Have you been "Bitten" by the Concierge "Bug"? aka The LIZARD LOUNGE!

[Crazy for Love]

If I already have my reservations can I upgrade to Concierge? And is it at all the WDW hotels?I know that this is probably been asked before but I want in on the action too!

 

[storybookmum]

Originally posted by Crazy for Love
If I already have my reservations can I upgrade to Concierge? And is it at all the WDW hotels?I know that this is probably been asked before but I want in on the action too!

Concierge is available at all the Deluxe Resorts. You can upgrade an existing reservation providing that there is availability in that resort for your dates.

Welcome!

Kris

 

[TammiMcMan]

Tara, as the other LL's have mentioned, you'll never be able to "justify" the cost of concierge, especially if you wait until check-in. You'll lose out on the pre-planning service entirely. As most of us will admit, is one of the nicest amenities that concierge has to offer. It's a huge benefit to just leave your priority seating and recreation requests in their hands and not have to be on the phone at 6:59am. The silver lining that I can offer you is that I've seen a number of postings on the DIS that the WL has given concierge upgrades for a lot less than what you would pay now. Of course, that's only based on availabilty.

If you're willing to take a chance and it doesn't work out, then you could always have breakfast in your room. All the deluxes should have refrigerators in the room very soon and you can have cereal, fruit, milk, or whatever your family usually does for breakfast.

Steffy, so glad everything worked out for you. Unbelievably Disney is getting ready to deal with yet another hurricane, so I can only imagine that's why they didn't get in touch with you sooner.

CrazyforLove, Disney deluxe resorts offer concierge service (AKL, BeachClub, Boardwalk, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Poly, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club ~ did I get them all?) Also the Swan and Dolphin offer something called club level, but their amenities are a little different. You can choose to upgrade your existing reservation to concierge at any time, if it's available.

Tammi

Tammi

 

[johnsonet]

Originally posted by TammiMcMan
Tara...you'll never be able to "justify" the cost of concierge, especially if you wait until check-in. You'll lose out on the pre-planning service entirely. As most of us will admit, is one of the nicest amenities that concierge has to offer. It's a huge benefit to just leave your priority seating and recreation requests in their hands and not have to be on the phone at 6:59am. Tammi

I vehemently agree!

 

[Taratink]

TammiMcman,
Thank you for your thoughts. I am from Burlington, Ma. Just down the road a piece from you. There are so many New Englanders on this board. I think that I will hold off concierge because I heard that they were not set up well for this service. We'll see what happens as far as codes.
Tara

 

[Steffy]

I find this incredible. How could Disney go from never being hit, to 3 direct hits from three hurricanes in one year????

I am watching the news in total shock and disbelief.

Dealing with these hurricanes are more important than my Christmas dinner.....

Dragging the hammocks off the beach again.....

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I'm watching too. It is unbelievable. They must be so weary.

 

[#1hockeymom]

When I call, my mom worries more, so I haven't called down there this weekend. After talking with my grandparents I am not worried about them or my great aunt since their building sounds very secure and they have many generators. This is just totally unbelievable! I pray everyone stays safe in Florida. What a year...

 

[Dreamin' Disney]

For those of you who have posted concerns about getting your money's worth at Concierge, I think there are a few other things to consider. It's also about convenience, time and service.

We have done Disney with our three kids on two other occasions. The first was at a Downtown Disney hotel, still on site but father away. Our last trip was at the YC. After staying at a Disney resort, we know we would never stay elsewhere.

However, it was inconvenient every morning looking for somewhere practical to eat. Even if we had a breakfast PS, by the time we got to the park, the kids were starving. I had even packed a toaster along so we could have toast or bagels in the room or cereal/milk. But you still have to go down to a grocery store or resort shop to pick this stuff up. It was too inconvenient.

On our next trip, we have decided to go the extra mile and booked concierge at the BWI. We started off with a 15% discount during value season using the AAA rate. Then I got another discount using one of the discount codes. So I have been able to get concierge at better rates than rack rates.

While it's true we could have used these codes on a standard room, we are getting the convenience of the Itinerary planning in advance, which has already helped organize our trip. Plus we get the food offerings at the lounge - even if my kids get an extra snack or drink each day, this will be well worth it to us. Not to mention a dessert or cocktail for the adults. For my family of 5, a continental breakfast and a few drinks would cost at least $50/day.

We are planning our days to head out to the parks when they open and go back to our resort mid to late afternoon for a break and a swim. We'll have to stop by the lounge for some refreshments. Then we are planning early dinners and going back out to the parks.

Concierge will not only be more convenient and time saving, but it will provide a level of service that can add that extra bit of Disney magic on your trip.

I think booking concierge will work out great for us and hope it will for all of you who are still thinking about it.

 

[John's Mom]

I've been following your discussions daily. I love all the great info on this site.

My DH and I will be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Nov. 1-8. I have a few questions. What happens at the lounge during the different food servings? Is it closed? Are the Concierge staff members there to help us? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Kathy

 

[VAgal76]

Kathy - First of all, welcome to the lounge! I LOVE THE AKL CL!!!!! I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us have. You can always go sit in the lounge. The CM's are there from 7 am to 10 pm from what I remember. Maybe a little earlier and/or a little later. You'll have to forgive me as I didn't keep a journal like I should've. The morning will start you off with a continental breakfast like oatmeal, cereal, fresh fruit, danishes, juice, coffee, etc. We spent almost every morning in the lounge, but had to sneak off to eat at breakfast at Boma's once, which by the way is a must do. The offerings are set up on certain time periods, but I very rarely saw it completely empty. We arrived 10 minutes before the lounge closed on our first night there (Friday) and they STILL had desserts, cordials and wine out! They have a small fridge that they try very hard to keep stocked with sodas, juice, milk (white/chocolate). The fridge was emptied and everything cleaned up and put away at the close of the evening. I can't remember the variety of little snacks they had, but I remember everything I tried was delicious. I was never there at 5:00 pm to check it out as we were always in a park or on our way to a PS. I hear there is typically a hot dish put out among other things. In the evening, they had a variety of yummy little desserts like zebra domes. You should definitely try the cordials and the wine. I'm so excited for you. Our family immediately bonded to this resort for a whole list of reasons.

Feel free to hang out. I learned a lot from these guys and wouldn't have thought of at least 5 added touches to our trip that made it extra special for my DH and DS.

 

[Steffy]

Originally posted by Dreamin' Disney
For those of you who have posted concerns about getting your money's worth at Concierge, I think there are a few other things to consider. It's also about convenience, time and service.

We have done Disney with our three kids on two other occasions. The first was at a Downtown Disney hotel, still on site but father away. Our last trip was at the YC. After staying at a Disney resort, we know we would never stay elsewhere.

However, it was inconvenient every morning looking for somewhere practical to eat. Even if we had a breakfast PS, by the time we got to the park, the kids were starving. I had even packed a toaster along so we could have toast or bagels in the room or cereal/milk. But you still have to go down to a grocery store or resort shop to pick this stuff up. It was too inconvenient.

On our next trip, we have decided to go the extra mile and booked concierge at the BWI. We started off with a 15% discount during value season using the AAA rate. Then I got another discount using one of the discount codes. So I have been able to get concierge at better rates than rack rates.

While it's true we could have used these codes on a standard room, we are getting the convenience of the Itinerary planning in advance, which has already helped organize our trip. Plus we get the food offerings at the lounge - even if my kids get an extra snack or drink each day, this will be well worth it to us. Not to mention a dessert or cocktail for the adults. For my family of 5, a continental breakfast and a few drinks would cost at least $50/day.

We are planning our days to head out to the parks when they open and go back to our resort mid to late afternoon for a break and a swim. We'll have to stop by the lounge for some refreshments. Then we are planning early dinners and going back out to the parks.

Concierge will not only be more convenient and time saving, but it will provide a level of service that can add that extra bit of Disney magic on your trip.

I think booking concierge will work out great for us and hope it will for all of you who are still thinking about it.

Thanks for sharing..

 

[#1hockeymom]

Just to add to previous posts, I loved AKL's lounge for the ability to sit on a comfy couch, have a glass of iced tea, and read the newspaper or a magazine while the sounds and smells of the lodge trickled up into the rafters. Oh so relaxing! The best time to do this is of course in the middle of the day when no one is around but a few CM's who are more than happy to chat, or help you plan!

 

[johnsonet]

Originally posted by Dreamin' Disney
For those of you who have posted concerns about getting your money's worth at Concierge, I think there are a few other things to consider. It's also about convenience, time and service.

We have done Disney with our three kids on two other occasions. The first was at a Downtown Disney hotel, still on site but father away. Our last trip was at the YC. After staying at a Disney resort, we know we would never stay elsewhere.

However, it was inconvenient every morning looking for somewhere practical to eat. Even if we had a breakfast PS, by the time we got to the park, the kids were starving. I had even packed a toaster along so we could have toast or bagels in the room or cereal/milk. But you still have to go down to a grocery store or resort shop to pick this stuff up. It was too inconvenient.

On our next trip, we have decided to go the extra mile and booked concierge at the BWI. We started off with a 15% discount during value season using the AAA rate. Then I got another discount using one of the discount codes. So I have been able to get concierge at better rates than rack rates.

While it's true we could have used these codes on a standard room, we are getting the convenience of the Itinerary planning in advance, which has already helped organize our trip. Plus we get the food offerings at the lounge - even if my kids get an extra snack or drink each day, this will be well worth it to us. Not to mention a dessert or cocktail for the adults. For my family of 5, a continental breakfast and a few drinks would cost at least $50/day.

We are planning our days to head out to the parks when they open and go back to our resort mid to late afternoon for a break and a swim. We'll have to stop by the lounge for some refreshments. Then we are planning early dinners and going back out to the parks.

Concierge will not only be more convenient and time saving, but it will provide a level of service that can add that extra bit of Disney magic on your trip.

I think booking concierge will work out great for us and hope it will for all of you who are still thinking about it.

Well said Dreamin' Disney !!

 

[GoofyJoofy]

Originally posted by Taratink
Thank you for your thoughts. I think that I will hold off concierge because I heard that they were not set up well for this service.
Tara

Tara - I am not sure what you mean that they are not set up for this service?

I have only been to Disney once, but we did concierge, partly do to some of the comments on this thread. I found them (the pre-planning and concierge staffs) to be able and willing to handle all of my requests. We even chatted about the best way to get to an early morning PS at the Castle. Things that I never thought of, they suggested. Overall a very enjoyable experience.

 

[WoodysRoundup]

I KNOW it's been Sooooo long since I last checked in. Since we last "met", lots has been going on. The best news of all is that I am no longer on bedrest!!!! The threat to the baby is not completely gone, but the problem has become less dangerous than it was before. Things are really looking up. I even celebrated with my first trip to the mall in 2 months by buying a newborn outfit for our impending arrival! I've got just 16 weeks to go! (Maybe LESS since my other two children were born before 40 wks.!) THANKS TO ALL FOR KEEPING ME IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND GOOD WISHES!

Our DS started preschool and he just loves it. He got his hearing aids 2 weeks ago and it is a battle trying to get him to keep them in. DD and DS have been sick the past week...104 degree fevers. Welcome to preschool! I remember my first year teaching. I think I used all my sick days that year!! Oh well, with lots of TLC they'll get through it....and build up some immunity in the process!

My doctor still had us cancel our trip to WDW. We were supposed to have left today. As it turns out, good thing!!! Jeanne has created yet another problem for those poor folks in FL this year. Nonetheless, I am really missing WDW. It will not be before May until we are able to go again. How will we make it?

I know I have lots more to tell. I just can't think of it all right now. I want to catch up on all that I've missed on the thread! I hope all of you are doing well. P & PD to all those in need!

Now on to planning our next adventure...thinking of 14th floor CR. Any thoughts?????

Have a wonderful week, Lizards!!!!

 

[cajunfan]

Woody....GREAT NEWS!!! I am so HAPPY for you! I will keep you and baby to be in our prayers!


I hope all in Jeanne's path are faring well.

Good nite all!

Lynn

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Tonight, something a little different in the lounge -

setting out a basket of hope, a barrel of good wishes, a big bottle of Amarula African liqueur and some raspberry truffles....


for the CMs working so hard through all these trying times.

 

[Steffy]

WOODY!!!!! :thewave:

So good to see you!!! And glad things are going okay.

And yes, CR sounds like a plan.


And CD, thanks for the great offereings. And I sure hope the CMs are okay down there in Florida. What an ordeal....


What a week. I'm off to bed.

Nitey, nite lizards.

 

[Shalida]

Ooooh, can I join in? We are headed for WDW on November 7th to the 14th - Poly GVC! Yay, can't wait! We are celebrating my mom's birthday and my son's birthday while we are there DS turns 4, can't tell you old mom is turning hehehehe.

We booked a Wishes Birthday Cruise for the 9th and I can't wait. Mom knows about it but it will be a total surprise for DS. He and his little brother were just in love with Wishes when we were there last December so I am sure the birthday cruise will be a big hit.

The only bummer is I didn't realize that Poly doesn't have high speed internet and I have to work a portion of the time we are there (another bummer in and of itself). We have been trying to see if we can get in at GF or Contemporary but no luck so far.