Just back from the Polynesian Concierge.. a few surprises..

[LvsTnk]

I know information about the Polynesian is plenty so I will make it short.

We had room 1516 LV Concierge, I know this is way down the hall for some, but we liked being down the beach a little and near the opposite door from the lobby. We also had a great view of the castle and managed to see the fireworks every night. The 4th of July was spectacular this year!!

We recieved the same great service, but I have to agree with some of the reports about CM's not going out of their way to even say Aloha. Only once when we entered the lobby did a CM say anything and sometimes they were just talking amongst themselves. Even when trying to make or change dinner plans it seemed as if it was a bother. Didn't make or break the trip but it was noticable. The lounge CM's were awesome and would go out of their way to see that you had what you needed.

We did see Lilo and Stitch in the lobby during the character caravan !! Stitch also did the morning wake up call every morning except one and that was Donald.

We also did the unlimited marina plan....needless to say it was a great bargain. The CM's that worked the marina were very nice and addressed my kids by their first names. This is something we will do again next year!

Crowds at the park were fine, the name of the game is get there early! Animal Kingdom was very slow we did not even see a long line for KRR at 11:30, also the line for the safari at that time was only 25 min.

And for all of you Krispy Kreme fans Donald's Breakfastasaurus now serves them!

[WilmaBud]

Thanks for all the great info! I'm definitely going to stop in at Donald's Breakfastasaurus next time! I'm glad you had a nice trip.

[Wolverine]

LVSTNK.....could you please explain the "unlimited marina plan"...i was looking to do this in the future but dont know much about it...thanks!

[rugrat]

Thanks for the report. We will be staying 1st floor LV conc. in 27 days! Is 1516 a good room choice for 4 & 6 yo? Also, do the characters ever visit guests in the conc area itself? Finally, did you find the evening food offerings sufficient for a light dinner? We were hoping to save $$ on eating out.

[LvsTnk]

**Unlimited Marina Package would be for the resort you are staying at only, $199 plus tax. It included the water mice, sailboats, and the pontoons for 4 or 5 drivers we were told 4 but some others have been told 5. It did not include the surrey bikes. How it worked at the Polynesian, you signed up including fee and waivers, then as the kids wanted to take out the boats they told the person at the window our family name and that we had the package, recieved their wristbands, and went on out to the boats. After the first day they knew the kids and they just went up to the window and got their wristbands and bypassed the talk about how to use the boats. The boats are still on a first come first serve basis, but you could stay out as long as you liked. You must be 12 to drive but our older daughter was able to take out our younger son. I am not sure what the minimum age was to take out a pontoon. We spent every afternoon at the pool so this package was well worth it!!


rugrat..*We liked 1516, the view was great, it was a walk down the hallway from the lobby and lounge being the third to last room on thet floor. Make your request according to what is important to you, we need a ground floor because of special needs. *The characters never came in to the Hawaii building, they were in the Great CH. *You could make a light meal from the offerings if you liked what they were serving, I would have been too embarrased at the way my 15yr old boy would have eaten if we did that LOL! With a 4 and 6 yr old you could do it. The nights we were there cheese, crackers, and fruit were always out. Sushi, eggrolls, pasta salad, lasagna, asian noodles, chicken ceasar salad, and nachos (sp) were offered on different nights. I think Tkiman has a breakdown on his website. At the kids corner there were sandwiches, fruit and desserts.

Laurie :D

[princess angel]

Hi,
glad to hear you had a great trip!
that is awesome that you saw Lilo & Stitch at the Poly!

too bad the cm's are still pouting about helping with PS arrangements.... isnt that what we pay for concierge for??!

oh well, it sounds like you had a fantastic trip! now, get going on planning the next one :)

Laura :)

[LvsTnk]

Princess Angel, I had remembered your post and others about that very thing! Trips already planned LOL....BWI Deluxe Concierge Labor day and back again for Christmas!! Laurie :D

[princess angel]

omg!
awesome!
back so soon, for Labor day weekend! can't wait to hear how youlike BWI concierge!
you are staying BWI concierge for christmas too?
how long are you going over christmas??? will you be there on dec 25th???

lucky you! :)

Laura :)

[LvsTnk]

This will be my 3rd stay there and 7th at the BW. I love it!! We will be there for the second time on the 25th ( WE USED TO GO THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS ) and that room is perfect for a tree. My DS will be meeting up with a young lady he met there last year who spends every Christmas there as well. A CM matched them up in the lounge during the fireworks lol!

[rugrat]

Thanks for your reply. Is it 199 per person?

[LvsTnk]

$199.00 per family, with 4 drivers. Laurie :D

[hentob]

We found that the housekeepers were sometimes friendllier than the concierge desk staff!! Don't get me wrong, the CMs were not nasty, but the housekeepers were out of this world.

I also thought that the offerings in the lounge were more than enough for a meal.

They would actually come around and plead with you to fill your plate some more. Maybe it was b/c it was in January and a slow time, but many a PS was called off b/c we ate so well in the lounge. At first I was embarrassed, b/c I read on these boards how concierge was not there to feed you dinner, just to wet your whistle, so to speak. But after a few days of being begged to "go get more", I thought "Why not?" It was like you were offending them if you didn't eat.

We enjoyed the Poly Concierge indeed!

Toby

[LvsTnk]

Could have been the time of year, I did hear several CM's refer to the fact that when what they had put out was gone that would be it. I don't know if that was actually the case because we were gone to dinner by then. I do know that they ran out of sandwiches (tuna) at the kids corner one night. They never made you feel uncomfortable about how much you took and always asked if they could get you something. Laurie :D

[Tinkerbell2]

Whats this about the unlimited Marina??? How did you hear aboiut this? Is this jsut at the poly??? What do we do, do we just tell concierge when we check in that we would like this or do we have to buy a package with this in it??? I dont understand! HELP. Can we add this when we get there...say there are 2 of us...we pay $199 and we can EACH take out a boat WHENEVER we want and for however long??? If my brother visits for the day can we take out a pontoon boat and have him join us?? Is this $199 good for a whole week or a couple days??? Is this just certain times, is this a special right now cause its slow or is this a thing they always do/have done?

Oh man...that is SOOOOO something that I would like to do!

[LvsTnk]

This is through the marina (not concierge, and we did not have a package that included this but maybe the Grand Plan would) at the resort you are staying at for the length of your stay. I only know how it works at the Polynesian and of course as with all things Disney it is subject to change. The boats are subject to availability. I think this is offered all the time. Laurie :D

[jayceesim]

Sorry that you felt that the staff wasn't that friendly. We just returned last week and I must say that we were alohaed to death. Everyone was really friendly and the staff downstairs was great. I had a figurine sent over from epcot that I purchased and it was broken when it was delivered I asked at the desk and they sent a runner to the store in EPCOT to get us a new one.
We also used the family plan at the marina and I think we made out rather well in spite of the weather.

[dBugged]

I just emailed the concierge about the marina package as I hadn't heard of it before. Last year we spent a fortune on boat rentals at the WL... we were enjoying it too much!

They replied back and said that the Poly offers the plan for $210.94, which includes tax and it is good for up to five people. Not a bad deal considering that Water Mice are $22.00 plus tax for 1/2 hour.

:)

[Tinkerbell2]

Thanks for the info guys!!! Thats why I love this place sooo much!

[LvsTnk]

As I said the CM's desks did not make or break the trip and we had one CM on the college program who was outstanding. This was our third trip there in a year and 1/2 and I had just noticed what others had reported and was a little suprised. I had originally talked to the concierge staff and was told 5 drivers, but the marina told us 4 and I did want to mislead anyone so that's why I put it the way I did. As with all things Disney be prepared for both. :D The Polynesian is an awesome resort and I know you all will have a great time!! Laurie :D

[jk1]

LvsTnk, you must be speaking of Kristen, the college program person in the Concierge. She was the most personable CM there! We just got back from Poly Concierge also and have the same impressions as you. We also did the family plan at the Marina and had 5 persons signed up for it. BTW, the Poly has only two pontoon boats. The day we wanted to take out a pontoon boat, we were told it was already reserved! Never knew anything about needing to reserve a pontoon boat. So if you want a pontoon boat, check about reserving one.

[LvsTnk]

Yep, that was her! She addressed my DH by name in the GCH, that girl is gonna go far! See, you had 5 people signed up to drive, we did not need to press the 5 person issue because we did not have that many drivers. When we went to get a pontoon boat they were all out as well, we had to put our name on a list and come back, but they did try discourage us from that. There were times when all of the water mice were gone too. I was impressed by how well the marina staff treated our kids :D ( I have a son with special needs). We spent about 5 hrs. by the pool every afternoon except the day we went to Discovery Cove so we had plenty of time to wait. We did have a great trip :D I am just one of those who likes to have the 411 before I get there. Laurie :D

[JulesMom]

Glad you had a fun trip & didn't let a few CM's spoil your trip:D

We have always wanted to stay in Concierge! Maybe someday!

[mirlow]

How were the crowds at the pool? We will be there on the 16th and I am looking forward to spending a lot of time hanging out by the pool drinking a lava flow:p

[LvsTnk]

The pool did get a little crowded later in the afternoon, and the tables were a little hard to come by. We were back from the parks by about 12:30-1 and we always got the table we wanted. I thought the quiet pool was nice too and not that far to walk for a lava flow! Oh, you are making me wish I was back there! Laurie :D

** I forgot to mention they have a basketball hoop by the main pool now!!

[Misti]

Welcome home and thanks for the report! :)

[LvsTnk]

Thanks Misti :D