The New Lizard Lounge

[MKLvr]

Hi lizards I was directed here by my friend Erika (TigrLvsPooh). I am what you would consider a concierge virgin LOL Soooooo looking for some help!!!

We are going in July...the 15-22 to be exact. And what I have booked is 14th floor CR king room from 15-18 and BC WV Concierge from 18-22. Erika had some doubts about BC....can anyone give opinions on that?? We wanted to be in Epcot resort area the 2nd half of our trip and YC, BWI and BC concierge were all options. Thoughts??

 

[KerryCM]

I have stayed at all 3 Epcot resort CL. While I liked both the BC and the YC, The BWI was the best and now the only place I will stay. I did have a deluxe room in Oct and it was wondeful. The extra space was great and the view cannot be beat. The cast of the Innkeeper's Club are all fantastic and go way above and beyond for their guests. I am welcomed home every time we go now. Jackie, Robin, Scott, Laura and Ilia have become good friens of my family. If you want to see pictures of the rooms PM me and I will send them to you by e-mail.

 

[TammiMcMan]

MKLvr, first of all, I think the idea of splitting your stay between an MK resort and an Epcot resort is great. It gives you the best of both worlds. The only concierge I'm familiar with on the monorail line is the GF, so I can't help you with the CR. We recently stayed at the YC concierge though and I wouldn't opt to do it again. It was nice, I thought the rooms were great, we had excellent mousekeeping services, but we did run into one unhelpful staff member and my biggest pet peeve is the lounge. It was small, had very limited seating and closed up in between every serving and at night. One of the reasons that I like staying concierge is that I can stretch out in the lounge, read the paper, go over my Disney info while enjoying a cold drink or cup of coffee. It seemed like everytime I stopped by there, the doors were shut and they were setting up for snack time or whatever. It really wasn't even necessary and I still don't understand the logic behind it, but that's their policy. The BC is the same way and their lounge is even a bit smaller. I second Kerry and suggest you look into the BW. The bonus is that all three Epcot resorts share the same pre-planning staff and they are by far, the nicest group of ladies that I've ever had the pleasure of working with. You'll be in good hands.

Tammi

 

[MKLvr]

Thank you for the tips!!

 

[Goofy's Muse]

MKLvr... I have to agree with others who've said that the Epcot resorts IPO staff are tops! Of the 3 resorts we've only stayed at the BC and our family loved it! We had a gorgeous room with a fabulous full balcony view of Crescent Lake and the Boardwalk. KerryCM has made the BWI sound like an experience not-to-be-missed, so perhaps we'll be lucky enough to try that one too sometime...

 

[Steph H]

Hello, Lizards! Well, Deb left and the weather turned beautiful--lower 50s yesterday, upper 50s today and sunny, and tomorrow--60s! When she comes back, it will probably snow.

I don't have any advice for you, MKLvr, but I think you have a neat idea, staying at an MK resort and an Epcot resort in one trip. I see that a lot of folks like to do that--switch resorts mid-trip. Can I ask what the "draw" is to that? I mean, obviously staying at a few resorts can be fun, but one thing I like to do on vacation is immediately get there and unpack my stuff--put it all in drawers, get my shampoos, toothbrushes in the bathroom, etc. Yes, I know I'm staying at a hotel, but I try to make it feel like "home" as much as possible. I don't think I'd enjoy living out of a suitcase, or having to pack everything up so soon after I arrived. Those of you who have split your stay across resorts--why do you like it? What makes it worth the effort of packing/unpacking more than once?

Or am I just a freak who hates packing?

Setting out some chicken wings with ranch dip, as well as some lovely veggies, for lunch today. And some fresh lemonade, too!

 

[lovesdumbo]

I like to immediately get there and unpack my stuff--put it all in drawers, get my shampoos, toothbrushes in the bathroom, etc. Yes, I know I'm staying at a hotel, but I try to make it feel like "home" as much as possible. I don't think I'd enjoy living out of a suitcase, or having to pack everything up so soon after I arrived. Those of you who have split your stay across resorts--why do you like it? What makes it worth the effort of packing/unpacking more than once?

Or am I just a freak who hates packing?

Setting out some chicken wings with ranch dip, as well as some lovely veggies, for lunch today. And some fresh lemonade, too!

I'm with you! Especially now that I've got 3 small children and a husband that doesn't travel well. I could NEVER resort hop with my DH. He admits it takes him at least 3 days to get settled and feel comfortable. In fact that is way is I keep going back to the same resort with him-so he'll feel like its going home. On our last trip-his 2nd trip to the Poly in 10 months-he got lost coming back from the TTC on our last day there! And he's the one with the good sense of direction. I'm hoping he'll "settle in" quicker on this trip. If I was with a friend or just 1 child I would consider it. Disney makes it easy-they transport your bags and when you go concierge you've got the lounge so you don't have to feel homeless for a day. I'ld love to try BWI CL and AKL CL but don't think I could do a visit without the Poly so I may hop some day.

I'm so excited to be under the 200 day mark!

Thanks for lunch Steph-it will go nice with the ham and hard boiled egg I brought from home.

 

[TheIncredibles]

I've been sitting over here quietly since page 43, but I thought everyone would like to know that the Poly Concierge experience continues to be absolutely first rate (just back, 3/12 - 3/19).

A few disconcerning posts recently...no problems here...by a long shot, I might add. If your plans take you there soon, be prepared to be dazzled, as always, IMO.

 

[Tess]

Thanks for sharing your recent experience. There don't seem to be too many lukewarm reviews where the Polynesian is concerned. People tend to fall on the love it to bits or hate it to pieces side of the fence! We are the former and it would appear you feel likewise!

I'm not sure why the guest experiences vary so greatly from family to family. While I can certainly admit to some bumps in the road over the years where the CL at Polynesian is concerned--there's never been anything that turned me against our favorite resort. What I have found is when the CL is in a transition from manager to manager or new staff, things tend to be a bit lacking. Usually though that can be attributed to one or two folks who just aren't up to the level of service as their fellow CMs. We tend to deal with issues as they arise and move on. . .

Anyway. . .welcome former corner sitter and happy to hear you had a lovely time! I am SO looking forward to our next visit in 71 days!

 

[mom_rules]

Hi all! It's been awhile.
Thought I'd share a few observations about Epcot resorts Concierge (only my opinion-to each his/her own).

The IPO staff for the Epcot resorts are totally awesome-I have never dealt with a nicer, more efficient group of people. They really do go above and beyond.

My experience with the BC concierge staff however, was a little less than favorable. Although they were very polite, they did not appear to be very accomodating (I had a few issues that I am still trying to get resolved now).
The lounge is considerably smaller than BWI and YC and it appeared to not have as many offerings (plus they close it for periods of time throughout the day). We felt we were being a pain when we would ask for a drink or a snack during the time the lounge was closed.
The BWI staff is great! The lounge was always open for you to relax in and they brought out fresh offerings all the time. You never had the feeling you were imposing on them and they always took the time to chat and find out how your day (and stay) was.
Maybe it was due to being our "first", I hold a special preference to the YC CL. Their staff was great, their offerings always fresh and plentiful, all you had to do was ask and you would receive. I also prefer the rooms at the YC CL level-seemed fresher, cleaner and brighter. Although they did close to change over the offerings, the door was never locked and they welcomed you in.
As I said, to each his/her own but I vote for the YC CL.

 

[Goofy's Muse]

... I see that a lot of folks like to do that--switch resorts mid-trip. Can I ask what the "draw" is to that?...

Steph H... Though I haven't yet done it, I'm definitely drawn to the idea. Here's why... Last summer I just loved our BC location. Epcot is my favorite park anyway and the walk into and out of the World Showcase end of the park is just incredible! The ONLY drawback to that BC location in my opinion was being reliant on busses only to the MK, especially on those late night return trips. I'm thinking there must be a Murphy's Law corollary that says when you're waiting for a BC bus you will definitely see every other resort bus more than once! On our brief December trip we stayed at the GF and I must say that easy access to and from the MK was grand! I never realized just how much time we'd spent in park commuting over the summer! But... I did miss my walk into and out of World Showcase. So... in my heart of hearts, I think I would love to split my stay between the two locations and would try to take advantage of the best of each locale while I was there. I find that with our crew, we're not really the avid park hoppers anyway, as long as we know during the course of our trip, we'll be able to hit our faves at some point. If we ever did do this, I'm thinking I will pack to suit the trip, splitting our clothing in halves so I don't even have to open the part 2 suitcase until needed. Of course there are some things you need throughout the trip so those would require unpacking and repacking. On our really crazy days, DH thinks we could also squeeze in a last handful of days at the AKL, but I wouldn't do it unless I knew we were staying at least 3-4 days at each place.

Just keep in mind that this opinion is being expressed by a dreamer who hasn't even booked a summer trip yet! Sometimes things work better in the imagination than in reality!

 

[goodferry]

Stephanie, I think the draw of a split stay is partially the ability to explore the parks with the easiest transportation options. Staying on the monorail, you do the MK and Animal Park, and then staying at an Epcot resort, you do Epcot and MGM. The other nice thing about a split stay is the ability to enjoy more than one of the wonderful resort options!
We have never done this, though. Like LovesDumbo, we have young kids, and it is too hard uprooting them mid-vacation to switch resorts. I long for the day when they are old enough for this to be practical, though.
Tess, you know we love the Poly concierge too!!! We had a great experience there, and are going back in December. The kids didn't want to go anywhere else, although I am trying to talk DH into a split stay between Poly concierge and GF RPC so we can enjoy the christmas decorations. We are trying our first Epcot resort for our anniversary trip in August, we are staying at the BWI!! I am so excited, I will be able to actually ride something with DH and I will not have to push a stroller around

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi everyone

We'll be staying at the Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian resort in concierge rooms in July, and we're excited, to say the least

I am wondering if both of those concierge lounges stay open all day so we can have access to spring water, soda, etc. I've been reading that some lounges close up during the day, just wondering about these two resorts.

Thanks!

 

[TammiMcMan]

SeaSpray The WL really doesn't have what you'd consider a lounge. The food is spread out on tables that are located around the balcony. I read on a recent thread that they are supposed to be starting work on an actual lounge. You might want to check and see when it's due to open. That would be nice if it's available during your stay. WL is not called "light" but you'll notice a big difference between there and the Poly's concierge lounge.


Tess I've noticed in reading some trip reports on the cruise boards, how different some peoples perception of the same exact cruise can be. I think that if you're the type of personality that lives by the saying, "if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade", then you'll always experience a good vacation. I'm sure everyone has encountered some challenges, (even at Disney) and it's just how we handle them that will determine the outcome.

Goofy's Muse How goes the high school search? You must be approaching some deadlines. We've just finalized our summer schedule and DS will be skating 5 hours a day, from 7am-noon. Youngest DD is signed up for 4 weeks of summer enrichment. It's sort of like summer school, taught by actual teachers, but they make it alot of fun. Oldest DD still hasn't found a summer job yet. She's so focused on finals now, that it's difficult for her to think of anything else. I'm sure something will fall into place, it usually does.

GoodFerry we meet again.

Well, I had held onto a glimmer of hope that we'd be able to do a Disney trip again this year, but I've had to let it go. DS announced recently that he'd like to try ice dancing with a friend and they started taking lessons last week. Debbie that means I'll be spending even more time at the rink. Their short term goal is to skate at a competition in Lake Placid this summer. We'll have to be there for a week and it's not an inexpensive spot. Anyone familiar with that area? It looks beautiful, so we decided to bring the whole family and we'll make it into our summer vacation. Plans are still on for next summer's family reunion, but my sister is driving me crazy. We've gone from driving a camper down, to renting DVC, to the Fort Wilderness cabins and now she's looking into renting a camper and having it set up on the site at FW . DH's idea of roughing it, is to split our stay between BW concierge and GF concierge. Can't do anything though until she makes up her mind and we can verify dates. Oh family, you gotta love 'em .

Tammi

 

[goodferry]

Lake Placid is beautiful, and there is lots to do. We used to vacation there with the family, my uncle had a cabin, but it has been a while. It is an absolutely gorgeous area, and if you can't go to WDW, take those lemons and make some lemonade and sit by the lake, you will love it!

 

[SeaSpray]

SeaSpray The WL really doesn't have what you'd consider a lounge. The food is spread out on tables that are located around the balcony. I read on a recent thread that they are supposed to be starting work on an actual lounge. You might want to check and see when it's due to open. That would be nice if it's available during your stay. WL is not called "light" but you'll notice a big difference between there and the Poly's concierge lounge.


Tammi

Thanks Tammi! I guess my real question was whether or not spring water, soda, and snacks are available in between the food service hours, at either of those concierge lounges/areas. I just want to know what the drinks/snacks availability is. Thanks again

 

[Goofy's Muse]

Goofy's Muse[/B] How goes the high school search? You must be approaching some deadlines. We've just finalized our summer schedule and DS will be skating 5 hours a day, from 7am-noon. Youngest DD is signed up for 4 weeks of summer enrichment. It's sort of like summer school, taught by actual teachers, but they make it alot of fun. Oldest DD still hasn't found a summer job yet. She's so focused on finals now, that it's difficult for her to think of anything else. I'm sure something will fall into place, it usually does.

... DH's idea of roughing it, is to split our stay between BW concierge and GF concierge...

Gotta love the way your DH thinks, TammiMcMan!

Yes, things are falling in place for the Goofys. High School choice is firm, though of course, today's mail brought news of the inevitable tuituion increase. As for moving, we're still undecided though leaning heavily toward upsizing within our own town. All 3 kids love it here and even us grown-ups have our attachments. During course selection night at the HS, we connected with another family from our town and the carpooling potential looks promising. (Each of our DDs were cheerleaders on the same town squad despite being from different schools, and both are interested in going out for cheerleading next year -- could we be this lucky?) Our summer plans are also taking shape -- two kids will be in adventure camp for 6 wks; the oldest for 4 wks. School gets out on 6/22 (keeping fingers crossed for no more snow days), so we're hoping to sneak in a quick weekend at Lake George prior to the start of camp (family traditions are hard to break)! We're contemplating doing a late summer vacation of some sort with my brother's family as the kids get along famously and my brother and I could use some joint fun (settling my mom's affairs has been a drain on us both). They did join us for a brief Disney overlap last summer but he's not keen on repeating a visit during hurricane season (we were spared, but they weren't...)

On the other hand... DH was looking up airfare-to-MCO info tonight as he gets regular e-mails from Southwest on their deals. $49 flights but through mid-June only. Both Delta Song and Southwest have $79 flights in mid-August -- not bad. We prefer Delta but last summer we booked our December flight through SW instead and when they dropped the prices on our flight dates, they were willing to refund our credit card rather than providing vouchers. I do love that policy!

Room wave to all, including mom_rules who must have been posting as I was this morning...

 

[MKLvr]

Steph--actually my husband prefers not to hop But I love trying new resorts. I think if we went multiple times a year we wouldn't hop. But we go once a year typically and I'd love to try every resort...and not to mention I'm impatient. I guess for me personally, it's like two vacations in one when we get to switch!!

But....I think I'm utterly confused now. I still have CR 14th and BC Conc booked, but I'm thinking of knocking out BC and doing Poly LV...I can't get concierge I'd love to, but right now I can't. I just really had my heart set on Poly, and when I go to Disney on business in Dec I'll more than likely be at BW! Thoughts?

 

[mom_rules]

My opinion: Any time, any where in WDW is great. It all depends on your agenda. We tend to spend most of our time in MGM and Epcot-thus the multiple Epcot resort stays. If the choice is to concierge later and not go-I say go and book whatever you can afford (like the saying goes-even a rainy day in WDW is better than staying home!)

 

[steveanddonna]

SeaSpray, I can't answer your question regarding WL, but the Poly CL stays open in between food service times. Water, coffee and soda are always available, and often juice and iced tea as well. They also generally leave the cookies out and some whole fruit. They usually vacuum and clean around 11:30 AM, but you can still use the lounge or the 3rd floor library area. When we have been there they have been very generous about allowing people to linger even after desserts and cordials, when I'm sure all the CMs just want to get home.