Late flight = worst room?

[MimiOfTwo]

Our flight arrives at 8:15 pm on a Saturday. For those of you that arrived late, did you get a less than desirable/convenient room? Traveling with 2 little ones and hoping to be close to the main building. I can switch our flight but then we would arrive at 7:30 am. We would have to leave for the airport at 2am.

 

[Hopefully]

Rooms are assigned 4 - 5 days in advance. But those that check in can request a room change and it is often honored.
So to answer your question, it is possible that you will get a less than desirable room the later you check in.
We always check in in the morning, so I do not have personal experience with late checkins. The one year we took a late flight we spent that first night offsite and checked in to our Disney hotel first thing in the morning.

 

[mickeynut1]

Our flight arrives at 8:15 pm on a Saturday. For those of you that arrived late, did you get a less than desirable/convenient room? Traveling with 2 little ones and hoping to be close to the main building. I can switch our flight but then we would arrive at 7:30 am. We would have to leave for the airport at 2am.

We have checked in at all times of the day/night from 9 am to after midnight and we have always gotten great rooms. On one of our stays we didn't check in until around 1:30 am and 2 of our 3 requests were met, with the 3rd request being met if we wanted to change rooms the next morning. So while there is a chance that you might not receive your requests (if you have any) and/or get a less desirable room, I don't think it depends on the time you check in as that can happen at any time of the day/night, IMO. With that said, if you do get assigned a room that doesn't meet your wants/needs, you can always ask if a different room is available. It's not guaranteed your room can be changed, but it never hurts to ask.

 

[maxiesmom]

In my experience---yes. Whenever I have had a late flight in, my room location ends up not being the greatest.

What resort are you staying at? If you want to be close to the main buildings some resorts let you pay for a preferred room. If that is not an option, call and have your request for Close To Main Buildings noted on your reservation. That will help, but there still is no guarantee of getting your request.

 

[Happyjen27]

I've only been to The World twice. Once I arrived at noon and got exactly the room I booked, Garden View Poly.

Once I arrived at 8PM and got upgraded, I booked CR, BLV and got upgraded to TPV.

So, based on my sample set of 2, I made out much better with the late arrival. However, I don't think it's the early or late arrival that affected it, I think it was just a little bit of pixie dust!!

 

[Babsy]

We almost always arrive late in the evening. We have had great rooms and some not so great rooms. I don't think that a late arrival necessarily means that you will get a less desirable room. I wouldn't worry about it. As PP said sometimes late arrivals are upgraded due to room category getting filled up! Maybe you will get an upgrade by arriving late!

If you aren't happy with the location, check to see if it can be changed either that night or even the next day.

Good luck!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

It's going to depend on whether you had a good room assigned to you and they gave it away to someone else who asked for a different room. You won't ever know if that happened or if you were assigned a bad room from the start.

 

[mommyrosa2]

We've only had a late flight once and that was at the end of January and yes we did receive a very less than desirable room. None of our requests were met and we ended up going back to the front desk the next morning to request a change which was granted.

 

[TeachTink]

If you are hoping to be close to the main building and you are worried about your late flight, you should pay for a Preferred room (if your resort offers them). No matter what time you arrive to the resort, you know you are in that room category and will get a room close to the main building. Otherwise, "close to the main building" is just a request and may or may not be honored no matter what time you arrive.

 

[mousefan73]

Could also work to your benefit 2x we were upgraded to a river view from standard at FQ and from pool to savannagh at AKL. Our flight intl gets us to the resort at about 8/9 pm. 2 out of 3 not a bad record.

 

[maxiesmom]

If you are hoping to be close to the main building and you are worried about your late flight, you should pay for a Preferred room (if your resort offers them). No matter what time you arrive to the resort, you know you are in that room category and will get a room close to the main building. Otherwise, "close to the main building" is just a request and may or may not be honored no matter what time you arrive.

Booking preferred gives you your best shot at being close to the main buildings. They can and sometimes do bump guests from preferred to standard. I've had it happen to me twice.

 

[MimiOfTwo]

Thanks all. I'm staying at GF so I guess the preferred rooms would be in the main building. While I'd love to stay there I could pay for another vacation with the price difference. I guess the good news is even if I get the room with the longest walk to the main building, I'm still at Disney! I've requested Big Pine Key and will hope for the best!

 

[Networth]

@MimiOfTwo The "longest" walk from any outer building to the main at the Grand is 5 minutes and that's if you walk incredibly slow. So I would not worry too much.

 

[yooperfan]

Booking preferred gives you your best shot at being close to the main buildings. They can and sometimes do bump guests from preferred to standard. I've had it happen to me twice.

Did they refund the diff. In room rates? I would be upset if I reserved a certain category I paid for and was down graded.

 

[maxiesmom]

Did they refund the diff. In room rates? I would be upset if I reserved a certain category I paid for and was down graded.

Yes. But one trip I had to fight for it. They offered to move me if a preferred room opened up. But as I was on the dining plan and didn't want to risk them messing that up (because we all know they never mess stuff up, right?) I declined. And apparently they take that as you clearing them of any responsibility. I had to e-mail once I was home. Though I did get a nice phone call from a CM who said that they shouldn't have handled it the way they did.

 

[Sue M]

We almost always arrive late in the evening. We have had great rooms and some not so great rooms. I don't think that a late arrival necessarily means that you will get a less desirable room. I wouldn't worry about it. As PP said sometimes late arrivals are upgraded due to room category getting filled up! Maybe you will get an upgrade by arriving late!

If you aren't happy with the location, check to see if it can be changed either that night or even the next day.

Good luck!

We got upgraded from woods to courtyard at WL arrived late and flight delays. CM at desk looked at her sheet and said I got upgraded at 2:00!

 

[Babsy]

If you are staying at the GF, you have no worries. There is no such thing as a really bad room there, IMO!

Enjoy!

 

[GoinghometoWDW]

We arrived after nine on our last trip, and we were upgraded to a preferred room. I did note on our reservation that we would be arriving late.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks all. I'm staying at GF so I guess the preferred rooms would be in the main building. While I'd love to stay there I could pay for another vacation with the price difference. I guess the good news is even if I get the room with the longest walk to the main building, I'm still at Disney! I've requested Big Pine Key and will hope for the best!

As the pp said, there really aren't any buildings that far from the main building. The GF isn't as spread out as it might seem and while some outer buildings are closer to the main areas than others, none are far away. Big Pine Key is a good choice for a request, IMO, as it overlooks the courtyard pool and is just steps from the main building and feature pool (Boca Chica is also nice as it's located right next to BPK). Just wanted to add that if you are assigned a building you don't care for, you can always ask if a different one is available. It's not guaranteed they will be able to switch it for you, but they will do what they can. Have a great trip, the GF is an amazing resort .

If you are staying at the GF, you have no worries. There is no such thing as a really bad room there, IMO!

 

[Jeannie in NJ]

I think all the rooms in the main building at GF are club level.