Better to check in early or later?

[MonorailNate]

We were just wondering if it's better to check in early at our resort or to wait until later in the day? Which method would increase your odds of getting the better room assignment? Any theories out there? Thanks! Checking in at AKL next Saturday.

 

[trishadono]

We were just wondering if it's better to check in early at our resort or to wait until later in the day? Which method would increase your odds of getting the better room assignment? Any theories out there? Thanks! Checking in at AKL next Saturday.

Both of my free upgrades were between 4-4:15. Paid for regular room and got CL. I think they get rid of least desirable locations in the morning and as people make requests during the day they honor as rooms cleaned. If arrival is 8pm and later your options will be limited. Any time I have checked in before 11a my room has been ready (5 or so trips).

If you check in early and don't like location you can ask (nicely)for a better one and if willing to wait you should be ok.

Ps my only time at AKL was in August 05. We loved waking up to the animals every morning. You are going to have a great trip! Wish I was there.

 

[nkereina]

Having worked in hotels (not Disney), you have a better chance of getting the room type you want the earlier you check in. When you check-in early ahead of most other people checking in that day, they still have most of the available room inventory to work with and can switch some thing around to accommodate your request.

The rooms given away earliest in the day aren't the "least desirable", they are the ones housekeeping cleaned first in their schedule, and I know at Disney they pre-assign rooms so they are assigned ahead of time according to arrival times of online check-in.

"Upgrades" are more likely to happen later in the day (if at all) and typically happen if they oversell on room types and all the rooms have been distributed. They will "upgrade" you if they run out of those rooms. Similarly, if the hotel is oversold entirely, you run the risk of being walked to another resort the later you check-in. This is a rare occurrence however.

My opinion, the earlier you check-in, the more options you will have.

 

[mickeynut1]

We were just wondering if it's better to check in early at our resort or to wait until later in the day? Which method would increase your odds of getting the better room assignment? Any theories out there? Thanks! Checking in at AKL next Saturday.

In our experience, the time of day has never mattered. We have checked in all times of the day (from 10 a.m. all the way through 1:00 a.m.) and we have always gotten great rooms (and requests met). For our Poly stay, we had a night flight and didn't arrive at the Poly until around 1 am. I had 3 requests noted on our reservation. The first 2 requests were met upon check in, with the 3rd being met the next morning if we wanted to change rooms. We decided to stay put as we got in so late, but also because we were assigned a great room with a pretty view. So, IMO, it doesn't matter whether you check in earlier in the day or later in the evening.

 

[amccu18007]

Honestly, I don't think that it matters. Rooms are assigned a fews in advance. Earlier in the day, you have a better chance of switching if the assigned room is not what you wished for.

 

[GAN]

I can only speak for DVC, but I find that checking in early has never failed me. Most cases I have been allowed to choose the room myself or at the very least been given 2 or 3 options.

 

[White Rose]

We checked in early for two previous trips early...first trip we got none of our requests. Second time we got upgraded from poly tpv to CL tpv, third floor.