Chronos Club: Disney’s Most Cost-Effective Club Level
In general, Disney’s Club Level rooms are very pricey and are definitely more of a splurge than a value…but Chronos Club is different. Chronos Club is located on the 15th Floor of Gran Destino Tower, which is part of the beautiful Coronado Springs Resort. It stands alone as the only Club Level concierge lounge in Walt Disney World that’s located in a Moderate Resort. We were lucky enough to snag a Club Level room for our January 2022 vacation. Upon arrival, Club Level guests are often met in the Gran Destino lobby and ushered upstairs to the lounge for check-in, but this didn’t happen for us this time (probably because we arrived rather late, around 9:30PM). But that was no problem, since we had done Online Check-In in advance. We had already received a text with our room number, so we were able to head right to our room.
We had a Tower - Standard View - Club Access room reserved, and it was a beautiful room! It was very spacious compared to the other Coronado Springs Standard rooms in Casitas, Cabanas, or Ranchos. Our Gran Destino Tower room was around 400 square feet, while other Coronado Springs Standard rooms outside the Tower are 314 square feet. We were definitely glad for the extra space! We thought our room location was wonderful - it was surprisingly quiet, even though it was directly across from the lounge and right next to the elevators. Being so close to both the lounge and elevators made getting around so easy for us!
The room featured 2 Queen-size beds, lovely wallpaper with subtle hidden Mickeys, and also came equipped with Disney’s newest smart TVs, which gave us the ability to easily cast streaming services from our phones to the TV without needing a Roku or similar device. The bathroom had a fantastic rainfall showerhead, very pretty tile, plenty of toiletries, and was smartly designed. The storage closet, armchair, and huge desk area were all very useful. There were so many small touches that made the room incredibly functional and convenient, such as plenty of built-in USB ports and handy reading lights attached to the bed frames. There was plenty of room for all of our luggage, and the bed frames were even raised high enough that suitcases could be stored under the beds.
Chronos Club is a modern yet cozy space, and Disney explained their inspiration for the lounge’s design in our welcome letter. “The story of Chronos Club comes from the historic collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali in the short film, Destino. The film explores the love between Dahlia, a mortal woman, and Chronos, the immortal personification of time. Their story is told through animation that blends the abstract imagery and surreal landscapes of a Dali painting with visual storytelling of Disney and John Hench.” The lounge is filled with comfortable, stylish seating areas and features an incredible wall of windows that provide a stellar view.
The concierge Cast Members in the The Chronos Club lounge were so friendly and helpful, and always ready to assist with anything we needed. The lounge was accessible to Club Level guests only by scanning a valid MagicBand, MagicMobile, or Key to the World card. Epcot’s Harmonious fireworks were visible from the lounge in the evenings, although it was rather far away and the view was a bit obscured by the glare of the lounge windows.
The lounge is open from 7:00AM-10:00PM daily, with different food and beverage offerings available throughout the day.
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Food and Beverage Offerings:
Coffee (6:30AM-7:00AM)
Continental Breakfast (7:00AM-10:30AM)
Light Snacks (12:00PM-4:00PM)
Hors d’oeuvres & Select Beverages (5:00PM-7:00PM)
Desserts and & Cordials (8:00PM-10:00PM)
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We loved being able to easily walk across the hallway for snacks and drinks! The bottles of water were especially helpful and great to take with us as we headed out to the parks each day.
Another wonderful bonus of Chronos Club was that we received full housekeeping services daily, while all other non-standard rooms are not offered housekeeping services other than trash removal and replenishment of towels every other day. It was so nice to enjoy freshly made beds and be surprised by fun towel animals again - this has really been missed since Disney’s COVID-19 closure, and we greatly appreciated its return. I’ll note that we received a regular cleaning once per day only, and the typical Club Level evening turn-down service that customarily happened pre-pandemic has not been reinstated yet.
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
We had breakfast in Chronos Club almost every day of our vacation. While it was very good, it was also a little limited and we were served almost exactly the same items every single day. There were plenty of pastries, fruit, and oatmeal provided, along with a few savory items. The pastries were all the usual, decent Disney buffet quality, and the muffin flavors varied day by day. The lemon poppy bread alternated with a delicious cinnamon bread every other morning, and we all agreed this was the best thing offered in the morning! The steel cut oatmeal was also very good, and was served with several great toppings. The refrigerator had plenty of drinks like milk, juice, and soda available, as well as cold items like yogurt, grapes, and apples. There was also coffee provided (both regular and specialty coffee drinks). Trays of fresh fruit were placed throughout the lounge, and these remained on the counter as snacks most of the day.
We thought the breakfast offered was good, but we wished they would offer at least a little more variety. We didn’t care for the frittata, as it had an odd texture. The bread pudding also had a strange flavor that we never really could identify, so it wasn’t a favorite. A lot of food items were pre-portioned into individual servings, but it would have been nice to see things like the deli meat, cheese, and different fruits served separately so guests could simply get more of the one item they wanted without wasting everything else on the plate. And many other club level lounges in Disney offer full breakfasts with things like Mickey waffles, pancakes, bacon, and sausage, so this is a prime example of “getting what you pay for” when you choose the less expensive Chronos Club over one of the pricier Deluxe resorts.
AFTERNOON LIGHT SNACKS
These were all decent snack items, although the whole spread consisted almost entirely prepackaged items, and there was nothing unique to Chronos Club. Everything was easy to grab and take back to our room for a snack, which was nice. The cookies were soft and flavorful, and we saw both snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies during our stay.
EVENING HORS D’OEUVRES
We were in the parks most evenings, so we only caught this round of appetizers once or twice. The evening hors d’oeuvres was an interesting selection of food. The absolute highlights were the Bravas Croquettes, which are from Dahlia Lounge menu, and the Pan con Tomate, featured on the Toledo - Tapas, Steak & Seafood menu. Both were delicious and made for a nice snack.
There was also a bright pink, gelatinous Jack Fruit Salad that I couldn’t bring myself to try, and I’m not a fan of seafood, so I skipped the salmon. No one seemed to touch the Verde Gazpacho. The kid’s pasta was fine, but nothing special. The veggies and ranch from snack time made another appearance, along with a little skewer of charcuterie meats and cheeses. Some of the other Walt Disney World club level lounges are well known for serving enough food that guests can usually rely on it to be a entire meal, but that’s not the case in Chronos Club. However, those Bravas Croquettes and Pan con Tomate were a great teaser that might make you want to head upstairs to Dahlia Lounge or Toledo for dinner!
DESSERTS
The dessert selection was what we were most looking forward to, but sadly, it turned out to be the most disappointing service of the day. There were very few items available. The berry mousse was a constant dessert option every day, but was unexceptional. The chocolate gooey cake proved itself to be the very opposite of gooey, and was in fact very dry and dense. The chocolate cake alternated with a key lime pie bite, which was very good, and the best item that ever appeared during dessert hours. The same cookies that were available during snack time and the same fruit cups from breakfast were both back again for dessert. There were also several bowls of hard candy options scattered around the lounge, and small bags available to fill up with candy and take back to your room, which was a fun idea.
All in all, I would say the upgrade to Chronos Lounge is worthwhile for a shorter trip, when you won’t be there long enough to get tired of the same meals over and over again. The room was beautiful, and having lounge access was wonderful. We needed help with a couple of different questions during our vacation, and the lounge Cast Members were happy to help and solved every problem they could so guests could avoid having to go down to the front desk. It was a lovely space to sit and read a book, and they had so many interesting art books around. There were also a few games and plushes to entertain kids.
The best way to start weighing if Chronos Club is a good option for you is to compare prices. For our dates, this room was $431 per night at rack rate. In comparison, a standard, non-tower room at Coronado Springs with no club level access was $251 per night. So, the club level upgrade was $180 per night over the cost of a regular room. If you have 4 guests in the room, that comes out to $45 per person, per day.
Fortunately, I have an Annual Pass, so we were able to get 20% off with the Annual Passholder discount and ended up paying $344 per night. In comparison, a standard, non-tower room at Coronado Springs with no club level access was $200 per night with the Annual Passholder discount. With those discounted rates, the club level upgrade was $144 per night over the cost of a regular room. With 4 guests in our room, the cost to add club level access came out to $36 per person, per day.
So, the question is, did we each get $36 (or $45) worth of snacks and drinks from Chronos Club every day? With the access to the included alcoholic drinks in the lounge, it’s easy to see the value here! However, if you have kids in your party or aren’t planning to partake in alcohol, you’ll be lucky to break even. Consider the cost of buying all the items you might purchase daily at a Quick Service dining if you didn’t have club level access - for example:
Bottle of Water ($3.50) · Soda ($4.69) · Fresh Fruit ($2.29) · Bags of Chips ($2.99) · Uncrustables ($3.99) · Cookie ($3.29) · Cereal with Milk ($4.99) · Bagel ($3.49) · Croissant ($3.49) · Yogurt ($3.19) · Side of Oatmeal with Toppings ($4.99) · Muffin ($3.49) · Quick Service Continental Breakfast Platter ($7.49)
You will have unlimited access to all of these items and more every day, so if this is the type of food you would buy anyway, then club level access is a great fit for you! But once you start throwing in a character breakfast or two and decide to skip the lounge breakfast a few times, or plan to be in the parks all day, every day and know you won’t be around to take advantage of the lounge very often…then you start making club level less and less of a value.
One last comparison - let’s see how Moderate resort club level access compares to club level access at a Deluxe resort. Chronos Club is by far the least expensive club level option, so we’ll compare it to Wilderness Lodge’s Old Faithful club level, which is the second cheapest. For the same dates as our vacation, Old Faithful access would cost $753 per night at rack rate, or $564 per night with the Annual Passholder discount (Passholders receive an even larger discount for Deluxe resorts, at 25% off). So, non-discounted, Old Faithful Access equates to $322 more per night than Chronos Club, or $291 more per night than a standard, non-club level room at Wilderness Lodge (which runs $462 per night for those same dates). If you were already willing to pay rack rate for Chronos Club access or a standard room at a Deluxe resort, you would be looking at an additional $70-80 per person, per day to upgrade to Old Faithful access at Wilderness Lodge.
Clearly, adding club level access at a Deluxe is more of a luxury and quite a bit more expensive than adding Chronos Club access at Coronado Springs. Although, you can definitely plan ahead and use club level access at a Deluxe strategically to make it a great value. Keep in mind that each meal service will provide a much bigger spread than what we experienced at Chronos Club, and you’ll have a wider variety of food and drinks available to you. Deluxe club level lounges offer much more substantial food options that can serve as an entire meal (at least for breakfast and dinner), so there is a savings there if you plan to eat light dinners in the lounge every evening rather than going out to Table Service restaurants, for example. This would be especially valuable if you were planning a resort-only stay and were able to take advantage of the club level lounge for the majority of your meals. In the absence of the Disney Dining Plan, club level is certainly worth considering and could even turn out to be a savings for your family!
