Is Club Level Worth It?

[jenn24z]

Ok I have never stayed in a CL EVER! We have been to only one Deluxe resort the Contemporary. We are going for my birthday in April for 5 nights and the rate is coming out about 100 extra a night to stay club level at the Yacht Club Resort. I really would like to try this but I don't know if it is worth the money? We are getting a little more back then original thought on taxes so I was thinking about splurging a little bit...

TIA for advice!

 

[Dorisk3]

I think it is definetly a fun perk to stay CL. Unless you are a big alcohol drinker, you probably won't make up the $100 on the breakfast, snacks and appetizers. But if you have the extra money, it is fun. It's great to know when you get back to the resort you can stop and get a soda and some snacks and nice to have breakfast taken care of in the morning. Good luck with your decision!

 

[madalex]

Worth is very subjective. There are amenities available at club level (advance itinerary planning assistance, separate keyed entrance to the club level room floor/area, availability of a lounge with breakfast, snacks and drinks, turn down service, etc.) that have some value, but whether or not those amenities are "worth it" to you is impossible for anyone else to say. Can you save $100/day on food by eating the food in the lounge? Probably not. But, many people (myself included) are willing to pay the extra cost for club level because it is indeed "worth it" to them.

 

[CanadianGuy]

You've asked the proverbial 'impossible question' ..

Why?

One person's "SOOOO worth every penny" - is another person's 'GIANT waste of money'.

If you make good use of some of the concierge level benefits which include :

- pre trip planning and reservations assistance
- assistance during the trip with reservations and special event tickets
- treats and snacks in the concierge lounge near your room
- access to certain tours like the Wildlife Discovery Tour

And it IS true that a certain number of tables at all Disney sit-down restaurants are held for Concierge Level guests ... so they can often get you into that 'impossible to get into' eatery at the last minute.

Whether all that and some comfy robes and triple sheeted beds is worth the money .. depends on exactly how much of those services you intend to make use of... I suppose.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Ok I have never stayed in a CL EVER! We have been to only one Deluxe resort the Contemporary. We are going for my birthday in April for 5 nights and the rate is coming out about 100 extra a night to stay club level at the Yacht Club Resort. I really would like to try this but I don't know if it is worth the money? We are getting a little more back then original thought on taxes so I was thinking about splurging a little bit...

TIA for advice!

No....not worth the 100.00 extra a day....I can say this because we have used CL in the past at different resorts....but that was back when resort rates we not so high, discounts were bigger and CL was not as expensive as of now.....

For a continental type breakfast offering.....crackers and snacks for lunch and a mediocre offering for dinner.....the only thing close to worth it are the cordials and alcohol offered in the evening....others say the ease of grabbing something, bottled water, lounge...etc,.....for 100.00 a day...come on...

We do a grocery stop in route and we can buy enough of everything they offer, including alcohol and drinks for a one time price of 100.00 in enough quantity to last us the whole week and then some....case of bottled water 3-4 bucks at the store....we set up our room to have those items anytime we want and know what we have...it's not all picked over....and we can take our stuff to the pool and enjoy in the sunny Florida air....

As for what else you get, IPO....to make reservations...you can do that at home before you leave on line...not that hard to do and if the on line system says everything is booked, likely the IPO is the same....no special favors done there (some will disagree, read them before but it isn't the norm)

I'm no different then the next, do enjoy the special feeling going to the CL floor, but at the rate they charge, isn't worth what it used to be....no bigger room, no different views, turn down service can be had at any resort....so alot of extra money for little in return...but if you must....do...see for yourself....we won't even think about CL unless they offer and up grade to us for free or some super discount comes out.....sorry.....just the way I see it..

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Worth is very subjective. There are amenities available at club level (advance itinerary planning assistance, separate keyed entrance to the club level room floor/area, availability of a lounge with breakfast, snacks and drinks, turn down service, etc.) that have some value, but whether or not those amenities are "worth it" to you is impossible for anyone else to say. Can you save $100/day on food by eating the food in the lounge? Probably not. But, many people (myself included) are willing to pay the extra cost for club level because it is indeed "worth it" to them.

I totally agree with this. Like you we are also willing to pay the extra for CL because for us it's worth it as well. To others it may not be worth the extra cost.

There may be other things that you could do with the extra money that would make your BD extra special like a fireworks cruise or a special dinner at a signature restaurant instead of CL. But only you would know. Happy planning and have a wonderful BD trip.

 

[coopersmom]

And it IS true that a certain number of tables at all Disney sit-down restaurants are held for Concierge Level guests ... so they can often get you into that 'impossible to get into' eatery at the last minute.

I'm not sure where you get that information as that hasn't been the case on our two club-level visits in the past year. In fact, we've been specifically told the opposite--that concierges have no more influence on dining reservations than we do online--and I've seen that confirmed here again and again.

It's highly possible you know something I don't (I'm far from a Disney expert) but that statement flies in the face of everything I've heard from Cast Members and previously read on the Dis, not to mention personal experience.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

As one poster said this question is subjective. We feel it is worth it for several reasons:

1. extra space - our teenage kids love to sleep in, so this gives us an area to take it easy and read the paper or .......

2. The breakfast, treats and snack close to you

3. the extra services

4. the people you meet

 

[padawans]

No....not worth the 100.00 extra a day....I can say this because we have used CL in the past at different resorts....but that was back when resort rates we not so high, discounts were bigger and CL was not as expensive as of now.....

For a continental type breakfast offering.....crackers and snacks for lunch and a mediocre offering for dinner.....the only thing close to worth it are the cordials and alcohol offered in the evening....others say the ease of grabbing something, bottled water, lounge...etc,.....for 100.00 a day...come on...

We do a grocery stop in route and we can buy enough of everything they offer, including alcohol and drinks for a one time price of 100.00 in enough quantity to last us the whole week and then some....case of bottled water 3-4 bucks at the store....we set up our room to have those items anytime we want and know what we have...it's not all picked over....and we can take our stuff to the pool and enjoy in the sunny Florida air....

As for what else you get, IPO....to make reservations...you can do that at home before you leave on line...not that hard to do and if the on line system says everything is booked, likely the IPO is the same....no special favors done there (some will disagree, read them before but it isn't the norm)

I'm no different then the next, do enjoy the special feeling going to the CL floor, but at the rate they charge, isn't worth what it used to be....no bigger room, no different views, turn down service can be had at any resort....so alot of extra money for little in return...but if you must....do...see for yourself....we won't even think about CL unless they offer and up grade to us for free or some super discount comes out.....sorry.....just the way I see it..

I am like you.
We always rent a car and do a grocery stop so for us its not worth the extra money. The only time we stay Cl is at Universal because the prices are more reasonable there. I am not saying I wouldn't like to try club level, but it would not be to save money on food. It would be for a fun splurge if I had the extra money.

 

[Pepperldy]

My husband and I stayed Yacht Club CL in May, and it was not worth it for us. We were usually out of the room during the time the snacks were out, or we didn't want to eat because we had an ADR for dinner and didn't want to get too full. The rooms weren't anything special in terms of size, amenities or view. We did use the IPO, but with the exception of the V&A Chef's Table, we could have made all of our reservations ourselves and probably gotten everything we wanted.

We did like the convenience of being able to pop into the Lounge for breakfast, but we just ate cereal/bagels. It would maybe be worth it to me if I was going to spend a lot more time at the resort or if I had a couple of hungry teenage boys.

 

[TaraPA]

I'll let you know in 2 months! Booking the next family trip, my main priority was more space. We do spend time in our room & with 2 growing teen boys, a standard size room just doesn't cut it for us. We all like our own space.

So I was all ready to book a 1BR villa at BWV, when the AP discount was released. For the same price I could get a Deulxe (larger than standard) CL room at BC. I decided to sacrifice some space to try CL, just for fun. I know we won't get $100/day worth of snacks & drinks out of it. One son is a very picky eater, I doubt he'd eat anything at the evening snack or dessert time. He may literally get a soda & cookie each day from the lounge. DH is a meat & potatoes kind of guy, so we'll still need to be eating 3 meals a day besides the CL offerings. We don't plan to race back to the lounge mid-day just to take advantage of the included snacks. So for us it's not a money savings thing at all, I just figured it would be special & fun. As the boys keep growing I'm sure we'll want to spread out in a villa, so I thought I'd jump on this now. So to us, that makes it "worth" it!

 

[bowbat]

For our family, it's not only worth it -- it's practically a necessity! We spent one night at WL in October, booked last minute and no CL rooms were available with our discount. OMG, we missed it so much. We're big "convenience" people, so being able to grab breakfast when we get up, without waiting in lines or anything, being able to grab water & snacks & a latte during the day, being able to have a place to go & stretch out when the room gets tight (while avoiding crowds in the lobby), and being able to enjoy a glass or two of wine in the evening...SO worth it. Not to mention the personalized attention, from the separate check-in to the planning assistance to just having someone at the ready to answer any questions or help in any way.

If you spend most of your days & evenings at the parks, it might not be worth it to you. If you do all your own planning, it might not be worth it to you. If you see value only in quantifiable things like the amount of food you can consume, it might not be worth it to you. But for us, time is money, and CL saves us a lot of time we'd otherwise be standing in line or schlepping around.

 

[billfatora]

You've asked the proverbial 'impossible question' ..

"...and it IS true that a certain number of tables at all Disney sit-down restaurants are held for Concierge Level guests ... so they can often get you into that 'impossible to get into' eatery at the last minute...."

I completely agree that the answer "is relative", but I've gotta' tell ya'... I'd be very shocked if the above-included quote doesn't start a real s***-storm !
EVERYBODY knows that the quote ISN'T TRUE... even though IT IS !
Truth be told, they can - and very-often do - go that "extra mile" for their "guests".... And, simply-stated, they also have complete computer access at their finger-tips.... So in reality, probably not "better treatment", just "better access".

 

[jenn24z]

Thank you all so much for the opinions and advice. I know that in the mornings going to the crowded breafast areas as like POP was so impossible with the two kids in tow. One of us would have to stay back while the other one got food and then switch and the kids got really antsy in the mean time. My kids are 6 and 3. I don't need any of the planning because honestly we already did all of our ADR's in advance and I wasn't considering club level until now and we leave in 104 days... I was thinking that this might be easier to grab a quick bite in the mornings with the kids. They only eat basics anyway not really too much. I hate that you have to spend so much on a breakfast at the resorts and then they don't even eat half of it. Since we aren't in a villa it is harder to get all the stuff to put a breakfast in the room together, ie, bowls, milk, spoons etc... We don't rent a car because we would never probably use it.

I am so torn... I will probably never stay CL again honestly so this might be the one and only chance, however much like the time we stayed at the contemporary we were truly spoiled by that monorail... hahahaha....

Decisions Decisions!

 

[elaw]

It is very subjective ..... I think the only way to really determine if it's "worth it" to you is to try it.
I suggest a split stay .... book a CL room for a night or two
For me, conveinience plays a huge factor.

 

[mickeynut1]

As others have said, "worth" is different for everybody. We enjoy staying CL not because we save money with the food offerings, but because we like the convenience. We spend alot of time at the resort so we get alot of use out of the lounge. I make all of our ADRs so I don't utilize IPO for any planning, but I do like having somewhere to go to just sit and relax other than sitting in the room. Plus the lounge comes in handy as I am an early riser, so I head to the lounge and enjoy my morning coffee before everyone else gets up and moving for the day. Do we save money staying CL? Probably not, but it's nice to have the convenience for snacking, drinking, etc throughout the day as well as a place to come back to for relaxing after time in the parks.

 

[Pakey]

It really depends on how you vacation. We used to stay CL at WDW but we don't anymore. We still do when we vacation elsewhere but Disney's CL is mediocre. A continental breakfast, golfish crackers for lunch and cheese and hot wings at dinner and a scant selection of beer and cheap wine will not get you back to the $100 cost per day. However, the value of the convenience for you can only be determined by you. I'd probably still think it was great until I started staying club level at other places.

 

[Coparm]

I have never stayed CL, but going to Yacht Club in 2 weeks time

I did consider it and for the convenience of the nicer rooms and servcies I would have considered it, if we weren't on the DX DP. It just didnt make sense to me to be paying for the plan getting 3 meals and 2 snacks a day and then pay for CL.

Now if there is any chance a bit of pixie dust happens to fall our way and we get upgraded as its my 40th, Woohoo. But seriously doubt it would happen! haha

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

If you plan to spend a lot of time in the lounge for breakfast, the food offerings from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM and taking advantage of the pre-planning services from the IPO Cast Members before you arrive, then I would say Club Level is worth it.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

For our family of 4 we feel it is. This is my justification:

QS breakfast for all of us would run us about $30
Bottled water, soda and milk throughout day $20 EASY
Beer by the pool (hubby) $16
Snacks savings (it might not be what we would buy ourselves but it's there and therefore I don't have to run to QS to buy it.) $12

So even if we don't end up getting there for evening meals we are talking close to $80 in food offerings. If I add in a glass or two of wine then you are over $90.

Add in the convenience and we normally get there for either desserts or apps in the evening and it's well worth it!