Shanghai Disneyland Hotel Magic Kingdom Club Experience/Review
Shanghai Disneyland Hotel Magic Kingdom Club
Overview
The Magic Kingdom Club is the concierge level at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. Included in your room cost is access to the club on the 7th floor and the cast members within for assistance as well as breakfast, snack and evening hors d’oeuvres. My party consisted of three adults and we stayed for five nights in April 2018.
Decision Process
Once we made the decision to visit Shanghai Disneyland, the next decision was where did we want to stay. Having never been to mainland China I was unsure exactly what to expect so I wanted to minimize any surprises so I wanted to stay at Disney. Looking at the two hotels the Disneyland Hotel was a better match for our preferences and with three adults the room seemed a better fit. We had a great experience at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and this seemed similar from what we gathered online. When we started to look at prices and pencil in dates we noticed the price of a Magic Kingdom Club room was not that much more (I forgot to save all the original numbers but I want to say less than 20% more). So we decided to splurge and go first class. Also we were hoping to be able to re-book the room at some point and use a season pass discount (those were not available when we first booked).
Booking Process
We opted to book the initial room reservation through the official website. The price was the same that we saw elsewhere and this seemed the most straightforward. The process was a little more involved than standard US hotel room bookings since payment processing was done by a third party but it was relatively seamless. I found it odd for other types of room you could select your view but for Magic Kingdom Club you could not and it did not say what you were booking. We continued to monitor the site for specials as we waited for the spring season passes to be released. Prices were steady to slightly up then a few months out we saw a large price dip thanks to a lower room rate and better conversion rate. We booked a new reservation at this time dropping the room rate to $435 a night. In the end we gained $200 on the currency exchange rate change and then almost another $750 off the total price. So it was really worth re-booking. I did learn that you cannot cancel a room online and you have to call China. This process took some time but it was worth it in the end. The cast member spoke decent English and was able to do what I requested with no problems but it took nearly an hour on the phone to go through the entire process of cancelling a room and booking a ride from the airport. Also interesting your reservation is cancelled right away but they said it could take 2-3 weeks to receive your refund. I want to say it took about 10 business days for our credit card to be credited. Upon cancellation I learned we had a garden view room, and the new reservation was the same. When the season passes finally came out the discounted rate that was being offered turned out to be higher than what I had already booked.
Checking In
When we arrived at the hotel’s front door there were several cast members there to greet our van. They unloaded our bags and walked us to the elevator and sent us right up to the Magic Kingdom Club to check in. As we entered the Magic Kingdom Club two cast members were seated at desks facing the door and greeted us. We said we were checking in and one took our information. He glanced at his watch and said for us to go watch Ignite the Dream and he would get the paperwork together and come get us after the show. Each night for the fireworks/projection show the lights are dimmed in the club and the sound track is played so you can experience the show from across Wishing Star Lake. My pictures did not do the show justice. Between having no time to prep and shooting through windows they came out pretty bad. In person it was more impressive and a leisurely experience. The club had very few guests in it, I think the cast members may have outnumbered guests, so it was almost a private showing. Once the show ended the cast member helping us had all the paperwork ready to go and we were able to head to our room quickly. Our luggage showed up a few minutes later. He was able to upgrade us to a park view room, with the trade off being we were on the 6th floor vs 7th where the club is. He said rooms are identical we just had to use the elevator to reach the club. We thought this was a great trade off for a park view and short walk to the elevator vs garden view elsewhere.
The Room
Our room featured two beds and a pull out bed. There was a small desk in the corner and the standard amenities of a hotel room. I do not believe the Magic Kingdom Club rooms are any different than standard rooms. The room had some Disney touches like the headboard, lamps, etc.. We found it to be a comfortable room and on par with hotel rooms elsewhere in the world. They stocked the room with bottled water for brushing your teeth as well as drinking (it is recommended not to drink the tap water).
The view was great! We were just off from the center of the hotel looking straight at the park. You could also see downtown Shanghai in the distance. It was one of the best Disney Hotel rooms views I had ever had and I really enjoyed going to bed looking across the lake at the castle and waking up with it in view.
Magic Kingdom Club
The Magic Kingdom Club is located just off the elevators on the 7th floor of the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. Once you enter the door there are two desks with cast members on hand during normal operating hours. To the left are a pair of restrooms. To the right the club room. This main room has a couple dozen tables lined up along the window and ringing the room. In the center were some couches and chairs to relax in. The room had a TV playing programming for children and some smaller chairs/tables near it. The opposite wall had a TV playing other movies. The wall opposite where you enter is all windows looking out toward Wishing Star Lake and Shanghai Disneyland beyond it and in the distance downtown Shanghai. Beyond this large room is a smaller room where the food items were available to pick up and take back to your table.
Guest Service
The level of guest service at the Magic Kingdom Club was great. The club was open every day from 7am until 10pm. The cast members at the front desks were always accessible and welcoming. The ones in the dining area were always friendly and present too. Many times the cast outnumbered guests in the club so you had personalized service. It was an impressive level and wish I could have used them more. But this trip we had very few questions or items they could help us with beyond some basic requests. And a majority of my time I was in the park or sightseeing. They were always willing to go above and beyond. For example we were looking at the view and as we were leaving one of the cast members asked if we would like to get a better view. They took us up to an observation area on the 9th floor. This is above the restaurant. It was a great view and a nice way to end the evening. Or another example at one point our room key decided not to work to reach the club. So we went to the front desk and were in line. A cast member saw we looked frustrated and came over to see what was going on. We explained and they went around the line and refreshed the key then went with us to the elevator to make sure it worked to reach the floor.
Magic Kingdom Club – Food / Snacks / Beverages
One of the prime benefits of staying on a club floor is the food/snacks. The Magic Kingdom Club offered three different selections each day. As you entered the dining area, a cast member would seat you and another would take your drink order. Plates and coffee/tea cups were a nice china. Cast Members were on hand to clear anything as soon as you were finished. We ate breakfast each morning in the club and stopped by to check out the other ones throughout the stay. Also we stopped for something cold to drink a couple of times in between too. Most of the time the club was not very busy. In the morning near park opening a majority of the tables would fill up but it was never full to the point where you had to wait for a table.
Magical Refreshment 7am – 11am
Disney Description: A selection of Asian/Western breakfast foods including pastries, yogurts, cereals, fruits, and juices.
Breakfast consisted of both Western and Asian choices. Including cook to order eggs, waffles, pastries, etc. I thought there was a good selection and everything was fresh and well stocked. For example the orange juice was fresh squeezed using a juicing machine throughout the morning.
The most frustrating aspect of breakfast at the Magic Kingdom club was the opening time of the club. It opened at 7am and with park opening at 8am this did not lend itself to a leisurely breakfast and even eating fast meant a long wait to get in the park. A 6:30am opening would have been better and made it possible to reach the park for opening easier.
Another possible option or additional perk I would have liked to have seen added to the Club level is a quicker way into the park in the morning. We used the hotel shuttle and entrance in Disneytown but it still took considerable time 20-30 minutes to move through the line. We were stuck with the choice of skipping breakfast to get there earlier enough to be near the front of the queue or just get in line and inch along.
Another suggestion for improvement would be a different selection of primary dishes. The selection was more or less the same every day. I would have liked to have seen French toast or pancakes rotated in. Below are a couple pictures of the food selection. For a more in depth look at the breakfast offerings visit my Shanghai Disneyland Full Picture set – April 10, 2018 – Part I: Magic Kingdom Club Breakfast & Getting to Shanghai Disneyland
Leisure Delight 2pm – 4pm
Disney Description: Assorted cookies, cakes and fruits are served with coffee and tea and some light refreshments
I am not a big dessert person and the afternoon snacks were mostly of this nature. I did have a couple cupcakes on a visit but the real reason I stopped by was for something cold to drink after lunch before returning to the park. The couple times I stopped by during this window it was very quiet in the club with not many guests. I think one time we had it to ourselves. For a more in depth look at the afternoon offerings visit my Shanghai Disneyland Full Picture set – April 10, 2018 – Part VI: Magic Kingdom Club & Gardens of Imagination
Fantastic Twilight 5pm – 7pm
Disney Description: Offering a selection of soft drinks, wines, beers, mineral water and top shelf liquors, as well as hot and cold hors d’oeuvres
I only stopped by this timeslot once during my visit. They had a selection of hot and cold items plus some desserts. Being the picky eater that I am I ended up with just some cupcakes and something to drink. The one night I went they had hot dogs in the kids area, the other nights I heard they had chicken nuggets. For a more in depth look at the evening offerings visit my Shanghai Disneyland Full Picture set – April 13, 2018 – Part IV: Shanghai Disneyland Hotel
Bedtime Stories 9:10pm
To close out the Magic Kingdom Club day a cast member gathers kids and reads a bedtime story. It is in Mandarin only. For the conclusion Mickey Mouse makes an appearance in his PJs and takes pictures with everyone in attendance. The night we stopped by there were a handful of families. Cast members were on hand to use your camera and there was a Photopass person too. They made sure everyone in the lounge got a picture whether you had a child with you or not. It was a nice way to wrap up the evening. I thought it was a good presentation but the photos seemed a bit rushed to me considering the small crowd. I talked to cast members and they said that was an average night in terms of crowd.
Checking Out
The checkout process was smooth for us. We booked our return van to the airport with the Magic Kingdom Club cast member a couple days before. One let down happened at the end. The cast member that booked our van said since we were leaving early they would leave a to go snack/breakfast for us in the main lobby but nothing was there. So not sure if there was a miscommunication on our part or theirs or if someone dropped the ball. The morning we left when we showed up in the lobby a cast member from the bell services desk in the lobby came over to us right away and had our name on a list, we opted to take our suitcases down and I think that caught him off guard the way he looked at us. He had us sit in the lobby until the van showed up (which it seemed he called after checking us off the list and it showed up a couple minutes later).
In Conclusion
We had a great experience at the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. The level of service and cast members surpassed our expectations. The Magic Kingdom Club add-ons were a nice experience. We utilized the breakfast every day and visited a couple of the other snack times. We spoke to the cast members for some advice, mostly to double check our thoughts/plans. Is it worth the added cost? That is really a personal preference and what you expect. Due to the deal we found the difference from a standard room to the club level was not significant so it was worth it for us and it did make the trip very smooth. Compared to other club/concierge floors we have stayed on over the years at Disney and other resorts the offerings were on par. The number of cast members on hand seemed higher than other places.
If you would like to see more picture from around the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel including the grounds, restaurants, etc.. visit our Shanghai Disneyland Trip Summary Page for links.
If you have any suggestions for future topics you would like to hear about from this trip or others please drop us an email, tweet or comment. I am more than happy to share my two cents and experiences.
