Help me decide on which concierge???

[Candice30]

I was supposed to be going solo to Universal for Thanksgiving but decided to live a life long dream of going to Disney at Xmas time. I am planning on going for 4 nights around the second weekend in December. As always, my solo trip is no longer solo and I will be taking my mom with me. She has only been to Disney once and has never stayed onsite. I wanted her to get the full Disney experience and am planning on suprising her with concierge.

I need help in deciding which one to go with as the pickings are getting slim. She has only spent a few hours at Epcot and plan on spending most of our time there so I was considering YC, BC, or BWI. However, she has also never been to Animal Kingdom so I would just love to surprise her with the sunrise safari and stay concierge at AKL. I keep going back and forth. Unfortunately, my first choice (GF) is not available for my dates and I need to grab airfare soon! I wasn't planning on staying at AKL because I have been there before and was looking forward to trying out a new hotel. Any suggestions on how else to decide???

 

[Laurajean1014]

My favorite "themed" WDW resort is AKL. You cannot beat the food, ambiance, and of course the animals. We are going to AKL Concierge's in December and are taking advantage of the Sunrise Safari (surprise to my 9.5 yo).

Although I like BC/YC and BW (will be in BW for 10 days in April), I do prefer AKL over all three.

Have a great time deciding.

 

[Minnie824]

I say go for Yacht Club. We love that area...you can walk to Epcot for dinner, walk to MGM, walk to the Boardwalk for dessert. Its a great area, and the hotel was wonderful.

 

[disneyholic family]

the AKL's concierge lounge is very nice......big with a very good selection of food....and the sunrise safari is very enjoyable.....

i've stayed at all the concierges and probably AKL is my third favorite (GF RPC concierge being number one, followed by WL, more for the concierge staff and hotel than the concierge lounge itself)...

 

[MermaidsMom]

We were there a few years ago and I thought it would be nice to be there in the winter because they had a large bon fire every night. If they still do that, December nights would be great!

 

[goodferry]

I have only stayed at the Polynesian and BWI concierge, but I would definitely go with BWI. The pre-planning staff is INCREDIBLE and the staff in the lounge at the resort is too. The food comes from the different restaurants and is teriffic. The lounge is beautiful and the concierge rooms are well located, not in the outer reaches of the resort. The decorations at Christmas at the BWI are beautiful and the location of the resort itself is perfect. Can you tell we loved it there?

I was a little nervous when I booked it for an anniversary trip for DH and I because he and the kids loved the Polynesian, but I wanted something different and I went on the reccomendations that the BWI had the best lounge and staff on property, and they did not let us down.


We were able to do the new tour in the Animal Kingdom, the Wildlife Discovery Excursion, which is open to all concierge guests at any resort. It doesn't include a meal, but it does include a private tour in a different safari vehicle. They have a 9 and a 1 pm tour, I would definitely suggest the 9 am tour.

 

[Candice30]

oh...what to do?......what to do? i had an amazing time at AKL so part of me says trust that and do concierge there but my mom can't walk around a lot very well and being closer to her favorite park (epcot) would help out in travel a lot. this fight in my head is going back and forth!

 

[thedisneymom]

I vote AKL concierge for the best-Epcot is only a bus away.

 

[Jpgirl]

Go with BWI concierge-just got back 2 weeks ago and it was amazing!! You can walk or boat ride to Epcot and MGM. We will stay there again especially since we don't like the buses. Our experience (this is our 5th trip) with the bus system is that we always wait and wait and can be very crowded depending on time of day. I'd love to stay AKL or WL but don't b/c of the bus-we'd rather walk and get there on our own time. Good luck-concierge will be nice no matter what

 

[Viki]

I can't wait for our AKL concierge experience (1 night in Dec, 8 nights in August), but from what you write and what I've read I'd vote for BWI - great concierge, great IPO team, great view from the lounge, and great access to Epcot.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

oh...what to do?......what to do? i had an amazing time at AKL so part of me says trust that and do concierge there but my mom can't walk around a lot very well and being closer to her favorite park (epcot) would help out in travel a lot. this fight in my head is going back and forth!

A Huge vote for Boardwalk Inn's concierge... if you're spending time at Epcot, there's nothing like the convenience of being right next door. Plus, the lounge at the BWI is quite big and has a view of Illuminations through the window. The staff is fantastic, and the rooms are large and decorated just beautifully.

In my opinion, BWI has the best concierge service of the Epcot resorts just because the lounge is so big and has that great view, plus the theming of the resort itself is very elegant and fun (usually mutually exclusive, but not in this case! )

I have also tried the concierge at AKL and was disappointed, to be honest. While I love the resort, I wouldn't want to stay there the whole visit (we switch resorts after a few days at AKL, typically) because I feel too removed from the activities around the Epcot and MK areas if we don't switch (usually the second half of our trip we spend at BWI or GF). The concierge staff at AKL didn't pick up on the little details the way that other concierge staff has at other WDW resorts we've tried--it could have been a one time thing, and I'm sure we'll try it again, but since your mother loves Epcot and BWI has a really great concierge staff and lounge, it seems like a given that BWI's concierge would be the best. It's one of the best concierge experiences on property as it is.

 

[Tikiman]

The Polynesian concierge is considered the best by many (including many CMs that work concierge) and it will be opening back up soon completely redone (rooms, lounge and concierge desk). The rooms are larger than most resorts and it will have all new amenities. Also getting over to Epcot is very fast and most of that trip is riding the monorail and not walking. To get to the center of Epcot from the Polynesian room is just as fast as walking from the Yacht Club room (yes I have video I shot and took the time off the footage).

Just another option.

 

[disneydawn6]

I've stayed in these concierge and this is my vote
1. Polynesian different food each night of week. Can be dinner really, Ribs on Thrusdays Yum!!
2. wilderness Lodge Friendly service ,great food
3.Beach Club and
4. Yatch Club These are in different rooms but seemed the same...
5.Grand Floridian Suger Loaf Wasn't impressed. No drinks not friendly at all
6. Contempory 14 floor. Staff down right rude will never stay here again.

In 3 weeks we go back for 3 nights each at AKL concierge BWI concierge and Grand Floridian main house R?? We'll see how my opinion changes..

 

[TwingleMum]

I have stayed concierge at both Poly, Contemp and AKL. Although I really enjoy LVC at the Poly and have stayed there many times I must say the concierge at AKL is superior. The offering are a notch above Poly and the set up I think is nicer. Also the concierge staff is right there at the lounge. At the Poly the concierge staff is on the 1st fl and the lounge on 2nd. The advantage the Poly has of the other concierge lounges is being on the monorail. I would analyze which park I would be spending the most time at and then pick the resort that offers the best transportation to that park.
DId you check resort availabilty?? I thought for the time your talking about there was very little availablity.
PS Did you look into the Christmas party?? Its awesome.

 

[Candice30]

yes i am definitely planning on the christmas party. i have wanted to go for years and can't wait. as for availability....GF and WL are both booked for the weekend I want to go. BWI, YC, BC, and AKL all have concierge rooms left. I never checked into POLY.

 

[Candice30]

i played around with my travel dates and i may be able to get GF concierge. i wanted to go over a long weekend but they only have rooms during the middle of the week. the dates that work best for me are for sugar loaf and the dates that are smack in the middle of the week are for the main bldg which is what i think my mom would like best.

has anyone stayed in both and can tell their preference and why???

 

[Ladyhawke10]

Grand Floridian's concierge should be incredible! In the main building, you are over the orchestra which is a nice added touch (plus many prefer being in the main building rather than in an outlying building). Recently, they upgraded Sugar Loaf with the same level of food offerings at the main building. I've never stayed in the main building but all of our stays in the outer buildings have been fantastic. It's my favorite WDW resort!

Have a great trip! Sounds wonderful!

 

[AlexandNessa]

We stayed at GF RPC concierge, and actually disliked it.

They could not keep our reservations straight for the life of them (despite our correcting them several times), they messed up our PSs (and acted "put out" when we notified them of their errors), they would not handle a simple request (I was bounced from person to person to person to handle something very simple), and they were cold, stuffy, and unfriendly while we were there. Others have had different experiences, which I think is the problem with GF RPC -- they are terribly inconsistent. We won't be going back. Not at that expense for the very little service we got.

Our next stay is booked at the BWI (concierge). In fact, even our travel mates who are GF RPC snobs have decided to forego RPC to try a garden suite at BWI after our last stay together. If you do book RPC, I wish you much better luck and a more enjoyable experience than we had there.

 

[gilld]

We have just returned from a stay at GF in RPC and let me tell you it was fantastic! The staff couldn't have been more helpful or friendly and got us dinner reservations that we had been unable to get ourselves, the food offerings were great and the Californian Champagne was very nice each evening. The desserts were to die for! I would definitely highly recommend it.

 

[disneyholic family]

I've stayed in these concierge and this is my vote
1. Polynesian different food each night of week. Can be dinner really, Ribs on Thrusdays Yum!!
2. wilderness Lodge Friendly service ,great food
3.Beach Club and
4. Yatch Club These are in different rooms but seemed the same...
5.Grand Floridian Suger Loaf Wasn't impressed. No drinks not friendly at all
6. Contempory 14 floor. Staff down right rude will never stay here again.

In 3 weeks we go back for 3 nights each at AKL concierge BWI concierge and Grand Floridian main house R?? We'll see how my opinion changes..

i agree with you on the 14th floor concierge at the contemporary.....terribly terribly disappointing...the worst concierge staff on property...
as for the GF, i haven't stayed at sugar loaf for a few years, but the royal palm club concierge staff was wonderful.....