter when I first booked back in Oct. It had a phone number and fax number, but no info about texting. Can it be used for 4th FP? Can someone enlighten me? Thanks for your help.

 

[LisaCM614]

We stayed at BC CL at the same time as @TJA and we did not get the info about the 4th FP texting. We didn't need it though - we were magically granted 4th FP's to use at our choice of attractions no scheduling needed. It was something they were testing and it worked pretty nicely for us!

 

[sea nymph]

I too am interested in the texting. I posted my question on BC thread and no one responded. I'll be CL BC tomorrow. I received a welcome letter when I first booked back in Oct. It had a phone number and fax number, but no info about texting. Can it be used for 4th FP? Can someone enlighten me? Thanks for your help.

You should receive it when you check in and yes, it can be used for the 4th fast pass and beyond. My understanding was that only a few CL resorts had the texting feature in operation at this time.

 

[sea nymph]

Wow I'm shocked a new room was already showing wear and tear. What a shame that some guests are so reckless, and also a shame about the smoker . Our room was very well kept and I did look around for wear and didn't find any. I probably would've mentioned to a CM that I smelled smoke (lol) hoping they'd check on it. Housekeeping must've noticed there were smokers in that room, you'd think. My kids just die over cigarette smell, so we wouldn't have been able to deal with it very well.

I had posted earlier about our experience over Easter week and how much the texting service impressed me! What a trip changer, I agree. We are staying at Poly CL in a couple months and I'm really hoping the texting service is as top-notch there as it was at BC.

Room 5672.
We addressed it immediately with the CM's but it continued. Some people have no respect and seems that it's more prevalent on CL?

 

[BellaBaby]

I too am interested in the texting. I posted my question on BC thread and no one responded. I'll be CL BC tomorrow. I received a welcome letter when I first booked back in Oct. It had a phone number and fax number, but no info about texting. Can it be used for 4th FP? Can someone enlighten me? Thanks for your help.

We are staying BC CL next month for the first time. Can someone explain about the texting? We have not received a welcome letter, only a letter saying they will be doing construction while we are there. TIA!

 

[Dispro1]

Hey everyone! I'm just looking for a little advice, and instead of making a new thread I figured I'd ask you guys first.
We're booked to stay at the Poly CL with a Theme Park View September 22nd - October 6th.
I'm really excited but I'm a little apprehensive about the construction at the quiet pool. I'm pretty anti-noise pollution so if it's really bad, I might want to move resorts part way through our stay.

• If I were to keep all my plans as they are now, what are my options for moving resorts once we actually get there?
• We're staying at a fairly quiet time of year, but do the CL rooms generally fill up early?
• We would probably want to either move to the Beach Club (which I assume would be cheaper than what we have paid) or the Contemporary (maybe more expensive?) I assume we'd have to pay extra to move to the Contemporary, but would we be refunded the difference if we moved to the Beach Club?
• Is any of this even possible..?!!

I'm just trying to talk myself out of changing my plans now really. I'd love to stay at the Poly the whole time and not have to move, so I'd like to wait until we get there to see how bad the construction is. But I'm thinking changing resorts might be easier said than done.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

I agree with TJA in that I don't think staying on the lagoon side will be an issue, but I also agree with AliceIn on changing your reservation now if you have any doubt. With Food and Wine starting in October (is it Oct. 1st?) there seem to be a lot of couples who love to stay CL, plus the convention/meeting that AliceIn mentioned. To me, there isn't a significant price difference between Poly CL, CR CL and GF SL. BC CL is less expensive than all the monorail resorts, but I'm sure they would refund you the difference if you changed your reservation to BC. But as Mickeyluvr said, if you are booked with a certain discount, it may or may not be available for another resort during the time you are going. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about the construction noise on the lagoon side since the bungalows and lava pool are done at Poly, but you could hop on the Poly thread and see what they think. Maybe there's someone who is there right now

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

This was true at BC last month. I prefer to bus my own table. The CM's were hustling trying to keep the food out and keep the tables clear at Pre RD breakfast time

I agree - I don't know why some of them do not. In February, Poly had a table and in April, WL had a table where you can bus your own tables and we did. We like it better. When we stayed at the YC - there was no way to bus your own tables and with it being a small lounge there were plenty of times when the tables had lots of plates on them. When we were there it was crowded so it would be easier to bus ourselves.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Hey everyone! I'm just looking for a little advice, and instead of making a new thread I figured I'd ask you guys first.
We're booked to stay at the Poly CL with a Theme Park View September 22nd - October 6th.
I'm really excited but I'm a little apprehensive about the construction at the quiet pool. I'm pretty anti-noise pollution so if it's really bad, I might want to move resorts part way through our stay.

• If I were to keep all my plans as they are now, what are my options for moving resorts once we actually get there?
• We're staying at a fairly quiet time of year, but do the CL rooms generally fill up early?
• We would probably want to either move to the Beach Club (which I assume would be cheaper than what we have paid) or the Contemporary (maybe more expensive?) I assume we'd have to pay extra to move to the Contemporary, but would we be refunded the difference if we moved to the Beach Club?
• Is any of this even possible..?!!

I'm just trying to talk myself out of changing my plans now really. I'd love to stay at the Poly the whole time and not have to move, so I'd like to wait until we get there to see how bad the construction is. But I'm thinking changing resorts might be easier said than done.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

We were just at the Poly CL TPV in February - we were supposed to stay there the whole week and then we decided to leave midweek to go to the BC CL. We were so glad that we did. When we were there - there was construction everywhere. Right outside our window - at 7am you would hear the trucks. We didn't like the walls that are up all over - it made it more confusing to walk anywhere. Especially that my parents were there - and it was harder for them to walk. The theme park view was nice but all you would see was trucks moving back and forth.

We loved the BC CL - our rooms were beautiful. I posted pics earlier. The lounge was huge and had so much more food selections than the Poly. I truly was unimpressed with the Poly with all the construction - the staff seemed scarce and preoccupied. We will try it again someday but not with any construction.

 

[Jennifer Mattson]

So we have an upcoming trip in June, AKL CL 6/13&14, Cruise on the Dream 6/15-6/18, then Poly CL 6/19&20. Any advice from the seasoned travelers out there on what not to miss during our stay and how to best use the IPO service. For example, has anyone done the safari at AKL? Our traveling crew consists of me and DH, as well as DS 12, and DD 8 (will be 9 on 6/30). Last time for us to Disney was when DS was 3 and DD was an infant. Thanks for the help.

Needless to say we are super excited!

 

[Gryhndmom]

So we have an upcoming trip in June, AKL CL 6/13&14, Cruise on the Dream 6/15-6/18, then Poly CL 6/19&20. Any advice from the seasoned travelers out there on what not to miss during our stay and how to best use the IPO service. For example, has anyone done the safari at AKL? Our traveling crew consists of me and DH, as well as DS 12, and DD 8 (will be 9 on 6/30). Last time for us to Disney was when DS was 3 and DD was an infant. Thanks for the help.

Needless to say we are super excited!

Loved the AKL Safari we did 3 years ago which also had a dinner after. Thought it was funny that they referred to the animals as not mating but dating...we were all adults on our Safari so we got a good chuckle out of the Disney wording !

 

[HockeyMomR]

We are staying BC CL next month for the first time. Can someone explain about the texting? We have not received a welcome letter, only a letter saying they will be doing construction while we are there. TIA!

We will also be at BC CL in May.

This past December, the information regarding the texting was provided to us upon check-in at the BC club level. They gave us a business card with the number. Hope you enjoy your stay!

 

[BellaBaby]

Thanks for the info HockeyMom!! Looks like we will be there a week after you. Hope you enjoy your stay as well!!