Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[NicoleLarson]

I recently booked a one-night staycation at AKL Savanna View Club Level (Jambo House, I assume)
Will I need a magicband to use the elevator to the lounge or can I use one of the room key cards?

You can use either. We somehow left all of our 75+ MB at home last time, so we got the cards. They worked fine plus they have special ones for the 50th.

 

[Lizgistix]

You can use either. We somehow left all of our 75+ MB at home last time, so we got the cards. They worked fine plus they have special ones for the 50th.

The collector in me is now excited for this 50th card! (I have a set of the other cards already)

 

[Erica Ladd]

First time doing club level - would you choose BC or BWI? Thanks for all the info on this thread!

 

[SkyGuy]

First time doing club level - would you choose BC or BWI? Thanks for all the info on this thread!

BWI. I’ve done both in the recent past, and while I think BC is the better location and probably rooms as BW could use a refresh (although I kind of like the nostalgia), BW has the superior club.

 

[Eastern]

First time doing club level - would you choose BC or BWI? Thanks for all the info on this thread!

Kids: BC (or YC) for the pool
No kids: BWI

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Late to the party, but appreciate this post! The full size fridge was always nice for our family. The CL staff would stock it for us with drinks and would easily fit any celebration cake(s) we would order. It's also missing the desk in the living room? The bedroom bathroom is a nice upgrade as well as the dual sinks in each now. Our August trip is most likely going to get pushed back to March 2023, but we will travel soon enough!

Thanks for the note. Yeah, no desk in the living room anymore. I set up office on the dining table.

 

[Ricguz]

First time doing club level - would you choose BC or BWI? Thanks for all the info on this thread!

BWI may have a better selection of food, however, BC/YC has a far superior pool with Stormalong Bay, bigger layout with two deluxe hotels, unbelievable pirate slide into the pool. We always do CL at this hotel BC/YC and have never been disappointed 5th floor views of fireworks at Epcot sitting on the balcony are great. Word of warning that at the BC most balconies are not full balconies compared to the YC. Over the last few years, we have switched to the YC WV CL because of the full balconies.

 

[Crazyhorse]

BWI may have a better selection of food, however, BC/YC has a far superior pool with Stormalong Bay, bigger layout with two deluxe hotels, unbelievable pirate slide into the pool. We always do CL at this hotel BC/YC and have never been disappointed 5th floor views of fireworks at Epcot sitting on the balcony are great. Word of warning that at the BC most balconies are not full balconies compared to the YC. Over the last few years, we have switched to the YC WV CL because of the full balconies.

Agree. It's a tough call because the BWI does, by far, have the best CL but as far as resort amenities, the BC/YC complex beats it hands down. We're long time first week of December BWI Deluxe Club fans but I also made a reservation at the YC, water view CL. I think we're gonna make the switch to the YC this year..maybe change every year between the two. Can't wait for a BWI refurb though. Hotel rooms are TIRED!

 

[Laura+4]

Hi All - thought I’d give a short review on our stay at the poly 3/15-3/19. In short, we were very happy with our room and pretty underwhelmed by the club level offerings.
positives -
We were coming off an off site split stay and our 2 rooms were ready at 1pm. We got the connecting rooms we needed and they were on the 3rd floor, which was ideal. The rooms looked nice and we really enjoyed them.
The club level seemed adequately staffed and food offerings were quickly replenished and tables were cleaned promptly.
Desserts were pretty good (and I typically don’t like Disney’s desserts).
We enjoyed the sparkling water machine, espresso machine, and alcohol offerings.
negatives-
Food offerings for breakfast and evening apps were underwhelming and repetitive. I appreciate their effort to keep a Polynesian theme, but I didn’t see anyone eating the fried spam at breakfast. The pastries are always the same and pitiful - stale and/or gummy. Dinner small plates were tiny, we are not big eaters, but these were usually just one bite per plate. They were also often more about style than taste. There were never any Mickey bars available.
The service was sometimes very unrefined. I know what I’m getting into with Disney, but a couple times the service component was frustrating.
I really enjoy the convenience of club level and we liked the poly as a hotel, but I don’t think we’ll stay club level at the poly again.

 

[PPFlight75]

Hi All - thought I’d give a short review on our stay at the poly 3/15-3/19. In short, we were very happy with our room and pretty underwhelmed by the club level offerings.
positives -
We were coming off an off site split stay and our 2 rooms were ready at 1pm. We got the connecting rooms we needed and they were on the 3rd floor, which was ideal. The rooms looked nice and we really enjoyed them.
The club level seemed adequately staffed and food offerings were quickly replenished and tables were cleaned promptly.
Desserts were pretty good (and I typically don’t like Disney’s desserts).
We enjoyed the sparkling water machine, espresso machine, and alcohol offerings.
negatives-
Food offerings for breakfast and evening apps were underwhelming and repetitive. I appreciate their effort to keep a Polynesian theme, but I didn’t see anyone eating the fried spam at breakfast. The pastries are always the same and pitiful - stale and/or gummy. Dinner small plates were tiny, we are not big eaters, but these were usually just one bite per plate. They were also often more about style than taste. There were never any Mickey bars available.
The service was sometimes very unrefined. I know what I’m getting into with Disney, but a couple times the service component was frustrating.
I really enjoy the convenience of club level and we liked the poly as a hotel, but I don’t think we’ll stay club level at the poly again.

Thank you for your review, and I'm sorry some of the CL offerings were lacking. We have a Poly CL trip coming up in June so it's nice to get some current thoughts on the offerings.

I'm not a spam fan either but were there other BF offerings you thought were ok? We've been before and didn't like the tiny plates either. It would be nice to have a medium plate and then you could just pick a few things you like, but they've been doing that for awhile so I guess it's here to stay.

I'm glad to hear you liked the desserts! I'm always underwhelmed with Disney desserts so that sounds promising!

Glad you got your room request! That third floor is awesome! Sorry to CL was not so great but glad you enjoyed the Poly!

 

[Laura+4]

Thank you for your review, and I'm sorry some of the CL offerings were lacking. We have a Poly CL trip coming up in June so it's nice to get some current thoughts on the offerings.

I'm not a spam fan either but were there other BF offerings you thought were ok? We've been before and didn't like the tiny plates either. It would be nice to have a medium plate and then you could just pick a few things you like, but they've been doing that for awhile so I guess it's here to stay.

I'm glad to hear you liked the desserts! I'm always underwhelmed with Disney desserts so that sounds promising!

Glad you got your room request! That third floor is awesome! Sorry to CL was not so great but glad you enjoyed the Poly!

The hot food offerings repeated every 3 days. We had the spam and a cheese omelet two days. There may have also been French toast sticks on those days. Another day it was sausage and crustless bacon quiche - I thought the quiche was good. The other day I think was ham and eggs - maybe with a pancake? The ham and eggs were pretty good. They also had oatmeal with toppings each day, along with the sad pastries, cheese and deli meat, and strawberries.

 

[PPFlight75]

The hot food offerings repeated every 3 days. We had the spam and a cheese omelet two days. There may have also been French toast sticks on those days. Another day it was sausage and crustless bacon quiche - I thought the quiche was good. The other day I think was ham and eggs - maybe with a pancake? The ham and eggs were pretty good. They also had oatmeal with toppings each day, along with the sad pastries, cheese and deli meat, and strawberries.

Thank you for the extra info and glad there were some decent offerings. My husband loves the oatmeal so he will be happy.
I've never thought the pastries there were very good but now I'm going to think about the sad pastries every time I walk by them lol!
Thanks again!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Had a brief GF RPC stay recently. It had been forever and a day since I had stayed at RPC (2016 I think), our more recent GF travels were SL or non-CL.

Wasn't a long enough stay to have much to report or to form a decent opinion about things, but I'll cover some basics.

- Arrival - No one was specifically waiting for us out front, but there was a CM with an iPad - we told her we where checking in CL and she did some stuff on her ipad and quickly walked us up to the lounge, testing our MB on the elevators along the way. Easy peasy.

- Lounge CMs were standing there when we got off the elevator and quickly offered drinks/welcomed us. Our room wasn't ready and it was afternoon snack time, so we just rested in the lounge for a bit. I didn't recognize any CMs over our stay - like everywhere there are lots of new CM faces around, which in a way is kind of cool. Lots of interesting stories.

- CMs were plentiful and always around - very friendly, warm, welcoming. Time has clouded the specifics of my past GF CL memories, but the vibe was more welcoming than I recall (can't really articulate why, just a feeling, probably just my mood I guess).

- Like most CLs, we had moments during the evening apps and morning breakfast where the lounge was pretty darn crowded and others where it was totally empty.

- GF RPC is unique in how you can really spread out for seating, even on multiple floors. For a period the one morning we were there it was so crowded at breakfast we took our food up the 5th floor, which was nice an quiet.

- I used to think the RPC lounge itself was on par with the other monorail resorts, but with recent lounge renovations at CR and Poly, unfortunately I think that makes RPC feel in need of a refresh - which seems like it'll be coming later this year or early next year from reports.

- Same for the rooms. With newly-renovated rooms/suites at Poly and CR, it makes it pretty hard to justify the cost of RPC, in my humble opinion. I can usually find the good/value/worth in most any Disney resort/CL product and it's not in my nature to be an overly-opinionated CL traveler, but unfortunately at the moment RPC is a "no" for me until a renovation. Apologies to the RPC fans!

It's hard to take photos at RPC without people in them so I don't really have lounge or food photos, but a few:





Picture was taken from the fifth floor. The main lounge is on the fourth floor. The third floor has that nice outside seating area which is rarely used, but not terribly far to take a plate or beverage if you'd like to sit outside.


This is the fifth floor open area. The fifth floor is mostly suites. An internal staircase connects the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floor so it's relatively easy to head up here if you want something a little quieter than the 4th floor.


More 5th floor. That opening to the left "looks down" on the main lounge area.







Terrible pic, but some of the evening apps. What's up with GF's tiny plates? I get that it's not meant to be a meal and I'm fine with that, but practically it can be a little difficult to juggle some of those individually served items.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

This is a room type that doesn't get discussed much, but we were in a "Main Building - 2 Bedroom Suite - Club Level" room on the 5th floor. Unfortunately this particular room just does not stack up well at all to the newly renovated suites at places like Poly and CR. Again, sorry for being negative - but this room costs more than most of the suites at other resorts and to me just isn't worth it in relative comparison.

This suite is basically three normal-sized rooms with three hallways doors. This is the "master" with the king bed, the connecting door leads to the "living room."



Entry hallway.









While the room itself seemed fine/OK to me (if not a little musty), it's the bathroom where GF just can't compete by more modern hotel standards.


I've been impressed with what Disney did at Poly and CR - I suspect these rooms will look nothing like this come renovation time.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Here's the "living room" in the "middle." The connecting door leads to the second bedroom with 2Qs.





The umbrellas are a nice touch.


That couch folds out to make a bad. The furniture in this room was... well used.




Half bath.


Here's the second bedoom.




With an identical bathroom as the master.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Nice supply of toiletries though - toothbrush kit, foot scrub, razor kit, etc.



The infamous "dormer balconies" - this suite has three of them. Looking left.


Looking right. Big Pine Key construction walls are visible below.


Lovely view.




Zoomed in, the ever so slight glimpse at the castle and MK entrance.


Pretty decent fireworks view - but no audio here of course so you don't really get the best show.


Maybe you'll find this in a local thrift store.... soon?

 

[mrsap]

Nice supply of toiletries though - toothbrush kit, foot scrub, razor kit, etc.

View attachment 657772

The infamous "dormer balconies" - this suite has three of them. Looking left.
View attachment 657774

Looking right. Big Pine Key construction walls are visible below.
View attachment 657776

Lovely view.
View attachment 657777

View attachment 657783

Zoomed in, the ever so slight glimpse at the castle and MK entrance.
View attachment 657778

Pretty decent fireworks view - but no audio here of course so you don't really get the best show.
View attachment 657780

Maybe you'll find this in a local thrift store.... soon?
View attachment 657785

Was there a room number? If so, would you mind sharing so I can add it to the Room Views on the GF thread? Thanks!

 

[Eastern]

Nice supply of toiletries though - toothbrush kit, foot scrub, razor kit, etc.

View attachment 657772

The infamous "dormer balconies" - this suite has three of them. Looking left.
View attachment 657774

Looking right. Big Pine Key construction walls are visible below.
View attachment 657776

Lovely view.
View attachment 657777

View attachment 657783

Zoomed in, the ever so slight glimpse at the castle and MK entrance.
View attachment 657778

Pretty decent fireworks view - but no audio here of course so you don't really get the best show.
View attachment 657780

Maybe you'll find this in a local thrift store.... soon?
View attachment 657785

Those bedskirts are terrible. Such a difference in room furnishings compared to the renovated resorts. We took a tour of a suite at YC and it was beautiful. GF actually looks yucky And it's got to be over $2k/night?

 

[Eastern]

Had a brief GF RPC stay recently. It had been forever and a day since I had stayed at RPC (2016 I think), our more recent GF travels were SL or non-CL.

Terrible pic, but some of the evening apps. What's up with GF's tiny plates? I get that it's not meant to be a meal and I'm fine with that, but practically it can be a little difficult to juggle some of those individually served items.

This was my complaint at a preCovid CR stay. At the time they were literally serving 1 tiny shrimp on a little dish. I was taking the tiny dishes and dumping them on one dish and stacking the empties. It was just so ridiculous and I was over it. So much money and honestly, at the time they were sellng the 16-20 shrimp at Restaurant Depot for $6/lb. These were like 50-60 size shrimp. Just kooky! I am imagining that their nightly budget for CL apps was maybe $75 total and they were trying to make it work.

 

[mystery222184]

Quick review of Coronado GDT from a few weeks back.

CLMs were awesome. Very attentive, always in great spirits. Came around often to see if we wanted any drinks or to chat. The lounge, as you all probably know, was extremely spacious. These were definitely my favorite parts. Rooms were nice as well.

Id say the food offerings were generally a step below some of the others. Breakfast was fine, but below others. They had the old frittatas similar to what RPC used to serve, but they were a bit bouncier. The fruit cups they used for breakfast they kept refrigerated and served again at night. As for dinner, the first night there werent any meat dishes. There was a fish I wasn’t into and jackfruit salad. Not great for me after the WL club. Night 2 and 3 were better (ribeye meatballs then raw tuna). Nothing stood out from dessert. I’d say just less offerings overall than the others.

As I mentioned, the CLMs were happy to go back and make drinks for us, which was nice because the wines weren't very good (And I’m not a wine snob at all) and the beer was your generic stuff.

Toughest adjustment was bus service everywhere. Even when timing it based on the boards, it just takes awhile. There are several stops at the resort itself, which exasperates it. Even though it’s pretty close by distance to all the parks, it felt very remote.

Overall, I’m happy I was able to try GDT and the resort itself is extremely nice. It’s also less $ than the deluxe clubs, which helps and should be kept in mind when comparing. It does seem like the club offerings have gotten worse since reopening (based on older pictures i saw in the thread). Nice trip, but not dying to return to this one.