jodyb
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 15, 1999
Liav and Jody's Excellent DLP Adventure 2005 Part 3
Cast:
Liav (13)
Jody (Old enough to be her Mom...)
Part 3 – Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005
Our last day in Castle Club… sigh….
I was up at 7 AM and waited impatiently for Liav to stir so we could be at breakfast right at 7:30. On the way to the lounge we noticed that all the Christmas decorations in the Castle Club and in the Main Street lounge below were still intact! (And the trees and other decorations were lighted, so they retained all their beauty)
We took our favorite table by the window and gazed out at the castle…. The Christmas lights arch over Main Street was STILL THERE! However today the main Christmas tree was gone.
I opened the window at 7:45 when the lights of the park went on – I love hearing the Main Street music while eating breakfast!! Dawn fully broke at a little after 8, and when the castle came into full view we took some last photos from the lounge.
You can see in the above photo that the white arches of the lights of winter sort of obstruct the view of Main Street...
We loved watching and listening from the CC lounge as the train pulled in and out of Main Street Station.
We took our time enjoying the donuts, excellent coffee, eggs, and sausages – we ended up sitting around until about 9 AM. There is no hurry to get from breakfast to the park when you feel like you are already IN the park eating breakfast!!
Now, those of you who followed my plans before this trip know I agonized over how (and if) to divide our 7 nights at DLP between Disneyland Hotel and Sequoia lodge! We stayed 7 nights at SL last year and knew we liked it, but it was our DREAM to stay at DLH… especially CC… and in the end I decided to go for it and take CC for the first two nights followed by 5 at SL….
I knew check-out time was 11 AM, so reluctantly we went back to the room to pack up. At about 10 we were all set, and I went to the CC reception to check out. Here I received a nice surprise! We were told to leave our luggage in the room, and during the day it would be sent to Sequoia Lodge for us and delivered directly to our room there after 3 PM. AND – we were issued a special key to Castle Club – good for the rest of that day and evening! We were invited to continue using the lounge for free drinks during the day and for the tea spread that afternoon! I left our passports, plane tickets, etc. which I'd been keeping in the room safe, with the CM at CC Reception, rather than take them to the parks – we would pick it up after tea, and we left our bags in the room. It was nice to know we'd still be back, and we went cheerfully off to the Studios!
Before I go on with today's report, I'm going to digress to talk about my impressions about Castle Club.
First of all, the Disneyland Hotel, in general, is a truly lovely hotel. It holds to it's "theme" absolutely impeccably, and Liav and I kept saying over and over that we felt like princesses. The hotel is spotlessly clean, the service is wonderful, and everyone we came into contact with was friendly and extremely willing to help with anything. Officially, I paid for Sunday from 3 PM until Tuesday until 11 AM. In reality, however, we were pampered by Castle Club from Sunday 7 AM until Tuesday 6 PM. We were received as full members of Castle Club even though we arrived 8 hours before official check-in time, and were given a full breakfast and lounge privileges (and a room, although this of course was subject to availability) that first day as well as the surprising addition of the extra day AFTER check-out! Nobody in CC ever has to handle a piece of luggage. There is always a CM in attendance at the CC reception, never a queue to deal with, and all of the CM's we met wore sincere smiles and spoke excellent English.
We LOVED Castle Club, and can't wait to get back there for another opportunity. So don't take what I'm going to say now as "criticism" – it isn't. It's going to be a comparison, but with the understanding that everything has pros and cons – and just for information – not to convince anyone of anything.
In 2001, Liav and I stayed at the Yacht Club in WDW, along with my sister and her family, and my Mom. It was "100 Years of Magic" – corresponding with what would have been Walt Disney's 100th birthday. We decided to splurge that year and all stayed on the Concierge floor of the Yacht Club. This is considered premier accommodation at WDW (just in case you have any doubt – Michael Eisner was in the suite at the end of our hall – we met him numerous times in the concierge lounge… but that's another story not for this trip report – let me know if you are interested…).
The rooms at Yacht Club sleep up to five. They are similar in size to the DLH rooms, but include a "day bed". The Concierge lounge serves food ALL DAY. And lots of it. Cakes, hot and cold snacks, sandwiches, and interesting tidbits etc, are always available, and liqueors and wine are available in the evening.
They always had special things out for the children – and lots of candy, popcorn, etc. Everything in the lounge was self-service buffet but CM's were always available for special requests. The lounge was small but comfortable and cozy – couches and coffee tables rather than dining tables – and had a "view" overlooking the parking lot in front of the hotel!
Castle club, in contrast, has a larger lounge, set up much more formally with only dining tables with white cloths, and a view of Main Street to the castle. Food is only available for breakfast (until 11) and at tea time (4 PM until the cakes are gone – usually about 5). Beverages are available all the time however, but they are served at table in small glasses – at WDW we could take the cans and bottles with us to the room or to the park – in fact we'd stock up on bottles of mineral water in the morning to take with us. At CC this is not allowed.
All in all, the atmosphere at the CC lounge is far better than at Yacht Club Concierge. It's quiet, restful, and have I mentioned the VIEW OF MAIN STREET TO THE CASTLE??? Also, I feel the service at CC is just a cut above WDW. We were truly made to feel special, and they went that extra mile to have the room ready for us at 7 AM, and to invite us back for tea on check-out day (can you tell that impressed me?)… and while I don't know this for sure, my feeling is this would not have happened at Yacht Club.
Now, having said all that – the price at CC is more than twice the price at Yacht Club Concierge. Yes, more than a 100% difference! I'm not sure why this is so… does anyone have any idea why the DLH would have so much higher overhead than Yacht Club?
I'm sure I'm forgetting some detail of the comparison that I meant to include, so if anyone has questions, please don't hesitate.
So – It's now 11 AM Tuesday morning, and though we've checked out of CC… we'll be back… stay tuned.
(also – pictures are coming that should have been included in first two installments– promise)
Cast:
Liav (13)
Jody (Old enough to be her Mom...)
Part 3 – Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005
Our last day in Castle Club… sigh….
I was up at 7 AM and waited impatiently for Liav to stir so we could be at breakfast right at 7:30. On the way to the lounge we noticed that all the Christmas decorations in the Castle Club and in the Main Street lounge below were still intact! (And the trees and other decorations were lighted, so they retained all their beauty)
We took our favorite table by the window and gazed out at the castle…. The Christmas lights arch over Main Street was STILL THERE! However today the main Christmas tree was gone.
I opened the window at 7:45 when the lights of the park went on – I love hearing the Main Street music while eating breakfast!! Dawn fully broke at a little after 8, and when the castle came into full view we took some last photos from the lounge.
You can see in the above photo that the white arches of the lights of winter sort of obstruct the view of Main Street...
We loved watching and listening from the CC lounge as the train pulled in and out of Main Street Station.
We took our time enjoying the donuts, excellent coffee, eggs, and sausages – we ended up sitting around until about 9 AM. There is no hurry to get from breakfast to the park when you feel like you are already IN the park eating breakfast!!
Now, those of you who followed my plans before this trip know I agonized over how (and if) to divide our 7 nights at DLP between Disneyland Hotel and Sequoia lodge! We stayed 7 nights at SL last year and knew we liked it, but it was our DREAM to stay at DLH… especially CC… and in the end I decided to go for it and take CC for the first two nights followed by 5 at SL….
I knew check-out time was 11 AM, so reluctantly we went back to the room to pack up. At about 10 we were all set, and I went to the CC reception to check out. Here I received a nice surprise! We were told to leave our luggage in the room, and during the day it would be sent to Sequoia Lodge for us and delivered directly to our room there after 3 PM. AND – we were issued a special key to Castle Club – good for the rest of that day and evening! We were invited to continue using the lounge for free drinks during the day and for the tea spread that afternoon! I left our passports, plane tickets, etc. which I'd been keeping in the room safe, with the CM at CC Reception, rather than take them to the parks – we would pick it up after tea, and we left our bags in the room. It was nice to know we'd still be back, and we went cheerfully off to the Studios!
Before I go on with today's report, I'm going to digress to talk about my impressions about Castle Club.
First of all, the Disneyland Hotel, in general, is a truly lovely hotel. It holds to it's "theme" absolutely impeccably, and Liav and I kept saying over and over that we felt like princesses. The hotel is spotlessly clean, the service is wonderful, and everyone we came into contact with was friendly and extremely willing to help with anything. Officially, I paid for Sunday from 3 PM until Tuesday until 11 AM. In reality, however, we were pampered by Castle Club from Sunday 7 AM until Tuesday 6 PM. We were received as full members of Castle Club even though we arrived 8 hours before official check-in time, and were given a full breakfast and lounge privileges (and a room, although this of course was subject to availability) that first day as well as the surprising addition of the extra day AFTER check-out! Nobody in CC ever has to handle a piece of luggage. There is always a CM in attendance at the CC reception, never a queue to deal with, and all of the CM's we met wore sincere smiles and spoke excellent English.
We LOVED Castle Club, and can't wait to get back there for another opportunity. So don't take what I'm going to say now as "criticism" – it isn't. It's going to be a comparison, but with the understanding that everything has pros and cons – and just for information – not to convince anyone of anything.
In 2001, Liav and I stayed at the Yacht Club in WDW, along with my sister and her family, and my Mom. It was "100 Years of Magic" – corresponding with what would have been Walt Disney's 100th birthday. We decided to splurge that year and all stayed on the Concierge floor of the Yacht Club. This is considered premier accommodation at WDW (just in case you have any doubt – Michael Eisner was in the suite at the end of our hall – we met him numerous times in the concierge lounge… but that's another story not for this trip report – let me know if you are interested…).
The rooms at Yacht Club sleep up to five. They are similar in size to the DLH rooms, but include a "day bed". The Concierge lounge serves food ALL DAY. And lots of it. Cakes, hot and cold snacks, sandwiches, and interesting tidbits etc, are always available, and liqueors and wine are available in the evening.
They always had special things out for the children – and lots of candy, popcorn, etc. Everything in the lounge was self-service buffet but CM's were always available for special requests. The lounge was small but comfortable and cozy – couches and coffee tables rather than dining tables – and had a "view" overlooking the parking lot in front of the hotel!
Castle club, in contrast, has a larger lounge, set up much more formally with only dining tables with white cloths, and a view of Main Street to the castle. Food is only available for breakfast (until 11) and at tea time (4 PM until the cakes are gone – usually about 5). Beverages are available all the time however, but they are served at table in small glasses – at WDW we could take the cans and bottles with us to the room or to the park – in fact we'd stock up on bottles of mineral water in the morning to take with us. At CC this is not allowed.
All in all, the atmosphere at the CC lounge is far better than at Yacht Club Concierge. It's quiet, restful, and have I mentioned the VIEW OF MAIN STREET TO THE CASTLE??? Also, I feel the service at CC is just a cut above WDW. We were truly made to feel special, and they went that extra mile to have the room ready for us at 7 AM, and to invite us back for tea on check-out day (can you tell that impressed me?)… and while I don't know this for sure, my feeling is this would not have happened at Yacht Club.
Now, having said all that – the price at CC is more than twice the price at Yacht Club Concierge. Yes, more than a 100% difference! I'm not sure why this is so… does anyone have any idea why the DLH would have so much higher overhead than Yacht Club?
I'm sure I'm forgetting some detail of the comparison that I meant to include, so if anyone has questions, please don't hesitate.
So – It's now 11 AM Tuesday morning, and though we've checked out of CC… we'll be back… stay tuned.
(also – pictures are coming that should have been included in first two installments– promise)
But now we're gearing up for a snow storm that's supposed to hit!
