AKL, What should I do?

[Mkripke]

I have a savannah room at the AKL. I am taking my DD (age 6), should I get the Discovery Magic plan or the Deluxe plan. Should I spend an extra $900.00 for concierge, is it worth it. Need to decide later today.

Help

 

[Mkripke]

Any help?

 

[BambiTamby]

I like to go "a la carte", since packages can cost way more $$$.

If you can afford concierge at the AKL,
go for it!
There have been some recent great reviews for the AKL
concierge!
We loved it sooo much, we stayed AKL concierge twice last year!
Our 6yo niece LOVED it!

 

[sharoncity]

It is a matter of your personal touring style. Personally, I can't eat 3 meals a day at WDW - especially if 1 of them is a buffet. When we go, I book the room separate from the tickets. I think I get the best deals that way. We had LOS tickets for our trip and by purchasing them at check-in, I was able to take the last day off of them as we were not going to the parks that day. I was able to use my DC discount on them, so that saved some $$ as well.

As far as concierge, will you be at the hotel enough to eat the offerings?(ie - will you be there late afternoon,evening for the snacks?) If you do a meal included plan, then money wise concierge is not worth it. However, if you need help with booking PS's and such, concierge is great. Also at AKL, Sunrise Safari is only offered to concierge guests. Would your 6 yr old be interested in that? Basically the answer to your question is different for everyone - it's just what you prefer when you vacation.

If the reason for doing one of the plans is to have everything paid for up front, you can send money down ahead of time to have it applied to your reservation. Then you just use your room card to charge against this upfront money. We did that for our trip and it resulted in a very small bill at check-out, which was VERY nice. Happy planning!

 

[queenofhearts]

Hope I'm not too late to put my two cents in, but I've been researching the exact same thing as you (Discovery Magic vs. Deluxe Magic; AKL Concierge vs. Savannah?)

I've gotten a lot of great responses from people, and while I cannot speak from my own experience (yet), I can share what others have told me:

1. I'm going to WDW for 6 days. I knew I wanted the convienience of a package, but I wasn't sure which one I needed. The WDTC told me that for 6 days, the Deluxe Magic plan is not really worth the extra money. The rep. said that with the Deluxe Magic plan, you really pay for the boat rentals, the golf lessons, three very full meals a day, the Cirque du Soleil tickets, etc. (ex: for lunch you get an appetizer, main course, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage. I'd never be able to run around the parks that full!) He said that I'd never be able to see all of the parks and do all of the extra activities included in the Deluxe Magic Plan in 6 days. He told me that he recommends the Deluxe Magic Plan when guests are staying for 8 or more days. Therefore, based on the length of my stay, he recommended the Discovery Magic plan. Each "wish" in the Discovery Magic Plan is worth approx. $32-37.00. Therefore, I can choose what I want to spend my $32-37.00 on. Since this is just the recommendation of one man, you may want to find out what others think. However, I was pretty impressed with the fact that the WDTC was so up-front about a more expensive package not being the best one for me! In making your decision, I would think about how long your stay is, and will you take advantage of the golf, boat rentals, fishing, etc. that you pay for with the Deluxe Magic Plan.

2. I've read A LOT of really spectacular reviews about the AKL Concierge. However, I know how you feel about spending the extra $$. Here's what I gathered from reading and chatting to people about the Concierge:

They seem to be very "kid friendly." A few people even talked about special activites that the children were able to do on the Concierge floor. And, I read that they have "kid friendly" foods, like gummy bears, available.

The Concierge rooms are larger than the regular rooms. If you book a room with a king bed, you'll also get a daybed in your room. In other words, the Concierge rooms at the AKL sound like the equivalent (in size) of the Deluxe Savannah room.

If you don't like to, don't have time to, or don't know how to plan your Disney vacation, the AKL Concierge staff might be a great help to you here. They contact you in advance to help you plan your vacation. I've read that the AKL Concierge staff is wonderful in this department (which is great for those of us that are planning-impaired.)

If you choose AKL Concierge, you are not guaranteed a savannah room. However, you can request a savannah room when you make your reservation (although you will not be guaranteed, everyone has said that the AKL Concierge has met their request.)

About the Savannah rooms: I've heard these are great, too. I know you don't get the personalized attention and service here that you would probably receive on the Concierge floor. But, I've still heard excellent reviews about the Savannah rooms (clean, great views, exquisite attention to theming, but too dark-this may be true for the Concierge rooms, too).

We opted to splurge and go with the AKL Concierge. Since we haven't been on vacation in 4 years (and this is my better half's first WDW trip), we figured we deserve the extra special treat. In addition, since we saved some money by choosing the Discovery Magic Plan, we had the extra to spend on Concierge (I know, I know- we could have put it in savings or used it for something else, but that's not as fun!)

I know that anything you choose will be fantastic, and you'll have a great time in WDW!!! The good news is...I really haven't heard anything negative about the AKL (except for waiting for the bus can take awhile), so I don't think you can go wrong! HAVE FUN!

 

[Mkripke]

So on the concierge level, you can't see the savannah?

Would dropping to the discovery plan and upgrading to concierge make more sense, or the Deluxe plan in the savannah room?

I think my DD would love the views of the animals.

 

[eeyore1226]

I'm not sure I understand why concierge will cost you an additional $900? Why so much? I'm sure the food is good but will you really spend that much time at the hotel to be there to eat it all? Geez, you can get gummy bears at Wal-Mart for about a dollar a bag. IMHO I would save your money; book a nice savannah room and spend your saved money on some nice meals throughout WDW and some nice souvenirs in the AKL gift shop - heck, you'll still have money left over to buy a whole truck load of gummy bears when you get home - or save it and book your return trip to Disney - you'll be hooked after one week at AKL I'm sure. We are staying there for one week this summer (standard view AP rate of $124 a night); it's just beautiful with lookout spots everywhere. Say hi to Mickey for me when you go

 

[sharoncity]

Many, but not all, of the concierge rooms have a view of the savannah. They don't have separate price ranges for the different views on concierge level. So while you can certainly request a savannah view room in concierge, they can not guarantee it. I think if it is not savannah view, it will be pool view. If it is REALLY important to have savannah view, you would have to book on the non-concierge level to guarentee it.

 

[Mkripke]

That makes it a tough decision.

 

[sharoncity]

What time of year are you going? If it will be slower, you might want to gamble, get concierge and request savannah view. But don't forget, if you don't have a view of the savannah from your room, there are plenty of other areas in the hotel to see the animals. And I think the earlier you book, the better your chances for getting your requests. In other words if you book in June for Dec and I book in Aug for the same time, you should have a better chance of having your requests met. But no matter where you stay in this resort, you are going to LOVE it!!!!

 

[Mkripke]

I want to book today for the end of August. I just don't want to loose the savannah view.

 

[Mkripke]

When should i request the savannah view, and with who?

 

[sharoncity]

Request it at the time of booking. Then when concierge contacts you ahead of time, make sure you tell them that the savannah view is very important to you. And finally, 3 or 4 days before arrival, fax your requests to the room assigner at the resort itself. If you keep your other requests to a minimum, you might have an even better chance of receiving the view. I'm wishing for pixie dust for you!

 

[Mkripke]

Thak you for all your help. I am going to try for concierge and the savannah view.

 

[hoosll]

With a small child I would definitely skip the Deluxe and Discovery plans - you just will not do the sit-down meals to make it cost effective!

As to concierge, I don't see the point, stay with the view and put the $900 bucks into travelers checks as your spending money.

What will make the trip special is if you have good flexible plans. Don't try and "get your money's worth" be happy you are there with your child. Go at your child's pace with lots of breaks.

You cannot do it all and there are many rides you will not be able to enjoy due to child's size.

Use the trip to make lists for must-dos next trip!

 

[queenofhearts]

Mkripke- When I made my reservation for the concierge view at the AKL, I requested a king bed savannah view room on the sixth floor (I know it's a lot of requests, but I figure if I'm going to spend the extra money, I might as well try to get exactly what we want.) The WDTC told me that she felt certain that I would get my request, but they could not guarantee it (she was very friendly and helpful).

I agree with sharoncity about telling the concierge and faxing your request before you go. That should help, too. Good luck, and I'm sure whatever rooms we get at the AKL will be absolutely fantastic!!!

 

[Gillian]

When are you going? There are specials on room only & room + tickets starting aug 25th. It will probably save you a LOT of money over going with one of the packages, especially if your DD is not a big eater.

For example, the Fall Fantasy package for a savannah view room, 1 adult, 1 6 yo including passes is $1450 (inc tax) for 6 nights aug 25-30.

For room only, using the discount from the disneyworld.com website, the room alone is $902 inc tax, or $182 per night. Add on 5 day hoppers ($466) for a total of $1368.

Compare these prices to the package prices to figure out if it's worth it. Now the Concierge thing is purely subjective. You will not get food worth the difference there, but the special treatment might make it worth it for you. I have to ask how much it costs, so it isn't worth it for me

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