Early Arrival Advice Needed

[VApastor79]

We just found out our flight gets into Orlando at 11:00AM instead of the original 4PM. Apparently, there were not enough bookings so they moved us to an early flight. We have always arrived at our hotel just after check in time, now we are going to be a good 2.5 - 3 hours early. We are staying at CBR in June. Any good ideas on how to spend that time? Are we allowed to leave our luggage even if our room isn't ready? As a planner, this wierdly stresses me out. lol.

 

[trishadono]

I try to put shorts/swim in a small bag to keep with me and give bigger bags to be held. If you don't have a small bag then try to put things you may need "on top" so you are not digging through your bag. You can get travel sunscreen now which is handy.

We sometimes get lunch to hold us over too.

You will have the skyliner so you could just go for a ride to kill time as well.

If you have park tickets you can always pop in for a ride or even just to shop.

You will love arriving early!

 

[supamaki]

Yes they will hold your bags. You are also allowed to use all the facilities as if ti were the middle of your stay, so as a planner maybe pack a bag with everyone's swim suits and use one of the pool bathrooms to change.

You could also hop on the skyliner and just look around for a while too as there's a station at CBR.

 

[Sweettears]

Its possible, although not a given, that if you check in at the desk your room might be ready before the usual time. It was precovid but I always arrive early and have often had my room ready early. Sometimes before noon.

 

[HiStitch626]

I agree with Sweettears, make sure and note the early arrival time. Unless you have particular room request select the option that prioritizes an early room rather than location. Disney Springs is nice in the daytime, not so crowded. So, if your room is not ready you might drop your bags with bell services and head to DS.

 

[loves to dive]

As others have said, yes, you can store your bags at the resort. We almost always arrive early, heck during split stays I've been known to arrive 7 or 8 am. Pre-Covid I always go to the front desk when I get there just to let them know I'm physically there. I never pick a certain type of room or a view, I really don't care, especially in a non-deluxe resort. I tell them I am o.k. with anything that is available. Sometimes I've been lucky and a room is actually ready and sometimes I will get the room ready text way earlier than "official" check in time. I also always put early check in as a priority on my on-line check in. After I have checked in, I head to a park. Depending on the time of year, some of the parks are open until 9, 10 or 11 so if I get there between 2 and 3, I still have lots of hours in the parks.

You don't say how far you are flying and what your party is made up of. If you have a long flight and littles, relaxing at the pool might be the best bet. If you have a shorter flight and little's you might be able to hit a park to let them let off some steam. If you are adults and, say kids over 9, again heading to a park might be a good bet. Depends on if you want to spend for that park ticket and if you can get a park reservation for a park you would want to go to. I'm going to say that if you have kids, DS might not be a good idea because, let's face it, it's shopping and food and walking. While kids love food, shopping is not always their favorite thing and they might be disappointed that they are so close yet so far away from a park or pool.

 

[VApastor79]

As others have said, yes, you can store your bags at the resort. We almost always arrive early, heck during split stays I've been known to arrive 7 or 8 am. Pre-Covid I always go to the front desk when I get there just to let them know I'm physically there. I never pick a certain type of room or a view, I really don't care, especially in a non-deluxe resort. I tell them I am o.k. with anything that is available. Sometimes I've been lucky and a room is actually ready and sometimes I will get the room ready text way earlier than "official" check in time. I also always put early check in as a priority on my on-line check in. After I have checked in, I head to a park. Depending on the time of year, some of the parks are open until 9, 10 or 11 so if I get there between 2 and 3, I still have lots of hours in the parks.

You don't say how far you are flying and what your party is made up of. If you have a long flight and littles, relaxing at the pool might be the best bet. If you have a shorter flight and little's you might be able to hit a park to let them let off some steam. If you are adults and, say kids over 9, again heading to a park might be a good bet. Depends on if you want to spend for that park ticket and if you can get a park reservation for a park you would want to go to. I'm going to say that if you have kids, DS might not be a good idea because, let's face it, it's shopping and food and walking. While kids love food, shopping is not always their favorite thing and they might be disappointed that they are so close yet so far away from a park or pool.

Good stuff. It's a quick flight. We are flying from Richmond, VA. It's about a two hour flight. Its my wife and I and two teens...so, it could go either way lol.

 

[StageTek]

We just found out our flight gets into Orlando at 11:00AM instead of the original 4PM. Apparently, there were not enough bookings so they moved us to an early flight. We have always arrived at our hotel just after check in time, now we are going to be a good 2.5 - 3 hours early. We are staying at CBR in June. Any good ideas on how to spend that time? Are we allowed to leave our luggage even if our room isn't ready? As a planner, this wierdly stresses me out. lol.

I always get to MCO around 6:30AM. Rather than a travel day arrival day is a resort/Disney Springs day. That three or so hours shouldn't stress you out - relax and enjoy something you usually don't have time for.

Arrive at the resort, check bags with Bell Services and grab at CBR or head over to Disney Springs for lunch. Hop over to a resort you've never been to to look at shops and eat lunch.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

If you are not doing a park that day, swim, go to DS, visit other hotels for a lunch, love arriving earlier than later. Makes me feel like I get my days worth of hotel $$. Last time our flight was pushed back and we didn't arrive at MCO until 9pm..that stunk!

 

[CarolynFH]

If you're using DME to travel from MCO to CBR, you can call them at 866-599-0951 and give them the new arrival time. That should populate to your MDE and to the resort, so maybe your room will be ready when you get there. If you're not taking DME, you can update your online checkin to reflect the new arrival time.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We just found out our flight gets into Orlando at 11:00AM instead of the original 4PM. Apparently, there were not enough bookings so they moved us to an early flight. We have always arrived at our hotel just after check in time, now we are going to be a good 2.5 - 3 hours early. We are staying at CBR in June. Any good ideas on how to spend that time? Are we allowed to leave our luggage even if our room isn't ready? As a planner, this wierdly stresses me out. lol.

We usually take a flight that lands around 9:30am and gets us to the resort by 11am. We usually go to a park but we have also gone to Disney Springs for lunch and some shopping. We have also gone to the pool and hung out there until our room is called. There have been many times when our room was ready when we arrived at the resort.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Go ahead and check in to the hotel if you haven't gotten your room assignment yet. They might be able to accommodate you. Otherwise, just leave your bags with Bell Services and head to a park if you have a ticket and park reservation for that day.

 

[Joe Brig]

Our room was ready at 11am last trip. Just let Disney know when you plan to arrive and they will try to get you a room. There is a way to do that online under check-in. Or just drop your bags off and head to Disney Spring for lunch.

 

[Evita_W]

We just found out our flight gets into Orlando at 11:00AM instead of the original 4PM. Apparently, there were not enough bookings so they moved us to an early flight. We have always arrived at our hotel just after check in time, now we are going to be a good 2.5 - 3 hours early. We are staying at CBR in June. Any good ideas on how to spend that time? Are we allowed to leave our luggage even if our room isn't ready? As a planner, this wierdly stresses me out. lol.

Be sure to adjust your online check in and let them know your planned arrival time, our room is almost always ready when we arrive, even the one time our flight got in at 7 AM.

 

[Eastern]

Our room is rarely ready early so we just drop our bags at bell services and go do what we planned.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

If you have park tickets, it would also be a good Epcot day as you could arrive before people hop - especially since you can use the Skyliner with ease! Lunch reservations seem to be easier to find at Epcot than dinner.

OR you could take the Skyliner over to the International Gateway and Walk to Fantasia Gardens for Mini-Golf

 

[kylenne]

I usually take the early flights down and on DME arrive generally around between 10-10:30. Then I leave my bags at Bell Services and either have breakfast at the resort or head into the nearest park for a snack and some atmosphere, maybe a ride or two, by then my room is usually ready. I’ve never had to wait until official check in time, the longest was 12:30p at French Quarter when I got my room ready text at MK. I always say I’m going to make arrival day a chill at the resort day but I am always too antsy and excited lol

 

[Traver Freeman]

We just found out our flight gets into Orlando at 11:00AM instead of the original 4PM. Apparently, there were not enough bookings so they moved us to an early flight. We have always arrived at our hotel just after check in time, now we are going to be a good 2.5 - 3 hours early. We are staying at CBR in June. Any good ideas on how to spend that time? Are we allowed to leave our luggage even if our room isn't ready? As a planner, this wierdly stresses me out. lol.

We are heading to CBR in May, similar thing, but we voluntarily are arriving early. We just check our bags with bell services and head into EPCOT until we get the text that the room is ready. Then we take the Skyliner back and settle in. Then we head out to a different resort for dinner because we like to eat at the other resorts.

 

[VApastor79]

If you're using DME to travel from MCO to CBR, you can call them at 866-599-0951 and give them the new arrival time. That should populate to your MDE and to the resort, so maybe your room will be ready when you get there. If you're not taking DME, you can update your online checkin to reflect the new arrival time.

That is super helpful. Thank you so much!

 

[kneemeister]

I once arrived at CBR at 530 AM after driving straight thru from Michigan on a lark, I was in my room taking a shower by 615!!! And that was with a Priceline hidden deal ($120.00 for a Pirate room), I found while taking a break in a GA Rest Area along I75 at 9PM.