Concierge/Club Level Information (Sept 2008)

[DLo]

glad to read all these positive reviews as we are doing the wde lext momth for the first time. can't wait!!!

 

[RachelTori]

glad to read all these positive reviews as we are doing the wde lext momth for the first time. can't wait!!!

And of course we can look forward to your posting here with your review and pictures, right?!!

 

[mickeysaver]

My 90 day ADR mark is today. I am freaking out a bit because most of my contact with YC IPO has had some sort of less than perfect aspect to it, including the email that I sent a few days ago requesting that they arrange our ADR's. That email's hang up was that they thought my ADR date wasn't until Tuesday because my first ADR request wasn't until 12/07/09, which is a couple of days after we arrive, and I had to tell them that the ADR call in day was for Sunday (today). I have been assured that there should be no problem with anything that I have requested, but when I have to tell them my ADR date and then wake up to find no email from them and a thread about how people are not finding anything that they want due to Free Dining, well, it's just sort of making me go a little more nuts about my decision to let IPO do my job.

I am so living to hear, "You've got mail." right now!

 

[mmmears]

My 90 day ADR mark is today. I am freaking out a bit because most of my contact with YC IPO has had some sort of less than perfect aspect to it, including the email that I sent a few days ago requesting that they arrange our ADR's. That email's hang up was that they thought my ADR date wasn't until Tuesday because my first ADR request wasn't until 12/07/09, which is a couple of days after we arrive, and I had to tell them that the ADR call in day was for Sunday (today). I have been assured that there should be no problem with anything that I have requested, but when I have to tell them my ADR date and then wake up to find no email from them and a thread about how people are not finding anything that they want due to Free Dining, well, it's just sort of making me go a little more nuts about my decision to let IPO do my job.

I am so living to hear, "You've got mail." right now!

I really hope that they get everything for you... it's no fun to have to worry about these things...

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

I sent an email to BWI IPO for my ADR's and I did mention that my 90 days out was 9/13. I did receive an email response back welcoming me to the yacht Club! There was a 2nd email that arrived that asked me to disregard the resort info from the previous email. I did respond with my ADR requests and received another automated response. I guess BW and BC/YC use the same IPO office? I didn't have many ADR's this trip and I don't think the ones I picked is on the list of really hard to get. eg...Kona for breakfast and Chef de France for a late lunch.

 

[mmmears]

I sent an email to BWI IPO for my ADR's and I did mention that my 90 days out was 9/13. I did receive an email response back welcoming me to the yacht Club! There was a 2nd email that arrived that asked me to disregard the resort info from the previous email. I did respond with my ADR requests and received another automated response. I guess BW and BC/YC use the same IPO office? I didn't have many ADR's this trip and I don't think the ones I picked is on the list of really hard to get. eg...Kona for breakfast and Chef de France for a late lunch.

I believe that BW, YC and BC all share the same IPO office. So it's possible that the CM just typed the wrong resort on your response then realized his/her mistake. It's all the same people, though, so hopefully everything will work out OK.

 

[RachelTori]

I am preparing to launch a new Club Level thread -- waiting for the go-ahead from a Moderator. Hoping to be ready in a week or 2!

As I've been looking through resort FAQ's, I'm finding outdated pricing for AKL's Safaris. I keep seeing Sunrise Safari priced at $55 and I knew from personal experience that was $65, but I asked Don for a cost update and here's what he had to say:

"Sunrise Safari costs $65 for guest 10 and up and $32.50 for guest 3-9 years of age. Starting for December 1st and beyond the price for the Jiko-Wanyama will be $170 for all guests ages 8 and older in any type of room here at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House and Kidani Village. The Wildlife Discovery Excursion is $50 per person age 3 and up. Everything will be 180 days out after October 27th."

No price increase for the Sunrise, but Wayama is increasing by $10, although it appears the non-CL cost of $210 is going away!


And if anyone has any BWI Club Level information to share, please send me a PM. That is the one Club Level I am having a difficult time finding any current information on. TIA!

 

[annakate27]

So excited...We are at 91 days!!! IPO will be making ADR tomorrow...I am so excited and hoping we are able to get everything!!! Thanks again to everyone who has added stuff to this tread also. We are staying at GF Sugar Loaf but all the information has been helpful for future stays!!!! Cannot wait for our first WDW vacation

 

[DLo]

And of course we can look forward to your posting here with your review and pictures, right?!!

If i can remember how to post pics on here!!!

 

[mickeysaver]

Update: Today at 1:35pm, they emailed me. I got everything that I wanted, except Mama Melrose for dinner on 12/07/09. After trying to do the online ADR thing and failing due to some odd website error, calling and checking for availability on my own, and finally having a come to Jesus meeting with my wife, we have decided to skip having a TS dinner at DHS that night. Instead, we are going to start the day early at DHS, have lunch at Big River Grille and then return to DHS later in the day for the Osborne Lights. DHS has never been a full day park for us, after our first visit there many years ago, so I see this as being a newly added "laid back day" in our itinerary.

On a wildly positive side, I can't wait to do the Wildlife Discovery Excusion on 12/11/09.

 

[annakate27]

Update: Today at 1:35pm, they emailed me. I got everything that I wanted, except Mama Melrose for dinner on 12/07/09. After trying to do the online ADR thing and failing due to some odd website error, calling and checking for availability on my own, and finally having a come to Jesus meeting with my wife, we have decided to skip having a TS dinner at DHS that night. Instead, we are going to start the day early at DHS, have lunch at Big River Grille and then return to DHS later in the day for the Osborne Lights. DHS has never been a full day park for us, after our first visit there many years ago, so I see this as being a newly added "laid back day" in our itinerary.

On a wildly positive side, I can't wait to do the Wildlife Discovery Excusion on 12/11/09.

How exciting! We are hoping for the same good luck tomorrow. We are doing the Wlidlife Discovery Excursion on 12-10, so we will miss each other by a day

 

[Karlzmom]

Update: Today at 1:35pm, they emailed me. I got everything that I wanted, except Mama Melrose for dinner on 12/07/09. After trying to do the online ADR thing and failing due to some odd website error, calling and checking for availability on my own, and finally having a come to Jesus meeting with my wife, we have decided to skip having a TS dinner at DHS that night. Instead, we are going to start the day early at DHS, have lunch at Big River Grille and then return to DHS later in the day for the Osborne Lights. DHS has never been a full day park for us, after our first visit there many years ago, so I see this as being a newly added "laid back day" in our itinerary.

On a wildly positive side, I can't wait to do the Wildlife Discovery Excusion on 12/11/09.

For what its worth, we really liked the food at BRG when we were there in Dec

 

[tde1969]

Thanks jackemail and tde1969. I am definitely looking forward to it. Does this excursion take place before the park opens?

We did the 10:00 a.m. because everyone said that the animals were more active first thing in the morning. That seemed to hold pretty true because they were all moving around.

 

[mickeysaver]

How exciting! We are hoping for the same good luck tomorrow. We are doing the Wlidlife Discovery Excursion on 12-10, so we will miss each other by a day

I hope you have wonderful luck with getting the Wildlife Discovery Excursion too! We decided to not hop this time. It's supposed to be a simple trip with very few headaches and lots of time enjoy each other and the parks. I tried to plan this to be laid back. We needed a little something new to throw into our AK plans, since we don't really care much for the shows and depending on the weather, I am thinking that KRR will not be an attraction that we are going to care much about. AK is a lovely park, but it's appeal for me has always been more about the beauty of the park, the wonderful animals, and the little entertainment touches, like the Tropicals and DeVine. I think this tour will help us to create some wonderful memories. I can't wait to see what kind of photos we can snag out there.

 

[Bella O]

We did the 1pm Wildlife Discovery Excursion - we were there Christmas week, and my thinking was to spend the valuable relatively less packed mornings touring, and do the 1pm. We did all the rides early am, and saw the Lion King before the tour. It really worked well for us - we saw lots of animals, so much more than during the regular safari, and spent a lot of time by the elephants - elephants are one of my favorite animals, and the guide really picked up on this, and we really got to spend plenty of time discussing and seeing them. A little perk of the tour is you get fastpasses to the safari. When we got off the tour, the wait for the safari was over 120 minutes.....because we didn't care to do the safari, we gave our fp to a family on line - they were so happy and thankful! One of my favorite memories of that trip

 

[byrd328]

Hi

Can anyone give me an opinion on which safari they feel is better, sunrise or the discovery excursion?

Thanks!

 

[scottmel]

Not sure why but my family of 3 was disappointed in the Wild Life Excursion. We went in June and while the vehicle is "climate controlled" it is not AC and it was HOT. That made for a much less enjoyable trip. The driver told me to try to get a front seat near the fan. Which I did - it did not help me personally. So if planning a trip there in the warmer months, realize that climate controlled is not what you might be thinking it means! I could see this being more enjoyable in the cooler months but coming from someone that spends a lot of money at Disney - I don't mind club level prices, dining plans - etc. I walked away from that trip pretty disappointed I spent the money. We did see animals but honestly if you are staying at the AKL to start with, very similar to what you will see off your balcony....AGain I am all about paying for something with quality and value but this just didn't do it for me...

 

[scottmel]

Not sure why but my family of 3 was disappointed in the Wild Life Excursion. We went in June and while the vehicle is "climate controlled" it is not AC and it was HOT. That made for a much less enjoyable trip. The driver told me to try to get a front seat near the fan. Which I did - it did not help me personally. So if planning a trip there in the warmer months, realize that climate controlled is not what you might be thinking it means! I could see this being more enjoyable in the cooler months but coming from someone that spends a lot of money at Disney - I don't mind club level prices, dining plans - etc. I walked away from that trip pretty disappointed I spent the money. We did see animals but honestly if you are staying at the AKL to start with, very similar to what you will see off your balcony....AGain I am all about paying for something with quality and value but this just didn't do it for me...

 

[irish dancer]

Not sure why but my family of 3 was disappointed in the Wild Life Excursion. We went in June and while the vehicle is "climate controlled" it is not AC and it was HOT. That made for a much less enjoyable trip. The driver told me to try to get a front seat near the fan. Which I did - it did not help me personally. So if planning a trip there in the warmer months, realize that climate controlled is not what you might be thinking it means! I could see this being more enjoyable in the cooler months but coming from someone that spends a lot of money at Disney - I don't mind club level prices, dining plans - etc. I walked away from that trip pretty disappointed I spent the money. We did see animals but honestly if you are staying at the AKL to start with, very similar to what you will see off your balcony....AGain I am all about paying for something with quality and value but this just didn't do it for me...

Our experience was similar with the WDE although we did enjoy it. I was under the impression when they said "climate controlled van" that there would be air conditioning. I guess their definition of climate controlled is a small 8in fan pointed toward the driver. We did the 1p in Oct 08 and it was HOT, sun shining in the window baking you hot. The guide was very knowledgable, we saw TONS of animals and our kids (7, 8 and 11 at the time) were completely entertained. While I don't think we'd do it again we are happy we did it then.

 

[annakate27]

For those of you who had IPO make your ADR's when did they get back with you and let you know what reservations they were able to make? Today is my 90 day mark and I am just curious if I will hear back from them today or tomorrow TIA