Best Check-In Day(s) for Room Requests?

[bradyh]

Hey guys! The DW and I are looking to stay in a standard room at the Poly in late October. We were thinking of arriving on a Tuesday (23rd) to save on airfare, but read on...

I've read anecdotes of people arriving early on the day of their check-in and talking with resort front desks about what room they're assigned to and sometimes having the possibility of switching rooms to better fit requests if those rooms have become available that day. (ex. "We have you in room 100, but rooms 104 and 105 will be made available at 3:00 if you would prefer those and are willing to wait").

When I make our reservation, I'll be including a room request for the Samoa longhouse, west-side (to overlook the lava pool) w/ a balcony or patio. I know this is a very popular location, which made me wonder...

Question
Even w/ attaching requests to reservations and/or faxing the resort, etc., are there weekdays that may offer improved odds of fulfilling room requests or switching rooms (not upgrading) when checking in?

(I figured Mondays might make sense as people tend to depart on Sundays rather than arrive, leaving rooms available for next day's guests.)


Optional question 2: For those that have stayed at standard Poly houses, since the Samoa is probably a long shot, is there a great runner up?

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

It doesn't matter. People are constantly arriving and leaving Disney resorts.

To counter your point, we've arrived on a Sunday more than any other day of the week.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hey guys! The DW and I are looking to stay in a standard room at the Poly in late October. We were thinking of arriving on a Tuesday (23rd) to save on airfare, but read on...

I've read anecdotes of people arriving early on the day of their check-in and talking with resort front desks about what room they're assigned to and sometimes having the possibility of switching rooms to better fit requests if those rooms have become available that day. (ex. "We have you in room 100, but rooms 104 and 105 will be made available at 3:00 if you would prefer those and are willing to wait").

When I make our reservation, I'll be including a room request for the Samoa longhouse, west-side (to overlook the lava pool) w/ a balcony or patio. I know this is a very popular location, which made me wonder...

Question
Even w/ attaching requests to reservations and/or faxing the resort, etc., are there weekdays that may offer improved odds of fulfilling room requests or switching rooms (not upgrading) when checking in?

(I figured Mondays might make sense as people tend to depart on Sundays rather than arrive, leaving rooms available for next day's guests.)


Optional question 2: For those that have stayed at standard Poly houses, since the Samoa is probably a long shot, is there a great runner up?

Poly has a relatively new room category called "Pool or Marina View" so, if you want Samoa overlooking the lava pool, you will need to book that. We've enjoyed standard view rooms in Rarotonga (very close to GCH) and Fiji (luau cove side. we actually prefer 1st floor there so we can walk out to the beach, but it's a bit noisy with the luau).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

OP - Folks ask this question frequently, but what I’ve found through many trips is that there are THOUSANDS of people checking-in/checking-out every day, 365 days a year. There are people coming from all over the world with different schedules, dates, airfares, plans, etc.

With it constantly busy and running at such a high occupancy rate all the time, pegging that ‘perfect day’ that may help with room requests is effectively impossible.

@DisneyWishes14 also nailed it with the Pool/Marina View room category info. If you do in fact have “Standard View” booked, your chances of getting Samoa are likely going be pretty low, unfortunately.

 

[bradyh]

Poly has a relatively new room category called "Pool or Marina View" so, if you want Samoa overlooking the lava pool, you will need to book that. We've enjoyed standard view rooms in Rarotonga (very close to GCH) and Fiji (luau cove side. we actually prefer 1st floor there so we can walk out to the beach, but it's a bit noisy with the luau).

@DisneyWishes14 also nailed it with the Pool/Marina View room category info. If you do in fact have “Standard View” booked, your chances of getting Samoa are likely going be pretty low, unfortunately.

Thanks for the info on the newer category. It looks like TouringPlans' room finder hasn't been updated to include it. Bummer! We had thought about maybe Niue as an alternate since it's still centrally located as it seems Fiji can be a bit noisy w/ luau and marina crowds.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Part of Fiji is also now Pool/Marina.

 

[bradyh]

Part of Fiji is also now Pool/Marina.

Thanks! I haven't been able to find an updated room map for the Poly. Do you happen to know which part(s) (west/luau, east/marina, mix)?

 

[bradyh]

(this apparently has also now turned into a "which longhouse?" thread; there's only a few hundred of those around, right? At least it includes the new category changes!)

 

[_auroraborealis_]

According to the Tikiman Pages, no one has an updated resort map with the new designations, because the resort won't provide the information. Tikiman has confirmed at all of Samoa is Pool View, and the east side of Fiji is now Marina view. He is unaware of changes in Tuvalu or Aotearoa, and CMs are giving mixed answers on Niue and the pool side of Rarotonga. This according to Facebook, but, frankly, if Tikiman doesn't know... no one knows.

 

[kniquy]

I don't think there is any set patter for how people travel to WDW. My last trip I arrived on a tuesday (for a conference), April we arrive on a Saturday because it is the beginning of my kids school vacation and then in November we arrive Tuesday after thanksgiving - because of usually cheaper flights on a Tuesday and we figure the turkey day crowds will have dispersed by then.

My last trip to BWV i did not like the room i was assigned so I did go to the desk and they were able to find a better room location for me. It probably really is the luck of the draw. I am sure they try to accommodate, but they likely have so many requests they can't please everyone.

 

[SharonZ]

If you make your requests too complicated, there's less of a chance you will get them. I agree with the other, you need to book Pool/Marina view.

 

[pd1138]

We have always arrived mid week ( tue wed and Thur) for our last 8 trips and never had a problem.
I also want to add the magical express service is always busy when we arrive and we are never the only ones checking into our hotel at the time!!! I also see plenty of people waiting for the bus back to the airport as we are checking in so plenty of people are coming and going everyday!

 

[bradyh]

If you make your requests too complicated, there's less of a chance you will get them. I agree with the other, you need to book Poo/Marina view.

I'm really hoping you meant Pool!
While we'd surely love one of those views, they are a good bit out of our budget. The only reason we're able to even do a Poly Standard is through a great agency offer. We may just alter our request to something closer to GCH like Niue or Raratonga.

 

[SharonZ]

I'm really hoping you meant Pool!
While we'd surely love one of those views, they are a good bit out of our budget. The only reason we're able to even do a Poly Standard is through a great agency offer. We may just alter our request to something closer to GCH like Niue or Raratonga.

Wow, now that's a wild room category - LOL!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I'm really hoping you meant Pool!
While we'd surely love one of those views, they are a good bit out of our budget. The only reason we're able to even do a Poly Standard is through a great agency offer. We may just alter our request to something closer to GCH like Niue or Raratonga.

We loved Rarotonga. It was so quiet and it's literally about 5 steps from GCH so if you happen to be there during a downpour, it was very convenient! As _auroraborealis_ noted, the marina side of Fiji is most likely "Pool or Marina View" at this point. Luau cove side probably isn't, but it is noisy until about 10 pm on luau nights. You may want to consider simply requesting what it is you are looking for in a room like "close to GCH" "patio or balcony" and keep it at that. If you request a specific longhouse, you may get it, but you might end up with a room in that longhouse that you don't particularly like.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks for the info on the newer category. It looks like TouringPlans' room finder hasn't been updated to include it. Bummer! We had thought about maybe Niue as an alternate since it's still centrally located as it seems Fiji can be a bit noisy w/ luau and marina crowds.

Touring Plans has a great room finder feature but their parameters for the given rooms are off almost as much as their are right, even without Disney changing rooms categories. The only thing you can use it for it to see where the room is in the resort, anything else you find there is a gamble.

We loved Rarotonga. It was so quiet and it's literally about 5 steps from GCH so if you happen to be there during a downpour, it was very convenient! As _auroraborealis_ noted, the marina side of Fiji is most likely "Pool or Marina View" at this point. Luau cove side probably isn't, but it is noisy until about 10 pm on luau nights. You may want to consider simply requesting what it is you are looking for in a room like "close to GCH" "patio or balcony" and keep it at that. If you request a specific longhouse, you may get it, but you might end up with a room in that longhouse that you don't particularly like.

Yep, same here. Love that building. Stayed in others but didn't like them nearly as well

 

[CalifLynn]

We are in the same boat as you, booked a great standard rate with TA and didn’t realize about the new Pool/Marina category, I was basing my reservation off of Tikimans categories and thought there would be plenty of great rooms, now I am worried.

Sounds like you want something similar to me. I want 3rd floor with balcony, prefer not to face the monorail and don’t want to be in Tuvalu for fear of looking at the end of Fiji. I’m thinking about requesting Fiji facing the Spirit of Aloha area (noise isn’t an issue), does anyone know if this is still standard view?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are in the same boat as you, booked a great standard rate with TA and didn’t realize about the new Pool/Marina category, I was basing my reservation off of Tikimans categories and thought there would be plenty of great rooms, now I am worried.

Sounds like you want something similar to me. I want 3rd floor with balcony, prefer not to face the monorail and don’t want to be in Tuvalu for fear of looking at the end of Fiji. I’m thinking about requesting Fiji facing the Spirit of Aloha area (noise isn’t an issue), does anyone know if this is still standard view?

I don't know for sure, but it's not facing a pool, marina or lagoon, so I'm going to assume it's still standard view. It faces the luau cove beach (literally the sand) and the path to GF.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Sunday is actually a very popular arrival day. Many people who make long drives from the northeast/upper Midwest etc. leave on Saturday sometime and arrive on Sunday. I worked the bell/valet desk at a deluxe during my CP and Sunday we were always prepared for a very large influx of check-ins.

That said, people are constantly arriving and departing. I don’t really think any day of the week gives you a leg up.

Have fun!!! We love Poly.

 

[vinotinto]

I take touring plans room categories with a very hefty grain of salt. The names of the room categories are often outdated (not only for Poly, but others) and often don't even match what the names for the current categories are. It's been amassed based on what self-reported information guests provide because Disney won't say which rooms are which categories. So, if someone received a bit of pixie dust, it may be incorrect. I still review it and find it valuable just to get a general sense of rooms and views and general location and noise levels, but I find that it's better to put in 1 or 2 very general requests (such as full balcony or patio or close to bus stop or connecting rooms or quiet location), rather than specifying a particular building or room.