Check in date and flight different date ??

[tatorswife]

ok..Ill try to explain this the best i can. We was originally booked to head to WDW on Oct 9th with my best friend and her family..We are driving, they are flying..They had their flights booked for Oct 9th with Delta. When free dining came out..I moved our package to Oct 5th..no problem..My friends however were gonna be charged 150 bucks each ticket to move their flight back 1 day to the 8th to get free dining. So, my best friend calls Disney and the CM tells her to change her package to the 8th and do online check in 10 days before they arrive and just check in on the 9th when their original flight lands..She seems fine with that but its got me freaked out thinking they cant do that...When they get there on the 9th will they still be able to check in and get their package they had booked to start on the 8th??? I Hope that makes sense. TIA

 

[msminnieears]

If she talked with a Disney CM then I would think it would be so but I would double check if she feels unsure. Sometimes CM's have different answers so if 2 CM's say the same thing then no worries!

 

[mommyof3princess27]

They can try but I dont think they will still get free dining. You have to check in on the 8th. Is there anyway 1 person could change their flight, fly down and check in or maybe they could switch your name and one of their names on the ressie so you could check in on their room and then just 'stay' in the room where your family is? I have done this before last year when my mom and dad were arriving late. I just checked in for them(they switched me and my mom on the ressies) and I stayed with my family and when mom and dad arrived, They had their room ready. I know this isnt 'the right way' but if one person cant fly ahead, its an option! HTH!

 

[SarahD]

From what I've read on this board, SOMEONE has to physically check in on the 8th to get the free dining. If a CM is telling then different, I would get that person's name in full so that if there is a problem, they stand some chance of swinging it in their favor. I have seen a lot of posts where people say,"Disney is on to this and it won't work".

 

[raven69david]

I would get added to their reservation and you do the check-in for them. If they are not there on the 8th to check-in, then they may not get FD. Don't take any chances, especially when you don't have anything in writing stating that "you will be fine" once you arrive on a date that does not offer FD. There will be no way to confirm with the hotel that a Disney Reservations CM told them/you that it would be ok to check-in on a day after the promo offer date.

I see the promo from 10/2-10/7 so not sure if I'm missing something regarding checking in on the 8th.....

 

[tatorswife]

Thanks yall..I txt her and told her I think there will have to physically be someone to check in for them and she said "well my would they tell me i could check in on the 9th then." I told her I thought the CM was mistaken..She does have the CM's name, but i'm still worried they are gonna have to pay the money back that they are being refunding for free dining, once they get there. She said shes not worried about it so I dont guess I should either but shes not obsessive about everything going smoothly like I am..LOL I told her I'd check them in if i could but i would have to be on their ressie and she said..thats to much of a hassle for you to do that..So, I guess we shall see what happens

 

[kerplop]

That would drive me nuts. I am way too neurotic about reservations! My gut instinct is that they won't be able to get the FD from this, since lots of people have talked about them cancelling reservations as a no-show if they don't check in on the date they're meant to. That's worse than no FD!

 

[mickeynut1]

Good luck to your friend, but I think this a disaster waiting to happen. They could very well show up and have no reservation at all.....Disney automatically cancels ressies for no shows, which technically they would be a no show since nobody will physically be there to check in on the 8th. Not getting free dining and having to pay for it would be one thing, but showing up and the CM telling them they have no reservation at all due to no one showing up the day before, would be another.....I sure wouldn't want to be in that position. But I wouldn't worry if I were you because you tried to tell her about the possibility of this happening and she's seems ok with what she was told over the phone. There are alot of times CMs give out incorrect information and, IMO, this is one of those times .

 

[sarahbug79]

Not to steal the thread but how does that work with late flights? we might not land until 11:25pm by the time we take DME we won't get to the hotel until after midnight. I booked for the night we land but don't want to find out they cancel us for not showing up that day.

 

[kerplop]

Not to steal the thread but how does that work with late flights? we might not land until 11:25pm by the time we take DME we won't get to the hotel until after midnight. I booked for the night we land but don't want to find out they cancel us for not showing up that day.

You'll be a-okay. From what others have said of their experiences you should more than okay until 3-4am at least. They know some flights get in really late!

 

[SPOERLX3]

A couple of weeks ago, I read on another thread about something simular. (can't find the thread just yet but will post it as soon as i do)

One of our disboard friends flight was scheduled to land late on one day, then they ended up having a delay, then their flight got canceled and they couldn't get a flight till the next day. They had done on line check in but wasn't sure how it would work out since they were arriving a day later than expected. She had called a CM from the airport and the CM told her that since she did on line check in that it would be fine and that she would note the account so that the resort would be aware of what happened. They got there the next day and everything worked out fine.

I am such a fanatic about everything being as close to perfect as I can get it (at least in my standard of perfect---which isn't very perfect at all) so I would be freaking out good for her that she doesnt let things like this bug her

 

[Sandisw]

I have been told that if you are not physically checked in by the morning, like 4:00 - 6:00 am, then they will cancel.

I think it is different when you have a late flight that gets delayed through no fault of your own and contact them when that happens.

In this case, I would be very nervous about showing up a day late when it's planned in advance, regardless of what a CM tells me on the phone. I would get it in writing from someone for peace of mind.

 

[SPOERLX3]

I have been told that if you are not physically checked in by the morning, like 4:00 - 6:00 am, then they will cancel.

I think it is different when you have a late flight that gets delayed through no fault of your own and contact them when that happens.

In this case, I would be very nervous about showing up a day late when it's planned in advance, regardless of what a CM tells me on the phone. I would get it in writing from someone for peace of mind.

makes sense and i would totally have to agree

 

[discorsner]

I've been very concerned about the same exact thing...a late flight in our case.

We arrive at MCO about 10:30 on a last day of free dining check in date.

Disney has our flight numbers because of ME. I am assuming they know that if our flight is delayed it isn't our fault. Still, I am a worry-wart.

I have read on several threads that if you have a room request the best chance of getting it met is not to not do online check in. So I wasn't going to.

But reading this thread and hearing posts like "you were ok because you did online check in" really makes me wonder if I should.

I probably have no hope of getting room requests on a sold out check in date arriving so late anyway.

Couldn't leave until afternoon because of a work requirement but we were better off getting free dining and a late flight then just coming the next morning as we usually would. This late flight thing has me buggin out though! If all goes as planned we will be there before midnight though and even if delayed we would hopefully be there before the 4am that someone mentioned. However if we get really delayed or pushed off for a day I will just have to be on the phone with Disney I guess. I hope it all works out.

 

[mickeynut1]

One of our disboard friends flight was scheduled to land late on one day, then they ended up having a delay, then their flight got canceled and they couldn't get a flight till the next day. They had done on line check in but wasn't sure how it would work out since they were arriving a day later than expected. She had called a CM from the airport and the CM told her that since she did on line check in that it would be fine and that she would note the account so that the resort would be aware of what happened. They got there the next day and everything worked out fine.

This is a different situation due to a flight being cancelled, which is out of the control of the traveler. Disney can check flights to see if they were indeed delayed or cancelled, in which case they will make sure you don't lose your ressie. The OP's friend is knowingly coming in the next day and trying to keep their free dining, which may very well end up in the cancellation of their ressie if someone isn't there the day before.

I've been very concerned about the same exact thing...a late flight in our case.

We arrive at MCO about 10:30 on a last day of free dining check in date.

Disney has our flight numbers because of ME. I am assuming they know that if our flight is delayed it isn't our fault. Still, I am a worry-wart.

I probably have no hope of getting room requests on a sold out check in date arriving so late anyway.

You will be fine. We have gone twice during free dining checking in on the last day and our flights were always late flights getting us into MCO around 10:00-11:00 p.m. The last time we went for free dining we didn't check into the Poly until around 1:00 a.m. and we actually got 2 out of our 3 requests granted.....and then they offered to move us the next morning to fulfill the 3rd. So I wouldn't worry about checking in late. The computers don't switch over until around 6:00 a.m. the next morning, so as long as you check in before that time, you will be fine. If there is a delay or cancellation with your flight, just call Disney and everything should be fine .

 

[SarahD]

I've been very concerned about the same exact thing...a late flight in our case.

We arrive at MCO about 10:30 on a last day of free dining check in date.

Disney has our flight numbers because of ME. I am assuming they know that if our flight is delayed it isn't our fault. Still, I am a worry-wart.

I have read on several threads that if you have a room request the best chance of getting it met is not to not do online check in. So I wasn't going to.

But reading this thread and hearing posts like "you were ok because you did online check in" really makes me wonder if I should.

I probably have no hope of getting room requests on a sold out check in date arriving so late anyway.

Couldn't leave until afternoon because of a work requirement but we were better off getting free dining and a late flight then just coming the next morning as we usually would. This late flight thing has me buggin out though! If all goes as planned we will be there before midnight though and even if delayed we would hopefully be there before the 4am that someone mentioned. However if we get really delayed or pushed off for a day I will just have to be on the phone with Disney I guess. I hope it all works out.

Someone posted - and I seem to think it was a CM or travel agent - that the rooms are assigned a week or 10 days out. Checking in in person wouldn't have any effect if this is true.