Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[pumpkin_tx1]

Hi Everyone! We will be having our first club level stay this summer (June 5-8) at the Wilderness Lodge! We are super excited to give it a try!

 

[RachelTori]

You’re right, they are not supposed to accept cash. You can offer 3 times and they can then say yes, but that has to be turned into some sort of communal pot, or something - or so I’ve read.

Highly personal topic, obviously. I don’t like to speak for other people, but my guess is the large majority of CL guests do not give any kind of gifts or tips.

Speaking for myself, I have only rarely done a gift or other form of appreciation, and that has been reserved for situations where we’ve gotten to know said CM(s) on a more routine/repeat level over multiple trips. That wouldn’t be the norm for some/many guests and that only really applies to us at 1-2 resorts.

However, I do make a point to remember names and write to guest services and/or the resort GM when we get back when/if we’ve had experiences that call for it. I have no idea if those get dumped in the trash or actually make it to that CM in some rewarding way, but I’ve always ‘hoped’ it does.

Maybe I’m alone in our thinking and just don’t know it, but that’s what we do.

If you use Twitter, the best way to contact Disney regarding a wonderful CM is to tweet a shout-out to @WDWToday #CastCompliment and tell them about your experience. You will get a return tweet from them acknowledging your CM! The CM gets presented with a Certificate (on it is your tweet!) during a shift (it's a very special moment!) and a copy goes to their HR file. (I'm sure I could have explained that better! )

 

[mickeynut1]

DH and I are starting to plan our 20th anniversary trip to Disney (no kids!) for Spring 2020. We think we have our choices narrowed down to:
CR CL
GF CL RPR
BWI CL Garden Suites
YC CL

We have only stayed CL at Poly and BWI but not the Garden Suites. I am thinking that if we stay GF we would definitely want to main building, but I'm totally lost about CR as we have only stayed once in a garden wing room.

Are there 2 different CR CL options and can anyone tell me the pros and cons of each?
Of these 4, which once would you recommend for an adults only stay?
TIA!

Out of your choices, I've only stayed CL at GF & BWI and since you've already stayed BWI CL, my choice would be RPC. The lounge is large/spread out with beautiful views of the grounds. The lounge also overlooks the lobby, so it's relaxing to just sit and listen to the orchestra play while watching the hustle and bustle of people coming and going. I think RPC is a great place for an anniversary trip .

There are only 4 (maybe 5) garden view club level rooms at a YC. I think they book pretty quickly & hardly ever discounted. So it is hard to snag one.

Ahhh, makes sense as to why they are so hard to get. The few times I have seen GV CL, I've noticed the rate is very negligible compared to SV CL, so people probably choose the better view for just a little more .

RPC is what we had originally planned on. I did not really like the outer rooms, but I love the main building and the CL looks wonderful!

Staying in the main building is wonderful!

We are staying Poly CL in September. Does anyone know if individual toiletries are part of the room, or has it been changed over to multi use shampoo/conditioner etc? Also, are robes available?

There were individual toiletries when we were there in Oct and there were 2 robes in the closet .

Hi Everyone! We will be having our first club level stay this summer (June 5-8) at the Wilderness Lodge! We are super excited to give it a try!

How exciting! WL was our first CL stay and we loved everything about it. It's been quite some years since our stay, but any recent reviews I read, they seem to mirror the same great experience we had years ago. Hope you have a great trip .

 

[PPFlight75]

Out of your choices, I've only stayed CL at GF & BWI and since you've already stayed BWI CL, my choice would be RPC. The lounge is large/spread out with beautiful views of the grounds. The lounge also overlooks the lobby, so it's relaxing to just sit and listen to the orchestra play while watching the hustle and bustle of people coming and going. I think RPC is a great place for an anniversary trip .







Staying in the main building is wonderful!



Thank you so much for this! You are right, maybe we should try something new since this trip is so special. I'm really thinking about CR or RPC now. We are both pretty excited about this trip!

 

[TJA]

DH and I are starting to plan our 20th anniversary trip to Disney (no kids!) for Spring 2020. We think we have our choices narrowed down to:
CR CL
GF CL RPR
BWI CL Garden Suites
YC CL

We have only stayed CL at Poly and BWI but not the Garden Suites. I am thinking that if we stay GF we would definitely want to main building, but I'm totally lost about CR as we have only stayed once in a garden wing room.

Are there 2 different CR CL options and can anyone tell me the pros and cons of each?
Of these 4, which once would you recommend for an adults only stay?
TIA!

My recommendation for you would be RPC or YC CL. The ambiance alone at RPC is pampering and relaxing. Very nice to have a glass of wine while listening to band/piano. Also fun to be able to simply stay in the same building and browse the shops. Quick and easy access to MK if that's your park of choice.

YC CL would be my other pick for you. If going with just my DH, I know we'd enjoy the World Showcase in Epcot almost every night. Hard to beat being able to walk there! And the YC itself has more of an adult vibe than some other resorts. Quick and easy access to Epcot if that's your park of choice. Also a 20 minute walk away from HS.

 

[PPFlight75]

My recommendation for you would be RPC or YC CL. The ambiance alone at RPC is pampering and relaxing. Very nice to have a glass of wine while listening to band/piano. Also fun to be able to simply stay in the same building and browse the shops. Quick and easy access to MK if that's your park of choice.

YC CL would be my other pick for you. If going with just my DH, I know we'd enjoy the World Showcase in Epcot almost every night. Hard to beat being able to walk there! And the YC itself has more of an adult vibe than some other resorts. Quick and easy access to Epcot if that's your park of choice. Also a 20 minute walk away from HS.

Thanks!We really love evenings in World Showcase too so I'm struggling with location.

I'm really thinking maybe CR or RPC.

If we do RPC, we would probably want the standard room. Do you know if those are harder to get or if they have many king rooms? I'm wondering how early I would need to book one of these.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Could anyone give me a sample of what food is offered 5pm-7pm at CR CL?
We're considering making an effort to "make a meal" there on our MK days instead of eating in the park.
I just want to make sure there's a couple options we can both enjoy. (my sister loves seafood and I love anything that is not seafood lol)

 

[Disneytam]

So I read somewhere that conceirge and cm’s not allowed to accept cash tips . We are staying CL YC in June .So what does everyone do to show appreciation? I heard they can accept gifts. Does a gift card count as a gift or cash? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks

Since we love the BWI CL and have stayed there many times over the years I have brought small gifts from time to time. Nothing big just a little something to say thank you. On our last visit I brought a basket full of individually wrapped maple sugar candy and small bottles of real maple syrup. We are dairy farmers and live in NY state and maple sugar is very popular here. They seemed to appreciate it.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thank you so much for this! You are right, maybe we should try something new since this trip is so special. I'm really thinking about CR or RPC now. We are both pretty excited about this trip!

You're welcome! Good luck deciding and have fun planning .

If we do RPC, we would probably want the standard room. Do you know if those are harder to get or if they have many king rooms? I'm wondering how early I would need to book one of these.

I'm not the one you asked, but while a king is not a bookable category for standard RPC, I think it can be requested (hopefully others will verify that or correct me if I'm wrong). With that said, there is the option of RPC deluxe king. It's a little more expensive than standard RPC as it's a deluxe room, but it might be worth looking into if you want to be guaranteed a king bed .

 

[trishadono]

Thanks!We really love evenings in World Showcase too so I'm struggling with location.

I'm really thinking maybe CR or RPC.

If we do RPC, we would probably want the standard room. Do you know if those are harder to get or if they have many king rooms? I'm wondering how early I would need to book one of these.

There are only 2 std rpc kings I know of. 4329 and 4429. If a king is a priority I would book the deluxe king.

 

[trishadono]

Could anyone give me a sample of what food is offered 5pm-7pm at CR CL?
We're considering making an effort to "make a meal" there on our MK days instead of eating in the park.
I just want to make sure there's a couple options we can both enjoy. (my sister loves seafood and I love anything that is not seafood lol)

Disney's Club Level (CL) Information and Questions

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Basically they had a nice soup, lots of cheeses etc and a hot dish.

Picture is soup,(chicken corn chowder) steak n potatoes and a shrimp appetizer.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

View attachment 386063


Disney's Club Level (CL) Information and Questions

Follow this and more next page.

Basically they had a nice soup, lots of cheeses etc and a hot dish.

Picture is soup,(chicken corn chowder) steak n potatoes and a shrimp appetizer.

Thanks!
Doesn't seem too appetizing to me though lol which is unfortunate.

 

[trishadono]

Thanks!
Doesn't seem too appetizing to me though lol which is unfortunate.

It tasted really good at least. The other night was salmon with broccoli.

I didn't get many pic this tripcompared to others. We did have a wonderful stay. I'm not a salmon/tuna eater so I find it's hit or miss at any cl these days. However the cheese selection at CR with olives is a really nice spread. The soup was better than gf's lunch soup.

 

[NicoleLarson]

Sorry for getting OT but I'm trying to decide on whether or not CL is "worth it" at the Universal resorts? When we are at WDW we love the CL because we really love the extra space to stretch out and don't feel the need to be in the parks from open to close. However, Universal is new to us, we haven't been in at least 15 years so I think we'll definitely be in the parks more. I'm not sure if we'll really be able to take advantage of the lounge. How are the food choices vs WDW? Can you only get beer and wine from 5-7? Is one resort better for CL ?

 

[pangyal]

Sorry for getting OT but I'm trying to decide on whether or not CL is "worth it" at the Universal resorts? When we are at WDW we love the CL because we really love the extra space to stretch out and don't feel the need to be in the parks from open to close. However, Universal is new to us, we haven't been in at least 15 years so I think we'll definitely be in the parks more. I'm not sure if we'll really be able to take advantage of the lounge. How are the food choices vs WDW? Can you only get beer and wine from 5-7? Is one resort better for CL ?

So...we have done CL at Universal at both Hard Rock and Portofino. With a really picky kid, we ended up buying QS for him both times for dinners (though the HRH has the advantage of really good, reasonably priced kids meals at the pool bar). I have food allergies and found that they were both accommodating, but Portofino actually sent up dishes with full meals (like they do at AKL CL) with meat and veggies, while HRH had some chicken wings under the heat lamp for me in the back. We found it really useful with an AP rate to do CL at Universal since we didn’t have to worry about breakfast or dinner, and we were not at all interested in the dining options around the parks. However, when we stayed at RPR, we had a non-CL room and enjoyed eating at Citywalk for lunch and dinner. Be warned that the lounges are smaller and more chaotic than at WDW, in my experience. You can go on the Universal forum here and see the menus for each resort. They rotate them every four or five days. Hope this helps!

 

[pangyal]

And yes, the bar was a strict 5-7 affair at both.

 

[PPFlight75]

You're welcome! Good luck deciding and have fun planning .



I'm not the one you asked, but while a king is not a bookable category for standard RPC, I think it can be requested (hopefully others will verify that or correct me if I'm wrong). With that said, there is the option of RPC deluxe king. It's a little more expensive than standard RPC as it's a deluxe room, but it might be worth looking into if you want to be guaranteed a king bed .

Thanks. I'll look into the deluxe king. If we don't get it we'll be fine but it would be super nice to have!

 

[PPFlight75]

There are only 2 std rpc kings I know of. 4329 and 4429. If a king is a priority I would book the deluxe king.

Oh wow, only 2! I better look into that deluxe then, thanks!

 

[Nadine and Fred]

We are normally very good tippers- in restaurants, Minnie vans, RAC, housekeepers, etc... But we have never tipped CL CMs, and it honestly never occurred to me except for when this question comes up occasionally on here. I don’t know why, but I guess no one has ever done anything for us that seemed to warrant a tip . Some are friendlier than others, some more helpful than others, and there are so many and in different positions/roles that I’m not even sure how it would work if I wanted to tip? I can’t be carrying around ones to just slip into hands every time someone gets me a drink, etc lol (that was a joke, BTW, I don’t mean to insult anyone or make them think that I think anyone would actually mean this .)

ETA plus in this day and age it seems tipping less than $5 is being cheap, so I definitely am not carrying $5’s around do when I knock and get wine before thebusual wine service begins

If you really feel that you need to give them something, take a dozen cupcakes from a local bakery, or more than a dozen of the little cupcakes, or somerging similar that they can share in the back room.

I also don’t mean to make you think it’s a bad idea to give them something, I just mean to indicate I don’t ever get the feeling tipping is done or expected. I also want to make sure I’m not the only one not tipping, as like I said we usually tip well and I would hate to think we’re not being appropriate!

At the BW CL last week I watched one very sweet woman give out tips to 2 or 3 of the CL CMs. Not sure of the amount but I did ask her about it. She was coy when she said " I just dropped that money". I was not criticizing her but, like you, I did not want to be the only one who was not tipping. The 3 CMs seemed to readily accept the tips with minimal argument. We are going back there in September and would consider bringing some small gifts for the CMs there who seemed to go "above and beyond".

 

[Nadine and Fred]

You’re right, they are not supposed to accept cash. You can offer 3 times and they can then say yes, but that has to be turned into some sort of communal pot, or something - or so I’ve read.

Highly personal topic, obviously. I don’t like to speak for other people, but my guess is the large majority of CL guests do not give any kind of gifts or tips.

Speaking for myself, I have only rarely done a gift or other form of appreciation, and that has been reserved for situations where we’ve gotten to know said CM(s) on a more routine/repeat level over multiple trips. That wouldn’t be the norm for some/many guests and that only really applies to us at 1-2 resorts.

However, I do make a point to remember names and write to guest services and/or the resort GM when we get back when/if we’ve had experiences that call for it. I have no idea if those get dumped in the trash or actually make it to that CM in some rewarding way, but I’ve always ‘hoped’ it does.

Maybe I’m alone in our thinking and just don’t know it, but that’s what we do.

Agree with the letter writing; I made a point of writing to Mr. Lord GM of Boardwalk.