My positive Boardwalk Inn CL review & my very negative Beach Club CL review

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

How was the Beach Club Resort and room as a whole? Did you enjoy that? Would love to see pictures if you have any of both BC and BWI. At least they had openings for you to come back to the BWI. Geez.

Were the theme parks crowded? Was there a wait for RNR? or Tower of Terror! My two favorite rides!?

Brunette

The room itself was fine and I don't have any pictures from there.

As for the Theme Parks the crowds were great. Now getting to them for rope drop always helps, however at the Magic Kingdom I walked right on Splash Mountain at 10:00 AM. I was expecting at least a 20 - 30 minute wait at that time.

 

[padawans]

There was no sarcastic tone in my posts--at least none was intended. If you inferred one, that's your problem, LuvtheMouse. It didn't seem like the OP did.

Moreover, I've been on this board since it started, and I'm no pot-stirrer. I really didn't see how the OP's comments made for a "very negative review" of the BC or what was so "horrible" about his experience, so I asked if there was something I missed.

Now I see that what I apparently missed is that CL (does that mean Concierge or Club Level?) is judged differently than ordinary rooms. I don't stay CL, so obviously, I'm out of the loop here. I didn't mean to offend anyone, but I must say that I think some of you (not the OP) are a wee bit defensive.

And frankly, no offense to the OP, if staff members not saying hello is considered a good reason to pack up for the second day in a row and change resorts, I'm glad I stay in lesser accommodations.

I thought your post was funny. It may have been a little sarcastic, but who cares. People are ultra sensitive on these boards. The things that bothered op would not bother me, but I appreciate his review. I had one night booked at pofq after 10 nights at poly and switched resorts after 1 hour because there were stains on the carpet. I hate stained carpet. We all have our things that bother us.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks for the review, CRFan. You know how much we loved our BWI deluxe CL room in July - it was everything we could have hoped for and the Boardwalk itself was just beautiful. I am curious about what you thought about the Beach Club in terms of your room, the pool, and the general atmosphere. We are planning an extended family trip next year with my father, step-mother, and brothers and the Beach Club was what they picked. I have stayed at the BWI twice now but never stayed at the Beach Club. We will not be staying CL there and it sounds like we will not be missing anything. Thanks again for your review!

The room itself was fine and if your wondering we were in #5669 (Lagoon View) and that faces the back entrance when coming back from Epcot.

As for Stormalong Bay I personally thought it was to big and very crowded. Now I was happy to experience going there at least once, although I would rather take the Luna Park Pool at the Boardwalk over SAB any day of the week.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I was pleasantly surprised to meet the OP during his BWI CL stay, we actually had rooms right next door to each other! I'll second everything he said about the BWI CL staff, especially thanking Jackie and Scott for their friendliness and magic. For a long time, I've been a huge supporter of the GF, and while I still love it there, we've decided very easily that BWI is our new home resort and whenever the monies allow, we'll be staying here, preferably club level. If the monies don't allow, we'd be glad to stay in a standard room here. I'll eventually get around to posting a full-on review once I figure out if there's an easy way to pull pics off of an Iphone.

I will also say that it's been a long-standing dream of mine to stay at the BC, so on our last day, I got off the bus there, and asked to see a room. They were very polite, and showed me one of their "best rooms" with a "water view." Well, first of all, I thought the hallways looked dingy, the room was nice, but dark and the "water view" was like looking through a telescope. There were so many trees in the way, that I could only see a bit of water and the Atlantic Dance Hall. I wasn't impressed at all, and this only solidified my love for BWI.

Anyways, glad to hear CRFan that you enjoyed the majority of your trip. We can't wait to go back!

It was also great getting to meet you and what a fluke that our rooms were right next to each other.

 

[Joshua_me]

That could be anywhere....its not the BC fault that the people rushed the joint.

We have seen the same thing at the Poly CL

Mmm hmm...

This is very true.

One time we were staying at Hawaii in The Poly and were getting an early morning start where I swear there was a stampede of people running for the "free" food like there was a gas leak or something... (Well - except if it were a gas leak they'd be running OUT of the building - but you catch my meaning... )

I saw a couple of families carrying boxes of, um, what are those sandwiches called... Uncrustables, I think - BOXES of them, mind you under each arm and hightailing it out of there. (I don't think they serve them there any longer, for obvious reasons, I suppose)

We couldn't believe it. People were acting like animals. People who you would think would know better...

Ahh well...

We complain all the time about Disney cutting corners here and there, but as long as a portion of their guests are going to behave like that... What choice do they have ?

(Sorry - drifted a little off topic there...)

 

[goodferry]

Thanks for the review! It's helpful if you have a negative experience to be specific like the OP was. What bothers one person might not bother another. We have stayed in both resorts club level and had a great experience in both. Our stay at the BC in June probably could not have been any different from the OP's. The staff was friendly and helpful, asking my husband what kind of beer he preferred so they could have it brought up for him and really going out of their way to be helpful when we were in the lounge. Hopefully your December trip will be wonderful!

 

[LovintheLodge]

To the OP, I am sorry you didn't enjoy your BC CL stay. I stayed there in 2010 for 9 nights and had a completely opposite experience. Did you meet the wonderful CM Pete? He is absolutely terrific and truly represents what Disney is all about. I found the CM's very friendly and accommodating at BC CL as well as at YC CL (my most recent trip). Every time we passed the CM's at the desk this past August, they always greeted us warmly when they were not attending to another guest.

The good thing about Disney is that there is a resort for everyone. I know you have always loved BWI. I have never stayed there, but it seems to be a wonderful resort.

 

[brunette8706]

The room itself was fine and I don't have any pictures from there.

As for the Theme Parks the crowds were great. Now getting to them for rope drop always helps, however at the Magic Kingdom I walked right on Splash Mountain at 10:00 AM. I was expecting at least a 20 - 30 minute wait at that time.

*
Good to know! What rides did you get on at Hollywood Studios and EPCOT?

Did you get a chance to get on RNR and Tower of Terror? LOVE THOSE 2.

What about Soarin and Mission Space and Test Track? Did you get on those. I love thrill rides, but that's just me.

Did you get pictures of the BWI? The boardwalk seems like it has a lot to offer. We stayed at the Yacht Club and loved that!! We also didn't like the BC because it didn't have nice balonies and some didn't have any balonies. The YC we LOVED!
Brunette

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

*
Good to know! What rides did you get on at Hollywood Studios and EPCOT?

Did you get a chance to get on RNR and Tower of Terror? LOVE THOSE 2.

What about Soarin and Mission Space and Test Track? Did you get on those. I love thrill rides, but that's just me.

Did you get pictures of the BWI? The boardwalk seems like it has a lot to offer. We stayed at the Yacht Club and loved that!! We also didn't like the BC because it didn't have nice balonies and some didn't have any balonies. The YC we LOVED!
Brunette

At Epcot I went on Soarin, Test Track, The Seas with Nemo, Spaceship Earth and saw the Canada movie.

At Hollywood Studios I went on Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Toy Story Mania, Backlot Tour and Great Movie Ride.

I did get a good number of pictures of the BWI on my BlackBerry.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

To the OP, I am sorry you didn't enjoy your BC CL stay. I stayed there in 2010 for 9 nights and had a completely opposite experience. Did you meet the wonderful CM Pete? He is absolutely terrific and truly represents what Disney is all about. I found the CM's very friendly and accommodating at BC CL as well as at YC CL (my most recent trip). Every time we passed the CM's at the desk this past August, they always greeted us warmly when they were not attending to another guest.

The good thing about Disney is that there is a resort for everyone. I know you have always loved BWI. I have never stayed there, but it seems to be a wonderful resort.

I didn't see anyone named Pete during out 1 night at the Beach Club.

 

[tiger4me2]

If you book a water view room on the Boardwalk INN, you are guaranteed a boardwalk view The standard rooms include views of parking lots, quiet pool, garden, and village green. CL is different- you just book CL, not a view, and hope for the best (unless it's changed in the last few months).

If you book a deluxe room you will always get a boardwalk view

 

[hannahdrewmom]

I didn't see anyone named Pete during out 1 night at the Beach Club.

When we stayed there we did meet Pete.... he did an awesome job! BC was not our favorite CL experience but it wasn't the worst either. Pete was the only one we connected with but they did a great job of making sure our needs were met. I agree that the staff at BWI is much more outgoing though!


We didn't notice people watching us... but then again with two toddlers under foot I'm not sure I noticed much of ANYTHING!

 

[DisMom72]

Beach Club
I am sorry to say that this part of my review will not be a good one so I appologize in advance to any Beach Club fans.

I have to say their Club Level was horrible. Very rude and cold Cast Members at check-in and the ones who work in the lounge watch over everyone until they are ready to clear the plates off the tables.

For example the Cast Member who checked us in saw we had just stayed at the Boardwalk and made a joke that their best quality is they face the Beach Club. I realize he was making a joke but we didn't think it was funny.

It was just a horrible experience that the next day on September 1st we decided to switch back to the Boardwalk Inn, which we did and got to stay in the room we previously had. So it goes without saying we are never again going to stay at the Beach Club.

As painful for me to say I completely agree with this. Our family stayed CL at the BC in July for 9 nights and it truly was terrible.

Examples:

Tables were not clean or cleared. On more than one occasion we walked in to find 9 out of the maybe 12 tables dirty. We had to move dirty dishes so we could sit down.

On more than one occasion they ran out of PB&J (and other offerings). When something was gone, it was gone.

One morning they were out of diet coke and when my husband asked Pete if he could please get him one, Pete said "I was off for the last two days and no one bothered to order it, might have some in this afternoon". Maybe its just me, but it seems like it would have been fairly easy for a cast member to go to the market place and bring some up for the CL guests until their supply came in????

When the desserts were out, my husband would ask for a glass of milk. The eyes would roll and you could hear the sighs. We eventually got so tired of the response when asking for milk, we ended up grabbing some in the morning from the milk dispenser for the cereal and put it in our frig for the evening. We felt silly!

The day we arrived we asked for an extra blanket (we had three children with us and not enough blankets) we got it on the fourth night.

I'm sure to some reading this, these things seem minor. It also would have been very easy for us to go down the the market place and buy what we wanted, but the difference between staying standard and CL during our time frame was $152 a night. Thats a lot of money to still have to go down and buy what would typically be provided in the lounge. Anyone staying CL knows you are not paying for value. You're paying for convenience (especially when flying). We didn't receive either.

We stayed CL at the RPR at Universal in June. It was amazing. The staff took pride in what they served, how they treated their guests, and a clean facility was clearly a priority.

With that being said, the BC is our favorite resort. We loved our room and its location. We loved seeing Teena. We loved SAB. We loved the way they maintained the grounds. Our mousekeeper's name was Maya and she was amazing! We will be back to the BC someday, just not CL.

 

[brunette8706]

As painful for me to say I completely agree with this. Our family stayed CL at the BC in July for 9 nights and it truly was terrible.

Examples:

Tables were not clean or cleared. On more than one occasion we walked in to find 9 out of the maybe 12 tables dirty. We had to move dirty dishes so we could sit down.

On more than one occasion they ran out of PB&J (and other offerings). When something was gone, it was gone.

One morning they were out of diet coke and when my husband asked Pete if he could please get him one, Pete said "I was off for the last two days and no one bothered to order it, might have some in this afternoon". Maybe its just me, but it seems like it would have been fairly easy for a cast member to go to the market place and bring some up for the CL guests until their supply came in????

When the desserts were out, my husband would ask for a glass of milk. The eyes would roll and you could hear the sighs. We eventually got so tired of the response when asking for milk, we ended up grabbing some in the morning from the milk dispenser for the cereal and put it in our frig for the evening. We felt silly!

The day we arrived we asked for an extra blanket (we had three children with us and not enough blankets) we got it on the fourth night.

I'm sure to some reading this, these things seem minor. It also would have been very easy for us to go down the the market place and buy what we wanted, but the difference between staying standard and CL during our time frame was $152 a night. Thats a lot of money to still have to go down and buy what would typically be provided in the lounge. Anyone staying CL knows you are not paying for value. You're paying for convenience (especially when flying). We didn't receive either.

We stayed CL at the RPR at Universal in June. It was amazing. The staff took pride in what they served, how they treated their guests, and a clean facility was clearly a priority.

With that being said, the BC is our favorite resort. We loved our room and its location. We loved seeing Teena. We loved SAB. We loved the way they maintained the grounds. Our mousekeeper's name was Maya and she was amazing! We will be back to the BC someday, just not CL.

*
Hi there! No this is NOT minor, I would have been LIVID! If I paid a premium price to stay at CL and I "asked" for a diet coke, and eyes rolled, I would have went straight to the MANAGER! Also, there is NO REASON 12 tables should be dirty with dishes! UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!! Anyway, glad to hear about your experience. UGH! The GF CL in the Main bldg I understand is UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Brunette

 

[brunette8706]

Mmm hmm...

This is very true.

One time we were staying at Hawaii in The Poly and were getting an early morning start where I swear there was a stampede of people running for the "free" food like there was a gas leak or something... (Well - except if it were a gas leak they'd be running OUT of the building - but you catch my meaning... )

I saw a couple of families carrying boxes of, um, what are those sandwiches called... Uncrustables, I think - BOXES of them, mind you under each arm and hightailing it out of there. (I don't think they serve them there any longer, for obvious reasons, I suppose)We couldn't believe it. People were acting like animals. People who you would think would know better...

Ahh well...

We complain all the time about Disney cutting corners here and there, but as long as a portion of their guests are going to behave like that... What choice do they have ?

(Sorry - drifted a little off topic there...)

*

Hi there! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!????????

Thy CM's let guest carry out boxes of food!!! This should NOT be allowed!!! ugh

 

[momatater]

Hey everyone I am not home just yet. My family and I left WDW this morning on our way back to Toronto and we are at a Courtyard By Marriott in Dalton, Georgia. Anyway here is my reviews for our Club Level stays at the Boardwalk Inn and Beach Club.

Boardwalk Inn
First things I have to thank JJ, Jackie, Anita, Lorenzo, Linda, Janice, Tiffany, Scott, Pete and Joe for being the best Club Level Cast Members WDW has. They all make us feel right at home and I consider them my family.

We had reserved a Deluxe Room and our request to have it on the fourt floor was meet. We were in room #4225 which was right over the Boardwalk Bakery and had an amazing view.

Check-in was perfect and Pete personally came into our room which is where that process was done.

One thing that we happen to see on a rainy night was Brian the magician that always dresses in purple, coming into the lounge and doing his act up there.

Basically I have come to the conculsion that the Boardwalk Inn is now my favorite WDW Resort.


Beach Club
I am sorry to say that this part of my review will not be a good one so I appologize in advance to any Beach Club fans.

I have to say their Club Level was horrible. Very rude and cold Cast Members at check-in and the ones who work in the lounge watch over everyone until they are ready to clear the plates off the tables.

For example the Cast Member who checked us in saw we had just stayed at the Boardwalk and made a joke that their best quality is they face the Beach Club. I realize he was making a joke but we didn't think it was funny.

It was just a horrible experience that the next day on September 1st we decided to switch back to the Boardwalk Inn, which we did and got to stay in the room we previously had. So it goes without saying we are never again going to stay at the Beach Club.

Next WDW vacation
We were lucky enough to get the 40% Annual Pass rate and reserved the Standard Club Level Room at the Boardwalk Inn from December 8th - December 22nd, 2011.

Thanks so much for your honest review! I used to LOVE the POLY, but now that I've been stay at the GF, it's hard to leave. However, I've been seriously thinking of BWI CL. I've heard so many good reviews, it's sparked my interest even more!

Congrats on your next vacay in December! Who knows, we might see you there!

 

[LovintheLodge]

We all have different experiences and perspectives on things. I will say that when I saw dirty tables at the YC or BC CL lounges, it was due to trying to keep up with restocking food, drinks, taking away dirty dishes, cleaning. I never saw CMs just sitting still. They worked their tails off! Crowds come and go. I noticed it would get the craziest when storms/rain rolled in and folks had to get out of SAB and/or delayed their park touring, etc. The lounge would get crowded fast.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Tables were not clean or cleared. On more than one occasion we walked in to find 9 out of the maybe 12 tables dirty. We had to move dirty dishes so we could sit down.

The first time I walked into the lounge I said where is the small table for dirty plates and etc? So the fact they don't have room for that is something I couldn't believe.

 

[lovesdumbo]

We've not had any CL repeat visits (yet), but having stayed CL at GF(RPC), AKL and now at BWI, I can tell you that there is a marked difference between the staffs. No one really approached us at all at GF, only one staff member was remotely friendly at AKL, and we come to the BWI, and after one trip, we can't wait to get back and see several of the cast members.

I have to agree with you. I've stayed at Poly CL 5 times and the CMs never remember us from one trip to another and only on the last trip did one CM go out of their way to be friendly to the kids. I've stayed at AKL CL twice and while I really enjoyed it and the CMs were fine they weren't like the CMs at BWI. I've now been to BWI CL 4 times and can't wait to return "home".

Somehow, I knew all along you would end up back at BWI!

Me too!

*
Good to know! What rides did you get on at Hollywood Studios and EPCOT?

Did you get a chance to get on RNR and Tower of Terror? LOVE THOSE 2.

What about Soarin and Mission Space and Test Track? Did you get on those. I love thrill rides, but that's just me.

Did you get pictures of the BWI? The boardwalk seems like it has a lot to offer. We stayed at the Yacht Club and loved that!! We also didn't like the BC because it didn't have nice balonies and some didn't have any balonies. The YC we LOVED!
Brunette

I was at BWI CL 8/17 to 8/29. Crowds were very managable. One day at Epcot they only had one side of Soarin' working so they were only allowing folks with fast passes to go on the ride-they had shut down the standby line. The fast passes ran out very early and even though there was no standby line we had to wait much longer than normal for fast passes.

Also one day we did Test Track about 9:30 am with a very short wait. We got in our car and all belted in when the CM's said they had to take that car out of service so we had to get out. Then in the "new" car the car kept stopping on the inside course so when we got off we mentioned it and they let us ride again. On the 2nd ride we were stopped on the ride for about 20 minutes. We didn't ask to ride again.

I did Tower of Terror with my DD 3 times one day. First standby with a wait of less than 15 minutes and then twice on fast passes but even then the standby wait would have been short.

I did notice that the standby time for Toy Story Mania seemed to be overstated. There was the madness at park opening but one morning we had gone on twice standby at park opening and when we got off the 2nd time it had a stated 70 minute standby but we decided to try one more time and were off in less than 30 minutes.

Star Tours stand by times seemed to be dependent on the weather-almost always less than 20 minutes but often pretty much walk on. My DD(12) who loved ToT said it made her sick by my other DD(8) and DS(10) really loved it. I think they did it at least 6 times on our trip.

Last year we went in late July so we could use APs before they expired. August crowds were much better.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I think when anyone stays concierge on repeats stays you develop a relationship with the staff, you even mentioned them all by name at the BWI. They get to know you, you get to know them, they know what you like, what you don't and that makes one feel welcome and comfortable.

Then you go somewhere you have not stayed before and you don't get that, because you are just one of many, unknown.

It's ok not to like somewhere you are not comfortable, but I think the perceptions were more from your view point than theirs.

Stay where you are comfortable. It's ok, others love the BC, so it all evens out.

Here is a great example of that. During our two previous BWI CL stays their Cast Members knew my Mom liked to drink Sprite Zero. Well during our 2nd time staying there in December 2010 it was already inside our fridge when we checked-in and it was never requested. The exact same thing happened when we checked-in last month. So the fact they can remember something like that after months of us not being there and all the guests they encounter is one major reason we enjoy staying there.

Plus on the morning we switched back to the BWI one of their CL told me once they found that out we were returing, immediately they got a 6 pack of Sprite Zero that was already placed inside the fridge of our room. All of that was done in the time frame of at least 1 hour when we were confirmed to be returing there. In my opinion that is the type of service standards the Beach Club CL Cast Members can learn from.