Which resort for club level?

[1GoldenSun]

Hi everyone! This is my first post ever, yay! I'm a longtime reader but I finally joined just to ask the following question.

I've stayed at quite a few WDW resorts but never club level, and would like to do it for just one night to celebrate an achievement in the fall, in the latter half of September or early October. We live nearby and would be driving so my dates are really flexible.

We do not have annual passes this year so we will just be enjoying the resort and just for one night, which is why I think it would be nice to try club level.

Since this will likely be the only time we stay club level, which resort do you recommend? The only resort I'm ruling out is the Grand Floridian, as we've stayed there before and want to try something new. We've not stayed at any other luxuries.

Money is an object, but as it's only one night the most important things are "fun factor" of the resort (I'll have 9 and 13 year old kids with me) and the "wow factor" of the club level amenities.

Thanks in advance, everyone! I feel like I know many of you already!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would probably pick the Polynesian. The theming of the resort is amazing and the pool is really fun. The CL rooms are all in one building (Hawaii) and the lounge has a view of MK, the fireworks and the electric water pageant. You could spring for a TPV, but, even if you can't do that, garden view is lovely and you can always either go to the lounge or go to the beach (which is right in front of the longhouse) to see the fireworks. For more fun, consider going to Trader Sam's around opening (4:00 pm) to get some drinks (mocktails for the kids) and see the antics and special effects. Maybe have dinner at O'hana or even order the O'hana meal as room service. You can also rent a cabana at the quiet pool for not that much money. I think Poly will offer the most resort fun of all the deluxes. Second choice would probably be AKL which has lovely pools and animal viewing, though I'm not a huge fan of the CL lounge location (can't beat that Poly lounge view!)

 

[KrazeeK120]

We recently stayed at WL CL. I believe it is the least expensive of the club levels. WL is a beautiful resort. Our toddler son loved it. The lounge wasn't ever busy, and it has a railing that overlooks the expansive lobby. We had a room facing the MK and could see the fireworks from our balcony. The resort itself is pretty small and it doesn't hardly take any time to get from one point to another. The boat ride to MK is a lot of fun too!

We liked the food offerings in the lounge. In addition to drinks in the lounge, we got a 1 liter bottle of Dasani in our room daily.

I'm not sure if or when another CL visit will be in our budget, but if that day ever comes, I will return to WL, hands down.

 

[barbliny]

I agree with everything DisneyWishes14 said!! But, I'm quite biased right now since I just got back from Poly CL.

I have also stayed at Beach Club CL a few years ago which was also very nice. It has the great pool complex - Stormalong Bay which is almost like a small waterpark. The boardwalk area has great entertainment. You can see the fireworks portion of Illuminations from the bridge outside the BC. We were actually able to see it from our balcony at BC CL - I forgot our room category - I believe it was garden view. There is also Beaches & Cream for ice cream sundaes and burgers (tough to get ADR though).

One more thing to add - we loved Trader Sam's, it was a lot of fun. Just note, that minors are only allowed in up until 8:00 pm.

Ah, just thought of another thing - there is a torch lighting ceremony (which I unfortunately kept forgetting about!!!) at 6:00 pm at the Poly on certain nights. And hula lessons in the lobby at 3:45 - again why did I keep missing this stuff?? I was hanging around the resort at those times!! I believe both of these things are Tuesday through Saturday based on the June recreational calendar (it may change for Sept and Oct)

Dole Whips at the Poly resort too!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

One night CL? Poly gets my vote, followed by CR as a distant second. I personally wouldn't do any of the other resort CLs for just one night - none of them really have the wow factor I think you're looking for (the resorts do, but not necessarily the CL lounges). Although I'd also put WL CL somewhere on the list - it's usually easier on the wallet than a place like Poly and I could make a day/night of just hanging around that resort and the CL lounge. The CL food there is excellent.

Places like Poly and CR tend to get the nod for me because of the fireworks viewing factor which is a great way to cap off the night. You can get some fireworks viewing from WL too, but the angle/distance is a bit different.

You've also been given excellent advice from the PPs above, in my humble opinion.

Have fun deciding! .

 

[GADisneyDad14]

OP, one other thing to look into - if you're going to be there on a MNSSHP night, then I would definitely recomend somewhere like Poly or CR. Watching the special party fireworks from those two resorts is really amazing. The view of that fireworks show from Poly would be well worth it for me.

 

[1GoldenSun]

This is SO hard! I keep changing my mind. At first I thought that since we eventually want to try all the deluxe resorts, it might be better to stay at a more remote resort like AKL on this trip rather than waste being so convenient to parks we won't even be visiting. But I didn't think about the fireworks! And a beautiful view of the parks would be pleasant, although it might be a bit of a "tease" seeing as we won't be going there, haha.

The kids would love both Stormalong Bay or the Poly's volcano pool; we've toured both resorts and they've looked wistfully through the gates.

Eventually we'll stay at all of them, but we probably won't spring for club level when we'll be visiting the parks, it just would n't be financially worth it to us. So I still have to decide which club level I want to experience the most. I'm usually a pretty decisive person, but at this point I still haven't ruled out even one!

 

[Babsy]

I would stay at AKL. As you said, staying in sight of the MK and not going would be a problem for me. I would be sad. THIS is the time for a more remote, self contained resort, IMO.
AKL just works for this type of trip:
The theming at AKL is spectacular. The food in the CL is delicious. The two pools are really good. The restaurants are to die for. The activities for everyone are plentiful. The animals are fun to watch. Plus, it is an economical choice as you are not paying extra for proximity to a theme park that you are not planning on visiting! It is am amazing resort and would be my first choice for a 'resort only' visit.

Have fun choosing!

 

[1GoldenSun]

Finally decided on AKL because I didn't want to be so tantalizingly near the parks when we're not going to be visiting, plus the fact that hopefully we would be able to get bunk beds for the kids.

But...I was telling DS about the trip and he asked about the pool (the most important element of a Disney resort for him). I started telling him that it DID have a slide (sometimes we stay value), and he excitedly said "the pirate ship one?!"

So...I switched to Beach Club. We were all very excited.

Then...it was decided that both children would get to bring a friend. Our garden view CL room only held 4.

So...we switched to a standard view CL room at YC that holds 5.

And that is final! It is decided!