Concierge Room or no?

[Mexikolla]

We have booked our room at the Paradise Pier for 4 nights. (Sun Nov 27- Thurs Dec 1), it would be an additional $80 a night. Our party consists of 2 adults, 2 seven year olds, a 5 year old, and a 15 month old. My cousin and her two daughters MIGHT come for a day or two but they would be staying off site.

We usually drive our RV up and don't buy too much to nosh on in the parks. I consider myself a veteran of DLR but this is completely new to me

I think it's a no brainer, but the board seams to be either hot or cold on the real value of it.

I would really LOVE to get some fresh opinions

 

[Bambi&Thumper]

I think the room limit is 5.... according to your count you have 6??? Fire codes and all that good stuff hope your getting 2 rooms.
As for the concierge at PPH I never have done them but I would only do Concierge, but would only do it at the Grand or DLH. Also I wasn't clear as too what your cousin and her kids had to do with staying concierge or not... or was you planning on feeding them too with your benefits? LOL. Um I don't think that Disney would like that very much. Especially since they wouldn't even be staying on site property...... please don't take advantage of Disney. It's not cool.

 

[Mexikolla]

Um ok.

Wasn't planning on taking advantage of Disney.

I wish there was a way to delete my thread. Next time I'll keep my questions/thoughts to myself.

 

[sonnyjane]

Um ok.

Wasn't planning on taking advantage of Disney.

I wish there was a way to delete my thread. Next time I'll keep my questions/thoughts to myself.

I apologize for the PP's jumping to conclusions. That was unfair. It is true, however, that there is a limit of just 5 per room, so having 6 in your party will present a problem, as you won't be able to have just one regular room.

As far as if the Concierge is worth it, it really boils down to whether or not you think that you'll be consuming $80 worth of snacks and drinks each day of your stay. If you're planning on spending a lot of time in the park, then it might not be worth it, since you won't really want to come back to the hotel just to get snacks. If, however, you're planning on breaking frequently, it might be nice to be able to grab some snacks when you're there. Same goes for breakfast. It's certainly nice to be able to go grab something before you head to the parks, but if that's the only meal you'd be eating at the Concierge lounge, would it be worth $80 a day? I personally don't think so only because I know I couldn't eat enough to make that worth it, but as you said, the board is split and with a larger group like yours, it might be worth it. You know your family best

 

[DizMe]

I'm not sure! It really is a nice thing for larger families like yours. You can scoot over to the lounge for breakfast--they open early at the other 2 hotels, not sure about PPH--and your kids can choose from the things most kids prefer (cereal, yogurt, fruit, pastries, muffins, milk, cocoa, etc). I like that we don't have to hunt around in the park for something everyone will eat because my family always wants to (a) head in early, when most breakfast places outside the park are closed and (b) once in, they don't want to stop for food! I like getting my coffee when I get up, too. On top of that, you can grab snacks and drinks for your time in the parks. You can come back and have a snack and beverage later, or sit and snack on appetizers in the evening. Again, I don't know what PPH has to offer in their lounge so it's hard to compare, but I'd say it might well be worth it in convenience. As far as number of people in the room, they do have a limit of 5 but we have had 6 before. My adult dd showed up to spend the day with us and she stayed in our room that night. We asked the hotel if we could do it and they said no problem. Technically, it's not allowed and if you try to book that many you will be denied. Realistically, they did not care once we were there and we had plenty of room but I have heard that they can be very strict about this policy. It's a fire code number which is somewhat arbitrary but that's just the way it is. We ran into this problem when we went to Hawaii, where the fire code dictates 4 per room regardless of square footage, suite, etc. The same room that would be "safe" in CA is not safe in Hawaii, LOL.

 

[Mexikolla]

Thank You, Thank You! I knew I could count on you guys

We usually do a super easy breakfast (bagels) so we can get the RV unhooked and over to DLR. We are more of the low key take it easy set and prefer to get to the parks after we've had our coffee and after the morning rush. We like to get one table service meal a day, usually lunch. Then head back to the RV for a little rest in the afternoon. Our kids NEVER actually rest, although we wish they would so we could too Then it's back to the parks right before dusk. We will either eat snacks we bring in our little soft sided cooler or get some treats in the park. We like to leave after the parade and before the fireworks.

So I'm thinking with a few small changes we could make the concierge service work for us. (ie timing of our breaks).

One more question for you..... Do we get early entry because we are onsite guests? We will be at the parks Monday-Thurs (checking in Sunday evening).

 

[areweindisneyyet]

Guests of the Disney hotels can have magic morning access on all days it is available for the duration of your stay.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Guests of the Disney hotels can have magic morning access on all days it is available for the duration of your stay.

In OPs case it'll be Tuesday and Thursday. OP, I too have 4 kids and they had no problem with us staying in 1 room. My kids were 8, 4, 2 and 1. We had plenty of space.

 

[Bambi&Thumper]

ok so how was I being unfair or jumping to conclusions? Did you tell Disney that you was going to have six people in a room when you booked? And they said that was ok? If a fire broke out and your reservations was only was accounted for 5 guests and one of your kids was trapped and then what? Seriously..
And I was unfair to assume that you would be feeding your cousin and her 2 kids of your concierge privileges because you mentioned it? Well mentioned that they might be joining you.... which had nothing to do with your question as to if it would be worth it for your family. Um ok... So yes..... I assumed that is what you was talking about... if you could feed your entire party to concierge with only one family actually paying for it... and you all wonder why Disney has a hard time keeping costs under control. And then you go on to say thank you... I could count on you disboards????!!! REALLY???? Count on them to tell you to yes break the rules? Steal from Disney? Go ahead and feed your family plus the family who isn't staying on site too... because you are all related? Come on.... give me a break!!! Where are the other Disney obsessed members who would be outraged for taking advantaged of Disneys Hospitality? But yet .... I am jumping to conclusions..... ok.

 

[jdb in AZ]

For $80 per day, I could get a lot more bang for my buck by bringing my own snacks. Maybe someone here can sell me on the whole idea, but I'd rather use the money for a nice meal at one of several restaurants near the park.

Spending the $80 at Blue Bayou wouldn't cover your entire meal, but it would take enough off the total tab to make it more do-able.

DH and I would rather sleep late instead of doing the Early Morning Hours. We tried EMH once and discovered that very few of our favorite rides were open that early. Maybe the animatronic characters on those rides would rather sleep late too?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Wow! The other family "joining them" on vacation CAN be relevant to whether or not to do concierge depending on if they're spending every moment together. That may make them lean towards not doing it. If the big draw of doing concierge is breakfast before the parks but the other family wanted to do breakfasts with them...that may effect their decision. They were just asking for others experiences with a similar situation. It's between OP and Disney whether they're okay with 6 in the room. In Florida kids under 3 aren't counted towards occupancy. Other hotels have leeway with occupancy if they choose. Occupancy is based on spots to sleep, and fire codes are based on room size.

 

[Bambi&Thumper]

ok so that does make a little more sense .... like you are trying to avoid paying for the other familys food by eating before you even get to the parks. got it. but still yes I apologize for jumping to conclusions as you trying to feed the whole family plus more... you didn't make either statement very clear. I just live in a world where I see so many people trying to get away with something and taking advantages of situations, so I do apologize. You did mention the cousin and you did mention using a RV and never really bought or spent alot at Disney itself.... so yes..... that just led me to believe other thoughts. Sorry.

 

[jenpace]

I read your 1st post the same way that Bambi&Thumper did and wondered about there being 6 people in one room. Also, not sure why you mentioned your other family members who are staying offsite when you're asking about concierge and if it would be worth the extra money in terms of how much food your family would eat unless you planned on having them use the concierge lounge as well. ...and no, definitely not cool.

As far as your question, I would think that if you're traveling with an RV with it's own kitchen then no, you probably don't need to use the concierge services for food and drink.

 

[Mexikolla]

Wow! The other family "joining them" on vacation CAN be relevant to whether or not to do concierge depending on if they're spending every moment together. That may make them lean towards not doing it. If the big draw of doing concierge is breakfast before the parks but the other family wanted to do breakfasts with them...that may effect their decision.

That is exactly what I was implying. I sincerely apologize for not making my point clearer.

I am not one to get one over on Disney OR to get something for nothing. We eat at least one meal a day at table service, we have been Socal Pass holders for a few years now, and we spend a nice chunk of change on our annual trip to DLR. Just like everyone else I like to make sure I am covering my bases and getting the best deal/rate for our money.

It looks like it comes out to roughly $16 per person (not including baby) per day extra. On paper it looks like a decent deal. (We wont be bringing the RV up this trip)

ps. as far as the 6 in a room thing... the guy I booked our room with said... "off the record, I know many families that haven't had a problem with an additional infant. There is a pack-n-play in every room. The rooms are large and you should have plenty of room for everyone".

 

[ORDisneyfans]

We like concierge just for the convenience! The snacks get pretty boring after a few nights at PPH. They are mostly the same kid friendly foods pp mentioned. They do have an evening hot appetizer, beer and wine. The one drawback we have had is the lounge closes early. 8pm We are staying concierge at the Grand before Thanksgiving and will see if there are any notable differences. I feel for that large of a party just breakfast, waters and snacks would be worth the extra money.

We also like the fact that we do not have to try and find breakfast every morning. We usually eat a late lunch in the park and then have evening snacks and drinks in the lounge before heading back out to the parks.

I will say we have had to use the computer, printer and fax services a few times for a house sale and our business. This is included in concierge and totally worth it for my DH. In fact he thinks we have sold several properties and deals because of it. He is also the healthy one and has a hard time eating cookies, pastries and such every day for 5 days. The girls no problem!!! My little DD probably eats $15 worth of strawberries and cheese each day!

I will take a lot of pics on our next trip of the Grand to post. Until then there is a thread that has picures of the PPH lounge and it seems pretty accurate to me as of the last time we went in March. (Sorry do not know how to link to it!)

 

[Mexikolla]

We like concierge just for the convenience!

I feel for that large of a party just breakfast, waters and snacks would be worth the extra money.

We also like the fact that we do not have to try and find breakfast every morning. We usually eat a late lunch in the park and then have evening snacks and drinks in the lounge before heading back out to the parks.

My little DD probably eats $15 worth of strawberries and cheese each day!

Good Points! Sounds like you and I have similar little girls