You’re never going to believe this – I finally made it to Club Level! Okay, yes, Coronado’s Club Level is by far the cheapest Club Level on property, but STILL.
WHAT IS CLUB LEVEL AT DISNEY RESORTS?
You may wish to start by consulting the official Disney Club Level page. Done? Great! I’ll start jabbering.
Club Level is available at an increased room rate at many deluxe tier Disney resorts. At the time of this writing, these include Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian on the monorail loop, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht & Beach Club, and the Boardwalk resort. Oh, and one moderate with delusions of grandeur, of course: Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs.
From what I understand, Club Level rooms themselves are generally standard to whatever is the norm for the resort – although they may come with better views, as Club Level tends to be toward the top of a given building.
So what’s the upcharge for? Club Level comes with two primary perks: concierge service and a club lounge.
WHAT CLUB LEVEL REALLY GETS YOU
The concierge service, in my subjective opinion, is minimally helpful unless you’re a Disney newbie and somehow managed to arrive on property without doing any research. Per the official page I linked above, Club Level concierge can do stuff like sell you park tickets, provide operation hours and showtimes for things like parades and fireworks, explain your best transportation bets for your destination, and help with your dining reservations. Basically nothing a regular lobby concierge desk couldn’t do, although admittedly there will be fewer people vying for the same assistance.
It is my understanding that once upon a time Club Level concierge had access to their own secret stash of things like day-of dining reservations, but I don’t believe that’s the case anymore. That being said, it may still be helpful to some inexperienced guests, and there’s rarely a line to speak to someone.
The big bad Club Level perk – the reason most are inclined to book such a room – is access to the lounge. What’s so special about the lounge, you ask? Oh, it often has fireworks views and things like that, but more importantly, it is stocked with free (read: included in the price) food and drinks. Yes, even some alcohol.
One secret perk we took advantage of was dropping off our bags at the lounge at checkout instead of dragging them all the way down to bell services in the lobby. Not sure if that’s standard or the Cast Members were just feeling generous that morning.
WHAT’S CLUB LEVEL LIKE AT CORONADO SPRINGS?
Every Club Level is different, with its own theme, decor, and snack spread. Here’s my take on Club Level at Coronado as not only my first time at a Disney resort Club Level but any Club Level-esque offering anywhere!
If you’re not familiar with Coronado Springs, it may be helpful to note that while the resort campus is one continuous area, it is divided into two categories. Coronado Springs proper is a sprawling Disney moderate resort such as you may already be familiar with at Caribbean Beach or Port Orleans Riverside. The rooms themselves – referred to on the Disney website as the “Villages” – are housed in multiple individual buildings separate from the main lobby.
That main lobby lives inside Gran Destino Tower. You’ll find all your hotel standards here, including the check-in desk, the El Mercado food court, and the gift shop. Gran Destino Tower is also connected to the convention area.
Those conventioneers generally stay in the Gran Destino Tower itself, which is why those rooms are a little fancier – and why there’s a Club Level in the first place.
WHAT’S A CLUB LEVEL ROOM LIKE?
Our room was, per Becky, a normal Gran Destino Tower room such as she has encountered in regular non-Club life. The room itself was little different than many hotels I’ve stayed in on business trips (Coronado has a big convention scene). It did have a few extras that most Disney moderate resorts historically don’t, such as bathrobes and additional toiletries. I’ve never seen Disney preemptively offer toothbrushes before.
Check out the full video tour of our Club Level room below.
One thing I did not necessarily expect was our solid view. Although our room was designated a “preferred view,” not theme park, we could see both Epcot and the Studios. Admittedly they were very far away, but I’m not about to complain about looking out my window at the Tower of Terror, you know?
WHAT’S CHRONOS CLUB LIKE?
On to the real meat of the Club Level experience: the lounge! Gran Destino Tower calls it the Chronos Club, after a character from the Destino short famed Spanish artist Salvador Dalí collaborated upon with Walt Disney. We received an explanatory one-sheet with a nifty backstory if you care to read. (Click to expand.)
The lounge itself is tastefully decorated, on theme but not overboard. We were there during the holiday season, so some light Christmas decor dotted the room as well.
Ample seating is available in a variety of forms, with a table to go with every seat. Even during the most crowded periods, we never had trouble finding a spot.
You’re welcome to chill in the lounge as long as you like during operating hours, but you’ll largely have to provide your own entertainment while doing so. You could avail yourself of a handful of board games in you like, including chess and Clue. There’s also a cute little book nook stocked with Disneycentric tomes.
One television adorns the back wall, showing random cartoons on Freeform. Unclear if requests to change the channel would be honored. I don’t think this is the sort of place where you’re allowed to shout at The Sports.
I did find it a bit odd that there weren’t many power outlets available. If you want to plug in a laptop or phone, there’s one at the corner table directly across from the door.
IS THE STAFF NICE?
Regardless of whether you’re actively seeking assistance, service in the club-exclusive Chronos Club lounge is quite attentive.
When arriving for the first time, you’ll need to check in at the desk just inside the door to confirm with the Cast Members that you are indeed registered to Club Level and not lounge-crashing.
After that, the staff somehow manages to commit you to memory and I guess transmit that memory to other CMs not currently on the floor? We were never actively challenged when entering after that opening volley.
All desk staff did make an effort to introduce themselves, however, in friendly, professional, and accommodating fashion. I’m guessing they kinda feel around for suspicious vibes and cross-check with what they’re expecting from their roster of names. I wouldn’t try to break in is all I’m saying.
When not trying to check if you’re suss, the Cast Members working the lounge are proactive. I don’t remember a single trash can in there, as CMs clean up after you. If someone doesn’t grab your dirty plates while you’re loitering, you’re expected to simply leave them at your table. To be honest I felt a little weird about it, but that’s probably a me thing. 😅 Is this what it’s like to be wealthy?
WHAT’S THE FOOD IN CHRONOS CLUB LIKE?
Food at the Chronos Club is delivered in four phases: breakfast, light afternoon snacks, dinner, and dessert. Check your club flyer for hours for each period while you’re there.
Breakfast is arguably the most robust of the meals. While we were there, the buffet had all the standards. Think scrambled eggs, a breakfast meat, a breakfast carb such as french toast sticks, fruit, various pastries and breads with accompanying spreads, potatoes, and oatmeal.
Light afternoon snacks are sufficient for a grazer’s lunch: you could find cheese and crackers, trail mix, pretzels, cookies, olives, hummus with crudités, pan de tomate, and a small specialty item such as bocadillos (mini sandwiches). Heartier appetites may find themselves still wanting.
Dinner isn’t billed as dinner; it’s technically billed as hors d’oeuvres, but we found the offerings more filling than that descriptor suggests. All of the offerings from the light snack period are still available, with the addition of items like charcuterie, salad, pasta, gazpacho, vegetables, and corn dogs(?).
Dessert is about what you’d expect: a handful of bite-sized desserts and cookies. Undistinguished but serviceable.
Menus are of course rotational and subject to change. Packaged snacks are always available, I think even outside of meal hours.
WHAT ABOUT DRINKS? YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT FREE ALCOHOL?
At any point during this time, you are free to help yourself to sodas, juice, and water from a refrigerator. There are also coffee machines that can make espresso drinks like lattes and cappuccinos. They are… okay. Too much milk and not hot enough in my estimation. Still a fun novelty!
Here’s my hack: during the dessert period they put out a bowl of fresh whipped cream for the hot chocolate bar. I made myself a plain espresso, heaped some whipped cream on top, and went to town. Best coffee drink I had in the club!
If you’re after an adult beverage, alcoholic drinks are available at all times but are not self-serve. Dinner and dessert service had a dedicated bartender. If you want a drink earlier in the day, it’s all yours but only by request. You’re limited to beer, wine, and cordials for the most part, with a handful of mimosas being your only cocktail choices. Who knows, though – that could change in the future.
To my knowledge there are no explicit limits on alcohol, but I’m sure they monitor for people who have already had enough.
HOW ABOUT THE FIREWORKS VIEW?
Yes, you can see Epcot’s LuminoUS fireworks from the Chronos Club! No, it is not an optimal experience!
All right, yes, I am sort of looking a proverbial gift horse in the mouth here. A guaranteed uncrowded spot to watch fireworks is hardly something to get mad about. Still, I think it’s worth noting a few substandard elements in a first-world-problems kinda way.
To start, the lounge’s viewing angle is slightly off. Becky and I puzzled over this – couldn’t they have built the tower so that their premier lounge was properly facing Epcot?
Maybe it’s some sort of architectural limitation. At any rate, the fireworks are way off to the left.
Second, while they dim the lights for the show, they don’t pipe in the music. We were told this was to preserve the vibe or something like that. As a music-oriented person, I found that disappointing. If you’re more visual, though, you might not care.
We overheard someone mentioning that they do play the music in the Dahlia Lounge bar on the roof, but that would of course require one to sacrifice the club’s dessert and cordial spread. Decisions, decisions.
OKAY, BUT HOW MUCH WILL CLUB LEVEL COST ME?
Glad you asked! Before I answer, though, let’s first ascertain the cost of a non-Club Level room in Gran Destino Tower, to establish a baseline.
Let’s say for the sake of argument that a family of four – two adults and two kids – is going to Walt Disney World for the of April 6, which currently has both Club and non-Club rooms in Gran Destino available. Disney is offering spring discounts, and a standard resort view room with two queen beds will cost you an average of $388 per night. Not important, but a water view room for the same period is $389 a night? Why even make a distinction?
Where was I? Right, our comparison. Okay, our non-Club room is $388. By contrast, a Club Level resort view room is currently an average of $722 per night. There are also Club suites available at a higher rate, but for this thought experiment we’ll stick with a regular room.
Basic subtraction teaches us that the Club Level upcharge is $334 per night over the non-Club room. That’s not quite but very nearly twice as much.
Now, who knows how consistent this difference is. Disney could change its prices at any time. If you go two weeks later, a non-Club room drops to $346 and a Club room to $641 (difference: $295 per night). The week after that, $344 and $609 (difference: $265 per night).
What we can always say for sure is that a Club Level room will cost a fair amount more. Thus the question becomes: is it worth it?
OH NO; IS THIS ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR “VALUE IS SUBJECTIVE” POSTS?
Oh, come on; I love value is subjective posts! Because whether or not Club Level is worth it is dependent on a number of personal factors.
How many people will be in the room? Two can necessarily extract more value than one, and you can tack on two kids without affecting the room price. A standard room sleeps up to four, although Disney does charge a fee for third and fourth adults.
Either way, the more people using the service, the more the cost is amortized across each. If our hypothetical family of four goes when the price difference is $265 per night, they’re paying $66.25 per person each day for their food. That’s extremely reasonable… assuming they only eat at the lounge.
Speaking of which, how much do you eat? And how picky are you? What about your kids, if you have any? Re-read the food section above. Does that all seem within your tastes and needs? Lunch in particular is quite light.
How much do you drink? Do you drink beer, wine, and cordials? You can make a lot of money up in alcoholic drinks as long as you’re not expecting anything mixologist-worthy. Remember, giving alcohol to children is frowned upon even if it is “free.”
Heck, how much time do you intend to spend at the resort in the first place? All the amenities in the world are no good to you when you’re not there. If you’re bringing those kids, they might not have a ton of patience for hanging around in a resort lounge when the parks are calling.
A CLUB LEVEL ROOM HACK
With value in mind, Becky wanted me to mention a Club Level hack some of her travel agent clients have sometimes used. When you’re Club Level, you have access to the lounge during the entirety of your reservation, from arrival to departure. That means you can get in there before your room is ready on day one, and continue using the lounge for the entirety of your check out day.
To get the Club Level experience but keep costs down, you could do a split stay in both of Coronado’s room types. Get a Club Level room for your first day only, then a regular room for the remainder of your trip. You won’t have to move too far, but you’ll still have more than 24 hours of Club Level lounge access.
SHOULD YOU GET A CLUB LEVEL ROOM?
All of which is to say: only you know if a Club Level room is “worth it.” Why? Because value is subjective, that’s why! You can use the above parameters to make your decision, or your own if you have other metrics.
We haven’t even touched on the question of whether Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs itself is right for you. It’s not necessarily the most whimsically Disney of the resorts, and thus may be a nonstarter for families from jump.
For the cost of a Club Level room at Gran Destino, you could instead snag yourself a standard room at a deluxe-tier resort like, for example, Wilderness Lodge. Wilderness is a much warmer, theme-ier, Disney-er atmosphere, with boat service to the Magic Kingdom to boot.
What’s more important to you? Immersive theme? Location, location, location? Or maybe you prefer something more elegant, less kiddish, and with more included drinks.
If you’re asking me, though – and this is my blog, so you’re essentially asking me – I think Club Level at Gran Destino makes the most sense for groups without kids who plan to spend a lot of time hanging out at their resort, are known to knock back a drink or two, and enjoy a more sophisticated, less Mickey-heavy atmosphere. At least, if you’re looking to maximize your value. Although I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Richard Kind walked into the Chronos Club one night. Seeing Bing Bong in the flesh is basically priceless, right?
2,800+ WORDS & YOU STILL WANT MORE?
Want a more granular overview of Club Level at Coronado Springs? My buddy Becky at Disney in Your Day is working on that! I’ll pop a link here when her post is ready; check back soon.
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!