Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[Eastern]

Warning...Warning...the struggle is real. I am a CL addict and I admit it

I know I used to feel it was so overpriced (might be...) now I am always justifying it

 

[CogsworthTN]

Just back from a wonderful week long stay at Animal Kingdom lodge. We have wanted to try Animal Kingdom lodge for sometime now and it is finally off of our bucket list. Let me first say the resort is stunning. If you want a themed resort this one has to be one of best. We found the resort very relaxing and enjoyed viewing the animals from several of the viewing areas located around the resort as well as from our own balcony. We really did feel like we were in Africa. The food offerings at the club level lounge were excellent. The food is prepared from the restaurants on property, so they do have spicy profiles that some might not prefer. We however, were able to enjoy all the nightly offerings and quite enjoyed trying new foods.

We had a savannah view room and it was so nice to relax on the balcony of our room and enjoy the animals both in the morning and afternoon. The rooms are very small compared to the other deluxe resorts we have stayed at. Since we stayed club level, we did have the space of the lounge for relaxing. The theming of the room was very spot on for the lodge. However, I was not a fan of the room safe. It is a keyed one, so I did not use it all. Our room had all of the amenities we were accustomed to staying club level. Housekeeping did an excellent job replenishing the products and cleaning our room. The club level castmates were so friendly. We especially liked Betty Jo, Belle, and Don, They really made sure we were well taken care of. Below are the food offerings. I may have left off some of the offerings.

Breakfast items ranged from: charcuterie, boiled eggs, cheese, muffins, oatmeal, bagels, jams and spreads, cereals, corned beef hash, turkey bobotie. juices, Jungle juice, coffee,, and our favorite was the biscuits and gravy that were offered twice

Lunch time snacks: various breads, hummus spreads, spiced nuts, kettle chips, cookies, and items to make trail mix

Afternoon tea: scones, devonshire cream, homemade granola bars, rice krispie treats, and peanut butter brownies

Dinner appetizers ranged from: charcuterie, elaborate cheese board, breads, seafood stew, strawberry arugula salad. glazed Durban chicken, crab stew, cauliflower salad, Coriander meatballs, Cous cous salad, FU FU mac and cheese. duck confit with bulgar pilaf, edamame/chickpea salad, Moroccan beef patties w/tomato chutney, Mealie dogs (mini corn dogs), boiled shrimp, African stew w/broccolini mashed potatoes, chicken nuggets, uncrustables, and mini ham/cheese rollups

Signature beverages: sangria, sunrise sangria (sangria with pineapple,/orange/guava aka jungle juice), mimosa, and Kilamanjaro mimosa (champagne with jungle juice)

Desserts: brownies, , zebra cones, small cakes, cookies, and nighttime cordials


The only negative about this resort is the bus transportation. Buses pick up Kidani village first, so most of the time we had to stand. We did stay during Thanksgiving week so I know this may have been a factor in the overcrowding of the buses, but Disney really should have ran back to back buses in the morning and at park closing. Buses were very crowded with people standing in double rows from the back of the bus to the front. This was very uncomfortable considering the distance to all of the parks except for Animal Kingdom park. We missed two early morning park openings because of this. One day it was because the bus was completely full from Kidani village and other day was just horrible. We arrived at the bus stop at 6:50 a.m. to catch the Epcot bus. Epcot and Animal Kingdom park were opening at 8:00 and the other parks normal opening hours of 9:00 a.m. 4 Animal kingdom buses, 2 Magic Kingdom busses, and 2 Hollywood Studios busses came before our 1 Epcot bus. Needless to say we did not make it for early opening.

I would definitely stay here again, but only if our trip focused more on relaxing and not going to the parks.

 

[HBGdancermom]

So glad you had a wonderful trip Cogsworth! AKL is one I haven't tried yet and can't wait to do so.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks for the trip report @CogsworthTN. Loved all of your detailed write-up. Glad you enjoyed your trip overall.

 

[mickeynut1]

Just back from a wonderful week long stay at Animal Kingdom lodge. We have wanted to try Animal Kingdom lodge for sometime now and it is finally off of our bucket list. Let me first say the resort is stunning. If you want a themed resort this one has to be one of best. We found the resort very relaxing and enjoyed viewing the animals from several of the viewing areas located around the resort as well as from our own balcony. We really did feel like we were in Africa. The food offerings at the club level lounge were excellent. The food is prepared from the restaurants on property, so they do have spicy profiles that some might not prefer. We however, were able to enjoy all the nightly offerings and quite enjoyed trying new foods.

I would definitely stay here again, but only if our trip focused more on relaxing and not going to the parks.

Thanks for your review! We love AKL, it's a beautiful resort, especially during the holidays. Sorry about the buses, but glad you enjoyed AKL and had a great stay overall .

 

[gwynne]

@CogsworthTN Thank you very much for writing about your experiences at AKL CL! I loved all the helpful details. We will be there tomorrow for two nights, and then move over to BWI.
It's supposed to be cold the next couple of days in Orlando (well, relatively...it's 24 here right now-Ha!) so we plan to enjoy time in the lodge.

 

[Amy M]

Just back from a wonderful week long stay at Animal Kingdom lodge. We have wanted to try Animal Kingdom lodge for sometime now and it is finally off of our bucket list. Let me first say the resort is stunning. If you want a themed resort this one has to be one of best. We found the resort very relaxing and enjoyed viewing the animals from several of the viewing areas located around the resort as well as from our own balcony. We really did feel like we were in Africa. The food offerings at the club level lounge were excellent. The food is prepared from the restaurants on property, so they do have spicy profiles that some might not prefer. We however, were able to enjoy all the nightly offerings and quite enjoyed trying new foods.

We had a savannah view room and it was so nice to relax on the balcony of our room and enjoy the animals both in the morning and afternoon. The rooms are very small compared to the other deluxe resorts we have stayed at. Since we stayed club level, we did have the space of the lounge for relaxing. The theming of the room was very spot on for the lodge. However, I was not a fan of the room safe. It is a keyed one, so I did not use it all. Our room had all of the amenities we were accustomed to staying club level. Housekeeping did an excellent job replenishing the products and cleaning our room. The club level castmates were so friendly. We especially liked Betty Jo, Belle, and Don, They really made sure we were well taken care of. Below are the food offerings. I may have left off some of the offerings.

Breakfast items ranged from: charcuterie, boiled eggs, cheese, muffins, oatmeal, bagels, jams and spreads, cereals, corned beef hash, turkey bobotie. juices, Jungle juice, coffee,, and our favorite was the biscuits and gravy that were offered twice

Lunch time snacks: various breads, hummus spreads, spiced nuts, kettle chips, cookies, and items to make trail mix

Afternoon tea: scones, devonshire cream, homemade granola bars, rice krispie treats, and peanut butter brownies

Dinner appetizers ranged from: charcuterie, elaborate cheese board, breads, seafood stew, strawberry arugula salad. glazed Durban chicken, crab stew, cauliflower salad, Coriander meatballs, Cous cous salad, FU FU mac and cheese. duck confit with bulgar pilaf, edamame/chickpea salad, Moroccan beef patties w/tomato chutney, Mealie dogs (mini corn dogs), boiled shrimp, African stew w/broccolini mashed potatoes, chicken nuggets, uncrustables, and mini ham/cheese rollups

Signature beverages: sangria, sunrise sangria (sangria with pineapple,/orange/guava aka jungle juice), mimosa, and Kilamanjaro mimosa (champagne with jungle juice)

Desserts: brownies, , zebra cones, small cakes, cookies, and nighttime cordials


The only negative about this resort is the bus transportation. Buses pick up Kidani village first, so most of the time we had to stand. We did stay during Thanksgiving week so I know this may have been a factor in the overcrowding of the buses, but Disney really should have ran back to back buses in the morning and at park closing. Buses were very crowded with people standing in double rows from the back of the bus to the front. This was very uncomfortable considering the distance to all of the parks except for Animal Kingdom park. We missed two early morning park openings because of this. One day it was because the bus was completely full from Kidani village and other day was just horrible. We arrived at the bus stop at 6:50 a.m. to catch the Epcot bus. Epcot and Animal Kingdom park were opening at 8:00 and the other parks normal opening hours of 9:00 a.m. 4 Animal kingdom buses, 2 Magic Kingdom busses, and 2 Hollywood Studios busses came before our 1 Epcot bus. Needless to say we did not make it for early opening.

I would definitely stay here again, but only if our trip focused more on relaxing and not going to the parks.

Thank you so much for your detailed report! I just booked AKL CL for July. This is a resort focused trip, so based on your report, we chose a good resort for a resort-only stay.

 

[RubySlippers]

Just back from a wonderful week long stay at Animal Kingdom lodge. .

Thank you so much for your review! I am hoping to squeeze in a CL stay at AKL next summer!

 

[QueenElinor]

View attachment 366766

Aw, love that view! Wish they had the room size I need at the YC, but alas! Hope you're having a great time!

 

[CogsworthTN]

Thank you so much for your detailed report! I just booked AKL CL for July. This is a resort focused trip, so based on your report, we chose a good resort for a resort-only stay.

Yes, it’s absolutely perfect for a resort only stay or if one has less parks and more resort stay. We will definitely go back there again. Have a great trip. It will be here before you know.

 

[CogsworthTN]

Thank you so much for your review! I am hoping to squeeze in a CL stay at AKL next summer!

Thanks and I hope you can squeeze a CL stay in.

 

[CogsworthTN]

Thanks for the trip report @CogsworthTN. Loved all of your detailed write-up. Glad you enjoyed your trip overall.

We had a great trip.

 

[CogsworthTN]

Thanks for your review! We love AKL, it's a beautiful resort, especially during the holidays. Sorry about the buses, but glad you enjoyed AKL and had a great stay overall .

We had a great stay. I would do it all over again, including the bad bus transportation.

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

A little surprise!!!!!

 

[Amy M]

View attachment 367045

A little surprise!!!!!

What a nice surprise! Adorable!!!

 

[mevelandry]

View attachment 367045

A little surprise!!!!!

Oh wow!!!

 

[CogsworthTN]

View attachment 366766

Thanks for posts of your stay at the yacht club resort. In April, DH and myself are staying two nights club level before moving on over to the Grand.

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

Thanks for posts of your stay at the yacht club resort. In April, DH and myself are staying two nights club level before moving on over to the Grand.

Your welcome, I intend to do a small report in the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow we move over to the Grand until the middle of next week.

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

So I’ve got some free time currently, thought I’d make a few brief comments on some things. IMO I don’t need to get into great detail as @GADisneyDad14 has done some great reports recently enough and not a lot has changed here since.



Christmas decor is all up and lovely as usual!



We were greeted by this Sunday morning going into to the Regatta Lounge.....




This is our horrendous view I traded from a water view to add an extra night.....just kidding, I think it’s awesome really and so glad I did!!!

Last night they had a fried chicken with buffalo sauce and bleu cheese that was superb!

Tonight was chicken nuggets and pork tenderloin which was awesome as well!!!


All in all the YC is one of our favorites and our kids were thrilled with the surprise

 

[CogsworthTN]

Your welcome, I intend to do a small report in the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow we move over to the Grand until the middle of next week.

Ah, the same split stay we are doing in April. We are currently trying to decide on a MK resort club level we want to try next June. Currently we booked a bounce back to GF RPC. It’s so hard not to choose GF RPC again. We want to try either the contemporary club level or the Polynesian club level, but not sure about the offerings. Our touring style is to enjoy club breakfast, eat a big lunch in the parks, and then have dinner back at club level. The light appetizers work for us. We just like a good variety of choices. Decisions decisions