Late Checkout

[Minniesgal]

That might be my best bet. I thought Disboards would be a helpful place since everyone here seems to have the lowdown on quite a bit and experience is helpful, but I have one group adamant about one thing being the norm and another that is persistent about the complete opposite. Thankfully, there were a couple answers that were really helpful and I learned some new things, so I will be looking into their advice as well.

The norm is that there is no norm it varies which is why you get varying answers from guests but also from CMs
It isn't possible to call a resort front desk. You get a calling centre.

 

[WDWNY]

I've never had a knock on my door the day of check out and we always leave around 1030. My friend on the other hand has been woken up at 8am by knocking from mousekeeping and kept getting knocks every 30 minutes until she left for almost all her stays.

 

[Aurora0427]

Funnily enough it was at the GF we also had the biggest issue with mouse keeping knocking on the door at 8am.

What is the deal with that place???? Must be the manager! So annoying.

 

[mickeynut1]

As far as I know, and with advance authorization, 1 PM late checkout is no extra charge, 3 PM you pay 50% of one night's room cost, later than 3 PM you play for a full night.

This is how I have always known late check out to work.

I currently call CSR with my questions probably once every two weeks and they are always happy to answer.

You are actually getting someone at a call center, not the resort.

That I would not bother doing. When you call a number for a resort you are getting a call center. Phone employees are famous for providing incorrect information.

This ^^^^. All calls to a number associated with a resort gets routed to a call center. They answer as if they are at that particular resort, but you are actually talking to someone at a call center, sometimes not even located in Florida.

 

[eastendlights]

In sixteen trips, all at deluxe resorts, we have asked for late checkout at 1 from the CM's in the lounges about 8 times and gotten it every time. The other times, we never leave the room before 11 on checkout day and have only had two instances (both at BC) when we were disturbed at maybe an hour before we left-once in a two bedroom suite that was next being used for a wedding party and once in the Newport Suite which is huge and takes a lot of time to clean.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC resorts do not offer late checkouts. The DVC villas take longer to clean and have higher occupancy than the Disney hotels. So you need to be out by 11AM if you are staying in a DVC villa.

 

[Babsy]

OP, I think that you are wise to try to determine what the potential issues could be at check out time for your group. It is better to know and have a plan to deal with such situations before you go on a trip together.

Regarding late check outs:
My understanding is that you can request a late check out from housekeeping but it depends upon many factors whether or not it will be granted. We have requested late check out a few times and been granted it occasionally, but not always. In our case they asked how long we needed before we would be able to leave. WE always try to be out by 11:00 am, or as close as is possible, as a consideration to both the housekeeping staff that are challenged to get rooms ready for new guests and to the incoming guests that are hopeful to get into their rooms as soon as possible. Larger rooms like suites would be much harder for them to give late checkout privileges to because it would take longer to get these rooms ready. I would still ask, but wouldn't be surprised if the request was denied.

Requesting a late check out the evening before is much more likely to result in getting a late check out approved. I would NOT wait until morning. Late check outs, when granted, are on a first come, first served basis, I believe. If the number that they have allocated are all gone you will be denied.

The policy of no fee until 1:00 pm, 50% room rack rate from 1:00 to 3:00 pm and full night at rack rate after 3:00 pm is fairly standard in the hotel industry, but may or may not apply at WDW. If you have requested and been denied a late check out, I would not be surprised if I received a charge for any amount up to a full additional night after the fact. Hotels often place a credit charge 'hold' on your card to cover extra expenses that they may need to charge post check out, such as for rooms damages or whatever. If you 'forget' and are still in the room and housekeeping 'discovers' you, it is possible that they would report the situation. I don't know if this would happen, but I wouldn't be surprised. I doubt that anybody here can tell you for sure what your experience will be, because many scenarios are possible.

If it were me, I would simply tell my friends that if they are late leaving the room and there is a subsequent charge (up to the full night rack rate cost for a suite), that THEY will be expected to cover the entire charge themselves. Then I would request a late checkout and proceed to be out myself by whatever time was required by housekeeping. As you said, you cannot control how other adults decide to behave. You can control how you behave yourself. You can discuss how different situations (like this one) will be handled together as a group in advance. Such planning will probably result in a more pleasant trip for everyone.

Good luck! i hope that you succeed and get your late check out!

 

[kdisser]

That I would not bother doing. When you call a number for a resort you are getting a call center. Phone employees are famous for providing incorrect information.

I knew you guys were all too anxious to state this. I already know this. At this point you might as well just shoot in the dark because you get different answers from workers and vacation go-ers. So just take everything you hear from anyone with a grain of salt unless it is formerly written somewhere by Disney themselves.