Does Early Check In Help?????

[megrod74]

dizplanner, I like your idea. I was having trouble wrapping my head around the whole "what's not too early or too late" concept.

But to be honest, I really wish that Disney would a) go back to the pre-assigned rooms and b) stick to a 4pm check-in, even though I know it would mean lines. The only reason I want 'b' is because I don't like having to worry about being punished for arriving later than someone else.

 

[Nanajo1]

We check in when we arrive. Sometimes we have an early flight sometimes a later one. We know the room won't be ready until 4pm. What I don't like is being told that my requests have been met then founding out hours later entering the room that my requests have not been met. I only request NS, near an elevator at BWV and first floor at OKW.

 

[dizplanner]

Just for the record, we check in when we arrive as well. Since we are coming from Colorado, this usually means that we arrive in the evening. So, even though I can figure out what I think is the "best" time, I usually can't take advantage of it.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Just for the record, we check in when we arrive as well. Since we are coming from Colorado, this usually means that we arrive in the evening. So, even though I can figure out what I think is the "best" time, I usually can't take advantage of it.

Usually, we're in the same situation - we fly in from AZ, and our flight arrives at 3:30. By the time we get to WDW, it's 4:30. It'll be interesting what studio we get at VWL on arrival day - maybe the one without a balcony!

lllovell, don't worry. We arrived at SSR at 4:30 on Sunday in early December, and there was only one other guest at the desk, with 2 CMs waiting....

 

[lllovell]

Thanks for the info Dr. T. I am not all that "worried" worried lol. I will be in heaven That is if I can GET PACKED!!!! ack! We are going to St. George Island for the weekend to be with family, so really leaving tonight. but...the older I get - the more I realize other than medication, EVERYTHING is available a quick ride from OKW at one store or another!!! Even the paperwork for Hubby's Petty Driving Experience I gave him for Valentine's Day doesn't have paperwork that couldn't be replaced, but you can bet he already made sure that was in the car

 

[athenna]

Thanks for the info Dr. T. I am not all that "worried" worried lol. I will be in heaven That is if I can GET PACKED!!!! ack! We are going to St. George Island for the weekend to be with family, so really leaving tonight. but...the older I get - the more I realize other than medication, EVERYTHING is available a quick ride from OKW at one store or another!!! Even the paperwork for Hubby's Petty Driving Experience I gave him for Valentine's Day doesn't have paperwork that couldn't be replaced, but you can bet he already made sure that was in the car

Have fun, lllovell!!!
Looking forward to hearing about your trip when you return!

 

[Den&Deb]

I have to say as someone who is still considering whether or not to become a DVC member, these comments about 5AM check-in, long lines, not getting your preferences, "poor" rooms etc doesn't make me feel good all over.

This is exactly why we haven't bought yet. Why should reservations be such a problem? Why aren't rooms assigned when ressies are made, not when you check in? It seems like too much is uncertain. If you pay good money for the timeshare, you should have some guarantee of what you are getting. Non-smoking is another pet peeve. For crying out loud, if I pay $16,000 up front and $800 per year, I should be able to be GUARANTEED a non-smoking room.

Doesn't sound like Disney quality to me.

 

[lllovell]

I have to say as someone who is still considering whether or not to become a DVC member, these comments about 5AM check-in, long lines, not getting your preferences, "poor" rooms etc doesn't make me feel good all over.

This is exactly why we haven't bought yet. Why should reservations be such a problem? Why aren't rooms assigned when ressies are made, not when you check in? It seems like too much is uncertain. If you pay good money for the timeshare, you should have some guarantee of what you are getting. Non-smoking is another pet peeve. For crying out loud, if I pay $16,000 up front and $800 per year, I should be able to be GUARANTEED a non-smoking room.

Doesn't sound like Disney quality to me.

Hmmm...I dont think you get assigned rooms at the regular Disney hotels unless you pay for the premium rooms, then you are still going to get which ever room in that "set" is available when you check in. Check in after 11 at night and you might be able to tell.

There have been many polls here lately and mostly it just doesn't happen that way. People do tend to get the basic requests met. Particular views are much harder to match and the fact that DVC tries at all is a plus to me. Maybe sometimes we will get the primo view (and thank goodness we dont all think that is the SAME view). Maybe we won't and we will discover a view we like more. Correct me if I am wrong, but you can't request a particular room at a hotel and be guaranteed can you? (honestly, I am not sure but I dont think so)

The system is set up to mave the maximum number of occupants at any given time. It would be great if you knew "room 4437" is available when you make your reservation, but what happens when there is a plumbing leak above 4437 before you check in and its not available then? Most of us here agree that we would love smoking/non-smoking to be a guarantee (but you certainly can't stop people from smokingin a NS room), but its not. However, the latest poll that I saw said about 1.5% of people go smoking rooms when requesting non-smoking. That is not a lot of problems in my book.



( Thanks Athena!!! I can't wait for yours either!!!)

 

[DrTomorrow]

Welcome, Den & Deb!

Don't be too afraid; OTOH, don't expect DVC to offer substantially more than the lodging / timeshare industry can provide in general. Rarely, when one has the flexibility of a hotel and/or point-based timeshare, can one reserve a specific room. Also, things like views or locations are not normally guaranteed - unless (for example, in Las Vegas) where you might pay extra or be upgraded to a better / higher room.

DVC has a higher average occupancy rate than (I'd wager) the vast majority of hotels; as such, the front desk has far fewer rooms available when you walk in the door.

As for the negative comments, take them with a grain (or 10) of salt. Although we tend to pick at our own DVC pet peeves, we really do think that DVC is the bee's knees. We love it, otherwise why would we be posting here ?!?

Do feel free to ask any questions, or get clarifications on the comments that you see.

Be well!

 

[Pa@okw95]

Am I missing something? I am going to OKW for the first time (on rented points) in May and I thought check-in was at 4:00... I assumed you could request early check-in, but 5:00am?? My flight arrives at noon, so I'm guessing we'll get there by two o clock by the time we get our luggage, pick up the car and stop at the grocery store... do I need to request early check-in and will I get an undesirable room?

Checking in and getting your room are two different things. You can check in any time during the day at any hotel anywhere that I know of regardless of check in time, but getting your room early is not always the case. Check in time means when the hotel says they will have your room by that time. If you are lucky you can get your room before check in time if one is ready. Now having said all that WDW is one of two places that I have seen that actually snuck in the word "after" before their check in time which changes the whole meaning of check in but only comes in handy when there is a dispute.

 

[mrsminniemouse]

Even if we take the earliest flight from England, we cannot arrive at MCO until 3.35pm. By the time we clear customs, claim baggage and get our hire car we are lucky to arrive at the resort until 5.35pm (10.35pm in our time- so we are exhausted) At SSR we were assigned a HA room as 'nothing else was left'.

Hope this doesn't happen at VWL this time. DD, then 16 months got into all sorts of mischief with the kitchen being 'accessible.' We were moved to another room after a few days but I would rather avoid a room change if possible.

Sorry to sound critical, but I think arriving at the crack of dawn to snag 'a great room' is totally over the top. I bet the CMs do too! Given that 4pm is the official check in time, very early morning is a little excessive. None of the rooms are totally awful, we cannot all get the best every time. Just my opinion.....

Mandy

 

[quentina]

We checked in at noon, and got a room so far from the lobby, I think we were 1/2 way to MGM>

I checked at BWV at 7am....I had the room 1/2 way to Epcot.

Personally, I do not feel early check-in gets you much. We had the chance to give up our flight a few years ago during Daytonna. We did not arrive at the VWL until midnight. We got one of the best rooms we have ever had.

Sleep in...Drink coffee on the balcony.

Kim

 

[OneMoreTry]

In my opinion, early check-in helps at OKW. We've been told, "your room isn't ready, but these rooms are if you'd like them instead." And then we've been given several alternate choices.

I don't think it's very helpful at the smaller resorts, unless occupancy is real low and a bunch of rooms are sitting empty. We've been told, "your room isn't ready." And then we have to hang out somewhere until 4pm.

 

[roadtripper]

I check in early at OKW (usually about 7 AM) because I'm an early riser, and so that when we call to get our room assignment, we can just drive straight to the room-- easier with small children.
We have never gotten into our room before 4, however. So, sometimes we have to sit by the pool in the late afternoon with a margarita---poor us

 

[mickeysgal]

Next thread is going to be checking in the night BEFORE to beat the folks who checked in at 5am!!!

Too funny. Next, we'll have online check-in before we leave home, just like the airlines now. Then those who live the farthest, and therefore, have the longest distance to travel, will have the assignment of the best rooms!

 

[MELSMICE]

We've never rushed to check in & have never gotten a bad room. We were on the 3rd floor once, which wasn't great for my dad because he has bad knees, but the rest of us enjoyed the view.

We usually leave our previous resort some time before 11 a.m. & head to OKW - no rush though. Some times we've waited for a room to be ready, some times we haven't.

Last week we arrived at OKW at around 11:30 a.m. & they told us our "smoking optional" room was ready. I had requested non-smoking & was travelling with 2 children with asthma. We decided to sit by the pool & wait until a non-smoking room was available.

We didn't get first floor (dad was with us again ) but were on the 2nd floor in building 42 - Turtle Pond area.

JMO, but I don't think it makes much of a difference when you check-in. Plus, other than a smoking room, I would be willing to stay in any building. We prefer Turtle Pond, but I'm open to trying different areas for a different experience!

 

[joepoe]

I think that checking in early helped us, but I would never say categorically that checking in as early as possible guarantees anything. When I say early, I mean 10, 11 or 12 noon. I am not sure Mousekeeping even has a chance to clean any rooms at 5, 6, 7 or 8am. I would bet folks generally get leftovers at that time.

I am !! I was told on this board (at least I think it was THIS board) to check in around 7 am at OKW to get best choice of rooms. Is this not correct? I was planning on leaving POP at crack of dawn the Sunday morning of our stay and hightailing it over to OKW. I WAS wondering though -what if I get there and they say "come back later." Do I keep going back and forth from MGM (our park of choice that day) til they have a room ready? Or do I sit there and wait? Or do I just say "oh well" and take what they have left at midnight when we get back from Fantasmic? UGH! What a mess! HELP!

 

[Disney Doll]

Truthfully, we have pretty much always checked-in when we arrive and haven't ever had what I would call a terrible room.

Then again, I am not too fussy about location or view.

 

[Yippieskip]

Regarding checking in early, getting a "good" room, etc, I guess I am in planning overload right now and want to head off any potential problems that I can. I am just concerned that we will be too far from the main pool and will have long bus rides to get around OKW and out to the parks (we have three small children.) With that said, I am very excited about our trip and know I must try to be flexible about things I can't control.

I think what has me really nervous is that I convinced my husband we should spend twice as much as we had originally budgeted so we could stay on site and now I want everything to go well! (I dread the see-I-told-you look!!)