What is your opinion? AKL or Poly concierge?

[KelliR]

We will be taking our family vacation to WDW in August and staying at Vistana. My DD5 and I are planning on going down 3 days before the whole family arrives. We would like to stay at a Disney resort for those 3 days, and preferrably stay with concierge privilages. Would you recommend the AKL concierge or the Poly concierge for myself and my 5 year old (almost 6 at that time)?

We have never stayed at the Poly. We stayed at the AKL last year and she LOVED it!!! She talks about going back, but I was wondering about the Poly and the closeness to the MK.

I would appreciate all of your opinions and suggestions!

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hello..

I stayed 9 nights at AKL Concierge last August.

The lounge staff and offerings were wonderful... we were so full from the evening hot dishes that we only had dinner out a couple of times..

Breakfasts were great and it was nice just to stop by for a coke and relax for a half hour. THere was a TV with Disney DVD's on all the time. Quite often the lounge was quiet and we would pick a movie from the selection to put on.

IT was also nice to chat with other families staying on concierge... my daughter met several friends.

THe sunrise safari was great... our guide Joe was an excellent host and we saw many many animals and learned behind the scene secrets of running AK. For instance - did you know the rock the male lion in often seen sitting atop is airconditioned? That is how they encourage him to sit there for the safari ride guests to see him.

The concierge staff was able to get us PS's for breakfast with cinderella - even though it had been sold out for 2 minths!

Drawbacks... transportation is all buses and a little farther from EPCOT, MK & MGM. Poly is on the monorail

Rooms with the best savanna views are not on the secure 6th floor - so we stayed on the 5th floor and it was a bit of a walk to the lounge - but we enjoyed it becuase it was across the rope bridge through the lobby wich is INCREDIBLE!..

You might want to consider AKL over POLY because Poly is rennovating their concierge building (Hawaii) until September - they are putting concierge guests in Tahiti - and they are not sure yet on how/where the lounge will be set up.

The lounge in Hawaii is several levels with views of MK & Fireworks... I would be disappointed if the temporary lounge was just a series of guest rooms side by side with no view.

The lounge at AKL overlooks the Lobby and is up high with the Zulu shields suspended below you... it is absolutely beautiful. Also the pool is very nice and the animlas.. well what more can I say about that??

You will love AKL

>>^..^<<

 

[chucknrita]

We stayed at the Polynesian concierge Dec. 19-25 and loved it! DS3 and I would hop on the monorail and go around just for fun (I think he liked "riding the train" more than going into the parks...he threw a fit one day when we took the monorail and got off at MK because he wanted to keep going around!). He also liked playing in the sand and the volcano pool, the arcade and the Neverland Club (it's open from noon-4 p.m. everyday for free play with parental supervision). We did spend a lot of time at the resort so we (me, DH, DS17 and DS3) definitely got our money's worth as far as concierge lounge offerings (we just came off the Wonder cruise so we wanted to relax a little).

 

[KelliR]

Wow ... thanks for the detailed relpies! I'm going to debate the options with my DD. I gues I'm leaning towards the AKL since you mentioned about the Poly renovation. We will rent a car so the transportation at the AKL is not a problem to us. THANKS!

 

[Tikiman]

Many see the renovation to the Hawaii longhouse and the move to Tahiti as a bad thing. I see it as the opposite. I am sorry that for the first time in years we will not be returning because I would have loved to be in the Tahiti longhouse with concierge. Tahiti is my favorite longhouse and I believe its location is the best on site. The views are great and the beach on that end is so much quieter. The rooms are larger and the bathrooms have double sinks. I always get a lagoon view room so the lounge not having a lagoon view is not a big deal to me. They do know how they are going to set up everything, they just won’t announce it yet but they seem very excited about the plans that they have at the Polynesian for the temp move. I don’t think they would be excited if it were not going to be something special.

I loved the AKL concierge and the resort itself but I do not think they compare. The atmosphere and the food of each resort is great but I felt a little too isolated at the AKL. The activity, the views, the transportation and the concierge service I think is better at the Polynesian. When it comes to the water slides you can’t even compare the AKL to the Polynesian!

Lets just say either way you will not be sorry.

Here is a link to my ALK concierge and resort pictures.

http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Bay/2553/akl.html

Polynesian pages

http://www.tikiman2001.homestead.com/index.html


Aloha

Steve

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there...

That was a great response to the question posed.

I called and spoke with concierge at Poly after I made my booking and was advised Hawaii was under rennovation during my stay.

They told me they did not know yet how/where the concierge lounge would be set up - which got me concerned - also I was not so sure I wanted to be there with construction going on....

But after hearing what you said about them being' 'excited' I will wait and see what happens. Also your comments about the tahiti longhouse were informative.

By the way - I really enjoyed your web pages - thank your for all the time and effort you put into them.

 

[babyblue61]

If you stay at AKL, do not be deterred from using the buses. From what I've read on this board, people have been more disappointed by using their cars while at AKL. I understand that there is a long walk to the parking lot at AKL. In addition, when people say the buses take longer, consider that this really means five minutes or so. Also, AKL does not share a bus with any other resort, so in the end it probably works out to less than five minutes. Hope this helps!

 

[Tikiman]

>>^..^<<

The Polynesian staff is keeping very quiet about what is going to happen with the move to Tahiti. I think this is because some of the ideas may still change. I would not worry about construction during your stay. Other than the time they ripped out the whole middle of the resort for the new pool I have been there during construction and rahab and most of the time I did not even notice unless I looked very hard for it.

As far as the busses from AKL. I think all WDW busses are good but not a perfect system. I know everyone has horror stories. We always rent a car because if we are not taking the monorail we get where we need to go better and faster by car that bus and not just 5 minutes difference. We can also go from any location to any location which you can not do if you take the bus. Try going from MGM too Downtown Disney and add waiting in the rain to that. Also with out a car you have to carry everything for the day around with you. We also must have hit the AKL busses at a bad time. The busses took forever, the drivers had the wrong destination on the sign and when we were at AK and Pleasure Island I saw 2 or 3 of other resort busses come before ours did. I am sure there are more good stories as there are bad but with the car we have no bad experiences other than the cost of valet, which we don’t have to do at the Polynesian because the parking lots are very close.

Aloha

Steve

 

[lookingforward]

I stayed in the AKL concierge for a week in April and the Poly concierge this August for three nights. I loved both! And I know you will be happy at either.

The advantages to the AKL: The resort is so beautiful. You just can't deny the awesome experience to have the savannah right outside your room. There are two excellent restaurants right in the resort. The pool is wonderful and there is a gym and spa (excellent massages!) The concierge offerings are more sophisticated, the lounge is quieter and more refined than the poly. Then there is the sunrise safari which in my opinion was a major highlight on our trip. The check in process is seamless and makes you feel like a VIP.

The advantages to the POLY: The monorail and closeness to the transportation center is a major plus. The resort and lounge are relaxed and offer some substantial offerings and free sodas and water. The lounge is a perfect place to view the fireworks at the magic kingdom. It is more crowded and lively than the AKL.

I would not let the transportation issue bother you, we did fine with the busses in April to the AKL. The transportation to and from the poly is really the best, though.

Have fun, you can't lose either way!

 

[Tess]

I wouldn't let any rehab projects deter me from staying at any of the resorts.

We've been staying at the Polynesian year after year since 1995. The first year we booked a LV (and at the time there were six or more room categories) and requested the Moorea (now Tahiti) building. The view was wonderful and the more secluded beach was nice for our then small children. The room was definitely larger in Tahiti and the dual sink/larger facilities were a god-send for the a.m. rush. We also utilized the monorail frequently and having that short walk to TTC or GCH was the best!

Since 1996 we've stayed concierge and been located in Hawaii. While it's still my preference, mostly for sentimental reasons--but the great lounge set up is a big bonus -- I have to agree with Steve, Tahiti has many merits of its own. I'm sure the staff at Polynesian will have the planning of the actual building structure well in hand by the time the move is made (said to be 6/23/03--the day after we depart). I, too, am very curious about the set-up for Tahiti and would like to see how it is being handled. That said, I'm also happy that we will be in Hawaii during our stay--at least that's the time schedule currently in place.

My greatest concern is the possible distraction of the staff in trying to ready the new building for operation while maintaining the original building. It will be interesting to see if the Polynesian will be operating two different concierge buildings during our stay and thereafter--otherwise, how will it handle guests--it would seem a bit burdensome to move someone that would be checking in say 6/20 and then closing the building on 6/23? If you have any insight into that Steve, I'd love to hear.

I guess what I'm trying to say is--if you've done AKL before, trying a different resort on the monorail with easy access to MK might be the thing to do. If you don't try different locales within the Resort, how do you know which one is truly "home" for your return trips. We've also managed to stay at CBR, GF, BC, POR (forever Dixie to me), and BWI as well as Caribe Royale, offsite. We are planning to check out AKL prior to arrival at Polynesian on our next visit. My wish list is getting shorter and Polynesian is "home" to us!

Enjoy your stay regardless of the resort!

 

[KelliR]

Very good points Tess. Thanks. I'm going to check reservations and see where I can get the best rate as well.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi Tess,

I am leaning towards trying the Poly - and being on the monorail.

I feel gulity though.. like I am 'cheating' on AKL LOL

Also, my daughter says to me with hands on her hips... "Are there Giraffes at the Poly, Mother" (she calls me Mother when she is serious about something lol)

Then there is the lure of Stormalong...

What the heck am I whining about though, with all that is going on in the world today.... this is my worst problem? What deluxe hotel to chose??? sheeeeesh!'

Thanx for the insight.... do you like the volcano pool at Poly? Does it have a sand bottom? I thought I read that somewhere.

 

[Tess]

The volcano pool does not have a sand bottom but it does have zero depth entry for the younger ones.

Our kids like the two pools at Polynesian better than Stormalong Bay. Go figure. . .I would have guessed they would prefer the latter, but they didn't. They both love the volcano pool (14 & 12) and felt the slide at Stormalong, while cool, hurt their backs when they went down.

Personally, I enjoyed Stormalong Bay for the variety of activities in the pool area. We did not enjoy the stay at BC as much as our trips to the Polynesian. We found the concierge lay-out and distance from the room to pool bothersome. It's much nicer to walk out the front door of Hawaii and be at the pool--either pool.

Our two children like to spend a couple of hours at the volcano pool and then head to the "quiet" pool because the water is deeper. My husband and I just sort of follow along carrying part and parcel.

As to the rates--we've managed to snag discounted rates at all of the resorts--whether with DC, AP, or codes--during our June visits. We've typically found Polynesian's concierge rates the lowest and the service, for the most part, terrific!

 

[KelliR]

You are funny ... "cheating" on the AKL ... LOL! But I know what you mean ... we get so attached to our resorts, they feel like home, and a member of the family. your daughter does have a point ... there aren't any giraffes at the Poly!!! LOL!

For me, Stormalong is not a lure ... my DD loved it TOO MUCH! I couldn't get her out, it put a stress on the vacation, feeling like I had to argue to get her out. And I got a little, tiny cut under my toe while we were stayingat the BC and that sand kept getting in there and burning...so I am keeping my decision between the AKL and Poly. And you are so right...if this is the trickiest decision we have to make ... we are truly fortunate and blessed.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there...

I am so glad you people get all our snow and we have nice clear winters! Gotta love that "Lake Effect"

When are you going in August to AKL - maybe we will can have a coffee in the lounge...

I will let you know what I decide to do - right now I am booked at AKL

 

[KelliR]

I think it will be around August 20th. We have a week booked at Vistana August 23-30... so I would like to stay 3 or 4 nights at either Poly or AKL before we move to Vistana.

And as a matter of fact...we are enjoying all of "your' snow right now! It looks beautiful ... but makes me wish I was in the WDW magic right now! What are the dates for your trip? Feel free to PM if you would like.