Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[Eastern]

We love ME too!

We also like the tram ride from the airplane gates to the pickup area, just not as much on the way back

 

[GADisneyDad14]

No, I do not think your expectations are too high, especially in regards to smoke. Something like this happened to us several years ago. We reserved a local car/limo service to take us to the airport and the van that showed up was old and beat up, an embarrassment to ride in! I was so mad. I don't remember what exactly happened afterwards although I did complain, and some money (maybe $100?) was taken off my bill. The owner was a bit combative at first but I think he knew I was telling the truth about his junky van. Awful! Now we just drive ourselves and pay the parking fee at the airport.

Just curious why you do not use ME? We love it and consider it part of the trip. Yes, sometimes we have to wait a bit for it to fill up, but usually it's fairly prompt, always clean, and the drivers are usually pretty friendly. The biggest downside was the return trip: even leaving 3 hours early, after picking up other resort passengers we often worried about getting through security, but we solved that problem by getting everyone TSA precheck. Now we go through security in minutes and have time to spare.

Thanks for the feedback. With ME, I guess it's the business traveler/ADD side of me. I just want to get there! Since some of my trips are on the shorter side, I like to maximize my overall vacation time and using a car service or renting a car helps in that regard. Personally I could live with it getting to WDW, but the three hour return trip is what gets me. With the car I can leave at two hours and get another hour of fun in.

It's obviously a selfish splurge for sure though.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

For evening apps, CR Atrium has a bit of a more limited menu compared to other MK CLs we've stayed recently. I can sometimes cheat at other resorts and make evening apps my meal, but not really at CR. This isn't necessarily a bad thing IMO, it's just very much more "light apps" here than anything else, at least at the moment! The menu was generally one hot app, one cold app, and the various standard rolls/crackers/cheeses. For kids, make-your-own PBJ was out nightly and chicken fingers and mac-n-cheese rotated every other night.

Evening lounge setup. Note Atrium Club doesn't have a ton of food counter space overall. The menu is on that TV screen although it is somewhat inconvenient to read for practical purposes. I do like the little table decorations. Nice touch. View attachment 267498

Cold app up top... .this was shrimp with some type of relish garnish.
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An unfortunately timed pic... but this is the hot platter. Tonight was some type of beef and potatoes. It was good.
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Kids chicken fingers and PBJ sliders. I do much prefer this type of PBJ than the Uncrustables (ahem.... Poly... ahem)....
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Tuna and big chunky chicken skewers on this night. I wasn't complaining.
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CR has about the lamest beer selection out there (sorry!) with zero connection to the theme! Options include Sam Adams, Yuengling, I-4 IPA (which is dreadful), Bud Light (yes!), and Angry Orchard. A CM serves during evening apps but it's self serve during desserts for the most part from what I observed.

But... I had this same gripe last year... the beer is served in a bucket of sorts that's only barely filled with ice. The result is often luke warm beer. Boo to you CR. :-(
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Red option #1....
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Red option #2....
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Only white available....
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I agree the evening apps at CR are a bit on the light side, but we really like the soups they have added. The soups are easy to miss, as there's no sign.

My biggest concern/criticism with the evening apps though is that they now seem to rotate on a 1 to 3-night rotation. With all the options they could/used to offer, it seems strange to give guests the same foods night after night. Though we appreciate the kinds of foods they are now offering. Hot apps used to trend to assorted dumplings most nights. The beef with potato was good.

My second concern was that the silverware and napkins are RIGHT next to the open dishes of peanut butter. With peanut allergies being so common, that seems like a dumb set-up. Plus, the silverware should be an the starting end of the buffet, not the back end.

Third, the idea of the electronic menu is great, but in practice, it was completely useless, as it wasn't actually a menu of the foods offered. It just had very generic info. If they are going to have one, it should actually say what kind of soup and cupcakes they are offering that night. ESPECIALLY when some of the items contain common allergens like seafood and nuts, or "diabetic friendly/low sugar chocolate mousse." Just seems like a no brainer. We saw multiple folks waste food because they had to taste it to know what flavor it was.

The 'shrimp" and the other seafood offered in tiny dishes every night- was basically a ceviche every night. It changed between tuna and shrimp (and maybe something else?) but the seasons/sauce served with it was basically the same every night. It was tasty. I'm going to say it was micro-greens cilantro with chopped blend of mostly yellow produce. We liked it, but more variety would have been nice.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I agree the evening apps at CR are a bit on the light side, but we really like the soups they have added. The soups are easy to miss, as there's no sign.

Ahh, yes, thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten about the soup. I had the soup on a prior trip and found them a bit salty and I'm just never in the mood for hot soup in hot Florida, so I did skip them this trip. Glad you enjoyed it on your trip.

And yes, definitely easy to miss it!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Couple of other final CR Atrium observations....!

One of my favorite CM's wasn't at CR when we visited. He's usually a fixture every morning, and he's always SUPER about having coffee AND MILK out RIGHT at 6:30am. This visit, coffee and breakfast were both slightly late most days, with milk showing up only towards 7am. Small point, but we were trying to make 8am EMH. I'm hoping he was just on his vacation, as he's a great CM and been there a long time.

With the no show fees and strict FP time windows now, WDW being late is a another pet peeve of mine. It annoys me that WDW penalizes guests when they often don't hold up their end!

(We had a 7:05pm 'Ohana ADR; arrived by 6:45. Podium CM said they were running 15minutes late, but we weren't seated until after 7:35, and NO food or drinks at 'Ohana until after 8PM! That ruined our plan to be back at CR in time for the fireworks. )

Otherwise, the CM's we talked to at CR were very nice.

Oh, one big shoutout to a super CM at Crystal Palace- I accidentally left an item behind and sure enough, a few days later it was at Lost and Found (by the TTC)! If you ever lose anything at WDW, it is amazingly worthwhile to stop by the TTC Lost and Found! You just have to allow about 48 hours for it to be delivered there.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Thanks for the feedback. With ME, I guess it's the business traveler/ADD side of me. I just want to get there! .

We usually get a car as well.

Usually, we end up using it quite a bit as we also like to get places quickly. We often use it to go to the parks, and generally end up in a really decent parking space.

We don't mind the monorail or sometimes using the boats to get around, but after many years of using the buses, we happily avoid them. I still miss the old days though, when the bus CM's used to tell jokes and make the bus rides part of the fun.

You mentioned the "Celebrate" music of Chef Mickey's a few posts back. We put the repeating bus music in the same category as the "celebrate" song. We often stay at CR, but haven't eaten at Chef Mickey's in almost ten years.

 

[prgal0715]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but Poly CL had added sparking wine (yay!) to its nightly wine selection. They replaced the bottle frequently so no guest would be without their fizz. One CM did look at me like I was nuts when I asked if they had champagne flutes - I honestly felt weird pouring my sparkling wine into a giant wine glass - but hey, when in Rome, right? Also on a beverage note, bottles of still water didn't seem to be available but I did request and receive bottles of Perrier. Apparently I'm into bubbles...

Also of note, Poly CL doesn't have the extended toiletry selection @GADisneyDad14 experienced at CR. We only had the basics, but they were replenished daily whether or not we needed them.

At arrival, I checked in at the CL desk in the GCH and was escorted to Hawaii and promptly offered a drink. There was a welcome note in our room but no chocolates, itinerary, etc. We received turndown service nightly and the new Ghiradelli chocolates are

The CM's were great and I, thankfully, never encountered that awful-sounding chef!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks for the feedback. With ME, I guess it's the business traveler/ADD side of me. I just want to get there! Since some of my trips are on the shorter side, I like to maximize my overall vacation time and using a car service or renting a car helps in that regard. Personally I could live with it getting to WDW, but the three hour return trip is what gets me. With the car I can leave at two hours and get another hour of fun in.

It's obviously a selfish splurge for sure though.

I feel the same way. We've never taken ME as we like being on our way as soon as we leave baggage claim. We also like to get to our resort without (the possibility of) having to make stops along the way .

 

[kpm76]

I feel the same way. We've never taken ME as we like being on our way as soon as we leave baggage claim. We also like to get to our resort without (the possibility of) having to make stops along the way .

I agree. We're a family of 4 so we can manage with a smaller car (usually) and most often we can get it pretty reasonably priced. I love the flexibility of being able to drive where ever on property. Makes dining at the resorts a bit easier too

 

[Disneytam]

Finally desserts... which I have almost zero pics of!

Dessert choices were tastefully prepared, but rather limited. Again, I'm OK with that.. but compared to what we experienced at GF SL in April, for example, this seems like slim pickins.

What an incredibly detailed and helpful display....
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And here are a few misc lounge shots to finish it off...
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I love when they have Baileys out for the evening. We tend to go during the cooler months and for me nothing beats a cup of hot coco with a healthy pour of Baileys as a nightcap!

 

[Disneytam]

Couple of other final CR Atrium observations....

• CMs overall were great. Not over-the-top/in your face friendly, but nothing to complain about. I have experienced some of the more friendly CL CMs in my CR CL experiences, and this trip was similar.
• The lounge was busier than I've experienced on prior trips... there were a couple of times I couldn't get a seat. I guess I've been in slower times before. This wasn't a big problem, just an observation.
• Last year one thing I noted was how slow CMs were to clean tables. Not this year... tables were cleaned quickly... sometimes too quick!
• Small Dasani bottles are available upon request; we were commonly asked if we'd like some to take to the pool when we'd be walking by in our swim gear.

Happy to answer any questions, and thanks for following along!

Thank you for taking the time to put up pictures and giving such a nice rundown of your stay. We haven't stayed at the Cont. since our honeymoon long long ago. Now that the kids are grown and we get to do adult trips we tend to stay at the EPCOT resorts but it's nice to see what the other hotels have to offer.

 

[Rachel GB]

I've asked (several!!!) questions about the MK area resorts (staying GF SL in a few months and have a WL CL res for holiday 2018), but I see so many positive things about BWI CL. How does it compare to the MK area CLs? I'm a sucker for good service! Although it looks like the BWI rooms need some refurbishments? Thank you so much in advance!

 

[IceQueen182]

I've asked (several!!!) questions about the MK area resorts (staying GF SL in a few months and have a WL CL res for holiday 2018), but I see so many positive things about BWI CL. How does it compare to the MK area CLs? I'm a sucker for good service! Although it looks like the BWI rooms need some refurbishments? Thank you so much in advance!

I can only compare BWI to the Poly CL (although I'm staying at GF SL in January and am curious to see how it stacks up). We found the CL at BWI to be much less chaotic, and the food offerings to be a big step up from the Poly given the chef-prepared hors d'oeuvres, etc. Granted, with our young kids, we'd rather stay at the Poly CL since it's larger, we can watch the fireworks, and it was much kid-friendlier in our view. (The BWI had cartoons on and things for kids to enjoy, but it had a much quieter adult vibe.) We love both for different reasons, but found the overall feel of BWI CL, including the awesome CMs, to be superior for an adult trip. If my kids were older, I'd also go for BWI.

I also thought that the rooms looked dated in pictures online until we got there- and I was really impressed by the room and buildings overall at BWI. The rooms at the Poly were somewhat more tired. You can't go wrong.

 

[mickeynut1]

I love the flexibility of being able to drive where ever on property. Makes dining at the resorts a bit easier too

I agree

I've asked (several!!!) questions about the MK area resorts (staying GF SL in a few months and have a WL CL res for holiday 2018), but I see so many positive things about BWI CL. How does it compare to the MK area CLs? I'm a sucker for good service! Although it looks like the BWI rooms need some refurbishments? Thank you so much in advance!

I can't make a comparison as we haven't tried BWI CL yet, but I would be interested in comparisons as well as BWI CL is on my list to try .

 

[IceQueen182]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but Poly CL had added sparking wine (yay!) to its nightly wine selection. They replaced the bottle frequently so no guest would be without their fizz. One CM did look at me like I was nuts when I asked if they had champagne flutes - I honestly felt weird pouring my sparkling wine into a giant wine glass - but hey, when in Rome, right? Also on a beverage note, bottles of still water didn't seem to be available but I did request and receive bottles of Perrier. Apparently I'm into bubbles...

Also of note, Poly CL doesn't have the extended toiletry selection @GADisneyDad14 experienced at CR. We only had the basics, but they were replenished daily whether or not we needed them.

At arrival, I checked in at the CL desk in the GCH and was escorted to Hawaii and promptly offered a drink. There was a welcome note in our room but no chocolates, itinerary, etc. We received turndown service nightly and the new Ghiradelli chocolates are

The CM's were great and I, thankfully, never encountered that awful-sounding chef!!

Really excited to hear about the sparking wine!! I was hoping this would happen before our next trip to the Poly in November!! Thanks for the great update!

 

[Rachel GB]

I can only compare BWI to the Poly CL (although I'm staying at GF SL in January and am curious to see how it stacks up). We found the CL at BWI to be much less chaotic, and the food offerings to be a big step up from the Poly given the chef-prepared hors d'oeuvres, etc. Granted, with our young kids, we'd rather stay at the Poly CL since it's larger, we can watch the fireworks, and it was much kid-friendlier in our view. (The BWI had cartoons on and things for kids to enjoy, but it had a much quieter adult vibe.) We love both for different reasons, but found the overall feel of BWI CL, including the awesome CMs, to be superior for an adult trip. If my kids were older, I'd also go for BWI.

I also thought that the rooms looked dated in pictures online until we got there- and I was really impressed by the room and buildings overall at BWI. The rooms at the Poly were somewhat more tired. You can't go wrong.

@IceQueen182 , thank you for your reply! I have younger kids. We hesitated with Poly as we weren't guaranteed a balcony/ patio (second floor), and that's really important to us. We're early to bed and early to rise kind of people, and do better in a calmer environment, so we prefer a quieter resort. It sounds like you had a great time at BWI, and that it's a great one to consider! Thanks again!

 

[IceQueen182]

@IceQueen182 , thank you for your reply! I have younger kids. We hesitated with Poly as we weren't guaranteed a balcony/ patio (second floor), and that's really important to us. We're early to bed and early to rise kind of people, and do better in a calmer environment, so we prefer a quieter resort. It sounds like you had a great time at BWI, and that it's a great one to consider! Thanks again!

Glad to help! We've had great luck getting a patio at the Poly CL (we put in the request online and through Touring Plans faxes for a first floor room), since sitting outside after the kids go to bed is key for us. Happy planning!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but Poly CL had added sparking wine (yay!) to its nightly wine selection. They replaced the bottle frequently so no guest would be without their fizz. One CM did look at me like I was nuts when I asked if they had champagne flutes - I honestly felt weird pouring my sparkling wine into a giant wine glass - but hey, when in Rome, right? Also on a beverage note, bottles of still water didn't seem to be available but I did request and receive bottles of Perrier. Apparently I'm into bubbles...

Also of note, Poly CL doesn't have the extended toiletry selection @GADisneyDad14 experienced at CR. We only had the basics, but they were replenished daily whether or not we needed them.

At arrival, I checked in at the CL desk in the GCH and was escorted to Hawaii and promptly offered a drink. There was a welcome note in our room but no chocolates, itinerary, etc. We received turndown service nightly and the new Ghiradelli chocolates are

The CM's were great and I, thankfully, never encountered that awful-sounding chef!!

I may or may not have mixed the sparkling wine with the POG juice for a modified mimosa....just sayin'

 

[Rachel GB]

Glad to help! We've had great luck getting a patio at the Poly CL (we put in the request online and through Touring Plans faxes for a first floor room), since sitting outside after the kids go to bed is key for us. Happy planning!

@IceQueen182 , outdoor space is a must for us for the same reason! While we think we'll do WL CL for 2018, it all depends on availability for the Bounceback offer while we're there! So I'd like to think of others to consider. Thanks!

 

[AngiTN]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but Poly CL had added sparking wine (yay!) to its nightly wine selection. They replaced the bottle frequently so no guest would be without their fizz. One CM did look at me like I was nuts when I asked if they had champagne flutes - I honestly felt weird pouring my sparkling wine into a giant wine glass - but hey, when in Rome, right? Also on a beverage note, bottles of still water didn't seem to be available but I did request and receive bottles of Perrier. Apparently I'm into bubbles...

Also of note, Poly CL doesn't have the extended toiletry selection @GADisneyDad14 experienced at CR. We only had the basics, but they were replenished daily whether or not we needed them.

At arrival, I checked in at the CL desk in the GCH and was escorted to Hawaii and promptly offered a drink. There was a welcome note in our room but no chocolates, itinerary, etc. We received turndown service nightly and the new Ghiradelli chocolates are

The CM's were great and I, thankfully, never encountered that awful-sounding chef!!

Last week, BWI didn't have them either. AKL back in May did.

As to your bubbly in wine glass problem, BWI had out 3 types of glasses, white, red and flute.

And did I pick up on that CR does not have a chef with the fresh apps at night? Brings up a question, which resorts do have this?
I know AKL does (I think they may have been the first, as I know we had it there last year too)
Along with Poly and BWI.
Any others? GF didn't last year but maybe they've added them since?