Just back from our Orlando trip. We stayed one night at RPR, club level. We also stayed at Disney Riverside and Embassy Suites on International Drive. Of the three hotels, the RPR was my least favorite because I know how much more it was... though the kids (9,12) liked it the most. DH loved the suite room and Embassy omeletes.
I had mixed feelings about RPR because the parks were quiet the two days we went (10-mins for MIB, 5 mins for Dragon, 20-mins. for Mummy, only Hulk and Spiderman were 40 mins.) so it didn't actually seem like a huge perk. We got to US at before 11 am and DD and I were already done with the park at 4pm. DS and DH stayed an extra hour to do Rockit Rollercoaster one more time.
Early entry to Harry Potter though was essential. We got there around 8:30 am, and still did Forbidden Journey twice with no wait. Also, the Ollivander Wand Shop wait was less than a hour (My son got picked too, yeah!) We liked Spiderman, but not enough to do twice. Hulk, the kids did two times. We were done with the IA at 4 pm. We were actually done around 3 pm and just did the Poseidon thing to kill time and it was horrible...
My honest feeling is that it would have been okay to NOT have express passes, wait a little and stay at the park a little longer. On non-peak periods such as our visit (Jan 6-7), staying at a Partner hotel and take a taxi to get early entry would be a much cheaper alternative. At the same time, paying that much for one night is okay. It is nice not to worry about transportation and get back quickly to relax. We did enjoy the poolside activities. It does feel good to get pass the line-ups. The kids would probably talk me into doing one night again and I'd be fine, but if you are concerned about the expense, know that during non-peak periods, the express pass isn't essential.
About club level. We checked in at 9:30 am and was told to grab some breakfast at the lounge, so we actually had two days of breakfast! Something to note if you arrive early, club breakfast goes until 10:30 am. I loved how we could have a quick and filling breakfast without line-ups or bother finding breakfast places. My husband didn't like continental breakfasts and said two mornings would be all he could handle. (He wanted to go back to the Embassy badly....) My daughter and I liked the evening supper but my son wouldn't eat the stuff and my husband said he'd much prefer we head out to Citywalk and try places there instead. The desserts that evening were mediocre so we had some cookies and skipped the rest. We were also under the impression that we could return to the lounge after check-out time to get drinks, but our elevator passes would not work in the afternoon. If you were already on the 7th floor, you can still use the lounge but our keys stopped working (We were staying on the 6th floor).
Overall, I would say club level is worth the price tag if you have a family of four AND you are checking in early. It is also very convenient. But if you have picky eaters or you want to try various restaurants, then skip it.
Our final verdict is that we would probably stay one night again. If it was booked, I wouldn't sweat it. And we wouldn't do club level again.
I had mixed feelings about RPR because the parks were quiet the two days we went (10-mins for MIB, 5 mins for Dragon, 20-mins. for Mummy, only Hulk and Spiderman were 40 mins.) so it didn't actually seem like a huge perk. We got to US at before 11 am and DD and I were already done with the park at 4pm. DS and DH stayed an extra hour to do Rockit Rollercoaster one more time.
Early entry to Harry Potter though was essential. We got there around 8:30 am, and still did Forbidden Journey twice with no wait. Also, the Ollivander Wand Shop wait was less than a hour (My son got picked too, yeah!) We liked Spiderman, but not enough to do twice. Hulk, the kids did two times. We were done with the IA at 4 pm. We were actually done around 3 pm and just did the Poseidon thing to kill time and it was horrible...
My honest feeling is that it would have been okay to NOT have express passes, wait a little and stay at the park a little longer. On non-peak periods such as our visit (Jan 6-7), staying at a Partner hotel and take a taxi to get early entry would be a much cheaper alternative. At the same time, paying that much for one night is okay. It is nice not to worry about transportation and get back quickly to relax. We did enjoy the poolside activities. It does feel good to get pass the line-ups. The kids would probably talk me into doing one night again and I'd be fine, but if you are concerned about the expense, know that during non-peak periods, the express pass isn't essential.
About club level. We checked in at 9:30 am and was told to grab some breakfast at the lounge, so we actually had two days of breakfast! Something to note if you arrive early, club breakfast goes until 10:30 am. I loved how we could have a quick and filling breakfast without line-ups or bother finding breakfast places. My husband didn't like continental breakfasts and said two mornings would be all he could handle. (He wanted to go back to the Embassy badly....) My daughter and I liked the evening supper but my son wouldn't eat the stuff and my husband said he'd much prefer we head out to Citywalk and try places there instead. The desserts that evening were mediocre so we had some cookies and skipped the rest. We were also under the impression that we could return to the lounge after check-out time to get drinks, but our elevator passes would not work in the afternoon. If you were already on the 7th floor, you can still use the lounge but our keys stopped working (We were staying on the 6th floor).
Overall, I would say club level is worth the price tag if you have a family of four AND you are checking in early. It is also very convenient. But if you have picky eaters or you want to try various restaurants, then skip it.
Our final verdict is that we would probably stay one night again. If it was booked, I wouldn't sweat it. And we wouldn't do club level again.
