Another early check in question

[moparop]

ME will be dropping us off at the resort (CBR) at roughly 11:15 on August Grand Gathering trip. What are the chances that our rooms will be ready at that point? If they aren't ready yet, what time are they normally ready at?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

It's hard to say if the rooms will be ready at that time or not. Sometimes they are and other times they are not. Since the standard check-in time is 3:00 PM don't go expecting your rooms to be ready, however if they are ready when you arrive then that would be a nice surprise.

 

[MollyMoo]

You might be pleasently suprised. We have often arrived before lunch and often found that a room was ready for us. The last two trips we arrived mid-morning ... in October at POR and again in June at SSR. Both times we were able to move right into our room ... of course we had not requested any specific room, area, building, etc. so in both cases they put us in the closest room to the central area that was ready for occupancy. In both cases the room locations were just fine.

 

[gobraves39560]

We went June 16- 22. Got there at 8:00 a.m. and our room was ready. Gotta love that!!

 

[Geoff_M]

Unless you're looking for some beds to flop in for some rest, or want to hit the pool, you may want to hold off on getting a room early. Generally speaking, the rooms that you'd be likely given early would be ones that weren't used the night before. Keep in mind that the CMs at the front desk normally like to give out rooms that are more desirable first, and hold onto the "dumpster view" rooms until last. Therefore the unused room you MAY get early might be one of the ones that they refrained from assigning before your arrival. However, as mentioned above it's still possible to get a good room early too.

Unless you really want to get into a physical room early, I'd do a "pre-check-in" instead. They can do the full check-in (minus the room number), give you your keys, tickets, maps, etc. and you call the desk after 3 PM to get the room number. In the meantime you can give your luggage to the bell desk and it will be delivered to your room while you go off to the parks, or go shopping, or go have lunch somewhere. This will give you a shot at some of the "better" rooms that will open up due to departing guests from that morning.

 

[moparop]

Unless you're looking for some beds to flop in for some rest, or want to hit the pool, you may want to hold off on getting a room early. Generally speaking, the rooms that you'd be likely given early would be ones that weren't used the night before. Keep in mind that the CMs at the front desk normally like to give out rooms that are more desirable first, and hold onto the "dumpster view" rooms until last. Therefore the unused room you MAY get early might be one of the ones that they refrained from assigning before your arrival. However, as mentioned above it's still possible to get a good room early too.

Unless you really want to get into a physical room early, I'd do a "pre-check-in" instead. They can do the full check-in (minus the room number), give you your keys, tickets, maps, etc. and you call the desk after 3 PM to get the room number. In the meantime you can give your luggage to the bell desk and it will be delivered to your room while you go off to the parks, or go shopping, or go have lunch somewhere.

We've got a 2 year old a 4 year old in the group who will have been up since 5 at that point and I was really hoping to give them an early lunch and put them right down for naps. If it means getting a crappy room, we'll figure something else out!

BTW, love the quotes in your signature. We are originally from Michigan and it was totally lame to watch the Wings win the Stanley Cup down here. No one even cared. Also a huge Joseph fan!

 

[Geoff_M]

We've got a 2 year old a 4 year old in the group who will have been up since 5 at that point and I was really hoping to give them an early lunch and put them right down for naps. If it means getting a crappy room, we'll figure something else out!

That's perfectly understandable. And again, that doesn't mean you're likely to get a room that stinks if you need to give the kids some shut-eye, it's just that I think your odds would go up for a good one if you did a pre-check-in.

BTW, love the quotes in your signature. We are originally from Michigan and it was totally lame to watch the Wings win the Stanley Cup down here. No one even cared. Also a huge Joseph fan!

Yes, Cincy isn't quite Hockeytown... but the Reds are my favorite baseball team (I grew up in east-central Indiana) and I have fond memories of going to Riverfront and watching the Reds in the 1976 World Series.

BTW, count your blessings.... The only Skyline I can get up here is frozen!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

It depends when you are planning on going. If it is a slow time of year, and you don't have too many room request, odds are good. If you are going during a busy time or right after a busy time, then odds are less good. Sometimes our rooms were ready early, sometimes not.

If you arrive early, and your room isn't ready, WDW resorts will stow items in a locked area for you. There is also a restroom in every lobby to change, and I think all WDW resorts have locker rooms near the pools where you could even shower! I know CSR, Pop, and GF have them.

As others have said, rooms are promised at 3pm.

AS for getting a crappy room. I can't say this has ever really happened to me. Maybe if you are getting savannah view at AKL, some rooms might have a better view. One ofthe best rooms I ever got anywhere was very late at night, and was one the last rooms available anywhere on property that night - or so the CM told us.

 

[n2mm]

ME will be dropping us off at the resort (CBR) at roughly 11:15 on August Grand Gathering trip. What are the chances that our rooms will be ready at that point? If they aren't ready yet, what time are they normally ready at?

Sorry, but it's a murphy's law. You need the rooms, they won't be ready. We traveled with our grand daughters last august-- 2yo and 3 months old. It would have been great if our rooms were ready as we had been up since 5:00AM. But checking into OKW @ noon, our room wasn't ready until 4:30PM. Did a split stay and checked into BCV after 4 days at OKW and at the BCV our rooms were not ready until 5:30PM. So we had 2 napless days and 2 cranky babies.

 

[safetymom]

If you are part of a grand gathering they will have your rooms pre blocked. If you want a room earlier you may not be with the rest of your party.

You will need to decide what is more important, being with the rest of your group or getting a room early.

 

[moparop]

Sorry, but it's a murphy's law. You need the rooms, they won't be ready. We traveled with our grand daughters last august-- 2yo and 3 months old. It would have been great if our rooms were ready as we had been up since 5:00AM. But checking into OKW @ noon, our room wasn't ready until 4:30PM. Did a split stay and checked into BCV after 4 days at OKW and at the BCV our rooms were not ready until 5:30PM. So we had 2 napless days and 2 cranky babies.

This applies even moreso to us as my last name is Murphy!

I kinda figured this would be the case. Especially with a Grand Gathering, especially in the summer.

 

[Native NYer]

I hope you're room is ready early. We land at noon on 8/9 and are hoping that our room is ready when we get to the CR!

 

[karenr766]

You may check in at any time. However, your odds are pretty slim that at 11:00 your room will be ready. Normally they are not ready until 3:00. They will not even tell you what your room number is. You can spend some time eating, getting the lay of the land, shopping, or riding some rides while you wait and they will stow your luggage with bell services until your room is ready. When you check in, you will be given all your travel documents, tickets, itineraries, and a card with a phone number printed on it. You may call this number periodically to check the status of your room. When your room does become ready, just call bell services and they will promptly bring your luggage to your room.