Reserving and not arriving on checkin day?

[Triple O.G.]

Hey all. So here is my situation. I would like to take advantage of the free dining offer, and I am looking at a trip for dec. 17-24. From what I have seen on the wdw site, I could receive the free dining plan for these days as long as the arrival date is the 17th (last day in 2011 for the promotion.

Trouble is, I graduate with my masters on the 17th, and as this is a graduation trip, and the ceremony is in the afternoon, I dont see myself making it until the 18th.

So.... question is, can I reserve (and pay for) starting on the 17th, and then not show up till the 18th and still receive the promotion?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[LilyWDW]

Hey all. So here is my situation. I would like to take advantage of the free dining offer, and I am looking at a trip for dec. 17-24. From what I have seen on the wdw site, I could receive the free dining plan for these days as long as the arrival date is the 17th (last day in 2011 for the promotion.

Trouble is, I graduate with my masters on the 17th, and as this is a graduation trip, and the ceremony is in the afternoon, I dont see myself making it until the 18th.

So.... question is, can I reserve (and pay for) starting on the 17th, and then not show up till the 18th and still receive the promotion?

Thanks in advance for the help.

If you do not show up, Disney will cancel your reservation as a no show.

 

[Triple O.G.]

ok, first work around option. What if my friends name is on the ressie, and he shows up to checkin that day and picks up passes etc, and I show up the next day, is that plausible?

second option, there is a flight that departs late enough that I could go to graduation and then still make it to orlando (without flight delays) at 11:53pm. If I was using magical express, would they take that into consideration, or would that still be the considered the 18th.

Thanks again.

 

[kellymarch]

When one of our flights was cancelled & we were going to be a day late arriving at our resort we just called ahead to inform & all was fine. I don't think anybody cares as long as you're paying!

 

[Baltazar]

I don't like that word "Workaround"

But as long as said friend is an Adult, I don't see why he couldn't check you both in.

 

[smitch425]

ok, first work around option. What if my friends name is on the ressie, and he shows up to checkin that day and picks up passes etc, and I show up the next day, is that plausible?

second option, there is a flight that departs late enough that I could go to graduation and then still make it to orlando (without flight delays) at 11:53pm. If I was using magical express, would they take that into consideration, or would that still be the considered the 18th.

Thanks again.

they should not cancel your reservation until 4am of the following day. My guess is for those guests with late flights that could get delayed. A quick call to them might get you a solid answer, but I would call three different times and ask three different CMs just to be sure. LOL!

 

[bumbershoot]

ok, first work around option. What if my friends name is on the ressie, and he shows up to checkin that day and picks up passes etc, and I show up the next day, is that plausible?

second option, there is a flight that departs late enough that I could go to graduation and then still make it to orlando (without flight delays) at 11:53pm. If I was using magical express, would they take that into consideration, or would that still be the considered the 18th.

Thanks again.

I'm sure that either would be fine! We had a big family trip last December, and any of the adults on the reservation (for a 2 bedroom villa) could have checked us in and gotten everything.

And the "day" doesn't switch over until later than that. Not to mention, flight delays happen ALL the time! Just call them and tell them that you've been delayed, and they should keep your reservation (if your friend isn't there on time). You just have to keep them informed.

 

[danny25]

Hey all. So here is my situation. I would like to take advantage of the free dining offer, and I am looking at a trip for dec. 17-24. From what I have seen on the wdw site, I could receive the free dining plan for these days as long as the arrival date is the 17th (last day in 2011 for the promotion.

Trouble is, I graduate with my masters on the 17th, and as this is a graduation trip, and the ceremony is in the afternoon, I dont see myself making it until the 18th.

So.... question is, can I reserve (and pay for) starting on the 17th, and then not show up till the 18th and still receive the promotion?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Hi my check in date is the last day of free dining offer September 24 and I will do a very very late check in around 2 AM without any problem, your package is already pay and your room will be available at least until 6 AM, I have do it in the past many times sometimes for a delayed flight and never get a problem, if you want you can do online check in and you can specify your estimated arrival time, but it dosn't matter if you don't do that your reservation is valid until 6 AM of the next day anyway, relax and have a Magical vacation

 

[Nadjalu]

As said above if you don't check in on the day you are suppose to arrive they will call you a no show and cancel you. Period.

The person's name that the reservation is in has to check in on that day, so your friend wouldn't be able to "hold" the reservation.

Concerning the poster above that said it shouldn't be a problem as when their flight was canceled...the reason Disney held their ressie is they knew the flight was canceled. So they hold it for the person trying to get there.

If you have a flight scheduled that WDW knows about and you try to do this tactic, it won't work. They know if the flight is delayed, canceled...etc. So when you don't show, wham you are canceled.

Disney is very slick in keeping the people who are trying to get around it's polices and promotion rules from doing so.

So in reality if you aren't there and there isn't a legit (in Disney's eyes) reason for not being so, you are canceled.

 

[MickeyNicki]

If you do not show up, Disney will cancel your reservation as a no show.

Not necessarily...we had a resort booked with an AP discount and there was an issue getting on the road. I called the resort and told them we would not be checking in until really late...we were planning on getting there around 9pm and we didnt show up until 5am (very long story) but I kept calling the resort to give them an update and they told me not to worry about it, they would be there waiting whenever we did show up.

 

[TDC Nala]

ok, first work around option. What if my friends name is on the ressie, and he shows up to checkin that day and picks up passes etc, and I show up the next day, is that plausible?

second option, there is a flight that departs late enough that I could go to graduation and then still make it to orlando (without flight delays) at 11:53pm. If I was using magical express, would they take that into consideration, or would that still be the considered the 18th.

Thanks again.

You would have to put your friend on the reservation. Meaning, you would have to buy park tickets for him, and he'd get dining credits, for the whole stay. If you put only your name on the reservation, then he cannot check in because he won't have identification that states he is you. If you are going to do this and the plan is for just you to stay in the room, not your friend, you will have to go by your friend's name, which could be a problem if anything comes up where you need identification, like if you lose your KTTW card or lock it in your room.

 

[mickeynut1]

second option, there is a flight that departs late enough that I could go to graduation and then still make it to orlando (without flight delays) at 11:53pm. If I was using magical express, would they take that into consideration, or would that still be the considered the 18th.

Thanks again.

This is what I would do. We have checked in many times between midnight and 1:30 a.m. without any problems. The computers don't switch over until around 6 a.m. so your room is held up until that time, regardless of if you check in at 10 pm or 3 a.m. the night before. It would still be considered the 17th as far as the reservation is concerned.

 

[redhead09]

sorry, I don't mean to be Debbie downer...but, seriously?

 

[Allison]

sorry, I don't mean to be Debbie downer...but, seriously?

The OP asked a question, got the answer, and then advice about how it could be made to work out. Seems like the reason for the boards.

 

[Triple O.G.]

Thanks to everyone for the help and lively discussion. I am going to call disney in a few and confirm that the room will at least be held until 4am, and if so, reserve the evening flight.

 

[kerplop]

I would imagine that as long as you were arriving sometime before the next morning, Disney would be able to help you out in that regard. I have a hard time believing they would cut you off for getting to the resort at 1am instead of before midnight. No proof, but I honestly can't see them doing it.

 

[Karebear]

This happened to my friend this past June. The last day to check in for free dining was June 2nd (I think) and that was the day that she left on. She and her kids were flying from CA and landed in Orlando late (I want to say around midnight). They got to their resort around 1:15 am and checked in with no problem. They did not take away her "free dining" just because they arrived after midnight. Hope this helps!