I lost my rose colored glasses for Disney resorts in Florida when I started travelling in Asia. I stayed at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay on my first visit to Tokyo Disney in 2007 for 150$ US. My sister talked the front desk person into putting us on the Concierge level, which was absolutely amazing. Our room was huge, we had a balcony overlooking Tokyo DisneySea on on the second highest floor and the lounge spread counted as a full buffet with liquor and beer.
Meanwhile, for 600-700$ US, I get a room that appears in many cases as generic as an airport hotel at the Polynesian Village or Contemporary Resort in Florida. When I stayed at the Intercontinental Tokyo and I checked in at 3, I said I would like steak... they called the teppanyaki restaurant on the 36th floor and kept a chef there for me so we could have a steak dinner. At WDW: even if you're staying on the concierge level of a deluxe, the "concierge" can't do anything.
Last year, I returned to Singapore. I used points to stay at an Intercontinental in Singapore and it was amazing. Oops, your significant other need a wheelchair due to a small accident? The concierge arranged one and brought it to our room. Oh, thank you for being an ambassador member! You have resort credits, get points on the purchases and free drinks at the bar. If Disney wanted to really go into the luxurious hotel game, they need to offer a loyalty program with real perks, have concierges with real power and go above and beyond.
