Is Club Level Worth It???

[k5thbeatle]

Looking at a stay at BC and considering bumping up to club level. Is club level really worth it especially with adults only who are mostly ( but not always) on the go at WDW? Somebody please tell me what club level room is like and would you do it again?

 

[Mousemommy1]

We've done CL a few times. You really can't make it "worth it" just based on the food/beverages that are available. We like it, because you get to feel a little more pampered and like the extra space of the lounge. We don't do it for every trip, but when we do, we enjoy it. We don't really break down the "worth" because it's more about experience for us.

If you're not planning to be at the resort during food/bev service times, I wouldn't even bother really.

 

[Hopefully]

How do you define “ worth”
The rooms are identical. Many love it

 

[k5thbeatle]

Maybe I phrased my question poorly by using the words "worth it". I guess I'm just trying to get a little better feel for what people's experiences were like with the extra amenities and if they would necessarily do it again?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Maybe I phrased my question poorly by using the words "worth it". I guess I'm just trying to get a little better feel for what people's experiences were like with the extra amenities and if they would necessarily do it again?

We've stayed CL and non-CL many times. For us, it literally comes down to cost savings. I calculate the price differential and decide if I could do more with the money saved by buying snacks and drinks for the room, etc. If you are always on the go in WDW and aren't going to visit the lounge a lot, it is probably not financially worth it. If you wanted to consider purchasing the extra CL FP+, then, it could, perhaps, be worth the expense. Just an example from the last time we stayed CL - it was at WL and, with a discount, staying CL at WL was cheaper than staying in a standard room at Poly, CR, GF, etc. Plus, CL standard rooms at WL offer a view of the MK fireworks. For us, that was totally worth it!

 

[TwinkleKS]

You aren't getting some extra special super huge different room with CL to sleep in, if that is what you are after (you can look up room advantages for the different resorts).

You do get the access to the lounges. If you aren't going to be in the hotel at the times they are open and serving their heavier snacks - then that would be a waste as well. If you are going to be there for a heavier snack time and / or you drink alcohol - you might enjoy it.

You do have the option to purchase the three extra CL FP's, which depending on the time of year you go and what all you want to do, can be worth something as well. But it is an additional $50 per day per person and must be done for three days I believe.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Maybe I phrased my question poorly by using the words "worth it". I guess I'm just trying to get a little better feel for what people's experiences were like with the extra amenities and if they would necessarily do it again?

Everybody has different likes, wants, and needs. And let me just say we spend a lot of money at Disney on up-charges, so I cant point fingers. But for the life of me I cant justify the cost of CL based on what you get for it. I can think of 100 better ways to spend the money at Disney.

 

[buzznina]

For us, we always wanted to try it and on one trip we were upgrade to CL (do to a very smelly room) and we found that it is not for our family. The breakfast is just continental and we got tired of that after day 2 and wanted a real breakfast. During the day they just have snacks and the the main appetizers are only out for a couple of hours (I believe it was 5-7) and most of the time we were still at the parks at that time. Then at night they have tons of deserts. We did use it the 2 resort days and thought it was pretty good.
To me, it's may be good if you will be hanging around the resort a lot, like to partake in adult beverages daily, want to feel special because you have access to a private room or want to spend even more $$ for the extra FP's. No way would I get it just to get one of the CL resort rooms.

 

[SgtTibbs]

Lost opportunity cost. If you had the extra money from NOT staying club where would you use it? Better food? Lyft to/from the parks to save time? Stay an extra day?

 

[AngiTN]

Looking at a stay at BC and considering bumping up to club level. Is club level really worth it especially with adults only who are mostly ( but not always) on the go at WDW? Somebody please tell me what club level room is like and would you do it again?

Mostly on the go? no
You have to be at the lounge to make it worth it.
But if you can make it so that you are there, yes. It's well worth it.
When we stay CL, we can go without any meals at all, if we wanted.
We usually will do 1 TS a day but that's it, no more.
But we do make time to be in the lounge for breakfast and then again for dinner. Lunch is usually our TS but somedays we do make it back for afternoon and can even skip our TS that day.
Desserts is the one service we do routinely skip.

Maybe I phrased my question poorly by using the words "worth it". I guess I'm just trying to get a little better feel for what people's experiences were like with the extra amenities and if they would necessarily do it again?

We almost always stay CL so yeah, we do it again, and again, and again. It's our preferred way to do Disney. And only pass on CL when we can't get it due to availability.

 

[focusondisney]

We stay CL at YC pretty much every trip. We usually have breakfast in the lounge every morning. Ww are not big breakfast eaters, so it is always enough for us. And we can serve ourselves, no waiting for a table or food to be prepared for us. We aren’t morning to night park goers so we pick up a snack most afternoons. We do have a lot of table service meals, but still check the evening appetizers most nights. If we have a big lunch, a few veggies & crackers and an app or 2 might be enough for dinner.

We also like knowing exactly what floor & area our room will be. And my DH likes that the CL rooms at YC are on a limited access floor. And you have access to Disney Signature Services. So if you don’t enjoy making advance reservations or don’t have time to, you can use them to make your ADRs or other reservations for you.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We stayed CL once, our very first trip at the Contemporary. Club level rooms were discounted but regular rooms weren't, or at least the discount on CL made it not much more per day than the regular room, I seem to recall the difference being about $50 per day, and it was cheaper than a regular theme park view room. For us, it was worth it because we got to view the MK fireworks from the club balcony (our rooms were Bayview), we got the breakfast every morning so we didn't have to use up park time in line for breakfast somewhere, and we enjoyed the evening appetizer and dessert service most nights. But other than that, the rooms were the same, and the club level service wasn't what you might expect if you are used to staying club level at 5 star resorts that charge similar prices.

TL/DR: Yes for short trips if I can get a discount on the CL room and will use the amenities in the lounge, no for longer ones and especially no for opening to close park touring styles.

 

[FSU Girl]

For me, it's not worth it. I've done it twice. The first time was in the main building at Grand Floridian and we were upgraded to the Victorian Suite. Admittedly that was the most amazing room, we barely wanted to leave the hotel. But the food offerings weren't enough for us to not eat at a restaurant as well, except breakfast. The second time was at Animal Kingdom Lodge and that was not worth it at all. Our room was far from the lounge and the food offerings just aren't enough for the additional cost. If we did the club level fast passes maybe it would be worth it then, but we'd probably only do that if we could get Star Wars.

 

[cakebaker]

We were comped CL in May at the YC. It was my first stay at CL. It was amazing and I loved it.I booked a stay at AK when we got home and yup, booked CL. Different resorts do their CL differently. At the YC, the rooms are all on the same floor as the lounge making is super convenient. At AKL, they aren't. We always ate breakfast in the lounge but only made it for dinner a couple of times. The mimosas in the morning almost enough to convince me I couldn't ever go back. lol The service is stellar and they really pamper you!

At AK, the price between a regular room and CL was so small that I doubt I'd ever do anything but CL. For other resorts, I'd want to make sure our trip was more relaxed so we could take advantage of the food. If we're out of the room open to close, CL is a waste to us.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

We were upgraded to club level at the Beach Club last December.

It was nice to be able to get free food right by the room, but other than that, it was exactly like any other room. We enjoyed it for the experience but at $200/night premium over normal rooms, we couldn't justify it. We're not big drinkers either, so that doesn't help justify the cost either.

If we won the lotto, we'd stay CL all the time, but until then, it's not worth it to us.

 

[alex9179]

It's all about the lounge for us, and depends on the type of trip/touring and how many people are in the room. For trips that involve all day touring, I wouldn't recommend it (though I wouldn't dissuade someone from booking it, either). In the winter the weather is often lovely and the parks close earlier so, we tend to stay out all day. On our summer trip, we took afternoon breaks and also stayed at the resort during thunderstorms. The lounge was kind of a refuge for us. Additionally, we were 5 with 3 bottomless pits. We get a lot of $ value from the food offerings on family trips.
I only used the concierge to make ADRs our first trip, I believe their duties have changed quite a bit since. I enjoy playing with options so I've done it all after that first trip. Our typical use is breakfast, snacks around pool time, beverages whenever we're at the resort, and apps if we happen to be there instead of at a park.

 

[drwadadli]

I have enjoyed reading all the responses and opinions. I had the same questions as the original poster. I was looking (haven't stopped looking yet) at doing a CL in fall of 2020 for my birthday trip and likely at Poly.

Anyone have any opinion of CL at the Poly? I haven't seen anyone post about that resort.

We are a family of 2 adults and typically "on-the-go" couple at WDW but as we have gotten older we might even come back to the room to rest a bit before heading back out for the evening and late nights at DS. So, all the responses and opinions have been very helpful.

It was mentioned several times that they sometimes offer discounts on CL rooms. When are they discounts usually posted?

 

[alex9179]

Standard CL room at the Poly are in the Hawaii longhouse. It's a great location for boat transportation, TTC, and the pool. We thought that the food offerings were pretty good, but it's probably middle-of-the-road in comparison to other resorts. We had a 3rd floor GV room and it was quiet and relaxing. I believe the 2nd floor doesn't have balconies so that's something to consider if you use yours. Service was very good and friendly. We stayed way back in 2012 and the lounge was open all day, where some of the other lounges close between services. This was really convenient for kids who are suddenly dying for a drink/snack!
We really enjoyed it as the second half of our split stay.

 

[Brett Wyman]

We stay CL at YC pretty much every trip. We usually have breakfast in the lounge every morning. Ww are not big breakfast eaters, so it is always enough for us. And we can serve ourselves, no waiting for a table or food to be prepared for us. We aren’t morning to night park goers so we pick up a snack most afternoons. We do have a lot of table service meals, but still check the evening appetizers most nights. If we have a big lunch, a few veggies & crackers and an app or 2 might be enough for dinner.

We also like knowing exactly what floor & area our room will be. And my DH likes that the CL rooms at YC are on a limited access floor. And you have access to Disney Signature Services. So if you don’t enjoy making advance reservations or don’t have time to, you can use them to make your ADRs or other reservations for you.

But for the cost of the CL room over a standard room in the same resort you could easily have three full meals plus drinks with money left over. I think this is whats confusing those of use that dont use CL.

 

[ErinsMommy]

We made the mistake of doing club one year to celebrate a birthday - and reason why I say a mistake is because we feel we can't go and NOT stay in a club level room anymore. *first world problems*