During our trip to the Walt Disney World Resort in November 2018, Stella and I stayed Club Level at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Stella and I are huge fans of Club Level and our stay at the Polynesian was our third Club Level experience (we’ve since had a fourth Club Level experience) at Walt Disney World.
We loved the Polynesian and its Club Level lounge, the King Kamehameha Club. This review will look at the Polynesian’s Club Level experience, the King Kamehameha Club and our thoughts and experience. If you plan to book a Club Level room and visit the King Kamehameha Club, this review is for you!
Perks
According to the Walt Disney World Resort website, Club Level guests receive the following amenities in addition to the standard resort amenities at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort:
- Evening turndown service
- Access to the Club Level lounge, the King Kamehameha Club, from 7AM to 10PM
- Personal vacation assistance from the Club Level staff
- Complimentary newspapers in the Club Level lounge
- Access to Disney Signature Services
- Access to Fast Pass+ selections 90 day in advance (for an additional fee)
Club Level guests also stay in a separate building from other hotel guests at the Polynesian. The King Kamehameha Club and the Club Level rooms are located in the Hawaii building, located right on the beach adjacent to the Seven Seas Lagoon and directly in sight of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom.
Similar to the Club Levels at the other deluxe resorts, access to the building is only granted to Club Level guests. Whereas at the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts the Club Level lounge is on the top floor and restricted to only Club Level guests, the Hawaii building is locked for non-Club Level guests.
It’s a nice perk and adds a level of luxury and seclusion from the rest of the resort hotel. Upon arrival, we were escorted to the lounge and our Magic Bands were programmed to allow us access to the building. The Club Level castmembers staff a desk right at the entrance to the building and they are available for assistance from 7AM to 10PM. They also have a phone number you can text if you require further assistance.
The King Kamehameha Club
Undoubtedly, Club Level is known for the lounge and its food. In terms of theming, the lounge feels similar to the lobby. During our stay, the lounge was decked out in Christmas decorations and Christmas trees could be found all over the lounge. The lounge is two stories and offered plenty of space for guests to enjoy their food. The lounge has a great view of not only the Seven Seas Lagoon, but also Cinderella Castle.
For dinning, the King Kamehameha Club is open from 7AM to 10PM with different food offerings available throughout the day:
- Kakahiaka (Continental Breakfast) 7AM to 10:30AM
- Auinala (Refreshment) 12PM to 4PM
- Ahiahi (Appetizers, wine and cheese selection) 5PM to 7PM
- Aumoe (Desserts and Cordials) 8PM to 10PM
The lounge follows the same serving schedule as the other Club Level lounges at Walt Disney World. Between food offerings, beverages and light snacks are always available. The lounge includes a refrigerator full or sodas and juices, along with coffee and an espresso maker.
For those who enjoy alcoholic beverages, beer and wine are available all day, upon request. If you need a beer after riding Dumbo, stop a server and politely ask for a Kona Longboard. They will be happy to assist.
Kakahiaka: Continental Breakfast
The lounge opens every morning with a continental breakfast. During our stay, we found the lounge stocked with breads, pastries and bagels.
Cereals, fruits and oatmeal were also available during breakfast. Stella and I usually grabbed a bagel and topped it with cream cheese, salmon and cold cuts. From there, we poured a cup of coffee and drank plenty of orange juice. The fruit was a mixture of watermelon, strawberries and grapes.
The main takeaway from breakfast is that it’s just a continental breakfast. The club does not serve hot food, eggs or omelets. But we find the food satisfying. Stella and I don’t eat a lot and the food is perfect for when we wake up. We want a quick breakfast before heading into the parks.
Auinala: Refreshments
After breakfast, the lounge transitions into its weakest phase, the afternoon snacks. As most guests are out in the parks, the lounge does not put out an impressive display of food for the afternoon snacks.
During our stay, we saw plenty of cookies, chips (with ranch dip and salsa), mixed veggies, humus and fruit. The lounge also had iced tea and other juices out on display.
Since we spent a lot of time in Magic Kingdom, we would head over to the lounge for a quick break. We grab a beer, some chips and just relax inside the lounge and play games on my Nintendo Switch.
The lounge has a great view of Seven Seas Lagoon and we would spend some time relaxing before heading out once again.
Ahiahi: Evening Appetizers
From 5PM to 7PM, the lounge serves its selections of hot foods. Typically, items during this time are pot stickers, salads, breads and rotating appetizers.
The plates are small, but there is no limit on the amount of food you can eat. If you rather skip paying for an expensive dinner, we recommend eating dinner at the lounge instead.
Come by, have a beer (or wine) and then grab some plates. Eat as you watch the sunset over the Seven Seas Lagoon before heading out.
We always plan to eat in the lounge for dinner, saving us money on expensive dinner reservations. Plus, like I said above, it’s nice to get out of the parks and relax at the hotel. And again, the food and alcohol is unlimited!
Aumoe: Desserts
For dessert, the lounge serves PLENTY of cookies, cupcakes, mini pies and cordials. Seriously, there are more cookies than you can ever imagine available at your fingertips. I dare you to eat only one. The rest of the sweets are great, but nothing beats a chocolate chip cookie and a Kona Longboard (or two).
When it’s time for the Magic Kingdom fireworks, the lounge darkens, the music is piped in and you can watch the show straight from the lounge. You can see Cinderella Castle from the lounge and the fireworks as they explode above.
It’s awesome. We spent each evening in the lounge to watch the show (unless we were on Main Street for the Christmas Party). This is a huge perk for staying Club Level at the Polynesian. All the other Club Level lounges we’ve been to did not have a view of the parks. The Poly offers a great view of the show, probably second only to the Contemporary.
The Tonga Suites
Now, the Polynesian does offer a second Club Level lounge. For guests staying at the Tonga Suites building, there is an additional Club Level lounge and Club Level attendants in that building. In contrast to the King Kamehameha Club, this lounge is tiny.
It only offers snacks, drinks and coffee. No hot food is served. To offset this, Disney does something awesome. First, guests of the Tonga Suites building have access to both lounges. Guests of the Hawaii building only have access to the King Kamehameha Club and not the lounge in the Tonga Suites building.
We stayed at the Honeymoon Suite, which is in the Tonga Suites building, and we were given access to both lounges. Additionally, the Tonga Suites building is locked to those not staying in one of its suites.
Now, I said the Tonga lounge doesn’t offer hot food. So, instead of forcing you to walk less than five minutes to the King Kamehameha Club, the Poly provides FREE room service. Yup, you read that right. FREE room service. The building has its own special menu for its guests.
We absolutely took advantage of the free room service. If you look closely at the menu, full meals are provided. Remember how I said above you can only have a continental breakfast at the lounge? Well, if you are in the Tonga Building, you can order a full breakfast.
Options include cooked to order eggs with potatoes and meat. Or the famous Tonga Toast along with bacon, sausage or ham. Imagine waking up every morning with free room service.
For the evening appetizers, we were provided much better selections than the lounge. Each evening we ate sushi, pot stickers, sticky wings and spicy tuna rolls. Plus, we can order until 10PM, much later than the 7PM cutoff for the regular lounge. Each night at 5PM, we received a knock at our door and a full plate of food at no extra charge.
The food at the King Kamehameha Club is average, but the food for Tonga guests was at a whole other level. I felt full after a full breakfast of eggs and ham plus a nice warm pot of coffee. We ordered lunch in the park and came back to our room for sushi and wings.
Once we finished, we would make the quick walk to the King Kamehameha Club, grab an adult beverage and eat some more appetizers. I can’t stress enough how amazing free room service is during a vacation. It made our trip one to remember.
To place an order, all we had to do was fill out one of the menus and leave at the castmember desk in our building. If they were gone for the night, we would need to place the menu on the desk by midnight and our order would arrive the next morning. It never failed and our food always arrived on time and hot. It was perfect.
The Other Perks
Outside the lounge and free room service, we didn’t really use the other perks. Turndown service came by each night at 5PM and gave us some free chocolates. We asked one Club Level castmember to cancel a dining reservation, which I could have done via the app but I was lazy. And we used the texting service once to ask about our bill when we checked out. Otherwise, we took care of everything ourselves.
We did book our Fast Pass+ selections 90 days in advance. For this service, you must call Disney Signature Service to book these Fast Passes. The process was easy and all I needed to know was my plan of attack for each day. For an additional $50/day per person for at least three days, we enjoyed it and it made riding every attraction incredibly easy. You can read our full review of the experience HERE.
Is Club Level Worth It?
Now for the biggest question, is Club Level worth it? For the added price, is it worth it for the upgrade? Well, for Stella and I, it is worth it. Club Level has become a mainstay in our vacations and we feel we are missing out if we don’t book Club Level. But Club Level won’t work for everyone’s vacation needs.
For us, the hotel is a big part of our vacation. We enjoy spending the morning in the parks, heading back to the hotel for the afternoon/early evening, before heading back out for the night. We do not and cannot spend all day in the parks. We don’t enjoy spending all day in the parks and prefer to spend a good portion of our day relaxing at the hotel. The resort hotels are unique and we love spending time exploring the hotel.
Club Level is prefect because we do not have to worry about meals and we have semi seclusion from the rest of the hotel guests. I like waking up and walking to the lounge for a quick breakfast before heading back in the afternoon for a beer and some snacks. The food can be taken to go and we can take food and beverages to the pool or back to our room.
Plus, I much rather watch the fireworks from the lounge rather than fight for a spot in front of the castle. Plus, if I watch the fireworks from the lounge, I can just head back to my room with ease once the show is over.
Now Club Level is expensive, especially at the Polynesian. If you can swing the price, I’d say go for it, especially if you plan to spend a lot of time at the hotel. If you spend all day in the parks, then there is no point for a Club Level room. Sometimes the extra money to upgrade is worth it when you calculate food and alcohol expenses. But sometimes it’s so ridiculously expensive to update it’s not the extra cost. It just depends.
During our trip, the price was worth the upgrade and it worked perfectly with our schedule. Be flexible with your dates and hopefully you qualify for a discount. If it’s $100-$200 more a night, book it. If it’s more than $200/night, then I would pass. The food is nowhere good enough to warrant an additional $200+/night.
Conclusion
Stella and I had a fantastic time with our Club Level experience at the Polynesian and the King Kamehameha Club. We met some great and friendly castmembers and loved the free room service. Watching the fireworks from the lounge ended our days perfectly and we both agreed we can’t wait until our next visit to the Polynesian, which is one of our favorite hotels at Walt Disney World.
We hope this review of the Polynesian’s King Kamehameha Club and its perks will help with your vacation planning needs. We think Club Level is worth it, but it all depends on your vacation needs. If you plan to spend a lot of time at the hotel, book Club Level. But if you spend all day in the parks, save your money and book a standard room. Or you can book a suite at the Tonga Suites building for even more luxury and FREE ROOM SERVICE.
Thoughts?
Thanks for reading our review! We hope you enjoyed our thoughts on the King Kamehameha Club and found the information useful. In the meantime, please our full review of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort HERE and read our One-Day Magic Kingdom Itinerary HERE for the best tips and tricks navigating Disney’s most popular theme park!
Have you stayed Club Level at the Polynesian before? What did you think? How were the fireworks? Ever had free room service? Let us know in the comments below!
