focusondisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 7, 2009
Returned from our trip last night: 4 nights YC waterview Club Level & 3 nights GF RPC standard room. I did not make any room requests for either stay. Our YC room was the second to last room on the far end of the floor, away from the lounge & elevators. The room had 2 queen beds & had a connecting door on both sides of the room. That meant there was no desk, one of the connecting doors was where the desk normally is. There was a pull out bed couch tho. The lounge offerings were pretty much the same as we saw in April, with the exception that they added the candy jars & ice cream freezer. Housekeeping was lacking for the first time for us. We returned to the room between 3 & 4 pm 2 days in a row, and the room had not been serviced either day. Luckily we got turn down service. That person made the bed (I had pulled the covers up, but didn’t tuck the sheets or arrange the pillows like they do!), restocked towels & toiletries & emptied our trash. Also, one day the dirty plates from the lounge were picked up on the whole floor apparently except for those outside our room, the room next door & the room across from us. We only had 1 plate, but the room next to us had 2 big piles of plates, glasses & utensils. So there was quite a bit stacked up. Except for the housekeeping issue, no issues with the room.
Saw several new cast members in the lounge. Food items were kept replenished & tables were cleared quickly. We got the room ready text as we left the airport. No greeter outside, I asked as we left our luggage with bell services & was told to go to the concierge desk inside for an escort to the 5th floor. There were about 5 people in that line, so we decided to just check if our bands would work on the elevator. They did, so we just took ourselves up. Stopped at the desk, introduced ourselves & said we are frequent guests so didn’t need lounge info etc. We didn’t need anything from the staff while we were there but got the typical smiles & greetings as we came & went.
On the day we moved to GF, we had bell services move our luggage. No issues at all with that. Our bags were there when we called after we got to our room. We had plans at Disney Studios, including lunch with an imagineer. We left there about 2:30 & took the bus to GF. We then waited at least 15 -20 minutes in the check in line. After we were all checked in, the CM called up to the club level to let them know we were there & ask if our room was ready. No resort map or activity schedule was offered. The gentleman greeter then came & escorted us to our room. He gave us his copies of the resort map & activity schedule when he found out we didn’t get them. I find the walk to your room silly actually. The private check in was a big benefit of staying club level. I’d much rather have the private check in & no escort to the room. I can find my own way to the room.
We had a standard room with 2 queen beds on the 4th floor overlooking the beach pool. The room’s AC was cranked way up when we entered & the room was pretty cold. We adjusted the temp as we got unpacked & it was then I noticed that the room had a musty smell, but my DH didn’t smell it. I have sinus issues & usually don’t notice smells easily. But I noticed this every time I entered the room. By the next day even my DH commented that it was pretty bad. In hind sight, we should have asked to be moved. But I was already unpacking when I first noticed & thought it must just be a temporary issue & would go away. Also we were only there for 3 nights. Had I realized it would keep getting worse, or if we were there longer, I would have had to speak to someone about it. Also, the balcony door was almost impossible to open. I actually thought it got painted shut. I literally had to yank it with all my might to get it opened. I only went on the balcony twice, this being one of the reasons.
After the clean, freshly remodeled rooms at YC, I thought the GF room looked a little worn, especially the rug & sofa. Also, the mattresses both beds were very soft & not supportive at all. Full disclosure, we like firm mattresses, so that might just be our preference. Someone else might like theses mattresses just fine. And the drawers compare unfavorably to the YC’s too. Not quite as much storage available. Exact same toiletries as at YC. The lounge offerings were fine. I was looking forward to the Mickey waffles I have heard they have at breakfast several times a week & thought we would have them on one of our mornings. But they did not have them on the 3 mornings we were there. On Friday morning, the chef was making the same crepes they have at YC. Thursday & Saturday morning, no chef cooking. Other food offerings were fine. Except for the afternoon tea, most items were pretty similar to what the YC has.
The far end of the club floors are blocked off because they are doing roofing work outside those windows. They had potted evergreens preventing you from walking all the way around the floors. No real transportation issues. I do like having security at the resort & not at the park. Wish they could do it al all the resorts. And also annoying to go thru security the second time at Epcot. Rearrange the check points so the monorail exits in the secured area already Disney! All in all, this stay was not quite as good as the others we have had at GF. The room issues colored my opinion, I’m sure.
I had booked 3 days of the Club Level fastpasses. I don’t think I’d do it again. The only benefit that made it worth it was using it to get tier 1 rides at Epcot & the Studios. I found I liked being able to move up the times for my fastpasses so being tied to the 1 hour spacing wasn’t appealing. We don’t go commando in the parks, so the time commitment didn’t work with our touring style. We did get to take advantage of the reserved area for HEA. I had Fantasmic scheduled also, but that night it was raining pretty good with lots of lightening at about 7:30, so we left the park. We haven’t seen Fantasmic in years, so I don’t know if it goes on in that kind of weather, but we weren’t interested enough to hang around & find out.
We booked a free dining bounce back for next December at YC. But I decided to forgo the club level. Since there is virtually nothing I need from Signature Services & my DH prefers meals over club level offerings, I did not book club level. The difference in price was over $1500 more for club level, same view. Since we are planning at least 3 trips next year, I’m just not sure I can justify the price every time. I’ll have to see what discounts come out for our other trips.
Sorry, this was longer than I planned!!
Saw several new cast members in the lounge. Food items were kept replenished & tables were cleared quickly. We got the room ready text as we left the airport. No greeter outside, I asked as we left our luggage with bell services & was told to go to the concierge desk inside for an escort to the 5th floor. There were about 5 people in that line, so we decided to just check if our bands would work on the elevator. They did, so we just took ourselves up. Stopped at the desk, introduced ourselves & said we are frequent guests so didn’t need lounge info etc. We didn’t need anything from the staff while we were there but got the typical smiles & greetings as we came & went.
On the day we moved to GF, we had bell services move our luggage. No issues at all with that. Our bags were there when we called after we got to our room. We had plans at Disney Studios, including lunch with an imagineer. We left there about 2:30 & took the bus to GF. We then waited at least 15 -20 minutes in the check in line. After we were all checked in, the CM called up to the club level to let them know we were there & ask if our room was ready. No resort map or activity schedule was offered. The gentleman greeter then came & escorted us to our room. He gave us his copies of the resort map & activity schedule when he found out we didn’t get them. I find the walk to your room silly actually. The private check in was a big benefit of staying club level. I’d much rather have the private check in & no escort to the room. I can find my own way to the room.
We had a standard room with 2 queen beds on the 4th floor overlooking the beach pool. The room’s AC was cranked way up when we entered & the room was pretty cold. We adjusted the temp as we got unpacked & it was then I noticed that the room had a musty smell, but my DH didn’t smell it. I have sinus issues & usually don’t notice smells easily. But I noticed this every time I entered the room. By the next day even my DH commented that it was pretty bad. In hind sight, we should have asked to be moved. But I was already unpacking when I first noticed & thought it must just be a temporary issue & would go away. Also we were only there for 3 nights. Had I realized it would keep getting worse, or if we were there longer, I would have had to speak to someone about it. Also, the balcony door was almost impossible to open. I actually thought it got painted shut. I literally had to yank it with all my might to get it opened. I only went on the balcony twice, this being one of the reasons.
After the clean, freshly remodeled rooms at YC, I thought the GF room looked a little worn, especially the rug & sofa. Also, the mattresses both beds were very soft & not supportive at all. Full disclosure, we like firm mattresses, so that might just be our preference. Someone else might like theses mattresses just fine. And the drawers compare unfavorably to the YC’s too. Not quite as much storage available. Exact same toiletries as at YC. The lounge offerings were fine. I was looking forward to the Mickey waffles I have heard they have at breakfast several times a week & thought we would have them on one of our mornings. But they did not have them on the 3 mornings we were there. On Friday morning, the chef was making the same crepes they have at YC. Thursday & Saturday morning, no chef cooking. Other food offerings were fine. Except for the afternoon tea, most items were pretty similar to what the YC has.
The far end of the club floors are blocked off because they are doing roofing work outside those windows. They had potted evergreens preventing you from walking all the way around the floors. No real transportation issues. I do like having security at the resort & not at the park. Wish they could do it al all the resorts. And also annoying to go thru security the second time at Epcot. Rearrange the check points so the monorail exits in the secured area already Disney! All in all, this stay was not quite as good as the others we have had at GF. The room issues colored my opinion, I’m sure.
I had booked 3 days of the Club Level fastpasses. I don’t think I’d do it again. The only benefit that made it worth it was using it to get tier 1 rides at Epcot & the Studios. I found I liked being able to move up the times for my fastpasses so being tied to the 1 hour spacing wasn’t appealing. We don’t go commando in the parks, so the time commitment didn’t work with our touring style. We did get to take advantage of the reserved area for HEA. I had Fantasmic scheduled also, but that night it was raining pretty good with lots of lightening at about 7:30, so we left the park. We haven’t seen Fantasmic in years, so I don’t know if it goes on in that kind of weather, but we weren’t interested enough to hang around & find out.
We booked a free dining bounce back for next December at YC. But I decided to forgo the club level. Since there is virtually nothing I need from Signature Services & my DH prefers meals over club level offerings, I did not book club level. The difference in price was over $1500 more for club level, same view. Since we are planning at least 3 trips next year, I’m just not sure I can justify the price every time. I’ll have to see what discounts come out for our other trips.
Sorry, this was longer than I planned!!
). I had been to Italy several times but the kids had not - we really loved it - such delicious food. Your cruise sounds wonderful. Please come back to tell us how it was. Enjoy!
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BWI CL FOOD vs. RPC/SL CL FOOD
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Guess RPC & I are just not a good fit. 
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