Concierge Food/Snacks

[marksor]

For those that have stayed at any of the WDW Resort Concierge-level accomodations: Did the continental breakfast/snacks/desserts made available to you as part of your stay really make you spend less on meals/snacks elsewhere at WDW or do you feel you spent as much on outside food as you would have if there were no food available at the lounge?

I'm trying to get a feel as to whether or not the concierge-level cost is worth it in terms of saving a bit on food/meals, particularly breakfast.

 

[jlb]

The breakfast is a definite help with little ones. We never bought breakfast unless we went to a character breakfast.

Snacks: In the park you find yourself picking up snacks here and ther, but at the hotel, it was just as easy to make a little plate of pbj sandwiches and goldfish crackers after the pool.

I hope this helps, we have CL booked this time, but I am hoping to downgrade to a regular room, because I do not feel we utilize the lounge except for breakfast.

 

[Lisa3]

I think it all depends on how many people are in your party. If it is just two then I don't think there will be much of a savings. However, for our family of 5 it made quite a difference. We stayed at the Polynesian GVC last Nov. and the amount it saved on breakfast and nightly desserts made up the additional cost of the room (Breakfast at Captain Cook's $30/Dessert from Main Street Bakery $15 per day on our previous trip).

I will say that if you love breakfast (as I do) you may get tired of the same thing everyday and after Day 3 I did book a breakfast to get a change of pace. We also did one big "sit down" meal per day since the lounge is not a substitute for meals. We also enjoyed some extras such as a glass of wine and some cheese which we would not have otherwise. I felt with having the fresh fruit offerings my kids actually ate healthier snacks than they would have otherwise.

 

[Traveliz]

I definitely spent less as we ate breakfast in the lounge all but two of the mornings (character breakfasts those days). The continental breakfast does get a little familiar if you are staying a week.

For snacks the kids would grab cookies in the afternoons and I know a couple of times we were hungry as we were leaving the park for a snack and decided to just wait and get the cookies back at the lounge.

We also used the appetizers and desserts several nights as "dinner" as those were days we had a character lunch or go off site shopping and ate a big lunch. Then it was back to the hotel to swim and hang out and the appetizers/desserts were really enough.

We did not overfill our plates either.

Liz

 

[TammiMcMan]

The short answer to your question is that it all depends on your eating habits and your park plans.

Here's the longer answer: If your breakfast normally consists of cereal, bagels, fruit, yogurt, toast, muffins, etc. then you'll be fine with the concierge lounge. If you're an eggs, or big hot breakfast person, then you will need to factor that into your food budget. As for the rest of the day, it all depends. If you're going to be in the parks, then obviously you wouldn't get much use out of the concierge food offerings. If you're spending the day at the resort or coming back for breaks, then you could get all your cold drinks there and more or less appetizer type food. It all depends on which resort you're at as to what types of offerings are available throughout the day. If you're at the resort in the evenings, then you can enjoy a glass of wine or beer and from 8-10pm most of the lounges offer cordials, coffee and desserts. I believe that the GF and Contemporary are the only resorts that offer a second option of limited concierge service and that would preclude either the late night dessert offering and/or the alcohol.

My personal experience is that we do spend less money on food. We're fruit and cereal eaters for breakfast, so we try to stick to the same diet when we're on vacation. We probably spend a little more time relaxing at the resort than in the parks, so we supplement smaller purchased meals with the food offered in the concierge lounge. Unless we're away from the resort, we don't spend any money on drinks.

Hope that helps,
Tammi

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Marksor,
DH and I would like to thank you for posing this question.

As we discussed it we pulled out our trusty notepad and ran some numbers. (Our family of four is doing the 4 night cruise, then we were booked in a std room at the WL for 3 nights). Our plan included a trip to the grocery store for breakfast items and drinks, renting a fridge, refillable mugs, three dinners and snacks. When we priced the concierge room (using the current discount code, of course), the difference in price was the same as what we budgeted for all the other things so we broke even but will have a more relaxing few days without all the running around and such, particularly since our time is limited. (And last trip the cheesy fridge froze everything we bought at the store anyway).

We have stayed concierge before at the Poly and it really is amazing. (We checked out the WLC before too and it was very nice as well). Coming off a 4 night cruise we are not going to be eating large meals on the remainder of our trip anyway, so the light appetizers will be plenty for us.

I say go for it - you may not completely break even but the added convenience and extra service make it well worth it.

 

[Cinderella37]

We spend the same amount on food now that we stay concierge every trip as when we didn't. The only money we save is on wine - I like to have a few drinks before dinner so instead of going to the resort lounge or the restaurant lounge, we go to the concierge lounge instead. You may save a little money on snacks, as there is snack food readily available.

 

[turnlisa]

We found with our family we saved a lot of money. First of all, DH is a bear in the morning if he doesn't have coffee right away. This way it is readily available as well as all the fixings for breakfast. My kids loved going upstairs and getting what they wanted. It was really convenient to have snacks there when we returned from the parks. No matter how much you eat at lunch kids invariably need snacks when they get back to the room. The cookies at the Poly are outstanding! We also enjoyed having appetizers there in the evening since this would allow us to make our dinner reservations a little later. Definitely a plus and something we are looking forward to returning to!