The difference with club level is you pay what it costs for a week or two of groceries EVERY NIGHT for the privilege of having access to a lounge with some appetizers and continental breakfast. Oh, and you get access to a concierge desk that will do for you what you can do for yourself if you spend 2 minutes online.
Whoopdie doo
Worth is highly subjective. I can't argue that's it is worthwhile for you, but we think it's great.
We generally have 4-5 people per room and use a discount. With 2 guests at rack rates, it's less value. I also disagree with the 'week's' worth of groceries, but it depends on rate, ppl per room, etc.
It also matters a good deal if you will be drinking alcohol, and eating the appetizers/desserts/all day beverages. Again, you are probably right that you could go to a grocery store and get beer, etc. your self for a lower total bill than a week of CL....but if you were instead going to have beer at the bars of WDW- then CL starts to look better, plus I don't have to cook or do dishes!
For the lounge to be worthile, you have to go back to the resort during the day. If that's not your style, then CL probably doesn't make much sense. It also is not as worthwhile if you like eggs for breakfast. For me, I really like fruit in the a.m, and good fruits can be hard to find in the food courts. I also speak as someone who has tried many options over the years. Going to a grocery store takes time away from my very limited vacation, and time is money.
Another thing I like on CL is drinking coffee from a real mug. I really dislike the refillable mugs. I use them, but I much prefer real milk. When we do the refillable mugs, I always end up paying for milk. I also am not fond of TS breakfasts in the AM at WDW: too slow.
As for the assessment regarding club staff, not all CL are equal, and the new online booking is much better than the old system! If you'd only use the CL staff to do bookings after 180 days, you may be better off doing them online. All that said, we typically go to WDW as group of 12. Getting ADR's for 12 is easier when CL staff does it, esp if we book ahead of 180 days. We get the actual times we want!
Having the lounge as a meet up place is great.
As I'm the designated tour guide- having CL staff to answer questions makes my vacation much more enjoyable. Iinstead of relying on me, my family asks the staff. Beyond that, I'm not sure where to begin, but many times the staff has been very helpful. Once we lost a purse. The CL staff member located it in minutes! We probably would have eventually found it, but it would have taken much longer, and been much more stressful.
And that's just one example. Most of the others are too complicated to exmplain quickly. Staff can't do everything, but often they are quick to offer help, rather than us having to stand in line for 15minutes to seek help- and that makes all the difference.
There's no promise staff will do major extras, but lots of times they do add extra small touches. The number of little extras have been numerous and personal. Like once getting a fresh orchid in our room! Trash is emptied/towels refreshed twice a day. Again, it makes a world of difference when we have five people per room. (as opposed to just two) We try to reuse towels, but it's not always easy.
So I'd say, yes, the extra staff matters. In my mind, it kind of comes down to a time is money way of thinking. If you prefer to do things yourself, and don't mind taking time from your vacation to save a little, then CL may not be for you. If you feel time is money (as in you want to spend all of your vacation vacationing)- then CL starts to make more sense.
too busy park hopping
