Concierge/Club Level Information- Part IV, July 2012

[rsschneck]

Stay Atrium club level in Dec 2013. They did not have hard boiled eggs. Not much in they way of protein available for breakfast. They did have yogurt and milk however. Other breakfast items included: croissants, danishes, melon, pineapple, several types of cereal, toast, bagels, oatmeal, coffee and juices. It was pretty much the same everyday for breakfast(we were there 10 days)

were you there during the Christmas Holidays? If so, did they have anything special for Christmas Eve and Christmas (especially during the 5-7 happy hour time slot).

 

[psac]

Hi everyone! I apologize if I'm asking something that's been covered before -- I'm diligently reading this thread but I'm only on page 89 so far

I have a standard room + tickets booked at YC through WDW for 5/14-5/17/14; the next 3 nights I've booked through hotels.com, a CL Poly GV. I feel a little anxious about not having booked these nights through WDW directly, but CL through hotels.com was $549 (w/tax) per night, whereas a standard room at the Poly through WDW was $599/night.

Nervous about Poly construction but CR is completely sold out, and I'm not going to feel sorry for myself if I'm staying CL, no matter how bad the refurb is.

My question is: How will my CL experience change since I booked through hotels.com instead of directly through WDW, and specifically, will I be able to have contact with the IPO? I should receive my Disney confirmation # to link this to MDE within the next couple days. I've made all my ADRs, and most of them happen while I'm at YC. I would, however, like to communicate with IPO about room location and maybe a few other little things if possible.

Again, my apologies if this has been covered before. I've seen a few people on this thread casually mention they booked CL through a third-party, and they don't mention having had any problems, but I'm not sure how you have IPO contact if the third-party technically "owns" the reservation and Disney isn't supposed to take your questions, requests, etc. Thanks for any help, and thanks for this super-informative thread! I'm excited!

Did they give you a Disney reservation number? If so, I would just email or call the IPO from the info on the first page and just go from there. I haven't seen too many people book from third parties like you said, so it might be tough getting an answer here! I think you got a good deal! Enjoy your trip! .

 

[LaurEm378]

Did they give you a Disney reservation number? If so, I would just email or call the IPO from the info on the first page and just go from there. I haven't seen too many people book from third parties like you said, so it might be tough getting an answer here! I think you got a good deal! Enjoy your trip! .

Thanks for replying, psac! I juuuust got my Disney reservation number from Hotels.com, and had no problem linking it to my existing MDE profile. Also, I emailed the IPO at the Poly and they replied that I'm all set, they can see me in the system, and I'll be entitled to the same CL services as anybody who booked through WDW. So...looks like I did get a good deal, refurb or no refurb! I'm amazed! Many thanks, and I'm enjoying reading these posts to know what I can expect!

 

[Anonomom]

Just got back from a four-night stay at AKL CL. Before the trip, I spent hours trolling this thread for information so I figured I'd give some updated info about the lounge and its offerings in case anyone else is looking for it. I hope someone finds it useful.

Rooms: CL rooms are on the 4th floor (and possibly 6th, considering the amount of people who looked like they were coming straight from the 6th floor DVC rooms into the lounge); lounge is on the sixth. This was kind of a pain especially since the lounge was very crowded. Most days we had to take our snacks down to the room because all of the tables were full.

Club Offerings: We were pretty impressed by the food offerings in the lounge; they were much more plentiful that what we had in the YC last month.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Quinoa (with toppings of brown sugar, granola and what seemed to be millet), chocolate chip muffins, blueberry muffins, one other kind of muffin that was either chocolate chip bran or double chocolate, cinnamon rolls, apple danish, croissants, bagels, cereal, Dannon Light & Fit, fruit salad and blueberries. The offering were exactly the same every day, unlike at the CR and YC where the type of muffin and danish changed every day. They had regular brewed coffee plus the nespresso machine, and OJ, Pineapple juice and jungle juice.

Snacks: We were only in the lounge at snacktime once, but they had goldfish, gummy bears, potato chips, cookies, homemade granola bars, spiced nuts, yogurt pretzels and trail mix. Coolers had Jungle Juice, lemonade, unsweet tea and water.

Tea: Scones with jam and cream, brownies and rice crispie treats. And an assortment of hot teas.

Appetizers: Huge variety here: Lavash with three kinds of hummus; black and green olives; fresh veggies, 3 hot appetizers (different ones each day; all were delicious), kid station with apples/caramel , and a rotating variety of snacks: corn dogs, ham and cheese roll ups, ants on a log, PB &J (which I think were just uncrustables cut into quarters).

Dessert: Cookies, brownies, rice crispie treats and a rotating selection of three small desserts. I remember fruit tarts, cheesecake, chocolate raspberry truffles and a variety of creamy things served in shot-sized glasses. Desserts were unlabeled, so you never knew what you were getting until you ate it.

Mimosas were available upon request, presumably all day long though I only had them in the evenings. They had wine and beer, too, but I didn't drink either so I can't speak to what kind it was.

CL desk staff was friendly but disinterested. The lounge staff worked really hard, constantly checking in to remove dirty plates and/or offer help and mimosas.

Anyway, hope this helps someone!

 

[jrj]

Hi Anonomom

Thanks much for the update...helps tremendously...

Can you please shed light regarding how the CL staff seemed disinterested?

Do you have pictures of the CL lounge and your CL room?

Thanks much...

Just got back from a four-night stay at AKL CL. Before the trip, I spent hours trolling this thread for information so I figured I'd give some updated info about the lounge and its offerings in case anyone else is looking for it. I hope someone finds it useful.

Rooms: CL rooms are on the 4th floor (and possibly 6th, considering the amount of people who looked like they were coming straight from the 6th floor DVC rooms into the lounge); lounge is on the sixth. This was kind of a pain especially since the lounge was very crowded. Most days we had to take our snacks down to the room because all of the tables were full.

Club Offerings: We were pretty impressed by the food offerings in the lounge; they were much more plentiful that what we had in the YC last month.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Quinoa (with toppings of brown sugar, granola and what seemed to be millet), chocolate chip muffins, blueberry muffins, one other kind of muffin that was either chocolate chip bran or double chocolate, cinnamon rolls, apple danish, croissants, bagels, cereal, Dannon Light & Fit, fruit salad and blueberries. The offering were exactly the same every day, unlike at the CR and YC where the type of muffin and danish changed every day. They had regular brewed coffee plus the nespresso machine, and OJ, Pineapple juice and jungle juice.

Snacks: We were only in the lounge at snacktime once, but they had goldfish, gummy bears, potato chips, cookies, homemade granola bars, spiced nuts, yogurt pretzels and trail mix. Coolers had Jungle Juice, lemonade, unsweet tea and water.

Tea: Scones with jam and cream, brownies and rice crispie treats. And an assortment of hot teas.

Appetizers: Huge variety here: Lavash with three kinds of hummus; black and green olives; fresh veggies, 3 hot appetizers (different ones each day; all were delicious), kid station with apples/caramel , and a rotating variety of snacks: corn dogs, ham and cheese roll ups, ants on a log, PB &J (which I think were just uncrustables cut into quarters).

Dessert: Cookies, brownies, rice crispie treats and a rotating selection of three small desserts. I remember fruit tarts, cheesecake, chocolate raspberry truffles and a variety of creamy things served in shot-sized glasses. Desserts were unlabeled, so you never knew what you were getting until you ate it.

Mimosas were available upon request, presumably all day long though I only had them in the evenings. They had wine and beer, too, but I didn't drink either so I can't speak to what kind it was.

CL desk staff was friendly but disinterested. The lounge staff worked really hard, constantly checking in to remove dirty plates and/or offer help and mimosas.

Anyway, hope this helps someone!

 

[mickeynut1]

Just got back from a four-night stay at AKL CL. Before the trip, I spent hours trolling this thread for information so I figured I'd give some updated info about the lounge and its offerings in case anyone else is looking for it. I hope someone finds it useful.

Rooms: CL rooms are on the 4th floor (and possibly 6th, considering the amount of people who looked like they were coming straight from the 6th floor DVC rooms into the lounge); lounge is on the sixth. This was kind of a pain especially since the lounge was very crowded. Most days we had to take our snacks down to the room because all of the tables were full.

Club Offerings: We were pretty impressed by the food offerings in the lounge; they were much more plentiful that what we had in the YC last month.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Quinoa (with toppings of brown sugar, granola and what seemed to be millet), chocolate chip muffins, blueberry muffins, one other kind of muffin that was either chocolate chip bran or double chocolate, cinnamon rolls, apple danish, croissants, bagels, cereal, Dannon Light & Fit, fruit salad and blueberries. The offering were exactly the same every day, unlike at the CR and YC where the type of muffin and danish changed every day. They had regular brewed coffee plus the nespresso machine, and OJ, Pineapple juice and jungle juice.

Snacks: We were only in the lounge at snacktime once, but they had goldfish, gummy bears, potato chips, cookies, homemade granola bars, spiced nuts, yogurt pretzels and trail mix. Coolers had Jungle Juice, lemonade, unsweet tea and water.

Tea: Scones with jam and cream, brownies and rice crispie treats. And an assortment of hot teas.

Appetizers: Huge variety here: Lavash with three kinds of hummus; black and green olives; fresh veggies, 3 hot appetizers (different ones each day; all were delicious), kid station with apples/caramel , and a rotating variety of snacks: corn dogs, ham and cheese roll ups, ants on a log, PB &J (which I think were just uncrustables cut into quarters).

Dessert: Cookies, brownies, rice crispie treats and a rotating selection of three small desserts. I remember fruit tarts, cheesecake, chocolate raspberry truffles and a variety of creamy things served in shot-sized glasses. Desserts were unlabeled, so you never knew what you were getting until you ate it.

Mimosas were available upon request, presumably all day long though I only had them in the evenings. They had wine and beer, too, but I didn't drink either so I can't speak to what kind it was.

CL desk staff was friendly but disinterested. The lounge staff worked really hard, constantly checking in to remove dirty plates and/or offer help and mimosas.

Anyway, hope this helps someone!

Thanks for your review. It sounds like the food offerings are pretty plentiful. AKL CL is on our list of club levels to try and we're hoping to try it sometime this year.

 

[Anonomom]

Hi Anonomom

Thanks much for the update...helps tremendously...

Can you please shed light regarding how the CL staff seemed disinterested?

Do you have pictures of the CL lounge and your CL room?

Thanks much...

When I say "disinterested," I think I am comparing the staff to the ones at the YC. When we'd get off the elevator at the YC, we were greeted by name. They'd ask how our day was and chat a little bit. One CM even remembered the kind of pin my daughter was collecting and had one waiting at the desk for her. Basically, we felt like very welcome guests at the YC.

At AKL, the CMs would look up and smile, maybe say hello but nothing else. We were never once greeted by name and the few times I started to talk to the CMs I got polite but closed-ended responses. They were perfectly polite and helpful (I saw one CM sit for over half an hour with a guest, walking her through FP+), just not as welcoming and friendly as the staff at other resorts. Certainly not something I'd ever consider complaining to Disney about.

I didn't take photos of the lounge or the room, sorry. The decor in the lounge definitely grew on me. It's on the top floor of the resort, so it has the thatched-looking roof. It's quite dark in there early in the morning because they depend on natural light, but there's a ton of detail everywhere you look.

 

[TJA]

Anonomom your post was extremely helpful - thank you. What concerns me is the lounge being on a different floor than our room would be. I think it would become a chore going back and forth -- would you get a tray and carry snacks and drinks back to your room that way? I'm just trying to picture how we'd handle it. The food you described sounds wonderful, though. How did you enjoy your room and the view from your room?

 

[jrj]

Ahhhh... got it

I truly appreciate your quick response

When I say "disinterested," I think I am comparing the staff to the ones at the YC. When we'd get off the elevator at the YC, we were greeted by name. They'd ask how our day was and chat a little bit. One CM even remembered the kind of pin my daughter was collecting and had one waiting at the desk for her. Basically, we felt like very welcome guests at the YC.

At AKL, the CMs would look up and smile, maybe say hello but nothing else. We were never once greeted by name and the few times I started to talk to the CMs I got polite but closed-ended responses. They were perfectly polite and helpful (I saw one CM sit for over half an hour with a guest, walking her through FP+), just not as welcoming and friendly as the staff at other resorts. Certainly not something I'd ever consider complaining to Disney about.

I didn't take photos of the lounge or the room, sorry. The decor in the lounge definitely grew on me. It's on the top floor of the resort, so it has the thatched-looking roof. It's quite dark in there early in the morning because they depend on natural light, but there's a ton of detail everywhere you look.

 

[Anonomom]

Anonomom your post was extremely helpful - thank you. What concerns me is the lounge being on a different floor than our room would be. I think it would become a chore going back and forth -- would you get a tray and carry snacks and drinks back to your room that way? I'm just trying to picture how we'd handle it. The food you described sounds wonderful, though. How did you enjoy your room and the view from your room?

I did use a tray one night, carrying a glass of wine for DH and coffee for me, as well as some dessert. But the distance was a pain.

I wasn't fond of the room itself -- compared to other deluxe resorts, the rooms are very small and the fact that the furniture is heavy and dark doesn't help. With five people (two adults and kids 8, 4 and 2) we felt pretty cramped.

However, the room view was amazing. I can't begin to say enough about it. I posted elsewhere that I expected to see a few animals wandering around at a distance, but the animals were quite close and there were tons of them. At one point I counted eight different kinds of animals (and several of many of those) all wandering the savannah at the same time. We all loved it.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I did use a tray one night, carrying a glass of wine for DH and coffee for me, as well as some dessert. But the distance was a pain.

I wasn't fond of the room itself -- compared to other deluxe resorts, the rooms are very small and the fact that the furniture is heavy and dark doesn't help. With five people (two adults and kids 8, 4 and 2) we felt pretty cramped.

However, the room view was amazing. I can't begin to say enough about it. I posted elsewhere that I expected to see a few animals wandering around at a distance, but the animals were quite close and there were tons of them. At one point I counted eight different kinds of animals (and several of many of those) all wandering the savannah at the same time. We all loved it.

Thanks for the review!!! We hope to try AKL CL sometime!

 

[TJA]

Well now I'm turning a complete 360 and have my sights set on GF RPC. This one wasn't even on my radar, so I'm not bothering to tell DH until I'm about to make the actual reservation. In an effort to help me decide, I've been reading this thread and the GF thread and I have a question that I need clarified. My hold-back on booking AKL CL is that our room would be on a different floor than the lounge, which would seem to be a terrible inconvenience (especially with young kids...). Is there a chance this could happen at GF RPC? I am thinking to book a TPV room, if that makes a difference. It's funny but we didn't mind being on the first floor TPV at Poly, but we were right near the stairs that led up to the lounge, so it was not a big deal to us. Thanks.

 

[DisneyDoogie]

TJA,
The RPC lounge is on the 4th floor of the main building at the GF. There are rooms on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors. I see that you have young kids, so you won't likely be on the 2nd floor (the rooms there are the king deluxe rooms and only sleep three). The 5th floor rooms are mostly, if not all, suites. If you have a TPV, you will be at the end of the main building, directly over Gasparilla's so, you'll have a walk to the lounge, but it's not a long walk. If you are on the 3rd floor, you'll have to walk to an elevator, take the elevator to the 4th floor, and then walk to the lounge. Or, if you're on the 3rd floor, you'll have to walk to the stairs, and take the stairs up to the 4th floor. My family has stayed on the 3rd floor before and we always took the elevator since we brought food back to our room. We've stayed 4th floor many times and it is much more convenient - no elevator, no stairs, just a walk to the lounge and that walk is no big deal. One of the advantages of staying on the 3rd floor, however, is that you would have more convenient access to the CMs, because their desks are on the 3rd floor. But, my family would be happy in any RPC room!! Enjoy RPC!

 

[ToyStory3]

Well now I'm turning a complete 360 and have my sights set on GF RPC. This one wasn't even on my radar, so I'm not bothering to tell DH until I'm about to make the actual reservation. In an effort to help me decide, I've been reading this thread and the GF thread and I have a question that I need clarified. My hold-back on booking AKL CL is that our room would be on a different floor than the lounge, which would seem to be a terrible inconvenience (especially with young kids...). Is there a chance this could happen at GF RPC? I am thinking to book a TPV room, if that makes a difference. It's funny but we didn't mind being on the first floor TPV at Poly, but we were right near the stairs that led up to the lounge, so it was not a big deal to us. Thanks.

I know what you mean and I have been thinking about this regarding our stay at BCR CL this Fall. When we went a couple years ago we were supposed to stay Lagoon View CL. We didn't make any room requests. They upgraded us to a deluxe room on a different floor. We had a very long walk to the lounge (probably 10 minutes). So, it wasn't convenient at all. But, the room and the space was wonderful so I'm not complaining! I think I'd be okay with a different floor if it was a short distance and convenient.

 

[focusondisney]

I posted this on the Boardwalk thread & wanted to post here for more input. TIA!!


Hi! I need some help from BW experts! We stayed at the BWI a few times when it first opened. I liked the look & feel of the resort, but not a fan of the pool. Now we're almost always at YC, club level. However, I've been interested in trying the Innkeepers Club. There is a great AP rate on the Cottage Suites during our May dates. I'm thinking of changing our last 2 nights to stay there. The rooms look so lovely!

So it will be just my DH & I. We're mid- late 50's, do parks at rope drop then spend the afternoon napping or swimming & have a nice signature restaurant dinner.

Any input to help me make a decision?? I think my biggest concern is the lounge. I know we'll have to head outside & up to the Innkeepers Club for food service. Is there enough room there to sit & have our breakfast? (We never mind a trip back to out room with our food at YC, but just spent a 2 night stay @BC. Between the tiny lounge & the hike to our "end- of- the -world" room, we were not thrilled to have to carry our plates to room.) I can't imagine we'd be too happy to get all the way up to the lounge & have no where to sit & eat. And I sure don't want to carry a bagel & coffee all the way back to the cottage! Also our flight the last day is not til 8 PM, so we may want to relax in the lounge that afternoon before our pick up.

The days we'd be @ BW will be spent @ Epcot or the Studios, so no transportation issues involved in our decision. So, talk me into it!!
__________________

 

[TJA]

TJA,
The RPC lounge is on the 4th floor of the main building at the GF. There are rooms on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors. I see that you have young kids, so you won't likely be on the 2nd floor (the rooms there are the king deluxe rooms and only sleep three). The 5th floor rooms are mostly, if not all, suites. If you have a TPV, you will be at the end of the main building, directly over Gasparilla's so, you'll have a walk to the lounge, but it's not a long walk. If you are on the 3rd floor, you'll have to walk to an elevator, take the elevator to the 4th floor, and then walk to the lounge. Or, if you're on the 3rd floor, you'll have to walk to the stairs, and take the stairs up to the 4th floor. My family has stayed on the 3rd floor before and we always took the elevator since we brought food back to our room. We've stayed 4th floor many times and it is much more convenient - no elevator, no stairs, just a walk to the lounge and that walk is no big deal. One of the advantages of staying on the 3rd floor, however, is that you would have more convenient access to the CMs, because their desks are on the 3rd floor. But, my family would be happy in any RPC room!! Enjoy RPC!

Thanks you for the great information. I do think we'd prefer being on the same floor as the lounge -- I would most likely request that. I know we'll enjoy it either way!

I know what you mean and I have been thinking about this regarding our stay at BCR CL this Fall. When we went a couple years ago we were supposed to stay Lagoon View CL. We didn't make any room requests. They upgraded us to a deluxe room on a different floor. We had a very long walk to the lounge (probably 10 minutes). So, it wasn't convenient at all. But, the room and the space was wonderful so I'm not complaining! I think I'd be okay with a different floor if it was a short distance and convenient.

That would be a tough call regarding the BC upgrade being that it put you on a different floor! We stayed in a BC CL lagoon view room and it was very nice. You should try booking it again for next time!

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

I have a question, I'm staying at AKL Club Level for the first time, and my mom and I are basically arriving to MCO at 5:30 am. Is the check in time different for CL people compared to those who are not staying club level? I read somewhere that sometimes check in is at 11 for CL guests? That would be wonderful if true.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I have a question, I'm staying at AKL Club Level for the first time, and my mom and I are basically arriving to MCO at 5:30 am. Is the check in time different for CL people compared to those who are not staying club level? I read somewhere that sometimes check in is at 11 for CL guests? That would be wonderful if true.

I do not believe that there is a different check in time for CL guests, but you can certainly alert IPO of your arrival time and I'm sure they'd try to have a room ready but of course, it's not guaranteed.

 

[mickeynut1]

Well now I'm turning a complete 360 and have my sights set on GF RPC. This one wasn't even on my radar, so I'm not bothering to tell DH until I'm about to make the actual reservation. In an effort to help me decide, I've been reading this thread and the GF thread and I have a question that I need clarified. My hold-back on booking AKL CL is that our room would be on a different floor than the lounge, which would seem to be a terrible inconvenience (especially with young kids...). Is there a chance this could happen at GF RPC? I am thinking to book a TPV room, if that makes a difference. It's funny but we didn't mind being on the first floor TPV at Poly, but we were right near the stairs that led up to the lounge, so it was not a big deal to us. Thanks.

We've never stayed AKL CL, but I wanted to say that RPC is amazing!!! AKL CL is one we are hoping to try, although the CL rooms being on a different floor than the lounge is a concern of mine too. With that said, I won't go into detail about room locations as the pp gave a good description, but I agree to put in a request for 4th floor; however, being on a different floor really isn't bad, IMO. You might have a little bit of a walk, but nothing that has you walking forever.

I have a question, I'm staying at AKL Club Level for the first time, and my mom and I are basically arriving to MCO at 5:30 am. Is the check in time different for CL people compared to those who are not staying club level? I read somewhere that sometimes check in is at 11 for CL guests? That would be wonderful if true.

I believe the CL CM hours are 7am-10pm daily. During those hours, CL guests are usually taken up to the lounge or to their room to check in rather than checking in at the front desk. However, if the resort is very busy and a CL CM is not available, sometimes you will check in at the front desk. Also, if you arrive outside of the CL CMs hours, you will check in at the front desk rather than in the lounge or in your room. With that said, check out for guests is 11 am, but I have never heard of an 11 am check in for CL guests.

 

[Eastern]

Any input to help me make a decision?? I think my biggest concern is the lounge. I know we'll have to head outside & up to the Innkeepers Club for food service. Is there enough room there to sit & have our breakfast? (We never mind a trip back to out room with our food at YC, but just spent a 2 night stay @BC. Between the tiny lounge & the hike to our "end- of- the -world" room, we were not thrilled to have to carry our plates to room.) I can't imagine we'd be too happy to get all the way up to the lounge & have no where to sit & eat. And I sure don't want to carry a bagel & coffee all the way back to the cottage! Also our flight the last day is not til 8 PM, so we may want to relax in the lounge that afternoon before our pick up.

We were there for 4 days during NYE week. Mornings are busy, but not impossible. We had 5 people and usually got a seat, if not, there is a little table and chairs setup outside the lounge, near the hallway, that was convenient. With 2 people, I don't think you should have a problem.

Afternoons were dead. Lots of seats. We stayed there for a couple hours before our ME express pickup and it was very convenient.

Cocktail hour was busy, but not as much as breakfast.

There was also a family staying in the Steeplechase Suite the week we were there. The grandmother of the bunch would bring the room tray to the lounge, load it up, and leave. Then the entire family (staying in various other rooms) would meet for cocktails every evening. We still got seats, so you should be fine.