When to check in? Why check in early?

[GADisneyDad14]

In that case, I actually see no advantage for me to do online check-in since merely knowing the room number is of no help to me at all, particularly if I end up wanting to ask for a different room. Not doing the online check-in would seem to save me a step, since if I got the room #, went to the room, and decided I'd rather see if I could get a different room, then I'd have to go back to the front desk.

Or have I missed a point entirely here? I mean, if I didn't care where the room was, what the view was, etc., etc., then, okay, online check-in seems fine. I'd perhaps get the room # even before I arrived and I could go directly to the room. But on the off chance that the room would not be my first, or even fifteenth, choice, I think I'll stick with the front desk. At least there I can see where the assigned room will be, ask if I'd like a change, and find out if they can do anything. Maybe they can't, but at least I didn't go to the room first and then have to go back to the front desk.

I might have a different view on this if I were booked in a Value resort, where the lines at the front desk can be pretty long.

I’ll preface this by saying I am probably equally as “concerned” with my room assignment as you seem to be given your description above.

I do online check-in, but I don’t think it’s critical one way or the other. There’s no downside in terms of rooms/room requests, so I do it. I almost always call in my requests in advance and then leave the online check-in request options blank.

I actually like the idea of potentially knowing my room in advance. Depending on travel, at times I’ve received the room ready text before even arriving in Orlando. When that happens, I like it because I have time to do some quick research on Touring Plans, look at a resort map, etc. Helps me prep, especially if I find I might want to have a “conversation” about my room assignment with the front desk when I arrive.

Anyway, there’s no right/wrong decision in terms of doing it or not, you can keep doing what you’ve always done and not be missing anything.

Hope that helps!

 

[Miffy]

I’ll preface this by saying I am probably equally as “concerned” with my room assignment as you seem to be given your description above.

I do online check-in, but I don’t think it’s critical one way or the other. There’s no downside in terms of rooms/room requests, so I do it. I almost always call in my requests in advance and then leave the online check-in request options blank.

I actually like the idea of potentially knowing my room in advance. Depending on travel, at times I’ve received the room ready text before even arriving in Orlando. When that happens, I like it because I have time to do some quick research on Touring Plans, look at a resort map, etc. Helps me prep, especially if I find I might want to have a “conversation” about my room assignment with the front desk when I arrive.

Anyway, there’s no right/wrong decision in terms of doing it or not, you can keep doing what you’ve always done and not be missing anything.

Hope that helps!

GADisneyDad14,

It does help! And thank you so much for your post.

 

[Allison]

I’ll preface this by saying I am probably equally as “concerned” with my room assignment as you seem to be given your description above.

I do online check-in, but I don’t think it’s critical one way or the other. There’s no downside in terms of rooms/room requests, so I do it. I almost always call in my requests in advance and then leave the online check-in request options blank.

I actually like the idea of potentially knowing my room in advance. Depending on travel, at times I’ve received the room ready text before even arriving in Orlando. When that happens, I like it because I have time to do some quick research on Touring Plans, look at a resort map, etc. Helps me prep, especially if I find I might want to have a “conversation” about my room assignment with the front desk when I arrive.

Anyway, there’s no right/wrong decision in terms of doing it or not, you can keep doing what you’ve always done and not be missing anything.

Hope that helps!

I completely agree with this.

 

[Starwind]

In that case, I actually see no advantage for me to do online check-in since merely knowing the room number is of no help to me at all, particularly if I end up wanting to ask for a different room. Not doing the online check-in would seem to save me a step, since if I got the room #, went to the room, and decided I'd rather see if I could get a different room, then I'd have to go back to the front desk.

Or have I missed a point entirely here? I mean, if I didn't care where the room was, what the view was, etc., etc., then, okay, online check-in seems fine. I'd perhaps get the room # even before I arrived and I could go directly to the room. But on the off chance that the room would not be my first, or even fifteenth, choice, I think I'll stick with the front desk. At least there I can see where the assigned room will be, ask if I'd like a change, and find out if they can do anything. Maybe they can't, but at least I didn't go to the room first and then have to go back to the front desk.

I might have a different view on this if I were booked in a Value resort, where the lines at the front desk can be pretty long.

You can always do online checin and then when you arrive at the hotel "checkin" at the front desk. If your room i s ready they will give you the room info and you will have the chance to request a change if you want.

What online checkin will save you is that you will have provided your credit card info for room charges and verified your other info, which saves some steps at the front desk.

As we are from Canada we have to go to the front desk anyway to get our magic bands. We make specific medical-related room requests so dont make any room requests with online checkin. What online checkin saves is is our info and credit card info are in the system already.

SW

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I always blink a bit about not wanting to do online check in, because there is really no downside to it.

Your room is assigned in advance, whether you check in or not.
The desk is going to have somewhat limited options to move you if you don't like your assignment, and the later you arrive the fewer options they will have. It's not going to turn into a "ha ha, because I was late and didn't like my room they moved me to GF Club Level!!!" situation, save in the most extreme cases, and one should never assume they will happen to you, and even with upgrades they're rarely that magical. (Stuff like "the room above yours had a poonami?" Not magical!)

No one will STOP you from going to the desk if you get a room text.

 

[Miffy]

I always blink a bit about not wanting to do online check in, because there is really no downside to it.

Your room is assigned in advance, whether you check in or not.
The desk is going to have somewhat limited options to move you if you don't like your assignment, and the later you arrive the fewer options they will have. It's not going to turn into a "ha ha, because I was late and didn't like my room they moved me to GF Club Level!!!" situation, save in the most extreme cases, and one should never assume they will happen to you, and even with upgrades they're rarely that magical. (Stuff like "the room above yours had a poonami?" Not magical!)

No one will STOP you from going to the desk if you get a room text.

OK. For the record here, I am not expecting, anticipating, or even wanting some kind of room upgrade. If something in my posts led you to believe that, it was totally unintentional. Completely. However, if, for example, the only room they've got is on the ground floor with a view of a parking lot and that's not very appealing to me and they've got zero else to offer me in my room category, then at least if I'm at the front desk for check-in I can ask how much an upgrade would cost, because at that point, I might want one that I'd pay for.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

OK. For the record here, I am not expecting, anticipating, or even wanting some kind of room upgrade. If something in my posts led you to believe that, it was totally unintentional. Completely. However, if, for example, the only room they've got is on the ground floor with a view of a parking lot and that's not very appealing to me and they've got zero else to offer me in my room category, then at least if I'm at the front desk for check-in I can ask how much an upgrade would cost, because at that point, I might want one that I'd pay for.

Yeah, and that's fine. Checking in early doesn't take away your ability to do that, for what it's worth - but if you WERE to get your requests in advance but not do online check in, your room could be offered up as tribute to someone who got there earlier with the same complaint about the parking lot.

I didn't see you suggesting pixie dust, but I have seen a lot of people declare that if they check in early there won't be pixie dust, and that's simply not true either. Pixie dust happens via assignors most of the time, in advance, because the room assignment Jenga is unsolvable otherwise.

 

[Miffy]

Yeah, and that's fine. Checking in early doesn't take away your ability to do that, for what it's worth - but if you WERE to get your requests in advance but not do online check in, your room could be offered up as tribute to someone who got there earlier with the same complaint about the parking lot.

I didn't see you suggesting pixie dust, but I have seen a lot of people declare that if they check in early there won't be pixie dust, and that's simply not true either. Pixie dust happens via assignors most of the time, in advance, because the room assignment Jenga is unsolvable otherwise.

That's valuable info. Thanks!

 

[hobbes4444]

We are arriving in Orlando late the night before our MYW package reservation at BCV starts thanks to a sudden drop in airfare. We'll be staying off-site for that night and then heading to either a park or the resort in the morning. Figured I would do advance check-in. With the package and online check-in, will we need to stop at the resort before going to a park? Do we activate our tickets and link them to our magic bands during online check-in? We'll most likely drop our stuff at the resort, but curious about our options if someone wants a quick ride on something on the way over

 

[Ladyfish77]

I've had several trips where I did online check-in and never received the room ready text. I received a room ready text one time and when I went to the room (CM asked if I needed to check in and I said I'd gotten a text as we walked through the lobby) the room carpet was being shampooed, so clearly something had gone wrong. Went back and same CM assisted us and gave us a new room (and an upgrade that we didn't ask for, I think due to the mix up). So clearly you can always go to the front desk even if you get a text and sometimes even when you get a text you still have to go to the front desk!

Don't over think it, don't stress about it. Do what makes the most sense to you. Have a great vacation!

 

[mistyinca]

Thanks for the replies. My question isn’t really so much about advantage or not of checking in online but as to the advantage or not of doing so EARLY. I’m mostly concerned with getting my room preference that I had already stated on my account.

So is checking in online EARLY (like weeks before) beneficial?

Thanks!

 

[loves to dive]

I do it about a week before we arrive, no reason not to. We still go to the front desk even if we've done on line check in unless we have received the room ready text before we get there (since the on line check in has begun, and going at least twice a year in the past 5 years and every other year before that, we have received the room ready text before we got there once). We never do any room requests other than early check in. Our room has been ready when we've gotten there even though we haven't received the room ready text about 25% of the time. We go ahead and go to the front desk when we get there just to let them know we are on property and don't really care about location of the room so if a room becomes ready early they know we are there. We also drive down so we like to go ahead and park our car. If staying in a moderate or value, they can almost always tell you at least which lot to park in and which building you will be in. If staying at a deluxe, we just park as close to the front as we can get and go ahead and store our bags with bell services.

 

[s.r.disney nut]

More times than not we don't get a room ready text. What about others here on the Dis? Are we just unlucky??

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So is checking in online EARLY (like weeks before) beneficial?

No, no impact whatsoever. If you do plan to use online check-in, perhaps the only benefit of doing it now is it’s one less thing for you to worry about down the road.

 

[Sue M]

Disney offers online/advance check-in to, in theory, speed up the check-in process and limit long front desk lines.

Many major hotel brands offer some type of online check in or straight to the room option these days. I assume “staffing efficiency” is probably a motivator somewhere in the equation as well.

As @bumbershoot notes, while many people will get the room-ready text/e-mail, some won’t. International travelers won’t. Some U.S. guests won’t, for unknown reasons. Personally, I’m roughly 75/25 in terms of getting the text vs not.

As to someone’s question above, doing online check-in does NOT impact the cancellation policy associated with your specific type of booking.

I do online check-in, I see no downside to it at all. But I also don’t see it as an absolutely critical feature. If I forgot to do it, I wouldn’t be stressing.

One thing I like to remind folks, just because you do online check-in, you can STILL stop at the front desk if so inclined. They aren’t mutually exclusive. I still stop (usually) because I like to get a map, get any paperwork, chit-chat with the CM, etc. Doing online check-in will make your time at the front desk quicker.

ETA: I usually have room requests. I call the main reservation line in advance and have them noted on my reservation (rooms are assigned 3-5ish days out, so needs to be done ahead of that time). I do NOT use the room request options on online check-in unless the options can match my original request EXACTLY. More often than not, I just leave that part of online check-in blank.

International visitor here! We never get text, but in November I checked my MDE app and room assignment was on it!

 

[Moliphino]

Or have I missed a point entirely here? I mean, if I didn't care where the room was, what the view was, etc., etc., then, okay, online check-in seems fine. I'd perhaps get the room # even before I arrived and I could go directly to the room. But on the off chance that the room would not be my first, or even fifteenth, choice, I think I'll stick with the front desk. At least there I can see where the assigned room will be, ask if I'd like a change, and find out if they can do anything. Maybe they can't, but at least I didn't go to the room first and then have to go back to the front desk.

With online checkin you sometimes get your room assignment before you even get to the hotel. If it's not what you want you can call to see if it can be changed and still never need to go to the front desk.

That's what happened to us in December. We had a split stay and were leaving the first resort for a park when I got the text. Saw it was a building right next to construction at CSR, so we called the number and had a new room far from construction before our bus reached the park.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks for the replies. My question isn’t really so much about advantage or not of checking in online but as to the advantage or not of doing so EARLY. I’m mostly concerned with getting my room preference that I had already stated on my account.

So is checking in online EARLY (like weeks before) beneficial?

Thanks!

Any benefit? Nope. None, other than you can give them a heads up if you want the room ready early. That and to me, it's like checking off a step to indicate a trip is getting closer. More importantly, it doesn't hurt you to do it. So I figure, why not?

More times than not we don't get a room ready text. What about others here on the Dis? Are we just unlucky??

We are the opposite, most of the time we do get our room number via text. It's rare/unusual for us not to. I keep the texts, they all come from the same number, for the record, so I have the text string for all our stays. Well, since I got this phone last May.
We had a split stay in May, got room number via text for both rooms
We had a stay in August, got our room number via text
We had a 3 resort stay in Oct, we got all 3 room numbers via text
We had a 4 resort stay in Dec/Jan and we got all 4 room numbers via text

We didn't get all of them BEFORE we arrived mind you, sometimes we arrive very early and our rooms were not ready every time. But we did get them via text, we never had to go by the desk to get our room number.

 

[Miffy]

Update: I just did online check-in. You experts convinced me!

 

[sachilles]

We are 2 for 3 with getting a room assignment by text. To be fair, the time we didn't get one, we arrived to Orlando before noon time.

I usually stop by the desk anyway, as we get dropped off there.
We've never been too picky about where our room is located.

 

[Miffy]

Post-trip update. I did do online check-in and didn't get a room-ready text. We arrived at the resort around 2:15 pm. Went to the front desk. None of my requests--which I'd telephoned in several months earlier--had been met. The CM told me that this was because I'd done online check-in and when the resort (SSR) is busy, they look at only the requests on the online check-in form and don't have time to see what you've asked for over the phone.

I'd requested nothing on the online check-in form because the three things I wanted weren't choices on online check-in.

So I ended up at the front desk for quite a while while they found me a room. We got a great room, btw, but it had nothing to do with online check-in.

In the future, unless my requests are available as choices for online check-in, I won't be doing it.

Just wanted to report my experience here. It was worth a try and it could've worked out, yet it didn't.