Review: Disney's Hollywood Studios Club Villain

Today on the blog we are in full review mode and taking a look back at our WDW trip in late March. On this trip we experienced a special ticketed event called Club Villain. This special event takes you up close and personal with the Disney Villains. Specifically, Cruella De Vile, The Evil Queen, Maleficent, and the Queen of Hearts. 

Your host for the evening is that ever evil Shadow Man, Dr. Facillier from the Princess and the Frog. His club manager, Kanzo keeps the party rolling all night and makes sure you are fully entertained. 

The club features a DJ spinning all the right tunes to put you in the mood and also a full bar with 4 specialty drinks themed after each queen of darkness. A gourmet buffet fit with voodoo sticky pig wings, chicken gumbo, cajun shrimp and grits, and beef tenderloin will certainly fill you up.

Shall we dive in to the review now that you are intrigued?

The party takes place inside of Sunset Showcase directly next door to Rock N Roller Coaster. You have to go through a huge gate to enter so you can easily miss it if the line for Rock N Roller Coaster is long. 

Upon entering you check in and are handed a invitation with your meet and greet time for each queen. It also lists your table number as well. Waiters are available outside for a champagne drink or for kids a small water. 

Once the party opens you are able to enter and find your table number. From here you can go get a drink at the bar, take pictures on the thrones of each queen, or belly up to the buffet and get your grub on! 

    

After everyone has entered you are then greeted by Dr. Facillier and his club manager Kanzo. They perform and welcome you to the dark side. Each queen of darkness is then introduced and makes her way to her throne. 

 

You are invited to eat, drink, be evil, and most importantly have fun! As your time approaches you can then get in line for the meet and greets with each queen. Up first for us was Maleficent and Cruella. 

 

Maleficent is my favorite queen of dark by far! I love her and we had such a good time meeting her. She spoke about making sure to watch out for needles they are very sharp and you can sleep for a long time. 

 

Cruella was very animated and loved having everyone here to see her. She said no matter what others said it was totally her party. She spoke to our princess about training her for dog napping. She said they could set up a lunch and discuss the proper ways to do so. 

 

After our first meet and greets we headed back to the bar for the signature cocktails of Ms. Maleficent and Cruella. Maleficent's drink was by far my favorite of the night. It reminded me of hawaiian punch. It was very light and delicious! I can't remember the name of it or what was in it, sorry! Cruella's drink was also quite good. It tasted like milk and was called the spotted dalmatian. 

 

Up next for meet and greets was the fabulous Queen of Hearts. She was probably our favorite character of the week. She was so funny and wonderful. She talked to us for quite a while and even left to go join the dance party for just a moment. Our little princess wanted to discuss with her the removing of heads if she should see fit. The Queen of Hearts loved this, but made sure to tell her she's only allowed to reward good behavior at Club Villain. She said when she gets older she would call her and enroll her in training. She was lovely and hilarious!! As you can judge by our photos.

The Evil Queen was probably the most unfriendly of all but she is supposed to be right? We told her we were the fairest of them all and she said maybe in our mirrors at home but definitely not to her mirror. We spent the least time with her as she just asked us for a photo and said off you go. 

   

We then took to the desert tables. There were 2 of them on either side of the room. You had to visit each table to find out what the specialty desert was. We enjoyed the chocolate mouse and puppy tart from Cruella, Maleficent was a chocolate with green icing cupcake, as well as this delicious green pudding that sparkled! The Queen of Hearts featured a heart red macaroon, and of course red velvet cupcakes. 

We finished up the party by dancing to some crazy good tunes!! And we spent some more time with Maleficent just because we could! All in all the party took about 2 hours from start to finish. 

We enjoyed our experience very much and felt like it was worth the splurge on this trip. It was nice to be indoors and be waited on as well as get away from the hustle and bustle of the parks. We never once felt rushed and were able to really relax and have fun at the party. The character experiences were amazing as well. They do not rush you and we never had to wait in line which was another great thing. The food was delicious as well as the drinks. It was great to have an unlimited, relaxing, and fun experience with the whole family. We would definitely recommend this special ticketed event to anyone who loves a good party but especially those that love the villains. 

Club Villain is currently available through May right now and may be extended. The price tag is $129 per person, no discount for children. Club Villain is recommended for ages 9 and up as it can be a bit scary for smaller children. All food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are included. There are photographers on site as well. 

How To: Thank a Cast Member

We are halfway through the week my friends, we will be sailing into the weekend here in just a few short days and I don't know about you but I am so ready for the weekend to be here! 

Today, I started thinking about all of those amazing and truly excellent Cast Members (CM's) that go above and beyond during all of my trips to Disney. Everyone knows that Disney prides themselves on having the best customer service and if you've been to a resort, park, or restaurant you have surely felt nothing but welcome and overjoyed at the service you receive. 

Did you know that many of the CM's work a 10 to 12 hour shift daily and in the summer it can easily reach upwards of 95 to 100 degrees?!? These CM's are always in character and ready to please though and so today I wanted to talk about how you can thank a CM that goes above and beyond for you or your family when you are on vacation. 

1. Offer them your sincere thanks to any cast member you never know when Pixie Dust may fall upon you! - Remember these CM's many times work 10 to 12 hour shifts and I don't know about you but I would be mighty tired after working a 10 to 12 hour shift in the parks. I always make it a point to give a sincere thank you to any CM I see, you never know when they need it. Just a simple sincere thank you can go so far to them! It's how many of them get through their day! 
2. Make conversation with them - CM's love to tell their story and many of them have a specific story line to keep in the park as well. Do not try and make them break character they won't! However, what you can do is ask them about themselves. Each CM wears a name badge that states their name and where they are from. Find a CM that's from your state? Chat with them about it. These CM's are happy to have conversations with you and in fact welcome it. It creates lasting memories as well not only for you but for them. 
3. Create thank you cards before you go to the parks and when you find a cast member that has gone above and beyond give them a personalized thank you card! They will love these mementos and will happily accept them. 
4. Visit guest services at the entrances of the park and tell them about your experience - Guest services loves to hear about CM's that go above and beyond and will ask you to fill out a card so they can give it to the manager of the CM. These cards called 4Keys Cards are not only given to the manager but also entered in drawings for prizes and money for the CM's that receive them. The cards also go into their permanent record with Disney. 
5. At Epcot ask any CM from that country to sign your guest book - They will sign it and also sign it in their language giving you a personalized autograph book that not many others can say they have. It also delights the CM to sign an autograph book as many of these CM's are not "costumed characters" and would otherwise never sign an autograph book. 

What ideas do you have to thank the CM's on your next vacation? Comment below and let me know! 

As always, if you are looking into a Disney vacation or are ready to book contact me today so we can start planning your vacation. My services are always 100% free to utilize and I give you the customer service from Disney that you know and love. Let's chat!!