Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[kcpinwdw]

I’m wondering what you all think of Grand Destino Club?

Gran Destino Club is nice, but different from Yacht club. Nice big, open lounge. Food is less varied than the deluxe clubs. But they had a nice hot breakfast with mickey waffles so that's a plus. Good coffee machine and self service drink area/fridge may be a plus over the typical club lounge.

I’m wondering if it’s worth me buying 1 annual pass for me to get at least a discount on 1 room / I am not sure could I also add my AP discount to my boys’ room (needing to book 2 rooms for our trip) the CL and rack prices are making my head spin! I’m looking for rooms for oct 2022.
Can I add a dining plan if I have the AP and am not making my stay a “package”?

I think the problem with AP discount is you don't have a lot of time head when they come out... it's great if you are happy to jump resorts to get a discount, but I think if you have your heart set on a particular room it may not work out for you. When AP discounts come out I often end up changing my reservation to get the deal, or staying where I am for the public discount. You can book two rooms at the AP discount, but no guarantee there will BE two rooms under the discount. You could get the dining plan with a room only reservation, before it was gone, it's a "ticketless package." I would NOT recommend doing this with club level though. One or the other, otherwise you won't make use of the lounge enough to be worth the (recently very notable) price difference.

 

[Eastern]

Haha. I will in 14 months!

oh I thought it was this August

 

[Eastern]

I’m wondering what you all think of Grand Destino Club? I’m currently booked at YC and hopeful for CL for our trip Oct 2022. Our adult boys (25/29) still like us enough to want to be with us and are joining our trip so that means we require 2 rooms! YC rack rate/ non club rooms for our 6 nights are costing me $680’ish right now and I can only imagine what CL will add to the total! For 6 nights with 5 day park hopper tickets I’m sitting around $6,100 at YC non club level for 1 room. Double that for our boys room and that’s $12,000! We could do Grand Destino Tower club level for $5,000 each…. Saving about $2,000 right now and when CL comes back to YC I’m betting it’ll be another $2,000 on top of our current non club rate!
So…. Is it worth holding out for YC CL and paying those high prices for location and CL….. or would you consider GDT CL a decent 2nd plan to consider??? I’m so torn because as 4 adults we ℒℴ𝓋ℯ the location of YC , the walkability, the friendship boats, our favourite restaurant (yachtmans) and so many other dining choices close by at Epcot… the pool…. So many pluses for YC! It’s just the price that’s hard for me to swallow!

For 4 people at CL prices I would get 1 room.

Or I would get two rooms at a 'non-walkable' resort and use Lyft for everything.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

While I mean no disrespect to phone CM information and don’t mean to question anything they say, I personally will wait to see things for myself before coming to any conclusions. Maybe they were given some talking points or something, who knows, but historically phone CMs are not the most knowledgable about CL operations. Heck, even DSS is pretty disconnected as to actual lounge operations. I don’t think we’ll really know anything until one reopens, and even then I suspect there will some level of variability of procedures at each resort, as is typically the case w/ CL.

September is an eternity away and I’m reasonably confident Disney will offer a CL product that fits what we look for when booking CL, at least for how our family uses CL. Frankly I’m more worried about them cutting back on things like the desk CMs / personalized check-in than on the lounge part, especially w/ staffing being an issue everywhere.

Guess we’ll see though.

 

[chimo2u]

For 4 people at CL prices I would get 1 room.

Or I would get two rooms at a 'non-walkable' resort and use Lyft for everything.

Unfortunately with 25 yo/29 yo boys that’s not a option. They’re helping pay for their room. If I don’t go YC CL I’ll 100% get 2 club rooms at the Tower so we at least have a club lite type experience. I really hope we can stay YC CL though… I ℒℴ𝓋ℯ the YC location and the feel of walking into that resort.
I always get the ddp regardless of stayingvclub level, we usually add the basic one as CL offerings cover our breakfast. It works well for us. I’ll only upgrade my ddp if I was to forgo club level, otherwise I will stick to CL and a basic ddp

 

[chimo2u]

Gran Destino Club is nice, but different from Yacht club. Nice big, open lounge. Food is less varied than the deluxe clubs. But they had a nice hot breakfast with mickey waffles so that's a plus. Good coffee machine and self service drink area/fridge may be a plus over the typical club lounge.



I think the problem with AP discount is you don't have a lot of time head when they come out... it's great if you are happy to jump resorts to get a discount, but I think if you have your heart set on a particular room it may not work out for you. When AP discounts come out I often end up changing my reservation to get the deal, or staying where I am for the public discount. You can book two rooms at the AP discount, but no guarantee there will BE two rooms under the discount. You could get the dining plan with a room only reservation, before it was gone, it's a "ticketless package." I would NOT recommend doing this with club level though. One or the other, otherwise you won't make use of the lounge enough to be worth the (recently very notable) price difference.

you make good points. I’ll probably forgo a AP then.
I always get the ddp even with CL / only the 1 TS/1QS plan though as breakfast is covered by the lounge. It works well for us.
I will keep hopeful we can stay at YC!

 

[ninafeliz]

Unfortunately with 25 yo/29 yo boys that’s not a option. They’re helping pay for their room. If I don’t go YC CL I’ll 100% get 2 club rooms at the Tower so we at least have a club lite type experience. I really hope we can stay YC CL though… I ℒℴ𝓋ℯ the YC location and the feel of walking into that resort.
I always get the ddp regardless of stayingvclub level, we usually add the basic one as CL offerings cover our breakfast. It works well for us. I’ll only upgrade my ddp if I was to forgo club level, otherwise I will stick to CL and a basic ddp

Every family is different, but when my brother and I were in our 20’s before we got married we would go down and share a room in a moderate with our parents. With CL you have the lounge for extra space, and for half of the price of 2 rooms you get the same amount of food and benefits. Unless money is no object this would be my route unless the kids were 100% paying their way.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Contemplating changing to CR atrium club. Currently have GF booked but club not available there for our dates. Is signature services up and going? Can they get us the boo bash tickets instead of me waiting on hold Tuesday morning?

Yes, DSS has been staffed/available for a bit now. In addition to CL, that office also handles things for VIP tour guests and has been available for Bungalow, Cabin, and Grand Villa guests.

I’m sure this is always changing, but I think the staffing level is low/thin, just like everywhere.

I’m not sure whether they can book Boo Bash tickets or not.

 

[tinabina919]

@chimo2u we stayed at GDT when it first opened up and really enjoyed it. We have only ever stayed CL at AKV before. Lots of vegetarian/seafood dishes. Breakfast was great, they even have Minnie Waffles! And the drinks are all self serve. We are booked to go back in Jan 22, I think it’s a great value.

 

[chimo2u]

Every family is different, but when my brother and I were in our 20’s before we got married we would go down and share a room in a moderate with our parents. With CL you have the lounge for extra space, and for half of the price of 2 rooms you get the same amount of food and benefits. Unless money is no object this would be my route unless the kids were 100% paying their way.

No way I’m sharing with 4 snorers lol… definitely way too cramped to share with my boys now. Last time I did that they where teens. I’d never share a room with them now, we all value our privacy and sanity too much!

 

[chimo2u]

@chimo2u we stayed at GDT when it first opened up and really enjoyed it. We have only ever stayed CL at AKV before. Lots of vegetarian/seafood dishes. Breakfast was great, they even have Minnie Waffles! And the drinks are all self serve. We are booked to go back in Jan 22, I think it’s a great value.

Great to know thank you!
Does anyone know can you hold 2 reservations and just cancel 1 when you get closer and make final decision where to stay? Not sure if this is frowned upon or even allowed? I came close today to being more fiscally responsible and switching to GDT…. Haven’t made the final decision yet

 

[kylenne]

While I mean no disrespect to phone CM information and don’t mean to question anything they say, I personally will wait to see things for myself before coming to any conclusions. Maybe they were given some talking points or something, who knows, but historically phone CMs are not the most knowledgable about CL operations. Heck, even DSS is pretty disconnected as to actual lounge operations. I don’t think we’ll really know anything until one reopens, and even then I suspect there will some level of variability of procedures at each resort, as is typically the case w/ CL.

September is an eternity away and I’m reasonably confident Disney will offer a CL product that fits what we look for when booking CL, at least for how our family uses CL. Frankly I’m more worried about them cutting back on things like the desk CMs / personalized check-in than on the lounge part, especially w/ staffing being an issue everywhere.

Guess we’ll see though.

Dad with the voice of reason.

Gosh am I glad we had already booked CR Atrium for the 50th before those insane price hikes. We are not rich folks by any means—CL was never even on my radar as something within my reach until AP discounts at the Poly made it feasible. Then of course covid took it all away. I am pretty bummed out by the notion my magical stay in the GF main building will be the only time I ever get to be there, and CL is out of reach before I even get to experience it.

 

[Eastern]

Gosh am I glad we had already booked CR Atrium for the 50th before those insane price hikes. We are not rich folks by any means—CL was never even on my radar as something within my reach until AP discounts at the Poly made it feasible. Then of course covid took it all away. I am pretty bummed out by the notion my magical stay in the GF main building will be the only time I ever get to be there, and CL is out of reach before I even get to experience it.

So are the prices we paid back then less than what is currently being offered? My 3 nights are costing a lot.....

 

[Eastern]

No way I’m sharing with 4 snorers lol… definitely way too cramped to share with my boys now. Last time I did that they where teens. I’d never share a room with them now, we all value our privacy and sanity too much!

My kids are all that age range and we still do it so I will count my blessings.

 

[JBRB828]

oh I thought it was this August

Too expensive for CL at the parks this year! I’d never pay what I paid for next year…..way too much is missing. Now, if I hear CL is not returning the way it was for next year, I may cancel.

 

[kylenne]

So are the prices we paid back then less than what is currently being offered? My 3 nights are costing a lot.....

It’s just a guess, since I haven’t checked at all yet…I got back last night from FL to a pretty bad situation at home and have not had the chance. That’s usually how it works though, isn’t it?

 

[Eastern]

It’s just a guess, since I haven’t checked at all yet…I got back last night from FL to a pretty bad situation at home and have not had the chance. That’s usually how it works though, isn’t it?

I guess I never thought about it. The category prices are different but I never noticed that they went up over time. The rooms would either sell out or a discount would be added to sell them out.

 

[chimoe]

I've been at WDW 3 times, 2 of them were CL stays (split stay). We are looking to book for this November, and for these crazy prices, honestly not seeing where the value is what-so-ever!. For 4 people, the lounge is definitely not worth the extra 500/night that is being billed. The only reason we would re-book CL is for those extra FastPasses.

Same thing with Portifino at Universal, we just came back last month and decided to opt out of the usual club level room, which would have added $150/night. I ran all the food costs through excel and it came out cheaper to just ad-hoc eat vs. club level, and we had several table-service restaurants.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I guess I never thought about it. The category prices are different but I never noticed that they went up over time. The rooms would either sell out or a discount would be added to sell them out.

Not sure if this is what y’all are talking about, but prices don’t usually change dynamically. Disney has on occasion made across the board rack rate increases (they did it half way through 2019 if I recall correctly), but that’s less common. Those situations aside, once the rack rates are published, they don’t generally change.

 

[jods]

I've been at WDW 3 times, 2 of them were CL stays (split stay). We are looking to book for this November, and for these crazy prices, honestly not seeing where the value is what-so-ever!. For 4 people, the lounge is definitely not worth the extra 500/night that is being billed. The only reason we would re-book CL is for those extra FastPasses.

Same thing with Portifino at Universal, we just came back last month and decided to opt out of the usual club level room, which would have added $150/night. I ran all the food costs through excel and it came out cheaper to just ad-hoc eat vs. club level, and we had several table-service restaurants.

I just switched my portofino stay to club. I know I won't spend the extra in cost but the convenience of coffee won me over. My husband is usually the voice of reason and he said do it. So who am I to argue it will be our first trip there and after 5 nights at Disney.

People have been posting WL pics all day. Now I wish I had WL instead of YC. I booked wl last week and canceled the next day. Seriously, my week has no availability except GF. Even saratoga and OKW has had no availability. I don't get it.