just back from poly concierge

Did you enjoy concierge? Tell us about your trip!
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What floor were you on? Did you have a garden or lagoon view? Did you feel the longhouse was in good condition? Was concierge everything you expected? Was the food good? Was there bottled water to take to the parks? How was your housekeeping? Did your kids go to the Neverland Club, and if so how did they like it? Were there activities for the kids anywhere else on the resort grounds? Did you rent a watermouse, and if so was it a blast? Did you eat at Ohana's and Kona's, and if so how was it? Did you sit in the hammocks drinking mai tai's and watch the fireworks? Did your kids enjoy the pool? Do you feel your experience was worth the money you spent?

Hehehehe...aren't you sorry you asked if anyone had any questions? :D

My husband, myself, ds 14, ds 12 and dd 5 will be leaving for DW and the Poly concierge lagoon view on April 30. We are sooo excited, it's our first stay at the Poly!!

Thanks!! :D
 
lol @ wisconsinmousermom

I think you would make a great criminal trial prosecuter...

"Where were you on the night of.......?"


Just kidding.. but good questions coz I want to know all the answers too!

>>^..^<<
 

Wisconsinmousermom! WOW!!!!!! Guess you are really looking for some information--ha ha. This is really long but I hope it helps.

Well, I was there in Sept. and will be there again Mid-May. Maybe I can help out here. (I actually printed this so I could attempt to answer as much as I could!!)

We did garden view but long to do lagoon view (still considering upgrading on this trip). We overlooked the quiet pool and thought the view was great. We were on the 3rd floor (wanted a balcony) about half-way down the hall (don't recall the room number). It was a very short walk to the elevator or stairs and down one floor to the lounge.

We absolutely loved conceirge and that's why we are doing it again. It was awesome and magical. I call it two vacations in one. The benefits of WDW and the feel of being in an glorious island in the tropics. The hotel is so tranquil and breathtakingly beautiful. To lay on the beach and have the view of the castle and the lagoon--words cannot explain how it feels.

The room was very nice. I know lots of people ask about odors, etc. We noticed nothing at all. I found no problems at all with the room or the Hawaii Bldg. We've been at WL/AKL/POFQ and clearly this was the nicest resort though I've loved the others as well.

To give you an idea of what's offered: Breakfast--coffee, oatmeal, tea, juice, muffins, bagel, english muffins, cold cereal, fruit, small danishes, etc. A continental type breakfast. In the afternoon there were cookies, fruit, PB sandwiches, gummy worms/M&M's for the kid's. At around 4:00 (I think) they put out cheese/crackers, veggies, one hot dish (we had chicken ceasar salad one night--something different each night), and a few other things. There was wine as well during that time. In the evening, they put out a variety of desserts and after dinner cordials. All day there is bottled water, unsweetened ice tea, juice, and pop for the taking. You can take things in moderation up to your room and place in your refrigerator. I grabbed a water on the way to the park or down to the pool daily.

I think with your kids, there are activities but mine are older teenagers. I know there is a lady bug release, the lighting of the torches, and I think an arts/crafts activity daily. The watermice are awesome. To ride around the lagoon toward the other resorts and MK is great.

This is getting long--hope I'm answering your ??'s. The hammocks are great and very relaxing. The pool is wonderful. Yes, I will admit to sitting in a cabana (I think that's what you call them) and having an afternoon drink along with some nachos!! Pure Heaven is all I can say. We did order from roomservice and it was very good and large portions.

As far as money's worth--I did feel we did get that. You have to spend a considerable amount of time at the resort I feel to benefit from the conceirge service. Breakfast at the lounge was a savings each morning along with the beverages.

Hint: I see you have small kids. We did an all girls weekend when we were there. I shipped small gifts I purchased (bottle of nail polish with toe seperators, necklaces, etc.) to the conceirge staff. I had something for each day. When we left for the parks, they left one item every day for the girl's. In fact, they even wrapped them and went beyond what I expected. One day there were fresh leis on the table for the girls. They were so proud to get off the plane and show their dad's what they were wearing! It was inexpensive to do and the look on their faces each day when they got back and a little something was waiting for them.

Hope this helps.
 
You guys, are killing me! 60 more days seems like an eternity! The Poly is an awsome resort and once you go concierge it is really hard to imagine going any other way. We are going the last part of May thru the first week of June. We are waiting on those AP rates???? Right now we have a decent code but it sure would be nice to get an even better rate. We are meeting some family members and right now they are also booked concierge... they have never stayed on sight or concierge before. They keep questioning me about the extra expense of concierge. I told them that if they chose to not do the concierge they wouldn't know what they were missing. Even though the price is less expensive for regular Poly rooms, the experience of the Poly Concierge out weighs the extra cost. Most people sleep late on vacation... we were up at 6 am ( 5 am our time) just to open our drapes and look across at the castle. The concierge staff does so many things to make your trip special. (Disney does a pretty good job of this every where!) I guess the concierge lets me be queen (or princess) for a little while! Don't think we have $ to burn... it is a big deal. We save. We have yard sales. WE trade off little things to add up to a really BIG Trip. The kids save every penny they find and most family members give disney dollars for holidays. Disney is a magic place... the Poly concierge just seems to have gotten an extra dose of pixie dust
 
Originally posted by disneyfanatic60
Hint: I see you have small kids. We did an all girls weekend when we were there. I shipped small gifts I purchased (bottle of nail polish with toe seperators, necklaces, etc.) to the conceirge staff. I had something for each day. When we left for the parks, they left one item every day for the girl's. In fact, they even wrapped them and went beyond what I expected.

It was inexpensive to do and the look on their faces each day when they got back and a little something was waiting for them.


Hi there!

I just wanted to add that I did this at AKL for my 9 year old DD...

I had concierge pick up 9 safari animal beanie babies and the housekeeper placed one her bed each night at turndown...


there were giraffes, lions, tigers, a monkey, elephant etc.. from the the third night on - she was dragging me back to the room at night to see what was there! It was so much fun and only cost the amount of the beanie babies to do.

This is what her bed looked like by the end of our stay

<a href="http://www.casshew.com/images/akl/room2.jpg">Noel's Bed at AKL</a>

>>^..^<<
 
Originally posted by >>^..^<<
Hi there!

I just wanted to add that I did this at AKL for my 9 year old DD...

I had concierge pick up 9 safari animal beanie babies and the housekeeper placed one her bed each night at turndown...


there were giraffes, lions, tigers, a monkey, elephant etc.. from the the third night on - she was dragging me back to the room at night to see what was there! It was so much fun and only cost the amount of the beanie babies to do.

This is what her bed looked like by the end of our stay

<a href="http://www.casshew.com/images/akl/room2.jpg">Noel's Bed at AKL</a>

>>^..^<<

Cassie,

I'm just arranged to do the same thing for my boys at AKL concierge. Your idea was great and they were fantastic. Asked my budget, what size animals I wanted.

Thanks for the idea.
 
disneyfanatic60 what wonderful information!!! I thank you for taking the time to share all of it!! I LOVE your idea about daily small gifts for the kids...

WANNABE@WDW na na na na....only 34 days 2 hours and 12 minutes for us!! Just kidding...you and ************* have definitly added to my excitment about concierge!!! :Pinkbounc

Thanks!! :D
 
Sorry it took so long for me to reply...unfortunately work interferes with Disney! Anyway, I'll try to add something to the previous posts..here goes, especially for Wisconsinmousermom!
We arrived 3/14 for 9 nights, scheduled for a nonsmoking room on 1st floor. DH really wanted a room with a balcony, so we asked (and got) a change to the 3rd floor garden view. It is supposed to be a smoking floor, however we saw no signs of anyone smoking..and the concierge CM told us if we smelled anything in our room, they would have it recleaned while we were at the Parks. It was fine, and this was with 2 kids who can develop pretty significant wheezing around smoke! Rm. # was 3524, overlooking the quiet pool, and more than halfway down the hall...a little bit of a walk. The longhouse seemed to be in good shape, the rooms were clean, although our mattresses did have some pretty good permanent indentations which made it a bit difficult to roll out of bed! Our housekeeper didn't seem to have much creativity though, despite being tipped everyday. The first 2 days she made a cute arrangement with the kids' things, but after that it was fairly bland, which disappointed the kids. After a few days, I started sneaking into the room early and doing some creative things, since the kids were really looking forward to seeing what was done.
Was concierge everything we expected? YES! The concierge lounge is accessible from the 2nd floor (where the food is) and from the 3rd floor (where there is a quiet library area which overlooks the 2nd floor lounge area). There is a floor to ceiling glass window overlooking Bay Lake and the castle, a great place to watch fireworks and the electric water pageant if you don't feel like going out to the beach. Saw lots of little kids in pajamas watching the events! The food was as described by disneyfanatic60. We did a few character breakfasts, but the remainder of the time we ate in the lounge for breakfast. We learned from watching other guests that they had more to offer that just what was placed on the buffet...in addition to breads/danishes,cereal etc., they also had yogurts and milk out back in the frig, available just for the asking. There were little packets of PB, jelly, honey etc offered in the morning, but were available for the asking in the evening as well. The folks who work there are very accomodating, despite the fact that we witnessed an awful lot of rudeness toward them...never a please or a thank you, demands being barked at them etc. Cookies were always available. Around 4p.m. trays of Smuckers Uncrustables were put our for the kids, as well as other sandwiches...sometimes tuna or ham etc. Strictly at 5 p.m. out came the cheese/crackers, fresh cut fruit, and one hot appetizer type dish. The variety while we were there included ziti, sushi, nachos, spring rolls, pork fried rice to name a few. Several wines were put out nightly...help yourself. At about 7 p.m. trays of desserts (mini mousses, cakes etc.) were put out, along with cordials (although once again the wine was available just for the asking). Everything was cleaned up by 10p.m., although the lounge remained open with the big screen TV on. Soda and water were on ice throughout the day and into the evening. Iced tea, guava orange juice, and lemonade were available during the day only. There were always bananas, oranges and apples available.
We loved the lounge. It added another room of living space, someplace to just hang out after a long day at the parks!
As for the kids-we did not use the Neverland Club or the other kid activities. My 5yoDS has insulin dependent diabetes, which makes it very difficult to leave him in the hands of others. But on top of that, we were just too busy! And talking about that...the concierge lounge chef was very accomodating to my son's needs. They made sure wheat bread was available every day so he could have a plain PB sandwich minus jelly, and they had a special sugar free dessert for him each night! They were just great, especially Chef Dick!
The pool was great, although my kids did enjoy the quiet pool as much as the Volcane pool...sometimes the large pool got a bit too crowded and noisy. They did not use the pool slide...my DH went down it and thought it was a bit too much for young kids. There is a portion of it in complete darkness...and then you come out of it into the pool at amazing speed. Maybe when they're a bit older.
We did not eat at any of the Poly restaurants...they don't seem to offer the kid basics that the other WDW restaurants offer, and we just didn't want to chance it. We had lots of great meals throughout WDW though.
Concierge was indeed worth it for us, since we got great rates by getting my DD an AP and thereby getting an AP rate. I'm not sure it is worth it from a financial standpoint if one has to pay full rack rate or anything close. Yes, it's nice having the concierge CM downstairs...they can make dinner reservations much more easily, and have a way of getting a PS when no one else can! And it was nice being so close to the MK for transportation reasons. The monorail was a little bit of a walk up to the Ceremonial House, but handy...and the boat over to the MK was the fastest way to travel there. We felt very much a part of Disney being there...on all our previous trips we stayed at FW cabins, so this was a real treat!
If there is anything I forgot to answer, just give a holler!
 
Sounds as if you've been touched by the Polynesian magic! ;) The trip sounds fantastic and makes me long for June to arrive.

Just want to remind those staying around the first of June--the concierge building will be moving to Tahiti from its current Hawaii location. The wonderful ceiling to floor observation windows will not be part of your magical stays (or mine for that matter). :( Even so, I'm sure the service will remain as stellar as sleepydoc experienced!

Eagerly anticipating my own return. . .in 75 more days or so. :)
 
Originally posted by Tess
The wonderful ceiling to floor observation windows will not be part of your magical stays (or mine for that matter). :( Even so, I'm sure the service will remain as stellar as sleepydoc experienced!

Yes.. I have not heard how the new lounge/food offerings are going to be set up in Tahiti... any news on that yet?

>>^..^<<
 
Ok Wisconsin....

Don't rub it in. Afterall we were nice enough to give you the "inside scoop!" Especially since my "long" post made me wish I was leaving today instead of 48 days from now!!! Only kidding!!!!!!

If you have any other questions, please ask away. I hope I can answer them for you or anyone else. I look forward to hearing upon your return anything you can add that I may have missed or not known about. I believe you will have nothing but good things to report.

As far as the move when Hawaii goes down for refurbishment, I understand all the lounge furniture, etc. will be moved to a room on the second floor at Tahiti (I think that's it). The only thing that will be missing is the view. There is no window overlooking the lagoon in the temporary location.

If you like to shop (don't all us women), check out many of the nice gift shops in the hotel. They are scattered on a few floors so be sure to catch them all.

Transportation wise--we took monorail to MK and the boat back. We felt we got to experience both that way. We did walk one night to T&T and found it would have been faster to catch monorail to T&T and transfer to the bus we wanted (like DD). In fact, we found this quicker than waiting for the bus at the bus stop for the various locations. FYI.



:bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc
 
Lizzie64,

We are doing the same thing AKl for 5nights then Poly for 5nights inearly December, let me know how your trip is!!!!! I am also a Liz!! Great minds think alike!! enjoy your trip.
 
Originally posted by disneyfanatic60
Ok Wisconsin....

Don't rub it in. Afterall we were nice enough to give you the "inside scoop!" Especially since my "long" post made me wish I was leaving today instead of 48 days from now!!! Only kidding!!!!!!


Hehehehe...I am such a poop aren't I!! :p I know you are so right *************, our Poly experience, I'm sure will be a life time rememberance.

Sleepydoc....Thank you so much for your reply!! My excitement builds with every post I read!! LOL

It's really such a shame we all can't be there at the same time...what a hoot that would be!! ;)
 
Hi, SleepyDoc!

We were there with you! We were there 3/14-3/21, on the first floor.

That was a great description. You're right, the concierge staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. The lounge staff was wonderful about helping with any special requests. The concierge staff was great with everything from PS arrangements to restaurant recommendations to transportation questions, and they always seemed excited just to hear what you had done each day.

Being able to grab a quick breakfast each morning was convenient, and those cookies!!! I think I only missed dessert and cordial time twice.:p

Lots of people ask if concierge is worth the money. My answer to them would be it's not about the food- you're not going to break even financially on the snacks. You won't choose concierge based on a budget break-even analysis. It's about the convenience and personal service. If that's worth some $$ to you, then concierge is worth it.
 
Originally posted by lizmc
Lizzie64,

We are doing the same thing AKl for 5nights then Poly for 5nights inearly December, let me know how your trip is!!!!! I am also a Liz!! Great minds think alike!! enjoy your trip.

Lizmc -

I will definitely post an extensive trip report when I get back.
Can't wait. Can't believe we're this close. When we started planning this trip my timer was at 275 days.
 
Just back from Poly concierge also. We stayed on the second floor garden view. We had originally requested 1st floor w/patio. The location of the room was great. If we stay again, I'll definitely request 2nd floor to be close to the lounge.
 
My trip timer has a way to go yet. We are not leaving til mid August, and like some of you we will be splitting our stay between the AKL conc. and the Poly conc.
We plan on spending alot of time at the resorts. We were there in Feb. so we don't feel the need to "squeeze it all in". We have never stayed conc. before and are really looking forward to it! These trip reports really make me look forward til the time we'll be there!
I Love the beanie idea! Do they have any themed beanies at the Poly? Another question. The conc. will be in Tahiti when I'm there, is there any advantage to which floor your on in this bldg. I have LV rooms reserved. Just didn't know if I should request a specific floor.
I am glad to hear great reviews of the poly. We are staying at the AKL first ,and after hearing soo many great things about AKL I was begining to think we might be a little disappointed going to the poly. Glad to know we will have wonderful experiences at both!
 














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