Club level vs. standard..what is the diff?

[freediverdude]

I think it makes a difference what kind of breakfast you want, and also if you are going to drink wine/beer. If you're quick breakfast type of people who like cereal and pastries, and then come back from the parks in the early evening and want several drinks (not drinking at the park and staying for fireworks), then the CL might start to pay off.

It's based upon the type of routine of someone coming back to the resort in early evening, around 5 or 6, having an appetizer and drink in the lounge, then going to their dinner reservation, then coming back to the lounge for dessert- basically people who spend the evening at the resort.

For me of course, this doesn't make any sense, as I travel alone, I tend to like a hot breakfast in the food court (quick, but still a Mickey waffle or eggs), then going to the theme park and staying for the evening fireworks, not getting back to the resort until late.

So it depends upon your routine as to whether the CL makes sense or not.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Last September I took my brother (an adult) to Disney World. It was his first time going since he was a little kid (young enough that he really didn't remember much) and I wanted it to be VERY special so I booked us club level at the Yacht club.

I think it was worth it for us, because my brother ended up not dealing well with the heat--at all. Our last day we were supposed to go to Epcot until about 3 pm, when the Magical Express would take us back to the airport. My brother was so beat by the heat, he didn't even want to stay at Epcot after our noon lunch. He just wanted to sit somewhere in air conditioning and relax. Since we still had club lounge privileges for the day, he was able to just hang out there, in the a/c with plenty of cold drinks, wifi, tv, etc. It was really nice to have just a "place to be" where he could relax. I don't know where he could have hung out for several hours if we didn't have that--I mean, if he went to the ESPN bar or something he would have been obligated to keep buying drinks/food, which could add up.

 

[padawans]

I agree.... Not with the cost... For that extra 100.00-150.00 per day, I can set up my regular room with everything and more from a grocery store and pocket 75.00-125.00 a day and have it anytime I want with better quality and quantity ...

Rooms are no different and as for the IPO, as stated above, I can do that myself 160 days out.... They can't get you anything that's book full either....

Have done CL alot years ago when offerings were better and CL was alot cheaper and discounts bigger .... Anymore it's just a rip off for what you get...

I agree with this. We have done Club level the last two trips, and I am on the fence with the next trip. Don't get me wrong I loved Club, but from a cost stand point it's not really worth it. Our next trip we will be a Disney 11 nights, and we will have a car. The cost of Club level will cost 1250. I can easily stock our room with snacks alcohol and sodas for under 150.00 and then still have another 1100 towards food. I love club level, but I have to be very comfortable spending the extra money to enjoy it.

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

The difference in price per night for me at the boardwalk was only going to be about $35 per night vs a water view boardwalk inn room. Now for $35 per night I'd enjoy the club level lounge, no doubt about it. That was based on a special travel agent rate, however. I'll never understand $150-200 more for it, unless of course you are just plain rich.

Mine is just under 100 more than a standard gv and no i am not rich. This is a BIG money saver for us.

 

[polyfor4]

Mine is just under 100 more than a standard gv and no i am not rich. This is a BIG money saver for us.

Staying Poly CL for the first time in May and we hope to save money too! $100 vs DDP = no brainer. If you spend time at the resort and aren't stuck on the DDP, CL makes complete sense! I have feeling after 1 CL stay we'll be hooked

 

[MomofDisneyLoversx3]

Well to whomever was questioning my figures, we payed $252 more for CL for an eight night trip. That's actually $31.50 per day. I rounded up.

 

[MomofDisneyLoversx3]

Plus I'd much rather pay oop for meals I want as opposed to the savings' of DDP. So it works out for us. That said I would not pay $150 or $200 more per night. Although my DS 2 loves the 'living room' as he calls it.

 

[bethclayton]

i agree with mickeyluv'r in our case, as well.

the times we have looked into booking CL it was roughly $100 extra a night (the exception to this would be GF RPC). for the food alone, it was worth the $100. we are a family of four who eat breakfast at the lounge every morning no matter what. we usually have some of the evening hors d'oeuvres as well and my kids almost always get the desserts. i always have wine at the lounge in the evening, too. cost wise, i feel that we as a family break even with the food.

the convenience and time saving aspects are the added bonus to me that makes it better than breaking even. i love that we can have great breakfast options, already prepared and for the taking, right down the hall from our room. it's a huge time saver for us. it makes the morning so easy and i am never stressed about getting to a park on time, worried that i will have to wait in line or find a table or anything. we don't even have to all go at the same time. i love that after a long day at the parks, hungry and tired, we don't have to debate over where we want to eat or anything, we just pop into the lounge.

while i make almost all my own dining reservations, i have used the cl staff to cancel or change them for me. i just pop over to the desk on my way to a park and they take care of it. i don't have to bother waiting on hold on the phone.

i could definitely see where some people feel they won't make use of the additional amenities but for our family, it definitely works. for us, it is not only worth the $$ but the time as well.

 

[Anonomom]

For us, totally worth it. With a pin code, CL is $117 more per night, and the way we use it that covers breakfast and 1/2 of dinner (instead of eating at a TS, we get 2 QS meals to share among the five of us, supplemented by the lounge offerings). Add in little luxuries like sitting on our balcony eating desserts from the lounge as we watch Wishes (our own private little dessert party!) and having a real latte with breakfast, and it's a no-brainer.

Plus, we have a toddler who still naps. It's very nice to have the lounge for the older kids to hang out in while the baby is sleeping. And skipping the check-in line doesn't hurt, either.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Thanks. Yes, the little time savings add up for us as well.

We used to be more commandos, on the go from 9am- midnight. Part of that was staying at mods, where breaks = 45min each way. At deluxes, getting back to the room takes less time (from from 1 or 2 parks).

In summer, there's often a 4pm storm. After, the parks are open late. It's sweet to be dry in the lounge sipping wine. It can also be nice to change for dinner.

We don't spend all night at the resort, but if we are CL at CR or Poly, it's comfy to watch Wishes once from the lounge. Desserts are icing on the cake. You also avoid the post-fireworks monorail/bus throng.

(One tiny perk is getting a gold KTTW card. We've been known to quietly hum the song from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, "I've got a golden tick-et..." )

I think OP also mentioned being a business guest. CL is popular with business travelers. They often use the lounge for networking (both meanings), and quick snacks. Once, I was at CR when the whole 14th floor was convention goers. (my floor's latte machine was down). It was neat to see. I don't know what it cost, but among the cool things was a colored chocolate water fountain/logo sculpture. Wow!

For business travelers, it's even more true that time is money. If you've got a tight presentation schedule, faster service might make all the difference. Or maybe not. CL's a bit of trip insurance.

 

[luvdisney77]

Is the CSR Business Level the same as Deluxe Club level though?

 

[Mousemommy1]

We have only booked CL with a 40% discount, so it usually came to about $100/more per night. Last summer we stayed WL CL, and in April we will try YC CL.

We are definitely not rich, and again, without the discount, we would not book it. We realize that you do not get a dollar for dollar value out of the upcharge, but there are so many things that make it worth it for my family of four.

We love the breakfast in the morning. We are not huge breakfast people, so the offerings in the lounge are perfect for us. We love not having to fight with crowds at a QS for breakfast, and the ability to make our own coffee.

Our kids are grazers...so having fresh fruit, snacks and drinks available for them whenever they are all "I'm hungry, or I'm thirsty" is wonderful!

DH and I both enjoy being able to have one or two adult beverages in the evening, and we all love the appetizer offerings.

We love that CL made us slow down at Disney. We used to be commando, but CL made us feel like we had to come back and enjoy the offerings (because we were paying for it). Last summer's stay at WL CL was the most relaxing vacation ever!

We love knowing what floor we will be on ahead of time.

We love the assistance of the IPO. Yes, I still make some of my reservations but having IPO is wonderful, especially the way some of the CRO CM's seem to be trained now... I love that I can call and reach a human being and not an automated system. Or, I can pop them an email and get a response back pretty quickly.

And yes, we do notice a little extra level of service staying CL. When we are on vacation, that is just nice, and something we are willing to splurge for.

We also love having the DVD player in the room with all the movies to borrow. That is great on a rainy day!

We tend to do longer stays (11 days) so having the extra room of the lounge is great for us.

Obviously, it's probably not a great fit for everyone, but those are the reasons we love it, and again, we would only book it with a good discount.

 

[M1Thumb]

We have only booked CL with a 40% discount, so it usually came to about $100/more per night. Last summer we stayed WL CL, and in April we will try YC CL.

How does one get a discount on CL?

 

[Mousemommy1]

How does one get a discount on CL?

We are using the military discount, but I have seen the CL rooms being included in many of the general public discounts, and AP discounts. It all comes down to availability, but discounts usually apply to CL rooms as well.

Even the current spring offer has CL rooms available.

 

[davedmaine]

A question for those who use CL for breakfast. Do you often to to Early MH?

Do you have time to eat CL and get on a bus to get to a park early enough?

We stayed CL at BC and just couldn't deal with the breakfasts. The place was incredibly crowded and it just wasn't worth the aggrvation..

 

[luvdisney77]

Is the CSR Business Level the same as Deluxe Club level though?

If it's not the same, then I'm guessing I won't waste the $$ on it.

 

[samacita]

All these interesting comments are making me wonder about booking CL as room only and skipping a dining plan. CL sounds expensive, but it is cheaper than DDP. And one of our kids is not a big eater. If CL means not having to pay for dining plan and maybe just a couple of out of pocket meals, I wonder if it would be worth it. Hmm... I have some numbers to crunch, but in the meantime, anyone have an opinion on that?

 

[bethclayton]

All these interesting comments are making me wonder about booking CL as room only and skipping a dining plan. CL sounds expensive, but it is cheaper than DDP. And one of our kids is not a big eater. If CL means not having to pay for dining plan and maybe just a couple of out of pocket meals, I wonder if it would be worth it. Hmm... I have some numbers to crunch, but in the meantime, anyone have an opinion on that?

yes, this is sort of how we view it as well. when figuring out our cost, we count definitely needing to buy lunch every day (the food in the lounge at lunch is just snacks, like pretzels, cookies, gummy bears, etc.). we also count on buying some quick service food in the evenings. for instance, sometimes we are still hungry so we will grab some fries later at the resort.

 

[bethclayton]

If it's not the same, then I'm guessing I won't waste the $$ on it.

i can't remember which thread it was on, but i was just reading all about CSR CL somewhere on here this week. it is totally not the same as deluxe club level but still sounded nice. maybe try the CL thread or the CSR thread?

 

[Mousemommy1]

All these interesting comments are making me wonder about booking CL as room only and skipping a dining plan. CL sounds expensive, but it is cheaper than DDP. And one of our kids is not a big eater. If CL means not having to pay for dining plan and maybe just a couple of out of pocket meals, I wonder if it would be worth it. Hmm... I have some numbers to crunch, but in the meantime, anyone have an opinion on that?

Yes, I have an opinion.

We stayed WL CL in July and had the DDP. We thought that it was too much food. We found that in order to make it an ADR, we had to skip the lounge time so we didn't get all of the use out of the lounge that we could have.

For our upcoming trip, we are doing CL w/out the DDP. We only have 5 ADR's for our whole 11 day trip and most of those are lunch (when the lounge offerings are minimal). I think this is going to be a way better strategy for us to really get maximum benefit out of CL. The cost to upgrade to CL for 10 nights was $1030. The cost of the DDP would be $1400'ish...but, we feel that the DDP doesn't really fit the way we eat...we would never order deserts at every meal...sometimes, we just want an appetizer to share, etc...