Concierge Level Here We Come! - Index added

[Donald is #1]

Argh! I had this post 1/2 done and then lost it! Oh well, back to the drawing board.


Well, when I got back to AKV, I walked into our room and found that the carpet had been pulled up and there were blowers going. I went out to the concierge desk to see if they knew what was going on. They didn't but made a few calls to find out. Apparently, our mousekeeper noticed that the carpet was wet and had maintenance come in to dry it out. The mousekeeper even stopped by to apologize that they hadn't set the room back up before I came back. After a bit of confusion, the room was put back to order easily enough. I was impressed that our Mousekeeper noticed the wet carpet and had it taken care of. Of course, I am really confused as to how it got wet. The area that it was wet was near the connecting door to the 1 BR next to us. We were only using that space to hold our luggage so I have no idea how it got wet.

Anyways, once I found out the story, I took my flight information out to the concierge desk and they were able to check into my Southwest flight for me and print my boarding pass. I wasn't too impressed with my number. I was only 2-3 hours into the 24 hour window and my number was in the second half of the B's! When Marge got back 30-60 minutes after me, her number was only 4-5 away from mine. I then packed my bags while Marge headed to the pool. I prefer to pack my day on my last full day so that I don't have to run around the last morning.

We made sure that we had our wine and hors d'oeurves on this our last night. (Of course we made it every night! ) During our meal, we debated on whether to go to Illuminations or Fantasmic that night. Well Fantasmic won since we could sit down for the show. So we headed off to DHS. When we went through the gates, I stopped to ask one of the CMs "the question". Does anyone remember what "the question" is?








The question was "Is Toy Story Mania open?" This time the answer was "It has been up and down all day." So Marge and I headed directly over there and we were able to walk on with only a 15 minute wait! This ride is awesome! It is now my favorite attraction at DHS! Once we got off, we headed right back on with a bit longer wait 20-30 minutes. This time I took some pictures of the queue area.

Entrance:

Building across the street:

Queue area with Mr Potato Head (pretty neat!)

Here is a picture of the cars. They hold 4 people total, 2 on each side.

After our second ride, we decided to head over towards Fantasmic to ensure that we had a good seat. I stopped to get a bottle of diet coke and a popcorn and then we entered the stadium. We ended up probably in the lower 1/3 of the seating section and in a section that was probably 2/3 of the way from the edge. These ended up being excellent seats! We ended up with about a 45 minute wait for the show. Of course after sitting on the bench for over an hour (including the show) my feet were happy but my behind was protesting!!

 

[Donald is #1]

OK, I needed to split my post due to too many images.

I never get very good pictures at Fantasmic, but here are a few of the better ones.

After the show, we waited about 5-10 minutes for the stadium to clear and then slowly headed out. I think that we had to wait for the second bus, but since it was park closing it really wasn't that bad.

 

[Donald is #1]

whoooo, I am finally done reading it all up to this point! I am so jealous that you stayed at AKV I want to stay there SOOOOOO bad but the bank account won't allow that at this time.

Hubby keeps saying "someday" we will stay there. We went to dinner at Jiko one night on our vacay and after dinner walked out to the viewing area and I think I could have stayed there all night long. I love looking at the animals.

I love all your pictures too!

Thanks! Definitely keep it on your someday list and watch for discounts. When I stayed there in May '06, I was able to get an AP discount rate which definitely helped a little with the costs. For my May '06 stay, I booked a savannah view room. But even though I knew I was going to have a savannah view room, when I walked into the room for the first time, I went right for the balcony and thought (screaming in my mind of course and jumping up and down ) "There are animals!!!!"

 

[Angel16]

Oooooo your back to your report

Now I have to catch up.

 

[stitchlet]

Hello from a fellow New Hampshire-an! (Exeter)

Been lurking on your trip report & loving all the pictures! DH and I are going to stay at AKL in Nov and I surprised him with the Sunrise Safari as a wedding present.

I do have a question about the night-vision vewing - we're both in our 40's and have the eyes to match ... can you use the night vision thingies over eye glasses?

Thanks for the great report!

 

[Donald is #1]

Oooooo your back to your report

Now I have to catch up.

Hello from a fellow New Hampshire-an! (Exeter)

Been lurking on your trip report & loving all the pictures! DH and I are going to stay at AKL in Nov and I surprised him with the Sunrise Safari as a wedding present.

I do have a question about the night-vision vewing - we're both in our 40's and have the eyes to match ... can you use the night vision thingies over eye glasses?

Thanks for the great report!

Hi! I'm in Merrimack. I will be at AKL/V in November also. This time with my sister, nephew, and niece. However, we won't be staying concierge level. The Sunrise Safari is awesome! So you and your husband will have a great time.

I didn't have any problem with the night vision viewing and I wear glasses all the time. The night vision "thing" is a scope so it is like a telescope instead of like binoculars.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I've never seen Fantasmic. Worth it? How would you rank it in comparison to Wishes and Illuminations?

 

[Donald is #1]

I've never seen Fantasmic. Worth it? How would you rank it in comparison to Wishes and Illuminations?

Very hard question to answer. First of all, it is very different than Wishes and Illuminations. It is more of a show than fireworks. My rating currently would be:

1) Wishes
2) Illuminations
3) Fantasmic

However, Fantasmic has the advantage of having seats. If you decide to go, get there early so that you can get a seat and be prepared to wait 30-60 minutes for the show depending upon how busy the parks are.

 

[Donald is #1]

Hi everyone! No, I haven't forgotten you.


So it is time for the saddest day of any trip.... the day to head home.

Our flight wasn't until 1 or 2 PM. So we had time for a slow morning. This was a good thing since Marge woke up with a migraine!

Anyways, I got up about 8, got dressed and headed out to the CL for breakfast. Marge stayed in her bed and tried to sleep the migraine off. After breakfast, I hung around for a while but soon it was time that we needed to start moving. So I woke Marge up and she tried to get moving. We called Bell services to pick up our luggage and they came up quickly. They brought a bag with a bottle of water for each of us!

Very quickly, we were downstairs and they had pulled the car up so it was waiting for us with the AC running. We had a little bit of time, so we stopped at DTD and first went into the bath and body shop. This is a really neat shop. For some reason, I don't think that I had been in there before. We both bought some stuff there and then headed over to the toy store. We wandered around and I ended up being these little packets of characters for my niece and nephew. I bought a couple of star wars packets for my nephew and disney parks packets for my niece. Apparently, I found the right souvenir, because my nephew is asking where I bought them so that he can get more when we go in November. After a final stop at Goofy's Candy so that I could pick up more candy for my other nephew (I must keep everyone even right?), we were soon on the road and heading back to Hertz. It was a little confusing figuring out how to return the car since it was SimplyWheelz. Instead of going to the normal Hertz return lane, you go past it (still in the Hertz facility) and leave the car and then put the keys in an envelope with the mileage, etc. Just as we parked the car, it started to pour! We were able to get the car unloaded and stand under the canopy before we got too soaked. The rain didn't last long and we were able to drop the envelope off and get the bus fairly quickly.

Once we got to the airport, checking our bags at SW was a nightmare!!! We walk in and the line is way past the ropes! They only had maybe a third of the terminals open so the line was moving fairly slow. I think that we were in line for at least 40 minutes. (I can't wait until I fly Jet Blue again and can check my bags at the resort!) Well, once we check our bags in, they told us to take them over "there" past the "3" sign. Basically we had to take them to X-Ray ourselves. So we go over there and there are sky caps bringing all kinds of luggage over but no-one for us to give our luggage to. Well after standing there for a few minutes lookign lost, one of the skycaps says "Just leave your bags over there". What???????? Just leave our bags???? What ever happened to "has your bag been out of your possession?". Well, since it is the trip home and we can survive for a day or two without our bags we leave them and head to security. Security ended up being a pleasant surprise! It wsa much better than my last trip in Oct '07. Now they have 3 different sets of lines:

1) Familes with children plus people who don't fly often.

2) Casual flyers with carry-ons

3) Frequent flyers who travel every month and travel light.


Since I had 2 carry-ons, I decided to use the 2nd set of lines. I don't fly every month but lately, I have been averaging about every 2 months.

It was so easy to get through security!

Well, we catch the shuttle off to the gates and when we get there, Marge goes in search of Excedrin and I stopped at Au Bon Pain for a sandwich. Marge was feeling a bit better but still didn't want any lunch. Unfortunately, she couldn't find any Excedrin. We then headed to our gate and had an un-eventful wait for the plane. This flight was packed! By the time that I got on, I had to go almost to the back to find an empty row. Marge was a few people behind me. So I ended up with the aisle seat while she had the window seat. Since the plane was so full, we ended up with a kid sitting between us. Boy was he talk-a-tive! He talked the entire way. Luckily Marge was able to sleep most of the way but boy, that kid didn't stop talking!

Finally we arrived in Manchester and we really didn't have to wait too long for our bags. Next it was the shuttle bus to the car and the short drive to my house. Marge didn't stay too long since she wanted to get home. Well, the trip was now over and I had to go back to work the next day.

Overall, it was a fun trip! I did find that I never did relax during the trip. I think that this was due to the length of the trip (my normal WDW trips are longer). Also probably the start with waking up late and then finding out that the door was locked and the cat sitter couldn't get to Daisy didn't help. By the time that was resolved, it was 3 days into the trip and the trip was half over.

 

[Angelrose]

Thank you Donald is #1. I enjoyed your trip report.

 

[Donald is #1]

Well, my first thought/reaction is: "I am so spoiled! I loved concierge!"

OK, that out of the way, my thoughts:

1) If you are going to spend all of your time at the parks from park opening to park closing, then concierge may not be worth it for you.

2) If you want a hot breakfast, then concierge may not be worth it for you.

3) However, if you like continental breakfasts and if you spend at least some time at the resort, then definitely check it out!


Can you eat all of your meals at the CL? Well, yes if you want. However, most of the meals (except breakfast) aren't meant to be meals so you would be filling up on snacks and appertizers.

 

[babytrees]

Well, my first thought/reaction is: "I am so spoiled! I loved concierge!"

OK, that out of the way, my thoughts:

1) If you are going to spend all of your time at the parks from park opening to park closing, then concierge may not be worth it for you.


2) If you want a hot breakfast, then concierge may not be worth it for you.

3) However, if you like continental breakfasts and if you spend at least some time at the resort, then definitely check it out!


Can you eat all of your meals at the CL? Well, yes if you want. However, most of the meals (except breakfast) aren't meant to be meals so you would be filling up on snacks and appertizers.

#1 is the main reason I think we will do a split stay....half from o'dark thirty to o'dark thirty and half at a more leisurely enjoy your time pace.

Thanks for your great pics and insights!!

 

[Princesswanabee]

Really enjoyed your trip report. We are headed for AKL concierge level in January and are really looking forward to it after seeing all of your great pictures!

 

[Donald is #1]

#1 is the main reason I think we will do a split stay....half from o'dark thirty to o'dark thirty and half at a more leisurely enjoy your time pace.

Thanks for your great pics and insights!!

Until recently, I fell into the same boat. It has only been the past year or two that I started to spend some time at my resort versus all my time at the parks.

Really enjoyed your trip report. We are headed for AKL concierge level in January and are really looking forward to it after seeing all of your great pictures!

Thank you! Have an awesome time in January.

 

[uconn01001]

Until recently, I fell into the same boat. It has only been the past year or two that I started to spend some time at my resort versus all my time at the parks.




Thank you! Have an awesome time in January.

Great trip report...I have a quick question. I have a concerige trip to AKL booked for next Sept just waiting for the prices to come out...do you think it will be worth going purely on what they offer perks wise or should I go for a standard at the GF.

 

[Donald is #1]

Great trip report...I have a quick question. I have a concerige trip to AKL booked for next Sept just waiting for the prices to come out...do you think it will be worth going purely on what they offer perks wise or should I go for a standard at the GF.

Thanks! Are you planning on going either sunrise or sunset safari? Also are you ok with being at a hotel that is not on the monorail? Do you spend some time at the resort or do you tend to spend all day in the parks? Personnally, I was totally spoiled and can't wait to do concierge again. I was just talking with Marge on Friday night and she said the same thing.

 

[uconn01001]

Well we have never been in concerige before and this was the only one we could afford if it stays at 335 per night. If you go back to the 424 like it was before the contruction started on the villa's I am probably going to switch to the GF because it would be out of our range.

 

[Donald is #1]

Well we have never been in concerige before and this was the only one we could afford if it stays at 335 per night. If you go back to the 424 like it was before the contruction started on the villa's I am probably going to switch to the GF because it would be out of our range.

If you get the chance, then I would say definitely try concierge level. However, if you plan on spending most of your time at MK, then it is a fairly long bus ride from AKL. So in that case, I would probably lean towards GF since it is so close to MK.

 

[AftertheSunset]

Just read the entire thing, loved it!

I loved the pictures. It sure sounds like you guys had a great time!

Where in NH are you? I'm there also!!

 

[Donald is #1]

Just read the entire thing, loved it!

I loved the pictures. It sure sounds like you guys had a great time!

Where in NH are you? I'm there also!!

Thank you!

I'm in Merrimack. Where do you live?