Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[TheFloatingBear]

Hey gang

Just wanted to give everyone an update on AKL CL. I spoke with a member of management this morning and they have made a number of changes. Welcome gifts (chocolates) have been discontinued and nightly turn down service is now BY REQUEST! So when you arrive you need to contact housekeeping and have that service setup for your stay. If you're following along with my live report you probably saw that I spoke with someone last night about the kid offerings in the evenings. Those have been taken away (pb&j, chicken nuggets, etc). Management allocated funds from their budget to the new hot appetizer station and certain things had to be discontinued to fund that project.
If anyone has any other CL questions just let me know! Send me a PM or ask over on my trip report because I won't be here on the CL thread often.

That's so funny - I just hopped onto here to see if there was any new info about AKL Club level and the kids' food options and here it is! While I'm sure that DH and I will enjoy the hot appetizers, I think in the long run I would have preferred more options for the kids. Bummer about the chocolates and turn down service too, but I suppose there's plenty of desserts for our sweet tooth!

Thank you for asking about it and reporting back - I will check out your trip report! 28 more days!

 

[mrsap]

Hey gang

Just wanted to give everyone an update on AKL CL. I spoke with a member of management this morning and they have made a number of changes. Welcome gifts (chocolates) have been discontinued and nightly turn down service is now BY REQUEST! So when you arrive you need to contact housekeeping and have that service setup for your stay. If you're following along with my live report you probably saw that I spoke with someone last night about the kid offerings in the evenings. Those have been taken away (pb&j, chicken nuggets, etc). Management allocated funds from their budget to the new hot appetizer station and certain things had to be discontinued to fund that project.
If anyone has any other CL questions just let me know! Send me a PM or ask over on my trip report because I won't be here on the CL thread often.

Thanks for the update! That's crazy!! They keep taking stuff away but the prices keep going up! So frustrating! What did they say about the toiletries? Did they do away with the extras there too?

I'm curious to know if they will accommodate children in anyway if there's nothing there they'd eat. For the money spent on CL you'd think there would at least be one offering for them. My kids always found something at WL CL but not sure about the exotic appetizers at AKL.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Thanks for the update! That's crazy!! They keep taking stuff away but the prices keep going up! So frustrating! What did they say about the toiletries? Did they do away with the extras there too?

I'm curious to know if they will accommodate children in anyway if there's nothing there they'd eat. For the money spent on CL you'd think there would at least be one offering for them. My kids always found something at WL CL but not sure about the exotic appetizers at AKL.

I asked what they thought kids could eat. The response I got was "This isn't supposed to be a meal". And I replied that I knew it wasn't a meal but weren't kids allowed to have a bit of a snack too? She said they have snacks for kids during the afternoon. Well isn't that helpful???
We have ADRs every night so it isn't a big deal for us. But people who come here should know that kids won't really have any options at 5:00 pm except the apple slices.

She did bring the 2nd robe and remaining toiletries and said it was an oversight. But honestly I'm not convinced it was. I think they're cutting back to the bare minimum and only giving these extra things upon request. That way when new guests experience CL they won't even know what they're missing.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Thanks for the update! That's crazy!! They keep taking stuff away but the prices keep going up! So frustrating! What did they say about the toiletries? Did they do away with the extras there too?

I'm curious to know if they will accommodate children in anyway if there's nothing there they'd eat. For the money spent on CL you'd think there would at least be one offering for them. My kids always found something at WL CL but not sure about the exotic appetizers at AKL.

I asked what they thought kids could eat. The response I got was "This isn't supposed to be a meal". And I replied that I knew it wasn't a meal but weren't kids allowed to have a bit of a snack too? She said they have snacks for kids during the afternoon. Well isn't that helpful???
We have ADRs every night so it isn't a big deal for us. But people who come here should know that kids won't really have any options at 5:00 pm except the apple slices.

She did bring the 2nd robe and remaining toiletries and said it was an oversight. But honestly I'm not convinced it was. I think they're cutting back to the bare minimum and only giving these extra things upon request. That way when new guests experience CL they won't even know what they're missing.

Based on my emails with IPO (I posted about them upthread somewhere), they're not going to accommodate children in any special way. When I voiced my concerns, IPO just repeated that the new offerings were a "big hit" and that the kids like the African stew. I agree that there should be some kind of snacks at 5 for the kids. For us, the point is to tide us over for later in the evening. It will be aggravating if we have to buy food at the Mara and bring it to the lounge in order for the adults to be able to enjoy snack time!

 

[DJFan88]

Excuse my naivety (?) but never having stayed CL before, but have one booked at AKL this time, what exactly is done in "turn down" service. Since it is now available upon request, I'm wondering if it's anything I want to request, or not.

 

[gwynne]

Excuse my naivety (?) but never having stayed CL before, but have one booked at AKL this time, what exactly is done in "turn down" service. Since it is now available upon request, I'm wondering if it's anything I want to request, or not.

Basically they turn your bed down, close the curtains, replace any used towels.

 

[mrsap]

I asked what they thought kids could eat. The response I got was "This isn't supposed to be a meal". And I replied that I knew it wasn't a meal but weren't kids allowed to have a bit of a snack too? She said they have snacks for kids during the afternoon. Well isn't that helpful???
We have ADRs every night so it isn't a big deal for us. But people who come here should know that kids won't really have any options at 5:00 pm except the apple slices.

She did bring the 2nd robe and remaining toiletries and said it was an oversight. But honestly I'm not convinced it was. I think they're cutting back to the bare minimum and only giving these extra things upon request. That way when new guests experience CL they won't even know what they're missing.

Wow. That's disappointing. I'd honestly rather them take away the Goldfish and gummy Bears and use that money to put out pizza or nuggets every night. I understand it's not supposed to be a meal, but there should be something for everyone.

I wonder if there is someone we can contact in customer relations. I feel if enough of us voice our concerns we might be heard.

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

I asked what they thought kids could eat. The response I got was "This isn't supposed to be a meal". And I replied that I knew it wasn't a meal but weren't kids allowed to have a bit of a snack too? She said they have snacks for kids during the afternoon. Well isn't that helpful???
We have ADRs every night so it isn't a big deal for us. But people who come here should know that kids won't really have any options at 5:00 pm except the apple slices.

She did bring the 2nd robe and remaining toiletries and said it was an oversight. But honestly I'm not convinced it was. I think they're cutting back to the bare minimum and only giving these extra things upon request. That way when new guests experience CL they won't even know what they're missing.

They did have a cheese tray or some cheese though right? I thought I read that...

Their attititude is horrible though.

 

[TikiGoddess07]

We will be staying at the Poly (Hawaii garden view) for a week this August. Any suggestions on room requests?
I'm torn between 1st and 3rd floor... 3rd would be nice to have the balcony, but then we have to deal with elevators or stairs every time we exit/enter the building. Any drawbacks to the first floor rooms?

 

[HaveKidsWillTravel]

ASAP I am going to share my thoughts on our first Poly CL stay...we just returned home early Thursday morning, so I need to make notes so I cover all the things that we experienced...but I do know that they have take out cups with lids available at all times.

Looking forward to your review. If you remember, or jotted it down, could you give us an idea of what foods were offered in the evening? Thanks!!

 

[mickeynut1]

We will be staying at the Poly (Hawaii garden view) for a week this August. Any suggestions on room requests?
I'm torn between 1st and 3rd floor... 3rd would be nice to have the balcony, but then we have to deal with elevators or stairs every time we exit/enter the building. Any drawbacks to the first floor rooms?

I don't think there's really any drawbacks to being on the first floor, it's just whichever one you prefer. We are staying Poly CL for the first time in September and I requested 3rd floor as my preference is to have a balcony over a patio .

If you remember, or jotted it down, could you give us an idea of what foods were offered in the evening? Thanks!!

I'd like to know too .

 

[kkayluvsdis]

@kkayluvsdis, just wanted to say only 23 days for us and we are staying Poly CL too for 3 days! We have a split stay and will be moving over to the GF. Maybe I'll see you in the lounge! Hope you and your family have a wonderful trip!!

Magic bands arrived yesterday! I ordered the new purple color and I love it

I ordered purple too! My favorite color! So excited! 3 weeks from Tuesday!

Poly CL - my favorite! They have the standard throw-away Disney Parks cups with lids in the lounge, perfect for coffee or anything on the go or for kiddies that can't be trusted with glass. They aren't that big, but big enough. If they are not out on the counter, they are in the cabinet below the water dispenser (it's OK to open that cabinet and get them). Not sure what to say about the water bottles... Some people say it's not hygienic to fill your own bottle (eg, dispenser could touch your bottle, etc), but I see people do it. The water dispenser at Poly CL is one of those that a CM has to refill, it's not from the tap. I wouldn't fill my own container, but maybe that's just me - the to go cups have always worked just fine.

BTW, one of my favorite aspects of CL is grabbing a to go coffee on the way out the door - so quick and hassle free! Hope you have a great trip!

Thanks for the info GADisneyDad14! I didn't even think about the hygiene issue. My kids water bottles are the "wide mouth" ones so I'd be taking off the part that they actually drink out of for filling purposes...maybe I'll just order a flat of bottled water and fill from those.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We will be staying at the Poly (Hawaii garden view) for a week this August. Any suggestions on room requests?
I'm torn between 1st and 3rd floor... 3rd would be nice to have the balcony, but then we have to deal with elevators or stairs every time we exit/enter the building. Any drawbacks to the first floor rooms?

I think you can't go wrong either way, will really come down to personal preference. Our bias is third floor, I like being on the top floor, not having anyone making noise above us, and prefer the balcony vs. a patio. With a relatively small building we actually find the elevator and the stairs super convenient in Hawaii, it's never been a problem even back in the stroller days. Now, I will say that since DS is getting older the first floor is starting to have more appeal for me. And now with the Oasis Pool and construction done, there's really nothing not to like about a GV first floor room!

My only other suggestion for GV room requests would be to avoid the roughly 1-2 rooms closest to elevator. I like being more towards the middle of the building. Hope you have a great stay!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

My kids water bottles are the "wide mouth" ones so I'd be taking off the part that they actually drink out of for filling purposes...maybe I'll just order a flat of bottled water and fill from those.

Quick tip in case it's helpful. I drink a ton of water, especially at WDW, more than I can generally get in the lounge or other places. Someone on here posted that you can buy cases of Dasani water in the gift shop in the main building for relatively cheap. Sure enough, at GF last month I bought a case of water (24 bottles I think? Maybe 18?) for like $6.50, which seemed incredibly cheap to me for Disney standards! I don't know if Poly has the same thing, but I bet it does. I do know Poly sells the very large Dasani bottles...last October I bought like 6 of those and kept in the fridge. Kept us all happy and hydrated.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Basically they turn your bed down, close the curtains, replace any used towels.

For us the most important aspect of turn down is fresh towels and removal of dirty plates. Due to limited seating in the lounge we often have to bring breakfast and evening snacks back to our room. I don't like coming back late at night to dirty towels and plates. But if they aren't doing turn down anymore then I'll remember to bus my own plates back upstairs and find a maid to take towels for the evening. For the insane amount of money we pay we shouldn't have to do this stuff ourselves, but I guess we either like it or lump it!

 

[Eastern]

For us the most important aspect of turn down is fresh towels and removal of dirty plates. Due to limited seating in the lounge we often have to bring breakfast and evening snacks back to our room. I don't like coming back late at night to dirty towels and plates. But if they aren't doing turn down anymore then I'll remember to bus my own plates back upstairs and find a maid to take towels for the evening. For the insane amount of money we pay we shouldn't have to do this stuff ourselves, but I guess we either like it or lump it!

That's unacceptable, for the price they charge.

Seems like the only thing you can do is stop booking CL.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

For us the most important aspect of turn down is fresh towels and removal of dirty plates. Due to limited seating in the lounge we often have to bring breakfast and evening snacks back to our room. I don't like coming back late at night to dirty towels and plates. But if they aren't doing turn down anymore then I'll remember to bus my own plates back upstairs and find a maid to take towels for the evening. For the insane amount of money we pay we shouldn't have to do this stuff ourselves, but I guess we either like it or lump it!

I'm glad that you mentioned that - I wouldn't have thought that I'd "need" it, however, in our limited CL experience, we've liked bringing food back to the room, both when we're trying to get ready quickly and also when we want to sit on the balcony in the room and enjoy the view - had forgotten about the dish part! I will make sure to request it and hope for the best! thanks!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I'm glad that you mentioned that - I wouldn't have thought that I'd "need" it, however, in our limited CL experience, we've liked bringing food back to the room, both when we're trying to get ready quickly and also when we want to sit on the balcony in the room and enjoy the view - had forgotten about the dish part! I will make sure to request it and hope for the best! thanks!

The funny thing is, if we wouldn't have brought our breakfast back here to our room due to no seating in the lounge then we wouldn't have been here when the maid came at 10:00 and we would have had our room cleaned on time. It's a domino affect.

 

[cwis]

Stopping turndown is yet another blow… incredible they do that, as this is pretty common practice in every luxury location around the world.

Any hints about if that new policy is only for AKL CL, or if it will apply to other resorts as well?

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Stopping turndown is yet another blow… incredible they do that, as this is pretty common practice in every luxury location around the world.

Any hints about if that new policy is only for AKL CL, or if it will apply to other resorts as well?

We had maid service 3 times a day at the Four Seasons. The service there was exceptional! If Disney keeps skimping they will end up losing their high end clientele.