Hello YC/BC fans! We're back from our Pop/WL/beach/BC vacation! As always, great to see Teena in the lobby yesterday! Teena - love the cruise photos!!! A quick review:
Check-In: Always prefer to arrive on a Sunday or Monday so that we can say hello to Teena upon arrival! But this was a quick weekend and a Saturday check-in. Very smooth this time, as a CM was ready with an ipad upon our arrival (my husband dropped us off.) The CM took us up to the 5th floor and Neil assisted with our check-in. Here's where I look like a crazy person. We booked standard CL and declined an upgrade to a deluxe room. We love the deluxe room - especially for longer stays. But this was a 1-night, 2-day stay, we were really looking forward to the refurbished rooms, needed to be close to the lounge (I was traveling on my own with our three boys) and did not need extra space nor a daybed. So I asked if anything was available on the 5th floor, but understood that it's a busy weekend and that might not be possible. Neil made a call and found a room for us on the 5th floor in minutes - it was a garden view with a full balcony and it was perfect. For reference, it was 5636.
Room: Wow. The rooms look great - rivals GF for my favorite room decor on property. Love the new roman shades - makes the room look and feel bigger. New bathrooms are shiny clean. The light carpet probably isn't the best idea and the balcony could use an extra wash, but all else was in excellent condition.
Lounge: Really well done! The space is so much improved and we noticed significant improvements in both the variety and quality of the food. I'm not a breakfast fan, but I rated my BC CL breakfast yesterday #1 of all CL breakfasts (and we've stayed in all the clubs except YC.) The combination of hard boiled eggs, small meats and cheeses, bakery items, fruit (including grapefruit and strawberries) and oatmeal - all quite good. The evening appetizers were also very good - multiple salads, two hot items, crackers and cheese (including manchego one night and I think gouda another - so it's not just the grocery store cheddar cubes we've seen in other lounges) pb&j cups, rolls, apples and caramel . . . the list goes on. They are pouring the wine and it's no longer self-service, as others have reported.
A couple notes for those who are new to the BC lounge, now that we've stayed at other CLs. If you've stayed at WL, CR, GF, AKL or Poly, this will be different. It's more similar to the BWI lounge. Because the food service area and the seating are all connected, when the lounge closes between operating hours, the seating area is not available. Our youngest needs afternoon lounge breaks (long story) so we do need to factor in the unavailability of the lounge seating area between 4pm and 5pm. The other difference is the proximity of the tables to one another and to the kids' area. If you need to supervise your child in the kids' area like we do, you will be closer to the action than, say, at CR, WL, GF, AKL or Poly. But it's wonderful to have the extra space in a completely separate room for those who don't need to be near the kids' area.
Location: We walked to DHS. Walked home from DHS. Walked to and from Epcot Saturday night and again on Sunday. Love the walking and not having to rely on anyone or anything for transportation.
CMs: Yay for Teena! Also, a couple CL CMs were great, including Jen from Michigan State. It must be tough for CMs in this lounge because it's not as easy to walk around and monitor given the space. At WL, for example, a CM can watch for tables to clear by just walking around the u-shape, looking out the window, into the lobby, etc. I know some have commented that CMs at BC "hover" but we didn't find that to be the case - it's just they don't have as much space to move around in - especially when the lounge is busy. A few BC CL CMs, however, did appear uncomfortable and responded uncomfortably to guests. For example, two guests next to us asked if they could have a welcome drink and the CM responded that those are only for arrivals. The guests were very polite, but the CM was quite resistant and they went back and forth a bit before the CM eventually went to inquire about the drinks. It would be great if more CL CMs could bring some of that positive energy that Teena brings to the lobby up to the club lounge.
SAB: It's Easter weekend, so it's busy. I found an empty chair and moved it a bit so that it was in my favorite waterfall corner spot. But I had to abandon it because I felt I should watch for our youngest at the base of the jib slide. He's an excellent swimmer, but tends to roam after exiting the slide, so I camped out there. Our teen boys were off on their own - one trip down the slide, but now the lazy river and the hot tub are more interesting to them. I texted Dee telling her that I planned to return to my spot by the waterfall, but I never made it back over there. Nor could I interest our youngest in the very uncrowded area over by the kiddie slide. So for those traveling during busy times, those are the two spots I highly recommend at SAB to avoid the crowds.
to this thread.
. So I'm hoping for either room only discount or free dining. Just trying to figure out how much more to save. Nov. Can't get here fast enough!!! I'm so excited never stayed on site before. Heck its our first trip to Disney. Aggghhh
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