AKL concierge level--any comments?

[loveyloo2]

Hi all,

I went ahead and booked my family in a standard concierge room at AKL for our stay in June...I went with concierge mostly for the access to cont. b'fst and snacks throughout the day for my 3.5 & 1.5 year olds. I'm wondering if anyone has any comments or experiences with this package..mostly is it worth the extra $$?

Thanks!!

:lookaroun

 

[loveyloo2]

p.s...

Also, if anyone has any tips on rooms to request or AVOID would be great!!!

Thanks bunches!!

 

[ConstanceIrene]

We stayed at AKL last summer for just three nights at the concierge level before spending the rest of our trip at the Boardwalk. I've posted about how much we enjoyed AKL concierge many times, but I'm happy to tell you again.
I loved it!!!

I think the standard rooms are on the 6th floor (I could be wrong) so you'll just have to walk down the hall that overlooks the lobby to get to the Kilimangaro Club. We had a deluxe room, so we were on the 5th floor.

The breakfasts are great, the afternoon snacks are great, the cocktail hour offerings with appetizers are fabulous and the desserts are, well, great! While you enjoy an evening wine or beer with appetizers, the kids can sit in front of a Disney movie and nosh.

As DVC members, we didn't lay out cash in the traditional manner. We used points to book our stay and it was pricey in that respect, but so worth it that we're doing it again this summer.

Do not, repeat, do not book the dining plan when staying at concierge level because you'll either waste dining credits or not fully enjoy the offerings at AKL. On our check in day, we spoiled our appetite and didn't really enjoy Boma as much as we should've. After that, we had a nice lunch in the parks and came back to the Kilimangaro club to "pick" in the evenings. There's enough to do and see at this resort that you'll want to come back "home" each day so as not to miss story telling or night vision goggles, etc...

If your children like chicken strips, they'll be in love with this place. There have actually been posts on this board dedicated to how good the chicken strips are at AKL.

I hope this confirms that you've picked a good resort with a terrific concierge. Enjoy!

 

[jrobb]

Did you feel that the concierge was more worth the money than the dining plan? When we travel in December 07 our children will be 3 1/2 and 1 (each). They too will probably benefit from the continuous food on the concierge, but we plan on spending a lot of time at the parks and maybe checking out some of the other resorts too... would it still be beneficial to have a dining package or not? We will also be traveling with a 13 year old.

The extra cost to upgrade to concierge in addition to paying for the sunrise/sunset safaris seems awfully high in comparison to the few things that we will gain.

As of now we are booked concierge and were just wondering if we should hold on to that reservation or consider downgrading and saving a few bucks that we can allocate to other parts of out trip.

Also, has anyone done the sunrise or sunset safaris? are they worth the $55 a piece? they sound really really nice, but when i weigh the costs, i really think that the safaris should have already come included in the cost of the concierge.

 

[ConstanceIrene]

If you're planning on spending much of your time away from the resort and in the parks, concierge will probably be a waste.
For the three days that we spend at AKL, we come back to the resort early to enjoy it as a vacation in itself. We're also not park openers or closers. Once we leave AKL and continue our vacation at the Boardwalk, we use the dining plan, which is fabulous and well worth the money.

I looked into the sunrise safari last year, even asking in a thread for reviews from those who done it before. Although I read totally positive things about the sunrise safari, we opted not to do it. With two teenagers, we're four adults, which can get pricey. You'll be 3 adults and a child so it will add up. I couldn't see it as anything more than a Kilamangaro safari with a breakfast thrown in that starts way earlier than I like.

If you're not going to do the safari and won't be at the resort very much, just book a savannah view room. You can purchase whatever you need for breakfast, snacks, or supper at Mara. I hear it's wonderful! You can still have your morning coffee on your terrace and watch the animals in the morning.

 

[jrobb]

thanks for the information. that is kind of what we were thinking, but wanted to find out from those 'in the know' first.

 

[palmage]

I think the standard rooms are on the 6th floor (I could be wrong) so you'll just have to walk down the hall that overlooks the lobby to get to the Kilimangaro Club. We had a deluxe room, so we were on the 5th floor.

Standards are on the 4th floor and are smaller than deluxe rooms.
They're taking deluxe rooms for those vacation club people.

So you'll have a room on the 4th and the club is on the 6th.
We've stayed Concierge at AKL several times and loved it.

We'll be there on Thursday Deluxe Concierge 6th Floor Pool View (our fav) !!!

 

[Vernonpush]

Did you feel that the concierge was more worth the money than the dining plan? When we travel in December 07 our children will be 3 1/2 and 1 (each). They too will probably benefit from the continuous food on the concierge, but we plan on spending a lot of time at the parks and maybe checking out some of the other resorts too... would it still be beneficial to have a dining package or not? We will also be traveling with a 13 year old.

The extra cost to upgrade to concierge in addition to paying for the sunrise/sunset safaris seems awfully high in comparison to the few things that we will gain.

As of now we are booked concierge and were just wondering if we should hold on to that reservation or consider downgrading and saving a few bucks that we can allocate to other parts of out trip.

Also, has anyone done the sunrise or sunset safaris? are they worth the $55 a piece? they sound really really nice, but when i weigh the costs, i really think that the safaris should have already come included in the cost of the concierge.

When we stayed at AKL we got a Standard room (non-concierge) for our first two nights there, then moved up to concierge the night before the sunrise safari. Saved alot of money that way. The sunrise safari was great. We entered the Animal Kingdom through the "backstage" entrance and traveled through the area where the "barns" for the animals are located. We walked to the K. Safari area and boarded a ride vehicle. There was a cast member guide who talked about the animals and answered questions who sat next to the driver. Our CM Guide was one of the original team who obtained animals for the park before it opened. We were able to stop alot during our tour and watch the animals as they were eating their breakfasts. We were able to take tons of photos. It was the only time I've seen the lions actually moving, lol. It finished with a great buffet at Tusker House with our Guide dining with us to answer any other question we had. We were also given Fastpasses to see the ride in the usual way (which we gave to strangers we passed, since we'd already been on the ride numerous times before). It was more informational that just the normal Safari ride, and I highly reccomend it.

 

[ConstanceIrene]

Standards are on the 4th floor and are smaller than deluxe rooms.
They're taking deluxe rooms for those vacation club people.

So you'll have a room on the 4th and the club is on the 6th.
We've stayed Concierge at AKL several times and loved it.

We'll be there on Thursday Deluxe Concierge 6th Floor Pool View (our fav) !!!

Oh, so the sixth floor rooms are pool view. That sounds nice.

Deluxe rooms are being converted to DVC rooms for "those vacation club people"? That sounded funny, like they're from Mars or something.

 

[palmage]

Oh, so the sixth floor rooms are pool view. That sounds nice.

Deluxe rooms are being converted to DVC rooms for "those vacation club people"? That sounded funny, like they're from Mars or something.

You know "those people"

There are some 6th floor savannah views but it's one of the small side savannahs.

There are plenty of places to see animals, but I like looking at the wildlife at the pool.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Hi all,

I went ahead and booked my family in a standard concierge room at AKL for our stay in June...I went with concierge mostly for the access to cont. b'fst and snacks throughout the day for my 3.5 & 1.5 year olds. I'm wondering if anyone has any comments or experiences with this package..mostly is it worth the extra $$?

Thanks!!

:lookaroun

If you're doing it mainly for the snacks, I would have to say your making a mistake. Even the downgraded AKL rooms have refrigerators, so you could just as easily keep snacks in your room that would satisfy the little ones. Now if your 1.5 year old still likes warm bottles you'll be out of luck in the downgraded rooms as far as a microwave goes, but with the savings you could just as easily buy a cheap microwave from the local walmart and still have change left over.

I guess I'm saying if your reason for going concierge is for snacks, then your kids will have to eat constantly and continually all the time they are there to approach a payoff.