Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[HBGdancermom]

@GADisneyDad14 I'm so glad you had a great trip!! I am waiting on your pictures....rather impatiently waiting I should add....

Has anyone been to Poly CL recently? If so, how have the cm's been?

We stayed there last May and had a few issues with some very rude cm's but are headed back next month. That's my only concern.

@MapleSyrupMama - We stayed at Poly Cl for the first time in January and had a wonderful experience with all the CMs. I did a small review back a few pages (February probably).

 

[NYCANC]

Has anyone been to Poly CL recently? If so, how have the cm's been?

We stayed there last May and had a few issues with some very rude cm's but are headed back next month. That's my only concern.

In January- the ones downstairs at the desks were ok. The only standout was Sabra. Everyone else was just ok. No one was rude but some were not too helpful.
The CM's up in the lounge were all great. Helpful and very nice.

 

[iona]

Thanks for the advice gadisneydad. I hope they will email as I live in England and between the cost of long distance and the time difference I don't think it will be too successful communicating over the phone.

We're in the UK too. I phoned DSS to give them our credit card number (as I knew they'd need that for some of the things we wanted to book) but we've done everything else so far by email.

 

[Somnia]

DSS has been extremely fast in getting back to me in e-mail, our trip isn't till December, but I needed to make sure to put in a few requests (such as 2 beds as it's myself and my Mom, they've made that mistake in the past giving us 1 bed and needing to change rooms lol).

 

[ErinsMommy]

We've had excellent experiences with DSS. From booking the cabana to moving an ADR, they've been super helpful and very friendly.

 

[nikjd68]

Couple of questions about the Poly Lounge:

1. is the menu posted at the beginning of this thread pretty accurate as to the day-to-day menu?

2. Are there any posted instructions on how to use the fancy coffee machine? I have seen some posts that it is "tricky".

3. How do you get a beer? Is there always a CM in the Lounge while it is open?

4. Is it a good place to watch the Electrical Water Pageant? Is that music piped in? Is the Lounge busy at those times?

TIA!!!

 

[DLBDS]

I have questions about turn down service. How does tipping work? Do I tip twice a day? Once for daytime mousekeeping and then again for turn down? If so, how much?

Also when do they normally do turn down service? Late Afternoon? Early Evening? Do I request it with the CL CMs at check in for our length of stay or should I request it daily?

Very personal choice with no right/wrong answer (in my opinion), but I do try to tip twice. I tip the daytime mousekeeping more than turn-down service if I have the right bills handy. There have been times when I haven't physically been back in the room between services, so no evening tip in those cases since I haven't been there to leave one.

Glad I saw these replies. I had tipping envelopes on my pre-trip to-do list originally before I saw the info regarding tipping CL CMs on the first page of this thread. It states...

"Tipping Guidelines:

1) Club level CM's can be fired for taking cash tips.
2) They are supposed to refuse up to three times. If you ask a fourth time, they take it, but, they must immediately turn it over to a manager
3) The tip goes into a fund, and the manager buys donuts or coffee for all.
4) If they do not turn in the cash, it can be immediate termination.

NOTE: They can accept gifts of up to $75 value (like candy, snacks, homemade items, flowers, gift baskets, etc)."

So, is this not the case anymore? Which is more common on CL? Cash tip or 'gifts'?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Glad I saw these replies. I had tipping envelopes on my pre-trip to-do list originally before I saw the info regarding tipping CL CMs on the first page of this thread. It states...

"Tipping Guidelines:

1) Club level CM's can be fired for taking cash tips.
2) They are supposed to refuse up to three times. If you ask a fourth time, they take it, but, they must immediately turn it over to a manager
3) The tip goes into a fund, and the manager buys donuts or coffee for all.
4) If they do not turn in the cash, it can be immediate termination.

NOTE: They can accept gifts of up to $75 value (like candy, snacks, homemade items, flowers, gift baskets, etc)."

So, is this not the case anymore? Which is more common on CL? Cash tip or 'gifts'?

Note that tipping Mousekeeping (for daily cleaning and/or turndown service) is not the same as tipping CL CMs. Really two different concepts of tipping (and groups of people). When people say CL CM's they are usually referring to CL desk CMs and lounge CMs.

I will tip Mousekeeping cash. I do not gift CL CMs, outside of one or two exceptions in the past.

 

[Eastern]

So, is this not the case anymore? Which is more common on CL? Cash tip or 'gifts'?

I never tip the CL CMs. It has never occurred to me to do so and I don't see a need for it. They are just doing their job, and sometimes not very well!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Couple of questions about the Poly Lounge:

1. is the menu posted at the beginning of this thread pretty accurate as to the day-to-day menu?

2. Are there any posted instructions on how to use the fancy coffee machine? I have seen some posts that it is "tricky".

3. How do you get a beer? Is there always a CM in the Lounge while it is open?

4. Is it a good place to watch the Electrical Water Pageant? Is that music piped in? Is the Lounge busy at those times?

TIA!!!

1.) That menu on page 1 is very outdated.

2.) The machine looks harder than it is. It's basically a basic Nespresso machine wrapped in a 'fancy looking' housing. Here's a pic, there are instructions posted there on the right.



3) Things can change but when I was there Feb 2017, they put beer in the fridge starting at noon. It's self serve. This was a recent change, it used to only be out during evening apps and by request all other times. You can still request a beer before noon now if you want to (not that I would know). Here's a pic of the fridge. Plastic cups and a bottle opener are just to the right. I saw a recent pic on Tikiman's Facebook page that had another Kona Brewing Co beer variety in addition to Longboard.



4) The lounge is not a good place to watch the EWP. No music and somewhat difficult to see with the lights of the club on. You'll want to be out on the beach or boat dock area. Editorial comment, I am not a bungalow hater but they did really negatively impact visibility of the EWP from a lot of Hawaii.

Hope that is helpful.

 

[Branflakes]

I'm seeing the angry orchard at both the Poly and GF club lounges. Any word on the availability at YC?
Mercî

 

[DLBDS]

GADisneyDad14...You're exactly right! Duh. My brain wasn't processing the info correctly. It happens sometimes. Actually, probably more than I would ever admit out loud. But, yeah... I guess we'll be bringing those tipping envelopes along after all!

 

[jbb4me]

There's a reason we only stayed 2 nights. And why I may not be allowed to go back to Disney again this year.

We stayed in the 1BR Bay Lake View suite you can see on Disney's website, with an AP discount. I wanted to stay in one of the standard rooms up there (that are not on Disney's website) as we didn't really need (or want to pay for) a suite, but none were available my dates. In a bout of Disney logic I convinced myself that a special indulgence at Tower in a bigger room would be a nice way to end the trip. Probably a pretty dumb use of vacation money, but it was a nice one-time splurge. Not going to lie, it sure was nice to be able to put the kiddos to bed and still be able to stay up and enjoy another room.

I meant to pick up a current rate sheet because the cost of a Tower vs Atrium standard room has always been a mystery to me. I'm sure some folks on here have this detail?

I have been daydreaming about one of those 1BR suites ever since I booked CR CL! They look enormous and impeccably decorated!! I even thought to myself "well maybe I can put my 70 yr old parents on the sofa bed" which quickly turned into the realization that I just need to wait. It doesn't make sense for us this year because of how many times we are going to WDW, but I will definitely hold it out as a dream trip (and ultimate splurge) soon!

Even so, we are so excited for our Atrium Club stay in a few weeks!

Thanks for the report, @GADisneyDad14!!

 

[MapleSyrupMama]

In January- the ones downstairs at the desks were ok. The only standout was Sabra. Everyone else was just ok. No one was rude but some were not too helpful.
The CM's up in the lounge were all great. Helpful and very nice.

Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to know

Our issue was with the lounge cm's last time. It was to the point I felt uncomfortable even asking for milk for my toddler because some of them were just so rude

 

[qbmillar]

I sctually did it, convinced DH to head back to CR Tower Club for our 10 year anniversary!! Cannot wait, 9/17-9/23/17

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I sctually did it, convinced DH to head back to CR Tower Club for our 10 year anniversary!! Cannot wait, 9/17-9/23/17

Nice work. But why would he need convincing?

I was actually just resizing my pics from last week. TAKE ME BACK!

 

[qbmillar]

Ha ha, this will be our 3rd trip this year...something to do with vacation budgets being blown to bits. I tuned him out once he said yes!

 

[firsttimemom]

Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to know

Our issue was with the lounge cm's last time. It was to the point I felt uncomfortable even asking for milk for my toddler because some of them were just so rude

We had this problem with the Beach Club a couple years ago to the point I questioned whether CL was worth it any more. I did just have a fabulous experience at BWI where the staff was amazing. I was thinking about doing a split stay in July btwn the Poly and BWI but these posts make me wonder if we should just stay in a regular room at the poly and then CL at BWI.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'd like to thank @trishadono, @BlueSkies, and everyone else that responded with their input on GF SL room locations awhile back. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the SL building and what would be a "good" request. This thread is invaluable for trying to figure stuff like that out from afar, so many years of knowledge / experience!

One thing that's always drawn me to places like Poly and CR CLs is that they are "easy" CLs to figure out in terms of the room requests/options. You pretty much know what you'll get as they are all nearly the same. GF is tougher with the various levels, enclosed balconies, open balconies, turret rooms, dormers, etc. It can kind of make you crazy.

In case helpful to others, I was given Room 6317 which is on the third floor, middle, facing the marina. I had wanted to face the courtyard, but no big deal. The middle has the advantage of no trees since you're over the entryways. But in the future, I'd rather have a room on either of the side hallways, not the middle like this one, to be a bit further away from the atrium noise. It wasn't horrible, but you do hear things.

Third floor.... room 6317...



Here was our view left...


And here was our view right...love being able to see the monorail. Note, there are some pretty big trees on either sides of this building. I'm not sure the views from anything but the middle rooms would be quite as good?


Similar view but from inside the room, roughly the view from the second bed. This room had a full size / open balcony.



Another balcony shot in the afternoon sun. You get strong afternoon sun on this side as it's facing west.


My favorite feature about the GF is the towel basket.


Two foot scrubs, one mouthwash.... what's more important after a long day in the parks? Mousekeeping was very stingy with products here, nothing more than the standard count every day. Often they load us up after the first day without asking, but not here. (Note, I did not ask) No sun/aloe stuff either.


We leave the (nice big) TV on this channel all the time....such great music....


At places like Poly and CR you can get your room PITCH BLACK which has been helpful for naps for the kiddos. Hard to get the room dark here, the curtains are a different setup. Certainly not the end of the world though.


Happy to answer any questions!

 

[Ewoks]

4. Is it a good place to watch the Electrical Water Pageant? Is that music piped in? Is the Lounge busy at those times?

As a self-described EWP Fangirl, I can comment on this with some authority. If you wanna see the EWP at the Poly, go down to the end of the dock. The Club lounge is pretty lousy for EWP and fireworks viewing. You'll get an excellent EWP show at the end of the dock. Don't bother with the beach area.