FOTL w/ one night on-site stay

[Jenny]

at this point, we're staying off-site but i'd like to consider a one-night stay on- site. i've read that you'd get 2 days of FOTL - is there a way to get 2 full days of FOTL for a one-night stay since we'd like to get to the parks as they open - one full day at IOA & one full day at USF? can we drop off our bags around 8 a.m. or earlier on day one at the hotel & be given the room keys, even if the room isn't ready? do you think the room could be ready for 1 p.m. instead of 4 for afternoon naps? also, on day 2, would i have to check-out before i go to the park & leave bags w/ the hotel? can i have a check-out time of 12 or 1 instead of 11? thanks for any advice.

 

[Jenny]

i put this over on the resorts/hotels site - oops, sorry i didn't mean to post it twice.

 

[jeffreyml]

If you stay onsite you do get 2 days of FOTL acess. You can arrive at the hotel and check in anytime you arrive. They will hold your luggage for you until your room is ready. At check-in you will receive room keys for all registered guests, usually 5 per room, and a number to call to see when your room is ready. The room key is your FOTL acess card, just show it at the rides with FOTL and they sometimes will scan it and sometimes will just wave you on. This card is good for the day you check in and the day you check out.We did this last April and will be back this March 25th staying at the HRH for our FOTL acess. The rooms are expensive this year compared to last but FOTL is worth the extra money. Before you go sign up for Loews membership http://www.loews-first.com/Loewsfirst.asp which will sometimes give you upgrades during your stay. If you are a Gold member with another hotel chain, fax your information to Loews and the will upgrade you to the appropiate level. You can call the morning of your checkout and ask for a late checkout, usually around 2pm is the latest. The rooms will sometimes be ready earlier than 4pm, it depends on the time off year your going. I hope this helps.

 

[robvia]

Your room won't be ready at 1pm. Most rooms are ready around 4pm.
The reason this happens, is that many are allowed a late checkout with a loews card. They take full advantage of it and leave late, which causes new arrivals to wait.

We once had someone on these boards who booked a night at the RPR just for the FOTL. They got their room keys for their entire group of people, went to the parks, and never even went into the room. They were staying at Disney and didn't want to spend the night.

 

[Jenny]

i know there's no guarantee when i can check in before 4 p.m. & if i can get late check-out especially w/out a loews membership BUT i'll try my best by just requesting it.
what i really wanted reassurance on is getting my room keys for FOTL in the early a.m. before the park opens without having the room which wouldn't be ready yet anyway. acc. to your responses, i can, in fact, get the keys before check-in @ 4 p.m. & that's the good news that i wanted to hear.
re: checkout, if i can't get late check-out, i'll have to check out before we go over to the parks just so i won't have to interrupt the day at 11 a.m. to do so.
thanks.

 

[TracyK]

You might be in luck with the room. We checked in at 8:00 am just to get our room key, there was a room ready at check-in.

Tracy

 

[MelindaKiah]

We checked in at 8 am. Room wasn't ready till around 4 pm. We all got our keys at check-in, but our room # wasn't released to us till the room was ready. We were happy. Off we went to the parks and when we came back, the room was ready.

 

[mill4023]

How does it work on check-out day?
Don't you have to turn in your room keys when you check out in the morning?

 

[gschmerl]

How does it work on check-out day?
Don't you have to turn in your room keys when you check out in the morning?

No, you keep your room key and can use all day on your check out day for FOTL. YOu can also leave your luggage to be stored at the hotel.

 

[robvia]

They'll give you the hour grace period on the check out and let you leave at noon. At most hotels, if you ask in the morning, they'll say 1pm. At the HRH, they give loews card members an extended checkout of 2pm if available.
Go on the www.loewshotels.com site and sign up to be a loews member. It takes a few weeks before you get your card, but you can give them the number now and have them enter it if you decide to make a ressie.

On our trip last year on check out day, the wife and kids visited the parks for 2 hours in the morning while I took our bags down to our car. You can visit, then check out.

The thing is, on your check out day, you'll "feel" like the trip is over, and be thinking about going home.

 

[mill4023]

The thing is, on your check out day, you'll "feel" like the trip is over, and be thinking about going home.

We'll be in Orlando for 9 days. I thought about spending the first night(Thurs) at a Universal resort and spending our first full-day(Fri) at Universal. So in my case, our check-out day would just be the beginning of our vacation.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We checked in at 8am and our room was ready at RPR, so you might get one afterall! Even if you don't, you can just check your luggage and hit the parks, they can deliver it to your room when it's ready =)

On the day you check out, we just had them take our bags and we hit the parks, kept the room key, and just came back later to get our bags and car.

 

[Jenny]

we'll plan on 2 full days, checking in at 8 a.m. on day 1 & checking out at 8 a.m. on day 2, & letting them hold our bags one each day. getting in the room early & keeping the room until late will be extra bonuses - the important thing is that we can use those keys for the 2 full days regardless of whether we're in the room or not. that's great. thanks.