Is SW the new CRT?

[jpkkld]

Am I crazy for thinking this is a reasonable plan:
Our last full day, we have a character breakfast planned at 8am. Our flight leaves the next day at 9:30. I figured we could just deal with checking in at lunchtime (about 1pm) when we return to the hotel for our afternoon break.

But since I've just started lurking on this board, I am FLOORED by all the ins and outs of air travel since the last time I flew in 2003. After reading about someone sychronizing their time to SW and using a desktop AND a laptop to get checked in first, I am starting to worry!

Are the three of us going to end up on different planes? (haha) Really, how essential is it to check in exactly 24hrs early? We have a 4yo and one of us will have to sit with her - is that impossible if we check in a few hours late??

-Kristin

 

[Jestocost]

Do you have a Web enabled cell phone or other mobile device? If so, you can use that to check in at 9:30 a.m. via mobile.southwest.com. Do you have a trusted (100 percent reliable) relative or friend who would check in for you? The important part is the checking in. The actual printing of boarding passes can be done at the airport when you arrive and you still will have the boarding numbers assigned when you checked in.

If you can make it to guest services at the park you are in (or to the front desk at a resort), they also can check you in and print your boarding passes for you.

So, there are several ways to get a check in done at or as close to the 24-hour mark as possible.

Now, as to how important it is to be the first to check in; opinions will vary. In my experience, we have never had a problem getting four seats together even with boarding numbers in the low Bs. And I have obtained low Bs when I was unable to check in until three hours after the 24-hour mark (due to a temporary complete lack of Internet access on the Disney Wonder). The higher you get the farther back you may have to sit, but that's manageable.

In your situation, with a child of four, at least one parent and your child also will be able to board between the A and B groups regardless of what your boarding numbers are. That further mitigates the need to go crazy to get a low A pass.

So, if one of the initial solutions I noted is doable, by all means check in at 24 hours or as close as possible. But if those aren't practical, the worst case scenario should be that only one parent gets to sit with your child; and even that is relatively unlikely given the totality of the circumstances.

 

[jpkkld]

Thank you! That was very clear. We don't have web-enabled phones (at least, I don't think we do), but I'm sure we could get to guest services or have someone check in for us. I didn't realize that all we needed were boarding numbers to get our boarding passes - I thought we needed to have boarding passes in hand when we got to the airport! And thanks for your reassurance about the family boarding, if our check-in plans fall through. Sounds like it will all turn out fine. Whew!
-Kristin