Club level worth it?

[Call me Flower]

Planning a trip for the end of march and would like to try club level, but it's $500 or more depending on the resort. It would be three adults and two children for four nights. Is it worth it? And if it is, which resorts do it better?

 

[nklooz]

Would love to hear the answers to this also.

 

[madalex]

"Worth" is a very subjective concept. For some, the amenities of club level are definitely worth it, while for others that is not the case.

Club level gives one access to a club lounge, which provides food, snacks and drinks throughout the day, as well as a place to hang out and relax. Can you eat $500 worth of food out of the lounge in four days or save $500 in other food costs by eating the food in the lounge? Probably not, but that is not how everyone defines worth.

Club level also gives you access to a planning office, which will help you make ADRs and other reservations before your trip. Club level has dedicated staff that can help with issues that come up during your trip. At many of the deluxe resorts, the club level rooms are on different floors or different sections of the resort that are only accessible by a club level key card. Is any/all of this worth $500? Only you can decide.

 

[gogo]

I agree with the previous poster regarding whether or not club level is worth it. I've stayed at several club levels at Disney, Yacht Club, Beach Club and Poly. There are certain food presentations throughout the day at specific times. Ex. breakfast from 6:00 a.m. - 10:00, appetizers 5:00 p.m. - 7:00p.m., desserts/cordials 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. If you plan on spending a good deal of time at your resort to take advantage of these offerings then you may feel it is worth the cost. But, if you spend a good part of each day at the parks with little resort time, it would not be a good value for some.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

it's worth it for us. even if for convenience alone! i'm a breakfast eater--he's not. i can go to the lounge while he's getting ready and not lose any time in the morning. this is huge for us because he's never super happy about early morning ADRs. we also drink lots of sprite, diet coke, orange juice, and hot tea--if you factor the cost of drinks... that helps a lot too. he also likes a few beers at night, and it's nice to have them there--as well as a little snack. we often eat our dinner at wdw around 9pm, so when appetizers come out around 5ish... it's nice to have a little bite of something.

also, if you want to make an adr, cancel an adr, etc.... you don't have to call and play with the automated system--you can go right to the desk and they'll do it for you.

some of the lounges offer great views of fireworks, and are just nice to sit in and relax.

i think it makes for a nice vacation, and definately makes you feel more pampered. if you have the money, i would go for it!!

 

[Call me Flower]

i'm a breakfast eater--he's not. i can go to the lounge while he's getting ready and not lose any time in the morning. this is huge for us because he's never super happy about early morning ADRs. we also drink lots of sprite, diet coke, orange juice, and hot tea--if you factor the cost of drinks... that helps a lot too. he also likes a few beers

That sounds like us too. I've wanted to try club, but didn't feel it was worth it with just 2 or 3 of us in the room. So, which resort does it best?

 

[kathie859]

That sounds like us too. I've wanted to try club, but didn't feel it was worth it with just 2 or 3 of us in the room. So, which resort does it best?

That's a matter of preference. We like the BWI due to the proximity of Epcot (a short stroll away) and DHS (a longer stroll or a quick boat ride away) plus the CL CM's are the best!

Oh, and a shout out to LuvLuvLuv....Hi Neighbor!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

That sounds like us too. I've wanted to try club, but didn't feel it was worth it with just 2 or 3 of us in the room. So, which resort does it best?

We've only experienced the Contemporary and the Yacht Club and have loved them both!! I'd say the Contemporary has a serious edge with the view for fireworks and the monorail. They pipe in the music too!!

That's a matter of preference. We like the BWI due to the proximity of Epcot (a short stroll away) and DHS (a longer stroll or a quick boat ride away) plus the CL CM's are the best!

Oh, and a shout out to LuvLuvLuv....Hi Neighbor!

Hello Hello!!!

 

[OhThePain]

We recently stayed CL at AKL and really enjoyed it. We utilized some of the food offerings every day (mostly breakfast, afternoon tea and the early evening offerings). The service was great and the CL staff were there to just chit chat or help with anything at the drop of a hat. Our flight home got canceled and Marshall did a great job with helping us get a room for a few nights (unfortunately not CL) as well as get our luggage back from ME to us since we had checked our bags in 9 hours before our flight was canceled.

For us it was worth staying, at AKL. I have priced out CL at the resorts since we got back and the only resorts we would find it worth staying CL at, with rack rates, are AKL and WL. With a nice % pin we would be more than happy to stay CL at most other resorts.

 

[HunnyJar]

You will hear both sides.. Some from people who love CL and others that do not think it is worth the added money.

For my family the extras we receive from staying CL are worth it. Just about every morning we stop by the lounge for a quick bite, some afternoons we will get a little pick-me up and we love stopping by in the evening for a little dessert. Now we have only stayed CL at the Poly so far, but it has given us so many wonderful Disney memories. We have had the opportunity to watch both Wishes and Hallowishes from the lounge after a long day of park going. To be able to relax and enjoy Wishes without the crowds and chaos can be a truly wonderful thing.

We also really do use the concierge services as well. Our last trip we really needed a prescription and the concierge staff was absolutely wonderful in helping us out. We stopped by the concierge desk and asked where the closest Walgreens was and they offered to pick up the medication for us and deliver it to our room. Seriously wonderful staff. I couldn't ask for more.

 

[kaffinito]

I echo what pp's have said. With a good discount it's worth it for us, for the snacks, breakfast items, and desserts. The service is also definitely worth it for us, and so is the ability to let the IPO office know that I want to change around my ADR's and then they do that for me (without my having to be on the phone with CRo for a longish time)

So I like staying CL, but I wouldn't use it for an entire trip, since I prefer split stays.

 

[Brian Noble]

Club level worth it?

If this is the question, as in "do we get more stuff than it costs", the answer is almost certainly no.

However, if the question is "did you find it valuable" then the answer is: it depends on how badly you'd miss that $500.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We loved it at Poly. Did we eat enough food to justify the cost? No way. But were taking a leisurely pace on the trip and spent quite a bit of time taking it easy at the resort. We liked having the lounge as a place to relax. The kids thought it was a cool place too with the little TV and little furniture (mine are young still) and a fridg where they could go get a sprite. It really became part of our vacation.

 

[bowbat]

Planning a trip for the end of march and would like to try club level, but it's $500 or more depending on the resort. It would be three adults and two children for four nights. Is it worth it? And if it is, which resorts do it better?

As others have said, the value of CL is subjective. For our family, however, it's practically a requirement.

We always eat breakfast in the lounge, and love that we can grab-and-go. It's quick, it's easy, it gets us to the parks asap. Since we're at the parks early, we're able to do all we want by mid-day & head back to the resort. That means we're there to enjoy snacks, drinks, and appetizers and/or desserts.

Spending a lot of time at the resort as we do, it's also nice to have that lounge space to go relax in -- keeps us from getting cabin fever in the room. And we love the perks of separate check-in and having CMs at the ready for all your needs. It makes our stay feel more personal. That might not seem like much, but to us it's priceless.

As to which resorts "do it better," I think it's largely just personal preference. Most of the offerings have been standardized so that no matter where you stay, you'll see the same things for breakfast & snacks. The evening offerings vary somewhat, but we haven't noticed a dramatic difference. The exception is GF, which also offers an afternoon tea with scones & pastries that no other resort offers.

We liked the food best at the Poly, though that's really luck of the draw as to what they serve when you're there. And the lounge at Poly is really nice & spacious. The CMs as BWI, however, were exceptional & really made our stay there so, so wonderful. As such, BWI is my favorite so far. We're staying at GF in February...maybe it'll change.

 

[mickeynut1]

As others have said, worth is different for everybody. For us, we see CL as more of a convenience rather than whether or not it's "worth it" for the money. I enjoy making my own ADRs so I don't use IPO for any planning, but I love having the lounge for snacks and drinks, along with having some place to just relax. We've stayed WL CL, GF SL, and GF RPC and all of them were great. We are considering trying Poly CL on our stay next summer. The Poly is our favorite resort and I have read alot of great reviews of their CL, especially the view of the castle from the lounge .

 

[rentayenta]

I'm toying with CL too.

 

[polynor]

We've done CL at Poly and Grand Cal. at Disneyland. In between we stayed at the BC not CL. Here's what we loved about staying CL:
1) With young kids and knowing ahead of time you're not going to close out the parks at midnight, it was nice coming back to the resort, grabbing a dessert, drink, and watching the fireworks (Poly and GC have views of their respective night shows).
2) we frequently borrowed DVDs that we wouldn't normally watch (old Mickey cartoons) watched them in the room after they were in their pjs. After they fell asleep, we watched our movies.
3) the CL CMs were wonderful -- the poly CMs had desserts and water waiting for us in the room when we checked in close to midnight. The lounge CMs were usually pretty accommodating.
4) my kids drink milk by the gallons. they always had some.
5) not hunting down breakfast. the stay at BC without CL, I schlepped to the BW several mornings looking for breakfast. It was a nice walk in the morning, but got a little resentful doing this several more times for my entire party.
6) someone else deals with making your reservations and keeping track of them for you. Sure it's not that big of a hassle -- but anything that takes away some of the busy work is good

So while we certainly didn't eat the amount the CL cost us -- it made everything less stressful -- which is not usually quantifiable in monetary terms.

 

[rentayenta]

So while we certainly didn't eat the amount the CL cost us -- it made everything less stressful -- which is not usually quantifiable in monetary terms.

Spot on!

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Cost breakdown: 3 adults, 2 kids (7days)

B- $30 x7= $210
Alcohol- $8 per beer x2 a night (assuming someone drinks) x7nights = $112
Not buying refillable mugs- $15 x 5= $75

Just on alcohol and breakfast you are looking at $387 easy. Then add in sodas and if multiple people drink beer/wine. Then add in snacks and evening desserts and afternoon offerings.

For a family of 5 you can easily eat $500 worth of CL food. With kids it's even a better deal since our little ones are grazers and will eat all day but not much of anything. They truly could just eat out of the lounge and it saves us a TON on snack foods at the resort CS.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I personally say it's worth it, however I also agree it depends on the resort you are thinking about staying at.