Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[cwis]

This is correct. There are only two hot items, they change nightly, and they are individually plated.

Thank you so much for the clarification ! I feel a lot less confused about how things are working now

I agree. I think there have only ever been two hot items per night at AKL though - at least during our trips over the past five or so years. The chef plating them one at a time is a new thing though - that sounds like it has the potential to cause long waits.

We've never actually been to AKL before, indeed this is going to be our second CL stay. I wouldn't have suspected things were such different between resorts; at the GF we could easily enjoy a light dinner using only lounge food, it all seems that this might not be as convenient doing so in the AKL lounge!

 

[eeyore81]

We are back. We didn't get any pictures of the lounge evening offerings at AKL as it was just too busy and awkward with all the people around. The individual plating seemed to dissuade people from getting multiple hot appetizers so maybe Disney's plan is working (although it did not dissuade us, I just went up asked for mutiples. The Chef seemed a little taken back but we got our food). However there are still plenty of cold offerings.. cheese, a variety of hummus, veggies, some type of cold salad-- there was a chick pea one and a lentil one, etc. We always eat a large lunch and found the evening offerings to be plenty for a light dinner. We did supplement our dinner a few nights with some flatbreads to share from Mara. I thought the lounge cast members were friendlier at the Poly. They seemed to really care that the guests were well fed. Every time we were in the Poly lounge the CMs were making sure everyone had enough food, offering mutiliples of items etc. Many times they offered to wrap us up to go plates etc. Also, the Poly always had paper plates out in addition to glass plates if you wanted to take food to go. We still love AKL. It will always be our happy place. The lounge CMs were pleasant but not as outgoing as at Poly. We did have Sue at check-in at AKL who was absolutely fabulous. Moved our room location etc. There was one other younger female cast member who was pretty friendly, the others pretty much just kept to themselves. Overall we had a great trip. Now if I could just figure out how to convince Disney to put a giraffe outside my window at the Poly I would have the best of both worlds.

 

[grannyminnie]

Checked into Contemporary 12th floor club level today. Unfortunately we have been underwhelmed this trip. We were last at this resort club level two years ago. We decided to self park and rolled our luggage up, there was no one to greet club level guests. When did this change? I walked inside and went to bell services and found a cast member in blue who told me I had to check in at the regular desk in the lobby. I explained that we were club level and has checked in online. She insisted that we still had to go there. It turns out we didn't because we already had a room number. Than there was no one around to take us upstairs.

A request and order with Disney Floral that I had arranged through DSS to be in our room at check in was not there. It was supposed to be a surprise for a first time visitor traveling with us. Spoke to the concierge and spent 1/2 hour trying to track down our order.

Finally, no turn down service on the 12th floor? When did they cut that?

We're pretty disappointed. We enjoy the niceties and service you get with Club Level and it doesn't seem to be here anymore. I can buy a lot of food and beer for what we pay to upgrade to CL.

Wow! I'd be underwhelmed too!! For the price of Club level stay (non-club just as bad, IMO but that's another thread), you ought to get waited on by white-coated servers!!

 

[cwis]

We are back. We didn't get any pictures of the lounge evening offerings at AKL as it was just too busy and awkward with all the people around. The individual plating seemed to dissuade people from getting multiple hot appetizers so maybe Disney's plan is working (although it did not dissuade us, I just went up asked for mutiples. The Chef seemed a little taken back but we got our food). However there are still plenty of cold offerings.. cheese, a variety of hummus, veggies, some type of cold salad-- there was a chick pea one and a lentil one, etc. We always eat a large lunch and found the evening offerings to be plenty for a light dinner. We did supplement our dinner a few nights with some flatbreads to share from Mara. I thought the lounge cast members were friendlier at the Poly. They seemed to really care that the guests were well fed. Every time we were in the Poly lounge the CMs were making sure everyone had enough food, offering mutiliples of items etc. Many times they offered to wrap us up to go plates etc. Also, the Poly always had paper plates out in addition to glass plates if you wanted to take food to go. We still love AKL. It will always be our happy place. The lounge CMs were pleasant but not as outgoing as at Poly. We did have Sue at check-in at AKL who was absolutely fabulous. Moved our room location etc. There was one other younger female cast member who was pretty friendly, the others pretty much just kept to themselves. Overall we had a great trip. Now if I could just figure out how to convince Disney to put a giraffe outside my window at the Poly I would have the best of both worlds.

At least it's nice to know that you can ask for multiple plates! What reasonable amount of plates do you suggest asking for? (Thinking about it, it makes sense that only one guest is queing for the appetizers while other guests can actually enjoy their vacation, so it should not look that awkward asking for several plates.)

 

[PRaffen]

Our first time for club level at the Grand Floridian (RPC) is approaching ... for those who have checked in recently - is there a greeter? What have the evening offerings been? TIA

 

[eeyore81]

At least it's nice to know that you can ask for multiple plates! What reasonable amount of plates do you suggest asking for? (Thinking about it, it makes sense that only one guest is queing for the appetizers while other guests can actually enjoy their vacation, so it should not look that awkward asking for several plates.)

I always asked for two at a time and did not hesitate to go back again if we wanted more. The line wasn't ever really backed up. Just continuously two or three guests waiting. It takes less than a minute for the chef to plate two.

 

[cwis]

One question from all of you coming from abroad: what are your experiences dealing with the CL concierge with a phone number outside US? were you able to text them? I would like to avoid buying a US SIM and still be able to use that service, which really helped us in the past when we needed last minute adjustments.
(I think I wouldn't receive text messages regarding the room, as they require a US number, but that's only a minor inconvenience.)

I know for sure that the CMs serving the cabanas at the water park are using iPhones, which means you can send them iMessages even with an international phone, however I'm not so sure with the CL team. We bought a local SIM on our previous visit, however this year the competition between our operators is so steep that several now allow free roaming from the US, which would make it way less expensive that buying a SIM at the inflated American prices.

TIA!

 

[Eastern]

You say $1,400 a night? That smells like a rack rate that time of year? Keep an eye out for discounts when they come out for October, I would think you should be able to a bit better than that, but I'm speculating. That's a big number here, in my humble opinion.

I called for prices for May 2018 GF RPC; all prices are per night:

1 BR suite: 1945.45
TPV: 1476.48
Std: 1274.30



Seriously though, every time I say, 'that's it, I'm trying RPC..' I call and get prices like that and I say, maybe I will wait a little longer. But the price keeps going up. I paid for my son's college by never going to RPC ha ha.

I think it's good to price the suites first, that way the std room seems like a bargain #disneytips

 

[disnmooner2013]

You know the inconsistencies can be frustrating! Did you know you can see your room number in the app even if you didn't do online check in? @BlueSkies just told me that.

"In the app touch on your res... in the upper left corner is your assigned room number"

Disney makes it easier to get to our room faster but they are HORRIBLE about communicating the process. Last summer poly stopped their greater . When I mentioned to the cl desk that the email they send said specifically to wait for a greeter they didn't believe me. I pulled out my phone and showed them said email.


I hope the rest of your trip goes smooth! Enjoy you are at Disney!

Trishasdono this is great to know about being able to see your room number. This is very helpful.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

"In the app touch on your res... in the upper left corner is your assigned room number"

!

When does the room number appear? The day of or before? Thanks for repeating the info. I didn't see that mentioned before.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I called for prices for May 2018 GF RPC; all prices are per night:

1 BR suite: 1945.45
TPV: 1476.48
Std: 1274.30



Seriously though, every time I say, 'that's it, I'm trying RPC..' I call and get prices like that and I say, maybe I will wait a little longer. But the price keeps going up. I paid for my son's college by never going to RPC ha ha.

I think it's good to price the suites first, that way the std room seems like a bargain #disneytips

Haha...nope! I've paid some pretty silly prices to stay CL, but RPC just blows my mind!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

When does the room number appear? The day of or before? Thanks for repeating the info. I didn't see that mentioned before.

In my experience, it shows up the same time you get your room text. It can be helpful for those that don't get a text, either because they are international or just random luck of Disney IT. For my last trip, I never did get a text/e-mail but it did show up that afternoon on the app.

 

[KrazeeK120]

When does the room number appear? The day of or before? Thanks for repeating the info. I didn't see that mentioned before.

Note that it will not appear if your room isn't ready until after you arrive (which is what happened to me on our last trip).

 

[focusondisney]

I called for prices for May 2018 GF RPC; all prices are per night:

1 BR suite: 1945.45
TPV: 1476.48
Std: 1274.30



Seriously though, every time I say, 'that's it, I'm trying RPC..' I call and get prices like that and I say, maybe I will wait a little longer. But the price keeps going up. I paid for my son's college by never going to RPC ha ha.

I think it's good to price the suites first, that way the std room seems like a bargain #disneytips

I don't think they have released rates for 2018 yet. They quote you the highest rate from this year for that room, then adjust downward once the seasons & rates are released. So those rates are probably slightly high.


And I hope that's true because I want to book RPC for our 40 th anniversary in September 2018. But not at those prices!

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

Planning our first CL visit at GF SL, had everything planned then a Gluten Free diet was thrown our way as a curveball. I have notified DSS and they said that it has been noted on our reservation and the Chefs have been made aware. My question is, does anyone have any experience with types of GF offerings they may have available? We added two nights onto our trip to try GF and CL, we are at BLT 6 nights before on the DxDDP (again booked pre Gluten Free) so we are hoping to enjoy and utilize the lounge instead of more TS.

 

[tinkarooni]

Planning our first CL visit at GF SL, had everything planned then a Gluten Free diet was thrown our way as a curveball. I have notified DSS and they said that it has been noted on our reservation and the Chefs have been made aware. My question is, does anyone have any experience with types of GF offerings they may have available? We added two nights onto our trip to try GF and CL, we are at BLT 6 nights before on the DxDDP (again booked pre Gluten Free) so we are hoping to enjoy and utilize the lounge instead of more TS.

You should not have any trouble. I have traveled CL multiple times since my Celiac diagnosis. They are doing things differently now, but service is good. When you check in go to the CL desk and tell them you have an allergy to notify the chef of. They will fill out a form for you. It's a bit of a pain, but at each offering, breakfast, snack, apps, just find a cast member and tell them you have an allergy. For breakfast they have had available for me GF bagels, prepackaged yogurts, muffins and than the regular fruit, cheese peanut butter etc. for snack I have had an OMG brownie and enjoy life cookies.
For apps last night the chef came up and offered to cook whatever I wanted since the apps were pretty much off limits for me. The photo above is what she delivered me, chicken breast wild rice and a cheese platter. Now this was outstanding service.
You have to be vocal and your own advocate, but when you notify them each day they are more than accommodating.

 

[Eastern]

I don't think they have released rates for 2018 yet. They quote you the highest rate from this year for that room, then adjust downward once the seasons & rates are released. So those rates are probably slightly high.


And I hope that's true because I want to book RPC for our 40 th anniversary in September 2018. But not at those prices!

Yes I hope there are some big discounts in the future....

 

[firsttimemom]

Yes I hope there are some big discounts in the future....

we are staying there over the 4th and not paying close to that tpv price.

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

View attachment 242076

You should not have any trouble. I have traveled CL multiple times since my Celiac diagnosis. They are doing things differently now, but service is good. When you check in go to the CL desk and tell them you have an allergy to notify the chef of. They will fill out a form for you. It's a bit of a pain, but at each offering, breakfast, snack, apps, just find a cast member and tell them you have an allergy. For breakfast they have had available for me GF bagels, prepackaged yogurts, muffins and than the regular fruit, cheese peanut butter etc. for snack I have had an OMG brownie and enjoy life cookies.
For apps last night the chef came up and offered to cook whatever I wanted since the apps were pretty much off limits for me. The photo above is what she delivered me, chicken breast wild rice and a cheese platter. Now this was outstanding service.
You have to be vocal and your own advocate, but when you notify them each day they are more than accommodating.

Thank you so very much for the information!! We went on a mini trip to eat at a few restaurants just to "try it out"...still a learning process. Rainforest at the Springs was very accommodating, said they'd make whatever that we wanted (wasn't sure what we wanted, but it was great in the end) went to Kona for lunch and that experience was less than stellar. Waitress seemed like it was a bother. Hoping that CL will be more accommodating. Thank you again for your response, that sounds like we should be ok. I am hopeful that we will have more Rainforest than Kona experiences on our trip, I am going to have to learn to be vocal and an advocate to make our experience the best...we are paying for it, so why not!

 

[Eastern]

we are staying there over the 4th and not paying close to that tpv price.

Summertime has some good discounts. I've gotten BWI for <$300 per night. I hope I can find a discount in late May.