AKL Concierge vs. WL Concierge- need your help- please!!

[karebear1]

I tried searching for info on these two concierge's- but the search function is not working.

Please, if you have stayed at either AKL OR WL Concierge- I could use you input. You don't need to have stayed at both to help me out! ;-)

I'm looking at taking a few days and staying on the concierge level at one of these 2 resorts. I've actually stayed at both these resorts- and like them equally as well, but don't know how to compare the concierge. Can anyone help me out? We will be staying at AKV for the week prior to moving on the weekend for a couple days in concierge.

What has been your experience with either resorts concierge services? How helpful have you found the concierge staff? What do they provide in way of helping? Do you have a suggestion as to who I should work with in either respective concierge?

I would really appreciate any input you all could give me- I'm taking my mom and my DD (who just told me that I am gonna be a GRANDMA for the very 1st time!) and her DH for a few days and I want it to be memorable for them.

 

[spiceycat]

akl concierge is going to dvc this dec.

so not certain

but since you would have already stayed at akl you might give wl a chance.

 

[karebear1]

akl concierge is going to dvc this dec.

so not certain

but since you would have already stayed at akl you might give wl a chance.

Yeah- I know about AKV going concierge .... I wish we were going to be there in Dec. I DEFINETLY would have taken advantage of that, but we are going in September. We'll be staying in a 1 bedroom- savannah view. The point increase is so much for Fridays and Saturdays that we always pay cash for those nights and stay at other resorts. It's like the best of both worlds!!

I've never stayed concierge at any resort- so this is all new to me. I want to give it a try at least and thought this would be a good time to give it a go!

 

[denisekayt]

We've stayed at both...I would say the amenities are about the same between the two, but the few differences I noticed were:

- AKL serves "afternoon tea" and WL does not (WL does have snacks in the afternoon, but not as large a cookie spread as AKL's afternoon tea service). We only managed to catch that tea one time our whole week though, so depending on when you plan on being there it may not matter to you.

- AKL has a safari available that is only for their concierge guests (there is one safari that ANY concierge guest at ANY resort can do, but also one that is only available if you're staying at AKL). I think the dinner safari is the one only for AKL guests, but it's VERY expensive and we weren't interested.

- To me the WL lounge was cozier....not sure if it's the smaller room that has the food, and then the direct "looking over the railing" tables with great views of the lobby or what, but that was my feeling

- I found the WL CM's to be more friendly...they always said hi, how was your day, where are you off to this morning, etc. and made small chit chat. The AKL CM's didn't speak to us at all unless I specifically went up to their desk with a question. This is highly dependent on which staff you get, so may not be true all the time.

- Overall, we enjoy both the WL and the AKL! I would stay at either again in a heartbeat...but if I were forced to pick which concierge service was my favorite, it would be WL.

 

[denisekayt]

Sorry, thought of one other difference....

We used the "free soda" quite a bit during our WL stay. Sodas were available out of the lounge fridge virtually all day except for breakfast.

At AKL, sodas only came out in the evening and were not available during the afternoon services. While we learned to just take an extra to store in our own fridge when they were out in the evenings, we missed having the afternoon soda option like WL had.

 

[karebear1]

Thanks Denisekayt!

I hear all these things about unruly kids and how they hover over the food touching everything... did one concierge seem to watch this more closely then the other?

 

[cjsmom5]

We stayed AKL concierge and really enjoyed ourselves. As far as the soda goes -- we just asked for it -- they got it for us throughout the day - I do diet coke in the AM instead of coffee. We liked the AKL staff very much. Very friendly and extremely helpful. The lounge is not "intimate" but we enjoyed the open area and looking into the lobby area. Many of the concierge rooms at AKL are not on the same floor as the lounge. This was not an issue for us but some have found it very negative. We prefer the savannah view, though. Overall we thought the AKL concierge was very good. In regards to children, we have stayed at several concierge and it depends on the season, weekends seem to be worse, though .. the more crowded the resort it seems there are more children issues.

 

[denisekayt]

Thanks Denisekayt!

I hear all these things about unruly kids and how they hover over the food touching everything... did one concierge seem to watch this more closely then the other?

We found that CMs don't really "watch" for that kind of thing...from our experience the CMs aren't usually around the food area unless someone needs assistance and/or they're refilling items. We never had any issues with children during our stays, but if there had been I'm not sure how much the concierge staff would have done to handle it.

Speaking to the above posters response regarding AKL having rooms that are on separate floors from the lounge. While that didn't really bother us, I do know it meant we didn't use the lounge NEARLY as much as we did at WL. The lounge at WL is right off the elevators when you come back for the day and head to your room. We'd often just cruise by on our way in and grab a quick snack or drink. At AKL, while still possible to do that, it's not as convenient.

 

[karebear1]

That's a good point about the concierge lounge being on the same floor as your room is on. If your room is on the same floor as the lounge, does that affect the quietness of the rooms at all??

Also- you both kind of touched on views from these rooms. Can you request what view you want and, what views do they offer on these concierge levels?

 

[karebear1]

cjsmom- what other resorts have you stayed concierge at? Do you prefer any of those to AKL?

 

[mousefan96]

We have stayed at the WL 7th floor the last two trips to WDW, and both were exceptional. On the first trip, my 3 year old came down with a 102 temp, around 3 AM. I walked over to the concierge desk and asked if they had any childrens tylenol available, they said they did not but to come with them and they would get me some right away. We took the elevator to the lobby and the CM opened the WL mercantile for me. I went to the back and picked up a bottle of tylenol, and proceded to give the CM my room key to charge. He would not take it, and said the medicine was on the house. How great was that. When we woke up in the AM, the CM asked how our son was feeling and even made him a get well balloon and card. Needless to say, they got a great tip when we left.
If our family wasn't 5 now we would stay again this year( I guess the BC will have to do).

BC 8/26/07 - 9/5/07

 

[denisekayt]

That's a good point about the concierge lounge being on the same floor as your room is on. If your room is on the same floor as the lounge, does that affect the quietness of the rooms at all??

Also- you both kind of touched on views from these rooms. Can you request what view you want and, what views do they offer on these concierge levels?

We were far enough away from the lounge area at WL to not hear any noise from there, and actually there aren't many rooms that are right near the WL lounge (I think only the Honeymoon suites?).

The hard part about concierge level is your view (and room configuration like bunk beds, etc.) is just a "request" it's not guaranteed. That said, I do know that they try as hard as they can to accomodate your request.

At WL we requested an inner courtyard view (i.e. overlooking the main pool, not the quiet pool) with bunk beds and received it.

At AKL we requested an Arusha Savannah view, close to the lobby, with bunk beds and we received it. We had originally requested to be on the Zebra trail, but they actually called to let me know that wouldn't be possible during our stay due to the construction going on in that wing during our dates. We switched to the Kudu Trail, but still with Arusha Savannah view and were entirely happy

 

[Honor]

The extra snacks were nice. Cast members wonderful as usual. Concierge guest services made many of our reservations for us prior to our arrival. But not something I could not have easily done for myself. For us, not worth the huge amount of extra money. We're glad we stayed in at Concierge Level one time just so we could see what it was like. And now we do not need to do this again. For us, just not worth the costs. I'd rather spend the same amount of money (DVC points) and get a longer stay at my home resort. Just my humble opinion.

 

[nicwoodard]

We are here RIGHT NOW enjoying AKL concierge and LOVING IT! It is an awesome service. It has been worth it to us to get breakfast each morning before heading to the parks. We have been out at the parks during "tea time", but have enjoyed the evening beverage/appetizers session and tonight we enjoyed the cordial/dessert time.

They have been very knowledgeable in answering our questions (this is our first time trip) and most helpful with anything we have needed.

We are doing the Sunrise Safari on Sunday and can't wait!

AKL rules for us!

 

[cjsmom5]

We have been to AKL and BC/YC concierge. We like both and found staff, etc. to be very helpful at both. My DH likes food at AKL better. I prefer food at BC/YC. My DH and DS love animals at AKL, especially waking up to see them outside the balcony. We found transportation at AKL to be very good even though bus was the only option. I really like atmosphere and location of BC/YC although prefer YC over BC. Lounges at the YC BC are smaller in size and not as open. BC is often very crowded due to the fact that a lot of families use this service and it can get crowded. There are times when children are not well attended -- but that we found at both BC and AKL - especially on weekends. Weekdays during non-peak times were much better. YC concierge though can have lots of conventioneers which at times can be more obnoxious than children as they think that since it is their convention that being loud, obnoxious and "taking over" the lounge is acceptable behavior ... this has happened to us a couple times. It is amazing, at times, how being considerate of others should only apply when it is to oneself. Anyways .. for the most part, though, we have found YC lounge to have a "calmer" atmosphere than BC lounge. Staff at both are great.

We have also stayed at the moderates PO FQ and PO Riverside as well as the deluxe Wilderness Lodge. Have taken a close look at rooms and lounge at Polynesian but have not stayed there. Had a very close friend who did and LOVED it there.

Our choice is either YC or AKL -- probably in that order. For the price, though AKL concierge is much more affordable. The YC/BC have become VERY popular and are getting harder to get into with any type of deal -- a lot of rack rates -- with fewer discounts. That said, if you are going concierge for the food, I think doing the free disney dining would be a better route. We just like the overall feels and the attention to detail regarding us and our plans that we receive from the concierge staff.

 

[SamR]

We are doing the Sunrise Safari on Sunday and can't wait!

If you get a minute, please post your thoughts on it afterward (to this thread). We're staying at AKL for a couple of nights next weekend, and the opportunity to try the Sunrise Safari was one of the motivating factors. (We're signed up for it on June 17th.) I can't wait either, so any reviews or recommendations will just help to build the anticipation.

It's a surprise for the rest of the family...I don't think they are even familiar with it (although my eldest son (14) may have seen Samantha Brown's segment on it on "Great Hotels"), and certainly don't know we're doing it!

 

[cjsmom5]

We did the sunrise safari and absolutely loved it. It was so neat to be so close to the animals. We got to see some of them actually walking onto the savannah from where they kept them at night ... and were so close to the giraffees you could almost reach out and touch them (of course we didn't but they were that close). All the animals were moving when we went and we saw much more than what you see in the traditional safari. The guides were very knowledgeable plus we got to see the "back side" of the operation at AKL, also. That was nice.

The breakfast was very yummy and the service wonderful. This was a great experience for us and one that is a motivating factor for booking at the AKL. Very nice.

 

[cjsmom5]

We did the sunrise safari and absolutely loved it. It was so neat to be so close to the animals. We got to see some of them actually walking onto the savannah from where they kept them at night ... and were so close to the giraffees you could almost reach out and touch them (of course we didn't but they were that close). All the animals were moving when we went and we saw much more than what you see in the traditional safari. The guides were very knowledgeable plus we got to see the "back side" of the operation at AKL, also. That was nice.

The breakfast was very yummy and the service wonderful. This was a great experience for us and one that is a motivating factor for booking at the AKL. Very nice.

 

[SCFIREMAN]

Can you get concierge at WL w/ you DVC points? I am new to this whole thing and do not know. We are working on being members.

 

[karebear1]

Yes- you can reserve concierge level with DVC points.