We have a love-hate relationship with Club Level at Walt Disney World. We love having a luxury-caliber experience, along with easy access to “unlimited” food, drinks and desserts. We hate how much it costs. The Deluxe Resorts that offer these lounges typically charge $200 to $300 extra per night, and that’s on top of already astronomical room rates.
Fortunately, there are a couple of ‘hacks’ to sidestep the hate part of the equation. One is by renting Disney Vacation Club points and staying at Kilimanjaro Club at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Another, as laid out in our list of Best Value Splurges at Walt Disney World, is staying at the only Moderate Resort option, Chronos Club, which offers the easiest and most accessible way to cheaply stay Club Level.
Other options include being independently wealthy or, if not, winning the lottery in order to attain that status. Or just deciding to ‘treat ‘yo self’ and booking one of the pricier Club Levels. We’ve also had success with discounts; the current 40% off deal for Annual Passholders drops Old Faithful Club to “only” $659 per night, and that’d be even lower with a 4+ night stay. It would, of course, be much more expensive in aggregate to do 4 nights as opposed to a single night plus 3 more nights at All Star Sports. But I digress.
This ‘check-in’ concerns Chronos Club, which remains the cheapest Club Level at Walt Disney World as of 2026. Located in the new-ish Gran Destino Tower, it’s also the only one at a Moderate Resort. Like many of the offerings in the tower, Chronos Club has felt like a hidden gem—offering adventurous cuisine and thoughtful touches at a fraction of the cost of Club Levels at Deluxe Resorts.
A lot has changed since our last Review of Chronos Club Level at Gran Destino Tower. For one, the price has increased. Our first stay here, we paid under $300 per night. (Granted, that was when it first opened in 2019 and everything was cheaper.) The next time, it was still under $450 after discount.
Fast-forward to 2026, and rack rates for standard rooms start at around $550 (see When’s Cheapest to Visit Walt Disney World?), and there are a few dates that eclipse $1,000 per night (New Year’s week only). Most nights are still in the $650 to $800 range, which is less expensive than all of its counterparts.
It still amounts to a surcharge of about $150 to $250 over a standard room in Gran Destino Tower, which is also is not bad from an upgrade perspective. This is all pre-discount. As we’ve discussed at length elsewhere, Coronado Springs offers the most aggressive discounts and usually has the best availability during deals.
Unfortunately, Chronos Club is a massive asterisk on that. Word has gotten out, and Walt Disney World diehards recognize what a good value Chronos Club is. It’s often tough to book as a result and thus unavailable via discounts.
In fact, I’ve been trying to book a 2-night stay at Chronos Club to re-review the offering for multiple trips in 2026, and have struck out across the board. Part of my problem is not being able to book early as my plans often don’t firm up until only a few months in advance.
But even for a May 2026 stay with flexible dates, I’m seeing zero discounted availability for Chronos Club; whereas I could book every single other Club Level at Walt Disney World, and at the aforementioned 35-40% off discount.
Which brings us to today’s check-in of Chronos Club. Normally, we try to do 2-night stays for Club Level reviews. In a pinch (if it’s really expensive or availability dictates), we’ll do a single night. That’s still two full days of access, so we can sample multiple breakfast, “lunch,” dinner and dessert services.
In this case, I was attending a D23 event with friends and only had a chance to stop into Chronos Club a few times–and never for breakfast, which is often regarded as the best meal service in the lounge. Accordingly, this does not meet the bar for a full review.
At the same time, I don’t know when I’ll have the chance to re-review Chronos Club properly. And given that this is a pricey experience that we strongly recommend in several posts–and one that multiple readers who have done recent stays here have contended has gone downhill–it seemed worth revisiting, even with that asterisk.
It was those reader reviews and comments that actually flagged Chronos Club as needing a re-review in the first place. We’ve heard extensive feedback about Chronos Club on our posts recommending it, and while many fans still love it, almost as many have shared that the experience has been significantly watered down.
Even without a more recent stay, this is something we worried would happen over time. Walt Disney World has a history of starting strong with ambitious and adventurous menus, only to dilute them over time. As great as the restaurants at Animal Kingdom Lodge still are, there have been signs of this there with attempts to make Sanaa and Jiko more approachable and popular.
We actually haven’t seen this as much at the Gran Destino Tower restaurants, which I can only assume is because Toledo is viewed as a crown jewel after earning Michelin recognition, and one that impresses convention-goers and sophisticated travelers. But even that’s a feast or famine situation; it goes from jam-packed when there’s a convention to a veritable ghost town other nights. It’s only a matter of time before that menu gets a burger, like Sanaa and Tiffins before it.
We always figured that catering to convention-goers would keep Chronos Club “safe” from Walt Disney World’s typical trajectory of starting strong only to shift towards crowd-pleasing comfort foods. If recent reader reports and my experience are any indication, Chronos Club now occupies in-between territory.
When we first stayed at Chronos Club, dinner offerings included items like sustainable lionfish nuggets, vegan crabcakes and meatballs, shrimp paella, and spiced dishes with complex flavor profiles and international influences. The food was seafood and vegan-heavy, but it was ambitious and unlike any other Club Level at Walt Disney World. There was also a lot of it, especially for breakfast and dinner.
Our previous perspective was that things were a little too taste-specific and vegan-heavy, even setting aside the more adventurous nature of the cuisine. We assumed that would be adjusted over time, as even business travelers probably would feel that plant-based dishes were overrepresented.
Things have undeniably changed since. I’m not sure I’d call it an overcorrection, because there are fewer stations serving substantive hot dishes. It’s not like Walt Disney World received guest feedback saying, “there are too many choices–offer less!”
The scaled-back dinner now consists of more crowd-pleasing fare: chicken nuggets, meatballs in red sauce, basic pasta, bread, gazpacho, meats & cheeses. From what I experienced and reader reports, there are still some adventurous dishes, but you can expect a single item or two per evening. I’ve seen no mention of the glorious lamb chops of late, and certainly didn’t see them myself.
Another complaint we’ve heard from readers concern the lack of a greeting upon arrival and check-in upstairs at the lounge along with a welcome drink. Others have taken issue with restricted alcohol access, as beer & wine is no longer self-service, but instead available upon request.
I’m not sure how much to pin these complaints on Chronos Club, specifically, though. In our experience, a greeting and lounge check-in has always been hit or miss everywhere, and more restrictive alcohol access seems to be the general pattern of Club Levels at Walt Disney World.
Frankly, I’m not sure how much of this is unique to Chronos Club, period. We’ve done a few recent Club Level stays at Walt Disney World, and while one was absolutely fantastic, it was probably the outlier (review coming soon). We’ve also been underwhelmed by Regatta Club and Innkeeper’s Club, and those stays fully mirror our experience and reader feedback about Chronos Club.
In other words, the ‘dilution’ at Chronos Club is probably one-part standard crowd-pleasing trajectory from the guest feedback loop, especially as the Club Level has become more popular with tourists. It’s also probably one-part standard cost-cutting, as Disney tries to improve margins and juice its theme park results.
With Chronos Club being a hot property, there’s really no incentive not to cutback, even as the effective prices increase. (This alone is a rarity among Walt Disney World hotels, many of which are now cheaper than a few years ago thanks to aggressive discounts; we’ve even found Club Level to be in lower demand and less expensive than in ~2022.)
Like I said at the top, my recent experiences at Chronos Club do not meet the bar for a full re-review. I’m still planning on doing that whenever it works with availability, pricing, etc. What I am comfortable saying right now is that it’s not what it once was.
However, I’m also comfortable saying that’s true for every Club Level (except one) that we’ve done in the post-reopening era. We don’t do Club Level stays with regularity for one very obvious reason ($$$), so I can’t say with certainty whether this cost-cutting is happening at all of the lounges.
My intuition here is probably the same as anyone who has visited Walt Disney World for a while: I’d assume Club Level cost-cutting is widespread, given the bigger picture across WDW. This is a shame, because our experience in ~2018-2019 was that Club Levels at Walt Disney World had upped their game, seemingly trying to “compete” with real world counterparts.
I’m also comfortable saying that I would still choose Chronos Club over the Club Levels at BoardWalk Inn and Yacht Club, and that’s even without taking cost into account. And I absolutely would take post-discount pricing into account. (With that said, there has been ample availability for the Crescent Lake Club Levels via discounts, so perhaps the actual price isn’t that different.)
Chronos Club may not be the hidden gem or bargain that it once was. It’s going to be a much closer call as to whether it’s “worth it” from a value for money perspective. As with other Club Levels, it’ll now probably depend more on whether you drink (and how much) and the value you place on the convenience of breakfast, dinner, and dessert in the lounge (and how often you’ll be in the hotel for those meals).
Let’s end with some positives. First and foremost, the views are still spectacular. Sitting 15 stories up with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Disney’s Hollywood Studios remains impressive. You can see Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Tower of Terror, and more–even construction of Monstropolis. These big views elevate the space, literally and figuratively.
The space itself is also quite nice. Some might argue that the underlying design is “boring and generic,” but I like it. (Whoops, it was me who wrote that. Well, I guess it’s grown on me!) The lounge feels sophisticated and elegant, especially at night. It’s definitely better than its Crescent Lake counterparts.
The lounge is also larger. Unlike other Club Levels where finding a seat can be challenging or you’re right on top of the tables next to you, Chronos Club’s size means you can almost always find seating even during peak times.
It’s also just more comfortable, with better breathing room. Gran Destino Tower was obviously purposefully built with thoughtful Club Level access in mind, whereas it often feels like an afterthought or retrofit in the older hotels. (Maybe it was?)
The Cast Members are still excellent. Despite operational changes limiting what they can offer, the concierge team consistently earns praise for friendliness and helpfulness. We’ve heard this in reader reviews, which specifically call out the CMs as a highlight, and I can corroborate this based on my own interactions.
Cast Members are friendly, conversational, and attentive. Among other things, we never had plates pile up on our table, which is often an issue (purposefully?) at other Club Levels.
Ultimately, Chronos Club has gone from being the best value Club Level at Walt Disney World to being the cheapest. That is very much a distinction with a difference. When it opened, Chronos Club was arguably the top option in all of Walt Disney World–better than those at many Deluxe Resorts, even if not our #1 overall pick.
All of that made it an easy recommendation for guests on a budget wanting to splurge on one of the ‘finer things’ at Walt Disney World. Now, I’m not so sure about that. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s not the hidden gem or luxury bargain that it once was.
The value proposition is weaker, even if it’s still the most affordable option. For budget-conscious guests who want to a taste of the Club Level experience at Walt Disney World, it remains a viable entry point. But I would strongly recommend doing a cost-benefit analysis before booking blindly on the basis of older reviews.
For those who stayed at Chronos Club for the first few years of its existence and loved it, just know that the experience has been diluted. Don’t book it expecting the experience that you enjoyed a few years ago, or that older reviews (including ours) described.
Losing some of its luster over time and demand driving prices up was wholly expected, albeit probably not to this degree. I still really enjoyed my experience at Chronos Club to the point that I would (and will) book it again, but I’m no longer singing its praises and shouting my recommendation from the rooftops–hence this check-in. The answer to whether Chronos Club is worth it is now, like so many Club Levels, “it depends.”
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of Chronos Club? Does this lounge or its food look appealing or unappealing to you? If you’ve stayed at Chronos Club in the last couple years, what do you think of it? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
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