Arriving Late

[GCM13]

Our waitlist just came through for adding a night to the beginning of our vacation which we are very excited that we won't have to move now. The only downside is that we will be checking in at BWV after midnight and worried that we will get a less desirable location. With late arrivals, do they still try to honor room location requests or will we be given a leftover room?

 

[CarolAnnC]

I notified MS in advance when I knew I would be arriving after midnight. They need this information as they do shut down the computers at some point, and they will print up the remaining ressies that have not checked in with kttw cards, etc.

I also called from the airport before departing on my flight directly to the resort to tell them of my late arrival. I mentioned at that time our room request and it was no problem.

 

[BillPA]

We have had several late arrivals at BWV, for medical reasons I requested to be near the elevators, well were given rooms 2nd and 3rd from the last units just short of the Disney Studio entrance.

So 2 for 2 they completely do NOT honor your requests. Both of these were after midnight arrivals due to airport delays. SO GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[MickeyMagic]

We arrived late for October BWV reservation which was a studio with boardwalk view only to find the front desk had rebooked our reservation to a garden/pool view. So, definitely call ahead!!

 

[CarolMN]

What day of the week will you be checking in? It seems that many (if not most) DVC members check in on Sunday adn out of Friday. If that's when you will be arriving (either day), my advice would be to stay near the airport that first night and check in early the next day. This post explains why I think so.

Here's the thread the post is from - you may want to read the entire thing:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1640033

 

[covereddish]

We had great results, but I called the morning that we would be checking in, and advised them that we would be coming in late that evening.

I think they put us in the system right then, we had a great room!

 

[OneMoreTry]

We had great results, but I called the morning that we would be checking in, and advised them that we would be coming in late that evening.

I think they put us in the system right then, we had a great room!

I've been weighing whether to check in late around MN or stay in a motel that night and check in early the next day. I've considered the pros and cons -- and being able to get up Mon morning and NOT move to another hotel is the deciding factor.

So MN it is!

I think this is a great idea. I'm gonna call about noon on check-in day and tell them we'll be there late. Maybe that will help.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Don't mean to sound snarky, but why spend the points if you are arriving after midnight. Stay at a hotel and get to the resort really early to get your best shot at you desired location. IMHO.

 

[GCM13]

Thanks for all your advice. I know it does seem like a waste of points to arrive after midnight, but my DH is all about saving money. Long story short, we usually drive, but are flying Skybus and it's ending up being a lot more expensive than we planned. We're flying in to Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, need to rent a minivan, and the expense of the hotel (which was not real cheap near the airport) was putting him over the edge! We were going to stay at ASM but then I thought we might as well just stay at BWV so we don't have to move. Everything has seemed to fall into place with the waitlist and now I get the letter that the pool will be closed! I'm so disappointed. Anyways, I did ask MS to note on our reservation that we will be arriving after midnight and I think I will call earlier that day and remind them. Hopefully that will help.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Thanks for all your advice. I know it does seem like a waste of points to arrive after midnight, but my DH is all about saving money. Long story short, we usually drive, but are flying Skybus and it's ending up being a lot more expensive than we planned. We're flying in to Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, need to rent a minivan, and the expense of the hotel (which was not real cheap near the airport) was putting him over the edge! We were going to stay at ASM but then I thought we might as well just stay at BWV so we don't have to move. Everything has seemed to fall into place with the waitlist and now I get the letter that the pool will be closed! I'm so disappointed. Anyways, I did ask MS to note on our reservation that we will be arriving after midnight and I think I will call earlier that day and remind them. Hopefully that will help.

I understand your situation. My real concern is not so much the waste of points as you will be picking from the bottom of the barrel as to location. Maybe you could do a value on points for that night and then hit BWV early in the morning and get first in line for choosing location. Of course this assumes location is important. Just some thoughts. Have a great trip

 

[OneMoreTry]

Don't mean to sound snarky, but why spend the points if you are arriving after midnight. Stay at a hotel and get to the resort really early to get your best shot at you desired location. IMHO.

It just depends on your priorities. If you have seven people and are renting a wheelchair for the week and aren't going to a park (except maybe on thursday) and have relatives staying at the Vistana where you will probably spend significant time also and are not too picky about location --

then sleeping in on Monday and NOT having to move may be a high enough priority to make the risk of a suboptimal location acceptable.


There have been several times we DID spend the night elsewhere to save points, etc. But this trip it's just no worth it for us. And you are definitlely not snarky for having a different opinion. But what the heck is "snarky" anyway?

 

[covereddish]

"snarky".............I was wondering the same thing?

But, I really like the word!

 

[DVC Mater]

snarky is good over rice

 

[DisDaydreamer]

"snarky".............I was wondering the same thing?

But, I really like the word!

Me too... I got it from starbox... A teacher of course....

 

[DisDaydreamer]

It just depends on your priorities. If you have seven people and are renting a wheelchair for the week and aren't going to a park (except maybe on thursday) and have relatives staying at the Vistana where you will probably spend significant time also and are not too picky about location --

then sleeping in on Monday and NOT having to move may be a high enough priority to make the risk of a suboptimal location acceptable.


There have been several times we DID spend the night elsewhere to save points, etc. But this trip it's just no worth it for us. And you are definitlely not snarky for having a different opinion. But what the heck is "snarky" anyway?

Holy Moly.... You are right. That would be a very special situation. And in that situation I would just eat the points and take whatever was left on the table...

Actually, no I wouldn't... Every day, 50 to a 100 people leave a given resort.. so you have the opportunity to get there early and get the best pick of available rooms, it is just simple math. The more you wait, the less you have available. Certainly, if I was hoping for a great view, I would want to be picking from a fresh availability of rooms. JMHO.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

But what the heck is "snarky" anyway?

This is a word I got from starbox.... I take it to mean being testy, or contrary.

I truly don't mean to sound snarky, but arriving after midnight... I would think that I haven't unpacked anything other than sleeping clothes, and I would want to get the best unit available the next day. Just me.

 

[OneMoreTry]

Holy Moly.... You are right. That would be a very special situation. And in that situation I would just eat the points and take whatever was left on the table...

Actually, no I wouldn't... Every day, 50 to a 100 people leave a given resort.. so you have the opportunity to get there early and get the best pick of available rooms, it is just simple math. The more you wait, the less you have available. Certainly, if I was hoping for a great view, I would want to be picking from a fresh availability of rooms. JMHO.

At OKW getting there between 9 am and noon has always seemed to be helpful. They have always said "You can wait for your assigned room or pick one that's available now..." and usually one of the immediately-available rooms meets our requests.

However at BWV, HH, BCV it's been a different story. "Your room is not available. Keep calling this number and we'll let you know when it is." Or at HH they just give you the pick of what's available. The cast members have always said they don't preassign rooms unless they are bored stiff from nothing to do that morning -- then they MIGHT. In either case 10am seems to be no more advantageous than 3pm.

They worst stories I've read in previous posts about uncleaned filthy rooms and rooms with lizards and bugs and condoms and dirty dishes --SURPRISE-- at midnight have been at OKW. I hope that doesn't happen to us.

 

[pennst8r]

We checked in near midnight at SSR in October. I did advise them we'd be late, but never thought to double check our requests, since MS had them on our ressie. They weren't in SSR's computer, and I wasn't even listed on the ressie they had! It all worked out, and we got our view of DTD thanks to a nice CM but might not have. Call the resort ahead and reconfirm everything.

 

[dvc_john]

Maybe you could do a value on points for that night and then hit BWV early in the morning and get first in line for choosing location.

Not a good idea for 2 reasons:
A) You can't do a 'value' on points, only a 'mod' or higher
B) If the OP is talking about 2008, there is a new $95 fee in addition to points. The OP would be better off just paying cash for a 'value' or 'mod' for 1 night.

 

[bobbiwoz]

If you arrive early in the morning might you be given a room that happens to be "undesirable" because it was empty the night before? For us, getting a room early in the day beats having to wait for something later.

I hope you get a room that you really like! DH and I have different opinions, I would go for the check in at midnight, DH would go to a value and change the next day.

I was interested in reading your experience with SkyBus. Columbus is 90 minutes away, but just today we were considering using them, probably flying into Tampa.

Bobbi

PS. If the pool at BWV is closed, I understand that you'll have the option of going to SAB...that's worth something!