Can you request early check-in?

[4winks]

We are driving from OH. We will be driving all night to allow the kids to sleep while we drive. By the time we get to WDW we are going to be exhausted. Dh & I will take turns taking a nap if we can get into our room. Do the resorts allow early check-in request? We will be staying at AS Sports.

 

[Princess Michelle]

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[singingpixie]

It's kind of luck of the draw- if they have a room available when you check in, they'll give it to you, but if they're full and have to wait for people to check out/get the rooms cleaned, obviously they can't. The only way to guarantee this would be to reserve for the night before and phone them to let them know of your arrival time. If it were me I'd take my chances- it's pretty likely that you should be able to get something assuming you're not picky about location within the resort.

 

[disnut8]

You can check in as soon as you get there. However, having a room ready is the issue.

If you have made absolutely no requests for your room (building, floor, close to food court, etc.) your chances have just increased. What I would do is call now and make one request. That your room be available as early as possible due to driving all night with children.

No room requests are guaranteed. But, it will be noticed and hopefully granted. If not, you can ask at check in for the next room available.

To do this, you have to be very flexible on your room.

But - I would prepare for the worst. There are lounge chairs by the pool so one of you can nap. The kids can either swim (don't know the time of year you are going) or take a long walk with the other adult. Music is right next to Sports and then it's Movies. Explore Sports first and then go to the other ones. If you are in the mood for a walk and the kids are hungry, take the up to McDonald's. There is a sidewalk the entire way. They have a big playground there. Maybe have one parent do the McDonald's thing and the second do the walk through the resorts.

And - in about twenty years, remind the kids of this. Lord it over them.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

It's kind of luck of the draw- if they have a room available when you check in, they'll give it to you, but if they're full and have to wait for people to check out/get the rooms cleaned, obviously they can't. The only way to guarantee this would be to reserve for the night before and phone them to let them know of your arrival time. If it were me I'd take my chances- it's pretty likely that you should be able to get something assuming you're not picky about location within the resort.

This is exactly what I would do (and have done in the past). It doesn't even have to be on-site, just somewhere to lay your head, then you can go to WDW nice and early and enjoy the pool. Or OP, just considered leaving a little later so you don't run into this problem. How long is your drive?

How about making a mini road trip and staying one night on the road, this way you can pull into Disney refreshed?

 

[4winks]

Our drive will be 16-18 hours. We are leaving after the kids get out of school on a Friday - probably early evening. With stops for dinner and potty breaks (4 kids could be a bunch of potty breaks) we figure we will be there around lunch time. We will survive if we can't get into a room until 3-4 pm. It would be nice though for us to take turns with the kids at the pool while the other adult takes a nap. Since we have to connecting rooms I worry that this will make it harder.

 

[disnut8]

Our drive will be 16-18 hours. We are leaving after the kids get out of school on a Friday - probably early evening. With stops for dinner and potty breaks (4 kids could be a bunch of potty breaks) we figure we will be there around lunch time. We will survive if we can't get into a room until 3-4 pm. It would be nice though for us to take turns with the kids at the pool while the other adult takes a nap. Since we have to connecting rooms I worry that this will make it harder.

Oh - then don't worry about it too much. I thought you'd be getting there at 6:00 AM or something!

The connecting rooms won't make a difference. You rooms will have already been assigned. It's just a matter of when housekeeping finishes up. If people were in your rooms the night before and didn't leave until right at 11:00. housekeeping will have probably passed by their rooms and will have to go back. But you can't control that.

And FOUR kids? Oh yeah, really keep this in the memory banks for twenty years from now.