(Post last updated November 14, 2018)
A Disney World vacation offers you nearly unlimited ways to customize and enhance your experience. While it isn't necessarily ever an inexpensive trip, you can definitely do Disney on a budget.
But in the pursuit of savings, it is easy to miss the fact that sometimes spending a little more upfront might actually help you have a better trip in the end.
Disney Club Level is one of those things that many people don't know about or think the price is out of their budget. But, depending on your family and style of vacationing, staying Club Level at Disney World just might be the perfect fit.
Let's talk about why...
In this article
What is Disney Club Level?
Lots of hotels (not just those at Disney World) offer room categories you can book that provide additional perks or amenities and concierge-level services to their guests.
At Disney World, this extra-special room category is called Club Level.
Not all Walt Disney World resort hotels offer it as an option, though. Club Level is only available at the Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World.
What resorts offer Club Level accommodations?
Club Level accommodations are available at all Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World. Most resorts offering Club Level have one Club Level lounge, however some resorts offer two.
- Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kilimanjaro Club Lounge
- Beach Club Resort - Stone Harbor Club
- Boardwalk Inn - Innkeepers Club
- Contemporary Resort - Atrium Club on the 12th floor and Tower Club on the 14th floor
- Grand Floridian Resort - Royal Palm Club and Sugar Loaf Key Club
- Polynesian Resort - King Kamehameha Club
- Wilderness Lodge Resort - Old Faithful Club
- Yacht Club Resort - Regatta Club
What perks do you get when you stay Club Level?
Booking a room that is in the Club Level category will give you access to additional amenities that are only available to Club Level guests. The benefits for each resort may vary slightly, but in general you can expect:
Additional FastPass+ opportunities
All guests visiting Walt Disney World have access to 3 FastPass+ reservations per day. However, guests staying Club Level have the option to purchase 3 additional FastPasses per day.
As you can imagine, the price isn't cheap but this perk can be a huge time-saver.
Disney still bills this perk as a "pilot program" or test, but as of right now, here are the details:
- Cost is $50/day per person
- 3 day minimum purchase (so you're looking at a minimum of $150/person)
- These FastPasses can be booked up to 90 days out (vs. the 60 days window "regular" FastPasses have for onsite guests)
- No FastPass+ tier restrictions in booking; however, you can't repeat the same attraction more than once using FastPass+
- If you have a Park Hopper ticket, you can book these FastPasses in multiple parks on the same day
On a recent trip, we found this option especially useful because over the 3 days we purchased them, one day it allowed us to ride both attractions in Pandora (Flight of Passage and Na'Vi River Journey) with FastPasses and the other 2 days, we used our 3 selections each day for the attractions in Toy Story Land (Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers, and Toy Story Mania).
If we hadn't had these additional FastPass+ opportunities, the FastPass+ tiers that are in place in the parks would have limited us to only 1 FastPass+ in each of those lands/day, leaving us riding standby for the others.
Being able to skip all 3 lines for Toy Story Land attractions on Opening Day was a big deal - and a huge time saver.
With wait times frequently 200+ minutes, we might have found ourselves in very long lines (during the very hot summer months, I might add).
These additional FastPass+ reservations can be used in addition to the standard 3 FastPass+ options everybody gets, which brings your total to 6 FastPasses/day.
Assistance with planning your itinerary
In years past, Disney Club Level guests had access to what was called the Disney Itinerary Planning Office (IPO). These Cast Members were resort specific and would help guests book their FastPasses and Advanced Dining Reservations.
Now, Disney has centralized this perk into what they call Signature Services.
Signature Services can do everything that the old Itinerary Planning Offices could; however, they don't have any sort of magical special access for dining reservations or FastPasses that you can't see in My Disney Experience (except that they can see all available reservations at once instead of just a few at at time like what you see in the app or online).
In addition, Signature Services can't book your regular FastPass+ reservations or Advanced Dining Reservations any earlier than what you or your travel agent could book. And, since their office doesn't open until 9 am EST, if you wait for them to book for you, you'll be 2 hours behind everybody else that started booking right when the window opened at 7 am EST.
That delay could actually mean the difference between getting some of those hard-to-get reservations or not.
Because of these reasons, using Signature Services may not be the best option for guests wanting any of the hard-to-get FastPass or hard-to-get dining reservations.
Your best bet (if you want somebody else to help you with those) is to book your reservation with a travel agent so that you'll have access to their free services and expertise.
Signature Services is, however, the people you'll want talk to if you'd like to book any of the tours Disney has to offer or if you had questions about your reservation or room requests, or if you'd like to purchase the additional FastPass+ opportunities.
Once you have booked your reservation, you can access Signature Services via email or phone:
Phone number: (407) 939-7777
Email: [email protected]
Secure access
Disney Club Level rooms are generally grouped onto separate floors or in some cases, separate buildings.
In order to access the Club Level buildings or floors, guests staying Club Level must use their Magic Bands.
While this is clearly not 100% secure, it does help to limit traffic flow.
Evening turndown service
Club Level guests receive both the traditional room servicing, plus an additional evening turndown service where your room is given a light once over and your bed linens are literally "turned down" (and chocolate is left on your pillow!) in preparation for sleeping.
Robes and slippers in the room & upgraded toiletries
Disney has been transitioning to wall-mounted dispensers for toiletries in many of their resorts, but that isn't the case in the Club Level rooms.
Club Level guests get upgraded H20 brand toiletries and, in addition to the standard shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, may also include things like bottles of sunblock, food lotion, solar cream, etc.
Club Level rooms also have plush robes and slippers for guests.
Complimentary newspapers and fax assistance
While not delivered to your door, Club Level guests will find plenty of complimentary newspapers available down near the lounge plus complimentary fax assistance.
Club Level check-in
If you are staying Club Level and arrive between the hours of 7 am - 10 pm, you'll be escorted to the Club Level floor or building to be checked in there, bypassing the line at the front desk.
Club Level Concierge Desk
If you find yourself needing assistance during your stay, there is a concierge desk available between the hours of 7 am - 10 pm.
The Cast Members working there are able to assist with things like tickets or dining reservations, transportation questions, help with your MagicBands, etc.
Daily itinerary
In case you have forgotten what you have planned for the day, or if you are just looking for a scrapbook-quality reminder from your trip, some resorts offer their Club Level guests full-color daily itineraries delivered to their room each evening.
Club Level Lounge
Probably the most well known aspect of staying Club Level is the Club Level Lounge.
The lounges offer guests staying Club Level a place to relax and unwind away from the hustle and bustle of a Disney vacation.
Inside the lounges you'll find tables and chairs, televisions, and usually an area for kids with their own sized stuff.
Some Club Lounges even offer fantastic views of the nighttime shows or the natural surroundings of the resort.
But, probably the main feature of the Club Lounge is the food and beverages.
Throughout the day guests can drop into the lounge to pick up breakfast, a snack, or even heavy hors d'oeuvres and desserts.
Schedules can differ from resort to resort, but typically you can expect it took something similar to this:
- Coffee: 6:30 am - 7:00 am
- Continental breakfast: 7:00 am - 10:30 am
- Light snacks: 11:30 am - 4:00 pm
- Hors d'ouevres & select beverages (wine and beer): 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
- Desserts and cordials: 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
All food offerings generally include both adult and kid-friendly choices.
And, if you have an allergy or food sensitivity the staff will work with you to ensure that you'll have safe options available.
In addition to canned sodas, tea, lemonade, punch, etc., in the evenings the lounges also offer a decent selection of complimentary alcohol including wines, beers, and cordials.
Finally, aside from the food and drinks offered, one of the best things about the Club Level Lounge is that it gives you a "home" on your travel dates. This is especially useful if you 1.) have a late flight out or an early flight in as your access to the lounge begins as soon as you check in (regardless of if your room is ready) and lasts through midnight of the day you check out. And 2.) if you're traveling with a group and want a place you can all gather.
Final thoughts on staying Club Level
- Lots of people will claim that by using the food offerings in the Club Level Lounge they actually save money. I'm not sure that the cost of the food offsets the increased cost of the room, but there are savings that can be had so be sure you check for discounts. Sometimes Club Level rooms can be booked at a discount for roughly the same price as a non-discounted standard room at the same resort.
- In some cases it may make sense to book a shorter vacation staying at a Club Level room so you can take advantage of the additional FastPass+ opportunities and maximize your limited time in the parks.
- While the planning services once offered provided an advantage for booking reservations, that really isn't the case now. For the most concierge-level service we recommend booking your room with a trusted travel agent that will help you plan and make your reservations for you.
- If your plan is to save money on food by using the Club Level Lounge for some meals, schedule any dining reservations for lunch since they typically only have snacks available during that time of the day.
- Club Level is great for guests that aren't planning to spend their entire day in the parks, so if you are a half-day kind of park touring family, Club Level might make sense since you'll be around more to take advantage of its benefits.
- If you are staying at a resort where the Club Level lounge has a nice view of fireworks (like the lounge at The Boardwalk Inn), make sure you try to catch the show from there at least once.
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Have you ever stayed Club Level before? Tell us about how it went in the comments.
We have stayed at Club outter building at GF and have really enjoyed it. The cast member Jordan is the reason I go back every year. I am the trip planner within the group. We are a family of 4 traveling with grandparents, aunts and unclude. Jordan just makes everything easier. He helps me with last minute changes, at one point we realized a gift my son wanted was only at AK. We had no plans of going back to AK in our last two days, Jordan sent a cast member to the store to buy the gift and it safed us so much time!!! The club allows extended family members to hang out together at the end of the day or gives you a place to go when a child wakes up earlier then the rest of the party! Free wine at night is a bonus!
We love the Club Level at the Contemporary and will staying there again in 2019. I am looking forward to the additional Fast Pass reservations especially since we have not been to Pandora or Toy Story Land yet. Club Level is always a great experience!
Thanks so much for the detailed info! Kind of an odd question, my girl and I have a trip coming up next year and we wanted to stay 1 or 2 nights club level out of our 10 day trip, just to be able to enjoy the lounge on our rest day. Would I still be able to take advantage of buying fastpasses for other days throughout my trip, or do the 3+ days have to be on days you’re staying club level?
June 2018 Club level stay at Beach Club. Our first club experience – our stay was 6 nights with two adults and two older teen girls. I did not purchase extra FP but was given one complimentary at MK one night when workin with concierge on fine tuning our plan. I upgraded to surprise the family and I feel it was the best decision! Our first visit during summer with longer park hours/ breaks at resort and group that enjoys breakfast and good food. After my upgrade I did read on a Disney page that if you have four people in your room, then it is a good deal when the additional cost is per room, not person. I know it definitely saved us from buying meals in parks. The 5-7pm plates were plenty for supper! We ate their breakfast several mornings and everything we had was delicious all week!
After our last stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I looked into club level to see how different the price would be. It’s a huge gap from the standard room (which was discounted to like $270) and the club level at nearly $1,000. Is that the typical gap between the prices? I’d love to consider it if the difference was not so large.
Hi, Dan –
I believe it was $150/night price difference at the Yacht Club when I stayed there in late June, but when a summer promotion was released, I ended up paying the standard rate and getting Club Level at no extra charge.
We were upgraded to Yacht club club level this spring. It wasn’t awesome! I loved the direct number I found we needed anything and the turn down service. They also delivered packages to our room both park purchase and packages dropped off by someone else. We tried all snacks but dinner time. It did work out for us to be at club level on a trip that was to be relaxing and not always in the park. I do think I’d pay for it at the right price or for the right event.
We stayed club level at Beach Club and then the next year at Contemporary. Big disappointment doing it in that order as far as number of offerings go. About 1/4 to 1/2 the items to select from at Contemporary and it was also smaller. I suppose the trade off is the beautiful views at the Contemporary club. You can see the night time fireworks without the crowds and have your snacks and beverages. Would love to do it again!
We just completed a four night Club Level stay at the Contemporary. This was a short trip over the July 4th holiday just after Toy Story Land opened. We purchased the additional, 90-days out Fast Passes for all four nights of our trip and felt that was worth it in this situation. None of the other Club Level amenities were of value to us. We come to enjoy the Parks and time as a family. We were rarely around to make use of the Club (though it was right next to our room). For example, with parks all opening at 7 or 8 am this week, a continental breakfast starting at 7 am did not work for us. By the time we returned from nighttime shows, the desserts and drinks were usually cleared away. And as Shannon points out in her post, there is nothing a savvy Disney trip planner needs from the concierges/hosts. We had booked everything through our travel agent or online long before we arrived. I imagine many people like the extra attention, but things like welcome drinks or being greeted at the elevator when coming and going are not important to us. Our usual Disney home is a family suite at Art of Animation, and we have always found the service there to be just right. Being able to walk to Magic Kingdom is wonderful, but beyond that I did not find the guest experience at the Contemporary (on the club level or elsewhere) to be superior to what we have experienced at a value resort.
Can you get club level if you are a DVC member and staying in DVC property?
I believe that the only club level for DVC’s is AKL Jumbo House. Perhaps that will change when the new Riviera Resort is complete. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong about AKL being the only available club level for DVC members staying with points. Of course, that being said, good luck booking club level if you don’t own at AKL.
We stayed Club Level at the Animal Kingdom lodge 2 years ago. Very impressed. Loved having breakfast in the morning (not having to get up so early and rush to get somewhere to eat). Totally enjoyed the midafternoon dishes that were available. The concierges were great at answering all of our questions. It was quiet also. Loved the turn down service (just fun to be pampered). We do not get to go to Disney often -we try to go about every 5 to 7 years so I plan to budget for Club Level again.
So what is the cost of the extra fast passes?
Costs are listed in the post.
We stayed at AKL club level in January and loved it. We had breakfast each day and used it for light dinners many nights.
Just got back from a club level stay at the Polynesian…I’m happy to report that it was heavenly!! We were traveling with a party of 12 (including 4 under 3 years old) , so the club level lounge gave us a great place to meet and hang out while little ones were napping.
One of the best perks of staying there for us was the “texting” service they offered. I could just text a request (for Fast Passes, change a reservation time, etc) during their hours, and someone would text me back almost immediately. This worked well the night I accidentally deleted all of our fast passes in my attempt to change 3 people’s rides… shortly got a response back that they restored all the fast passes!
So, for us, it was worth the extra expense. We had deluxe dining plan, and I would say between the club lounge and the meals, it was probably
Too much food. We could have done a lower level plan and had breakfast everyday in the lounge!
Are the extra fast passes like the free ones, where after you use them all you only get the 1 extra each time you use it up?
Once the three paid FastPasses are used, you don’t get anymore. But you also get three “regular” FastPasses and those go by the same rules as normal FastPasses.
We stayed club level at wilderness lodge and still rave about it. The best espresso and cappacino maker ever there!!! The service was by far the best and they were such a big help with my son’s allergies. It cost about 150.00 dollars more a day and was worth every cent. Someone recommended getting a price to add club level to an already existing reservation. We coincidentally bought vacation points that trip and haven’t reserved a hotel stay since. We were spoiled and given the opportunity would stay club at WL again. We have been told that WL is the best club for the price. We have not stayed at any other. We have annual passes this year and no more vaca points so you never know 😉 we may be going back sooner that we think. Lol!
As someone who has to save for two years just to stay in a value resort with dining plan I just can’t imagine who has this kind of money. My dream is to stay at a moderate resort! I don’t begrudge anyone who can do th but it is out of the realm of my reality as a nurse with a police officer husband.
We stayed club level at the wilderness Lodge for our honeymoon and loved every moment of it. We had the deluxe dining plan as well so we saved two table service meals for dinner and ate breakfast at the hotel. Needless to say we ate quite extravagant the whole time. In that aspect we did save money on food. All our dining reservation were booked for us, but we let them know where we wanted to eat before reservations we’re open. It is definitely not for every trip, but I will be booking another club level trip in our future.
I have one question if you have a package deal the room, dining, annual passes or tickets do you pay in advance for the extra fast passes or is it included into the package having to be paid 30 days prior to arrival?
It’s a separate transaction. You pay when you make the FastPasses (up to 90 days out).
I was wondering the same thing. How and when do I buy this? Thanks for asking.
I stated at Club level in Wilderness Lodge for 9 days last summer. It was just awesome. The food and drinks were so nice, making it so I never needed to go to the quick service area and the alcohol was plentiful including beer on tap. It was quiet and peaceful. That particular club level has a fireworks view. Always a cast member making sure the area was secure. Could not have felt more VIP.
We stayed club level once at the Polynesian. It was perfect as we had a little one with us. We aren’t huge breakfast eaters so it was nice to be able to just go get a bowl of cereal in the Lounge and coffee. The view of the fireworks is spectacular from the lounge as well! We enjoyed the turn down service and everything. I would stay again!
We stayed Club Level at AKL last September and didn’t have a great experience so it’s nice to read about what it actually is like! Granted, we stayed there during Irma so it was a little hectic. However, we were checked in at the regular desk, never received any itineraries and we only had turn down service 3 nights out of the 8 we were there. We will likely stay again, maybe at another resort, especially with the Fastpass and firework viewing perks!