Trial Club Level Fastpass+ Purchase Program Planning & Discussion

[JJ2017]

It all depends who you get at Dolphin, but I mostly have been fortunate to get someone who really knows their stuff. We did this program back in November and I actually booked it over a full year before that (before the merger and you could book at like 500 days).

We specifically booked a Deluxe Alcove room with connecting standard Double Room. We had a HUGE suite with this connection and it was simply amazing. This time around we are going to book one Premium Studio at Dolphin. It has a 3/4 wall separating the bedroom and the living area, but I think it can work out for us.

To qualify for CL - you have to book a Deluxe Alcove, Premium Studio or one of the higher end Suites - all of these qualified to book the extra FPs (at least for our past trip). Hoping nothing has changed.

And to complicate things further - you can book these suites using Marriott points plus a cash upgrade fee.

 

[Tiffer]

I called the Dolphin and they had no idea what the heck I was talking about. I was planning on calling signature services anyway and I asked about the Dolphin. The lovely CM, Ryan, was very helpful and confirmed that some suites at S&D did have the option to buy the extra FP+ but did confirm it was a trial and relatively new to the S&D and suggested I try again. I went to the Marriott website where there is no category labeled suites. Having stayed in one I know there are but they are new to the Marriott website having been a Starwoods property until recently. So I called the Dolphin back and Guest Services still had NO IDEA what I was talking about but transferred me to in-house reservations. I spoke to Carina at in-house reservations and she knew EXACTLY what I was talking about and was able to give me the Marriott member rate that was online and attached it to my Marriott member number. The Marriott website calls them Alcove Rooms. Dolphin has double beds but no balcony or view. Swan does not have double beds only King and they do have a balcony but they are about $100+ more a night so I went with the double beds over the pull out sofa.

August 2018 we Stayed in a Family Alcove Suite aka Deluxe Alcove; King bedroom, living room, little dining like area with fridge, bathroom, connected to room with two doubles. Lots of needed space. Three of our 5 people purchased the CL FP+ program for 3 days. (Back when we still got reserved viewing though only at MK did any CM even know what we were talking about). The DSS CM was so kind, that she booked all of our FP+s for us, including for the 2 in our party that didn't purchase the program, though of course they didn't get the extra, just their regular 3. All I had to say when I called DSS was that I was in a qualified room at Dolphin. They never even asked the name.

 

[JJ2017]

Did anyone use this program during Xmas week? Thoughts?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Did anyone use this program during Xmas week? Thoughts?

An unhelpful non-answer to your question, but I purposely opted not to use it for a recent trip around New Years. I love Disney over the holidays, but no way did I want to be in any park long enough to use 6 FPs!

 

[Babsy]

August 2018 we Stayed in a Family Alcove Suite aka Deluxe Alcove; King bedroom, living room, little dining like area with fridge, bathroom, connected to room with two doubles. Lots of needed space. Three of our 5 people purchased the CL FP+ program for 3 days. (Back when we still got reserved viewing though only at MK did any CM even know what we were talking about). The DSS CM was so kind, that she booked all of our FP+s for us, including for the 2 in our party that didn't purchase the program, though of course they didn't get the extra, just their regular 3. All I had to say when I called DSS was that I was in a qualified room at Dolphin. They never even asked the name.

What was the view from the Deluxe alcove suite like? I read that these rooms are on the 'corners', does that mean that they are far out on the wings at the Dolphin? Or are you able to get close to the lobby?

Very nice plus that you are able to book CL FP+ with them.

I have stayed at the Dolphin often, but usually in a fireworks view room. We have never stayed in a suite there before.

Thank you!!!

 

[JJ2017]

An unhelpful non-answer to your question, but I purposely opted not to use it for a recent trip around New Years. I love Disney over the holidays, but no way did I want to be in any park long enough to use 6 FPs!

So that’s what I’m thinking too. We are rope droppers and last trip of 5 park days 4 ended at Epcot. I can see using three FPs in one park and three in EP each evening. With resort time in between. Hm.... I’m hoping the program sticks around.

 

[JJ2017]

What was the view from the Deluxe alcove suite like? I read that these rooms are on the 'corners', does that mean that they are far out on the wings at the Dolphin? Or are you able to get close to the lobby?

Very nice plus that you are able to book CL FP+ with them.

I have stayed at the Dolphin often, but usually in a fireworks view room. We have never stayed in a suite there before.

Thank you!!!

Our view was of the boardwalk. The deluxe alcove did not have a balcony but the connecting double did. I loved the view. Eseocially watching the boats come in first thing in the morning. I’m not sure if all have the same view.

 

[TwinkleKS]

Did anyone use this program during Xmas week? Thoughts?

We used the Club Level FP+ program Christmas week and it worked great. We were able to ride all of the major attractions plus some with little to no wait time.

On the MK day, we had the 6 original FP, one "extra" due to a front desk mishap (we were locked out of our room and Club Level multiple times), and two FP from refreshing after the original three were used. We could have used at least one more "refresh" FP, but we were ready to go to dinner by then.

While we did have PH, we didn't actual PH with our FP selections, although it would have been a possibility. It just wasn't necessary with how I had our trip planned.

Having gone during Christmas week multiple times, it made it easier for me to think through how I wanted to arrange the FP around our dining and rides I know we like to go on and due to the timing of when we would be near them wouldn't have a long line even when we didn't have the FP.

Basically it made for a seamless trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[JJ2017]

We used the Club Level FP+ program Christmas week and it worked great. We were able to ride all of the major attractions plus some with little to no wait time.

On the MK day, we had the 6 original FP, one "extra" due to a front desk mishap (we were locked out of our room and Club Level multiple times), and two FP from refreshing after the original three were used. We could have used at least one more "refresh" FP, but we were ready to go to dinner by then.

While we did have PH, we didn't actual PH with our FP selections, although it would have been a possibility. It just wasn't necessary with how I had our trip planned.

Having gone during Christmas week multiple times, it made it easier for me to think through how I wanted to arrange the FP around our dining and rides I know we like to go on and due to the timing of when we would be near them wouldn't have a long line even when we didn't have the FP.

Basically it made for a seamless trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Thank you so much. We are type A, stick to itinerary type of people. Our last trip we had 7 FPs per day and never changed any of them after the 90 day booking. So I think with such high crowds it will work very well for us. I just am so worried about the opening of Star Wars affecting the CL Trial Program. At the very least I have developed a "good relationship" with my first DSS CM that I hope he would give me a heads up if it's going away. I know he probably couldn't say anything, but I'm hoping.

 

[Babsy]

Our view was of the boardwalk. The deluxe alcove did not have a balcony but the connecting double did. I loved the view. Eseocially watching the boats come in first thing in the morning. I’m not sure if all have the same view.

Sounds awesome! Thank you!

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

I just am so worried about the opening of Star Wars affecting the CL Trial Program. At the very least I have developed a "good relationship" with my first DSS CM that I hope he would give me a heads up if it's going away. I know he probably couldn't say anything, but I'm hoping.

I can't imagine them making it go away. They might increase the price, or limit the SWGE rides, etc. It's an easy money making machine for Disney, so I think it's here to stay as long as it turns a profit. Could be wrong, and obviously just my opinion that doesn't count for anything! ha!

 

[Tiffer]

What was the view from the Deluxe alcove suite like? I read that these rooms are on the 'corners', does that mean that they are far out on the wings at the Dolphin? Or are you able to get close to the lobby?

Very nice plus that you are able to book CL FP+ with them.

I have stayed at the Dolphin often, but usually in a fireworks view room. We have never stayed in a suite there before.

Thank you!!!

Our view was of the boardwalk. The deluxe alcove did not have a balcony but the connecting double did. I loved the view. Especially watching the boats come in first thing in the morning. I’m not sure if all have the same view.

This is similar to ours as well! Other than two different cleaning crews assigned to the rooms, one would be cleaned early and one often late, despite my repeated requests to clean when we left the room for the day. Also, they didn't have our room ready even close to check in time, despite my request for an early check in. They ended up giving us a temporary room to change in so we could get to our dinner at DS. Took hours. I kid uou not. One of the worst check in and housekeeping experiences of my life. But other than that...the hotel and amenities were wonderful.

 

[Nikki0401]

We have a split stay coming up in August, both stays are Club Level, if I purchase 3 days of these fast passes can they be spread out over the two stays or just one?

 

[chimoe]

We have a split stay coming up in August, both stays are Club Level, if I purchase 3 days of these fast passes can they be spread out over the two stays or just one?

Same thing here for our trip we are planning to book in September.. Have you called DSS to check yet?

 

[ninafeliz]

We have a split stay coming up in August, both stays are Club Level, if I purchase 3 days of these fast passes can they be spread out over the two stays or just one?

You can spread them over multiple resorts as long as they are all club level- we did a 4/4/4 split, all CL, and did one day during each resort. You do have to wait until 90 days from the last stay to book, and I imagine (but don’t know for sure) all the CL stays need to be continuous, without a regular non-cl stay in the middle

 

[Grasshopper2016]

Just got back from a trip where we used this program. A few quick thoughts.

(1) We stayed in a Deluxe Alcove room at the Swan. This is probably the cheapest way to take advantage of this program. We love the Swan, and always stay there, so it was the perfect choice for us. One caveat though. Regular rooms at the Swan have two queen beds, and the beds are famously comfortable. The Deluxe Alcove room is an amazing room, very large, with great windows and great views. But it contains one king-sized bed and a sleeper sofa. Which meant that the kids were worse off than they usually are in a standard room --- instead of sharing a super-comfortable queen bed, they had to share a sofa bed. That was kind of a bummer.

(2) I had no trouble switching our regular fastpasses to double up on the best rides soon after booking them. So we did FOP twice, Test Track twice, etc.

(3) For the most part, we used the strategy of booking our regular fastpasses for early in the morning, and our CL fastpasses for the end of the day. So that, during the window between swiping in for our last regular fastpass, and an hour before the start of our first CL fastpass, we could get and use more regular fastpasses. That worked pretty well, but not as well as we were hoping. The refresh strategy just didn't pay off as well for us this trip as it has in the past. The parks were very crowded, and it was hard to get many good rides. In past years, with diligent refreshing, we were able to get almost everything on fourth or subsequent fastpasses, except the major headliners like SDMT and FOP. This time, it was a lot of Small World, Primeval Whirl, Buzz Lightyear, Teacups, etc.

(4) For that reason, the CL fastpass program was a life-saver. It ensured that we were able to ride everything that we wanted to ride without having to stand in any long lines the whole trip. These days, it is common to have to wait about an hour standby for rides like PotC, EE, and BTMRR --- and much longer than that for SDD, FOP, SDMT --- even on days that aren't considered to be unusually crowded. I honestly don't think we would go back to Disney if there wasn't a way to avoid that fate. This program, combined with the EMM and DHS events, lets you do that. It's crazy expensive, but as long as I'm blowing a ton of money to go to Disney, I'm willing to blow even more to make sure that the trip is a success.

Here's hoping that they keep it in place!

 

[JJ2017]

Just got back from a trip where we used this program. A few quick thoughts.

(1) We stayed in a Deluxe Alcove room at the Swan. This is probably the cheapest way to take advantage of this program. We love the Swan, and always stay there, so it was the perfect choice for us. One caveat though. Regular rooms at the Swan have two queen beds, and the beds are famously comfortable. The Deluxe Alcove room is an amazing room, very large, with great windows and great views. But it contains one king-sized bed and a sleeper sofa. Which meant that the kids were worse off than they usually are in a standard room --- instead of sharing a super-comfortable queen bed, they had to share a sofa bed. That was kind of a bummer.

(2) I had no trouble switching our regular fastpasses to double up on the best rides soon after booking them. So we did FOP twice, Test Track twice, etc.

(3) For the most part, we used the strategy of booking our regular fastpasses for early in the morning, and our CL fastpasses for the end of the day. So that, during the window between swiping in for our last regular fastpass, and an hour before the start of our first CL fastpass, we could get and use more regular fastpasses. That worked pretty well, but not as well as we were hoping. The refresh strategy just didn't pay off as well for us this trip as it has in the past. The parks were very crowded, and it was hard to get many good rides. In past years, with diligent refreshing, we were able to get almost everything on fourth or subsequent fastpasses, except the major headliners like SDMT and FOP. This time, it was a lot of Small World, Primeval Whirl, Buzz Lightyear, Teacups, etc.

(4) For that reason, the CL fastpass program was a life-saver. It ensured that we were able to ride everything that we wanted to ride without having to stand in any long lines the whole trip. These days, it is common to have to wait about an hour standby for rides like PotC, EE, and BTMRR --- and much longer than that for SDD, FOP, SDMT --- even on days that aren't considered to be unusually crowded. I honestly don't think we would go back to Disney if there wasn't a way to avoid that fate. This program, combined with the EMM and DHS events, lets you do that. It's crazy expensive, but as long as I'm blowing a ton of money to go to Disney, I'm willing to blow even more to make sure that the trip is a success.

Here's hoping that they keep it in place!

Hi - did you have any issues booking that room category at Swan and having all people in your party coded correctly in MDE?

 

[Nikki0401]

Same thing here for our trip we are planning to book in September.. Have you called DSS to check yet?

No I figured I would check here first, someone below said they were able to do it so now I’m going to weigh my options. Depending on what’s offered during my stay I may take advantage on early morning magic at MK and HWS. We’ve done the MK the past few years and love it, so it depends on what offered and if it fits in out plan.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Just got back from a trip where we used this program. A few quick thoughts.

(1) We stayed in a Deluxe Alcove room at the Swan. This is probably the cheapest way to take advantage of this program. We love the Swan, and always stay there, so it was the perfect choice for us. One caveat though. Regular rooms at the Swan have two queen beds, and the beds are famously comfortable. The Deluxe Alcove room is an amazing room, very large, with great windows and great views. But it contains one king-sized bed and a sleeper sofa. Which meant that the kids were worse off than they usually are in a standard room --- instead of sharing a super-comfortable queen bed, they had to share a sofa bed. That was kind of a bummer.

(2) I had no trouble switching our regular fastpasses to double up on the best rides soon after booking them. So we did FOP twice, Test Track twice, etc.

(3) For the most part, we used the strategy of booking our regular fastpasses for early in the morning, and our CL fastpasses for the end of the day. So that, during the window between swiping in for our last regular fastpass, and an hour before the start of our first CL fastpass, we could get and use more regular fastpasses. That worked pretty well, but not as well as we were hoping. The refresh strategy just didn't pay off as well for us this trip as it has in the past. The parks were very crowded, and it was hard to get many good rides. In past years, with diligent refreshing, we were able to get almost everything on fourth or subsequent fastpasses, except the major headliners like SDMT and FOP. This time, it was a lot of Small World, Primeval Whirl, Buzz Lightyear, Teacups, etc.

(4) For that reason, the CL fastpass program was a life-saver. It ensured that we were able to ride everything that we wanted to ride without having to stand in any long lines the whole trip. These days, it is common to have to wait about an hour standby for rides like PotC, EE, and BTMRR --- and much longer than that for SDD, FOP, SDMT --- even on days that aren't considered to be unusually crowded. I honestly don't think we would go back to Disney if there wasn't a way to avoid that fate. This program, combined with the EMM and DHS events, lets you do that. It's crazy expensive, but as long as I'm blowing a ton of money to go to Disney, I'm willing to blow even more to make sure that the trip is a success.

Here's hoping that they keep it in place!

The Deluxe Alcove rooms at the Dolphin have double beds but no balcony or view but I know my DD's dislike the sleeper sofa and it isn't worth having them tired to start the day.

I have dozens of trips at the Dolphin under my belt and I have never, ever had an early check in. It is the absolute worst resort for early check in anywhere in America. Maybe now that they are Marriott they might get with the program so to speak but what kills me is that there can often be a line to check bags with loaded bag carts all over the place. We always have our park gear packed in the outside of the suitcase so we can change into our warm weather clothes.

Without the CL fastpass available I don't think I would even consider a WDW trip. The logistics are getting more and more tedious. SB lines have shot through the roof and the fourth FP+ for headliners have never been available when we have been there and hours have been cut. Plus, I miss the trips when you could change your park days around and go to the waterpark for the day if the weather was good. Now, I would never give up daytime FP+ so no more relaxing days at the waterpark.

 

[QueenElinor]

Without the CL fastpass available I don't think I would even consider a WDW trip. The logistics are getting more and more tedious. SB lines have shot through the roof and the fourth FP+ for headliners have never been available when we have been there and hours have been cut. Plus, I miss the trips when you could change your park days around and go to the waterpark for the day if the weather was good. Now, I would never give up daytime FP+ so no more relaxing days at the waterpark.

I agree the CL FP are a game changer for us. They are expensive but a drop in the bucket compared to what we spend at WDW since we're coming from MT. In fact, the same can be said about the CL program in general, and the Minnie Vans, dessert parties, etc. All the upgrades- I'm grateful they exist and we can afford it. We wouldn't come without them.

They're following the lead of the airlines- what was once enjoyable and exciting has become a bad experience, and you have to pay more for it to become enjoyable and exciting again.

I do feel for the folks who can't afford all this, though. WDW doesn't seem like they are aiming at the middle class anymore, and that's sad. It's every kid's dream to go, but it seems less and less attainable.