Is it worth it for concierge at GCH?

[sasha]

Hi All! I'm trying to decide if I want to spend the extra money to upgrade to concierge at GCH. We're only staying 1 night for my daughter's 12th birthday. There are 5 of us going (2 adults & 3 children), and they said it would be an extra $148 to upgrade to concierge. We've never done concierge at GCH, but we usually do concierge at the DLH, and we've done it once at PP. I like the fact that GCH has an afternoon tea service in concierge, but is it really worth the price? Also, was disappointed to find out that the $148 is for standard view concierge, much more for premium view. At DLH & PP they automatically give us a view when we upgrade to concierge.

Plus, we're going to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner, so thinking it may be too much. Thoughts?

TIA...

 

[thatgrljme]

For just one night and with a character dinner I don't think you'd get your monies worth. I'd save that $148 and spend it in the parks.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It sounds like you already have an idea of what concierge has to offer. My crew sometimes catches the very end of the tea service, I do enjoy the scones & their topping sauce (I can't remember the word for it...). Is it worth it for the upgrade, especially as you have no view? I cannot answer that for you but I can offer a couple guiding questions. (For what it's worth no view never bothered us, if we're in the room we're sleeping not looking outside.) Will you utilize the breakfast? Will you be around during the afternoon for tea? As to the appetizers: how early is your Goofy reservation? If you're looking at a later dinner the apps may actually be nice and you can take advantage of the wine/beer offerings, if you have an early res the apps are obviously out. Will your family partake in the dessert offerings? Note, if you're there on a firework night they pipe the music out onto the small club patio for the show but you can only see the top portion of the show as the downtown Disney GCH rooms block the rest of the show. View wise from the lounge I recall seeing the top of Splash Mountain but I don't remember if you can see anything else.

If I was making your call it would come down to how much time will I be in the parks vs at the hotel? If I'm missing tea, appetizers & desserts because of being in the parks it is not worth it for breakfast alone. Coming from a crew of 5 I do love the convenience of the club when we splurge but if I could only use it for just one of the daily offerings I would not spend the money.

 

[DizMe]

I know this probably isn't what you would do, but I would skip Goofy's and go with concierge! I wouldn't worry about the view. I've done both regular and view concierge and it's not a big deal.

I don't know your plans, but you can get a lot of mileage out of a night of concierge. Arrive in the morning and even though you probably won't be able to get into your room, you'll be granted lounge privileges. That means you can take everyone in and get breakfast and snacks/beverages. You can come back throughout the day for the goodies they have (my girls adore the chocolate-covered strawberries) and there is quite a nice assortment of things, including hot appetizers in the evening, to make a full dinner somewhere else unnecessary. You and your dh can enjoy beer, wine, or liqueurs all evening and there is a dessert bar as well.

Then you will be able to take everyone into the lounge the next morning for breakfast. We fix ourselves sandwiches with cold cuts, cheese and bagels for later in the parks. We also take some fruit. They also always let us fix up bags of snacks to take with us when we check out.

So, that $148 can get you 2 breakfasts, unlimited snacks, beverages, a couple of lunches if you want to fix them or go back to the lounge, the tea (which has lovely scones and cream), hot appetizers, and dessert as well as adult beverages. For a family of 5 (that's us, too) it's a nice deal! My girls loved having their "own" lounge and the CMs quickly learned that they liked cocoa with lots of whipped cream

Now, the thing is that some people never go back to the hotel and prefer to spend all their time in the parks. Obviously concierge would be pretty useless in that case. We like to go back and forth so it works nicely for us.

 

[whoever]

but is it really worth the price? .

With 5 adults eating each meal in the concierge lounge, it COULD be worth the price from a pure cost of food/drink perspective. With kids, it CERTAINLY won't be not to mention the opportunity cost you are giving up. I can't believe they actually get people to buy it in fact.

 

[DLandgirlie]

I had m 16th at GCH with concierge for one day! One of the most magical bdays for me It was 5 of us girls and 4 adults. We had 2 rooms (parkview) and it was a blast to be able to take a break from the park and unwind/refuel in the lounge. I would say we got our fair share of it. Now, as an adult in my 20's I look back and think gosh that was a lot of money for 1 night lol but I will always remember the whole experience and the perk of concierge to a tween/ teen is always cool, ya know?
We had an offer to extend our stay and we did but without concierge and it was just as enjoyable. I do think the options are better now, compared to when we went, but again, I remember me and my friends talking about how cool it was to have an exclusive lounge, VIP style lol
It's an experience, but since you're used to staying concierge at DLH I don't know if it would be worth it. If I had the extra $$ I would splurge so I could try out the tea service (I don't remember that, when we were there).

Also, we weren't worried about missing park time, 1, cause we're all locals 2, we went during off season (Jan.) So all the rides/show we wanted to experience were available. Not sure if off season exists anymore though lol

 

[sasha]

Thanks so much for all of the informative & detailed responses! I really appreciate the opinions. I should've added a few details to my original post. We're locals and go to the parks at least 1-3 times per month, and we stay at the hotels about 2-3 times per year, but it's usually the DLH and we almost always upgrade to concierge there. We always make sure to get our money's worth. We go early in the morning and spend the entire first day at the hotel, and utilize all of the benefits concierge has to offer, then the next day we go to the park after breakfast, and take waters & Uncrustables with us. We know how to maximize our money there . However, it's usually $100 to upgrade at DLH, but $150 at GCH. I had heard that the concierge at DLH was much better, so I'm really trying to figure out if the extra money is worth it for no view. I should add that we got our room at a substantial discount, so we're basically paying the same price for concierge that we paid for our room. We're going with family, so there will be 10 of us total.

I'm now really reconsidering Goofy's Kitchen, but we're getting that at half off, so I'd hate to pass it up. Plus I made the reservations at a time that we won't miss out on appetizers or dessert if we do concierge. But we may be too full to enjoy it.

Hope that all makes sense....

 

[Lizzards]

I prefer DLH concierge to GCH. I have been in both and I love DLH a lot more. It is so nice to watch the fireworks up there. Plus I feel the club is more relaxing and comfortable than the one at GCH. But that is totally my opinion. We just stayed in November at GCH with concierge for my birthday and I wished I had chose DLH. It is a completely different feel at GCH than DLH. My family is the same as you. We go to the parks three times a month and stay on property 2 - 3 times per year. Have fun no matter what! PS the scones at GCH are yummy!

 

[DizMe]

That's funny, Lizzards, because my family much prefers the GCH concierge lounge. I like both but think the food offerings are much better at GCH. We didn't see much at DLH besides chips at the 'lunch' buffet. Now, the chips were soooo good I still think about them a year later, but I missed the little sandwiches and the scones and cookies at GCH. Plus...my girls were HUGELY disappointed that DLH didn't have the chocolate covered strawberries. I did like the big espresso machine, though! GCH doesn't have one of those!

OP, it sounds like you already know all the info so I guess it's just a matter of deciding! Isn't that a nice difficulty to have!! I wish I could get cheap rooms and character meals

 

[Nonsuch]

...Also, was disappointed to find out that the $148 is for standard view concierge, much more for premium view. At DLH & PP they automatically give us a view when we upgrade to concierge.

Staying only 1 night, you more likely to receive a view upgrade
GCH concierge has a dedicated check in (and guest services) just outside the lounge on the 6th floor.

 

[Nonsuch]

I prefer DLH concierge to GCH. I have been in both and I love DLH a lot more...

That's funny, Lizzards, because my family much prefers the GCH concierge lounge.

I'll break the tie, and vote for GCH

...I did like the big espresso machine, though! GCH doesn't have one of those!

GCH and DLH have the same commercial Nespresso machines.
The GCH machine was missing during a visit last year, but has returned.

 

[DizMe]

I'll break the tie, and vote for GCH


GCH and DLH have the same commercial Nespresso machines.
The GCH machine was missing during a visit last year, but has returned.

Ah! Good to know! Thank you

 

[sasha]

Thanks again, everyone! We decided to go ahead and upgrade since we've never done concierge at GCH before. Truthfully, the tea service & chocolate covered strawberries won me over . We're fully expecting to get our money's worth! Plus, I just cancelled Goofy's Kitchen. We opted for Blue Bayou the next day instead.

 

[DizMe]

Thanks again, everyone! We decided to go ahead and upgrade since we've never done concierge at GCH before. Truthfully, the tea service & chocolate covered strawberries won me over . We're fully expecting to get our money's worth! Plus, I just cancelled Goofy's Kitchen. We opted for Blue Bayou the next day instead.

Nice!! I hope you have a great time. We love Blue Bayou, too! The CM in the lounge at GCH let my girls take a ziploc bag (we had some bags ) full of the chocolate covered strawberries. They ate them all the way home

 

[sasha]

The CM in the lounge at GCH let my girls take a ziploc bag (we had some bags ) full of the chocolate covered strawberries. They ate them all the way home

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Malcon10t]

I'll break the tie, and vote for GCH


GCH and DLH have the same commercial Nespresso machines.
The GCH machine was missing during a visit last year, but has returned.

I'll push it back to a tie... Our family prefers the DLH concierge.

 

[amie2554]

When is your trip?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thanks again, everyone! We decided to go ahead and upgrade since we've never done concierge at GCH before. Truthfully, the tea service & chocolate covered strawberries won me over . We're fully expecting to get our money's worth! Plus, I just cancelled Goofy's Kitchen. We opted for Blue Bayou the next day instead.

Love it! That sounds like a perfect couple days at the House of Mouse. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[gottalovepluto]

In the spirit of this thread, I'm wondering about DLH CL (I've only stayed GCH CL due to park proximity when we splurged for CL). I know champagne is available upon request at GCH during appetizers, is it available at DLH? What is the really appealing thing about DLH CL? Firework viewing maybe? I ask as I was honestly surprised at how close the GCH CL v. DLH CL preference tally has been.