rental car & concierge levels

[KathyG/poohbear]

I have another question.....and I wanted input from loyal WDW fans before making my decision. My family will be at AK Lodge from 9/14 - 9/17. We have never stayed at a Disney Hotel before but this is our 3rd visit to Disney this year. I am trying to decide 2 things:

1) Should we rent a car? Some of the tour books describe a long drive to the other parks from AK. Also a cm on the phone when I made my reservation told me it had taken him 40 minutes to go from the hotel to the MK.

2) Is it worth the money to stay on the concierge level? If you miss afternoon snacks do they put them in your room? What does the evening snacks consist of? I thought the breakfast would be very convenient.

Sorry to bother all of you but my only son is 17 and I want this trip to be special since we are staying in WDW. Thanks.

 

[The Mom]

Keep in mind that this is just my opinion!

1. We have stayed at AKL twice, and never used our car. I didn't find the trip to MK by bus to be any longer than driving would have been....especially when you factor in parking, waiting for the tram, then waiting for either the boat or monorail. The resort bus brings you directly to the main gate (only a short walk away) so saves at least 15 minutes right there. Also, I hate driving at WDW! Let's face it, there are a whole lot of drivers who are driving strange cars, sometimes on the opposite side of the road from home, some reading signs in a foreign language, and most with no idea of where they're going! I'll let a CM who does it for a living deal with them, thank you vary much!

2. No, they don't leave snacks in your room....they put them out in the lounge. The only time we stayed concierge, we were at the Contemporary, so would scoot back from MK in the afternoon/evening for the refreshments. At that time, it was wine, beer, soft drinks, cheese and fruit, and some sort of sweets...I don't remember everything, and I think it varies from hotel to hotel.

 

[TiggerDaddy]

Here's my 2 1/2 cents worth. I have made at least 25 trips to WDW in my life, all of them driving. I am going in Oct. (also staying at AKL). I will be renting a car for time an convienience. We always take the bus to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom because the bus service seems to flow better at these parks. We drive to MGM and EPCOT because we always have to wait longer at these parks for a bus. Maybe it's just me but it has been our experience. Also, you can usually get a really close space at these two parks, minimizing the walk. If you want to hotel hop, a car is easier to deal with and will save you time. Going off property to eat and/or going to the Marketplace is easier in a car.

As for the consierge service...I've never used it so I can't help there.

Hope this helps.

 

[Scooter]

The first two times we stayed on Disney Property we drove a rental car. It sat there in the parking lot all week untouched. In my opinion, Disney's Transportation system is the best.

Like Mom says...there are alot of crazy drivers out there and I want as little stress as possible while I'm on vacation so I Let Disney do the driivng.

I believe that when the afternoon treats are put out for the conceirge guests, the guests have to be there. They won't put them in your room.

You could always ask a conceirge staff member nicely to save some for you. I bet if you tip him or her well enough they just might do it...it's worth a shot.:animwink:

 

[1000th_Guest]

Rental cars: We always rent a car. My wife hates all public transportation except the boats. I love the monorail, but we are never at a monorail resort (being DVC members, we stay at Boardwalk). I find rental cars to be far more convenient than public transport. I also have no problems driving in WDW [I drive in Boston, for goodness' sake].

Concierge level: My wife loves it. It was great on our honeymoon, when the concierges in the Grand Floridian were exceptional. We've also stayed in concierge rooms at the Polynesian; I don't think the concierges were as good at that resort as at the Grand Flo.

Snacks are available when they are put out in the snack area. When we stayed in a concierge room, we made very good use of breakfast and light-night snacks/desserts.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

1) IMHO, you should only need a car if you need to drive off property. We stayed at AKL last Oct, and we only used the car to go over to Universal, Seaworld and Discovery Cove. They only time I used the car for on property visits is when we went to WL for dinner, and that's cos the wife didn't want to ride the buses that night. If you're not going off property on your trip, you wont need a car at AKL. The busses are great, never waited more than 10 min, usally it was less that 5 at all times of the day or night.

2) We are going back to AKL this Oct, and we are going to do concierge level, so I can't say what it will be like until then. :animwink: But we are doing it for two reasons: a) we want to get the whole Disney pampred treatment this time out. We are not planning on returning to Disney for a few year (I want to do Hawaii, New Zeland and Australia the next few years ), and b) we love Disney tours, and want to do the Sunrise Safari tour that is only offered to the concierge visitors.

Have fun!

 

[KathyG/poohbear]

Thank you so much for the good advice. We have always rented a car in the past but it will costs almost as much for these few days as for a week so I that was why I was thinking of trying something new. I didn't realize the bus allowed you to skip the monorail or ferry to the MK. I know it's enchanting for some visitors but sometimes I just want to get there.

I am interested in finding out about the sunrise safari tour...I didn't know about that and I will call to find out. If anyone else has any info on the concierge level....please let me know......

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Once you make your reservations with the AKL on the concierge level, the concierge staff will contact you. But you can contact them as well. Just call the resort and ask for concierge itinirary services.

They will do everything for you, no need to call any other number for anything, just tell them what you want, and they will make the calls for you. They are great! They've even been known to get you "into" shows and dinners that are booked. They really that good.

Just ask them about the Sunrise tour, they will fill you in. It is only available 2 times a week to only 39 people each time, so book it as fast as you can, it will fill up.

Have fun!

 

[KathyG/poohbear]

Thanks so much for being so friendly and helpful.

 

[lynnkatherine]

We just got back from staying concierge at the Polynesian.
What a luxury! I don't think I'll ever..not..stay concierge again.
We did not rent a car....we used Tiffany Towncars to and from the airport...and on a couple of occasions used taxis (always readily available). You might want to consider that. It's less hassle and for us was cheaper than a rental.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Originally posted by KathyG/poohbear
Thanks so much for being so friendly and helpful.

That's what this sites for...us Disney FANatics gotta do something in between trips to WDW.

Here's a good link on some background info on AKL:

http://www.wdwig.com/faq_akl.htm

Have fun!

 

[piglet*florida]

The concierge at the AKL is the best! It has the best view of the lobby and they do offer some African themed items to eat. When we were there they had some chefs from the restaurant there come up and give us a cooking (and tasting) demonstration! Make sure to ask when they do that it is awsome! It was a great way to try the African type food. Plus I have heard that the sunrise safari is awsome! Have fun!

 

[Juggler]

Forgive my ignorance.... I ask lots of questions like this!

I've heard lots of people talk about the concierge level of the hotels.

What exactly is this?

Does it cost lots more?

This is probably a really stupid question but most people humour me with an answer! :lol:

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Originally posted by Juggler
Forgive my ignorance.... I ask lots of questions like this!

I've heard lots of people talk about the concierge level of the hotels.

What exactly is this?

Does it cost lots more?

This is probably a really stupid question but most people humour me with an answer! :lol:

Concierge level is usally a special room, deluxe or bigger. They tend to give you more ammenities than a normal room, like free food and drink at different times of the day and night. They usally have special hotel CMs that only help you, and not other hotel guests. Basically, it's a more personalized hotel experiance.

In the case of AKL, you stay in a deluxe room, on the 5th or 6th floor, have access to the concierge level lounge, where they serve food and drink for free, have access to a special tour at AK (Sunrise Safari for and additional cost), and basically they tend to your every need if you ask. For example, they have the itiniary planning staff that help you plan and make all your reservations, so you'll never have to make calls. Just tell them, and they will make all the reservations for you.

Yes, it does cost more. The AKL, even with discount codes can cost $250 a night.

Is it worth it? Well that depends how you spend money, and how much time you spend at a resort. If you're the kind that see the resort as a place to lay your head every night, and nothing more, then you'll probebly not want to pay that extra $$$. If you're the kind that spends big for an all-inclusive type of vacations (like me ), then you should at least look into it if you want and extra special kind of trip.

This will be my last trip for a few years, so were going big. This will be the first time I'm using concierge, but if it turns out to be a good experiance, I'll probebly continue to do concierge on future trips.

Most big hotel and resorts (not just Disney) offer concierge level services.

Hope that helps...

 

[Juggler]

It sounds really cool! but I don't think we really spend enough time at the hotel to justify the cost. Plus I've never seen this offered as part of a UK holiday.

Thanks for the quick reply

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Originally posted by Juggler
It sounds really cool! but I don't think we really spend enough time at the hotel to justify the cost. Plus I've never seen this offered as part of a UK holiday.

Thanks for the quick reply

Don't know about outsite the US, but in most 3 or 4 star hotels in the US, they do offer concierge level services. I stayed in the Marriot Markee (sp?) (downtown NYC) on the concierge level. The rooms were a bit bigger, they offered to help me get broadway tickets if I wanted to see a show, and they had a launge open in the morning and night with snaks and drinks available.

But, in most cases, you don't really get alot from the high cost of concierge level rooms. But sometime it's a treat to have it.

In the case of NYC, it was paid by my company, so I didn't care. In the case of my Oct WDW trip...I'm hoping it's all worth it.

:veryconfu

Well, we'll see....

 

[travelsoon]

Question for someone who at stayed at concierge level at WDW. At night they have desserts and cordials. Is there any charge for the alcoholic beverages? The only time we've stayed at concierge level (and that was in D.C.) alcohol was available, but there was a charge for it.

 

[lynnkatherine]

I just got back from the Polynesian conceirge level. We did not go up while drinks were being served, but I completely understood that they were complimentary.