To Concierge or Not To Concierge?

[scanne]

Although I'm a year a and a half ahead of the time I want to go, I am saving up for our next BIG trip to WDW. This trip will be in July '05 and we will be celebrating mine and DH's 5 year anniversary, baby #1's 3rd birthday and baby #2's first birthday. So needless to say, I want the trip to be special. We know we want to stay at the Polynesian in a lagoon view room, but I am going back and forth between regular lagoon view and concierge lagoon view.

Here is why I think concierge MIGHT be worth it:

1. Travelling with two little ones it will be easier if we can go to the lounge for breakfast and mid-afternoon snacks.
2. It will be nice to be pampered by being in concierge with the lounge, the food offerings and the great view from the Hawaii building.

But those are the only two reasons I can think of. I can always request a fridge and get cereal and bagels and juice and milk to keep in the room and we can get a killer lagoon view room from the Tahiti building.

So, what would you do? I am seeking advice, opinions and first hand comments. Also, what kind of money could I save if we DON'T do concierge? We are planning on getting AP's because we are going to be there for 10 nights/11 days (unless I can convince my DH to go for a complete 2 weeks!

Thanks in advance!

 

[tnkrbell]

Hi!
I think you brought up some great reasons to stay concierge!
Espcecially if you willl be gettting an AP rate! I remeber awhile back calling about rates and I think it was only like 10.00 more to stay in a standard room concierge or a non concierge lagoon view room. (dont quote me but that is what I think I remeber
If there is going to be four of you, you will get your moneys worth with breakfest alone!! and the convienece of being able to go to the the lounge for peanut butter and jelly for kids that age is wonderful!! lol
And if you and your hubby enjoy a glass of wine or beer that is also a nice plus figure a beer or glass of wine in disney is 6.00 each so if you each have two that is 24.00 right there!!!
Also the view from the concierge lounge at the Poly is really beautiful!! (yes you Poly fans heard me corrrect I said a positive thing about the Poly!! lol
Happy plannign!! Oh and make sure they know you are celebrating some special events!!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

scanne

I believe that with two small children that you will be taking afternoon breaks during your stay and many early nights. Like tnkrbell said just the option of breakfast would make concierge worth it. You have time to save so go for it. (added benefit all PS made for you)

 

[catheren]

Since you haave small children, you will definitely be using the Poly resort. It's not like you will get up and do the parks till closing. You will get your moneys worth out to concierge. You can get extra milk, juice, water, cereal and snacks each morning and bring to your room for later.

You probably will not be at the parks late at night; so you can take advantage of the conciege offerings.

Our DD's are 15 and I would not do it because we are at the parks till closing. We did get a free upgrade in April and found we used breakfast, snacks and bottled water but the dinner time and nightly desserts and coffee was not used.

Concierge is worth the extra money IF you will spend more time at your resort than the parks.

 

[Darian]

My DW and I stayed concierge (lagoon view) at the Poly this October and it was a wonderful experience, more so for my wife than for me, but very recommended in any case. Here is why:

I had just survived my 17th heart surgery in mid september, then had some complications a week later and had to be re-hospitalized to disolve some blood clots that had formed in a few spots. What do you do when you've beaten the odds again? Why you go to Walt Disney World to celebrate still being alive of course!

After that last trip to the hospital, I felt great! I felt like a 20 year old! But something happened on the flight out to Florida. (We live in southern california) Those familiar angina symptoms were all back, as was the fatigue and all that unpleasant stuff. But no problem, because we were staying concierge!

They were a godsend! They hooked me up with a wheel chair, (I was too weak to walk any distance at all) helped re-arrange our priority seatings due to my new health/stamina limitations and did a host of other things to help my poor DW out. The concierge staff were all so gracious, helpful and kind. And having the C-lounge nearby or available for mid day breaks made a tremendous difference.

In summary, staying conceirge made the difference between a spoiled vacation instead of the superb one we did have. And scanne, when you go, tell them thanks again for all their help and that Darian ain't dead yet!

Go for the concierge. Its worth every penny.

Darian

 

[Efastpitch]

I vote no, not worth the money.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

scanne,

I would strongly suggest for you to split your stay between 2 resorts. We stayed 1 night AKL Concierge and 7 nights Poly Concierge. I wish I had done 4 nights at each. After 7 nights of tropical themed food we were sick of it. I don't care to eat anymore pineapple for a long time.

Bell Services moved our luggage. My husband was very reluctant to stay at 2 resorts because of the move. It went smoothly and wasn't a hassle.

We enjoyed the food and service at the AKL better than the Polynesian.

Lori

 

[Mamu]

I have never felt concierge was worth the money, unless you get a great deal. We spend most of our time in the parks.

Now I'll disagree with myself, with 2 little ones this may be the way to go. The Poly is one of my favorite resorts and I'm sure the concierge will be a special treat for your family.

Now to show my true colors on concierge, I have never paid the extra, but am this year. Got a great deal at AKL for February. We plan on doing more lodge staying and visiting DTD more this trip. With 2 grandchildren (9 and 13) thought we would try concierge.

 

[jgates]

My opinion on this is the key words 'price difference'. If you look at the price with and without, the number of people you have and the amount of time you are using it, you should be able to determine if it is worth it.

My problem? My upgrade was free (Swan). I figure the break-even point for me paying cash involves time & food. With my DD & myself, I have a harder time justifying it - with my teenage son along it becomes a lot easier!!! (DH doesn't travel with us much but he is a bottomless pit also!)

When I first made our reservations for Nashville next week (Go Badgers!!!) I upgraded to club at Loew's - the $20 difference would be WELL worth it ($159/$179) We ended up cancelling that when the Springhill Suites came up at $69 per nite - grabbed that and ran as fast as I could!!!

Advantages?

1. I eat healthier at club level than I do in a restaurant - more fruit, etc. (less syrup, pancakes etc).
2. With smaller kids it is easier to pick out stuff they will like - a little of this, a little of that.
3. If there are 3 or 4 of you, it becomes quicker - you don't have to wait for everyone to get showered and dressed. Some of you can head for breakfast while the last one finishes up. (DS always came down last - he ate the fastest - worked great!). It's nice to save some time.
4. Save more time by not waiting for food to cook, etc.
5. Depending on the afternoon selection, it may be enough to feed your kids. Usually we had fruit, cheese, crackers, soda and then ordered a plain pizza. Ended up with a VERY reasonable meal for 3 of us.

 

[bryantslovedisney]

We just back from 4 days Poly Concierge and 4 days AKL concierge and we will probably never do anything again
BUT Concierge!!! We have 3 boys 8,12,14 and it was perfect
for us. They would head up to the lounge all times of the day
and nite to get snacks. DH and I drank wine every nite while the
kids swam and had a great time. It allowed us to do alot more relaxing than we've ever done! We like to always eat out, but
the kids aren't always happy with our choice of restaurants, so
alot of times they would eat at concierge and then tag along
with us to the wierd restaurants and everyone was happy!
We easily got our money's worth, plus so many less hassles!!!

Jill

 

[princess angel]

wow, first off....congratulations on baby #2!!! that is so fantastic, I wish you and dh all the best for your new baby!
and hope little Chase is doing great!!

unlike other posters..I do not think you should split your stay (which wasnt even a quesstion you had) but with two babies...splitting seems like a huge hassle.

since you are planning so far in advance, I say go for the gust, the lv concierge! you will definitley use the lounge for breakfast, afternoon snacks, (atleast cookies for chase!
just the convenience of the lounge is worth it in itself, if you dont actually save money by staying concierge, you'll atleast come close to breaking even, and if you lose a little money, you'll make up for it with pleasure of convenience, the luxury of the wonderful cm's to help with last minute ps's..etc.. and the fantastic location of the Hawaii longhouse!

Laura

 

[susy]

I have yet to stay concierge, but for a great rate, I definitely think it is worth it. We just got back from five nights at WL. We are used to weekend trips to WDW and in that case, concierge isn't worth it to me. If it were me- 10 nights with two little ones-it would be a necessity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Two words-relaxing and convenient come to mind. After five days at WL I go so tired of looking for food/drink. It would have been very nice to stroll over to the lounge for something. You would have the convenience of having someone to help with PS arrangements,etc. 11 days is a long time..................

 

[lovesdumbo]

I stayed last year LVC at the Poly with my DD (3 1/2) while 6 months pregnant. It was absolutely worth the money. It was a last minute trip and I was hoping concierge could get me reservations for CRT which they did. Like jgates said one of you can bring the kids to the longe while the other gets showered.

I loved it so much I'm going back in a few days with DD (now 4 1/2), DH (didn't go last year), DS (will turn 3 on trip, stayed home with Dad last year) and DD (now almost 1). Since we start the trip before DS turns 3 we don't have to buy him an admission ticket. DH isn't a big Disney nut so I'm hoping concierge at the Poly and Disney with kids will convert him. He's only been once for 3 days and had a good time but thinks he's seen it all already. I'd like to return in 2005 just before baby turns 3.

 

[scanne]

Well, as of now, I am planning on going with concierge. Just the idea of being able to relax a bit more and have some of the conveniences is very appealing. My parents will be along on the trip to help with the kids, but even so, THEY deserve the good life, too!!!

I don't want to resort hop with an almost 3 year old and 1 year old, so we will stay put at the Polynesian for the whole stay. We resort hopped in 2001 and although it was hassle free (we started at Animal Kingdom Lodge and switched to the GF after 2 nights) I'd rather be at my #1 choice the whole time. When we hopped before, I really didn't feel like my trip started until I got to the Grand.

Anyway, I am saving my $$$ and will be PRAYING for AP rates or a great code so I can get into concierge for around $300 a night. We will be buying AP's and we have frequent flier miles for me and DH, so we'll only have to buy two airline tickets (one for each baby). Also, when we took baby #1 for his first b-day, he did NOT care for some restaurants - specifically Cindy's and the Brown Derby, so we will probably stick to Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's and maybe DH and I will get a night to go to Citricos since my parents will be along to watch the kiddos. So I'm not that worried about getting PS's. (Even though I've never had a hard time getting any PS I wanted in the past).

Anyway, thanks to everyone for your input. I can't wait until Disney Baby #2 is here. And I can't wait till our big trip!!!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Something I learned here....

I had always thought that infant fares on airlines were 50% off full fare rate so I assumed I'd do better to just buy a discounted ticket for my infant but based on a tip I had read here I called the airline to see what rates I'd get if I booked over the phone. I got the same rates as available on the net ($215-a bit higher than I had hoped but the exact times I wanted) for the adults and 2 kids and not quite 50% off for the infant ($116-they don't discount taxes/fees).

So....it was absolutely worth the toll free phone call.

You'll have a blast. I'll have to post back and let you know how the birthday party for my 3 year old went at the Crystal Palace and how we did with a not quite 1 year old.

Best of luck with baby! I remember those long days of waiting for babies to come. I had lots of false labor with both #2 and #3.

My DH let me tell DD today that we are going so I guess he's not planning on backing out. I hope he can relax once we get there.

 

[rpink58]

I would vote to do conciege. We did 7 days conciege at AKL in Nov. it was great.