On-Line Check-in benefit

[CU Tiger]

What is the benefit of on-line check-in? We checked-in on line for our Cabin a week ahead of time, but still had to wait in line and check-in still took the normal amount of time. I cannot see where the on-line check-in benefited us at all. What am I missing? Where do you see the benefit?

[disneymom15]

We used it in Nov. I liked being able to request our rooms. Asked for 1st floor and near bus stop, got both requests. We'll be using it again for our Feb trip.

[KatrinaJ91]

When we were there in July, we used the on-line check-in and it was great! There was a long line waiting to check in in the regular line. The separate on-line check-in window was empty! We were able to go right up to the CM, our packet was ready and waiting for us AND our room was ready for us! It was only 11 am! We were in the lobby for a total of about 10 minutes. As we left, I noticed people still standing in line that we would have been behind had we stood in the regular line....so I think it is definitely worth it!

[TammiMcMan]

The benefit may vary by location. It's not uncommon to wait 45 minutes at some resorts for regular check-in, while going through the on-line check-in cuts that down significantly.

[yourmagicalguide]

DH and I used on-line check-in when we stayed at CBR, and it definitely worked to our advantage in terms of getting to bypass the long waiting line. They even had two windows available for on-line check-in, so we had virtually no wait. I agree with the previous poster that this benefit will vary depending on the resort, though.

In terms of requests, however, none of our requests could be fulfilled do to the resort being at full capacity. The CM did say we could check back the following day to see if any rooms were available to switch to. To our surprise, our ground level room that was right next to a pool and only a few minute walk from the food court was actually just fine. We had wanted a room far from the food court and on the top floor to have more privacy and less noise, but with the ceiling fan on and the air conditioner running, we could hardly hear anything outside of our room

Even after your experience, I would still suggest using the on-line check-in again for your next trip to WDW to see if things go more in your favor. It's worth a shot at the very least