DLH or PPH to Concierge or not Concierge

[dheinz]

My husband & I going for first time to DL June 19 -21. I am a WDW girl and am learning all I can about DL to prepare. We are considering concierge instead of a dining plan.

Any opinions on concierge for a first visit?

SO, my question for the experienced DL people...

1. PPH or DLH?

2. Is the concierge level at DLH worth an additional $460 over the PPH concierge?

4. Is it easier to take mid-day breaks staying at one of these hotels?

TIA!!

 

[Briarrose1306]

I'm considering Concierge at PPH too, so I'd love some opinions!

 

[skiingfast]

We are considering concierge instead of a dining plan.

I'm not sure why, because you shouldn't be considering a dining plan anyway. That is probably a WDW planner's error.

1. PPH or DLH?

The DLH is a fantastic hotel.

2. Is the concierge level at DLH worth an additional $460 over the PPH concierge?

Probably not. The reason is the park view rooms at the PPH are woderful when you look out the window. The concierge aspect is rather similiar. The price difference is for the better hotel.

4. Is it easier to take mid-day breaks staying at one of these hotels?

They will be pretty close to each other in this aspect.

You are going for a short visit during a busy time. You may not make good use of the concerge perks.

 

[daneenm]

DLH is our second favorite, we are GCH fans. We like DLH very much and our opinion of the best perk to Concierge there is the view during fireworks. Easy to relax, have a snack and enjoy without the throngs of people.

Whether Concierge is worth it is not really a pure math question, in my opinion. Will you not have to pay for $460 of food in the parks...absolutely not. You are paying for the convenience. We have done Concierge in both GCH and DLH and enjoy the convenience, but we do not do it every trip, since we are not always in a position to justify the extra.

Distance wise, I think DLH is a slightly shorter walk than PPH. Having said that, I have only walked to PPH twice, so maybe I was not aware of the most expedient route.

 

[bumbershoot]

To make concierge worth it, you have to be at the resort. Being at the resort is great, but it means you're not in the parks.

YOu need to make sure you're there for breakfast time, and to really relax in there for that means you don't want to be rushing to make park opening. Then you want to be back for cocktail time, and also for dinner-ish time, when they have a hot appetizer out.

It's best if you are omnivorous with NO picky palates, so that you can enjoy the appetizers; we are vegetarian, and were thankful they had a vegetarian egg roll out ONE night of our several night stay at PPH. (we also have ingredient issues, so the easy meal of Smuckers PB&J isn't something we partake in, decreasing the value for us)


Apart from the food and drinks, you can rent movies for free. This also requires that you are at the resort, in your room, not out having fun at the parks or DTD.


We did concierge at DLH in '09 and at PPH just last February. Both times were fine. At DLH we felt it was worth it b/c that was during the halcyon days when you could book that level using DVC points, but those days are no more, sigh. PPH was not worth it, though it was *nice* to have. It made hubby happy, otherwise there was no way I would have done it. Increased the luxurious feel, but wasn't "worth it".

 

[BearsLoveHoney]

We stayed at the PPH and did the concierge level last September. We loved it. It was a short walk to the CA entrance at the GCH and not too far to DL.

The concierge level was worth it for us because we spent a fair amount of time at the resort. We always ate breakfast there (super convenient with the little ones!) and then my older daughter and husband would hang out there after swimming while my son napped in the afternoon. We used the evening food & beverages as an early dinner and then went back to the parks for a bit.

We've never stayed at the DLH or the GC, but we were impressed with the PPH. We loved being able to walk to the parks and the concierge service was super convenient. We are going back next week and my husband insisted on staying at the PPH and getting the concierge service again .

 

[LittleBlackRaincloud]

I'm not sure either concierge or the dining plan is worth it. In fact, I know the dining plan is not. Please look into it more, it is completely different than WDW's plan. It does not save you money, and can in fact cost you money. You receive vouchers for food equal to exactly the amount you pay for it. However, when you go to use a voucher...say $10 and your bill is only $8.50, you get no change. You just lost $1.50 of the $10 that you paid to receive the $10 voucher. If you want the plan to budget, buy gift cards. The balance carries over on those.

As Molly pointed out, concierge has perks but you have to be in the hotel to use them. Are you planning on doing Magic Mornings? Most lounges don't start breakfast until 7 and that will most likely be the time of your MM.
For our family who plans to leave the room at 6:30 to get to MM, we would never use the lounge for breakfast. I know some love it, it just doesn't work into our style of vacationing.

HTH's!

 

[dheinz]

Thanks so everyone for their help! I love that you guys have the answer to almost every question!!

I'm not sure why, because you shouldn't be considering a dining plan anyway. That is probably a WDW planner's error.

The funny thing is we always get the dining plan in WDW. However, I was thinking if we stayed concierge we would rather spend the extra time in the lounge and not sitting in restaurants. My thought was that we would eat quick service for any meals. Honestly, I was hoping that I could make a meal out of the appetizers in the lounge for dinner. (Lunch is my main meal).

Possibly I just don't know what wonderful restaurants I would be missing? I assume that I would be mostly unable to get into the great restaurants this late in the game.

Also, I guess what I meant is... going to DL for the first time, for only 3 park days, is the concierge worth it? Would I even have enough time to leave the parks to enjoy the concierge? I am thinking not.

Again, Thanks so MUCH!!!

 

[LittleBlackRaincloud]

The funny thing is we always get the dining plan in WDW. However, I was thinking if we stayed concierge we would rather spend the extra time in the lounge and not sitting in restaurants. My thought was that we would eat quick service for any meals. Honestly, I was hoping that I could make a meal out of the appetizers in the lounge for dinner. (Lunch is my main meal).

Possibly I just don't know what wonderful restaurants I would be missing? I assume that I would be mostly unable to get into the great restaurants this late in the game.

Also, I guess what I meant is... going to DL for the first time, for only 3 park days, is the concierge worth it? Would I even have enough time to leave the parks to enjoy the concierge? I am thinking not.

Again, Thanks so MUCH!!!

See my post above your last one for a little more about the dining plan. You will be able to get into most restaurants still. DLR is not quite as cut throat as WDW in that respect. Call and see, I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised! PS have only been open for your time frame about 10 days.

 

[skiingfast]

Also, I guess what I meant is... going to DL for the first time, for only 3 park days, is the concierge worth it? Would I even have enough time to leave the parks to enjoy the concierge? I am thinking not.

That is why I think you will have trouble making use of the lounge perks. 3 days right after new attractions open in Summer mean you will be busy in the parks.

You may want to be in the parks at 7am to take advantage of onsite perks. This means if you want breakfast from the lounge you will be rushed, with 30 minutes to eat and get to the gates.

You may not have a convinient time to go back for the suppers.

You may end up going back in the middle or that and having chips and sodas.

As noted you have plenty of times to make reservations if you want TS meals. Reservations for you period opened up just a week ago, and can usually be made a week out with little problem.

 

[Disneylandfanatic]

In my opnion, you really have to take into account the concierge experience, over the cut and dry hard numbers. Obviously, if you are really budgeting then maybe do something else with that money. However, if you can afford it, the concierge experience ROCKS. The extra attention, the private viewing of the fireworks (although not as good as in front of the castle) the fact that you can go in there and grab whatever you want when you want, etc. makes the concierge experience more than just included food. We did concierge at the GCH, we did not feel the need to stay at the hotel in order for us to get our money worth. We did eat breakfast there every morning, got our drinks for the day, usually went back for tea time, and then back later for the little appetizers. We certainly did not spend too much on food in the parks, since we ate at the hotel often. I am very happy that I had the opportunity to stay concierge, and look forward to the day that I can do that again. I am a sucker for extra attention, gold cards, and that feeling of exclusivity... Either way you will have a great time!

 

[KellifromCanada]

If you are going to DL for the first time, I would say you will want to be in the parks. We considered concierge level at PPH, but after thinking about it and discovering that really, we wanted the theme park view more than the food offered by concierge, we booked a view room. It was awesome. We knew we wanted to spend the bulk of our time IN the parks, and not worrying about whether we should head back to the hotel at a certain time for food. We did purchase a few supplies from the grocery store nearby - cereals for breakfast, milk, yogurt, water, snacks. This did not cost us very much at all. We did take breaks every day and headed back to the room and just chilled. My daughter loved the Hagen Daaz ice-cream so we often stopped there on the way back to the room and I wouldn't have done that if we had booked concierge. It just allowed us to be a lot more spontaneous. There's lots of amazing places to eat in Downtown Disney too, and we had no trouble finding a table without reservations (even during March break!). Have a great time.

Kelli

 

[Babybears]

Our family did Concierge at PPH on our trip there last Summer. We really enjoyed it. The food was a great perk and we found that we were able to eat and get to MM with plenty of time. I believe it opened at 6:30 and we got there at opening, grabbed stuff to go and were in line before opening.

One of the extra perks was that the Standard View Concierge rooms are cabana rooms on the pool side of the 3rd floor. We had a slider and patio area with table and chairs. We were able to just walk out our slider out to the pool/hot tub which was a huge Summer convenience. Also for watching the fireworks, just a few steps out our slider.

We enjoyed it, but we have been to DL several times and always stay 4 or 5 nights. If it was my first trip, I would probably want to stay in the parks as much as possible, so concierge might not be as big of a perk.

As previous poster stated, you should not have any issues getting dining reservations just about anywhere at this point. Cafe Orleans is one of our favorites and we have often been able to get same day reservations ther even during busy season.

 

[LittleBlackRaincloud]

Our family did Concierge at PPH on our trip there last Summer. We really enjoyed it. The food was a great perk and we found that we were able to eat and get to MM with plenty of time. I believe it opened at 6:30 and we got there at opening, grabbed stuff to go and were in line before opening.

Thank you for sharing this. I was thinking it didn't open until 7am. It's good to know that you can use it on MM days.

 

[gokdog]

We just did our spring break at PPH, our 2nd time there, first time as Concierge and we had a great time.

After several visits to both Disneyland and Disney World, where we were mostly in the parks, we wanted to try at slightly more relaxed pace, with plenty of resort time and felt that was the way we could make it work.

When I initially booked, I felt obligated to try and figure out how I could "break even" with the fee, by taking advantage of the lounge as much as possible, but we quickly realized that these was neither possible or gonna be fun. We did it to relax, and splurge on ourselves and not try and make every penny back, which I think lead to us really enjoying the experience.

I literally heard several families talking about how they had to eat enough and visit the lounge enough to make it pay off, but in the end, we just had fun and loved it.

It is not for every trip and certainly not economical in many cases, but if you are ready for a splurge for your family that you will never forget, concierge is a great way to do it.

 

[dheinz]

SkiingFast - You are right on the money!

LittleBlackRainCloud - Thanks so much for the dining plan advice! We are not going to use the dining plan. You and KellifromCanada were right on the money! I called and was able to get ADRs at Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, & Napa Rose.

That is much more sit down dining than I had originally planned. I have decided that since we are going sans the four kids, we can enjoy some restaurants. If we go back with them we would most likely do character meals.

Thanks so much for everyones' advice. We are staying DLH not Concierge. Now, resort view or pool view? LOL

 

[LittleBlackRaincloud]

Now, resort view or pool view? LOL

You're on your own with that one from me. I can't decide myself!

 

[llump41]

Always a tough choice. The PPH concierge is less expensive but doesn't really have 'food' and closes earlier than the other lounges. If you can make a meal of hors d'oeuvres and finger foods then great. The park view we had was awesome.

DLH and GCH both stay open to 10 and I wish that the PPH did also. We probably would have used it a lot more.

Take chips, fruit, soda and water with you. It's the same stuff they vend in the parks but it's free.

If your like we were, we didn't swim so pools weren't a consideration. I may try DLH concierge on our next x0 anniversary trip.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

We are staying PPH Concierge in early June. Mainly because I want to feel pampered and have something "extra" since we are staying onsite for the first time. I am hoping to get a Cabana Standard View room because I know we will be using the pool quite a bit (even though we have a pool at home my kids are big swimmers!)

 

[starry_solo]

SkiingFast - You are right on the money!

LittleBlackRainCloud - Thanks so much for the dining plan advice! We are not going to use the dining plan. You and KellifromCanada were right on the money! I called and was able to get ADRs at Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, & Napa Rose.

That is much more sit down dining than I had originally planned. I have decided that since we are going sans the four kids, we can enjoy some restaurants. If we go back with them we would most likely do character meals.

Thanks so much for everyones' advice. We are staying DLH not Concierge. Now, resort view or pool view? LOL

Did you go for Chef's Table at Napa Rose? I hear that's a good experience!