Concierge and Kids

[tammydel]

My friend and I will be staying with our children at the Poly Concierge this July. Yipppeee!
No, my concern is not about building re-location. (I hope)

I am curious as to how accomodating concierge is for young children. We are staying 8 days (Fairytale!!!) and are hoping to find some healthy options for the kids. They have the likes and dislikes of young children but really how much mac and cheese and chicken fingers can they eat in 8 days! Wonderful would be plain steamed veggies some plain chicken or turkey minus the breading and sauce.

Should we ask? Is it asking too much? This is my first Concierge experience at Disney. I know there is set food each night but it doesn't sound like the simple healthy food I'd love to have handy at the hotel.

If nothing else, say a prayer for us: 2 moms, 4 kids (1, 5, 6, & 6), 1 room!!!! We will all love it. We just may never sleep!

 

[CRCrazy]

Just a quick heads up - the food at the concierge lounge isn't supposed to replace dinner - it is supposed to be appetizers and snacks.

The concierge staff at AKL was wonderful with my kids - during the evening appetizer time - they came around with little wooden animal puzzles for the kids to keep, etc.

For food options - they had lots of sliced fresh fruits, etc. that my kids did love. At breakfast time, they had bagels, cereals, etc. and lots of healthy but kid friendly choices.

One thing I did like about the concierge offerings was the fact that there was milk, chocolate milk, and fruit juice available at all times! No soda, that I saw. I think you could ask, but we didn't want any!

 

[ducklite]

I agree with the other poster--what they offer isn't dinner, it's a snack! They do not cook up special items. It's lounge, not a restaurant. They have a little station with a selection of appetizers. It's not enough to feed all of you for dinner--unless of course you plan on taking all the food and leaving nothing for your fellow guests. I hope you were not mislead that you could eat all of your meals in the concirege lounge, this is simply not the case. While breakfast is more than filling, mid-day is munchies like pretzels and candy, and dinner is simply appetizers.

I don't recall ever seeing things like mac n cheese and chicken fingers in the concierge lounges. Rather you see little hors d'ouvres like you'd get at a cocktail party. There's usually two hot items and cheese and crackers, that type of thing. That's about it. Sometimes there are uncrustables on the kids area.

Yes. you can save money by having breakfast, dessert after dinner, and taking the bottled water, but concierge does NOT provide all meals for you. If this is what you had been led to believe, then you might wanbt to rethink your plans.

Anne

 

[sandramaac]

I have to agree, aside from breakfast, the food at the concierge is simply went to be a little filler before your regular meal. The breakfast at the Poly concierge can be compared to a continental breakfast--toast. muffins, bagels, cereals, fruits, juices etc. You can make this your breakfast meal. However, dinner time is snacky foods and appetizers- Chef Dick may prepare a hot appy or two, perhaps oriental noddles, or wings or any of other number of things. Then there will be fruit, cheeses, veggies and dip, other appy kind of foods. At night there is the dessert table, which is just wonderful, along with several cordials and wines. The kids can enjoy all of the above items in addtion to a few items geared towards them.

I am sorry to say, after staying at the Poly concierge many times, I have seen people go there and just hog the food, and just be as pushy as can be while enjoying the services and foods in the concierge lounge. These snack times are only meant to be fillers, and yet people go ( and I have heard that the other concierge's have he same issues) and chow down, filing plate after plate with food, and using this as dinner. And while the staff never lets the food ever run out, and the lounge remains fully stocked, personally I do feel that there are those that take advantage of the servces at the concierge.

And while I realize I have paid more for the above services, there are those who feel that by paying for the concierge, that they have acquired personal chefs and butler and planning services. In other words, I suppose I am trying to say is you are probably not doing to find steamed veggies and plain chicken at the concierge. You will find lots of wonderful things prepared by the Chef, some healthy, others just not. Perhaps you should consider sending down a hot plate for your room or microwave, so you can steam some plain veggies and chicken while you are there. You can send the microwave of hot plate via UPS, and then you can shop at the local grocery store for the veggies and chicken. Each concierge room at the Poly had a mini frig. Hope this helps. We are Poly concierge regulars, and just love it there. have fun.

 

[giatocj]

We just got back from our first concierge experience (at AKL) so I am by no means an expert on this subject, but I can say that the food in the lounge is snacks/appetizers which are just right for the "in between" times when you're a little hungry, but in no way could you make complete meals out of what's offered. The only exception would be breakfast, which is plentiful.

We had my 3 yo grandson with us on that trip and he totally enjoyed just chilling up in the lounge during our breaks from the parks. There is always something available to drink, even at the times when the food is not out.

The food courts offer a FAIR selection-pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, etc. My grandson is a very picky eater so we always make sure to bring some Pediasure with us whenever we travel with him...which is 3 or 4 times a year. He loves it and gets his vitamins during the times he doesn't want to eat.

Have a great trip.

Donna C.

 

[DNSDisney]

Nowhere did I read where the op was asking if concierge was concerned dinner! That said to answer the questions poised in the post. As the other posters meantioned, there is fresh fruit , veggie trays sometimes sandwiches, there is a menu of items to see on tikimans site @ www.tikiman2001.homestead.com
They will go out of there way to be accomidating to you. Once there was nothing my daughter would eat out that evening and they offered to make her a PB&J. Some things like Choc. milk you have to ask for, but they usually have white milk out in the am.
I would say if your kidlets aren't too picky you probably will love concierge offering for them. If they are picky they can still get there fill of fruits and veggies , they also have dips to go along with them. I think all but one night we were there they offered sandwiches for the children. one night they had some wonderful basmic (sp?) steamed veggies. another night a sweet chicken with noodles, I don't know what the seasoning was but I do recall my 10yr old very picky eater ate it! The food is wonderful for the most part, I am personally not crazy about the sushi night but we always try to plan a special PS around that night. We usually eat a late lunch in the park around 2-3 and use the concierge snacks at a very lite dinner. Usually in the summer heat you don't want to eat alot anyway so you might want to give that a try. Also at times it can be hard to take a early break from the parks and get back to hotel for the evening offerings so we try to not take a break until 3, most of the time after the parade then head back and cool off at the pool for an hour or so then get ready for our evening in the parks by then the evening offerings are out . If you don't feel like eating them at that time, take a plate back to your room to the fridge for later. They have trays in concierge for taking back to your room. hope this helps some.
Have a great trip!!

 

[giatocj]

DNSDisney, I think the following quote is what may have lead people to think the OP was considering "dinner" type foods as a part of concierge.


They have the likes and dislikes of young children but really how much mac and cheese and chicken fingers can they eat in 8 days! Wonderful would be plain steamed veggies some plain chicken or turkey minus the breading and sauce.


It appeared to me that other posters were just trying to make sure she wasn't really looking for too much food beyond snacks, fruit, desserts, etc. and that the food available didn't equal a meal.

Donna C.

 

[tammydel]

Yiikes!

I posted this last night before bed and awoke to find I have upset people.

I'll try to fix this. The Mac and Cheese comment was about the resturants not the lounge. I am not trying to feed my family meals at the lounge. No one has led me to believe I could.

There are posts regarding fruit and veggie trays, also chicken type appitizers. These are the things I was talking about. A few stalks of broccoli would go a long way when you are relying on resturant meals for kids.

I believe it was Deb Willis's concerierge report that said when she commented on preferring one type of juice to another, they not only providided it but even left her a message that it was there. I guess I was wondering what they usually have vs. what foods rotate and if veggies rotate is it a big deal to have a few available most nights and is it possible for a saucey chicken appitizer to be plain. If the answer is sorry that is not possible, I'm O.K. with that.

Really I am not looking to take advantage, I thought I made that clear, maybe not. I LOVE these boards, but I do tend to see that sometimes people take out all their frustrations and make lots of assumtions when answering questions. OR maybe I wasn't clear.
Either way thanks for the help.

 

[DNSDisney]

IMHO people should take the post for what it states not what one could read into it. Assumptions are human nature but also can be very wrong. There is an old saying that to assume something you will make a donkey out of yourself.

Tammydel-I hope you have a good trip. I hope my comments didn't upset you. I feel you made yourself very clear concerning your interest in what concierge offered and not wanting to give your kids dinner or all meals through concierge. Do people not realize that to kids Mac and Cheese and chicken fingers are sometimes considered snacks? LOL Funny thing is the rest. I was at yesterday had appetizers on the menu and one of them was chicken figures so I guess that snack isn't just for kids.
Don't want to start a debate here so I will just zip it for now.
Hope you, your friends and all the kidlets have a great time with Mickey and Minnie!!

 

[tammydel]

DNS
Thanks for the kind words.
I'm sure we will have a super time.
And if the kids eat nothing but mac and cheese and never see a vegatable... so be it. I'm sure they will still grow to be healthy!LOL
All the better for thier trips to the World

Just had to mention to all those doubters, visit the thread about Beach Club Concierge - Mac and Cheese for the kids!
Of course the ironey is I wasn't even looking for it!!!!!

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there Tammy - I saw that too.. mac and cheese at Beach Club Concierge... and you know what? They had chicken nuggets at AKL every evening.. and my daughter was starting to look like a chicken nugget by the end of our stay

>>^..^<<

 

[Tess]

Rest assured you will find plenty of healthy options for the children in your party. Chef Dick always has a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables for evening service. I've never seen a chicken nugget on his table and hope that it doesn't change! Check out the rotating menu on Steve's (Tikiman) site--it hasn't changed much over the years.

The kids' table, during evening service, offers a variety of things that are available to adults as well. I've seen turkey/cheese roll-ups, ham sandwiches, PB&J Uncrustables, tuna salad, and the kid dessert faves--brownies, cookies, cupcakes. . . The adult menu has different items each evening--the chicken caesar salad is really wonderful.

Please don't feel guilty if you happen to accidentally eat too much and don't feel like a full meal that evening. In the summer months we rarely feel like eating much after a large, late lunch, munching in the parks, AND Chef Dick's yummy evening creations! Some people eat more than others--they can handle fruit, vegetables, cheese, crackers, a sandwich, hot appetizer (or full salad), wine, soda, milk, juice, and desserts AND still need an evening meal. Frankly, we can't.

I wouldn't skip the evening service so I could have a meal at a full service restaurant. Further, I don't think anyone should suggest I skip the service in favor of a meal elsewhere. The "appetizers" are usually just enough for us. Each person must judge that for themselves without concern for what others believe is the appropriate amount to eat. If we are in the parks late (which doesn't look like a go this year due to shortened hours), we might grab a small bite in the evening at a counter service, otherwise we just aren't that hungry at night. I guess you'll just have to play that by ear with the members of your party and decide for yourselves.

Don't be upset about the grumpy feelings you perceive you incited with your post--it isn't you. You chose a wonderful place for your vacation--we've been concierge guests many, many times! The staff is really terrific. Have a wonderful stay and good luck! Four children and two Moms at Disney. . .

 

[Kallison]

Don't take it personally -- some posters tend to get hoity toity on certain subjects.

 

[ducklite]

Tess--there's a big difference between what you do--nibble a bit here and there, and some guests who load up heaping plates of food over and over "to get their monies worth". I've seen it. others have seen it. I remember a post on these boards about a year ago with someone upset because one guest took the entire box of Uncrustables back to his room, leaving none for anyone else. (He was planning on using them for lunch in the park the next day if I recall.

I just didn't want the OP to think that all meals were included in the concierge lounge, which is what her post read to me--that she was thinking it was more of a restaurant than a lounge.

There have been more than a few posts from people back from concierge stays because they had been led to believe that all meals could be eaten in the concierge lounge, which as you and I know, is not the case.

Anne

 

[manhattan]

Quick question for those who know- I will be traveling with a baby. Would it be acceptable to ask for extra bottle or two of water to prepare the baby's formula? Or would that be too tacky? First time doing concierge and first time traveling with a baby who is still on formula. Thanks in advance.

 

[ducklite]

At the poly concierge the water is there for the taking. At some fo the others it's not and you have to ask for it--but it's certainly not inappropriate to do so

Anne

 

[deb305]

manhattan,
Concierge (GF) was very helpful with my then 1 year old. They actually took the bottles from me and filled them up with milk at night. I stored them in the fridge for the middle of night crankies. Don't be afraid to ask them for special services. I emphasize "ask" not "order". While at GF I watched a lot of people try to order the staff rudely about. They seemed to appreciate (as we all do) being treated with respect.
One night one of the staff saw me coming in late with milk I had purchased at the food court, and reminded me that it was always free even after hours from concierge.
Hope you have a great stay.