Does it matter what day you check in?

[mommykds]

Do you have a better chance at a good room on a weekend when everyone is checking out or mid week?

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Good question. Well I'd say when more are checking out, more are checking in. when fewer are checking out, fewer are checking in. so it's probably 6 one, half dozen the other.

I'm so glad to be of no service.

 

[philaround]

With so many airlines offering mid week fare specials now you can't count on everyone traveling one weekend to the next. Of our last 3 trips 1 was a Sunday arrival and Friday of the following week departure, one was Wednesday arrival and Sunday departure, and one was Thursday arrival and Monday departure. Our next trip is Saturday arrival and Monday after the next weekend departure.

 

[kaabost]

I usually check in on Sunday and make Monday my first park day. I don't know if the parks are less crowded or not but I figure that they would be less crowded during the week (less local traffic). We usually spend 5 days in the parks and hit them on the weekdays. I guess my check in date is park motivated and not room motivated.

 

[imatoad]

This might be simply coincidental, but two years ago we checked into the Poly on a Monday a.m., and our room was ready. Last year we checked in on a Sunday a.m. and couldn't get into our room until 3p.m., again maybe we were just lucky that one time. However, we are checking in on a Monday this coming Oct., we shall see.

 

[AStamm]

And, don't forget that the day you check in may still be in value season. We just booked our Christmas trip yesterday and got a room at Pop Century for the AAA rate of $63 for 12 nights...on December 19, the last day of value season. On the 20th, the rate goes up to around $125. My DH and DS are going to leave on that Tuesday morning and spend four extra days until I can get down, but the airfare is cheaper for them mid-week, and they are getting three extra nights at the hotel for over $350 less! This should work great since they are huge Universal fans and I don't particulary care to spend any vacation time there. We save money, and I don't have to do Universal! A win-win.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

This has been debated quite a bit on these boards. Personally, I've seen no pattern. We've gotten up-grades when checking on all different days. Having to wait for our room or not doesn't seem to be tied to the days of the week or the busy-ness of the resort either. During our July/August trip, the WL was pretty empty, but we had to wait until after 5 for our room!! Our Mousekeeper said that some blocks of rooms were being left empty. Thus, while the resort was far from full, only a small set of rooms was being used over-and-over again.

 

[Karnak]

We've never been assigned anything but a "good room" at Walt Disney World. Once, when we checked in at Boardwalk (in a suite with two bedrooms, living room and kitchen), we were so far away from the lobby that I was a bit upset and called the desk and asked if we could be assigned quarters closer to the lobby and bus stop. There was no problem, and we were moved at once to a much better location before we had unpacked anything. The other times we've stayed at Boardwalk have always resulted in a good location upon first checking in.

Once, at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, we were assigned rooms far away from the lobby, but since we had insisted upon being able to see the animals from our rooms and got that request granted, we made no further requests.

And once when we checked in at PO-Riverside we requested two connecting rooms, but the cast member assigned us to adjoining rooms rather than connecting. When I called the desk (again quickly and before unpacking anything), we were moved into true connecting rooms. I have always wondered if the young cast member who checked us in that morning knew the difference between adjoining and connecting.

I doubt that the day of the week one checks in makes much difference. We tend to plan WDW trips based upon park crowds, rather than room location anyhow.

Enjoy.