Wilderness Lodge Club level please help!

[KennyandKim]

We are booked for Club level Sept 18-24 2011. Our twin daughters will be celebrating their 16th birthdays on our trip. We wanted to do Club level to get that extra special treatment. Now I am second guessing if I should stay standard and upgrade our dining to Deluxe. We do tend to spend alot of time at the parks. I am just wondering if the extra cost of club level is worth it. I really liked the fact that there would be something to eat out all day and evening long. I'm not sure how often we will return to the resort to take advantage of these options though. Since the girls are older we tend to go gung ho on the parks. We are skipping Epcot this year and won't spend alot of time at AK so I was thinking we would enjoy more time at the resort therefore take advantage of the club level offerings. Is it worth the cost or should I just upgrade our dining? We are big eaters and must have a TS dinner each night.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Personally I think you answered your own question. If you are big eaters and require an evening meal than club level evening apps are not going to cut it for you. Which means will you be satisfied in the morning with a bowl of cereal and some pastries? Then a counter service meal for lunch?

For our family, dxdp made more sense. It was basically the same cost (not sure your price difference.) We got to choose which snacks we actually wanted and when. We didn't have to worry about being in the resort at a specific time to get what we paid for. We could eat whenever and where ever we wanted. The "extra service" that they provided were lost on us. My kids didn't care about turn down service and I wanted to make my own ADR's. So for the cost I was basically paying for the snacks.

I would however make sure that if you do dxdp that you come up with a good plan of attack. 3 sit down meals a day plus a ton of snacks is a lot of food. I'd use it as an oppurtunity to do some special signature meals for the girls birthdays and maybe a few shows.

 

[simonkodousek]

We had friends who stayed in a club level room at the WL while we stayed in a courtyard view room. I went up to the lounge for some snacks with them one evening and was sorely disappointed. The food was like something you'd see at a bad party. Nothing in that lounge, NOTHING, was worth the added cost. If I were you, I'd stay in a standard or courtyard view room (nothing different with the room, just the view) and upgrade your DDP to deluxe.

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

Another vote for the deluxe dining plan. Take the girls to the signature restaurants, have a blast at the Hoop Dee Doo. If you like eating you will love Jiko, Flying Fish, Citricos, California Grill, and a Dinner Show.

I would use my other sit down meal each day for a late character breakfast. Since you guys are gung ho in the parks, I assume you hit rope drop, so the late breakfast will feel like a brunch. I also really like Liberty Tree for Lunch. Yak and Yeti is a nice lunch, too.

Add in your two snacks per day and a refillable mug, and you will be set. The offerings at Club Level do not seem to be a good fit with how your family will be spending time.

Have a blast!

 

[Figment1990]

I just wanted to add my experience with the WL Club level. When we stayed at WL for our honeymoon, we stayed Club Level and we really enjoyed it. We found the food offerings very tasty (I will not say they are the same today as I haven't been back there in years but if they were good once, they may be good again or still). In addition, we found the upstairs concierge very helpful and never a line to talk with them. They helped us with tickets and with shipping some stuff back home among other things. We appreciated the convenience of grabbing breakfast, a snack or a drink at night, especially because I like sitting on the upper balconies looking out over the lobby while we enjoy them. And although we too are "park people" who spend more time at the parks and much less at the hotel, if we are there when it's hot, we usually stop back to freshen up or just rest for a little. And we also always do a TS meal for dinner.

For me, I don't think I can afford to stay club level at the GF, or Poly. but the WL and AKL Club levels are closer to our price range sometimes so I plan to return someday.

OP - enjoy your trip and happy birthday to your daughters! I don't think I would stay Club Level with the Deluxe Dining plan, but mainly the deluxe dining plan has never worked out cost-wise for me so we've never tried it! We have done the standard dining plan and do not find it too much food, but it doesnt match our eating habits (we like apps, not deserts, and we usually drink wine), so we've done the Tables in Wonderland discount card for the past few years and that makes more sense for us.

 

[EeyoreEma]

If it were almost any other resort's CL, I'd say I'd go CL just because the DxDP is too much food for us (and we love to eat). However, having stayed CL at the WL, I'd pass on it. They were not open all day (vs at the Poly, where we never had trouble getting in to the lounge) which could be frustrating if all you wanted was to grab a soda or some juice. Also, I felt like the food offerings there were not as good as they were at the Poly CL. Whatever you choose, I hope y'all have a great trip!

 

[DCbride]

I stayed CL at WL and really enjoyed it. But a big perk is the beer, wine and cordials in the evening which your daughters would not be able to enjoy.

I vote for going deluxe dining and planning on some really nice TS.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We have not stayed Club Level at the Wilderness Lodge however we stayed Club Level at the Contemporary, Boardwalk Inn, and Polynesian. Personally we enjoy all our Club Level stays and think it's worth it, so that's what I would recommend.

 

[KennyandKim]

Thank you all for your responses. I really want to do a couple signature meals like Yachtsman Steakhouse so I believe we will upgrade to Deluxe Dining. My DH told me not to cancel the concierge level right now because he wants to go all out on this trip. So I guess we will upgrade Deluxe Dining and hopefully as we pay our trip off we will have the money to do both.