Checking in earlier, better chance of getting a room request

[AngiTN]

I would never go through all that just for a room request.

Same. I guess I just don't see what the big deal is about a room request. It's all Disney. It's not like you are in the depths of hell or anything. So what if you don't get your first choice. Even a room the opposite of my request has been just fine. It's not like I'm there forever

 

[Ksquared]

I must be the only person who doesn't put in a room request lol. I've never requested any room in particular or even a particular location within the resort. I'm an over planner for certain things but more laid back when it comes to room assignment I guess. I've never had to change rooms so I guess it works for us.

 

[gillep]

Same. I guess I just don't see what the big deal is about a room request. It's all Disney. It's not like you are in the depths of hell or anything. So what if you don't get your first choice. Even a room the opposite of my request has been just fine. It's not like I'm there forever

We are the same. I figure sometimes I get an awesome room/view and sometimes it is my turn at something that I may not be as excited about. I didn’t even remember to call and make a request for our 10 year anniversary trip this past July, we were just so happy to have the opportunity to be at WDW together celebrating.

As far as I have been able to tell arrival time at the resort has had very little impact on my requests being met.

 

[Collette]

SSR is a huge resort. If you have an area you would especially need to be in or would like to be in and if you have the time that morning, I feel that it is worth a try. I have found them to always be helpful when they can.

It's been a while, but someone on these boards gave this advice - be polite not demanding, tell them you had made some requests, that you realize they are only requests and not guaranteed, could they please check to see if room request was granted, and if not ask if there are any other rooms available, and that you are willing to wait.

I don't know if there is a better chance or not going in the morning, but I'm thinking it does give them more options to help you earlier in the day. I hope it all works out for you either way.

 

[Micharlotte]

My first trip we stayed at CSR and everyone said the Ranchos section was the worst. It's so far out. Well, when we checked in I saw we were in the Ranchos section. It ended up being perfect for us, It was far from the main building, but it was closer to the pool and we got a pool view room. We were really close to a bus stop that was never busy. Sometimes what you don't want turns out to be perfect!

 

[SL6827]

I might just stay put that morning at POR until Typhoon Lagoon opens. Sounds like maybe a little more trouble than it is worth. If we were just going to check in and hang at the resort all day, I might not think twice about it, but now I think we might just head on over to the water park.

 

[jo-jo]

Same. I guess I just don't see what the big deal is about a room request. It's all Disney. It's not like you are in the depths of hell or anything. So what if you don't get your first choice. Even a room the opposite of my request has been just fine. It's not like I'm there forever

I realize a request is a request, but when you pay for a certain view upsets me. We had a savanna view that was last on the savanna right next to the pool at kidani. We have very few animals and all the pool noise.

 

[AngiTN]

I realize a request is a request, but when you pay for a certain view upsets me. We had a savanna view that was last on the savanna right next to the pool at kidani. We have very few animals and all the pool noise.

Well, you gotta know animals are the worse of all to control. We had a room in the middle of the savanna last Oct and had very few wander by our balcony. For some reason, the darn things just wouldn't honor our request to visit, LOL

 

[SL6827]

Well, you gotta know animals are the worse of all to control. We had a room in the middle of the savanna last Oct and had very few wander by our balcony. For some reason, the darn things just wouldn't honor our request to visit, LOL

Very selfish of those giraffes. What were they thinking?

 

[bumbershoot]

I am thinking of going over to SSR on the morning of April 1st, before we head to Typhoon Lagoon and check in

That is a different question
The question you have is
Does time you arrive afford you a better chance to change rooms if you don't like the one you are assigned?

Maybe I’m reading you backwards, but isn’t that the exact thing the OP is talking about? Physically getting there early?


I’ve had the experience of being given an already assigned room because I was there first. So rooms can be taken away. (I tried to not let the CM do it but they would not be swayed. She literally took the room info out of the other guest’s folder and gave me the room)

 

[ninafeliz]

I've read many of these threads over the years, and the majority of people always say it doesn't matter. However, and I have no scientific evidence to back this up, I think it has to. If you get there at 8 AM and ask if you were assigned room "x" (or location x, or longhouse x, or whatever), and they say no, they are able to check to see if another room is available that they could move you to (even if it means you waiting much longer to get into the room). However, if you arrive at 11:00 PM, the only rooms left unoccupied will be rooms that aren't booked for the night, because pretty much everyone has already arrived and gotten into their room. So while they can still see about moving you to a location you like better, they won't be much left. The advent of online check in and going straight to the room makes this somewhat harder, since once they text a room number to someone they cannot reassign that room to you, even though the person getting it might not arrive until much later than you. However, not everyone uses online checkin, so if they haven't let someone know what room they were assigned to they could change the assignment, give it to you at 8:00 AM, and assign them a different room.

It's been a while, but I know this happened to us back before online check in. We travelled with my parents. They arrived earlier than us and asked about our room location. They obviously couldn't tell them our exact room number but did say it was near them. When we arrived we were nowhere near their room,and when we asked it turned out our room has been reassigned before we arrived and checked in. But on the other hand, when I was growing up we always drove over and checked in super early after staying offsite the first night, and they were always able to pull up available rooms at POR and show us our choices if we wanted a different building, etc.

I agree with everyone that which room isn't going to make or break your vacation, but i actually feel like a great location and view can really enhance the vacation (I'm talking mostly deluxes when it comes to view, location applies to any resort). So If I can try to get it, I'm going to. My success rate is maybe 50/50 if I want something specific, but I at least want to ask.

 

[Lynne M]

This is another one of those things we can't predict. It's math, luck and coincidence, mostly.

Math, in that it matters what you've requested, and how many rooms at the resort fit that description. Coincidence, in how many people arriving that day requested the same thing you did. Luck, in how many people requested that thing on that day, didn't get it and went to the desk to ask for a change. Some people would just accept what they got. Some wouldn't and would ask for a different room, in which case they might have changed your room assignment and given the complaining guest that room.

I mean, I can think of scenarios in which your arrival time wouldn't matter one bit, and scenarios in which a late arrival could reduce your chances. There's just no way for us to know.

 

[Disneylover99]

I agree with everyone that which room isn't going to make or break your vacation, but i actually feel like a great location and view can really enhance the vacation (I'm talking mostly deluxes when it comes to view, location applies to any resort). So If I can try to get it, I'm going to. My success rate is maybe 50/50 if I want something specific, but I at least want to ask.

The view is secondary, but location is everything when we stay at the same resort for two weeks. I'll change rooms the following day if I end up in a room that is the opposite of what I've requested. The earlier we arrive, the easier it is to switch.

 

[ninafeliz]

The view is secondary, but location is everything when we stay at the same resort for two weeks. I'll change rooms the following day if I end up in a room that is the opposite of what I've requested. The earlier we arrive, the easier it is to switch.

I agree. If we have a longer stay we have also changed after the first night to a room we prefer - we did this at CS, WL, and Poly. If we are there 5 days or less I probably wouldn't want to mess with it unless IMO the room is really subpar, but any longer I will. A crappy view or location for a long stay can bring the vacation down - not ruin it necessarily, but really hinder.

 

[poooh]

I once checked in at POR really late, close to midnight, and the CM showed me a list of rooms i could choose from.

Something similar happened to us on our last trip at POP even though we checked in at noon. The CM pulled out a resort map and drew dots approximately over where five different available rooms were. She told us the pros and cons of each location. I'm pretty sure two of the options were preferred rooms even though we only booked a standard. It was sooo nice to have a couple of options laid out on a map. I'm not sure why this happened and I doubt it'll happen again, but it was really nice.

 

[Disneylover99]

I agree. If we have a longer stay we have also changed after the first night to a room we prefer - we did this at CS, WL, and Poly. If we are there 5 days or less I probably wouldn't want to mess with it unless IMO the room is really subpar, but any longer I will. A crappy view or location for a long stay can bring the vacation down - not ruin it necessarily, but really hinder.

Definitely. Although I think it might ruin mine.
We spend good chunks of time at our resort, so location is important.

 

[SL6827]

Wow, such a bag of mixed reviews. You just never know I suppose. I will just do what I feel like on the morning of, and report the results in April.

 

[ninafeliz]

Definitely. Although I think it might ruin mine.
We spend good chunks of time at our resort, so location is important.

So do we. We spent a week at the Poly during the mega construction, and had a 1st floor room in Hawaii directly facing the green construction fence around the mess that became the Oasis pool. I mean, we knew what we was going on when we booked, so I can't blame anyone, but that was by far our least favorite Poly trip. Boy was I jealous reading all of the reports of people being upgraded to the other side of the building from their GV rooms during that one! It seemed like everyone but us got that upgrade (I know it's selection bias, but it sure felt like we were the only ones getting the terrible view we paid for )!

 

[maxiesmom]

Same. I guess I just don't see what the big deal is about a room request. It's all Disney. It's not like you are in the depths of hell or anything. So what if you don't get your first choice. Even a room the opposite of my request has been just fine. It's not like I'm there forever

Well the last time I made a room request that wasn't met was at POR. My request was to be close to transportation, and that is all. The room ended up being smack dab between 2 of the bus depots, close to neither. I ended up posting on the Dis asking for which one to go to and how to get there, as the paths at POR can be pretty winding.

As far as rooms being pre-assigned, yes they are. However you can be moved from your pre-assigned room if a guest arriving before you wants what you have. And while location many not be that big of deal to you, to many people it is.

 

[mommyrosa2]

The only request I ever make is for an upper floor room - I don't do ground floors anywhere. And in all of our trips, we only had one instance where we were given a ground floor upon check-in and that was during one of our stays at CSR and I immediately asked for another floor and it was granted. I believe it all boils down to timing and luck on whether or not requests are granted.