WL Deluxe Room or Concierge?

[DJmommy]

Having a bit of a problem with DH. We are already booked at Poly for the week after Thanksgiving which I am absolutely thrilled about. However after we watched the new Disney Planning DVD my DH saw the WL and fell in love with the decor, especially since we have visited Yosemite and Yellowstone (but both times we were tent camping). We always talked about going back and staying at these lodges for a special trip. Anyhoo this is a big dilemma. I showed him pictures online of the rooms and he would love to stay in the deluxe room, primarily for being able to put the kids into bed at night and still be able to relax in the sitting area, read, watch TV or share some time together apart from the kids.

I however think that if we are going to be paying that much money ($400 rack rate) we could get AAA if available) that maybe we should just get a regular room and do the concierge. With our kids, 6 and 2, we would probably get a good deal of use out of it. We plan on coming back to the room each day for naps and some down time. Tell me what kinds of offerings they have for breakfast and lunches and evenings and whether it is worth the money. Can you bring back food to your room or does it have to be eaten in the concierge lounge?

Also we will be going to the MK at least 4 of the 7 days and was wondering how good the boat transportation is to the MK? and how long are the bus rides to the other parks?

So, Deluxe room or Standard Room with Concierge?

Thank you guys for all your advice in the past!

Jackie

 

[WANNABE@WDW]

First let me say, I love the Poly! But my husband finally decided to come with us for the first time this past week and I wanted him to be wowed by the resort. I knew he would love the WL theme. I debated like you about the seperate rooms, I actually kept changing my reservations. I booked the deluxe room and then changed it to a 1 bedroom villa. I am so glad I did! My husband loved the full kithchen and the seperate whirlpool tub. My dd's 9 & 4 slept on the queen pull out and loved it. Our king bed in the master bedroom was very comfy! The best part of all was the washer and dryer! I never thought I would do laundry on vacation, but it was great. I could wash sweaters and jackets. The girls "new" shirts we bought could be washed so they could wear them again (so what if they are wearing the same shirts in all the pictures!). When we first booked the rooms only the AAA rates were available, but eventually they released AP rates. I think we paid around $300 for the 1 bedroom villa. Now I have to decided which villa to book for our December trip, I know how beautiful the WL is at Christmas time! Ps, everyone in our Grand Gathering really wished they had booked in the villas as well. The room size makes a big difference when you have four in a regular room.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

We have stayed at the WL several times and it is our absolute favorite resort. This last trip we tried concierge and were very pleased. The morning offerings included assorted pastries, juice, coffee, cereal, fruit, etc... During the afternoon they had pb&j, pretzels, goldfish, cookies, gummi worms, soda, water, milk. For the evening offerings they always had two different "hot" items (beef stroganoff, chili, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, etc.), a veggie tray, cheese, crackers, pb&j, etc. And then during the late evening you could get cookies, brownies, cakes, beer, wine, and other cordials. I am sure that I am forgetting things. The CM's were great and got us anything that we needed. We utilized the lounge for every breakfast and on 4 out of our 6 nights, actually used the lounge as dinner. We had really big lunches in the parks and my boys weren't that hungry. I figure we would have spent about $550 in food if we had been eating breakfast at Roaring Forks and then dinner at a sit down restaurant. It was very convienent.

Now, on the other hand, I can certainly see the allure of the deluxe room. The WL rooms are not very big and I would have been nice to have a little extra space. Have you considered getting the deluxe rooms and then having the concierge added? I have no idea how much that would cost, but I know that they can do it.

We never had any transportation issues at the WL. The boat was always on time and my boys loved the ride over. I believe it is about a 10 minute ride. You can always take the Contemporary boat and then walk to the MK. We did this coming home several times.

I hope this helps. Best of luck. I don't think you will be dissapointed at WL.

 

[DJmommy]

Thank you for your responses. I never looked into the villas but will do so. I wasn't planning on buying an AP, but would consider it if room discounts became available. At these prices I could probably recoup the difference in cost in about half the week.

Regarding the concierge, I wasn't aware that they served any hot offerings, that sounds great. I'm not sure if we could make meals of it but I wouldn't mind giving it a try.

Regarding the milk and the pb&j's. Are you allowed to fill up a sippy cup and take it back to the room for later and how about taking the pb&j's with you for the park the next day? If they allow you to do that it would save me a lot in lunches since that is what my kids would eat for lunch every day if I allowed it. We would still probably do a sitdown meal for dinner each day but if breakfast and lunch were taken care of that would be a savings for us.

Do you remember the times of the offerings for the lunch and evening?

Thanks again.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

You can absolutely fill up sippy cups! They also had juice boxes, which were really handy. In a few mornings, my DH would go to the lounge and bring our breakfast back to the room if we weren't ready yet. It is very handy. The pb&j sandwiches are the "uncrustables". We never tried to take them out of the resort, so I don't know how well they would hold up, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't grab a couple on your way out of the elevator. I don't think I would be comfortable standing at the table filling up gallon size ziplocs, though . When we would leave for the parks, my boys would often run over and grab a couple of cookies or a juice. The CMs were very helpful. I am not sure of the exact times, you can probably find it on the WL FAQ thread or the Concierge FAQ thread. I believe coffee started at 6:30 with most of the morning offerings out by 7:00. Mid-day stuff probably at 11:00. Twilight food started at 5:00? And then evening cordials and dessert started at 8:00. Of course, these are all estimates.

Have a great time deciding. I think you will be happy no matter what. Although, be forewarned, my DH is now addicted to concierge. He spoiled

 

[DJmommy]

Thank you for all the tips. Decisions, decisions, decisions! It all sounds great.

Jackie