What time are the rooms usually ready?

[nulty]

What times have your rooms been ready?? I know I can check-in early, but when can I hope to actually get in my room???


Nicole

 

[MissionMouse]

Plan on your room being ready around 3:00 p.m. or later. This is a variable that is outside of your control and there is no formula or method to ensure you can get one at the time you check-in.

 

[vicki_c]

3:00 or later.

Really, there's no predicting. Check-in time is 3 pm or later, so I wouldn't make any plans that involve getting in your room earlier than that because chances are it won't happen and then you'll be frustrated.

edited: LOL - good answer MissionMouse

 

[cyndiloveswalt]

Not sure when you're going and whether it matters or not, but we have always gotten into our rooms early, after lunch, usually around 1:00 (maybe 2). We usually stay at Saratoga, last year at Boardwalk.

 

[grecorj]

Yeah, I guess I'm wondering what you're planning on doing once you arrive? Unless you're thinking of taking a nap, you can get by w/o an actual room for a while.

1) front desk can hold your carry-on luggage/regular luggage until you have a room
2) you can use lobby restrooms to change into a suit and go straight to the pool, or just freshen up to go to a park
3) you can grab a bite to eat at a restaurant
4) etc.

They give you a number to call to see if your room is ready, IIRC, so it is easy enough to check.

 

[hannahmouse]

When I was at Pop last December, DBF and I checked in probably around 11 am and were given a room. Wasn't expecting it, just wanted my parking pass for the park, but I certainly didn't complain!

 

[grecorj]

Was just reading someone's recent Poly trip review, they said the Poly sent them a text when room was ready. Cool!

 

[amyren]

I would hope for the best prepare for the worst but we were able to check in early on our last 2 trips. Jan '09 Poly and Nov '09 AKL. Both times we arrived just before 1 pm and were shown right to our rooms. Two things that may have helped were that we weren't there during peak season and we used an excellent travel agent who notified the resorts that we would arrive early with a toddler in tow.

 

[DebbieB]

I've gotten a room as early as 8:30am or as late as 4:00pm. I think a big factor is how many rooms were empty the night before. If the resort was only 70% occupied, that leaves 30% ready first thing in the morning.

 

[lemondog]

First time we stayed at the Poly our room was ready when we checked in at 9:30. Second time we checked in at 8:30 am, but our room was not ready until 11 am.

 

[Sue M]

We've had our room ready as early as 8:00 am and as late as 3:00.

 

[everythingALICE]

I've always been able to get a room around 11:30/12, but I've never tried to check in earlier.

 

[honeydiane1953]

Every time I have been my room has been ready. Usually get there around noon.

 

[Princess&CowboyMommy]

I would hope for the best prepare for the worst but we were able to check in early on our last 2 trips. Jan '09 Poly and Nov '09 AKL. Both times we arrived just before 1 pm and were shown right to our rooms. Two things that may have helped were that we weren't there during peak season and we used an excellent travel agent who notified the resorts that we would arrive early with a toddler in tow.

This is great advice.

For us, most of the time the rooms are ready between 1-2pm on average. Most of the time when we've check in at 8-9am (on split stays), our rooms are usually not ready until 12-2pm, sometimes later.

I think it also depends on the resort and your booking category. The latest we've ever gotten into our villa was almost 6 at BCV (after we checked in at 8am) and almost 5 at AKV (after checking in at 7:30am). BCV is one of the smaller villa resorts, so it's understandable they don't have a lot of extra rooms just ready to be available. And when we were at AKV - it was before Kidani was finished - so limited availability again. (villas have a 4pm time frame, not 3pm like the resorts)

At Saratoga though, we checked in once at 8am, had breakfast there and drove back to our first hotel thinking our room wouldn't be ready until at least 11-12 or later. We didn't even get 1/2 way back before they called to say the room was ready. That was at 9:30am or so.

I've heard that resorts have their largest amounts of check-ins between 1-3pm, so it's possible that the closer you get to this time frame, the more likely you'd have to wait until 3 for a room. Just guessing though

 

[fla4fun]

The latest we've gotten in our room was about 7:30pm at CR. The earliest was about 8am. Our experience has been that DVC resorts tend to run later than the other resorts - I'm sure it's due in large part to the extra cleaning they have to go through between guests, with a kitchen and all. I don't think I've ever gotten into a DVC resort earlier than 3pm, and usually it's after 4pm.

 

[iheartdolewhips]

I've heard that resorts have their largest amounts of check-ins between 1-3pm, so it's possible that the closer you get to this time frame, the more likely you'd have to wait until 3 for a room. Just guessing though

That sounds like a pretty reasonable theory to me.

I also wonder if online check in might help you get a room that is ready closer to your arrival time. It asks you what times you plan to arrive and check out, so I wonder if when they're doing room assignments they try to match you up based on your estimated times. For example, if I tell them in online check in that I plan to arrive at 10 am, they might place me in the room of someone that said in online check in they are leaving at 9 am or someone who is leaving that early with Magical Express. I don't know this is fact, but it seems reasonable to me that this is the reason they ask for that information in online check in.

We usually don't have problems with our room being ready for us when we arrive, but then again we usually don't arrive until about 3:30 or later. One time with my family I think we arrived at All Star Music around 1 pm and had to wait until 3 or 4 for our room. But that was years and years ago, before they would text you when your room was ready so we had to go to the desk and check to see if it was ready yet and when the tickets were a lot more expensive to get multiple days so we didn't have park tickets for that day. We ended up sitting in our cars in the parking lot. :lol: Not fun.

But on our last trip we arrived at the Polynesian at 12 and our room was already ready. As someone else said, hope for the best, there's a good chance it could be ready before, but don't plan on it.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Typically my flights arrive around 10:30am...

On the last 3 trips.. I did not wait for a room.

Two trips before that I drove and arrived around lunch time and one of those times I had to wait til 5pm.

There really isn't a set formula. SO much depends on how busy the resort is.. what kind of room requests you have on your reservation.. if any previous guests in those rooms request a late check out.. (and on and on and on)

Disney's policy is -- if a room is ready that meets your needs, you'll be given the room.. even if it's 8am.

But 'check in' officially starts at 3pm and you may have to wait up til 6pm for a room. Depending on the factors above.

Hope this helps,

k

 

[916chipndale]

my rooms are usually ready at 1:00 to 1:30 at every hotel ive stayed at

 

[2manypets]

In 8 trips, we've never gotten our room before 3pm. We usually have lunch and explore the resort. A couple of times, we've headed to the parks.

 

[disfan07]

we have always landed at teh airport by 9AM and gotten to the hotel between 10:30 adn 11 AM. We have never been given a room right away but we also dont knwo what time the rooms have been ready becasue we always go to MK and stay until after the fireworks so by the time we get back its about 11PM and everythign is already in our room.

Thsi time, we are not getting to teh hotel until about 10:30PM so for this trip my giess will be that we will get a room at about 10:30PM