benefit to checking in early online?

[FosterA]

I got some mail from Disney today saying I could go ahead and check in for our July trip. Is the point of this just to maybe not have to stand in line at the lobby to check in? The thing is that it asked for what credit card we wanted to use for incidentals and we could set up a PIN but I'll actually be using gift cards once we're there instead of the card they had on file so I think I'm going to need to stand in line and check in anyway in order to set that up. I went ahead and checked in online but now I'm wondering if I should have even done that. Also I remember..a long time ago...that when we went to Disney before we checked in like normal at the counter and that's when they gave you all sort of info and schedules and maps etc. By doing it online and just using magic band to enter room, am I going to miss out on getting any info or maps/schedules, etc?
Also..I see where you can put in room preferences. I know when I made there reservation I asked for upper floor but would you say there's a better chance of getting your preferences when you do early check in and mark your first and second choices for room preference?
Also..will I be able to get a daily print out or maybe see on my app exactly how much we have charged to the room? I really don't want to wait till the end of the trip to see it.
Last question..when I booked and said I wanted magic express shuttle, I had no idea of flight times. Do I need to call and give them that now? I knew the days of course, just not the times.
thank you!

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

One of the advantages of online check-in is being notified as soon as your room is ready, so you can bypass the front desk and get to your room if it is ready. That doesn't work all the time - for our last visit we didn't get there until after 6 pm and still had not heard about our room so had we had to go to the front desk check in anyway. They will give you info/maps at the desk and if they give you a room you don't like the location of, they will work with you if they can. I always call WDW about 10 days out to double check they have my requests correctly noted and they usually are able to meet our requests.
You can request a print out every day but you do have to go to the lobby to do that -
You don't have to let them know your flight schedule coming in --but they do need to know your flight schedule for departing

Hope this helps - have a wonderful trip!

 

[Shanti]

I got some mail from Disney today saying I could go ahead and check in for our July trip. Is the point of this just to maybe not have to stand in line at the lobby to check in? The thing is that it asked for what credit card we wanted to use for incidentals and we could set up a PIN but I'll actually be using gift cards once we're there instead of the card they had on file so I think I'm going to need to stand in line and check in anyway in order to set that up. I went ahead and checked in online but now I'm wondering if I should have even done that. Also I remember..a long time ago...that when we went to Disney before we checked in like normal at the counter and that's when they gave you all sort of info and schedules and maps etc. By doing it online and just using magic band to enter room, am I going to miss out on getting any info or maps/schedules, etc?
Also..I see where you can put in room preferences. I know when I made there reservation I asked for upper floor but would you say there's a better chance of getting your preferences when you do early check in and mark your first and second choices for room preference?
Also..will I be able to get a daily print out or maybe see on my app exactly how much we have charged to the room? I really don't want to wait till the end of the trip to see it.
Last question..when I booked and said I wanted magic express shuttle, I had no idea of flight times. Do I need to call and give them that now? I knew the days of course, just not the times.
thank you!

You won't have to "set up" the ability to pay with gift cards. You just have to pay with the gift cards when the time comes. I don't know how much (if anything) you'll be able to charge to your magic band if you won't put a credit card on file. If you did put a credit card on file, I recommend stopping by the front desk at the end of each day to pay off the day's charges with your gift cards, to ensure that your credit cards aren't charged for them instead. They don't wait until check-out time on the last day to charge your credit card for all that, so beware. Alternatively, you could take a few hundred dollars worth into the park each day, and pay with them as you go instead of using your magic band.

You don't have to do online check-in if you don't want to. The reason I do it is that it gives me the chance to state a location preference, as I'm fussy about where I'd like my room to be. It does help you get a location closer to what you want, though nothing is guaranteed. When there is one location preference I feel strongly about, I only select that one preference that I really want, rather than selecting two preferences. That makes it very clear what my priority is.

Even if you do online check-in, it's luck of the draw whether you'll get a text telling you to feel free to bypass the front desk. Sometimes I get that, sometimes I don't. Even when I do, I still like to stop by the front desk to get a map of the resort & directions to my room. If I notice that my room is not where I'd prefer it to be, I politely ask if they can change my room location, and sometimes they can. Besides the map, other handouts will be located in your resort room on one of the tables. You can get a printout & explanations of charges anytime you want by asking at the front desk.


There should be a hotlink on My Disney Experience that allows you to enter your Magical Express flight info, but if you don't see it, call them & they'll add it for you.

 

[Sue M]

It's fine that you checked in on line. We have a card on file but always use gift cards for dining and most things. I have one gift card I use for dining, and another for suvies.
One visit I used MB to charge to room, and yes you can go to the front desk any time to get a print out of room charges. I personally found I liked using gift card better, because I always knew after each transaction who much $ I had left, and had spent. I don't register gift card at resort. I like the immediate print out! But you can still leave cc for charges. It doesn't hurt anything.

I've grown to like online check in. Because you can put estimated time of arrival in. Frequently I'm already in Florida visiting family in Ft Lauderdale first, and it's a 3 hr drive up. I get to WDW before 10:00 am. The ability of letting them know about early arrival increases chance of getting a room early.

Your schedule for that week should be in your room in a folder along with resort activities schedule. I think now MDE app has resort map? I'm not sure. We don't live in the USA so we have to go check at desk to pick up MBs and room location. But all our stuff is ready to go having done the online check in.

Yes, you'd have to phone DME with your flight info.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Checking in online just speeds up the process. As an international guest I check in online but we still need to hit the front desk for our magic bands. It's just a much faster process.

If you still want to go to the front desk when you get there, have at it. But I will tell you the package we used to receive upon arrival isn't what it used to be. There will (should) be a folder with pertinent info in it in your room.

As far as I know you cannot set up gift cards to your account and charge that way, you will need a credit card BUT you can go daily (or however often you like) to the front desk and have the gift cards applied to your current balance before it gets charged to the credit card. And as of yet, daily print outs are only available at the front desk. I'm hoping Disney soon gets with the times and makes this info available in MDE or on the resort room tv. But on that note, Disney and IT- not a stellar combination.

There's no rhyme or reason to requests being met, everyone has a theory on what works best and IMO none of them are right or wrong. I just have my TA list it on my reservation, the shorter the better, and then I choose the same options when I do online check in. For instance - 50's section 4th floor.

I would call ME and have flright times added.

HTH!

Have a super trip!

 

[Sue M]

You won't have to "set up" the ability to pay with gift cards. You just have to pay with the gift cards when the time comes. Keep in mind that you will not be able to just give them your gift cards at check-in and have them apply the gift cards as a credit to your account & pay charges off that way. I don't know how much (if anything) you'll be able to charge to your magic band if you won't put a credit card on file. If you did put a credit card on file, I recommend stopping by the front desk at the end of each day to pay off the day's charges with your gift cards, to ensure that your credit cards aren't charged for them instead. They don't wait until check-out time to charge your credit card for all that, so beware. Alternatively, you could take a few hundred dollars worth into the park each day, and pay with them as you go instead of using your magic band.

You don't have to do online check-in if you don't want to. The reason I do it is that it gives me the chance to state a location preference, as I'm fussy about where I'd like my room to be. It does help you get a location closer to what you want, though nothing is guaranteed. When there is one location preference I feel strongly about, I only select that one preference that I really want, rather than selecting two preferences. That makes it very clear what my priority is.

Even if you do online check-in, it's luck of the draw whether you'll get a text telling you to feel free to bypass the front desk. Sometimes I get that, sometimes I don't. Even when I do, I still like to stop by the front desk to get a map of the resort & directions to my room. If I notice that my room is not where I'd prefer it to be, I politely ask if they can change my room location, and sometimes they can. Besides the map, other handouts will be located in your resort room on one of the tables. You can get a printout & explanations of charges anytime you want by asking at the front desk.


There should be a hotlink on My Disney Experience that allows you to enter your Magical Express flight info, but if you don't see it, call them & they'll add it for you.

I believe you can if you want to, go to desk and put your gift cards on your resort account. I've read about people doing so.

 

[Shanti]

I believe you can if you want to, go to desk and put your gift cards on your resort account. I've read about people doing so.

I'll edit my post to reflect that.

 

[Sue M]

I wasn't able to on my last trip.

Guess they either changed the rules or you got a CM that didn't know.

 

[Shanti]

Guess they either changed the rules or you got a CM that didn't know.

I was not allowed to, but I've edited my post.

 

[jods]

I wasn't allowed to keep gift cards on file last year either. I had 2 cards, a 500 and 1000. I wasn't able to have a negative balance either on my acct when I went to pay it down. I stopped by 2x. It was easy enough to do.

 

[Hopefully]

I believe you can if you want to, go to desk and put your gift cards on your resort account. I've read about people doing so.

I wasn't allowed to in the Fall.

I wasn't allowed to keep gift cards on file last year either. I had 2 cards, a 500 and 1000. I wasn't able to have a negative balance either on my acct when I went to pay it down. I stopped by 2x. It was easy enough to do.

I agree, you could not have a credit balance on your room account from Gift Cards. I just stopped by every few days to pay down the balance