Ranking the Club Levels

[thanxfornoticin]

Pre Pandemic
#1 GF RPC. Doesn’t come close to others. Breakfast, afternoon tea, evening service. So much food, and it’s all good. Huge variety. Even mid day they have food.

#2 AKL. Really enjoyed their CL, and liked they had afternoon tea service too! When we stayed they had a Sunrise Safari you could book for AKL. Just for their CL guests. It was amazing. The highlight of our trip. Sadly its been discontinued.

The only other CL I did was BC. The staff was great, I enjoyed it but had less offerings. Only morning and evening food service. Afternoon all you got was candy and chips. And because we always have afternoon breaks at the resort it’s nice to have something in the CL

Oh, how we miss that Sunrise Safari event, too!

Our favorite is definitely AKL, when things are 'normal'. Although, I will say, we've not tried GF. We have done YC, BC, and Cont, and AKL is our favorite for food, service, and peaceful feel!

 

[Jonfw2]

These are all awesome. Thank you so much and this I think is a great dialogue and info source for a lot of people.

I personally have stayed at GF and Poly Club. Between the two, I'd say it was close to a tie but I'll lean towards Poly. Just a little more of a festive, fun air and a little less stuffy- I didn't feel like I needed to put on a collared shirt or something to run into the Poly lounge for a beer. Oh- and speaking of that, their club is incredibly close to the pool. I probably got my money's worth on snacks and drinks for the pool alone!

Keep it coming!!! As well as anything you might hear about reopenings.

 

[Sue M]

Oh, how we miss that Sunrise Safari event, too!

Our favorite is definitely AKL, when things are 'normal'. Although, I will say, we've not tried GF. We have done YC, BC, and Cont, and AKL is our favorite for food, service, and peaceful feel!

It was great wasn’t it! I don’t know why they discontinued it. I’ll never forget hearing the lion roar just as our truck entered the savana. Gave me goosebumps!

 

[TiffFromTX]

We did BC Club Level and loved it! Always a great selection of lots of food and beverages, never crowded, amazing staff - I love that resort. Going back in 38 days! Wish CL was open but it's not yet.

 

[Ricguz]

We have done CL at BC and YC many times and loved both resorts. Staff very friendly, getting us what we requested including beer and wine to bring back to our room and sit on our balcony. Food when we were there was always refreshed.

 

[Jonfw2]

Not sure how recent this is, but AKL is now showing availability of Club Level rooms.

 

[Eastern]

Have done Poly, CR, BWI, YC, GF RPC and I like them all. If i had to choose one it would be RPC for lobby, CMs, and most availability of food during the day.

 

[Bird003]

Not sure how recent this is, but AKL is now showing availability of Club Level rooms.

Just booked it for October!

 

[sbrown29]

I'd have to go with RPC for being the BEST- best cast members, best food, and best availability of food/drinks!

 

[justme0729]

Overall, my first choice would be the Poly. The lounge is convenient/ close to all the rooms, you can watch fireworks from the lounge with treats they have out, and you can easily go back and forth from the pool area to get snacks/ drinks instead of paying for food/ drink at the pool bar. It is great especially if you plan to spend a lot of time at the pool!
The best club level alone was the Grand Floridian (main building is best atmosphere but sugar loaf has same offerings I believe). They had more food choices than the other club levels typically do and many “normal” foods for pickier eaters who might not like Polynesian or African inspired food at Poly, AKL, etc. The lounge sometimes ran out of seating though and I felt like the room could be farther than it is at Poly.

I’ve stayed CL at GF, Poly, AKL, WL, and BC.

 

[Eastern]

The best club level alone was the Grand Floridian (main building is best atmosphere but sugar loaf has same offerings I believe). They had more food choices than the other club levels typically do and many “normal” foods for pickier eaters who might not like Polynesian or African inspired food at Poly, AKL, etc.

This is a good point. My mother did not like the food choices at Poly for this reason. I have never booked AKL because one person does not like spices. All of the lounges usually serve cheese, crackers and fruit/veg, in addition.

 

[Jonfw2]

Overall, my first choice would be the Poly. The lounge is convenient/ close to all the rooms, you can watch fireworks from the lounge with treats they have out, and you can easily go back and forth from the pool area to get snacks/ drinks instead of paying for food/ drink at the pool bar. It is great especially if you plan to spend a lot of time at the pool!
The best club level alone was the Grand Floridian (main building is best atmosphere but sugar loaf has same offerings I believe). They had more food choices than the other club levels typically do and many “normal” foods for pickier eaters who might not like Polynesian or African inspired food at Poly, AKL, etc. The lounge sometimes ran out of seating though and I felt like the room could be farther than it is at Poly.

I’ve stayed CL at GF, Poly, AKL, WL, and BC.

Agreed! I love the proximity of the Poly lounge to the pool.

 

[kimmar067]

AKL, hands down....I've done BC/YC and it was meh at best; wasn't even a fan of the room where you could relax and get drinks and snacks [I remember thinking: "that's IT?"]. By comparison, AKL CL was expansive and the daily assortment was incredible! [the view ain't bad either! ]

 

[kimmar067]

Oh, how we miss that Sunrise Safari event, too!

Our favorite is definitely AKL, when things are 'normal'. Although, I will say, we've not tried GF. We have done YC, BC, and Cont, and AKL is our favorite for food, service, and peaceful feel!

....YES!!! We did the Sunrise Safari too! And the buffet breakfast at Tusker House afterwards was amazing....

 

[kimmar067]

This is a good point. My mother did not like the food choices at Poly for this reason. I have never booked AKL because one person does not like spices....

....we did this twice....I don't recall anything 'spicy'....

 

[kimmar067]

AKL

BC

 

[Eastern]

....we did this twice....I don't recall anything 'spicy'....

Spices, not spicey. I figured the food was along the lines of Sanaa and he does not like that.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Spices, not spicey. I figured the food was along the lines of Sanaa and he does not like that.

I would equate the food at AKL Club more like Boma than Sanaa - in fact, I think that's where many of the offerings are brought from. That being said, if there are spices or smells that someone knows they don't like, it's not going to be a fun experience for that person. For all the offerings they do - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, there are always one or more 'plain' options. But even the smell of the food could be a problem for that person.

 

[Sarahslay]

I love BWI CL for the CMs and the food, the chef making fresh food nightly was amazing and it was by far the best food I've had in a lounge for any of the services. Second would have to be RPC, I love the afternoon tea and being able to be in the main building at GF was a real treat (plus the deluxe king rooms are amazing). As a note, I HATE the Sugarloaf CL at GF. I've done it twice, once with each kid (last minute trips a few weeks apart and RPC was all booked up), and it was horrible the first time and only good the second time because I complained and they knew I was coming back. I still haven't stayed at Poly or CR CL (but REALLY want to), but YC, BC, and AKL kinda float around for position each time I stay at one. Sometimes they're awesome, sometimes they're not. Last time AKL CL was definitely not, but it was over super bowl sunday right as covid stuff was starting to come out and things were starting to get weird so maybe that was it. I'd stay at any of those 3 but I'd have to have a good discount.

 

[MissionMouse]

What are your personal favorite club levels and why?

The club that aligned to our expected travel plans based upon our park plans, events, etc. Being able to take breaks back from a park during the day was a plus, so transportation times and dining plans matter too. Most lounges have hours, so you cannot get to even drinks. Only a few have open lounges. Out value of the experience were food/drink offerings, lounge size/decor/seating and our lodging room view/location. The offerings of past will be no indication of what they may offer in the near future. I noticed the current rooms posted on Disney site did not reference food when I checked Nov/Dec 2021. In the past, they referenced the offerings. Maybe they have updated their site, but last I checked it did not in the details section.

While we stayed many times in the past at Club level, we typically were able to get discounted rates that we could calculate a level of value or answer the question many people ask...is it worth it. Today, the excessively high club rates with mainstreaming (making the experience generic) of offerings, reductions in offerings (providing less) and pacing line refreshes (certain items do not get replaced) made us consider maintaining control of the expense by not selecting club. We then redirected this money to our Disney vacation to provide us to easily splurge at any time anyway we wanted in ways that allowed each person something special. Overall, Disney needs to really step up their game when it comes to Club level of the near future to be worth it.