I agree with
@squeezle about food allergies; I have had the same experience. I also have Celiac. When we’ve had club level stays, I’ve emailed the signature services (maybe the special diets as well, although that might have been for something else). I’ve had the same experience meeting a CM upon arrival to fill out the allergy profile. They always had something available for me at times when I was in the lounge and could toast my gf bagel separately in the kitchen. The only time this did not work out so well was when we recently received a magical upgrade to Sugar Loaf at the GF. They still really tried to accommodate me, I just found the availability was not what it has been when I’ve been able to communicate about my “allergy” ahead of time. There was still plenty that I could enjoy...the espresso maker and wine in particular! And bottles of water, which I haven’t seen during any of my other CL stays (food also, lol. I realize I have just listed my experience with beverages only! The chips in the afternoon are not GF, but they had bags of chips available for me). We loved Sugar Loaf, and I’m considering booking it next fall.
I found the Sugar Loaf building itself as well as the lounge very well maintained and not looking dated or showing signs of wear. Our room, however, was...funny. It was a wheelchair accessible room, which we hadn’t requested, but it was probably what was available when they decided to upgrade us. It had only one robe (I called and requested another, which was brought to us very promptly), the closet was awkward (presumably to allow a person who uses a wheelchair to be able to use the space, but for non-wheelchair users, we found it strange), and the bathroom was a bit run down looking (also only one sink). My biggest issue was that there was no way for air conditioning to get into the bathroom as the entire space had a door (when we stayed at the GF at RPC in the past we had a door to the toilet and bathtub/shower with the sinks outside). I actually (typically) prefer the entire bathroom to have a door as this way I can get dressed in the morning and use the mirror without waking my daughter who is sensitive to light. Not having a way for air to circulate through the bathroom, though, meant I was sweating by the time I finished getting ready in the morning...not exactly how I want to start my day! I think this issue was due to being in the wheelchair accessible room; I don’t think you would typically have this experience at the GF. The room itself was lovely (we even had towel animals! We’ve never had towel animals before!), and housekeeping did a great job both keeping our room clean during the day and coming in the evening for turn-down service (neither of which was our experience at the Polynesian). The only place where I thought things were showing signs of wear were in the bathroom (scuffed, some chips in the paint, shower leaked some).
About the transportation- I dislike the monorails. I find they have problems much of the time (at least when I ride them), and they usually feel quite warm to me. It kind of makes me feel claustrophobic. We were on a monorail (yellow) that stopped working one day last month. Luckily we were at MK when it happened. It took 15 minutes for them to power it down and reset it during which time they did not open the doors. It was very hot, I wanted to get out, and I couldn’t. I know most people love the MK resorts because of the monorail. I would 100% prefer a bus, especially to Epcot (I dislike going through two bag check lines). That said, I don’t really have any recent experience using the buses from the GF. We tried to take a bus last month to HS for a passholder event that began at 7 AM. Supposedly buses would be running 45 minutes prior to then. We were at the bus stop at 5:55. By 7:30 the bus time (originally at about 6:15 on the screen) had been moved later and later until was almost 6:40. We decided to just take an Uber. That was my only recent bus experience at the GF, and I don’t think it’s typical (seriously, who waits for a Disney bus at 5:55 AM?!)
We’ve never stayed at any of the other CLs you mentioned, although we have trip planned next summer and currently are deciding between BC and YC!
(My other photo said it was too large, but the first towel animal was ever better than this one!)
...and mid September is supposed to be a slow time, right?? My friends were able to get SDD for Fourth of July week so it’s definitely possible to get what you want if you don’t care what time of day you get. For us, if the trip is long enough that we can do the three days of extra FPs and still have a couple of easy/resort days, the extra FPs are definitely worth the money because there’s no stressing out over getting up early on day 60 and then not knowing what you’ll end up with! But for shorter trips where the primary focus is relaxation with just a little park time thrown in for fun, the extra FPs aren’t necessary. However, when Galaxy’s Edge opens, if they are still offering the extra FPs, they will be worth every penny even for shorter trips!!
