Concierge itinerary planner question

[maestrotim]

Greetings all,
I will be staying at WL Concierge level in May (a first for both WL and concierge) and have a quick question about the concierge itinerary planner.

I replied to the questionnaire they sent me and have not yet received a response. It's been a few days. Is this normal? I only ask because when I replied I got an auto-reply from Disney which says that they will respond within 24 hours.

Also, does the concierge have more access to dining then the general public? In searching the boards, it seems like some say they do while others say they don't. I'm trying to book the Fantasmic package for May and trying on my own I didn't realize how popular this is. I couldn't get it for any of the days I'm going to be there at any of the 3 restaurants that offer it. I'm just hoping that the concierge can pull a few strings for me since this is the only ADR I've asked them to make for me.

Thanks for any answers.
Tim

[faline]

I had a response from concierge booking within 24 hours of submitting my questionnaire. If it's been a few days and you haven't heard back from them, they might be having trouble filling your request (particularly if you've only made one request) or your form may have gone astray. I'd suggest calling.

[lockedoutlogic]

The "concierge" have no strings to pull....

if you couldn't get it....neither can they


Concierge at disney is only a name....and snacks....


the one way they may be able to help is to check more frequently for cancellations that you may be able to to try and slip in....i would contact them again....

you're paying more for it....

[TammiMcMan]

I replied to the questionnaire they sent me and have not yet received a response. It's been a few days. Is this normal? I only ask because when I replied I got an auto-reply from Disney which says that they will respond within 24 hours.Unfortunately, a longer response time has become more frequent. They've combined IPO offices and I don't think they have the proper staffing to handle all the requests.


Also, does the concierge have more access to dining then the general public?This is a yes/no answer, because it can depend on who the CM is. In theory, they do not have any extra "pull" as Disney does not set aside tables for club level guests. Because they're on the computer all day, it can just be easier for them to scoop up any cancellations. You should probably call them directly if you want them to book a Fantasmic package. I'm pretty sure that they'll need a credit card on file and you don't want to send that information via e-mail. It may take you a few tries, but hopefully you'll be able to talk with a staff person soon.

[crazykids]

You should contact them directly instead of waiting around for them to contact you. They would have the same access to dining as you would. We stayed Poly concierge last year, and although it was a great trip, I wouldn't pay for that level at WDW again. I may be wrong, but I believe the same IPO works for both Poly/Wilderness Lodge? The lounge was very nice for breakfast & snacks, but I could just as easily ordered room service & saved $$ in the end. They made all of my ADRs & placed some gifts for my children in the room prior to our visit, but again, nothing I really couldn't do myself. It's a personal decision, my family found we didn't get our $$ worth from Disney concierge.

[DDuck66]

I had the same problem and somehow they had my work e-mail address as my contact, and I had put our home e-mail address on the form. Call the concierge directly and they should be able to find it..if not they can add the info while you are on the phone. They found my list and I added several extra things while on the phone with them.

[DISNEYFIX]

Tim,
Book all of your own adr's. Because if they slip up you are out of luck. When we stayed there I prefer to have my vacation in my own hands. OCD I guess. You will have a great time.:thumbsup:

[WhiteRose1]

Concierge does have the ability to book 10 days earlier than 180, so you can get your reservations in and locked in before the general public can. (Confirmed with Poly Planner office in February.) They told us to send our plans to them now, and we are not traveling till Oct!!!

Get with them early and they can have your whole trip booked before the 180 days rolls around. After that, they can scoop cancellations. Booking your own wastes the point of having concierge. it is what you are paying for.

Do the math - if you eat a lot of snacks and plan to use the lounge to replace paying for meals (breakfast or lunch for a family of 4 can add up!!) And you use them to make your reservations, then it CAN be worth it. Do the math. It is all relative.

I prefer to go to Disney every 5-6 years, after new rides have come out and there is something worth me flying out there. Because of this, I tend to go at a higher level, including food, spa visits, cirque, tours, etc. If you plan on doing alot of that, Concierge can book those for you, so you do not have to get up at an early time to sit on the phone and be frustrated....the folks at Disney do it for you and e-mail you back the confirmations. Less nail biting that way. (and if for some reason you do not get a responce back, if you plan early enough, you still have enough time to do it yourself before the 180 day limit has come and gone, if so inclined!)

We are going in Oct, and they already have some of our reservation info, but they have to wait till the end of March for the planner to make reservations for us.

If you are going to Disney on a shoe string budget or watching every penny spent, No, concierge is not for you. You will be too stressed trying to proove it's more cost effective than non-concierge! Concierge is about the ability to let someone else worry about the details. The advantage is the 'stress reducing' options...not if it's 'worth ($$) it'.

It's all relative. (I am not going concierge, BTW. We got food in our package and also have the intinerary planning as well, concierge would have been a waste of money 'for us'.)

[lockedoutlogic]

I wasn't aware the 180+10 thing was exclusively for concierge.....

I know the computers.....they work exactly the same as the regular desk workers downstairs.....at least...at the "flagship" they do....

I believe that many special events staff has the exact same privileges as the concierge.....groups, conventions, weddings, most likely the "grand gatherings"....as well as any gso CM with a sign on


they have 1 dining system.....1 and only one....everyone with a DRS signon can get into it and play with it.....even if the software has been replaced i don't think it would've been advantageous to bother to create "levels"...why? the central reservations office, all hotel operations, managers, food and beverage....all were tied into the same system.....

unless they have bothered to spend an undoubted 100 million dollars on unnecessary extra programming and IT support (not likely at all)......then concierge is what they have always been:

employees on a different floor...maybe with a different uniform.....but i think they eliminated that as well

the advantage...if you call it that.....is exactly what Tammi has said: they can sit for 9 hours scanning the reservations system to scoop up the ones that fall through the cracks.....of course....so can everyone else.....Starbase at allstars......the reservation kiosk in MGM...or whatever it's called now.....

just hope you have a skilled, experienced, computer savvy, multi-tasking, CM handling your pre-planning.....that's really the "secret"

[TammiMcMan]

I wasn't aware the 180+10 thing was exclusively for concierge.....I pointed this out to the poster on another thread. I think there may be some confusion as to what exactly the 180 + 10 program is. Logic, I know you have a first hand familiarity with the Disney computer system, but I'll try to explain it for everyone else reading this thread. Please feel free to correct anything I may have wrong:

First of all, it's absolutely available to all resort guests and basically it just means that you don't have to call on consecutive days or have IPO entering separate dining reservations for each day of your vacation. For example, if you're checking in on 12/10/08, you can call dining on 6/13/08 (180 day window) and make reservations for your entire stay (up to 10 days) without having call back every day. It doesn't mean that concierge guests checking in on that same date are given a 10 day advantage and can start making their dining reservations on 6/3/08.

Hopefully that makes sense. Yes, I've had some great luck with securing hard to get reservations with the help of IPO, I've also had experiences where booked completely means booked completely. I just don't want people to get the idea that staying on the club level somehow guarantees all their dining reservations.


just hope you have a skilled, experienced, computer savvy, multi-tasking, CM handling your pre-planning.....that's really the "secret"This is really it in a nutshell. Just like everything else, some people are just more knowledgeable or know a few tricks to getting things done.

[lockedoutlogic]

I pointed this out to the poster on another thread. I think there may be some confusion as to what exactly the 180 + 10 program is. Logic, I know you have a first hand familiarity with the Disney computer system, but I'll try to explain it for everyone else reading this thread. Please feel free to correct anything I may have wrong:

First of all, it's absolutely available to all resort guests and basically it just means that you don't have to call on consecutive days or have IPO entering separate dining reservations for each day of your vacation. For example, if you're checking in on 12/10/08, you can call dining on 6/13/08 (180 day window) and make reservations for your entire stay (up to 10 days) without having call back every day. It doesn't mean that concierge guests checking in on that same date are given a 10 day advantage and can start making their dining reservations on 6/3/08.

Hopefully that makes sense. Yes, I've had some great luck with securing hard to get reservations with the help of IPO, I've also had experiences where booked completely means booked completely. I just don't want people to get the idea that staying on the club level somehow guarantees all their dining reservations.

This is really it in a nutshell. Just like everything else, some people are just more knowledgeable or know a few tricks to getting things done.

The one person on this board who i know i see eye-to-eye with on Disney "concierge" comes through again....

Concierge have the same training on the reservation system as any guest service cast member....and the floodgates open at the same time for all....

when i worked there....it went like this:

Every resort had a:

1. staff of front desk cashiers/phone operators...
2. guest service trained cast members....mainly for dining reservations, dinner shows, and specials such as cirque
support staff....
3. the support staff: 1 or more rooms controller/ assigner...one or more operations, sales, or auditors...a phones controller who assisted the phones people (who rotated in and out), arranged deliveries, did the nice little express check out message, and assisted the rest of the support staff with whatever needed done...and one or more runners

some locations had: an "online" or head teller - basically a manager out front to deal with trouble shooting...with less pay

some had a cash ops person to deal with the money

some had greeters to provide distractions

locations with "concierge" had a set of "concierge" cast members....basically on the guest services level but usually not as proficient as the resorts support staff

and i should mention that individual hotels sent their cms to training as they saw fit...it is possible that every hourly employee can do dining...it is possible that few could...it differed by location...perhaps they adopted a resort wide policy...they should have.


now....they consolidated phone calls a few years ago....they may have consilidated other services in between individual resorts....


but that is the basic structure....the concierge is not on a level "above"....in fact...they often asked the downstairs staff for assistance with things like billing and package problems that they didn't deal with that often.....

long story short (i know...to late)....all guest services staff with dining access can do the same thing.....concierge has no special rights....

Tammi did a great job in explaining it....

here is how conicerge differs:
1. the room locations...usally prime
2. the lounge
3. a preplanning form and support to assist with things like dining...so you don't have to do it....but no special privileges are invoked
4. a private 1 on 1 desk to check in at...with chairs....unless of course you arrive early or late....where you check in at the regular desk....


that's it...no spin...no tilt...that's the difference

[javamama]

I just dealt with them again last week to book the P&P party for me, and they were great. I emailed them, they called me the same day, it was done, I even got my email confirmation the same day. They also got my dd a crib to sleep in instead of the dreaded pack n play.

As for my dining reservations, I did a wishlist for mine a few days before the 180 days. I got everything I wanted--so I have no complaints there. My only beef is I never knew about the Grand Gatherings extra stuff we could do, and that I think is more of the GR reservations fault than anyone--IMO:mad:

[WhiteRose1]

stating this again:

My first day of my trip is Oct 7.

I am at 200 days out, as of NOW.

In 10 days, all my 180 day resevervations will be made. This will be at 190 days out, for the full 8 days of my trip!

People seem to doubt this, but I'll have everything confirmed before 180 days.

Please please please confirm information before releasing it. I know some people just do not want to hear it, and are trying to discount this information, but I got it from the source. My husband has communicated with Jeff T at Poly directly to confirm this, over and over.

I am not misinformed. I am booking my whole trip, from day one, *10 days Before 180*.

Please avoid trying to explain away my answers, I understand what the IP told me, and my husband, on repeated occasions.

The first day of our trip reservations to the last day of our trip, which is 7 /8 days/nights, will be confirmed on 190 days from the FIRST day of my trip. Please double check with concierge before releasing incorrect or assumed information!

thanks!

[TammiMcMan]

Please please please confirm information before releasing it. I know some people just do not want to hear it, and are trying to discount this information, but I got it from the source. My husband has communicated with Jeff T at Poly directly to confirm this, over and over.

Please double check with concierge before releasing incorrect or assumed information!I'm sure you don't mean to sound like you're lecturing or being argumentative, but my response is neither assumed nor made up. The responses you are questioning came from confirmations and a former resort CM. Considering that there are multiple definitions of the same policy, my point to the OP is that I wouldn't bank on the IPO staff being able to get every single ADR. Based on my own personal experience and discussions with current staff, it's just not possible. Your experiences may be slightly different as you are on the Platinum Package and they have a dedicated IPO planner just for those guests. The Platinum Package CM's who I've met, seem to have a little more pull than the standard IPO staff.

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . Please double check with concierge before releasing incorrect or assumed information! . . .

1) OK, check with me.
2) IPO is busy, as some have been combined.
3) Give them a chance to get back to you - they are good at their jobs.
4) ADR's are 180+10 (180 before check-in plus 10 days).
5) Concierge CM's have the same rights as "normal" people.
6) Platinum Planners don't have extra rights.
7) However, they have a little person-to-person pull (personal favors).

NOTE1: Some of us got override status for the dining program, but there are not that many. And, the occurrences are used very sparingly. This is how some people (like WDW Vice Presidents) can get their friends and family into sold out places like CRT on short notice. When overrides occur, CM's actually see negative numbers for table availability at eateries.

NOTE2: Your IPO person said they can do 190 days before the check-in date. I am glad for you if it works out this way.

[WhiteRose1]

thank you soo much for confirming, it's good to finally have someone confirm. I dislike battling, but I feel people were getting the wrong information.

[TammiMcMan]

thank you soo much for confirming, it's good to finally have someone confirm.You're welcome. Hopefully this clears up a few things:

~ 180 + 10 is an ADR program available to any Disney resort guest
~ the ability to book ADR's 190 priors to your check in date is limited to a very select few CM's and not guaranteed