Checking in at different times allowed?

[Bouncing4Tigger]

Just thought I would ask if anyone knew the answer to this question. My friend and I are flying down on the 18th and we have the free dining. We originally were flying into MCO within a half hour of each other. I was going to wait for her and we would take ME together.

An opportunity for a better posistion at work came up for my friend and the interview is the day we are going. They said they would do the interview first thing in the morning, but it means she will now get in 5 hours after me.

Will I be allowed to check in with out her or do we have to be together. I have heard different stories, some saying they were allowed, and others saying you have to be together.

I figure if we have to be together, I will just purchase a 1 day ticket and go to a park, but figured I would check in ahead if I am allowed and get my tickets from the package.

Thanks

 

[dburg30]

I'm trying to remember how my reservation was in Feb with a friend of mine. He took a bus to WDW, I flew into MCO and took DME. He checked in. I cant remember if he got both our room keys or not, and I dont remember who was 'primary' on the reservation. I think I was but he checked us in. So I know you can arrive at different times, I just cant 100% remember the specifics about it..

 

[tjmw2727]

As long as the reservation is under the name of the person checking in first and you are not on the free dining it won't be a problem. I have done it a few times without issue. Once my sil checked in several hours after me and on a family trip my dh couldn't join us until the next day.

Whoever is first and named on the reservation can just check in and let the CM know who else will be checking in and when. They will hold the key for the person and check them in when they arrive.

TJ

 

[Bouncing4Tigger]

As long as the reservation is under the name of the person checking in first and you are not on the free dining it won't be a problem. I have done it a few times without issue. Once my sil checked in several hours after me and on a family trip my dh couldn't join us until the next day.

Whoever is first and named on the reservation can just check in and let the CM know who else will be checking in and when. They will hold the key for the person and check them in when they arrive.

TJ

Thanks for the info. We are on the free dining. I will just have to purchase a 1 day pass and go to a park till she gets theere. This is what I was thinking I may have to do.

 

[tjmw2727]

Thanks for the info. We are on the free dining. I will just have to purchase a 1 day pass and go to a park till she gets theere. This is what I was thinking I may have to do.

Yep - I should have read better sorry

In my experience with the free dining everyone has to be present to check in at the same time. Apparently when free dining first came out folks were booking phantom guests with 1 day passes to get extra dining credits (for extra food and/or signature restaurants) and saving the 1 day pass for a future trip. This lead to the policy of having everyone on the reservation present to check in with free dining.

In your case I would definatly head to the resort, check your bags with bell services and see if they will at least issue you your park pass. I would hope they could do that so you don't have to purchase a one day pass in addition to your package as it would be costly. Can't hurt to explain the situation and hope for the best.

Good Luck
TJ

 

[gone2disney]

My brother is checking in a day after us We are on the dining plan and had to pay for his ticket and dining plan for the day he is not there.

 

[tjmw2727]

My brother is checking in a day after us We are on the dining plan and had to pay for his ticket and dining plan for the day he is not there.

Yep - if you have a package everyone has to have the same number of days on dining and park passes.

However, you can save a little $ by changing everyone in the package to 1 day passes and then upgrading each persons pass separately. Depending on the lenght of the pass it may not be worth the effort though.

For the dining you will hae extra credits so you could use them for signature meals or have an additional sit down on the day your brother isn't there.

You could also do a room only reservation for the first night and start the package with dining the next day.

This is is different from the OP's situation, since your paying for the dining you can check in separately. With free dining everyone on the package has to check in together.

TJ

 

[disnut8]

Just a suggestion - there are plenty of free options at Disney World instead of buying a one day pass to go to a park.

My in-laws and I are getting in hours (about eight) before an aunt and the in-laws won't have park passes for the day (I have an Annual Pass). A couple of options for us will be Downtown Disney or taking a bus to Magic Kingdom and then doing a monorail tour with a couple of boat rides thrown in (my father-in-law will love the photo opportunities). And I'm sure my in-laws will want to walk around the resort grounds (Pop Century) and explore there. I'm actually worried that the aunt will call from the airport and say she's boarding the Magical Express bus and we'll have to hustle from wherever we are back to Pop Century to meet her.

 

[tjmw2727]

Thanks for the info. We are on the free dining. I will just have to purchase a 1 day pass and go to a park till she gets theere. This is what I was thinking I may have to do.

I just read something on the theme parks board that makes me think you can get your park pass when you get to the resort even though you can't check in. There is a poster on the theme parks board who works in ticketing at WDW and she has posted in the past that you can separate your park pass from a package and begin using it early.

This will save you the cost of an additional full day ticket so IMHO it would be worth it. If they can't do it at the resort I would try again at the parks before making a purchase.

If you want to try posting on the theme parks the poster is cheshire figment and she has excellent information.

TJ

 

[darlak]

We leave soon and one of our packages has my DD and her husband, plus my DS and his fiance. The primary person listed on the package is DD and she and her DH will be checking in first, on a Friday.

DS and his fiance will not be arriving until Sunday, but all 4 are paid for the exact same number of days, with the exact same tickets. All four also have free dining. All of them are using ME, so the first 2 can't just get the tickets for all 4, since the other 2 will also be arriving by ME 2 days later.

Everyone following me here? Cause it's sounding a bit confusing even to me. The original plan when I booked their package (last year during bounceback) was that they would all arrive on the same date. DS's fiance got a new job and now they can't leave until Sunday. I didn't change the dates on their tickets because I didn't want to lose the free dining. The two of them are doing a couple of signature meals to use their extra credits. I have called and explained this to a CM, who has assured me we shouldn't have a problem, but I'm still a little worried. Sould I try to call the resort directly?

 

[moiraesfate]

I've worked in hotels for 6 years and you shouldn't have an issue so long as the room is under your name.

 

[w-family]

I just got off the phone with Old Key West, where we are staying. We have a similiar situatuin, but we are DVC members and friends are flying in several hours later then us (on the same reservation). We were told we could check in and activate our dining plan. They will check-in, get their keys, passes and dining plan when they arrive and pay their portion.

They said to call the hotel seven days before check-in and have a notation placed on your reservation. I was assured by two different people that it would not be a problem. Hope this helps.

 

[Bouncing4Tigger]

Thanks everyone! We both already purchased 8 day hoppers, so we do have the same amount of days. I will probably go and check in if I can, if not see if I can get my tickets. I am actually going to add 3 days if I can to my tickets as I am staying an extra 3 days, not with free dinng for those days though. Changing hotels for those last 3 nights.

 

[tjmw2727]

I've worked in hotels for 6 years and you shouldn't have an issue so long as the room is under your name.

Again this also the case at WDW ... unless your on the free dining program. If your on a room only, regular package or paid dining package you can check in at separate times.

If your are on the free dining program everyone must be present at check in to prevent fraud - ie phantom guests for extra free dining credits.

 

[newtodis]

YIKES!! I'd never heard of this! DMIL is flying in next Wednesday night from MI and we're driving from SC. Her flight doesn't arrive until about 10:30 so she won't get to the hotel and our room until midnight. Everything's under my name and it's on our reservation that she's coming ME and we're driving. Do I seriously need to sit in the lobby and wait for her?? Does she have to check in at the front desk upon arrival or can I get her key (if we can check in early) and have her come straight to our room???

TIA!

 

[Traveliz]

Thanks everyone! We both already purchased 8 day hoppers, so we do have the same amount of days. I will probably go and check in if I can, if not see if I can get my tickets. I am actually going to add 3 days if I can to my tickets as I am staying an extra 3 days, not with free dinng for those days though. Changing hotels for those last 3 nights.

My husband flew in later than me and I was able to check us both in even though we had free dining - they didn't find it necessary to see him.

Liz

 

[ElizabethB]

We checked in for free dining a week ago at Pop. They did not ask to see everyone in our group. We were registered as a Grand Gathering.

 

[christophfam]

I didn't have ANY problems checking in during free dining last year without my sister who joined us much later that night on ME. My name was the main name on the reservation. I had some of the same concerns before that trip, but as I stated I didn't have any problems at all. My sister checked in later that evening while we were in the parks and got her room key/tickets without us. Could not have been any easier.

 

[khmiller]

Can my wife check in if the rez is in my name and I am not there? I'm thinking about getting a rental car and driving separately and picking up some groceries.