Online check in?

[ballarinamom]

First time staying at WDW with the online check in option. We are splitting between HRH for US and AofA on the back end. What are the benefits of online check in? We still have to go to the counter to redeem our vouchers for park hoppers (maybe even the RFID cards). TIA!

 

[Zipears Fan]

While this may have changed since we last went three years ago, we found no benefit to online check-in other than the "excitement" one feels by being close enough to your vacation date to do it.

What happened in our situation was there was a line for those who checked in online, a line for those who had not. My wife and I checked in early online and my parents didn't. There was absolutely no line for them to wait in at the concierge and there was 10 people ahead of us. I believe that more people check in online than those who do not, and so you could save time like my parents did in 2010 by NOT checking in early.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've used on line check in for the last 5 trips and it's saved us zero....no faster at all, they still ask for ID's, check credit card info and go over resort amenities ....plus every time I list my arrival time at 10am.... Never get an early room ready reply.....and I know check in hang till 3 pm but why ask if you can't accommodate ....

So, bottom line.... It's no faster at all!

 

[jaykorf001]

It's our first trip coming up in a couple days. We are staying CL so we plan to just check in via the club concierge vs on-line. Is this the right idea?

 

[GaBelle]

We've used on line check in for the last 5 trips and it's saved us zero....no faster at all, they still ask for ID's, check credit card info and go over resort amenities ....plus every time I list my arrival time at 10am.... Never get an early room ready reply.....and I know check in hang till 3 pm but why ask if you can't accommodate ....

So, bottom line.... It's no faster at all!

I've actually had good experiences with online check in. Both times when I did, our rooms were ready with our requests met. We arrived early, 12:00.
Yes, we still had to provide cc, IDs and they reviewed resort amenities. The expediency can vary due to time of year you visit as well as, as PP said, how many other guests also utilize online check in.

 

[momofboyz3]

I was scared to do online checkin! I ended up doing it less then a week before we went. Not only was our room ready at 11am but we got a complimentary upgrade. At POR a CM approached us w/an iPad thing & asked if we did online check in. She did everything right there as I say in one of the big lobby couches.

 

[totallytigger]

We did online check in for our Memorial weekend trip to Pop. A cast member with an Ipad approached us immediately and checked ID, asked a couple questions, and we were on our way to our room in less than five minutes!!! This was trip #7 for us and the best check in experience ever!! We are headed back to Pop in Sept and we will definitely use online check in again.

 

[kirrrby]

We've used online check in since it's been available. I notice that we get most of our requests filled (most of them are simple like ground floor or close to the buses). The online check in gives the front desk a reminder of your requests when they do room assignments. It's possible that it might be different from what you want but so far we have had no negative experience from the online check in.

 

[ballarinamom]

We're at AoA in 10 days. Trying to decide which way to go.

 

[shelby101301]

It almost always saves us a lot of time. In fact last trip, we had to stay at a value for 2 nights because kidani didn't have all our nights. I hadn't done online check in and the line was 20 people deep. Online, the line was 3 People deep. Got in the online check in line, pulled out my iPhone and checked in while waiting. By the time I was done, I waited about another minute and then it was our turn.

As I left, the check in line had only gotten longer. Don't know why others didn't just do what I did, especially since half of them were standing there with their iPhones!

 

[JaydaNicole]

Please let us know what you decide and your experience with checking in. We are going July 6-16, with first 8 nights at AoA & last 2 at HRH at Universal. 5th time to WDW for us, but 1st time to Universal. I would love to hear how your split stay goes for you & your opinions on the 2 resorts!

We're at AoA in 10 days. Trying to decide which way to go.

 

[Zipears Fan]

Please let us know what you decide and your experience with checking in. We are going July 6-16, with first 8 nights at AoA & last 2 at HRH at Universal. 5th time to WDW for us, but 1st time to Universal. I would love to hear how your split stay goes for you & your opinions on the 2 resorts!

Agreed. I'd like to know if they still do separate lines for those who have checked in online and those who have not.

 

[ballarinamom]

Please let us know what you decide and your experience with checking in. We are going July 6-16, with first 8 nights at AoA & last 2 at HRH at Universal. 5th time to WDW for us, but 1st time to Universal. I would love to hear how your split stay goes for you & your opinions on the 2 resorts!

We will be doing the opposite of you! Starting off at the HRH June 20-23 and then moving to AoA!