Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[KerryCM]

We have stayed at all the deluxe resorts but this is our first time staying club level. We are staying 6 days at BWI CL mid August. I am so excited about it. We originally were going to stay at the GF, which we love but I switched to BWI CL and haven't told my family yet. I am going to surprise them when we get to Florida! I will report back on our experience when we get back!

It is our favorite club level to stay at! We love the cast there and the managers Lene and Matthew are fantastic.

 

[trishadono]

I am so excited! I have been stalking the Disney website almost hourly for a week for a club level room at the BWI for my October dates with the Disney+ discount. Finally, this morning I found one! I had to change our dates by one day, but that was no problem. I am one happy lady and my Disney math made sense to my husband!

Love Disney math!

 

[Skiptomylou]

Any thoughts about staying club level at the GF in December? I know the building is a current mess- have stayed before during December and had a wonderful time but wondering about the lobby situation with construction. I guess no one can really know yet but it’s frustrating to think of paying the costs if the lobby won’t have the usual decor (tree, gingerbread house). On the other hand, I would think Disney knows how many people travel to visit the GF (and make subsequent purchases) to see the gingerbread house and would want to prioritize getting things renovated in time.

 

[grannyminnie]

Hypothetical question: I book a CL stay and at the end of it, I move to a standard room at the same resort. I know that the lounge would be open to me til closing on my checkout day, but what about when I check into the standard room? Does that negate my using the lounge the rest of that day after the new check in?

 

[trishadono]

Hypothetical question: I book a CL stay and at the end of it, I move to a standard room at the same resort. I know that the lounge would be open to me til closing on my checkout day, but what about when I check into the standard room? Does that negate my using the lounge the rest of that day after the new check in?

Nope

Lounge access all day for check out and check in days.

 

[2vets]

Any thoughts about staying club level at the GF in December? I know the building is a current mess- have stayed before during December and had a wonderful time but wondering about the lobby situation with construction. I guess no one can really know yet but it’s frustrating to think of paying the costs if the lobby won’t have the usual decor (tree, gingerbread house). On the other hand, I would think Disney knows how many people travel to visit the GF (and make subsequent purchases) to see the gingerbread house and would want to prioritize getting things renovated in time.

There’s no way of knowing for sure, but some of the answers people have gotten from CMs there indicate they are planning to not do anything heavy-duty in the lobby and/or pause ongoing work inside the lobby (if needed?) for the holidays. I posted some pics in the GF thread from my non-CL stay June 29-July 3, and they do appear to have work going on in the lobby right now.

I have a GF CL stay Nov 29-Dec 1. I have no clue what’ll be happening, but I think it’s worth taking the chance!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

This is a last minute trip so we are kinda stuck staying at SSR this time with our DVC points. Right now I have our “cash” arrival night at SSR 2 bedroom for $600. We can do CL BC for around $700. So it is $100 more than we are spending now and of course a smaller room. Is having the food options and BC pool worth $100? We do plan to go to EP that morning for rope drop so that’s why I lean toward BC. We won’t have a car.

As another person pointed out, there could be fair amount of travel time involved to make use the CL. If you are going to Epcot though, and willing to walk to BC, and have 4 people (I think that's what you said) then yes, you can get $100 of value. That's just $25 per person.

On my most recent BC stay, they had Mickey Bars and similar ice cream. On top of that, you can get a round of soft drinks or beer/wine. If so, then you could easily get over $50 just getting ice cream and beer/soft drinks:

Mickey bars $6 plus tax for 4 people (= $27ish), 2 beers (= about $22ish), and 2 soft drinks (= about $10.60) that comes to almost $60!

If you also get breakfast, and appetizers or dessert, then you can come out ahead. I would definitely choose a hotel close to Epcot.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I think you're plan is good in theory but the reality of it, isn't that practical. Like, If you go to SAB in the middle of the day, how will you get your suits? Do you want to lug them around in a separate bag all day? It sounds like a long day already, rope dropping EP, swimming, and MNSSHP, thats a long day, coupled with a late arrival the night before and switching resorts, it just doesn't seem worth it for a couple of beers/wine and breakfast. If SSR is a possibility arrival night then just go with that.

If they check out in the morning, they could leave a bag with suits at bell services until they plan to swim.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Correct but my point was, you get in late at night. Now you're getting up early to get some breakfast and do rope drop. Plus repacking, getting your stuff down to bell services and now I'm adding packing an extra bag with suits, sunscreen, etc, and going to the lockers at the gym (the pool lockers are not open at this time, to put my bag in there. I'm getting stressed just typing all of that out. She's asking our opinion and mine is I would much rather just wake up day 1 and rope drop. Grab a mimosa and croissant from France and enjoy my time at EP. Then go back to my room that I woke up in for a rest before MNSSHP.

When we do a 1 night stay, we don't unpack much beyond toothbrushes, a hairbrush, and charging cables. (The cables for the rechargeable Mickey bands are now almost the worst part.) Generally, we already pack all swimsuits together in a small bag to keep them organized. For us, it is a matter of pulling out a mesh bag.

As it happens, the same mesh tote bag is on sale right now for $7 at Target. They are great for swimsuits, but we also love them as grocery bags. (Way better than the kind WDW and most stores sell.) They don't wrinkle and are light, compact, durable, have side-pockets). I've had several for years and they still look like new. (The style not on sale is also handy: it zips and has soft-sided cooler.)

To make 1night stays work, the other sorta trick is that we have somewhat of an organizational system where stuff generally goes in the same place every time we travel, so we always know where to find what we need. Day 1 dirty clothes go in a bag that gets put where day 2 clean clothes were packed.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Hypothetical question: I book a CL stay and at the end of it, I move to a standard room at the same resort. I know that the lounge would be open to me til closing on my checkout day, but what about when I check into the standard room? Does that negate my using the lounge the rest of that day after the new check in?

Yes, you are allowed access.
We have sometimes had problems with our magic bands working properly though when we had two stays booked back-to-back like that.

If you run into any problems, you can ask for a plastic card that will grant you access to the lounge. (either the club floor CM's or the front desk)

Another hypothetical, if you have 2 different CL stays booked, then for 1 day, you get access to both lounges.

 

[grannyminnie]

Yes, you are allowed access.
We have sometimes had problems with our magic bands working properly though when we had two stays booked back-to-back like that.

If you run into any problems, you can ask for a plastic card that will grant you access to the lounge. (either the club floor CM's or the front desk)

Another hypothetical, if you have 2 different CL stays booked, then for 1 day, you get access to both lounges.

I wish!! Never have done but it would seem like a lot of going back and forth to make use of both lounges.

 

[focusondisney]

As another person pointed out, there could be fair amount of travel time involved to make use the CL. If you are going to Epcot though, and willing to walk to BC, and have 4 people (I think that's what you said) then yes, you can get $100 of value. That's just $25 per person.

On my most recent BC stay, they had Mickey Bars and similar ice cream. On top of that, you can get a round of soft drinks or beer/wine. If so, then you could easily get over $50 just getting ice cream and beer/soft drinks:

Mickey bars $6 plus tax for 4 people (= $27ish), 2 beers (= about $22ish), and 2 soft drinks (= about $10.60) that comes to almost $60!

If you also get breakfast, and appetizers or dessert, then you can come out ahead. I would definitely choose a hotel close to Epcot.

Don’t for get the extra adult charge tho. I *think* it’s $35 a person for the 3rd & 4th adult?

 

[Guest Mode]

Don’t for get the extra adult charge tho. I *think* it’s $35 a person for the 3rd & 4th adult?

You're correct. It is $35.

 

[focusondisney]

We got to CR Tower Club a little after 3 yesterday. Got the room ready text as were we’re driving to the hotel. So far the lounge has been pretty quieter. We had a dinner ADR at Space 220, so we just stopped into the lounge right at 5 for a quick taste of the appetizers. There was none else there during the 15 minutes or so we were. And only a few other people this morning at 7:30-8. Yesterday’s appetizers. The 1 picture is a shrimp lettuce cup. There’s a glare in the label. And the meatballs were delicious.

 

[focusondisney]

Breakfast today… Bacon!! Yea!! The Nutella crepe with banana foster sauce was delicious!
There are the usual hot & cold cereals, plus whole & cut fruit.

 

[focusondisney]

And I’m so happy with the homemade chips. We’ve cut back on salt so the sea salted ones seemed pretty salty. But the truffle chips are great. Afternoon snacks, the same both days.




Empty lounge this afternoon




The only drawback so far… we got back from the park at 1:30, No housekeeping. It’s 3:45 & still no one has come. My DH is napping, & we don’t need anything really. We will need clean towels tomorrow so hopefully they’ll come then if they don’t come later today.

 

[Skiptomylou]

There’s no way of knowing for sure, but some of the answers people have gotten from CMs there indicate they are planning to not do anything heavy-duty in the lobby and/or pause ongoing work inside the lobby (if needed?) for the holidays. I posted some pics in the GF thread from my non-CL stay June 29-July 3, and they do appear to have work going on in the lobby right now.

I have a GF CL stay Nov 29-Dec 1. I have no clue what’ll be happening, but I think it’s worth taking the chance!

I hope it’s not a mess at over 2k a night. I wish we had a better way to know ahead of time so we could switch to the Poly CL if it won’t be up to standards by that point but my husband really wants the GF again and isn’t ready to make a switch.

 

[Guest Mode]

And I’m so happy with the homemade chips. We’ve cut back on salt so the sea salted ones seemed pretty salty. But the truffle chips are great. Afternoon snacks, the same both days.

View attachment 773811View attachment 773812View attachment 773813View attachment 773814View attachment 773815View attachment 773816


Empty lounge this afternoon

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The only drawback so far… we got back from the park at 1:30, No housekeeping. It’s 3:45 & still no one has come. My DH is napping, & we don’t need anything really. We will need clean towels tomorrow so hopefully they’ll come then if they don’t come later today.

Not going to lie, I'm a little jealous! We just had a trip with Atrium lounge. When we arrived in the afternoon we hung out there until our room was ready. Around 4:00, a few families came in and sat down. Our suite was finally ready so we left. We had an ADR at California Grill but it wasn't until 9:00 so mid way through the evening appetizer period we went back to the lounge hoping for a snack to tide us over. Those same families from earlier were still there making meals out of the appetizers. There were no free tables so we decided not to stay, but before leaving we took a look at the food to see if it was tempting enough to come back another evening. There were none of the individually plated items as shown in your Tower pics. There were empty counter spaces so maybe there had been but they were all taken? I don't know. There was a pork and noodles dish that all of the meat had been picked out of, as well as another dish with a protein and veggies. I don't remember what the protein was in that one but it was all picked out too. We never went back again on the trip.

 

[focusondisney]

@GuestMode, I’m sorry, that sounds like a terrible experience. It is hit or miss with other guests for sure. There have been times at YC over the years where some families seem to set up camp in the lounge. They’re there in the afternoon & there thru most of the evening. It’s one thing that always concerns me when I hear people say on the boards…. “The lounge is a great extra space to hang out in.” Except it’s not just your extra space & certainly not you living room. It’s for everyone on club level & let’s face it, we can’t all fit in there at once. Of course, when your room isn’t ready or it’s after you check out, I absolutely understand hanging in the lounge. It’s just when people treat it like their own private gathering spot for the whole trip that’s annoying.

Sometime earlier this year, I remember reading a report of guests devouring the CL foods too. I think maybe at Poly? It seemed like staff was aware & unfortunately for everyone, they seemed to be limiting how much food was being put out because of that. Stinks for everyone else. We stayed at BWI in a garden cottage once. It was also a trek to the lounge & while I don’t remember food being gone, it was hard to find a table & way too far to carry food back to the room. So we didn’t go to the lounge much either.

Terrible you didn’t get your room serviced even after you said you’d leave so they could do it.

Housekeeping just knocked in the door. Asked if we needed anything & he was told we had the room occupied sign up all day. I know we took it down this morning, but whatever. He brought us more towels, we have hardly any trash & I tossed the covers up on the bed before. I hope it’s down tomorrow tho.

 

[Guest Mode]

It is our favorite club level to stay at! We love the cast there and the managers Lene and Matthew are fantastic.

Can someone please tell me how to pronounce her name? I know who she is because of her name tag but I've never heard her name out loud. She always addresses me by name even when I've run into her away from the Innkeepers lounge. I'd like to be able to courteously do the same.