by Katie McPherson

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If you’re planning a Disney trip with kids, chances are you’re doing a lot of mental math that boils down to, “Is this thing worth this many dollars?” When there’s so much to see, eat, and ride, it’s hard to know where to save and splurge to get the best experience for your family. So when you’re booking your hotel rooms and see Club Level access listed next to some, what does that really mean? For a mom with constantly hungry kids who wants the security of a chill place to land with snacks, Club Level might be the place you want to spend your money.

When you book a Club Level reservation, you get access to the “club” inside whichever Disney Resort Hotel you’re staying in. You can access the club by holding your Magic Band or room key up to the card checkpoint in the elevator — yes, there’s a little exclusivity involved. Each hotel’s club is set up slightly differently, but there should be concierge staff available on this floor just for club guests.

There are multiple different food services throughout the day at any club. On Scary Mommy editors’ recent stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, for example, these included:

• Macheo (“sunrise” or coffee hour from 6:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.)
• Miamko (breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.)
• Vitafunio (snacks from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
• Chai (tea and drinks from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
• Kisikusiku (dinner from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
• Rehema (desserts from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.)

As you can see, that means there’s quite literally always something to eat and drink at the club during waking hours. During our visit to AKL, we were big fans of stopping by and requesting a glass of complimentary champagne. That seemed to be available at all hours, too (wink wink). Here’s what else we loved about the Kilimanjaro Club that would likely be true of all Club Level access:

• Snacks at the ready: While the club doesn’t really do full meals — they still want your business at the on-site restaurants — the snacks are heavy enough that you could totally squeak some meals out of them. Think lots of fruit, yogurt, hummus, Uncrustables, chips, and charcuterie, depending on the time of day you stop by. There are always cold sodas, water, milk, juice, and coffee available, too (oh, and Mickey Mouse ice cream bars). It was the best to get home from the craziness of the parks, snag a cold water bottle and a couple of soft-baked cookies, and head off to bed.
• A quiet place to land: Obviously the parks are a blast, but sometimes you need a place to relax and decompress a bit. Having your entire family in a hotel room doesn’t exactly help with overstimulation. The club at our hotel was always playing kid-friendly Disney movies at a low volume and was just generally very calm. There were also education stations set up each day, with animal artifacts and guides there ready to share all kinds of cool knowledge — kids would eat it up. All in all, it’s just a great place to park everybody while you catch your breath.
• Access to concierges with no wait: It was really great to be able to zip up to the Club Level, throw out a quick question, and not have to wait in line behind folks checking in to have someone answer it. The staff were so friendly and accomodating, and always had the best advice to make our trip seamless.
• Champagne and Mickey Mouse ice cream bars, anytime we wanted ‘em. Priceless.

At the end of the day, Club Level definitely made our stay at the hotel way more enjoyable, and as moms, we could see just how much we would’ve valued it if our kids were with us. They always need snacks! While it may not be the most exciting place to invest for your trip, we think it’s one you’ll be grateful you chose.