Flight arriving just after midnight: early check-in possible?

[fozziepitysthefool]

My flight leaves late on December 16th, so will be arriving just after midnight the day of my first day (Dec 17). So check-in is normally 3pm... What are the odds of me getting my room at 1am (ish)? My son then lands around 9:30am... So he too should be at the resort by 11am (ish).

Am I going to have to camp out by the pool??

 

[dansdad]

The system won't allow you to check in until 6AM on the 17th. If you want a room for when you arrive, you will need to book a room for the 16th.

 

[bumbershoot]

Book the room for the day before, like dansdad said. That way it will have been held for you and will be ready.

Early checkin means checking in between 6am and the official checkin time. We can do the checkin process at any point during those hours. But checking in at 1am is actually checking in for the date before that date.

 

[fozziepitysthefool]

Ok tx! So I either have to look into another flight (I haven't booked yet), hang at the airport or in the lobby... or like you said splurge on another night hotel. Which may be my best option as my son will eat the food credits anyway.

 

[dansdad]

Ok tx! So I either have to look into another flight (I haven't booked yet), hang at the airport or in the lobby... or like you said splurge on another night hotel. Which may be my best option as my son will eat the food credits anyway.

Yup. I would definitely book another night. I've done the hang out at the airport and/or lobby in my much younger years and it was not fun.

 

[baler31]

Another option is to book an airport hotel with shuttle. This may be less expensive than your Disney hotel. Just take the shuttle back in the morning if you are using ME. Really depends on if you are staying deluxe and how valuable just getting settled vs. getting up and moving in the morning is to your budget.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

There is a hotel inside the Orlando airport too. You could sleep there for the night and then take ME to your resort in the morning.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's easy to see that night as just being a few hours of sleeping, so why use the money on a room, but really you get that night of sleeping AND all the hours between checkout time and official checkin time, if you book the same type of room so you don't have to move.

Our first trip we stayed at the MCO Hyatt Regency the first night, and it was great!

But on a later trip we landed after midnight and got to POR around 1:30 or 2, and our room had been ready for us for hours and hours, it was nice and cozy and we got to sleep as late as we wanted to because we didn't have to move rooms.

Nor did we have to find a comfy spot at the airport or in a lobby.

Just a bonus situation all around.

 

[DisCatGirl]

We fly in from the west coast. We usually land after 1pm. We usually stay at the Marriott near the airport (free airport shuttle). Have breakfast the next morning, take the shuttle to the airport, and hop on DME. Every time, our room has been really at Disney by the time we arrive at 10am - ish.

 

[ahutton]

There is a hotel inside the Orlando airport too. You could sleep there for the night and then take ME to your resort in the morning.

We've done that several times - I took the kids to check in while DH got the luggage. Then in the morning we took magic express to the park. Since you have someone coming in that morning that might be fun, to meet up and then ride in together.

 

[mickeynut1]

Yup. I would definitely book another night.

I agree .

It's easy to see that night as just being a few hours of sleeping, so why use the money on a room, but really you get that night of sleeping AND all the hours between checkout time and official checkin time, if you book the same type of room so you don't have to move.

But on a later trip we landed after midnight and got to POR around 1:30 or 2, and our room had been ready for us for hours and hours, it was nice and cozy and we got to sleep as late as we wanted to because we didn't have to move rooms.

This is what we do as we like being able to check in, get settled, and get a good night's sleep without having to worry about moving the next day. It is a little more expensive adding that night at our Disney resort, but as bumbershoot mentioned above, it's more than just a few hours to sleep for us. We find that works best for us as we are ready to go the next day without having to move, change hotels, etc .

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Do you expect to get a free night? Confused.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Do you expect to get a free night? Confused.

I don't see where the OP said anything about a free night. OP didn't realize that Disney hotel "days" start at 6 AM (vs. 12 AM for calendar days). Honestly, I would have asked the same question. It does seem confusing to book a hotel for a date which is technically earlier than your arrival, but based on info in this thread, I see that this is how it has to be done when arriving at the wee hours of the morning.

 

[kaytieeldr]

OP didn't realize that Disney hotel "days" start at 6 AM (vs. 12 AM for calendar

Hotel days - not just Disney - start around 6 AM for registration purposes.
Too many policies get mistakenly attributed to one specific business, when actually said policies are enacted with the industry.

 

[SharonZ]

You can check in after 6:00 a.m., but that doesn't guarantee there will be a room ready. Check-in begins at 3:00 p.m., but there is a chance your room could be ready before then.

 

[fozziepitysthefool]

You can check in after 6:00 a.m., but that doesn't guarantee there will be a room ready. Check-in begins at 3:00 p.m., but there is a chance your room could be ready before then.

OK. Thank you! I have resolved the issue by coming in a day early and booking my room a day early.

 

[oceanmarina]

Ok tx! So I either have to look into another flight (I haven't booked yet), hang at the airport or in the lobby... or like you said splurge on another night hotel. Which may be my best option as my son will eat the food credits anyway.

Yep, that's the best move! When my DS was 2 we had an early evening flight which got delayed due to bad weather by several hours, so we got to the Grand Floridan around 1AM (my son was asleep in my arms as we were checking in). It was so nice to check in and have our room all ready and to go to sleep.