Check-in Question

[nifty48]

My friends are visiting from NY at the end of May.:thumbsup: I live in Florida and we’re planning a fun girls’ getaway weekend at WDW.:grouphug: We’ll be staying at CS. Their plane arrives from JFK at 3:43 PM and they are taking Magical Express from the airport. I won't be able to leave home until about 4:30 PM. Door to door from home to resort it’s about 1 hour away with good traffic. Unfortunately I have to drive through Orlando and it is rush hour so I’m not sure it will be 1 hour probably longer. This means they will probably arrive at the resort before I do.

I’m an AP holder and we got an AP Room Only discount. I know I have to show my AP to get the rate. What I would like to do is go down to Disney in the morning and check in for us and leave my bags to be put in our rooms when they become available. My question is if I check in early in the day will the front desk or guest services hold the room keys for my friends so they can get in the room if they arrive before I get back? We also want connecting rooms and I think we have a better shot at that if I check in early in the day.:mickey:

[magicofdisney]

Yes, you can check in early for everyone. They will hold their room key and parking pass at the concierge desk. I've done this before. Have fun! :mickey:

[Polynesian Dweller]

When we have checked in early, before the rooms are actually ready, the policy has been that WDW won't cut the key until the room is ready. They will give you your key card with your theme park passes but won't make it a room key until the room is declared ready.

That said, I can't see why you couldn't show up early and take care of the AP issues, just not get keys. Your friends would likely then have their keys made when they arrive. They are pretty accommodating about such things. Call ahead and ask the hotel the question. They'll let you know for sure.

[nifty48]

Thanks magicofdisney and Polynesian Dweller for the feedback. It was really helpful.:thumbsup: