Just rebooked us from Poly Concierge to Poly non-concierge.. I feel relieved!

[aspalek]

This was a very difficult decision, but i'm relieved! We were booked into Poly concierge for our arrival on Sunday (5/22), and after much discussing with my husband, we decided we'd rather not take the chance of being disappointed with the whole 'concierge' thing, and just book a regular room and be able to be more appreciative of the whole resort in general.
We thought we'd like being able to relax there with a glass of wine, but if i'm going to have to worry about people rushing in to swipe all the appetizers, it's just not going to be fun.
I have tried to take all the good & bad comments about concierge with a grain of salt, and that's not the only thing that swayed us, but i just don't want to be in the mindset of thinking about whether the extra $100 day is worth it.
This way, i can spend extra money, get a babysitter for our room or have my 5 year old play in the kids club, and DH and I can go out for the evening and not worry about the concierge lounge.
I may regret it, but for our first visit to the polynesian i think it's the right thing. I really want to love it and think i may love it more in a regular room!
Just my thoughts...

Anne in Connecticut

 

[Traveliz]

Wow - I don't know - I just know that in all my trips to the Poly concierge I have never been able to get food and snacks right up to the time they are closing down - true sometimes there is a line but I have never not been able to get food drinks and snacks.

Liz

 

[Violetx3]

I did the same thing. I felt better that I could spend $100 somewhere else--and I didn't want to be disappointed.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We are Poly lover and just got back May 2nd. We have never stayed conceirge, either there or any other resort with our 3 ds. I have never regretted it. I too, save the money and go make my own magic, Dining, shopping etc. I too, wouldnt want to stress about getting our moneys worth etc. We also dont spend that much time in the room anyway.

 

[SeaSpray]

I think your relief says it all. You definitely made the right decision for you and your family. I hope you have a wonderful stay at the Polynesian resort

As for us, we are sticking with our concierge reservations. While I did consider changing to non-concierge, I only considered it for a brief moment.
My main reason for not changing is that I know my DH and DSs will enjoy the amenities at the concierge lounge, no matter what. They don't read these boards, only I do, so if something is "missing", they won't even realize it.

DH is very excited about staying first at the WL concierge, and then the Polynesian concierge, and I can't change that on him. Also, we are all very happy with the idea of being able to get up in the morning, throw on some clothes, and take that short walk down to the lounge for breakfast. There may not be the assortment or variety that was once there, but my family won't know it, and I know we'll all enjoy whatever IS there

My DH knows that I've been wanting to stay at the Polynesian concierge for a long time now and it gives him great pleasure to know that I will have this "dream" realized, in July. So again, I just can't even entertain the thought of canceling. Even if I told him something like "hey, we should cancel concierge because there have been changes to the food in the lounge" he'd think I was nuts and tell me to not change the reservations. lol

And finally, I do truly believe in my heart that we are going to have an amazing stay at BOTH resorts; the Wilderness Lodge concierge, and the Polynesian concierge. My excitement is back, and I just can't wait to be there.

P.S. Please, I hope no one misconstrues my comments. I am not trying to tell the OP or anyone else that they shouldn't change their reservations if that's what they feel they should do. I am just posting why I decided to NOT change to a regular room at the Polynesian, even after reading some negative posts. This is a personal decision for everyone, and I just wanted to list our reasons.

EDITED TO ADD:

OOPS! Almost forgot to mention that I have been using the pre-planning staff a LOT, to help me plan some surprises for DH (it'll be our anniversary while we're there), as well as make our PSs (or whatever they call them now) for restaurants and the Segway tour, and some special order type of things, and that alone is worth a lot to me

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

Miss SeaSpray,

I wholeheartdly agree with you! No review can change my ressie to non-concierge. We've done concierge once (Beach Club) and it was great. I know I got my money's worth with the amount of drinks/food we had in the lounge...and supposedly the Beach Club concierge doesn't amount to that of Poly's! I cannot wait to hit up the lounge, and not only is the lounge going to be worth it, but the concierge staff has been AMAZING with helping me set everything up for the weekend.

wheeeeeee 16 more days!

 

[johnsonet]

Anne I think you did the right thing. Especially since you've not yet stayed at the Polynesian, better to go try out the resort first and spend a lot less on your room. Your [somewhat] lowered expectations will be far exceeded, I promise you!! Next time perhaps you'll want to splurge on the concierge level (perhaps during the Value Season when it's a little more palatable). Maybe you can peek in the Hawaii building lounge from the beach side, or even ask for a peek inside. I totally understand and think the very fact that you feel such relief proves that it was the wisest move.
Enjoy the Polynesian

 

[MNmom]

Aspalek--

You can always buy a bottle of wine at the store in the lobby and enjoy it on your patio or balcony. I think that sounds like a lot more relaxing than fighting for a stick of cheese and hunting for the wine.

With that said...we are booked for Poly GVC in August. But our reasons are not for the food and wine. We are going to be using thier planning services and using the lounge for a get away from the room with three kids. They can go in there to play a board game or cards when they just need a little air conditioning time. I will have my own wine anyway...hmmmm I wonder if they will let me bring my own wine into the lounge (hadn't thought about that one yet).

Have Fun!!!

 

[epcotfan]

I have tried to take all the good & bad comments about concierge with a grain of salt, and that's not the only thing that swayed us, but i just don't want to be in the mindset of thinking about whether the extra $100 day is worth it.

I agree with you. For an extra $100 dollars a day you could have room service for the price difference. No worries about heading to the lounge to get food. Or alternatively you could stock your mini fridge with a ton of snacks and beverages of your choice with that price difference.

 

[CarolA]

The extra price is why I have never done it.. I can buy a lot of wine and cheese for $100 a day!

 

[aspalek]

I'm sure i will be missing out, but maybe it's better to keep something to look forward to! I have to remind myself that it's my first time at the Polynesian, so i don't have to do everything the first time.. thanks everyone!

Anne

 

[Tess]

Aspalek--

You can always buy a bottle of wine at the store in the lobby and enjoy it on your patio or balcony. I think that sounds like a lot more relaxing than fighting for a stick of cheese and hunting for the wine.

With that said...we are booked for Poly GVC in August. But our reasons are not for the food and wine. We are going to be using thier planning services and using the lounge for a get away from the room with three kids. They can go in there to play a board game or cards when they just need a little air conditioning time. I will have my own wine anyway...hmmmm I wonder if they will let me bring my own wine into the lounge (hadn't thought about that one yet).

Have Fun!!!

Yes, you can bring your own beverages into the lounge--not an issue--we prefer beers other than those currently offered in the lounge--it's never been a problem for us to have those in the lounge. Further, not too long ago the lounge didn't even offer beer, so we brought our own.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Anne, did you use the pre-planners assistance to book any priority seating arrangements for you? If so, you might just want to verify that Disney Dining has them all, as I think that with your cancellation, they'd all be transfered out of the concierge computer. I've never had experience with cancelling concierge after the fact, so I'm not positive what their procedures are. As your trip is right around the corner though, you might want to make sure that those dining/recreation reservations are all set.

Tammi

 

[Traveliz]

It is my understanding that the PS arrangements that concierge makes are cancelled if you change your reservation - that is a good point.

Liz

 

[J and R's mom]

Hi Anne,

Relief is the way that you know you made the right choice for you and your family.

My family and I were upgraded to GF concierge on one of our stays (not in the main building, though, it was one of the outside buildings) because the room with french doors separating the living and bedroom areas that we booked was not available. I, personally, was dissappointed with the whole experience. I would have preferred to have had the room that we booked instead of the food, drinks and lounge. (We had four adults in one room, that's why we wanted a divided room). Because I didn't book concierge, I didn't get to use the planning part until we got there, but I had already done most of the planning so that was a waste for us.

I typically wasn't around when the food was, so I didn't get to use that too much either. I'm just glad that I got to experience concierge without having to pay for it. It helped me realize that, for us anyway, it definitely wasn't worth the money.

As you can see, however, some can't vacation at WDW without concierge and some don't need it. You have to rely on your own instincts and needs and your relief says it all...at least for this trip.

Enjoy your trip...I'm jealous that you get to go so soon....

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

OP - Based on your feeling relieved, I think you definitely made the right decision for you and your family. You will have a wonderful time at the Poly! And you will be free to best spend that extra daily $100 or so on things you'll really enjoy -- think of it like "free" money (like a giftcard present)

As for us, we did stay Poly. GVC and throughly enjoyed it. Truthfully, several times during our planning phase, I did think about dropping to GV non-concierge, but my DH was firm that he wanted to really celebrate my 40th b-day with the extra pampering (I never used them for PSs or pre-trip stuff, as I really like doing that myself, and we still thought concierge was worth it for our family).

Now our problem is that we want to return and have been spoiled (yup, again DH is saying to stay Poly.concierge, and again, I'm thinking about going non-concierge).

Have a magical trip!

 

[Timmbco]

Anne- we did the same thing for our June trip. We spend alot of time in the room and always bring wine and cheese to enjoy on our balcony. Staying at the Polynesian is awesome in a garden view room!!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Relief is the way that you know you made the right choice for you and your family.

Couldn't agree more. I've tried CL at WL once on a trip with DH. Everything was great but I don't think, no, I KNOW I wouln't pay $100 a day for it. But maybe you could get a good discount on a CL room in the future.

I don't use the CL for any planning...........uhhhh, that's what I'm on HERE for..........

Next time I'm on site and get tempted at CL, I'm going to try room service instead. For instance, at the Poly..............

Morning: 2 continental breakfasts with baskets of pastries, juice and coffee........around $33 with everything

Afternoon: Sampler Platter with spring rolls, spicy chicken wings, bbq pork ribs........around $25 with everything

At night: Bottle of wine ........around $30

$88 and I don't have to even leave the room........

 

[MAKMOM41]

If I could get Conceirge for only a $100.00 a day more... I would do it. I priced WL & BWI & it was a lot more that... I'm pricing with an AP.

The Breakfast in the morning is so convient x that by 4 or 5. The evening offerings were always wonderful much more than cheese. They are all the appitizers from the resturants. The wines are very good. DH & I priced them in the resturants they were $40 ish a bottle. HAs things really changed that much in 3 years?