EXPIRED: Part ONE of 2015 CLUB LEVEL (CL) INFORMATION and HELP Thread DO NOT POST HERE!!!

[AliceIn]

I'm sure if I wanted a full breakfast, better appetizers, etc. I could go get it myself for the same price (or less if in RPC), but I like having it all there for me -no effort. If they do start cutting back significantly, they'd better realize that they risk losing their loyal, repeat customers... But I hope it never comes to that! It hasn't reached that point for me yet, at least. BTW, I was at RPC for Super Bowl weekend too, and I will say that EVERYTHING was crowded the whole time we were there (Jan. 27-Feb. 3rd). We didn't have a problem finding a seat in the lounge, but it was just me and my husband then. If my kids had been with us, we might have been in trouble. I'm hoping that when Avatar Land opens, some of the crowds will go there, but it will probably just bring more people to Disney! More crowds in the parks means more time spent in CL for me, so if they don't keep me happy in CL, I may have to find another favorite vacation spot - Beaches Turks and Caicos is awesome, and it's all inclusive...but also more expensive!

We really like staying CL when we travel as a family, mainly for the convenience of breakfast and coffee close by, and for the cold drinks pretty much whenever we want without having to run around with the refillable mug. My children love the snacks and desserts, but my husband and I don't go for the really sweet stuff that much. Evening appetizers are a 50/50 whether we will be around or not. If we do go, we generally have one small plate and maybe a glass of wine or a beer. The kids usually go for the cheese and crackers almost exclusively as many of the hot appetizers are "weird" to them. As a family of 5, the lounge seating is almost always an issue for us if we try to go during the mad rush. Either we'll take a small table and either eat in shifts, or we will wait until we see a spot opening up before going to get food. We only had one day where we weren't able to get a seat at all, and that was at the temporary lounge at the Beach Club last year. This year we are staying at the Contemporary, and that lounge looks pretty big, then we're heading over to the Beach Club which just had a major lounge expansion. I'm feeling good that this will be a nice trip.

 

[Dispro1]

We really like staying CL when we travel as a family, mainly for the convenience of breakfast and coffee close by, and for the cold drinks pretty much whenever we want without having to run around with the refillable mug. My children love the snacks and desserts, but my husband and I don't go for the really sweet stuff that much. Evening appetizers are a 50/50 whether we will be around or not. If we do go, we generally have one small plate and maybe a glass of wine or a beer. The kids usually go for the cheese and crackers almost exclusively as many of the hot appetizers are "weird" to them. As a family of 5, the lounge seating is almost always an issue for us if we try to go during the mad rush. Either we'll take a small table and either eat in shifts, or we will wait until we see a spot opening up before going to get food. We only had one day where we weren't able to get a seat at all, and that was at the temporary lounge at the Beach Club last year. This year we are staying at the Contemporary, and that lounge looks pretty big, then we're heading over to the Beach Club which just had a major lounge expansion. I'm feeling good that this will be a nice trip.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip. I'd love to get your thoughts on CR CL! My husband and I stayed at CR the first time we went without kids, but that was a long time ago, before we discovered club level. Early every morning, we woke up to the LOUD napkin spin song at Chef Mickey's! I have wondered since then if this is not an issue if you stay CL since you are on the 12th or 14th floor. I would definitely request a room on the opposite side from Chef Mickey's if we go back, but we are not early risers and I'm an extremely light sleeper. I actually just checked recently and an Atrium Club room had opened up during our upcoming stay, so I tried to talk my husband into doing a split stay to try it...but he wouldn't go for it Maybe we'll see you at the BC before we leave. I think I remember seeing that you arrive the day we leave, but we won't be leaving until evening (even though they will kick us out of our room). I'm glad BC has a restroom in the lounge, unlike GF RPC. It's really annoying having to take the elevator to the second floor there if you have already checked out of your room!

BTW, I agree with you on the beverage situation. I don't want to carry around the refillable mugs either! I will often take the awesome coffee with me, but I can dispose of the cup in the park instead of carrying it around all day. I will say that in October and February, they were putting out a more kid friendly option in the GF RPC. They would put out chicken tenders or fried Mac n cheese balls. Actually, my husband and I liked these too. Not exactly gourmet, but good. But my kids are 11 and 16 so they like sushi and some of the other appetizers too. I am interested to see what BC will have for appetizers, but we are paying a lot less so I don't expect as much. We had an awesome time there last spring, so I'm excited! I love SAB!!

 

[AliceIn]

I think I remember seeing that you arrive the day we leave, but we won't be leaving until evening (even though they will kick us out of our room). I'm glad BC has a restroom in the lounge, unlike GF RPC. It's really annoying having to take the elevator to the second floor there if you have already checked out of your room!

We plan on arriving pretty early in the day. We'll likely eat at the CR club, then head over to the BC to check in. I might run into the lounge to grab a coffee to take with me to the park. We'll definitely be at SAB for a while in the afternoon. That is our favorite pool of all time! Maybe we will run into each other!

 

[Ferrentinos]

So excited! Just saved another $300 from our BC CL stay this summer with changing from the summer discount to the AP discount! That is a grand total of $1300 saved!! Woohoo! Just had to share!

 

[TJA]

We are on our last night of our BC CL SV stay. I will post pictures of our room after we return home. As far as the actual club level, let me say that the texting service was A+ amazing. They replied instantly and never failed once to help us out. One day our FP's were messed up -- they fixed every problem and saved our day. A few other times, they secured a 4th FP in a different park for us. That service alone is worth paying the extra for club level (to us).

Breakfast has been awesome. A+ in my book. Cold cuts, sliced hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, cantelope, orange juice and milk was a great way to start each day. Only issue -- I think every single morning they ran out of plain bagels! It became a joke each morning with many guests. Luckily there were many other options. But, really, why not get more plain bagels since they seem to be well liked....

Afternoon snacks were pretty good -- they added another type of chips besides the plain ones -- maybe spicy ones. Then the normal cookies, fishies, nut mix, yogurt pretzels.

Evening offerings. Not overly thrilled. There seemed to be a lot of repetition. Crab Rangoon, some type of peas and potatoe triangles, beef inside bacon rolls. The cheeses were very good. Love the olive mix.

Desserts. Exact same every night and we were sick of them by night #3. I guess it saved us some calories, but it also cost us more money as we went down to the marketplace or beaches and cream to buy a snack.

Alcohol service. Very much not thrilled. I'm not a drinker at home, but on vacation I like to try the different wines. I felt uncomfortable asking as it seemed very formal rather than relaxed, plus I felt like I was being watched to see how much I consumed. I will touch on that more after I get back home.

 

[isaboo]

Alcohol service. Very much not thrilled. I'm not a drinker at home, but on vacation I like to try the different wines. I felt uncomfortable asking as it seemed very formal rather than relaxed, plus I felt like I was being watched to see how much I consumed. I will touch on that more after I get back home.

I'm definitely interested in hearing more about this. I may decide CL isn't worth it when I can place a big order from Garden Grocer and have it in my room whenever I want without being monitored. I'll set up my own CL for a lot less $$$$.

 

[Dispro1]

I'm definitely interested in hearing more about this. I may decide CL isn't worth it when I can place a big order from Garden Grocer and have it in my room whenever I want without being monitored. I'll set up my own CL for a lot less $$$$.

Ok. So I (and my husband) have been very concerned about what we have been hearing, so I decided to make some phone calls. I spoke directly to someone at Beach/Yacht club who went over the alcohol policy with me. It has not changed as far as how much you can have. As always, you can only have two drinks at one time, but there is not a limit on the number of times you can come back in one evening. The only change is that at Beach and Yacht club, they have gone to a "bartender" style of serving as opposed to the old way of having the wine sitting out on the counter. The lady I spoke with asked me where I was hearing the negative feedback, and I told her that it is a major concern on the club level thread and that people are talking about discontinuing their club level stays as a result. She seemed very concerned and said that she is going to pass the information on to the appropriate leadership. This won't change the "bartender" style serving, but let's hope it will cause management to better inform the CL staff of the alcohol policy in place! Two beers is not going to appease my 6'4" husband while on vacation!

 

[TJA]

My DH did talk to a different CM regarding the beer issue. This CM told him it's their job to watch for intoxication but that they are certainly not trying to chince out on alcohol. He seemed very sincere. DH did not have any issues with any other CM's -- just the one lady. There were a lot of great CM's working and I certainly don't mean to scare anyone off regarding the alcohol service -- it may just take a little while to get used to the change.

 

[nyy]

We are on our last night of our BC CL SV stay. I will post pictures of our room after we return home. As far as the actual club level, let me say that the texting service was A+ amazing. They replied instantly and never failed once to help us out. One day our FP's were messed up -- they fixed every problem and saved our day. A few other times, they secured a 4th FP in a different park for us. That service alone is worth paying the extra for club level (to us).

So they give you a # to text in case you need something while you are in the parks? We can skip waiting in line at a kiosk for a 4th FP?

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I used the text service in February and loved it.. I even let them know when I was on property and they were waiting for me when I pulled up

 

[TJA]

Yes - the texting service was excellent. We were told some aspects may not be entirely ironed out yet, so I can't speak for other resorts or future procedures. But we were very impressed with the BC service!

 

[nyy]

I used the text service in February and loved it.. I even let them know when I was on property and they were waiting for me when I pulled up

Yes - the texting service was excellent. We were told some aspects may not be entirely ironed out yet, so I can't speak for other resorts or future procedures. But we were very impressed with the BC service!

Awesome news! Thanks so much!

 

[sea nymph]

Please elaborate on what the texting service is?
Also, the beer issue is a concern. I usually ask for 2, drink one and put another in the room. After I'm done drinking the first, I ask for another 2 and do the same. That way when we come "home" and the lounge is closed, I have a couple of night caps to end the evening. Please don't say this will be a problem?

 

[TJA]

Please elaborate on what the texting service is?
Also, the beer issue is a concern. I usually ask for 2, drink one and put another in the room. After I'm done drinking the first, I ask for another 2 and do the same. That way when we come "home" and the lounge is closed, I have a couple of night caps to end the evening. Please don't say this will be a problem?

When you check in, you'll get the standard welcome letter with info in it. That letter will contain a phone number and also a number to text to. The letter does not come out and say "text if you want a 4th fast pass," but it does say to call or text if they can be of service. I had actually read here on the DIS prior to our trip that some people have been able to text for fast passes, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Glad I did because it was A+ service and they did an outstanding job.

My DH is similar with the beer -- he likes to keep one in the room for times when the lounge is locked up. However, this time they removed the caps each time he got a bottle. I'll bet if you request them to leave the cap on one of the bottles, they probably would. My DH did not ask -- I think he was somewhat in shock at the change. While most CM's were very accommodating with the alcohol service, it wasn't nearly as convenient as prior trips when he could just grab the 2 beers out of the lounge and save them for later.

Is anyone familiar with the CM Vilma? We were so sad to learn she moved over to the YC CL. They are very lucky to have her. We were happy to see Neil again, along with a few new CM's that were very friendly.

 

[TJA]

Ok. So I (and my husband) have been very concerned about what we have been hearing, so I decided to make some phone calls. I spoke directly to someone at Beach/Yacht club who went over the alcohol policy with me. It has not changed as far as how much you can have. As always, you can only have two drinks at one time, but there is not a limit on the number of times you can come back in one evening. The only change is that at Beach and Yacht club, they have gone to a "bartender" style of serving as opposed to the old way of having the wine sitting out on the counter. The lady I spoke with asked me where I was hearing the negative feedback, and I told her that it is a major concern on the club level thread and that people are talking about discontinuing their club level stays as a result. She seemed very concerned and said that she is going to pass the information on to the appropriate leadership. This won't change the "bartender" style serving, but let's hope it will cause management to better inform the CL staff of the alcohol policy in place! Two beers is not going to appease my 6'4" husband while on vacation!

This is awesome news that she is going to pass it on to the appropriate leadership -- I've been thinking about it on our way home today in planning appropriate feedback. The part that you were told about "there is not a limit on the number of times you can come back in one evening," was not entirely followed by every CM this past week. Maybe it's just a matter of the bartending service being new and all CM's learning to be on the same page. We will give it another chance someday, and I think it will be easier going into it knowing ahead of time what to expect.

 

[BugsDaddy]

I do think there are probably some advantages for Disney to more closely monitoring the alcohol delivery without it necessarily being tied to cost. If I was the hotel, I would be concerned about minors accessing alcohol that was not being monitored as well as "over serving" guests who may not have a good control on their consumption. You cannot assume that every guest is taking Disney transportation and not hopping into a rental car.

In terms of food offerings, one of the first pieces of advice that I read when considering CL was that you should not consider the food offerings as a meal. It seems that is what a lot of guests consider it to be. Not saying that they should not offer up tasty options.

 

[Texas Mickey]

Can you please add our dates to the list?

October, just the DW and I
CR, TPV/Atrium CL: 10/9-10/16

This will be our first CL stay and the wife's first time at CR. I haven't stayed there since I was a kid in the 70s. It will also be the first time we are attending MNSSHP. We are looking forward to relaxing on our balcony at night and watching the fireworks. We love our alone trips and are hoping this one will be the best yet. We always have a great time at WDW no matter which resort we pick.

 

[PatrickBullard]

Hi TigrLvsPooh! Me (PatrickBullard) and my Disney Family (DW, DD and DFSIL are going to be staying at the Contemporary Club Level May 13 - 19, 2015. Please add us to your Club Level DISers post.

Thank you!

 

[outahere]

This is awesome news that she is going to pass it on to the appropriate leadership -- I've been thinking about it on our way home today in planning appropriate feedback. The part that you were told about "there is not a limit on the number of times you can come back in one evening," was not entirely followed by every CM this past week. Maybe it's just a matter of the bartending service being new and all CM's learning to be on the same page. We will give it another chance someday, and I think it will be easier going into it knowing ahead of time what to expect.

The bartending service is far from new - it has been in place for well over a year, possibly close to two years. The last few times we've stayed CL at the YC there was usually a different CM, doing the bartending, every night. I'm not a beer drinker, but my DW likes some wine before dinner, but the size of the wine glasses they are using is quite small. I do like an after dinner liqueur but, again, the glasses are small and the amount they give you is also small. We have stopped staying CL at the YC and much prefer WL, even though the rooms are smaller. The WL does not have anyone bartending, the food is great and the CL CMs there are all friendly and willing to do just about anything for you. The only thing missing from the WL is Shakira from the YC CL.

Just my $.02 worth........

 

[TJA]

The bartending service is far from new - it has been in place for well over a year, possibly close to two years.

We are talking about BC -- is that what you're referring to also? If so, sorry about that, I wasn't aware the bartending had been in place at BC for this long. I will edit my post accordingly -- thanks for the correction!