Club Level (Regatta Club) at the Yacht Club: Opinions?

[Weather_Lady]

I was spitballing the idea of upgrading our Yacht Club booking for August 2023 (currently Standard Room, Garden View) to Club Level, in hopes that a 20% or better discount will be offered for it eventually (one typically is, for the end of August). I figured if there's no discount, we'll simply downgrade back to a standard room -- no harm, no foul. Plus, we're paying for it all with discounted Disney gift cards we bought 2 years ago, so it doesn't "feel" like we're spending actual money, even though I know we totally are.

But then I took a look at what Club Level really offers. No breakfast until 7am? That means that if we're trying to arrive the recommended 30 minutes before early entry hours at MK (~8:30am) or AK (~7:30am) using park transportation (meaning, showing up at the bus depot 60 minutes before we want to get to the park), there's no way we'd ever be able to get breakfast first. Even if we were walking to EPCOT or HS and wanted to get there before early entry (~8am), we'd barely have time to grab a granola bar and a coffee to go.

Am I interpreting this correctly? Is Club Level just for people who don't care about pre-rope-drop arrivals?

Also, it looks like if one wants Club Level, standard view, at Yacht Club, the only room configuration option is 2 queen beds and no daybed -- even less sleeping space than we'd get in the standard room we already have (and which we need, given that my teen son and daughter won't be sharing a bed)! That means we'd actually be looking at paying more than $300/night more than our current arrangement, to get a garden view club level room (which does have a daybed option), which shakes out to $75/per person, per day, just for some drinks and snacks. The more I look at it, the more I wonder why anyone ever pays for this. (Full disclosure: I know it's fun to stay club level - we were once given a free upgrade at Universal's Royal Pacific Resort to club level, and really loved it, but our love was not objectively worth $300/day!).

What am I missing? Is it the evening drinks that make it worthwhile for people? The not having to bring your own cereal and bagels for the hotel room, or worrying about whether the mini-fridge will keep your milk? Are there other club level benefits I'm overlooking? Any thoughts -- especially if you've stayed Club Level at Yacht Club before -- would be much appreciated.

 

[monothingie]

I was spitballing the idea of upgrading our Yacht Club booking for August 2023 (currently Standard Room, Garden View) to Club Level, in hopes that a 20% or better discount will be offered for it eventually (one typically is, for the end of August). I figured if there's no discount, we'll simply downgrade back to a standard room -- no harm, no foul. Plus, we're paying for it all with discounted Disney gift cards we bought 2 years ago, so it doesn't "feel" like we're spending actual money, even though I know we totally are.

Yacht is IMO the best of the Epcot/Studios Hotel's club lounges, additionally the rooms in Yacht are nicer more recently updated than Beach or Boardwalk. The nicest lounge on property is at AKL, where the club level rooms usually are the cheapest. That being said, the offerings at Yacht and Beach Club Lounges are virtually identical.

But then I took a look at what Club Level really offers. No breakfast until 7am? That means that if we're trying to arrive the recommended 30 minutes before early entry hours at MK (~8:30am) or AK (~7:30am) using park transportation (meaning, showing up at the bus depot 60 minutes before we want to get to the park), there's no way we'd ever be able to get breakfast first. Even if we were walking to EPCOT or HS and wanted to get there before early entry (~8am), we'd barely have time to grab a granola bar and a coffee to go.

Am I interpreting this correctly? Is Club Level just for people who don't care about pre-rope-drop arrivals?

If you plan to spend most of the time in the parks and not hang around at the hotel for breakfast or dinner, then Club Level is not a good choice. Club level works great if you want to lounge around the hotel all day. While the breakfast and evening offerings are nice, you can certainly take the money saved by not doing club level and splurge at a TS restaurant elsewhere on property for every day of your trip and feel like you got more out of it.

Also, it looks like if one wants Club Level, standard view, at Yacht Club, the only room configuration option is 2 queen beds and no daybed -- even less sleeping space than we'd get in the standard room we already have (and which we need, given that my teen son and daughter won't be sharing a bed)! That means we'd actually be looking at paying more than $300/night more to get a garden view club level room (which does have a daybed option), or $75/per person, per day, just for some drinks and snacks. The more I look at it, the more I wonder why anyone ever pays for this. (Full disclosure: I know it's fun to stay club level - we were once given a free upgrade at Universal's Royal Pacific Resort to club level, and really loved it, but our love was not objectively worth $300/day!).

Even with AP discounts, the days of Club Rooms for around $500 are gone. Discounted Club rooms at Disney can be quite costly. Honestly for the price of a club level room, you would be better off doing a cash DVC 1-Bedroom or going through points rental company and getting a 1-Bedroom DVC villa.

What am I missing? Is it the evening drinks that make it worthwhile for people? The not having to bring your own cereal and bagels for the hotel room, or worrying about whether the mini-fridge will keep your milk? Are there other club level benefits I'm overlooking? Any thoughts -- especially if you've stayed Club Level at Yacht Club before -- would be much appreciated.

Too often people who stay in club level will miss out on the offerings because they are in the parks or elsewhere on property. Conversely people will miss out on other things because they schedule their other activities around the schedule of the club, which I think is a mistake.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Yacht is IMO the best of the Epcot/Studios Hotel's club lounges, additionally the rooms in Yacht are nicer more recently updated than Beach or Boardwalk. The nicest lounge on property is at AKL, where the club level rooms usually are the cheapest. That being said, the offerings at Yacht and Beach Club Lounges are virtually identical.

If you plan to spend most of the time in the parks and not hang around at the hotel for breakfast or dinner, then Club Level is not a good choice. Club level works great if you want to lounge around the hotel all day. While the breakfast and evening offerings are nice, you can certainly take the money saved by not doing club level and splurge at a TS restaurant elsewhere on property for every day of your trip and feel like you got more out of it.

Even with AP discounts, the days of Club Rooms for around $500 are gone. Discounted Club rooms at Disney can be quite costly. Honestly for the price of a club level room, you would be better off doing a cash DVC 1-Bedroom or going through points rental company and getting a 1-Bedroom DVC villa.


Too often people who stay in club level will miss out on the offerings because they are in the parks or elsewhere on property. Conversely people will schedule their other activities around the schedule of the club, which I think is a mistake.

Thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough and thoughtful response! This makes perfect sense -- and I think you're right, in that given my family's particular priorities, if we're going to splurge on something, club level might not be the best choice for us.

 

[We love Edna Mode]

Did club level at Yacht many years ago…it was terrific but we were never there in the middle of the day. It was a timesaver for breakfast and we utilized that every day. Came back later in evening for mostly snacks which was fine. Staff was excellent and even went out of their way if we wanted something not out. Also did Poly one year as an upgrade, but loved Yacht Club way more.

 

[Trust2deal]

Hi Weather Lady - here is our opinion of CL at the yacht Club - we have stayed at a number of CL's at DW over the years - our last was Yacht Club CL last november. We may not agree with Monothingie 100% - but here is our take. We find that the service at CL's is one of the best additional perks - granted it usually is up to the CL personnel you interact with - but overall they always exceed expectations - - not only do you get food and beverage throughout the day - you can request early service the day ahead - just by asking the CL attendant that you plan on leaving early and you request some food/drink ahead of time - they seem to always accommodate - additionally - the CL people are avail for you to book any resy - ticket - or even amend any resy or ticket you have - we LOVE the service since we often change plans - they get you resy's where you can't online because they usually know how - through their network - they go out of their way to make your trip magical - They even get you the type of liquor you like - or food if you are a planner -

If you and don't need any assistance - nor do you believe that those extra services will matter - then do NOT spend the extra money -

 

[Eric Graham]

We just stayed club level at the Beach Club in early October. I would not pay that price to stay there ever again. The quality of food has tremendously gone downhill. Better food quality at McDonalds. You're better off paying for Deluxe meals than spending this amount of money on club level. What a waste of money!

 

[Eric Graham]

And with Club Level, they used to let you pay extra money for three extra fastpasses. Making it a total of six. All of that is gone now. . .

 

[Nala06]

We haven’t stayed at Yacht CL specifically, but we recently did a long trip split between WL and Poly CL. The quality and offerings of food at both locations were great, and for those resorts, the guarantee of a top floor room (WL) and centrally located building (Poly) were nice perks. It sounds like for Yacht you would have to pay significantly more for an equal view for what you have currently booked.

As far as meals, breakfast felt rushed on the days we were trying to hit rope drop. I agree the 7am start time makes it very difficult to enjoy. The food offerings were great and a lot healthier/filling that what we would be able to eat in the room or buy at CS.

Dinner worked well most nights because we were dealing with a one year olds bedtime, and didn’t have many late nights planned. The food was substantial enough for a meal for everyone in my family. However, if you plan to stay in the parks past 7pm, its a waste.

Beverages are another plus, including coffee and alcohol. Getting decent drinks on property can be costly and time consuming. We loved being able to have whatever we wanted available to us throughout the day.

Bottom line; for families with teens who plan to rope drop and stay out late most nights, the cost is not worth it in my opinion. For a mostly resort based stay, then absolutely.