late arrival and room requests

[trampslady]

Hey guys! I just went ahead and booked the AKL for the first night of our trip (okay it keeps getting bigger!). We will not arrive at MCO until between 11pm and 12:30am. My family (mom, grandma and hubby) think we are spending the night at a Marriott Fairfield Inn at the airport. I made an executive planning decision and decided to surprise them and when the towncar picks us up it will whisk us to AKL instead.

I really like the idea of waking up "already there" without the hassle of moving luggage, checking in again, etc. My question is this, what are the chances of our room requests being honored? Anyone have any personal experience with this?

Also, should I fax requests or not. I asked that they be added today...we arrive on December 9 (or 10th if it's after midnight!)

Thanks!!

 

[BrianD]

What kind of room requests do you have? The general word seems to be that if you're checking in late your odds are a little less that you would get everything you request (especially probably not any upgrades). That being said, we are planning on doing the same thing, checking in at the GF after 11pm.

 

[trampslady]

Good question. We are confirmed for a savannah view room. We are four adults so I know that they have already set us up for two beds. My requests include which savannah and which trail we would like to stay on.

This past May my husband and I were at WDW for the very first time and since have become addicts. I was, however, a bit disappointed with the room request situation when we arrived. I had requested the same as above on my ressie, sent an awfully cute (if I do say so myself) poem to the room assigners four days before departure. When we arrived at 10am of course the room was not ready..wasn't expecting it to be. But when we did get a room assignment none of our requests were met...none....

 

[Misti]

They should have a specific room assigned to you for the check-in day, regardless of the time you arrive. That being said, I don't know how it works if someone else checks in with a specific request and the CM "snags" the room from another person not already checked-in. If it makes you feel better, in your situation, you may want to call the resort the day before you leave and reiterate your requests and the fact that you'll be checking in very late. Doesn't hurt, IMHO. In my experience with Disney resorts, if I had a specific request, the room was "blocked" so that no one else would be assigned the room.

Have a great trip!

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by Misti
They should have a specific room assigned to you for the check-in day, regardless of the time you arrive. That being said, I don't know how it works if someone else checks in with a specific request and the CM "snags" the room from another person not already checked-in. ...

The front desk CM cannot randomly "snag" another person's assigned room.

The resorts hold a supply of connecting and non-smoking rooms aside each day. This is in case of any unforeseen circumstances such as the Smith party is travelling with the Jones party and absolutely have to have connecting rooms or a travel agent "guaranteed" something and it was never noted on the reservation.

The front desk CM has to go back to talk to the room assigner to see if they have anything on hold that will accomodate the situation. Also in some cases the rooms are blocked, but they are still dirty and the RA can flip flop rooms that are already blocked so no ones requests are being blown, just moving them for a clean room. They have to talk to the room assigner because in many cases there are codes that need to be entered to get the room (especially if they are being held by the RA).

 

[trampslady]

Great info guys! I'm going to hope for the best! Of course, it's WDW, it's Animal Kingdom Lodge, it's a savannah view, and it's the holiday season.....can't ask for too terribly much more!!!!!

 

[TrvlLin]

And...you MIGHT get upgraded. This has happened to me several times, most frequently at the BWI! I have always thought it was because they ran out of standard rooms prior to my late arrival. Lin

 

[Magic2000]

On one of our visits in 2000, we arrived around 10:00 AM at the All Star Movies. I requested, if at all possible, to be in the Toy Story section. We were assigned Love Bug (which we did really enjoy). Last year, we arrived around midnight or so, and I kindly requested 101 Dalmations and it was granted!!! My little girl did a happy dance all the way to the room!

So, I don't know that it really matters what time you arrive.

Good luck!! And, as I said before, even though I had requested Toy Story and we were given Love Bug - we really did love our location! It was a quick walk to the bus stop/food court!