Guest experiences with daily room checks

[samsteele]

I had one unpleasant experience last Sept at Pop Century. I had checked in early evening after a long travel day of cabs, buses and plane that started at 1am. I went out for dinner and back to the room by 9pm. I had put on my pjs, lights out and gone to bed when I had a knock at the door. The CM announced as guest services and that she had to enter the room. I explained through the door that I was in my nightclothes and had gone to bed. She told me there was no expectation of privacy in a WDW room and I had to open the door. I had the latch and deadbolt on as she discovered when she tried her master key. I opened the door and she seem surprised I was actually in pjs. She looked over my shoulder then handed me a bag of chocolates to thank me for being a return guest. I wasn't impressed. I spoke with the front desk the next day and received a mechanical "I'm sorry." I asked front desk if that was also a security check and got a shrug as an answer. No problems after that first night as I was out of the room by 7am and not back until 9pm. Not a good way to welcome a return guest. My best guess is that she was at the end of her shift and was determined to deliver those chocolates come heck or high water.

 

[dznycrzy]

Last August at Pop, several days someone came to the door and identified themselves as security. I usually just opened the door, and they’d quickly step in, look around and leave. But on more than one occasion, one of my teenage children would say “ my mom is in the shower”, and they would still step into the room. And on one day, I was alone in the room, IN THE SHOWER, and I distinctly heard the door open and close. Really shook me up after I realized it was not one of my kids returning from the pool. I realize why they have to do it, but it was definitely unnerving to know that a strange person had just been in my room.

 

[captjack2016]

We stayed at BLT July 13-19 2018. Every day we brought our son to the room to have an afternoon nap. Every day I called down to the desk to ask that any trash removal or room checks be done in a few hours when we were no longer in the room. Every single day I called and every single day someone knocked on the door multiple times during his nap. On the last day we requested a late check out with housekeeping which was approved, again so we could get our son a nap. At 11:00 on the dot someone knocked to ask if we were checking out today. I told them we had a late check out approved. 30 mins later, another knock, same response on my end. When they knocked the third time at 12:00 noon we just decided to pack up and go because we were frustrated with the lack of communication. Not our best experience with the room checks !

 

[tsme]

We were just at BC. We only had one odd thing happen. We had gone to the park in the morning & came back around 1pm. The maid had already cleaned our room, so we thought yay, we can nap without issue. My DH was in the bathroom. I was laying down in just a T-shirt when I hear a knock followed quickly by someone trying to enter the room. I get up, pull on pants & go to the door. I opened the door & saw a guy, who never identified himself, waking away, but he clearly worked at BC. He turned around & asked me if everything was ok. I just mumbled “yes, I had to put pants on”, which is a dumb response. And that was it, no reason for being at our door, no reply, nothing. It was weird.

 

[arissavolk]

Stayed at AKL Jambo in October for split stay with DVC savannah room then a few days in a club room. I don't think we had the do not disturb sign on the door ever in the savanna room and were never bothered. The only time we noticed anyone stop by was on Thurs for regular trash & towel...guy forgot to pick up the tip I left near the towel rack and I didn't notice until he was long gone; I guess us being in the room threw off his groove.
In the DVC club room, we got daily housekeeping but other than that and having some bags and a welcome kit dropped off, we weren't bothered at all.
Staying DVC for the first time, I have to say I really like not having daily housekeeping. Much more peaceful.

 

[Lynne M]

If you're going to post in a FAQ thread, PLEASE read the instructions and ground rules in the first post.

You may post first-hand reports of your own experiences with room checks during your stay at a Disney resort in this thread. Any other posts (snarky commentary, rants about the policy, rants about the rants, etc) don't belong here and will be deleted without comment.

 

[HopperFan]

Just finished stay January 27th - February 1st. Our first trip booked onsite since January of last year after a negative security check trip. I stayed offsite the next five trips. I booked this in the fall at AllStar Sports because I got it for $77 per night. I tried to find something comparable offsite but could not so stuck with it.

At check in we got an experienced full time CM. He gave me the offer for "Stay your way" and explained it in detail all that we would get and what we wouldn't get. I think it's great if they are explaining that in detail as it seems many are still missing that point that they will NOT get housekeeping for the duration, just supplies.

I told him "No I do not want to skip housekeeping. I did last year and had a very bad week with the security checks. I would like to keep it this trip so I don't have to worry about that."

His response "Disney's new policy of room security checks applies to all rooms whether you have housekeeping or not. Having housekeeping will not stop them from doing the checks."

Okay .... I told him I was very concerned about it, that I am traveling alone with my disabled son as he could see and this was me giving them another chance. He said that we "should use the Room Occupied sign and housekeeping will do their best to skip over us if they can."

We were in the room about 15 minutes and the phone rang. It was the same CM. He said he wanted to see what he could do to make sure we were not disturbed. I proceeded to give him a synopsis of what happened last year. He said “how about I call Housekeeping and request that your security checks be done after 10 am and prior to the dinner hours in case you have to return early." I said that would be great.

I made sure we got out by 10 am every morning and I never saw housekeeping or security check folks. Every day but one our room was fully cleaned, the one day it was like something happened as there were towels just laying on sink and trash had not been emptied but beds were made?? One day we had a note thanking us for returning with the sachet bag full of chocolates.

This time we were respected
but I thought it was interesting he was very clear
that housekeeping does not satisfy security checks.

 

[Eeyore54 fred]

We were at AKL Jambo in a DVC room 1/18 - 1/26. The first day we went to the parks we stopped at the front desk because there were 3 minor things wrong with the bathroom including a piece of molding that had come off. When we returned to the room at 1 there was evidence that they had been in and fixed the problems so I was hoping they had done the security check also. But we got a call as we were changing to go to the pool asking when was the best time for “inspection “. I told them 5 because we would be out of the room by then. Less then half an hour later someone came in the room. I told them we weren’t expecting them until later. That was the only time we saw someone. The rest of the week there was evidence that trash had been removed while we were out and a more thorough cleaning once, but everything was evidently done in the morning because we were back in the room most afternoons.

 

[Mome Rath]

Forgot to add my latest trip here; POFQ in December. Had housekeeping, zero problems with housekeeping or security checks. Never even saw either crew.

 

[BK2014]

We were at BWV from 01/26/19 - 02/01/19. We traveled about the same time last year and stayed at BWV - See post #2 in this thread. Last year we specifically requested that the room checks happen either before 1pm, or after 4pm. We had no issues last year. This year I decided not to say anything at check in about the room checks, to just see how it plays out. We always used the room occupied sign when we were in the room and removed it when we left. The trash was always emptied by the time we returned around 12 or 1pm and we were never bothered while in our room.

 

[CarolynFH]

We were at CCV Jan. 21-25 and then BWV Jan. 25-29. We were routinely out of the room by 11 or 12 and back late afternoon or early evening and trash was emptied (we were in DVC villas) all but one day. The exception was Sunday Jan. 27, which was so rainy and cold that we decided to skip the parks. We went to ESPN Club for lunch and were gone about an hour and a half; trash had not been emptied when we returned, but no one came by the remainder of the day. We did keep the Room Occupied sign out and the latch closed when we were there - except that I admit I can't remember what we did on that rainy Sunday! In any case, there was no evidence of a visit that day, nor were we disturbed when we were in the room any other day.

 

[BA75]

We were at POP 8/20-8/30 and we were in the room a couple times they stopped by. Once my husband was in the shower and they came in anyway, which was a little bothersome but I get it. The other issue and I did not say anything about it to anyone...I had a birthday card go missing from Be Our Guest. We looked everywhere and it was no where to be found. Nothing else was missing so mainly it was just annoying and bummed me out...and I should add, I am pretty sure it was taken, but I am not 100% either. Our last stay at ASMo 12/10 - 12/16 we saw no one at all. They were in the room at least once though because we left a light on and when we go back that night it was off. All in all, I understand why and am ok with them checking and am ok being inconvenienced for a 30 seconds for a little extra safety.

 

[StageTek]

POP Jan 30 to Feb 6. I declined housekeeping. My typical day was leave the room around 10:30 and return after 9PM. Three days I headed back to the room around 2PM for a couple of hours.

I never heard or saw anyone doing checks.

 

[ricosuave]

Just got back and only had one awkward experience. We opened our room and a guy was standing in the room with a small handheld device. I guess this is what they use to track if a security check has been done. He quickly said he was just doing a mandatory security check.

I asked him about doing the checks if people were napping or showering and he said they can’t get in if the lock bar is closed. If you’re IN the room and don’t want them to just walk in, use the lock bar that swings over.

 

[SpecEdismyLife]

We were at ASMovies this last week and we were at park opening every day and back in the room by 2pm. Our son is severely Autistic and when we return from the park every day he needs to have the room dark for a few hours before dinner to decompress. We were there 5 nights and only on 2 days did we receive Mousekeeping because they usually didn't show up at our building until about 3-4pm. We used the room occupied sign every time we were in the room. Only one day did a man open the door a few inches, see the room was dark and I was standing there by the bed. He apologized and shut the door immediately. No knock or anything, he just opened the door. After that I made sure to swing over the extra lock, but it wasn't that big of a deal since I knew it was a possibility. I do think they should at least knock before entering, esp if the sign is on the door, but other than that nobody bothered us.

 

[snappy]

We were at WDW last week. Stayed at Dolphin in a king fireworks room at the end of the hall. We took drink coupons instead of daily housekeeping but we were left additional water bottles and coffee each day while we were out. Actual housekeeping on 4th day, but it was around 5 pm while we were having drinks on the balcony. We were not disturbed. I met with a housekeeping manager when we checked into BWV to request - 11 to 2 time slot for the required daily trash removal/ room visit. We took the room occupied sign off the door when we headed to parks between 10 and 11 am each day. They didn’t make it during the period she agreed to 3 out of the 4 days of our stay. We latched the door on those days, got changed and headed to the pool. They did manage to come while we were at the pool by the time we returned around 5-6 pm. We were at the end of the hall near the Attic so my guess is those rooms are last for visits regardless of what you request. We mostly entered and exited the building by using the stairs instead of going down the hall to the elevator since we were close to the end of the hall so we didn’t much see any housekeepers or room security folks like we did during our October trip.

 

[Miss Frankie J]

Stayed at Beach Club in 2018 from Sept 9th - Sept 14th. Usually we are early risers however this trip the heat got the better of us so we stayed in the room till just before 10:30am and came back around 2pm - 3pm each day for a shower and a much needed nap. We left notes and tips for Mousekeeping to fill any request we had and they were all granted. There was only one day the last day before checkout where Mousekeeping Knocked while we were there. She was super friendly and said she would come back later but I let her come inside to change the garbage and told her we were good with towels and such. She entered the bathroom area only to grab the garbage and the garbage by the TV and left quickly not wanting to disturb us. We never used the room occupied sign at all while on our trip, we kinda forgot about it.

 

[porschegrl]

Just back from my third trip since WDW implemented this policy, and I figured I'd add my two cents.

I stayed a total of 28 nights, including two stays at BC and one at BWI. In and out of the room at different, unpredictable times each day. Used the room occupied sign regularly. Never heard a single knock or encountered anyone wanting to access the room while we were in it.

 

[Babsy]

Just back from my third trip since WDW implemented this policy, and I figured I'd add my two cents.

I stayed a total of 28 nights, including two stays at BC and one at BWI. In and out of the room at different, unpredictable times each day. Used the room occupied sign regularly. Never heard a single knock or encountered anyone wanting to access the room while we were in it.

We had a similar experience. No issues at all.

 

[cmwade77]

The only odd one for us was we technically booked a day earlier than our flight arrived as it was scheduled to leave at 11:59 PM from LAX and arrive at 7 AM at MCO, so we wanted to have our room ready when we arrived. Of course our flight was delayed by 3 hours and when we finally did get into our room, housekeeping knocked on the door not 5 minutes later, poor housekeeping I am sure we weren't as kind as we should have been at that point, but they were very nice about it.

The other part that was odd this trip was that we are DVC staying on points and there were a few days where we ended up getting full housekeeping, one we tried paid for because we admittedly made a mess due to a medical issue, they never did charge us for it though, then the very next day they did full housekeeping again on my wife's birthday and left a sweet birthday note and towels in the shape of Mickey. Due to the number of days we should have only had one full housekeeping and I think maybe two trash and towel services and we got a total of three full, four trash and towel services and almost daily trash service (they did miss one day).