Is online check in worth it for us?

[caryrae]

We are at our 10 day mark and was wondering if it is even worth it to check in online. We are arriving Friday Sept 25th and our plane lands at 2:48pm so after getting luggage and rental car it will be late afternoon early evening I suppose before get to the Resort.

[Goes4FastPass]

Yes.

[caryrae]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if it would be very busy at check in on a Friday at the time we are getting there but since we have no room requests and really don't care where the room is located might as well give it a try.

[disneyboundagain]

As long as you're not interested in any room upgrades. We tried to upgrade our room 2 weeks ago, and were told that we were not able since DW did the online check-in.

[Goes4FastPass]

As long as you're not interested in any room upgrades. We tried to upgrade our room 2 weeks ago, and were told that we were not able since DW did the online check-in.

This unfortunate because it gives the impresssion people who don't use online checkin get access to something extra - like room upgrades.

I've used online checkin and liked it very much. Before online checkin we seemed to always get stuck behind people either pleading for or insisting they get some whole different class of room than what they booked and/or asking a jillion questions better suited to the concierge desk.

Now it's ID, packet, and Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to play we go...

[Joeybun]

We just got back from our stay at POR. We checked in online. We arrived at the hotel about noon. It was not busy at all. Thing is, the line for the online check-in folks (us) was longer than the other line. So we just went in the other line which did not have a wait. The CM said "oh you did online check-in" I said yes but there is line there and none here and she said "no problem I will get your packet." And she did. It was probably a fluke. I do think online check in made it easier because everything was ready to go and we didn't have to do anything except have her show us on a map where the room was located. I would do online check-in again.

[disneymom15]

Caryrae, what are Jorts?

[TammiMcMan]

As long as you're not interested in any room upgrades. We tried to upgrade our room 2 weeks ago, and were told that we were not able since DW did the online check-in.That doesn't sound right :confused: . It should have just been a matter of taking your packet to the regular check-in line and asking about room upgrade options. I sincerely doubt, Disney management would want employees turning away additional money. Unfortunately, I think you were given wrong information.

[KylesMom]

This is unfortunate because it gives the impresssion people who don't use online checkin get access to something extra - like room upgrades.


Our experience - by not doing on-line check-in since we wanted to request Flag Family - was being placed in the absolute WORST standard room at WL in a dark corner above all of the electrical equipment with a closed-off balcony that we couldn't all fit on.

We did pre-check in at around 11 am, and were told our room was not ready. When we returned later in the afternoon & realized where our room was, we went to the front desk & were told that there were absolutely NO other standard rooms available & we were stuck with the one issued to us. They did offer a ridiculously high price for us to upgrade to the next tier of rooms, but wouldn't allow us to turn our package into a room-only reservation (we're annual passholders, so we didn't need the base tickets). We couldn't swing what they offered us financially. I even asked for them to check other resorts (that was how awful the room was), but we found WL's front desk was not willing to do that for us.

In the end, they were able to move us a day or two later down the hall to a "family friendly" room (which is what we were looking for to begin with), but I assure you, I'll be using on-line check in next time to hopefully get a better room assignment than whatever's left!!! I don't know if this has any bearing on where we were actually stuck, but we've always been given a great room at WL before. If our room was pre-assigned via on-line check-in, I doubt we would have received the worst room in the house.

[TammiMcMan]

I don't know if this has any bearing on where we were actually stuck, but we've always been given a great room at WL before. If our room was pre-assigned via on-line check-in, I doubt we would have received the worst room in the house.There really isn't any way of knowing. You may have checked in on a day where they had very few people checking out. If that happened, the number of standard rooms could have been very low to begin with. We've had the same thing happen and usually the resort is able to move us the next day.

[KylesMom]

There really isn't any way of knowing. You may have checked in on a day where they had very few people checking out. If that happened, the number of standard rooms could have been very low to begin with. We've had the same thing happen and usually the resort is able to move us the next day.
Yes, and it's purely speculation on my part about the whole thing. I did want to point out, however, that by not doing on-line check-in we may have done ourselves a dis-service instead of trying to speed up the process while requesting Flag Family during our stay.

[TammiMcMan]

Trying to figure out Disney is a losing battle ;) . Just when you think you have the game figured out, they change the rules, lol.

[Daisy'sMom]

I just did the online checkin for the first time on Tuesday. Since we had made our room requests known earlier, I hope everything will turn out ok. We are keeping our fingers crossed. We want an upper floor room, as close as we can get to the lobby. :mickey:

[MNNHFLTX]

We did pre-check in at around 11 am, and were told our room was not ready. When we returned later in the afternoon & realized where our room was, we went to the front desk & were told that there were absolutely NO other standard rooms available & we were stuck with the one issued to us. They did offer a ridiculously high price for us to upgrade to the next tier of rooms, but wouldn't allow us to turn our package into a room-only reservation (we're annual passholders, so we didn't need the base tickets). We couldn't swing what they offered us financially. I even asked for them to check other resorts (that was how awful the room was), but we found WL's front desk was not willing to do that for us.

Carol, I'm sorry to hear about your experience with the room at the Wilderness Lodge. What requests did you list with your original reservation? Were they able to meet any of them? See, for me the ability to have my room assignment more easily changed is the reason I went with the front disk check-in on our last trip to WDW (we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge). I'm one of those people that really looks at the map where the room is located and asks questions about the view and noise level. and will not hesitate to ask to be changed if necessary. Not that I'm terribly picky, but I don't want to be right next to an elevator or overlooking the loading dock!

BTW--did you get to be the Flag Family one morning? :mickey:

[pixiesmimi]

As long as you're not interested in any room upgrades. We tried to upgrade our room 2 weeks ago, and were told that we were not able since DW did the online check-in.


Don't know why they told you this. We did online check in and had no problems changing the room they had us booked in. It wasn't necessarily an upgrade but they didn't give us the longhouse we asked for when we made the reservations. Yes, it is worth the online check in because one day we went down to the lobby, think it may have been a Friday, and the regular check in line was almost around the lobby. No one at the online check in desk.

[LudwigVonDrake]

To the OP, yes. It cuts your wait time to check in to a couple of minutes TOPS :mickey: