what is the chance of being able to check in early on the Sunday before MLK in Jan.?

[robinbutterfly]

We are staying at BLT and will be coming in on Sunday January 17th. Is it likely that we will be able to check in that morning or do most people have to wait until check in time?

 

[CarolAnnC]

You can check in as early as 7 am. You will be given your KTTW cards and you may store your luggage with Bell Services and then enjoy the parks or resort amenities.

Rooms are usually not ready before check in time, though on occasion some will be. I would guess out of my last 5 trips, only one was ready early, and it was BLT at around 2 - 2:30 pm I think.

Good luck and enjoy your stay there - it is a fabulous resort!

 

[CHD New York]

I would use Online checkin and noted the time you think you be arriving.

My room was ready at BLT at 8:00 AM in Dec when I use Online Checkin.

 

[robinbutterfly]

I am going to have items that need to be refrigerated. I hope they will let me check in early.

 

[WebmasterDoc]

I am going to have items that need to be refrigerated. I hope they will let me check in early.

You can store refrigerated items thru Bell Services, so even if your villa is not yet available your perishables can be safely stored.

Enjoy!

 

[CarolMN]

I am going to have items that need to be refrigerated. I hope they will let me check in early.

If your room isn't ready, Bell Services can store your items that need refrigeration. Just tell them which bags need to go in the referigerator.

 

[Sandisw]

I am going to have items that need to be refrigerated. I hope they will let me check in early.

Bell services has the ability to store things that need to be refrigerated for you.

We did online check in for our Dec stay at BLT, and our room was ready when we arrived around 12:15 pm.

As others have said, you can check in as soon as you arrive, but that is different than having your room ready for occupancy.

For DVC, it is after 4:00 pm so I would plan for that and be excited if it is ready earlier. They will send you a text when it is (which is nice!).

Have a great trip!!!

 

[TinkGirl]

I would use Online checkin and noted the time you think you be arriving.

I second this. It worked for us in March when we arrived at noon. We were happy to find that our room was ready. When you do online check in, there is a place to type in what time you expect to arrive at the resort.

 

[42trvl]

We've been lucky with our last three stays having the unit ready upon our arrival. One was as early as 10am, and another by noon. I don't know that it really matters all that much as to time of year - just more luck of the draw as to who is coming and going when. Our two earliest arrivals were at extremely busy and booked times.

 

[lurkyloo]

I would say that it being a Sunday - the busiest check-in day for DVC resorts - over a holiday weekend, the chances of your room being ready before 4pm are low.

We checked into BLT at 10am on a Sunday in early December (a popular time for DVC members) and were told no rooms were ready. We got a text around noon saying our room was ready, but when we got there at 12:30, it was still being cleaned, and the front desk told us the text was sent in error.

We also found that using the online check-in service saved us no time. The Contemporary was making online check-in people stand in the regular check-in line, and the check-in process once we got to the desk was no shorter than usual. Just our experience, though...

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I would say that it being a Sunday - the busiest check-in day for DVC resorts - over a holiday weekend, the chances of your room being ready before 4pm are low.

I agree. Sunday - Thursday is the most popular staying period (lowest points). It can't hurt to do the online check-in, but I don't think it really makes a difference. I don't think they award rooms to anticipated check-in guests over guests that are actually standing in front of the desk. It may (arguably at this time) save some processing time, but no earlier room. JMHO.

 

[Goofy442]

I would say that it being a Sunday - the busiest check-in day for DVC resorts - over a holiday weekend, the chances of your room being ready before 4pm are low.

We checked into BLT at 10am on a Sunday in early December (a popular time for DVC members) and were told no rooms were ready. We got a text around noon saying our room was ready, but when we got there at 12:30, it was still being cleaned, and the front desk told us the text was sent in error.

We also found that using the online check-in service saved us no time. The Contemporary was making online check-in people stand in the regular check-in line, and the check-in process once we got to the desk was no shorter than usual. Just our experience, though...

I agree we also did the online check in for SSR and they made us wait in the regular line which was quite long. I asked her when I got up to the counter why bother checking in online if it doesn't save any time. I was told that they are suppose to have two seperate lines when checking in but they don't have it set up yet. Well that was in August I guess they are still setting up.

 

[n2mm]

I did online checkin for the BWV a couple of weeks ago for a 2 night stay at BWV (Thursday to Saturday/12-10 to 12/12). Got there at 10:00AM and did not get our room until 3:30PM (Studio). So the online checkin did not save me any time nor did it get me into my room any faster than past visits....or it's just me and the BWV. OP, don't plan to get into your room any sooner than 4:00PM and hopefully you'll get a pleasant surprise, but given you are arriving on the DVC busy checkin day, plus a holiday weekend, you'll need alot of pixie dust to get your room earlier....but post back and let us know. I'll be checking into the BWV on Sunday January 24th/Studio for 6 nights. I'm sure I won't be getting into my room before 4:00PM and it's not a holiday weekend.

 

[braudcms]

Usually, when we stay DVC, we're there to enjoy the resort. We always check our belongings (and perishables) when we arrive, but we have a small bag separate with whatever we need to enjoy our time prior to the room being ready. Bathing suits (in warmer weather) or a day pack for trips to the park are always on hand. Front counter staff are typically helpful when 'guesstimating' anticipated room ready time. Like others have mentioned, it depends on what % occupancy the resort had the previous night.