club level vs dining plan

[bdklein]

Will wine be out that early? That sounds like a wonderful plan to me!

When we stayed at GF CL (Sl building) last year, we were told by the CM who checked us in that we coul get adult beverages by request. And we did. So no need to wait until 5!!!

 

[floridagirl61]

Will wine be out that early? That sounds like a wonderful plan to me!

YESSSSS

Also in the afternoon, we will be asking for beer to enjoy at the pool area, of course we will not take glass bottles to the pool, but all you have to do is ask and they will provide what you need, whether it is for milk for my grandson or a glass of wine for me.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

CL would definitely not be a replacement for the dining plan, or dining without a plan, for my family.

For us, it's simply a perk that we're willing to pay for. It'll be used as it's intended - as snacks, drinks, etc., while we're at the hotel. We tend to spend a lot of time at the resort, during the day, so for us it works.

ETA: I don't look at the DDP as a money-saving add-on, either. I've worked the numbers, and for our family, we spend less eating on-site, than what we pay for the DDP. I think it's inaccurate to assume that in order to save money by not being on the DDP, that you'd have to eat off-site.

This is a great post!

In short, for us, the benefit of CL is not about a flat out $ amount, as it is about the value of my time. My vacation time is very precious. I work very hard to get to WDW, and my time there is VERY finite. I like to maximize my fun, and minimize my aggravation. The question is, how finite is YOUR time?

A few points: DDP plus CL is WAY to much food. Second, DDP used to be a great deal. This year, it is not. It's hard to reach the break even point- you will likely lose money paying for DDP over paying oop. Disney is trying to phase out the appeal of DDP. Often folks compare free dining discount to the value of '%-off room only' discounts. At deluxes %off deals tend to be the better deal, at values free dining tends to be the better deal.

Eating offsite is less $ than onsite, but costs travel time. Eating dinner offsite means swapping 'Wishes' with driving in traffic. No thanks.

Getting groceries. If low costs are your top priority, this is the way to go.

CL is not = to all food costs, nor is eating on CL as fun as eating all over property. Like eating offsite, getting back to the lounge in the afternoon- can cost 'time.' You have to go back to the lounge to get to the food. We often combine CL with TS dinners, esp non-buffets.

Conversely though, CL SAVES morning time. Just a little ways outside your room is a continental breakfast buffet. Later, it's a snack/drink buffet. In the morning, when time is very much of the essence, CL breakfast is super fast. Especially with kids, who often want seconds, or need time to think about what they want. A new addition to CL, is that they now also hand out bottled water to take to the parks!!!

And that, to me is the 'value of CL'. It's not a dollar amount in a penny pinching sense, as it's the value of my time. When you stay CL, you avoid the resorts lines. Upon arrival, you are escorted to a private check-in desk. At any point in your vacation, you can go back to that help desk. No line. Ahh. Every morning, I get a real latte, with real milk, no line, no nasty dirty plastic mug. I don't spend time washing the nasty plastic mug, I don't wonder what bacteria is growing in the mug. Whenever you are near your room, you simply grab a cold drink, water, maybe a cookie, a beer, wine, maybe a little appetizer, coffee/tea/hot chocolate.

Disney is great, but they do sometimes make mistakes, or I have questions. One trip, I had to stand in the front desk concierge line three times to get my DDP credits fixed. Disney had never put the DDP credits on our KttW cards. It was annoying to have to stand in two separate lines four times to get one problem fixed, and took over an hour. On CL, one CM would have solved the problem in under five minutes while I sat in a comfy seat. Then he/she would have apologized. Like I said, it's about the quality of my time. When we stay CL, we simply find we are able to spend more of our vacation actually vacationing.

 

[MagicallyDelicious]

YESSSSS

Also in the afternoon, we will be asking for beer to enjoy at the pool area, of course we will not take glass bottles to the pool, but all you have to do is ask and they will provide what you need, whether it is for milk for my grandson or a glass of wine for me.

Nice! My husband is like a baby. When we're there, he has to take a nap.

I take that time to recharge with a glass of wine and a good book, either on my balcony, or down by the pool.

 

[fairygagamother]

If you can get a discount code, CL is definitely worth it. When I do the math, at least for our family, the breakfast alone almost makes up for the price difference. (I only stay CL if the price is within $50-75 for what I would be willing to pay for a non-club level room.) Many times, we have used the evening snacks as our dinner. One of everything is quite enough for my daughter & me. Not so much for my husband, but the beer pretty much gets him his money's worth! It really just depends on what kind of eaters you are, but for us, it pretty much replaces the meal plan. We usually do have to buy counter service meals for the grandkids (5 & 5) although they have filled up on crackers, cheese & fruit for some meals. And we've NEVER been told any of the food is limited. We just returned from BC & GF & even though both lounges were full all the time, the food was plentiful & constantly being replaced.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Club level alcohol is a bit limited as far as time/selection. We stayed at Yacht Club CL in March and had to request several times. And then you have to wait a bit for someone to bring it out. And THEN, if you want to take it to the pool it is a 5 minute walk. It was easier just to buy from the pool bar. If choosing between dining plan and CL it isn't even close -- DP offers a much greater value.