Chances of Room Being Ready Upon Arrival.

[abooch]

Hello all!

I have a one night reservation at the end of the month for AoA. I will be arriving at around 11am and I will be attending the Halloween Party that night with a lunch reservation at 2:00pm at the Polynesian. During online check I put in a note (at least I think I did. There seems to be no way to check this online) of the time I will be arriving and my plans of the Halloween party with hopes the room can be ready early. What are the chances of the room being ready upon arrival? Should I call and make sure that they have my request?

Thanks!

 

[pattyw]

It depends on how many checked out the previous night and if they have a vacant room to give you. We've had rooms ready when coming to the resort at 9am and other times not until after 4pm. Did you check the box in online checkin which says that a ready room is more important than your requests? Also, if your room still isn't ready, ask at the check in desk if they have a room ready. That has also helped in the past when we really want to get into a room early.

 

[abooch]

Not sure. I didn’t have any requests besides the room being ready for 11am. Lol

 

[pattyw]

Not sure. I didn’t have any requests besides the room being ready for 11am. Lol

That's the best you can do right now!

 

[melanielll]

We have been all over the place with this. A room was ready for us at 5:30 am once. Once, it wasn't ready till 6pm. There is no way to predict.

A tip I would give you if it isn't ready when you arrive is to tell the front desk that you are waiting at the hotel and not that you are leaving to go to a park. They take care of the waiting people first. Even if you are going somewhere, you can still get the text and be able to access the room as soon as you get back (if you have Magicbands - I don't know what you do if you don't have Magicbands).

 

[Lynne M]

We have been all over the place with this. A room was ready for us at 5:30 am once. Once, it wasn't ready till 6pm. There is no way to predict.

A tip I would give you if it isn't ready when you arrive is to tell the front desk that you are waiting at the hotel and not that you are leaving to go to a park. They take care of the waiting people first. Even if you are going somewhere, you can still get the text and be able to access the room as soon as you get back (if you have Magicbands - I don't know what you do if you don't have Magicbands).

This is a good tip. Tell them when you arrive that if a room isn't ready, you'll take the first available room.

 

[CrankyDad]

Hotel GM here.. Just depends on the previous nights occupancy.. It can help if you are willing to take whatever room/section is available, but no promises. The best bet, rent the room for the night before and it will be yours no matter what time you arrive. You have to respect that so many people would love to come in early, but the logistics don't work out.

But why do you need the room that early? You have 2pm ADR.. You can swing by and drop off bags and hit go to the ADR. Many times people just want the room to have the room. Do you need shower and change of clothes? Perhaps the pool locker rooms?

 

[Disnsyncey]

I'm with crankydad, it doesn't have much bearing on you getting a room early if you tell them your plans, it will all depend on IF there is a vacant room at that time for them to put you in or at least have a vacant room that they can start cleaning for you....

Keep that note that you will take an earlier room regardless of your requests.....but I would ask like the PPs, why do you need it? If you desperately need it to sleep or something, preregister it for the night before.....if you don't need it for anything in particular, I would just drop the luggage and go out and do fun things instead of waiting around the hotel....go explore some other resorts along the monorail!

I have also had rooms available at 7am and as late as 4 or 5 as well.....it all depends on the night prior's occupancy....

 

[melanielll]

I like to be able to get into my room before heading out to do stuff. Nothing left in the car where it is more likely to be stolen or melt. We get to unpack a bit and freshen up. Plus - you don't have to do all of that after getting back from an outing. Also - if there is a problem with the room, it can be dealt with earlier rather than later. To me, it's just better to have access to the room earlier.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Be sure to check off the room being ready early is your top priority during the room request process of online check in and by 11am its likely that your room will be available.

 

[TomServo27]

42% chance.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Definitely go to the front desk when you get there, even though you did online check in. We did when we had one night at POP a couple of years ago and they put us in a room right away and it was an upgrade, too! It was 9am, so we were pleasantly surprised.

The next day we checked into POR and our room wasn't ready until 10:30pm, so you really just never know. I think that was just a bad fluke.

 

[writerguyfl]

Hotel GM here.. Just depends on the previous nights occupancy.. It can help if you are willing to take whatever room/section is available, but no promises. The best bet, rent the room for the night before and it will be yours no matter what time you arrive. You have to respect that so many people would love to come in early, but the logistics don't work out.

The other factor at play would be the number of rooms departing for that day. Even if the night prior was full, if the hotel has a significant number of departures, that increases the pool of rooms available for early check-ins. So, if 400 rooms are checking out, there's a decent chance that some of those people will be leaving very early in the morning. But, if there are only 20 rooms, it's possible that all 20 of those guests may stick around until the official check-out time.

General Note to All Hotel Guests: When you check-out of a hotel, please don't just leave. Take a moment to tell the hotel staff you're departing. (Just call from your room phone.) The hotel can't clean a room unless they know it's vacant. That simple action might help the next guest get into that room a little early.

 

[bumbershoot]

Nothing left in the car where it is more likely to be stolen or melt.

Don't leave things in the car; stash them with bell services! That way your bags are that much closer to you when you are in your room.

 

[melana]

50/50. On two trips we were able to get in our rooms when we arrived at 7am and 8am. The third time...no dice.

 

[Sue M]

Don't leave things in the car; stash them with bell services! That way yiur bags are that much closer to you when you are in your room.

This! I would never leave luggage in car. Check it with Bell Service if Room isn’t ready.

 

[Disnsyncey]

General Note to All Hotel Guests: When you check-out of a hotel, please don't just leave. Take a moment to tell the hotel staff you're departing. (Just call from your room phone.) The hotel can't clean a room unless they know it's vacant. That simple action might help the next guest get into that room a little early.

SO MUCH YES.....helps the hotel SO MUCH (and helps people like the OP who wants a room early! haha) I hate walking rooms after checkout (aka I work in a hotel too haha)

 

[Disnsyncey]

I like to be able to get into my room before heading out to do stuff. Nothing left in the car where it is more likely to be stolen or melt. We get to unpack a bit and freshen up. Plus - you don't have to do all of that after getting back from an outing. Also - if there is a problem with the room, it can be dealt with earlier rather than later. To me, it's just better to have access to the room earlier.

I think everybody would LIKE to be able to settle in, but if its not available before normal check in time when you arrive, I don't see any need to sit around waiting for it when you could be out enjoying WDW!

 

[SharonZ]

Early check-in was your only request, so you've done all you can at this point. When you arrive check-in, whether your room is ready or not, leave your bags with bell services, go to lunch as planned at the Poly. As others have stated, there's no way of knowing whether a room will be available for you when you arrive.