Check in time at Saratoga Springs what a wasted day!!

[rapisano]

My sister is currently at SSR we both have the DVC there she checked in on Sunday and her room was not ready untill 6pm!!! Wow :eek:
Is this normal I was told that check inn was at 4pm?? That to me was a wasted day of her vacation and not to mention she has a special need child and that was also know when she checked in???:sad2: :scared:

[starbox]

My sister is currently at SSR we both have the DVC there she checked in on Sunday and her room was not ready untill 6pm!!! Wow :eek:
Is this normal I was told that check inn was at 4pm?? That to me was a wasted day of her vacation and not to mention she has a special need child and that was also know when she checked in???:sad2: :scared:

:confused3 How is this a wasted day? We've gotten our room after 4pm many, many times at Disney. We check in our luggage with bell services, check-in and get our KTTW, and then hop on transportaion to our first day park until evening. There is no need to sit around a lobby waiting for a room. We very rarely have a room before noon, but we always get a full park day the first day (we arrive around 8 or 9 am).

[Chuck S]

Actually, officially check-in time is after 4pm...Disney does not really commit to having your room ready by 4pm. Sunday is also a very busy check-in day for DVC...you have the weekenders leaving, and DVC members checking in...even with a full housekeeping staff it can take time. Add to that the fact that some folks just don't vacate their room by 11am, or the room may have been trashed or had problems.

However, 6pm is not unheard of, but it is pretty unusual, not the norm.

[rapisano]

:confused3 How is this a wasted day? We've gotten our room after 4pm many, many times at Disney. We check in our luggage with bell services, check-in and get our KTTW, and then hop on transportaion to our first day park until evening. There is no need to sit around a lobby waiting for a room. We very rarely have a room before noon, but we always get a full park day the first day (we arrive around 8 or 9 am).

Well I guess for the people whom are not doing the parks and would like to get settled in before dinner this is a inconvience..further more with a special needs child it makes it very, very difficult to go from one over stimulating thing to another:snooty:

[starbox]

Actually, officially check-in time is after 4pm...Disney does not really commit to having your room ready by 4pm. Sunday is also a very busy check-in day for DVC...you have the weekenders leaving, and DVC members checking in...even with a full housekeeping staff it can take time. Add to that the fact that some folks just don't vacate their room by 11am, or the room may have been trashed or had problems.

However, 6pm is not unheard of, but it is pretty unusual, not the norm.

I think that they've moved the time back to 6 for DVC rooms - I remember being slightly stressed at BWV last month because I was planning on the 4pm time and wanted a chance to change for dinner at 6:30.

[rapisano]

Actually, officially check-in time is after 4pm...Disney does not really commit to having your room ready by 4pm. Sunday is also a very busy check-in day for DVC...you have the weekenders leaving, and DVC members checking in...even with a full housekeeping staff it can take time. Add to that the fact that some folks just don't vacate their room by 11am, or the room may have been trashed or had problems.

However, 6pm is not unheard of, but it is pretty unusual, not the norm.

Well I guess you would think that with everyone being so excited to be there they would have extra staff during the buzy season. I do agree with you that 6pm sounds so late!!:upsidedow
Thanks for your your reply!

[rapisano]

I think that they've moved the time back to 6 for DVC rooms - I remember being slightly stressed at BWV last month because I was planning on the 4pm time and wanted a chance to change for dinner at 6:30.

Gee I wonder how quick the regular non DVC guests get checked in I hope we are not sloppy seconds:confused:
I do know that a friend of mine just returned from SSR last week and she was checked in at 2pm?? Same day as sis??
Thanks for your info much appreciated:love:

[Starr W.]

Guess I have lucked out, checked in a 1pm on a cash reservation at SSR and got my room(Sunday before Thanksgiving) and about the same time on a Sat. in early May at VWL and got my room. We were actually prepared to wait for the room at VWL(from info gleaned from here) about hit the floor when I was told it was ready. No I didn't get the "dumpster" view, actually could see the lake a bit through the trees.


We had a 2br both times so I don't know if that makes a difference.

[JimC]

There are so many variables that factor into this that it is hard to generalize. Requests factor into this as well. Summer is a busy time. Sundays are a busy day since that is the first check-in for weekday stays. Quite possible that they were short staffed the day you checked in.

We have had villas/rooms as early as 10:00 am and as late as 4:00 pm. I know others have been in earlier and later than that.

Did you ask if there were any available villas, even if they did not meet your reservation requests? Sometimes that can help.

[rapisano]

There are so many variables that factor into this that it is hard to generalize. Requests factor into this as well. Summer is a busy time. Sundays are a busy day since that is the first check-in for weekday stays. Quite possible that they were short staffed the day you checked in.

We have had villas/rooms as early as 10:00 am and as late as 4:00 pm. I know others have been in earlier and later than that.

Did you ask if there were any available villas, even if they did not meet your reservation requests? Sometimes that can help.

Thank you for your reply, She did explain about my nephew whom is special needs as instructed by the concierge desk. They still did not help her out and give her there room any sooner. I know my nephews disabilities and it must have been so hard for them to deal with the late check inn. Normally I travel with her so we all can work together as a family and help out with additional distractions. I guess I am disapointed with SSR and not helping her with her situation. I am most certain any guest would offer them the room first if they only knew how diffucult it was for them to adapt.:sick:
Thanks again

[CarolA]

I have gotten villas as early as 8 and as late as past five PM. I have never 'wasted" a day. They give you the phone number to call and get your room number.

[3DisneyKids]

Having a special needs child as well, I know how frustrating it can be to travel all day...waiting until you can crash in your room, freshen up, and re-group, etc.

While we have never had this problem (always in before 4), we always have some back-up plans available...

We bring bathing suits in our carry-ons and can hang by the pool for a couple of hours (THAT feels great after traveling all day, and no one feels like they are "hanging around" waiting for a room.)

We usually have ADRs for somewhere close...either Turf Club or somewhere at DTD. Again, we can leave luggage at the desk and do all of the check-in paperwork...then go sit and have a nice relaxing meal in air conditioning, etc.

Like you, we do not like to hit the parks on arrival day, but there are other options. Hopefully this will not happen to your sis again, but next time she can plan ahead and have a back-up, just in case.

[jakenjess]

I'm sorry she had to wait so long to get into her room. It was probably a very busy check-in day, with the week of the 4th. We've had pretty good luck getting into our rooms with DVC. The latest we've gotten a room is 4:00 at BWV, but the last time we were there we got our room at 9:00, so it's luck of the draw, I think. When I'm making up our trip plans, for check-in day I always have plan A and plan B, one if the room is ready and one if it's not. That way I don't feel like I'm wasting precious vacation time!

[Mtnman44]

4pm is pushing it In my opinion. 6pm is not acceptable unless they give you a discount or something. Just cause your paying with points doesn't mean you don't deserve a full day. :confused3

Can you imagine if you went to check in to your room at the Marriott and they told you "come back after 6"? yikes!

[Deb & Bill]

4pm is pushing it In my opinion. 6pm is not acceptable unless they give you a discount or something. Just cause your paying with points doesn't mean you don't deserve a full day. :confused3

Can you imagine if you went to check in to your room at the Marriott and they told you "come back after 6"? yikes!

If you stay one night, you never get a full 24 hour day. Check in is 4 or after and check out is 11. Right there your 24 hour day just became 19 hours.

When we checked in to the BCV on June 1, our room was available immediately. We had no requests other than no-smoking and all rooms were no-smoking on Jun 1. I bet the more requests you have, the longer it can take to get your room. And housekeepers have larger spaces to clean at the DVC resorts, so it takes longer.

On New Year's Day 2006, we checked into OKW at 8AM. Our room wasn't ready until about 6PM because the guests who were in our room failed to leave the room. Until they returned back to the room at about 4:15PM. The housekeepers stayed late that day to clean up that mess (and it was horrendous - I think they had a big party in the villa, bottles, trash everywhere). And about 1.5 hours later, the room was ours. The housekeepers did a fantastic job getting it ready for us.

[LoveToDisney]

Our room wasn't ready until about 6PM because the guests who were in our room failed to leave the room. Until they returned back to the room at about 4:15PM. The housekeepers stayed late that day to clean up that mess (and it was horrendous - I think they had a big party in the villa, bottles, trash everywhere). And about 1.5 hours later, the room was ours. The housekeepers did a fantastic job getting it ready for us. I think everyone should have to give a credit card to the desk (even if they are staying on points) so when they don't vacate the room on time or totally trash the room, they are charged a rather large fee. That would help stop the late checkout times and perhaps keep the rooms from being trashed. When they sign the paperwork at the front desk they should be notified that both actions will result in a large fee charged to their cc. That extra money can go towards our maintenance for each location.

[crisi]

While we have never had this problem (always in before 4), we always have some back-up plans available...


That's really critical - if you NEED to be in a room when you arrive, DVC isn't going to be a great option - DVC doesn't work that way. We've been fortunate in that we've always been able to get into our room when we arrive, but we also always have our swimsuits in our carryons or plans to go into a park with our luggage just in case. Having travelled with small kids I know that sometimes "going into the parks" or even "going swimming" when you want to nap isn't the best option, but there are quiet corners around the resorts for some down time.


Its possible that them knowing your nephew was special needs made check in even later - did she get her requests met? DVC has supposedly moved to room ready - so you should get the next room available. But with special needs I'm guessing they take special steps to make sure the requests get met. So its possible that your friend was able to check into a less desireable room, but your sister had to wait - but was put in a room closer to the theme pool.

[Snookies]

...On New Year's Day 2006, we checked into OKW at 8AM. Our room wasn't ready until about 6PM because the guests who were in our room failed to leave the room. Until they returned back to the room at about 4:15PM. The housekeepers stayed late that day to clean up that mess (and it was horrendous - I think they had a big party in the villa, bottles, trash everywhere). And about 1.5 hours later, the room was ours. The housekeepers did a fantastic job getting it ready for us.

I've read a number of stories like this on the DIS over the years. Does DVC currently assess a fee for parties that do not vacate by 11AM? If not, a cash fee for not vacating by check-out might reduce any current problems in this area.

[Geezer]

4pm is pushing it In my opinion. 6pm is not acceptable unless they give you a discount or something. Just cause your paying with points doesn't mean you don't deserve a full day. :confused3

Can you imagine if you went to check in to your room at the Marriott and they told you "come back after 6"? yikes!

I stay in lots of hotels for business. No hotel rents out for 24 hours if you are staying just one night, so it isn't unusual to think you would get the same on check in or check out day at a DVC resort. Most hotels have check in between 2 and 4 with check out between 10 and 12. That's not 24 hours either. I never assume I can get into my room as soon as I want to. I usually plan to go have a little dinner or check out other amenities at the hotel before my room is ready. At Disney, we don't have to worry about what to do, because there is any number of things we can do to keep us busy. Just sitting pool side is one of them, or take a walk around the resort. That wouldn't be too over stimulating for a special needs child. When we have traveled with an autistic child, we learned to take it easy anyway, and Disney all by itself is over stimulating.

[Starr W.]

That's really critical - if you NEED to be in a room when you arrive, DVC isn't going to be a great option - DVC doesn't work that way. We've been fortunate in that we've always been able to get into our room when we arrive, but we also always have our swimsuits in our carryons or plans to go into a park with our luggage just in case. Having travelled with small kids I know that sometimes "going into the parks" or even "going swimming" when you want to nap isn't the best option, but there are quiet corners around the resorts for some down time.


Its possible that them knowing your nephew was special needs made check in even later - did she get her requests met? DVC has supposedly moved to room ready - so you should get the next room available. But with special needs I'm guessing they take special steps to make sure the requests get met. So its possible that your friend was able to check into a less desireable room, but your sister had to wait - but was put in a room closer to the theme pool.

I think most hotel check in's are around 3pm and if you are going at a busy time of year, you might not get your room either. At Easter time, I have had to wait for rooms at the Don Cesear in St. Pete, Turnberry outside of Ft. Lauderdale, La Quinta in Palm Springs. You go during a busy time and your room is probably not going to be ready before 3, especially as most hotels have noonish check out times.

That's one reason we didn't do much travelling until the youngest was done with napping, so I have only been back on "the road" for about 4 yrs now.

[disneynutz]

Our first stay at SSR was in May. We were told to call a number to verify room ready. We called a couple of times and were told, "not yet". Around 4:30 we stooped by the check-in desk to check status. The CM checked the computer and made some funny faces. A back room meeting ensued. We were told that they were going to send someone to our room to check status. I told them that this was unacceptable, and take your time we will be in the bar. ;) Well our room was not ready and the status in the computer was messed up. They had it cleaned and we left the bar at 6:30.

[JohnnySharp2]

Last August we checked in at BWV at around 1pm, but when we got to the room mousekeeping were still cleaning it and were not amused when we turned up with the bellboy. :rolleyes:

They left soon after but there was a smashed glass left on the kitchen table, a bulb had gone on the overhead lamp at the table. There were no towels, but they came back with some and fixed the other problems.

This is julie not johnny

[rbl291]

Sorry to hear about your sis's bad experience. We have had rooms ready when we arrive at 10:00am and also have not had our room ready until much later than 4:00pm. It all depends on disneys ability to get the room vacated, cleaned and ready for you. We always plan our first day as if we will not have the room ready in the morning when we fly in. We pack what we need in our carry-on and go off to do something else for the day whether its in the parks or swimming or DTD.
I surely can understand your dissatisfaction at SSR, but I don't think Disney has ever said rooms will be ready whenever you arrive. It never hurts to have her speak with the SSR manager and see what can be done to help compensate her for the inconvenience though. Every time we have had an issue, Disney was overly helpful to find a solution for us! Best of Luck and remember one experience doesn't make the whole thing bad!

[Esmerelda]

We were just at SSR and let me tell you...Sunday is the WORST day for check in I've ever seen. I had to go to the concierge desk for an ADR about 3pm on Sunday when we were there. There had to be 200+ folks checking in!!! I have never seen such a madhouse...

I asked the CM about it and they said it was the worst check in day and always looked just like that....yikes!!! They also told me that Friday is the other worst day for checking out. I'm sorry...I would rather use more points than to have to stand in a check in line for 2 hrs...and I'm sure these folks waited a long long time. The line went all the way around the circle...then into the hallway where the couches and DVC desk are....HOLY SMOKES BATMAN!!!

Esmerelda

[Mtnman44]

I'm well aware that a normal hotel check in/check out cycle is not 24 hrs. However, my point was that 6pm is really, really not an acceptable time to hold guests to. 4 pm is pretty late as it is, but OK. I'm sure this 6pm thing is a rare exception, at least I hope so as I really think it would be stingy to start asking guests to wait till 6pm till they get their room. As was pointed out, you only get a partial day at best anyway.

I understand that this is probably all caused by uncontrollable circustances such as a large number of late check outs and a large number of early check ins. There's no way to manage it perfectly all of the time. I suspect that most of the time they have enough rooms turned in time for reasonable check in times.

I stay in lots of hotels for business. No hotel rents out for 24 hours if you are staying just one night, so it isn't unusual to think you would get the same on check in or check out day at a DVC resort. Most hotels have check in between 2 and 4 with check out between 10 and 12. That's not 24 hours either. I never assume I can get into my room as soon as I want to. I usually plan to go have a little dinner or check out other amenities at the hotel before my room is ready. At Disney, we don't have to worry about what to do, because there is any number of things we can do to keep us busy. Just sitting pool side is one of them, or take a walk around the resort. That wouldn't be too over stimulating for a special needs child. When we have traveled with an autistic child, we learned to take it easy anyway, and Disney all by itself is over stimulating.

[castleri]

At least at Disney you can get check in done as soon as you get there. We had a reservation at an off site hotel and went there early in the hopes of checking in and then going about our day. We were told no check in until after 4PM. Couldn't even do the paperwork. I agree that each person should take their own circumstances into consideration and plan for not being able to get into the room until at least after 4PM and possibly later. If that means arriving later so you can be sure the room will be ready or planning pool time or finding a quiet corner to allow some quiet time it is best to have some ideas ahead of time. The only resort we have had later than 4PM availability for the room was BCV and we had planned a pool time day for arrival anyway so it was a non issue. Unless you plan to spend the day in the room it really shouldn't be a "wasted" day. I do hope that your sister does not have the same experience again and that future check-ins go more smoothly and at the same time hope that she will have some backup plan for down time if the room is not ready.

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . Well I guess you would think that with everyone being so excited to be there they would have extra staff during the buzy season . .

1) WDW wishes they could hire more people.
2) They are considerably understaffed in many departments.
3) They simply can't get enough people to work
. . . low wages
. . . bad hours
. . . poorly devised scheduling system
. . . mandatory overtime up to 14-hrs straight
4) When they can get new people, turnover is bad.
5) They even pay signing bonuses and can't get people.
6) They even pay current CM's a bounty from bringing in new people.

NOTE: The housekeeping is so bad that they are farming-out housekeepers via temporary help agencies. This creates some problems in efficiency, speed and quality. In some cases, rooms aren't ready until after 6:00pm, and sometimes there are complaints about subpar houesekeeping.

[Deb & Bill]

I've read a number of stories like this on the DIS over the years. Does DVC currently assess a fee for parties that do not vacate by 11AM? If not, a cash fee for not vacating by check-out might reduce any current problems in this area.

We were told that on that day there were three or four villas where the guest who was supposed to check out by 11, failed to do so and the manager was trying to get all these guests out of the rooms. They told me that they did charge these guests an extra night stay on cash.

At DLR, you can't even check into the hotel until after 3PM. Your tickets don't get put on your room key and the room key is only used for a room key (but it does have a hole in it so you can use it as a luggage tag later on).

[alldiz]

If you stay one night, you never get a full 24 hour day. Check in is 4 or after and check out is 11. Right there your 24 hour day just became 19 hours.

When we checked in to the BCV on June 1, our room was available immediately. We had no requests other than no-smoking and all rooms were no-smoking on Jun 1. I bet the more requests you have, the longer it can take to get your room. And housekeepers have larger spaces to clean at the DVC resorts, so it takes longer.

On New Year's Day 2006, we checked into OKW at 8AM. Our room wasn't ready until about 6PM because the guests who were in our room failed to leave the room. Until they returned back to the room at about 4:15PM. The housekeepers stayed late that day to clean up that mess (and it was horrendous - I think they had a big party in the villa, bottles, trash everywhere). And about 1.5 hours later, the room was ours. The housekeepers did a fantastic job getting it ready for us.

thats terrible...do guests get charged for checking out late...

Talk about taking advantage....

I've been lucky....
My room has been ready at checkin....
last month 1st dvc visit at SSR....room ready at 11am....

I think it is hit or miss...
Kerri

[starbox]

We were just at SSR and let me tell you...Sunday is the WORST day for check in I've ever seen. I had to go to the concierge desk for an ADR about 3pm on Sunday when we were there. There had to be 200+ folks checking in!!! I have never seen such a madhouse...


And add to that the fact that this was the Sunday before 4th of July - only the most popular day for summer travel at the most popular destination for travel in the US. :scared1:

We left HHI on Saturday and at 10am the traffic getting onto the island was backed up past the interstate. :eek: :scared1: It took us and hour and a half to drive 12 miles to get off the island. Fun. When we came home we met our cousins whose plane had been delayed going to Maine! It's an absolutely horrible time for travel.

[dis-happy]

I'm not sure why anyone would think that 4 pm is "barely acceptable" for getting a room, since Disney states upfront that this is the offcial check in time. Anyone getting a room earlier is just plain fortunate, but like so many things that Disney does well, maybe it becomes part of people's expectation. From personal experience Marriott does indeed tell you to come back later at the official check-in time if you try to check in early and the room is still being cleaned. So does Cypress Pointe.

Haven't stayed at SSR, but at BCV, BWV, VWL and OKW there are definitely quiet common rooms you can go to and chill out after a long day of travelling if necessary---doesn't SSR have the same thing? In May at BCV there was a child sleeping on the couch in the room off the main DVC entrance, and several adults snoozing in the rotunda room. Lots of times at VWL I've seen families whiling away the afternoon by the quiet pool while waiting for their room to be ready.

[Esmerelda]

Starbox fyi; this was Sunday, June 24......it was not the Sunday before the 4th.

Honestly, I have never seen a front desk in such a mess in my life. We will never check into a DVC on a Sunday....it was a valuable lesson learned for me and my hubby.

E...

[crisi]

I'm well aware that a normal hotel check in/check out cycle is not 24 hrs. However, my point was that 6pm is really, really not an acceptable time to hold guests to. 4 pm is pretty late as it is, but OK. I'm sure this 6pm thing is a rare exception, at least I hope so as I really think it would be stingy to start asking guests to wait till 6pm till they get their room. As was pointed out, you only get a partial day at best anyway.

I understand that this is probably all caused by uncontrollable circustances such as a large number of late check outs and a large number of early check ins. There's no way to manage it perfectly all of the time. I suspect that most of the time they have enough rooms turned in time for reasonable check in times.

DVC is not a hotel. DVC is a timeshare. Hotels operate at a much lower occupancy rates than timeshares - therefore have a lot more empty rooms each night that facilitate early checkin.

My understanding is that 4:00pm checkins - and later - are not at all uncommon in the timeshare world - in part due to higher occupancy. But people more familiar with other timeshares can probably weigh in better.

[Sammie]

1) WDW wishes they could hire more people.
2) They are considerably understaffed in many departments.
3) They simply can't get enough people to work
. . . low wages
. . . bad hours
. . . poorly devised scheduling system
. . . mandatory overtime up to 14-hrs straight
4) When they can get new people, turnover is bad.
5) They even pay signing bonuses and can't get people.
6) They even pay current CM's a bounty from bringing in new people.

NOTE: The housekeeping is so bad that they are farming-out housekeepers via temporary help agencies. This creates some problems in efficiency, speed and quality. In some cases, rooms aren't ready until after 6:00pm, and sometimes there are complaints about subpar houesekeeping.

And yet the continue to build more resorts, :confused3

[littlestar]

My daughter checked into SSR on Sunday, June 24th at 10:30 a.m., and her room was ready - no waiting. They actually gave her a choice of 3 different locations - Congress Park, Grandstand, or Paddocks. She picked Grandstand.

She didn't arrive via Magical Express with a bunch of other people, though. She drove over from another resort by car and checked into Saratoga.

[mjy]

I don't want to jinx myself by saying that I usually do not have a problem; however, I usually do not have a problem. :)

My room has always been ready well before 4:00 p.m. except for one time. That time I kept calling until 5:30 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., I asked to speak with a manager. The manager put me on hold to "check out" the situation and came back on line very apologetically. The room had been cleared at 2:00 p.m. and somehow it hadn't been entered in the computer.

You know what they say: Computers make very fast, very accurate mistakes! :)

[Mamiamjo]

I have never had to wait even until 4:00 at Disney (yet):rolleyes1
We typically check in on Saturdays (maybe that's why). This past March we arrived at BCV around 10:30 and our room was ready. Next year we were planning on arriving on Sunday. maybe we should reconsider?

[offtheice]

1) WDW wishes they could hire more people.
2) They are considerably understaffed in many departments.
3) They simply can't get enough people to work
. . . low wages
. . . bad hours
. . . poorly devised scheduling system
. . . mandatory overtime up to 14-hrs straight
4) When they can get new people, turnover is bad.
5) They even pay signing bonuses and can't get people.
6) They even pay current CM's a bounty from bringing in new people.

NOTE: The housekeeping is so bad that they are farming-out housekeepers via temporary help agencies. This creates some problems in efficiency, speed and quality. In some cases, rooms aren't ready until after 6:00pm, and sometimes there are complaints about subpar houesekeeping.


Cool . Cant wait to work pt .. Moving down to flor next yr ..

[Snookies]

This is why I scan these boards, I'm always learning something new.

We were told that on that day there were three or four villas where the guest who was supposed to check out by 11, failed to do so and the manager was trying to get all these guests out of the rooms. They told me that they did charge these guests an extra night stay on cash.

At DLR, you can't even check into the hotel until after 3PM. Your tickets don't get put on your room key and the room key is only used for a room key (but it does have a hole in it so you can use it as a luggage tag later on).

I would regard an extra night cash penalty as a substantial penalty, particularly for larger units. I have no idea if this is a significant problem at DVC, but, if so, raising awareness about this possibility could reduce it.

My experience has been the same as yours at DLR in that we have never been in the room prior to official check-in time. We were "checked-in" prior to check-in time once a few years ago, but had to return to guest services to have keys authorized and to get the actual room assignment. The other noticeable difference about DLR check-ins is that if you have booked an AP rate, you can count on the cast member asking to see your AP. At WDW, whether you're asked for your AP seems to be more of a hit or miss proposition. In my pre-DVC days when I was booking AP discounts, I never had a cast member ask to see my AP at check-in.


We were just at SSR and let me tell you...Sunday is the WORST day for check in I've ever seen. I had to go to the concierge desk for an ADR about 3pm on Sunday when we were there. There had to be 200+ folks checking in!!! I have never seen such a madhouse...

I asked the CM about it and they said it was the worst check in day and always looked just like that....yikes!!! They also told me that Friday is the other worst day for checking out. I'm sorry...I would rather use more points than to have to stand in a check in line for 2 hrs...and I'm sure these folks waited a long long time. The line went all the way around the circle...then into the hallway where the couches and DVC desk are....HOLY SMOKES BATMAN!!!

Esmerelda

Shouldn't that be...Holy Long Snaking Around the Rotunda Check-In Line Batman! To date, I've never done a Sunday check-in anywhere. Does the same madhouse currently occur on Sundays at all WDW DVC resorts? If so, like you, I'll make it a point to avoid Sundays.

[starbox]

Shouldn't that be...Holy Long Snaking Around the Rotunda Check-In Line Batman! To date, I've never done a Sunday check-in anywhere. Does the same madhouse currently occur on Sundays at all WDW DVC resorts? If so, like you, I'll make it a point to avoid Sundays.

We always do Sunday check-ins and yes, it can be bad. I've had really bad luck checking in between 1-4pm. It's really bad when you get behind a DCL bus. We had almost a 2 hour wait at OKW once - the line was out the door and backed up along the walkway. :scared1:

Generally, we've done much, much better checking in before 11am. We always assume that our room won't be ready until late afternoon, and have fanny packs or swimsuits ready so we can go to a park or swim. We started heading down a day early and staying on a price-lines or travelzoo room about an hour or two outside of Orlando so we can get to Disney by 9am on our first day. We've been able to walk right up and check-in have gotten our KTTW so we can room charge/use the DDP for the day. We're given a card to call for our room number. We use Disney Transportation to go to the park, have a nice lunch and ride a few things at a leisurely pace. About 4, we call to check on our room and head back to swim/unpack/change for dinner. The times I've had to wait past 4 for a room were all times that I checked in beween 12 and 4.

It seems like being the first to check-in that morning ensures that we get one of the first ready rooms. We've also gotten really great room locations and views. It has worked well for us.

I realize that doing an early check-in is not feasable for everyone, but if you can swing it - it's been a great thing.

[offtheice]

This is why I book early morning flights to go down . I get there around 9, ck in and only one time was my room not ready .. We just went to Epcot and just walked around in the cities , called around 2 and the room was ready ..

[jakenjess]

We've always had good luck checking in early on a Sunday too. In October, however, we're getting in on a Sunday, and our flight is due in at 10:48 A.M. I'm hoping everything is on time and goes smoothly and we can get to OKW by noon. I'm expecting it to be busy and that our room won't be ready, so I've got the backup plan in place and ready to go.

[VLee]

May 23, (Wednesday), we checked before 2pm and had to wait until 5 pm for a room at Boardwalk. We visited the shops and community hall and I had packed swimsuits in carry on, so the kids swam.

My concern is for SUNDAY, December 30 when we return to the Wilderness Lodge. I probably won't arrive until 2 pm and have a Candlelight Processional package at 5:30 in Epcot. Given the busy time of year, I am not counting on getting into the room, so will check my carryon if I need the time to catch the bus to Epcot.
My daughter is checking out from Pop earlier that day to join me and really needs a place for the kids to rest several hours before we head out at night. They plan to sleep as late as they can at Pop to keep the kids rested up (Magic Kingdom is open until 3 am that day).
Anyone know where the kids can rest (or even take a nap) at Epcot --because I doubt if they get to check in either.

[offtheice]

I guess you have to expect this though in the summer months. Sun is a very busy ck in day all over disney properties.. Start of a new vaca week .. Its like you dont do mk on mon because that the first day of the week when people who come in on suns , hit ..

[Val]

We had no problem checking in at SSR on Sunday, June 10th. We checked in at 9 am, and the room was ready. We didn't get Congress Park or the Springs, like we had requested, but got the Paddock. Were told that even if we waited, CP or springs wouldn't be available, so we took the Paddock, and in retrospect, loved it!

Had big problems with check in on Sunday, 6/17 at BWV. Checked in at 10 am (of course, not expecting a room). Room wasn't ready until after 6 pm, which flies in the face of room ready.....and then we got the "underwear view" as our preferred view- balcony and doors opened into a full view of neighbors, who were walking around in their undies! Also, lots of broken furniture, it was filthy and the carpeting was soaking wet. Given that it was almost 7 we did request a room change and got it- first floor by quiet pool and community hall. This turned out to be a surprisingly good location, although it too was worn and had multiple maintenance issues. Had repeated problems at BWVs (repeated dining plan screw ups, double charging of credit cards, keys not working 4 times).....We are 10 year owners, it has always been our favorite resort, but we are not sure we will be back there for a long, long time.

I do think anything more than 1 hour after 4 is out of line. I understand the need for 4pm check in, but they should stick pretty close to that, except in rare emergencies. Unfortunately, given all the cutbacks, I think that management is relying on the "or later" clause more and more.

[Fitswimmer]

We don't have a problem with the check in policy at all. I usually take the early flight out of Newark, take ME to SSR and arrive between 11-12. I pack whatever I need for a day at the parks in my backpack for the plane-everything else goes with ME to the resort. When I check in, they give me a location choice. (I've only asked for general area, not specific rooms) My parents live in The Villages, which is about an hour away, so we meet at the resort and they leave their bags at the desk. Usually, we spend the afternoon at a park, have a nice dinner somewhere and by the time we head back to SSR the rooms are ready and the bags are waiting. We never consider that first day wasted, as long as the room is ready by 7 or so, we're fine.

I think sometimes there is a sense that because we have spent so much on our DVC memberships that we are entitled to something above and beyond what is in the written guidelines and policies. DVC cannot make an exception for everyone claiming special needs-because so many people have special needs. My Dad has Parkinson's-does that entitle us to treatement over and above what other guests receive? We don't believe so-if his needs are such that the ordinary policy is not effective for us, then we will make changes in our vacationing style around it-not expect DVC to change for us.

[MichelleB]

We had this happen at BCV last year. We were checking in and had driven all day long to get there. We did arrive early and had 7:00 dinner reservations and wanted to get cleaned up first (DH and uncle were adament that they felt grungy and just wanted a shower). We were told that we could get our room at 4:00. At 4:00, we were told 4:30. At 4:30, we were told 5:00. This went on until we were finally able to get in at 6:45. We would have been inclined to go on our way had they not told us we'd be in within 1/2 hour each time. Optimistic me kept saying they would be correct this time. There were 8 of us (4 young kids) hanging around the lobby waiting and boy were we ticked. All we wanted to do was to get showers and be on our way. We couldn't have made our reservations and after MUCH complaining, the manager told us to order room service on them. We weren't going to take it but she also offered park tickets if we wanted to go ahead into the parks so we wouldn't "waste" a day of our tickets (we did not take her up on the tickets but did on dinner). We just truly wanted someone to know what an inconvenience they'd been to our plans. Housekeeping needs to be beefed up if they can't keep up with the room turnover rate. Just my opinion, so please don't flame me for it.

[rapisano]

[ DVC cannot make an exception for everyone "claiming special needs"because so many people have special needs. My Dad has Parkinson's-does that entitle us to treatement over and above what other guests receive? We don't believe so-if his needs are such that the ordinary policy is not effective for us, then we will make changes in our vacationing style around it-not expect DVC to change for us.[/QUOTE]

Well I also have a family member that had parkinsons as well so thats great that you dont deem that as getting special treatment over others. However we are not talking about a adult we are referring to a child. I know we all spend lots of money on our membership as well as any guest that spends a ton at WDW. Its not to much to ask to makes those who have special needs more comfortable asap. As far as changeing vacationing style thats up to the individual and the family to make that choice. Lets remember we are taking about a childs dream is WDW. I cant imagine deniying a child a dream vacation because others think that we chould change our "vacationing style"
That is just so sad you feel that way. :guilty: :scared:

[rapisano]

OK please dont take this to heart but for all of you that feel you see no need for assistance for children with special needs your are all not very compassionate at all!!
I cant believe that guests dont give a care about others that need the help and that shouldnt be taken asap to get the guests in there rooms.. Please please dont speak about a topic or a situation that you have no idea about:confused3
If you dont have a autistic child and there is a huge spectrum of severity in each person and you dont even know anything about this then dont offer your calous opinion.. I know for the folks that have special needs children are the most patient and tolerant people I have ever meet and it is a challenge constantly. So think before you criticize others... Be giving and patient life will bring you much more happiness than being selfish:angel:

[Charleneluvsdisney]

I checked in on Sunday the 24th at 11:30. The line was long, (wrapped into the hallway) but went very fast - I was really surprised that it did go that fast. I really thought we were going to be there for a long time, but it took no longer than 15 minutes. They had many cast members checking people in, so I definitely didn't see a shortage of help, and they also had a person directing people to open check-in stations. We also had our choice of locations at this time and chose the Grandstand area. So, I guess it really is hit or miss if the rooms are ready or not.

[eliza61]

We were told that on that day there were three or four villas where the guest who was supposed to check out by 11, failed to do so and the manager was trying to get all these guests out of the rooms. They told me that they did charge these guests an extra night stay on cash.
(but it does have a hole in it so you can use it as a luggage tag later on).

This is very common. I worked my way through college as a maid in a large 4 star hotel in Pittsburgh. People rarely checked out at the 11:00 am time especially on a Sunday when they would lounge around for hours. Couple that with a guest who trashed that room and what should only take a housekeeper 45 minutes is now up to 2 hours late. Sorry the op had such a problem checking in but you'd be surprise how often it occurs.

[disneygal55]

We stayed at SSR last week. We got to the lobby around 11 AM and had requested Congress Park (Downtown Disney) view...had also put in the request when booking 11 months prior. Well the cast member at the desk stated that she had our room (with Congress Park...DDD view) but that the room wasn't ready and we would have to call towards 4PM. So we went to MGM and returned around 5:30 PM. We got our room assignment and went to check it out...a full view of the parking lot and BUS STOP! Went back and the manager explained that the cast member was new and that she made a mistake about the layout of the resort...but sorry no DDD views left.
Now if she had told us that there weren't any rooms with that view we would have accepted it but.... So he gave us another room in Grandstand and assured us that tomorrow we could have the DDD view for the rest of the week. So we moved our luggage back to the car in the AM and hit Animal Kingdom. We returned around 3PM...no room. We kept checking...central reservations told us that we weren't even registered at SSR. We went back to the front desk and after some further checking they found our reservation. We checked and waited, checked and waited, checked and waited for our new room to be cleaned. Around 6PM they told us that the room was ready. We went to check it out...you guessed it not a DDD view but a big pine tree view in the middle of our slider. And to make it worse the bathroom floor had about a hundred curly black hairs against the wall near the tub!

I was so tired I almost said forget about it and thought about cleaning the floor and living with the pine tree but we called again. In a few minutes a very nice gentleman came over and helped us to move into the FOURTH room! This room had the view that we had initially requested.

Now, I understand that views are not guaranteed but SSR made this process nearly unbearable with the numerous errors We wasted many hours of our valuable time.

[eliza61]

OK please dont take this to heart but for all of you that feel you see no need for assistance for children with special needs your are all not very compassionate at all!!
I cant believe that guests dont give a care about others that need the help and that shouldnt be taken asap to get the guests in there rooms.. Please please dont speak about a topic or a situation that you have no idea about:confused3
If you dont have a autistic child and there is a huge spectrum of severity in each person and you dont even know anything about this then dont offer your calous opinion.. I know for the folks that have special needs children are the most patient and tolerant people I have ever meet and it is a challenge constantly. So think before you criticize others... Be giving and patient life will bring you much more happiness than being selfish:angel:

I think the folks here are really helpful and compassionate. I don't think we/they meant to give the impression that we are not sympathetic to special needs individuals. I just feel that all folks, even those traveling with disabilities must realize that break downs happen, even at Disney and because she is travelling with an Autistic child is not going to make her exempt. I'm sure adjustments have to be made when traveling with an autistic child but it goes both ways.

[Snookies]

We stayed at SSR last week. We got to the lobby around 11 AM and had requested Congress Park (Downtown Disney) view...had also put in the request when booking 11 months prior. Well the cast member at the desk stated that she had our room (with Congress Park...DDD view) but that the room wasn't ready and we would have to call towards 4PM. So we went to MGM and returned around 5:30 PM. We got our room assignment and went to check it out...a full view of the parking lot and BUS STOP! Went back and the manager explained that the cast member was new and that she made a mistake about the layout of the resort...but sorry no DDD views left.
Now if she had told us that there weren't any rooms with that view we would have accepted it but.... So he gave us another room in Grandstand and assured us that tomorrow we could have the DDD view for the rest of the week. So we moved our luggage back to the car in the AM and hit Animal Kingdom. We returned around 3PM...no room. We kept checking...central reservations told us that we weren't even registered at SSR. We went back to the front desk and after some further checking they found our reservation. We checked and waited, checked and waited, checked and waited for our new room to be cleaned. Around 6PM they told us that the room was ready. We went to check it out...you guessed it not a DDD view but a big pine tree view in the middle of our slider. And to make it worse the bathroom floor had about a hundred curly black hairs against the wall near the tub!

I was so tired I almost said forget about it and thought about cleaning the floor and living with the pine tree but we called again. In a few minutes a very nice gentleman came over and helped us to move into the FOURTH room! This room had the view that we had initially requested.

Now, I understand that views are not guaranteed but SSR made this process nearly unbearable with the numerous errors We wasted many hours of our valuable time.

I believe this type of error is common. My first check-in experience at SSR could be summarized by your first paragraph, i.e., at check-in we hear the "Congratulations, you've received a Congress Park Downtown Disney View" spiel. After calling to get the room assignment at 4 and a long-day at Epcot, we returned at 10pm to our fabulous Congress Park bus stop view. I think this happens at SSR because some of the units occupy the corners of the building and the angles are such that what looks like a Downtown Disney view on a map will actually be a "resort view." Since it had been a long-day and we don't generally care about such things (not to mention the pounding migraine I already had), we didn't request a change. It was a nice bus stop view.

[castleri]

I think the folks here are really helpful and compassionate. I don't think we/they meant to give the impression that we are not sympathetic to special needs individuals. I just feel that all folks, even those traveling with disabilities must realize that break downs happen, even at Disney and because she is travelling with an Autistic child is not going to make her exempt. I'm sure adjustments have to be made when traveling with an autistic child but it goes both ways.

Well said - for example an adjustment to when a person travels could put them at the resort at a time when it is most likely a room would be ready rather than hours before the official check in time if it is important to be in the room immediately. This may require adding a day so you get there in the evening and then start the real vacation in the morning when everyone is rested and refreshed. This is not being harsh just realistic. It seems that if you are traveling with any person with special needs you need to plan ahead for all possibilities; one of which might be not getting into the room when you think you will if you know you will be arriving well before the official check in time. .
I sincerely hope that the rest of the trip for this family went well and that they can look at getting into the room late as only a small thing in an otherwise great trip.

[cymomtx]

I have two autistic children and travel to Cancun yearly to our timeshare. Some years we get there at 10am and some at 2pm, sometimes our unit is ready sometimes its not, we just get our swim suits out and head to the beach. When we arrived at SSR in 11/05 we had the same thing happen our unit was not ready, this after being on the road for 18 hours! So we just started exploring the resort and found swimsuits and entertained the kids until the unit was ready. There is no use getting upset and ruining the start to a magicall vacation. Having two autistic children we have learned that we have to roll with the punches and take life as it comes. It is not always perfect but we have to make the best of it.

[castleri]

May 23, (Wednesday), we checked before 2pm and had to wait until 5 pm for a room at Boardwalk. We visited the shops and community hall and I had packed swimsuits in carry on, so the kids swam.

My concern is for SUNDAY, December 30 when we return to the Wilderness Lodge. I probably won't arrive until 2 pm and have a Candlelight Processional package at 5:30 in Epcot. Given the busy time of year, I am not counting on getting into the room, so will check my carryon if I need the time to catch the bus to Epcot.
My daughter is checking out from Pop earlier that day to join me and really needs a place for the kids to rest several hours before we head out at night. They plan to sleep as late as they can at Pop to keep the kids rested up (Magic Kingdom is open until 3 am that day).
Anyone know where the kids can rest (or even take a nap) at Epcot --because I doubt if they get to check in either.

If your daughter's name is on the reservation why not have her check in early at WL. She could get there earlier than you and there might be a better chance that a room would be ready earlier. It would be worth a try. Then she might be able to find a quiet spot for the kids to rest if she can't get the room right away. I would think there may be some quiet areas around WL more so than at EPCOT.

[sassyat30]

I think the folks here are really helpful and compassionate. I don't think we/they meant to give the impression that we are not sympathetic to special needs individuals. I just feel that all folks, even those traveling with disabilities must realize that break downs happen, even at Disney and because she is travelling with an Autistic child is not going to make her exempt. I'm sure adjustments have to be made when traveling with an autistic child but it goes both ways.

I agree. It's her problem if she lets it ruin her vacation. Just b/c her son has special needs doesn't mean he should be treated any differently than any other guest. :confused3

And if she's worried about him being over-stimulated, Disney probably isn't the best choice of places to vacation.

[LaurenLC]

My sister is currently at SSR we both have the DVC there she checked in on Sunday and her room was not ready untill 6pm!!! Wow :eek:
Is this normal I was told that check inn was at 4pm?? That to me was a wasted day of her vacation and not to mention she has a special need child and that was also know when she checked in???:sad2: :scared:

I was wondering how the rest of the trip was going? :confused3 I would hope that your sister and family wouldn't let a late check out ruin the magic pixiedust: It's sad that when one thing goes wrong you have to remind people that they are lucky enough to be at Disney World.

[Starr W.]

OK please dont take this to heart but for all of you that feel you see no need for assistance for children with special needs your are all not very compassionate at all!!
I cant believe that guests dont give a care about others that need the help and that shouldnt be taken asap to get the guests in there rooms.. Please please dont speak about a topic or a situation that you have no idea about:confused3
If you dont have a autistic child and there is a huge spectrum of severity in each person and you dont even know anything about this then dont offer your calous opinion.. I know for the folks that have special needs children are the most patient and tolerant people I have ever meet and it is a challenge constantly. So think before you criticize others... Be giving and patient life will bring you much more happiness than being selfish:angel:


I will chime in again, because I'm a parent of a Asperger's Syndrome(in the Autism spectrum) so I do have experience with this. I think that what everyone is trying to tell you that checking into a DVC or any hotel during a busy period, you are not going to get your room before "official" check in time or possibly later. I have had it happen to me alot before kids and after kids. I waited forever at a 5star hotel over in St. Pete on Sat before Palm Sunday. So it can happen in the best places, not just the timeshare industry. I found with my Aspie, if he knows what the game plan is he's fine, but mine's 10 yrs old.

To be honest, one reason we didn't start going to WDW until now was I wasn't going to travel with my Aspie and a younger child who still took naps, when I know all the things that "can go wrong".

[Judique]

OK please dont take this to heart but for all of you that feel you see no need for assistance for children with special needs your are all not very compassionate at all!!
I cant believe that guests dont give a care about others that need the help and that shouldnt be taken asap to get the guests in there rooms.. Please please dont speak about a topic or a situation that you have no idea about:confused3
If you dont have a autistic child and there is a huge spectrum of severity in each person and you dont even know anything about this then dont offer your calous opinion.. I know for the folks that have special needs children are the most patient and tolerant people I have ever meet and it is a challenge constantly. So think before you criticize others... Be giving and patient life will bring you much more happiness than being selfish:angel:

I think your expectations are a little out of line. It's not that people don't have a heart or sympathy for a child with a disability, or a parent that has to deal with this on a daily basis.
The fact is that everyone trying to check in has paid for a vacation and aside from the obvious accommodations deemed necessary by law for persons with a disability your family is not entitled nor should they expect to move ahead of anyone else.
IF it happens that your family gets a little extra pixie dust, that's nice.
If they don't, that's life - at least at Disney they'll eventually get a great product for their cash.

[Fortywinks]

My sister is currently at SSR we both have the DVC there she checked in on Sunday and her room was not ready untill 6pm!!! Wow :eek:
Is this normal I was told that check inn was at 4pm?? That to me was a wasted day of her vacation and not to mention she has a special need child and that was also know when she checked in???:sad2: :scared:

You can check in whenever you arrive, your room just may not be ready.
On our last trip when we checked in at 11:00 AM there were only a limited number ready, all of which we really didn't want. The check-in person said that if we could wait until after 4:00 PM to move into our room, they would have a much greater room pool to assign. We went ahead and checked-in with no room assignment, got our coded door keys, package, secured our luggage and went on to Epcot. At 2:00 PM we called and got our room number and it was the very one we wanted. Since we already had our keys it would fit the room # they entered into the computer. We never even had to go back to check-in.

[crisi]

OK please dont take this to heart but for all of you that feel you see no need for assistance for children with special needs your are all not very compassionate at all!!
I cant believe that guests dont give a care about others that need the help and that shouldnt be taken asap to get the guests in there rooms.. Please please dont speak about a topic or a situation that you have no idea about:confused3
If you dont have a autistic child and there is a huge spectrum of severity in each person and you dont even know anything about this then dont offer your calous opinion.. I know for the folks that have special needs children are the most patient and tolerant people I have ever meet and it is a challenge constantly. So think before you criticize others... Be giving and patient life will bring you much more happiness than being selfish:angel:

I'm not sure why a child with autism should take priority over a family with two year old triplets in need of a nap. Neither has a health risk associated with their special need that makes getting to the room important for health reasons. Both are simply situations where getting into the room on time makes the trip more pleasant for everyone traveling. Same when traveling with Seniors who would like a nap, or a family that has driven through the night. There are so many special needs kids at Disney that they've changed many of the policies over the past twenty years - they can't give them all priority for everything or non-special needs people would just continually stack up. If the child is so severely disabled that it is a health risk not to be able to check in until 4:00 or later, YOU have a responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen, call Special Services to find out how they recommend handling it, book a room for the night before so one is empty and clean when you arrive - and if it does happen, there are about a dozen $49 a night hotels out near International Drive that have immediate vacancies. Seems like YOU don't care about anyone who isn't in YOUR situation. I don't know anything about YOUR situation, you are right. And you don't know anything about anyone else's who checked in that day.

[Fitswimmer]

I'm not sure why a child with autism should take priority over a family with two year old triplets in need of a nap. Neither has a health risk associated with their special need that makes getting to the room important for health reasons. Both are simply situations where getting into the room on time makes the trip more pleasant for everyone traveling. Same when traveling with Seniors who would like a nap, or a family that has driven through the night. There are so many special needs kids at Disney that they've changed many of the policies over the past twenty years - they can't give them all priority for everything or non-special needs people would just continually stack up. If the child is so severely disabled that it is a health risk not to be able to check in until 4:00 or later, YOU have a responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen, call Special Services to find out how they recommend handling it, book a room for the night before so one is empty and clean when you arrive - and if it does happen, there are about a dozen $49 a night hotels out near International Drive that have immediate vacancies. Seems like YOU don't care about anyone who isn't in YOUR situation. I don't know anything about YOUR situation, you are right. And you don't know anything about anyone else's who checked in that day.


You've made my point better than I did. Disney is FULL of people who have one kind of special need or another and there's just no way that they can accomodate every need in the way each particular family wants to have it accomodated.

Disney is a victim of it's own "pixie dust". It's gotten to a point where every guest expects Disney to make their vacation perfect. There are some things that guests have to take responsibility for on their own, especially when it comes to special needs.

[cymomtx]

You've made my point better than I did. Disney is FULL of people who have one kind of special need or another and there's just no way that they can accomodate every need in the way each particular family wants to have it accomodated.

Disney is a victim of it's own "pixie dust". It's gotten to a point where every guest expects Disney to make their vacation perfect. There are some things that guests have to take responsibility for on their own, especially when it comes to special needs.

Amen! And I as a mother to two Aspie children totally understand and respect this.

[dianeschlicht]

I'm not sure why a child with autism should take priority over a family with two year old triplets in need of a nap. Neither has a health risk associated with their special need that makes getting to the room important for health reasons. Both are simply situations where getting into the room on time makes the trip more pleasant for everyone traveling. Same when traveling with Seniors who would like a nap, or a family that has driven through the night. There are so many special needs kids at Disney that they've changed many of the policies over the past twenty years - they can't give them all priority for everything or non-special needs people would just continually stack up. If the child is so severely disabled that it is a health risk not to be able to check in until 4:00 or later, YOU have a responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen, call Special Services to find out how they recommend handling it, book a room for the night before so one is empty and clean when you arrive - and if it does happen, there are about a dozen $49 a night hotels out near International Drive that have immediate vacancies. Seems like YOU don't care about anyone who isn't in YOUR situation. I don't know anything about YOUR situation, you are right. And you don't know anything about anyone else's who checked in that day.

Very well said, as usual, Crisi! Disney is very good at providing special services for those who need it, but you must REQUEST it to get it.

[jarestel]

6:00 PM is not an acceptable check-in time, IMO. This is the only area in this circumstance where Disney/DVC failed to meet their obligations and responsibilities to a DVC member as far as I can see though.

[cymomtx]

But what about the people who fail to check out at 11am. Is DVC just suppose to go into those rooms and pack the bags and put them in the hallway? They have no control over people who say, what's a few minutes another hour, it won't hurt anything. But in the end it does, the dominoes fall and everyone gets the brunt of it.

When a guest is in a room for 2 days or 3 weeks there is a world of difference to cleaning that room and it will vary the time it takes. It is the luck of the draw as to which room you pull, do you want a clean room with no hassles during your visit or do you want mousekeeping to rush because its 4pm and don't let anyone wait?

[jarestel]

But what about the people who fail to check out at 11am. Is DVC just suppose to go into those rooms and pack the bags and put them in the hallway? They have no control over people who say, what's a few minutes another hour, it won't hurt anything. But in the end it does, the dominoes fall and everyone gets the brunt of it.

When a guest is in a room for 2 days or 3 weeks there is a world of difference to cleaning that room and it will vary the time it takes. It is the luck of the draw as to which room you pull, do you want a clean room with no hassles during your visit or do you want mousekeeping to rush because its 4pm and don't let anyone wait?

There are many ways to make a guest whole or at least relieve the stress somewhat. I agree, if there are no rooms ready, Disney magic isn't powerful enough to make one appear.

But how about giving the guests free dinner somewhere to make up for the inconvenience. Maybe park tickets for the day? How about even offering to drive them to VWL if they need some quiet time where they can enjoy the serenity of the Iron Spike room? These are a few possible suggestions and I'm sure there are many more one could think of.

There are many ways to put a smile back on the face of a guest. I'm not saying that fine resorts don't have problems from time to time. But they usually know how to manage and mitigate those situations a bit better.

[cymomtx]

Giving out freebies are great at a "hotel" but at a "timeshare" those come out of our pockets. So sure if you want your maintenance fees to go up, then great hand out the freebies. Or just have some patience at 4pm and some courtesy at 11am.

[Anthony1971]

I do not see where anyone is being un-sympathetic.
There are a lot of experiences and suggestions to try to help in future expectations.
In th end it is up to the traveler to make sure his/her family or guests are accommodated.
I travel with parnets who are in thire 70's-80's I make sure I get a flight that gets me there at a raesonable time for them to eat either lunch or dinner making sure they eat the previous meals. If my room is not ready I will take the proper steps to make sure they are comfortable -- have a place to eat and take thier medication and have a place in mind for them to rest out of the sun or ask for a CM for suggestions.
Disney does a great a job of making sure everyone is comfortable much better than most but it is up to the trip planners to make sure you are not putting yourself in a position where there could be an uncomfortable situataion.... and again this is not to be un-sympathetic but every person needs to look out for his/her Families needs and most have something that makes them feel they should have priority over the next

[jarestel]

Giving out freebies are great at a "hotel" but at a "timeshare" those come out of our pockets. So sure if you want your maintenance fees to go up, then great hand out the freebies. Or just have some patience at 4pm and some courtesy at 11am.

DVC has an operating budget that covers many things including discretionary spending. Free meals have been fairly common actually.

The only issue I have is the 6:00 PM check-in. I think that's unreasonable. Evidently you don't. Is 7:00 PM unreasonable? 10:00 PM? One minute before midnight? Where would you draw the line and start to expect better from DVC? Just curious.

[LaurenLC]

There are many ways to make a guest whole or at least relieve the stress somewhat. I agree, if there are no rooms ready, Disney magic isn't powerful enough to make one appear.

But how about giving the guests free dinner somewhere to make up for the inconvenience. Maybe park tickets for the day? How about even offering to drive them to VWL if they need some quiet time where they can enjoy the serenity of the Iron Spike room? These are a few possible suggestions and I'm sure there are many more one could think of.

There are many ways to put a smile back on the face of a guest. I'm not saying that fine resorts don't have problems from time to time. But they usually know how to manage and mitigate those situations a bit better.

Why should a company have to give you something for free when they really did nothing wrong? :confused3 There is nothing posted anywhere that says you are guaranteed to check into your room by 4pm. If Disney gave away "freebies" for every person that complained about an inconvenience there would be no Disney.:confused: Sometimes I think people hold Disney to unrealistic expectations.

[jarestel]

Why should a company have to give you something for free when they really did nothing wrong? :confused3 There is nothing posted anywhere that says you are guaranteed to check into your room by 4pm. If Disney gave away "freebies" for every person that complained about an inconvenience there would be no Disney.:confused: Sometimes I think people hold Disney to unrealistic expectations.

I guess we just disagree. Making a member wait until 6:00 PM to check-in IS wrong IMO. A reasonable person might assume that a posted check-in time of 4:00 PM or later might cover 4:30, maybe even 5:00 PM. I don't think a reasonable person would expect it means 6:00, 8:00, or midnight.

[starbox]

I guess we just disagree. Making a member wait until 6:00 PM to check-in IS wrong IMO.

I agree that 6pm is unusually late during times of normal-busy occupancy. For Easter week, Chrsitmas week, or 4th of July week (as well as the Tuesday and Wed. before Thanksgiving) - I think you have to expect that there may be
longer-than-usual waits with any and everything at WDW.

[loribell]

From what I have experienced when I check in they assign a specific room to me. Even though they may not give me a room number at that time a specific room number has been assigned. Even those that say they were told a much larger pool of rooms would be available to choose from had a specific room number assigned to them.

My point is that once that room has been assigned and the previous guest checks out mousekeeping then goes in to clean the room. Thay have no idea what they are going to walk in on. They have no idea how long it is going to take to clean it. So I check in, they assing me a room, mousekeeping finally gets to go in to start cleaning and they have a huge mess on their hands. The next availabe room does not then become mine, it has already been assigned to someone else. They already have keys for it, they just don't know what the room number is.

So if the sister checked in on a Sunday, the busiest day for check ins, at 4:00 I wonder how many people had already checked in ahead of her? All of those people had a specific room number assigned to them that could not then be given to her when she checked in. The CM's couldn't just give a previously assigned room to her. They gave her what was still available and then there were problems with getting the room cleaned.

[Anthony1971]

I guess we just disagree. Making a member wait until 6:00 PM to check-in IS wrong IMO. A reasonable person might assume that a posted check-in time of 4:00 PM or later might cover 4:30, maybe even 5:00 PM. I don't think a reasonable person would expect it means 6:00, 8:00, or midnight.

And next time you get a room before 4 you should buy all the CM's a meal for breaking the 4:00 PM check in rule!

Check in time is AFTER 4 this could be anytime after...... MOST of the time we get a room before 4.....

[disneygal55]

Maybe if people checking in would be told "Check out is at 11 AM. If you don't check out by 11 AM then you will be charged another day's points"... I bet that people would check out on time! When I board my dog "Riley" at the kennel I am always told. Pick him up by noon or you will be charged for another day.

[jarestel]

And next time you get a room before 4 you should buy all the CM's a meal for breaking the 4:00 PM check in rule!

Check in time is AFTER 4 this could be anytime after...... MOST of the time we get a room before 4.....

Again, we simply disagree that any time at all after 4:00 PM is reasonable. I would hold Disney to a higher standard. If you're "just happy to be there" that's great. I'm not you.

[fishermouse]

Thank you for your reply, She did explain about my nephew whom is special needs as instructed by the concierge desk. They still did not help her out and give her there room any sooner. I know my nephews disabilities and it must have been so hard for them to deal with the late check inn. Normally I travel with her so we all can work together as a family and help out with additional distractions. I guess I am disapointed with SSR and not helping her with her situation. I am most certain any guest would offer them the room first if they only knew how diffucult it was for them to adapt.:sick:
Thanks again
Being a frequent traveler as most of us DVC'rs are, one thing you can count on is that you can't count on your room being ready. Sometimes it's ready early sometimes later no matter where you stay. As a previous poster noted you need a plan A and a plan B. especially if you or someone in your party has special needs. If an HA room is needed you may be in for a little longer wait due to supply and demand of these rooms. In your sisters case I imagine a regular room is ok. Some one with special needs should be prepared for this, DVC can not magically pull up a room because it is needed now, nor should they be responsible for someone who is unprepared for a wait. Don't be so certain of guests giving up their room so your sister could get in sooner, first off DVC should not put another guest in that position, it's not fair to them. If you've read these boards you know one of the biggest complaints is that rooms are not properly cleaned. The front desk can not allow itself to be pressured into giving up a room that are not ready or has been promised to someone that checked in early and went to the parks for the day while Mousekeeping was cleaning their room. While I can sympathize with your sister IMO she should be prepared for such events, even more so than people with no special needs. I'm sure the CM would not make her wait if there was anything available. It's not my intention to sound harsh or uncareing, I would probably be one of the ones to say give her my room if I had not checked into it yet, but by now she should know how to travel with her DS and not trust that all will go as planned. I hope the rest of her trip is as magical as possble.

[LaurenLC]

Why is waiting for a room for 2 hours a waste of a day? You wait at Disney all the time. You wait for a bus, you wait in lines to get in, you wait in line for rides (sometimes 2 hours), you wait to eat.....You wait most of the time you're there. Now, waiting the 2 hours and not getting the room you needed, or the room not being in the appropriate condition, now THAT would be a waste.

[fishermouse]

1)
NOTE: The housekeeping is so bad that they are farming-out housekeepers via temporary help agencies. This creates some problems in efficiency, speed and quality. In some cases, rooms aren't ready until after 6:00pm, and sometimes there are complaints about subpar houesekeeping.
This is a common practice with any seasonal bussines. Disney could not afford to carry sumer staff all year long. We even do it in the medical industry to cover vacations in plus being a resort area we just need more people seasonally. Temp Nurses, Technologist and even Doctors it's a very cost effective solution..

[Anthony1971]

Again, we simply disagree that any time at all after 4:00 PM is reasonable. I would hold Disney to a higher standard. If you're "just happy to be there" that's great. I'm not you.


I am not just"happy to be there" to ask for a free meal because they did not meet your higher standerds is unreasonable. To NOT get an apology is also unreasonable for a 6 P.M. check in... I do not disagree that 6 is unreasonable I disagree with the expectation of compensation as if this is expected than Disney may chenge to after 4 even if a room is ready as other Timeshare and cash Hotels do .

[crisi]

DVC has an operating budget that covers many things including discretionary spending. Free meals have been fairly common actually.

The only issue I have is the 6:00 PM check-in. I think that's unreasonable. Evidently you don't. Is 7:00 PM unreasonable? 10:00 PM? One minute before midnight? Where would you draw the line and start to expect better from DVC? Just curious.

Where does this money come from?

My understanding is that the cash inflows for DVC come from Dues, Investment Interest, and Breakage Income. They balance out the outflows. The management company is legally allowed a certain percentage of the operating budget as "profit" but has a legal obligation to keep costs reasonable. Any outflow needs to get paid by one of those sources, and those sources are pooled - so if breakage income goes down, our dues go up to compensate. My understanding is that Disney does not transfer any assets cost free (including comping meals or park passes) into DVC but that those internal transfers are paid for out of DVCs operating budget. That DVD has a seperate budget for marketing that does not come from the operating budget but is funded by sales of the resorts, but DVC and DVD are run as seperate operating divisions.

[TunaJr]

I believe this type of error is common. My first check-in experience at SSR could be summarized by your first paragraph, i.e., at check-in we hear the "Congratulations, you've received a Congress Park Downtown Disney View" spiel. After calling to get the room assignment at 4 and a long-day at Epcot, we returned at 10pm to our fabulous Congress Park bus stop view. I think this happens at SSR because some of the units occupy the corners of the building and the angles are such that what looks like a Downtown Disney view on a map will actually be a "resort view." Since it had been a long-day and we don't generally care about such things (not to mention the pounding migraine I already had), we didn't request a change. It was a nice bus stop view.

Hey! may be we got the same CM during Check-in. We check-in at 10:30 with a Congress Park Downtown Disney View and the room was not ready. We go over to Downtown Disney to get our Annual Passes and eat lunch. Called and our room was ready about 3:00......and we get a view of lovely bus stop and a lovely pine tree........the kids were disappointed at first....no big deal and we also didn't request a change.

[jarestel]

Where does this money come from?

Of course it comes from dues. Discretionary funds are just that... discretionary. It's going to be spent anyway, so impact on dues should be negligible.

I "suggested" ways of relieving stress for a member who was being subjected to an unreasonable wait time for a room. It's not my intention to lobby for any specific method, just suggested a few. I'm sure DVC (being the trained professionals that they are) could have come up with better ways of mitigating the situation.

The main point of my post was that the 6:00 PM check-in time is later than it reasonably should have been and DVC could have handled the situation better.

[jarestel]

I am not just"happy to be there" to ask for a free meal because they did not meet your higher standerds is unreasonable. To NOT get an apology is also unreasonable for a 6 P.M. check in... I do not disagree that 6 is unreasonable I disagree with the expectation of compensation as if this is expected than Disney may chenge to after 4 even if a room is ready as other Timeshare and cash Hotels do .

Never said anyone should ask for or expect anything. I do think Disney should have done something on their own in view of the circumstances.

As for checking in earlier than 4:00, you don't really believe DVC allows this as a benefit to members do you? It's totally for the benefit of DVC. Why would DVC want their front desk personnel standing around, essentially doing nothing all day long until 4:00 PM except servicing the few folks who didn't choose express checkout and then checking in 200 people all at once? Then for sure people wouldn't be in their rooms until 6:00 or later. No, I don't think DVC is being generous to us by allowing early checkins.

[crisi]

Of course it comes from dues. Discretionary funds are just that... discretionary. It's going to be spent anyway, so impact on dues should be negligible.

I "suggested" ways of relieving stress for a member who was being subjected to an unreasonable wait time for a room. It's not my intention to lobby for any specific method, just suggested a few. I'm sure DVC (being the trained professionals that they are) could have come up with better ways of mitigating the situation.

The main point of my post was that the 6:00 PM check-in time is later than it reasonably should have been and DVC could have handled the situation better.


If they don't give it to people it won't be spent. I'm not thrilled about DVC spending my dues to compensate a whiner with dinner. Even if its pennies. All that does is create a reward for whining, which encourages people to whine to get rewards. If they want to spend their discretionary funds, spend them on recruiting better housekeepers or rewarding CMs who do create magic. That would do a far better job long term for more DVC members in keeping the quality of the resorts up.

If they want to create a fine situation for late check out, and then use some of the proceeds from the fine to compensate the person impacted by the late checkout (the rest of it for housekeeping overtime and adminstration of the fine/compensation system), that I'd be O.K. with.

[jarestel]

If they don't give it to people it won't be spent. I'm not thrilled about DVC spending my dues to compensate a whiner with dinner. Even if its pennies.

Where we disagree, crisi, is you are blaming the member for not accepting inconvenience with a smile while I blame DVC for not having their act together.

The subject of whether or not dues are spent to the satisfaction of all members, or even if they should be spent to the satisfaction of all, is a topic for a whole other thread, I think.

[disnutt]

I've only had one problem checking in at BWV. I checked in at 11:00 a.m. no room but was told to call back and should be available after 4:00 p.m. We go enjoy the Boardwalk and call at 4:30 p.m. and room is available.

We're tired and want to wash up so we go to Bell Services to get our luggage so we'll have everything. Then we do the infamous BWV Death March to our room at the very end of the the 4th floor near the quiet pool! Open the door and the room looks like the camp scene from Tarzan!:scared1:

I find a house phone and call down. They send someone up and see that we were right about it being a pig sty. They send us back to the front desk where we are given a new room on the ground floor on the opposite side of the resort near the main pool. Better location but it took over an hour to get there.

I would have rather have had a later check in and had it done right the first time than had to listen to my 3 yo crying/whining because we couldn't get into our room.

[Anthony1971]

Never said anyone should ask for or expect anything. I do think Disney should have done something on their own in view of the circumstances.

As for checking in earlier than 4:00, you don't really believe DVC allows this as a benefit to members do you? It's totally for the benefit of DVC. Why would DVC want their front desk personnel standing around, essentially doing nothing all day long until 4:00 PM except servicing the few folks who didn't choose express checkout and then checking in 200 people all at once? Then for sure people wouldn't be in their rooms until 6:00 or later. No, I don't think DVC is being generous to us by allowing early checkins.

However before 4 check in should not be expected.....
The rest is my point if the checkin is after 4 one may not expect to get a room before 6 as they need to check in a large group of people.
Weather the CM's stand around and do nothing does not matter if the rules must be followed... and if we are expecting Dinsey to compensate on thier own free will when Disney does not adhere to "our standerds" of thier rule than they can easily strictly follow the rule of after 4 and than one would be happy to be in thier room by 6...
I think this is something people have come to expect from Disney not a policy and when they do not get it there is a problem.

[jarestel]

However before 4 check in should not be expected.....
The rest is my point if the checkin is after 4 one may not expect to get a room before 6 as they need to check in a large group of people.
Weather the CM's stand around and do nothing does not matter if the rules must be followed... and if we are expecting Dinsey to compensate on thier own free will when Disney does not adhere to "our standerds" of thier rule than they can easily strictly follow the rule of after 4 and than one would be happy to be in thier room by 6...
I think this is something people have come to expect from Disney not a policy and when they do not get it there is a problem.

If it didn't make sense for DVC to allow early checkins, they wouldn't do it. Evidently it makes sense and is certainly not against any rules for them to do so. People who check in early aren't breaking any rules. I don't get that point.

Anthony, I guess we can agree to disagree on this one since it seems like waiting till whenever for a room is business as usual for you and unacceptable to me. I have a feeling we won't change one another's minds no matter how long this goes on.

[crisi]

If it didn't make sense for DVC to allow early checkins, they wouldn't do it. Evidently it makes sense and is certainly not against any rules for them to do so. People who check in early aren't breaking any rules. I don't get that point.

Anthony, I guess we can agree to disagree on this one since it seems like waiting till whenever for a room is business as usual for you and unacceptable to me. I have a feeling we won't change one another's minds no matter how long this goes on.

Unfortunately, no matter how unacceptable it is, DVC members have very little choice but to accept things as is. We can sell our contracts, we can complain (which doesn't really seem to work anyway), or we can accept what DVC is. Unlike cash guests who can walk and take their business elsewhere, we are stuck - DVC will charge our accounts for the points regardless of when we check in and do very little about it. As long as the good outweighs the bad and I feel I get value, I'll keep my points and do my best to work the system, and be aware of its problems - like sometimes you can't get into your room until after dinner so pack your swimsuit in your carryon. When the problems become truly unacceptable, I'll sell.

Want to see things like this change fast - we should all stop going up to DVC booths to be DVCs best salespeople and start walking up to people looking through the sales material with "I didn't get into my room until 6:00." or "I've checked into a dirty room." Because SALES is where DVCs motivation is.

[deerh]

I will have to agree, I think after 4pm is a bit much, even thou I know that their is a job shortage on "mousekeeping". They should do something about that, as that in my book is unacceptable-anything after 4pm. Now if it was 4:10pm that is one thing... BUT, 6pm is not acceptable, and I would be complaining BIG TIME!!

We are checking into SSR on Wed, July 18th, so hopefully we will not have the problems of Sun check-in/check-out. We leave on Wed July 25th...

We will see, but hopefully will be able to check in early.... We will travel by car from Savannah, Ga...

deerh

[jarestel]

Unfortunately, no matter how unacceptable it is, DVC members have very little choice but to accept things as is. We can sell our contracts, we can complain (which doesn't really seem to work anyway), or we can accept what DVC is. Unlike cash guests who can walk and take their business elsewhere, we are stuck - DVC will charge our accounts for the points regardless of when we check in and do very little about it. As long as the good outweighs the bad and I feel I get value, I'll keep my points and do my best to work the system, and be aware of its problems - like sometimes you can't get into your room until after dinner so pack your swimsuit in your carryon. When the problems become truly unacceptable, I'll sell.

Want to see things like this change fast - we should all stop going up to DVC booths to be DVCs best salespeople and start walking up to people looking through the sales material with "I didn't get into my room until 6:00." or "I've checked into a dirty room." Because SALES is where DVCs motivation is.

I understand what you're saying and I truly hope we aren't relegated to 50 years of declining standards at DVC. Like you, I am still enjoying DVC and agree the good does outweigh the bad. Outweighs it by a lot, actually.

Being an optimist though, I would hope that DVC does take the concerns of members seriously and not just dismiss them out of hand. So I do subscribe to the squeaky wheel theory. DVC may or may not do anything about member concerns brought to their attention. But they definitely won't do anything with member concerns they don't even know about. So I squeak on! Not to be whiny or a pain, but for the good of all DVC members everywhere. (stirring music plays)

[crisi]

I understand what you're saying and I truly hope we aren't relegated to 50 years of declining standards at DVC. Like you, I am still enjoying DVC and agree the good does outweigh the bad. Outweighs it by a lot, actually.

Being an optimist though, I would hope that DVC does take the concerns of members seriously and not just dismiss them out of hand. So I do subscribe to the squeaky wheel theory. What DVC doesn't know about, they probably can't fix... and so I squeak on! But for good reasons, IMO anyway, not just to be whiny or a pain.

Which is great - DVC should get complaints if things are not acceptable. And I, too, really hope they are productive.

I actually don't think standards are declining - long as I've been here there has been the occasional dirty room/late check in/rude cast member - but they don't seem to be improving either.

[Snookies]

Which is great - DVC should get complaints if things are not acceptable. And I, too, really hope they are productive.

I actually don't think standards are declining - long as I've been here there has been the occasional dirty room/late check in/rude cast member - but they don't seem to be improving either.

In a sense, I agree crisi. I don't think standards are declining because of a conscious business decision to lower standards. On the other hand, I sometimes wonder if what some observe and comment on are generational differences. In my own profession, there is a pronounced difference in what my junior colleagues (either by age or rank) regard as acceptable and professional behavior and what I do. If this is a valid observation, the same may be true for WDW, DVD, and DVC cast members too.

[starbox]

Which is great - DVC should get complaints if things are not acceptable. And I, too, really hope they are productive.

I actually don't think standards are declining - long as I've been here there has been the occasional dirty room/late check in/rude cast member - but they don't seem to be improving either.

I think Disney is in a Catch-22 here. Members want to check out of their rooms early (or even on time) - we know this is a widespread problem because it gets brought up in Vacation Magic. They want (and should get) very high standards of room maitenence and mousekeeping (and have multiple bathrooms and kitchens that need cleaning). They want a room (hence the room ready policy) as soon as they arrive, whenever that arrival happens to be so that they don't have to be inconvenienced by using bell services to hold their luggage and going to a park or swimming before getting into a room. Oh, and they want that upper-story non-lock off with a goregous view near the elevator and close to the pool. Something's gotta give.

For a special needs family, I would assume that the choice sometimes has to be made between fulfilling a specific room request (HA, specific location) and immediate room assignment (especially during peak holiday season when all rooms were likely occupied prior to arrival). I am guessing that room modifications are more legally required than a quick room assignment (unless, as Crisi mentioned, it puts the handicapped person's life at risk to not be in a room right away).

[rapisano]

I'm not sure why a child with autism should take priority over a family with two year old triplets in need of a nap. Neither has a health risk associated with their special need that makes getting to the room important for health reasons. Both are simply situations where getting into the room on time makes the trip more pleasant for everyone traveling. Same when traveling with Seniors who would like a nap, or a family that has driven through the night. There are so many special needs kids at Disney that they've changed many of the policies over the past twenty years - they can't give them all priority for everything or non-special needs people would just continually stack up. If the child is so severely disabled that it is a health risk not to be able to check in until 4:00 or later, YOU have a responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen, call Special Services to find out how they recommend handling it, book a room for the night before so one is empty and clean when you arrive - and if it does happen, there are about a dozen $49 a night hotels out near International Drive that have immediate vacancies. Seems like YOU don't care about anyone who isn't in YOUR situation. I don't know anything about YOUR situation, you are right. And you don't know anything about anyone else's who checked in that day.

You need to find a different outlet and take your attitude and anger out on someone who cares. Comming from a mom of twins we have never needed nor asked for special accomidations. I hope your never in the same line as us when we check in!!! Good luck!

[Deb & Bill]

Pot, Kettle. Kettle, Pot. ;)

[eliza61]

DVC has an operating budget that covers many things including discretionary spending. Free meals have been fairly common actually.

The only issue I have is the 6:00 PM check-in. I think that's unreasonable. Evidently you don't. Is 7:00 PM unreasonable? 10:00 PM? One minute before midnight? Where would you draw the line and start to expect better from DVC? Just curious.

it could simply have been a bad day.

[rapisano]

There are many ways to make a guest whole or at least relieve the stress somewhat. I agree, if there are no rooms ready, Disney magic isn't powerful enough to make one appear.

But how about giving the guests free dinner somewhere to make up for the inconvenience. Maybe park tickets for the day? How about even offering to drive them to VWL if they need some quiet time where they can enjoy the serenity of the Iron Spike room? These are a few possible suggestions and I'm sure there are many more one could think of.

There are many ways to put a smile back on the face of a guest. I'm not saying that fine resorts don't have problems from time to time. But they usually know how to manage and mitigate those situations a bit better.

Yes I agree I guess there is always something to put a smile and let them know they are appreciated in one way or another:) :)

[castleri]

Just to throw something else in here - to save points on Dec 29 and 30 this past year I booked a room at a resort out on 192 almost to route 29. It is a timeshare with a separate motel across the street. Their policy is no one checks in before 4PM. I tried to check in earlier in the day so the paperwork would be done etc. Absolutely not - no check ins before 4 PM from the not so pleasant woman at the desk. When I returned around 4 there was a woman having a grand mal epileptic seizure on the floor in front of the check in desk. Being an RN I felt the need to step in and do something since everyone else in the lobby was obviously frightened and not doing a thing. The other people didn't even know who she was - her boyfriend was parking the car. After a 911 call and the EMTs arrival I asked if I could check in - I had suddenly become this same not so pleasant woman's favorite person - her comment was " if I could do it I would not charge you for your stay" . She had suddenly become very pleasant. I never expected anything for doing what I should but it said something about that resort in general that they have hard and fast rules that are not broken and the person behind the desk has no opportunity to make any decisions or offer a magical moment to anyone. The bottom line here is that when we can get checked in early even without access to the room it is great and if we actually have the room ready it is even better. Just think if they stuck to the check in is 4PM or after rule. There could be hundreds of people lined up waiting to check in at 4PM and you know many would not get into their rooms until several hours later. So yes 6PM seems late but maybe only because we have become used to being able to check in and somtimes get our rooms early, That should be the rule for everyone - so many times you see where people with disabilities want to be mainstreamed in the school systems or in the workplace and not treated differently- that is what this is about unless there is a real physical health issue here that would pose a threat to someone's life if they didn't get some special considerations they should be treated just like everyone else. I am not unsympathetic to parents of autistic children as some of my friends have children at various levels along the spectrum. These same parents know their child and make their plans with the idea that sometimes things happen they can't control but they have ideas of how they can make if better for the child if there are unexpected events in the day. They don't expect someone else to take that responsiblity.

[pcparamedics01]

Thanks RA Pisano!!!

It is quite obvious that you have no idea what parents go through with a child with Autism. Don't worry we will not take your room!!! Most of us have to adapt to any situation in our case!!!However you should not write threads on a disability you know absolutely nothing about. It is a good thing she did not post this on the disabilities site! You probably would have been slammed!!!

[elijahpep]

Pot, Kettle. Kettle, Pot. ;)

:rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[crisi]

Pot, Kettle. Kettle, Pot. ;)

Nothing quite like someone coming in and proving your point, is there?

[3DisneyKids]

You need to find a different outlet and take your attitude and anger out on someone who cares. Comming from a mom of twins we have never needed nor asked for special accomidations. I hope your never in the same line as us when we check in!!! Good luck!

I am not sure how Crisi's statement is a negative attitude or anger.

I posted earlier in this thread (back on page one) and yes, I am a parent of a child with special needs. She is a massive handful...so yes, I really, really know.

However, I do not ever expect a front desk worker...making $6.00 per hour or whatever it is, to be able to just look at us know what our needs are. Some special needs cases, for example, actually thrive on extra stimulation and thus wouldn't need to get into a room right away. How can someone know by looking at you and your situation?

And please, think about all of the hidden disabilities out there. What about the older adult who has a heart condition and really, really needs to lie down? This person is not in a wheel chair. They are not wearing a sign around their neck, etc. Why should my special needs child be offered a room before this person?

I am neither flaming you nor angry nor do I have a bad attitude. But my point is...Disney (or anywhere else for that matter) cannot make certain guests a priority over other guests. Why? Because you simply cannot tell what each individual person's situation is. You cannot tell who in line has what issues with what needs and to what extent. Even if you see a parent of a child who obviously has special needs....you can't possibly know the needs of every other person in line.

And again, why would you expect an hourly paid employee to be able to scan the line and prioritize the guests based on need? :confused:

As I said earlier, we try to plan ahead for everything! What if we can't get into our room? What if we have to wait an extra half an hour for our ADR? What if there are too many people in the zero entry part of the pool? And so on. As parents of a special needs child, this is just part of our life. It is OUR life and OUR child and OUR responsibility. We would never put that off on someone else...least of all front desk employee who is a complete stranger.

Do we appreciate a little help along the way? Absolutely! But who doesn't? And I will say that 9 times out of 10--Disney does go out of their way to be extra helpful. But guess what? For that 10th time...when they can't or don't go out of their way....we are prepared.

[3DisneyKids]

Nothing quite like someone coming in and proving your point, is there?

Did I miss something???

[Chuck S]

OK this thread had gone way off the topic of DVC and SSR Check-in delays, and has run it's course...

I'm closing it before it degrades further.