The overall theme is lackluster CL CMs I think unfortunately.
@WDWKOOK my friend
(yes more hugs) your RPC check in was much like mine unfortunately. I had high hopes that the Grand would blow you away after last year's stay. I will admit I am a wee nervous about my upcoming BC CL stay now, but I did love the resort so there's that. And my winter trip to Poly....well it's BWI CL now
Your RPC room looks lovely, as do the breakfast pics
It's inevitable to have high expectations of the tippy-top CL, but I knew that between your experience and others, the level of service probably wouldn't match the price.
Just curious, why BC when I thought BWI was the new hands down CL winner?
WDWKOOK - I can't believe this is RPC! So different from when we were there 4 years ago. Does Disney wonder why attendance is down with that kind of service and quality? Let me get this straight, RPC has to pay someone to put yogurt in to glass cups? Disney is complaining about revenue being down. Why not just buy the cups of yogurt.
Question. The pictures of the mirror in your room looked like they had black spots on them. Is it that the camera picked something up in a reflection or are there spots on the mirror?
Thanks again for your TR I love it!
Yes! Someone is back there scooping yogurt into teeny tiny cups! That aren't refrigerated! I asked today if they are fat free since they aren't labeled (they are). I've never stayed at any CL that does this, but maybe they all do this now? There have always been two yogurt choices in the fridge at WL and cartons of skim milk so you can get it anytime. They remove it here after breakfast and you have to ask for it. I prefer it for my decaf in the evening.
Trisha answered your question about the mirror. I don't find it aesthetically pleasing. It looks like someone was shooting it with paintballs.
Another cost savings: All alcohol is CM poured. At times the lines can get long and guests like to chit chat with the CM, too so that can slow down the process. The line can also semi-block your way over to the elevators and food area.
Thanks for the pics. Love your room and the view to the right of the Poly
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Glad you like the room and view
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You're welcome
. The view of so many Disney icons is almost overwhelming: Spaceship Earth, Poly, CR, MK, the monorail, Wishes, the ferry and hearing the WDW Railroad - amazing.
WDWKOOK- My husband just reminded me of an incident during our last stay at the RPC that shows if you spend enough money you CAN buy service. We were sitting in the lounge having breakfast when we noticed two hotel guests and a CM walk off the elevator. The CM brought the guests over to the food that was being served, and seemed to be explaining things to them and then brought them over to the coffee serving area and did the same thing. I then saw him introduce her to two other CM and there were smiles all around. They then walked by us and I heard the CM say that it was this way to the room. My husband and I just looked at each other and we were both thinking that it was totally different from the welcome that we received!
The next day we were walking down the hall to our theme park view room and just before we came to the suite the door opened and the two guests that we had seen the day before in the lounge came out. It was the suite right across from the elevator down to the pool. That answered some of the extra service questions for me. It was a woman and it looked like her teen age son and I didn't recognize either one of them as being famous. I said hello to them as we passed in the hall but neither one of them spoke
. Just our observations.
That may in fact be suite protocol, but maybe not. I bet they aren't consistent with suite guests either.
Who you first encounter on any vacation really sets the tone, good or bad. It's too bad Disney doesn't stress this to their check-in staff. We all know what it feels like to be so excited to finally be on vacation, arrive at the resort, and get in the room we've booked months out and dreamed about. The guest and CM interaction is pretty much front loaded so if they could just make that right, it would help immensely.
Hi, that's me! We checked in Saturday about 11:30 am. We were coming from the airport & arrived by Towncar. We weren't greeted outside & had to find valet ourselves to take our luggage. But as soon as we walked into the building, we were greeted by a CM in a suit. He introduced himself as a guest experience manager & was standing with 2 CMs with iPads. He asked our name & said they were waiting for us. He then introduced one of the CMs with the iPads. She had our packet & offered to take us to the lounge. I hadn't done online checkin, so she checked us in as we went upstairs. She did confirm that we were repeat guests so asked if we remembered the desk on 3 etc.
I think the fact that we came in from the airport in a Towncar helped our experience. I think the guard had time to notify them we were there & RPC.
Sorry you are running into less than stellar cast members. Everyone has seemed friendly so far to us. Hopefully it will get better for you. We love to YC tomorrow, I hope the food selection there has improved. They have had the same selections, especially at 5 - 7, for years, so I'm not too hopeful.
Enjoy the rest of your trip, Kook!! Hope the rain holds off for both of us!
First rain for me was tonight, but I was indoors. Looks like thunderstorms my last day tomorrow. Hope you don't get wet on your move over to Regatta Club. Are you taking the bus from MK? Bell Services delivers resort transfer bags between 1-4. YC delivered them at 2:30 and GF delivered them at 4:15.
I went in the wrong way, I came from the boat - no CMs with iPads there! I'm sure by not going in the front and then heading right to the front desk, I threw the process off. But, once they found a runner, it still didn't improve the process.
The hot items were tastier tonight. Spring rolls with a mustard sauce and a wonderful pork belly that melts in your mouth:
Loaded potato salad:
Disney deluxe resorts historically have been the gold standard in my opinion and concierge level has taken them to a platinum status. We have stayed three times at Wildeness Lodge CL prior to the recent changes there and all three were the most enjoyable experiences we have ever had. With all the comments being made, it makes me question if Disney has decided to have the barest minimum CL experience for guests now because at the end of the day it really is not an profitable focal point anymore in the suits opinions. Look where WL is going now. DVC is where the money is at and Disney is changing accordingly. It is a real shame, I hope I'm wrong. But it doesn't look like they care anymore about the repeat CL guest.At least it appears from Kook's comments that non-CL is still a thumbs up.
Our fondest CL memories were also of the OFC. Since Randy the manager of 4 years left to go to CR, many other changes have also occurred, so for us, it's not really magical anymore.
The new guest doesn't have a past Disney experience with which to compare so I guess that's the new target audience. It's also as if they think we only stay at one Disney resort and we won't know what's happening at others. Maybe that's why they don't care about the inconsistencies?
The only time out of my 3 check-ins in one week that anyone said "welcome back" was when I had to find a manager here in the lobby who would give me a card to access CL. Since my room wasn't ready, I couldn't get up to CL when I came back from MK. The runner or front desk CM should have taken care of this at 0930 when I checked-in. When I told the manager I couldn't get up there he looked at his computer and said, "Wow, you really love WL and CR...welcome back!" No one else acknowledged me as a repeat customer.
Kook........ Did you....... ???
Oh, my, that would be hilarious!
Did you move? The suspense....
No, no, didn't move. Went to AK and stopped at Poly on the way back for my tradition of a Kona Kone and Lapu Lapu (and an entree in between).
Love that walkway...I love all walkways
Had a busy weekend and just got caught up!
@WDWKOOK... your check-in experience at RPC sounds just like my nephew's experience last month there. He was so disappointed with the entire check-in/first day at RPC that he seriously considered asking to be moved. Luckily things turned around for him the next day but he's vowed he'll never spend that type of $$ again.
I have to say that I personally have seen a steady decline in CL stays. We usually like to try and stay CL every other trip but I struggle to see the value anymore - it's not like it used to be and I have to agree that it does appear that they don't care about the repeat guest anymore. With that said, DH & I will be staying YC CL next month for a few days and we'll see how it goes. Next year, I'm hitting a milestone birthday and I really wanted to do Disney in a BIG way for our family vacation, was even considering RPC but the more I see and hear, the more I'm thinking no CL and spend the extra $$ on different experiences - we'll see....
"It's not like it used to be" is so accurate! I frankly have no need for it anymore. While it's nice being on a dedicated floor, even those rooms are hit or miss. When I changed from Tower Club to non-CL, I almost felt relieved. I had no more unmet expectations and I had total freedom to not feel obligated to eat or drink anything I didn't really want. But, I still had the exact same room amenities as CL.
Like your birthday, I looked at this trip as a present to myself and I'm glad I tried it, but I wouldn't do it again. The value, intrinsic and extrinsic, just isn't there anymore for us.
Here is what I paid for these rooms, which includes tax and a 40% military discount.
GF RPC Deluxe: $625
BC GV/WV: $275. The YC LV room would have been $325, but the upgrade was comped.
CR Tower Club: $475
CR Tower, non-CL BLV: $365
I am in no way feeling RPC is worth $260 more per night than my amazing CR non-CL room and it certainly isn't worth $150 more than the Tower Club room. And, while the (comped) partial LV YC room can't compare to this room and view, those differences aren't worth $300 more per night, nor are the food and beverages. I think these are fair comparisons that do highlight that these CL rooms are getting more and more overpriced with less being offered.
. I was really hoping you would love it!
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