Is Membership Degree at Walt Disney World well worth the cash? This information solutions that, with evaluations of the perfect concierge lounges in resorts, VIP providers, execs & cons, and extra. We even have an replace on Membership Degree, and what the expertise is like now. (Up to date January 30, 2025.)
With out query, the largest advantage of Membership Degree at Walt Disney World is the lounges. We used to have blended ideas on these, however have endeavored to remain at each Membership Degree resort as our current experiences have been rather more favorable. It appears Disney is stepping up its recreation to raised compete with actual world luxurious resorts. Listed here are our Membership Degree Lounge evaluations to this point–click on every to see lounge & meals photographs, plus full commentary about every:
These Membership Degree Lounges every serve espresso, continental breakfast, gentle afternoon snacks, hors d’oeuvres at time for dinner, and dessert & cordials late at evening. In our opinion, the lounge is the principle motive to guide a Membership Degree resort keep at Walt Disney World, with the meals high quality and lounge environment being crucial components to contemplate. We cowl these items in meticulous element in every of our evaluations.
By way of fundamentals, all Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World have not less than one Membership Degree providing. Disney’s Up to date Resort has 2, however they’re primarily (in our view) interchangeable. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort additionally used to have two, however that’s not the case. Our expectation is that Walt Disney World will broaden its concierge product providing within the years to return.
For one factor, there’s an enormous unhappy marketplace for extra Membership Ranges at Walt Disney World. The hospitality business on the whole is chasing higher-spending prospects, with airways lowering their stock of economic system seats and changing them with fewer premium cabins and resorts changing commonplace rooms with suites.
Walt Disney World has been much less aggressive in doing this, usually as a substitute changing resort rooms to Disney Trip Membership villas. Comparable animating thought, totally different means to that finish. Nonetheless, that would change. In the previous couple of years we’ve seen that Membership Degree rooms are sometimes excluded from reductions, or don’t have any availability. That is fairly the change from 5+ years in the past, after we lucked into free Membership Degree upgrades on a number of events because of low occupancy.
It’s additionally value declaring that these approaches are exactly what Disneyland Resort is doing. Disney simply introduced the enlargement of two of its Membership Degree lounges, together with a brand-new lounge to launch in 2025 and 2026. Now there can be 4 concierge ranges at Disneyland’s 3 resorts. Though the California market is barely totally different, there’s loads of untapped demand for extra Membership Degree at Walt Disney World. And we’d anticipate that to be stuffed in Florida, too.
However we’re getting forward of ourselves. Let’s go over the fundamentals of Membership Degree at Walt Disney World. Disney Villa Resorts, extra colloquially often called Disney Trip Membership Resorts, shouldn’t have Membership Ranges. Nonetheless, most Deluxe Villas are additionally Deluxe Resorts (e.g. Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge). The one exceptions to this are Disney’s Riviera Resort, Saratoga Springs, and Previous Key West.
Lastly, not one of the Worth Resorts have Membership Degree; solely one of many Average Resorts have a Membership Degree, Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs Resort. As a result of it’s at a Average Resort, Chronos Membership at Gran Destino is the most cost effective Membership Degree providing at Walt Disney World.
Confused but? All you really want to know is that along with the above record of Membership Ranges, there’s additionally the next that we have now not but reviewed:
- Tower Membership at Disney’s Up to date Resort
- Royal Palm Membership at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
- Regatta Membership at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort
One of many first issues to grasp about Membership Degree at Walt Disney World is that it’s not the identical as concierge or govt ranges at higher echelon chained-brand resorts. If you happen to’re accustomed to the remedy you obtain at Park Hyatt, Conrad, 4 Seasons, or different real-world luxurious resorts which are comparably priced to Disney Deluxes, you’re in for disappointment.
These manufacturers are famend for unparalleled consideration to element, visitor service, anticipating wants, and going above and past to ship a superlative keep. They’ll guide tough eating reservations, help with planning, and assist make the expertise memorable and stress-free. There are myriad methods that is achieved at real-world resorts, however the salient level is that in case you’re anticipating 4 Seasons or Park Hyatt concierge high quality from Disney…don’t.
You really want to make use of a third-party Licensed Disney Trip Planner for that sort of service and even then, it’s not the identical since they’re third occasion intermediaries. Right here’s the Licensed Disney Trip Planner that we suggest!
For Membership Degree stays at Walt Disney World, you’ll normally obtain an electronic mail from Concierge Resort Forged Members previous to your journey to introduce themselves and help with an itinerary. Whether or not you truly obtain this correspondence is hit and miss, and it’s usually despatched out after eating and different reservation home windows have already opened–and probably the most coveted choices are booked up.
If you would like or want any such concierge planning help, relying upon the Concierge Resort Forged Members at Walt Disney World wouldn’t be our really useful plan of action. At finest, they’re going to spend a few hours offering boilerplate recommendation and maybe reserve you no matter’s available by way of ADRs at their comfort. They’ll additionally assist a bit upon arrival on the in-person desk, however by then, it’s normally too late. (These Forged Members don’t have precedence entry to eating reservations or the rest.)
In brief, Membership Degree shouldn’t be about superlative service or planning prowess at Walt Disney World. To make sure, there are nice, long-tenured Forged Members working on the Membership Degree Lounges. We’ve usually discovered them to be personable; in case you’re on the lookout for pleasant faces to greet you within the Membership Degree Lounges, they’re excellent.
The lounges are actually the place Membership Degree shines at Walt Disney World, and are the first promoting level of reserving Membership Degree. You’ll get probably the most bang in your buck out of the keep in case you make a degree of consuming a number of meals per day within the lounge. Most individuals will reap the benefits of continental breakfast, however not lunch, dinner, or late evening desserts.
Breakfast is sort of completely chilly objects, plus oatmeal and possibly one different scorching dish. If you happen to’re fortunate, you’ll discover some good meats and cheeses that may be made right into a sandwich for one thing substantive. Perhaps an unique/distinctive merchandise or two. It’s sufficient to fill you up and get you thru till lunch, however it’s not precisely an opulent unfold.
The sunshine afternoon snacks are precisely that–normally chips, hummus and pita, quite a lot of greens, and numerous different random issues. This undoubtedly shouldn’t be thought of lunch, as there’s virtually no approach to make a meal of this service at any of the Membership Degree Lounges at Walt Disney World.
As a basic rule, the night hors d’oeuvres are the perfect providing, with quite a few small plate dishes which are sometimes ready by cooks from Signature Eating places (Disney’s time period for positive eating) positioned on the resort. These are typically superb to nice, and regardless of being ‘small plates’ and Disney intentionally avoiding the time period dinner to explain this service, you may simply make a meal of them.
The standard of this service varies from resort to resort, however throughout the board, we expect it has improved within the final couple of years. In actual fact, elevated hors d’oeuvres high quality is among the huge causes we’ve began revisiting the entire Membership Degree Lounges. If you happen to can reap the benefits of breakfast (which needs to be a given) and dinner plus dessert service most nights of your keep, Membership Degree will be a lot simpler to justify from a price for cash perspective.
Along with entry to the Membership Lounge, friends staying at every Membership Degree have entry to the Concierge Resort Forged Members between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. These Forged Members are discovered at desks exterior of the lounge or close by, and might help with tickets, eating, recreation, transportation, youngster care, and every day itinerary planning.
These Forged Members can’t get you into eating places which are totally booked, or rating Lightning Lane entry for sights which have run out of their every day allotment. Nonetheless, in case you name or textual content a Concierge Resort Forged Member whilst you’re within the parks and ask for assist reserving an ADR, they may simply have the ability to work some magic. (No guarantees on that.)
With regards to what Signature Providers does not do, Walt Disney World not presents enhanced VIP providers for Membership Degree friends for $50 per individual per day. It’s not doable to purchase 3 further line-skipping entitlements when staying Membership Degree. If you happen to’ve learn elsewhere that it’s, that is outdated info.
If you happen to’re primarily inquisitive about Membership Degree for that, the excellent news is that an alternative choice to it, Lightning Lane Premier Go, is now obtainable for everybody to buy. It’s rather more costly and we do NOT suggest Premier Go to anybody exterior of these for whom cash isn’t any subject the week between Christmas and New 12 months’s Eve (and even then, solely at Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios).
With that stated, we do suggest Lightning Lane Multi-Go and Single Go in lots of extra situations. Every little thing it is advisable know, together with experience priorities, technique for avoiding pitfalls, maximizing your time saved & experience rely, and rather more is roofed in our Information to Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World.
Objectively, the price of staying Membership Degree ranges from round +$120/evening to +$375/evening relying on the resort, room tier, and season. For a basic rule, the costlier the resort and room class, the better the added value. Nonetheless, this isn’t at all times true.
For example, including Membership Degree at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa would “solely” be an extra $228 on New 12 months’s Eve. That’s Walt Disney World’s most costly resort on its most costly evening of the yr. The surcharge for Wilderness Lodge on that very same evening can be $274.
That is additional difficult by reductions, which might change the hole relying upon what’s excluded, obtainable, and so forth. You rely shouldn’t depend on a useful resource for this to find out the value distinction. You’ll see for your self once you truly worth out a room in your journey dates and might see the Membership Degree value versus that of different obtainable rooms.
With that stated, the premium for staying in Chronos Membership at Gran Destino is at all times the bottom. It may be lower than $100 further for a lot of nights after reductions. Once more, it’s because Chronos Membership is at a Average Resort, so the baseline worth is decrease to start with.
Regardless of this, we view Chronos Membership as among the finest Membership Ranges in all of Walt Disney World. Like Gran Destino Tower as a complete, it punches far above its weight, and presents great bang for buck. In actual fact, in case your solely consideration is worth for cash, you possibly can cease proper right here: Chronos Membership is the clear winner, and the competitors isn’t even shut.
Assuming you cram 4 adults within the Membership Degree room–as a result of nothing says posh resort keep like 4 adults in a single resort room–you’re round $40 to $60 per individual per evening for Membership Degree. If you happen to do two meals per day (breakfast and dinner) within the Membership Degree Lounge, and even simply breakfast plus dessert and a few beers once you return from the park, you’re already getting your cash’s value on the decrease finish of the pricing premium spectrum.
Nonetheless, I’m guessing that your solely consideration is not worth for cash…otherwise you in all probability wouldn’t be Membership Degree within the first place. However in case you are that uncommon visitor seeking to splurge on Membership Degree whereas squeezing as a lot worth out of it as doable, look no additional–Chronos Membership is the one for you!
It ought to go with out saying, however the bigger your occasion and the extra meals you eat within the lounge, the higher the worth proposition. Add the Resort Concierge service to the combination, in addition to the views and ambiance within the lounge, and it turns into fairly straightforward to justify Membership Degree.
On the different finish of the spectrum, in case you’re a celebration of two adults and can solely do breakfast within the lounge earlier than rope dropping the parks and staying till park closing (thus lacking all subsequent meals providers within the lounge), it’s actually unattainable to justify Membership Degree. Normally, this isn’t one thing for “park commandos,” it’s for these wanting a extra leisurely, luxurious, and pampered Walt Disney World expertise.
In situations that don’t fall on both finish of these excessive spectrums, there’s doing Membership Degree merely since you wish to deal with yo self to a superb, as soon as in a lifetime type of expertise. Perhaps you need the perfect view in the home at Wilderness Lodge, or to strut across the Polynesian carrying your lei like a rockstar—a modern-day Jon Bon Jovi. Typically it’s enjoyable to splurge on a style of luxurious as a result of it’s simply one thing you flat out wish to do.
Everybody makes purchases that may not go muster if scrutinized from a price for cash perspective. There’s completely nothing flawed with that. There’s no motive to really feel dangerous about wanting what you suppose can be a cool or handy expertise for the sake of that have. Anybody who claims each resolution they make is 100% rational and 0% emotional is mendacity. If you wish to keep Membership Degree at Walt Disney World for certainly one of these causes—or another intrinsic sense of happiness—extra energy to you. Solely you realize what’s going to make your trip particular to you!
We’re a celebration of two adults, and we’ve made Membership Degree work for us. We talk about the specifics in every of these evaluations above, however right here’s the CliffNotes model of that: we do break up stays, with the Membership Degree portion of our journey for 1-2 nights on the finish of a visit.
If you happen to’re unfamiliar with the idea of a break up keep, see our Easy methods to Do Cut up Stays at Walt Disney World Resorts. As you possibly can see there, we’re big advocates of break up stays for quite a lot of causes. With regards to this, we extremely suggest doing the Membership Degree portion on the finish of your journey, fairly than starting.
Partly, it’s because it’s actually robust to go from Membership Degree again to regular lodging. Extra importantly, we suggest this since you’ll spend the primary portion of your journey racing across the parks doing every little thing that you just wish to get carried out, exhausting yourselves within the progress. Then on the finish, you’ll have a Membership Degree keep to loosen up, rejuvenate, and really trip.
After we keep Membership Degree at Walt Disney World, we seldom depart the resort. With this in thoughts, our least favourite is the Atrium Membership Degree at Up to date Resort. Chronos Membership is often an incredible worth and one thing we actually take pleasure in, however we don’t like hanging round Gran Destino all day, so it’s out from this angle.
Our two favourite Membership Ranges at Walt Disney World are these at Seaside Membership and Wilderness Lodge. We love making the most of Stone Harbor Membership throughout breaks from floating across the lazy river in Stormalong Bay, or sitting in a comfortable overstuffed chair in Previous Trustworthy Membership whereas gazing down at that superb foyer. We prefer to unwind and take advantage of the luxurious keep whereas doing Membership Degree.
For selecting the best Membership Degree for you–or getting the main points proper on a break up keep, as soon as once more Right here’s the Licensed Disney Trip Planner that we suggest.
They may also help you give you a break up keep “resort plan” like this that works in your wants. Your pursuits are going to vary from ours, however they will take heed to your loved ones’s pursuits and priorities and guide one thing custom-made only for you. (Plus, they get their fee from Disney, so there is no such thing as a cost to you for them to guide your journey and enable you plan!)
The maths on Membership Degree solely works out in case you’re viewing it as a luxurious expertise or splurge. If you happen to’re singularly value-oriented, Membership Degree is by no means going to make sense. You could possibly merely do grocery supply and have snacks at your leisure in your Walt Disney World resort room and are available out method forward by way of financial savings. After all, nothing screams “luxurious resort keep” like having groceries delivered and getting ready oatmeal in your room.
Not that we’re knocking that. We’ve carried out grocery supply a number of occasions and Membership Degree a number of occasions. Some journeys we wish to journey as inexpensively as doable, different occasions we wish to splurge and deal with ourselves to luxurious expertise. There’s definitely a spot for each kinds of touring.
One factor to reiterate right here whereas we’re discussing an opulent expertise, is that this refers virtually fully to the Membership Degree Lounge, its meals and environment. Concierge Resort Forged Members are usually nice and useful with planning questions you might need.
Nonetheless, concierge service at Walt Disney World shouldn’t be the identical as it’s in actual world resort counterparts. We have now stayed at Grand Membership stage at a number of Hyatt resorts, amongst different chains, and the distinction at luxurious resorts is that the service there may be actually above and past.
Actual world concierges can pull strings and make coveted bookings, rapidly have tickets delivered to a resort, and so forth. Walt Disney World concierges could make the identical bookings obtainable within the My Disney Expertise app in lieu of you doing it. This is usually a good comfort, however it’s normally nothing you couldn’t do your self.
Moreover and extra importantly, these actual world resort concierges exit of their approach to make you are feeling particular and pampered. Their service may be very attentive and proactive. Disney’s service is rather more reactionary; in case you need assistance, it’s there. If not, there’s a good probability no Concierge Resort Forged Members will work together with you after check-in.
In that regard, calling it “concierge stage” or “concierge lounges” at Walt Disney World is mostly a misnomer. Whereas the corporate itself generally refers back to the stage or lounges as concierge, these references are rare and infrequently simply aimed toward conference friends. (Presumably because of their expertise with actual world concierge ranges, however not Membership Degree? I dunno. Typically Disney’s verbiage is complicated and inconsistent.)
Normally, it is a basic distinction that actually should be confused for Walt Disney World first-timers who’re used to actual world 5-star resorts. If you happen to pampered service is your paramount concern, you’re higher off reserving the 4 Seasons Resort Orlando.
With that stated, one factor we must always notice right here is that Disney has been bettering by leaps and bounds on this entrance. Walt Disney World needs this viewers of “whale” friends, and has misplaced market share to luxurious resorts which have opened round Orlando. There are many causes to consider Disney is catering to extra prosperous friends, and bettering Membership Degree choices to seize this clientele definitely is sensible.
General, we’re usually followers of Membership Degree at Walt Disney World and, for us, it’s well worth the cash on some journeys. The Membership Degree expertise has improved in high quality the final couple of years, which definitely makes it simpler to justify, too. The lounge environment and views are essential to us, and having the providers of the Resort Concierge Forged Members is a pleasant bonus for us.
Nonetheless, we like to combine issues up. Typically we splurge on Membership Degree and virtually no park time; generally we concentrate on parks and easily guide an inexpensive resort and do fast, cheap meals. It varies from journey to journey–and might even range inside journeys.
Finally, by staying Membership Degree as a part of a break up keep throughout our ‘resort days’, we’re in a position to take advantage of our Membership Degree stays, enjoyable within the lounge, consuming and ingesting as a lot as we are able to. From this angle, we expect Membership Degree works properly and is a compelling choice. Your trip plans might range, wherein case the worth that Membership Degree presents to you’ll differ. Both method, we hope this introduction to Membership Degree at Walt Disney World has confirmed useful for planning your journey, and figuring out whether or not the concierge expertise is best for you!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study resorts on our Walt Disney World Resorts Opinions web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Opinions. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets publish. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys publish takes a novel have a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every little thing it is advisable know!
Your Ideas
If you happen to’ve stayed Membership Degree at a Walt Disney World resort, do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Do you suppose it is well worth the cash? Which Membership Degree Lounge is your favourite? Have you ever thought of staying Membership Degree? Share any questions, suggestions, or extra ideas you have got within the feedback!
