How early can you check in? 1st time staying on property.

[lindsroc]

We're driving down and we check in on Monday the 29th. We plan on getting to Orlando on Sunday and staying somewhere else before going to Disney. How early can you usually check in? We dont want to miss a whole day of the park waiting to check in, on the other hand we really want to request the Congress Park section so thinking we should get there early.

Whats the best way to go about checking in early, requesting room, etc? We have never stayed on property before.

 

[Hopefully]

First of all you can call CRO and have your building request noted on your reservations now. They are not guaranteed, but they do try to meet requests.
I believe you can check in at 7 AM. Your room will most likely not be ready, but they will check you in, store your luggage and give you your Key to the Kingdom card which is your room key, your park passes and your dining credits if you are on the dining plan. They give you a card with a number to call later in the day to check on when your room is ready. You can head out to the parks and enjoy your day. Once your room is ready they will tell you the room number and location. You do not need to go back to the desk, but can go right to your room. You can then call Bell Services and they will deliver your luggage to you in a short time.
It is very easy, we do this each trip.
Have a great trip.

 

[disnut8]

I would change hopefully's great response by saying you SHOULD call Central Reservatons NOW and have your requests noted.

And I would add that no one does early check in better than Disney World. No one.

 

[disneyfan55]

We state our requests when making our reservation. We also fax the special requests to the hotel a day or two before arrival. You can check in after 7 am and receive any tickets etc. YOu may not have a room assignment then but can get started on your vacation. Have fun!!

 

[debaone]

We're driving down and we check in on Monday the 29th. We plan on getting to Orlando on Sunday and staying somewhere else before going to Disney. How early can you usually check in? We dont want to miss a whole day of the park waiting to check in, on the other hand we really want to request the Congress Park section so thinking we should get there early.

Whats the best way to go about checking in early, requesting room, etc? We have never stayed on property before.

You should definitely make your requests known as soon as possible and then double check what they write down when you get the paperwork in the mail from the change. I have found that sometimes it is nothing like what I requested.

Also, getting there early may not help you get the room you want. The person checking you in does not make the room assignments....that is done well before you arrive. That is why it is very important to make your requests known as soon as possible.

 

[DISNEYNY]

Since you metioned Congress Park I assume you are staying at SSR. We were just at SSR in August. We wanted Grandstand and did call ahead to request. I was told that at the DVC locations they assign the rooms when you arrive. So going early in the morning is a good idea -I believe they open at 7:00. You may not be able to get into the room, but you should be able to pick the section and the view you want. The CM saw my request noted in the computer and we had no problem getting in that section. If you get there early you shouldn't lose too much park time.

 

[lindsroc]

Great! So I will just plan on us going there 1st thing in the AM. We got our park tix seperate from the room so we will already have those. Yay! Thanks for the info.

 

[helenabear]

Since you metioned Congress Park I assume you are staying at SSR. We were just at SSR in August. We wanted Grandstand and did call ahead to request. I was told that at the DVC locations they assign the rooms when you arrive. So going early in the morning is a good idea -I believe they open at 7:00. You may not be able to get into the room, but you should be able to pick the section and the view you want. The CM saw my request noted in the computer and we had no problem getting in that section. If you get there early you shouldn't lose too much park time.

That is what I have always found with DVC as well. It's also wise before they officially assign you the room to ask what is available. I've had that happen with the bigger resorts (like OKW as well) and they will let me choose my room based on what is available and showed me where the rooms would be on the maps. Always been nice to be able to do that. I've checked in as early as 9 am at DVC and actaully had a room ready half the time.