Online check in vs. normal check in?

[keggero]

Any advantage to checking in online vs. doing it the normal way. Can you request a particular floor or room when you check in online? Or is it better to ask in person?

 

[erionm]

Online check-in does not allow entry of room requests for DVC reservations. They must be made with MS.

Disney is promoting online check-in as a way to reduce the amount of time it takes to get your KTTW cards and welcome packet when you arrive at the resort.

 

[drusba]

Requests must be made through MS. Box for making them in on-line page does not work for DVC. However, if you use on-line, you keep and they consider any previous requests made through MS.

It is supposed to speed up the registration process. Your check-in package is essentially ready when you arrive. When resort has separate line for pick-up for on-line registrants, it can speed up process when there is a crowd; however, not all resorts do that, for example, at AKV Kidani you still use regular line and thus speed up really does not occur.

It does not get you into room any faster than if you do not use it (using it I have gotten room early about 50% of time; that is my same percentage when not using it).

 

[jwieber]

Just expereinced a hitch with adding nights to a reservation and on-line check-in. We are booked for VWL for May 14 to May 20th. We had our reservation until the 19th. and then added the 20th. The reservation # is the same for both parts and MS confirms our reservation and we will not have to checkout for the last night and check in, but we can't do online checkin. According to MS, there is a problem with the new system and with split stays, we can not do online checkin and they can't do anything either. We will have to check in when we arrive. I may have missed this in another post, and being a newbie, just thought I would pass it along

 

[Uncle Remus]

Any advantage to checking in online vs. doing it the normal way. Can you request a particular floor or room when you check in online? Or is it better to ask in person?

Call MS a few days before your arrival to make a particular room/floor request, don't wait til you get there.

 

[Brenle]

Call MS a few days before your arrival to make a particular room/floor request, don't wait til you get there.

Has that worked out for you in the past?

 

[paults]

I see no saving of time using this for us. Your room will still not be ready most of the time early.

 

[momhmmx2]

On line has not really saved us time on check in..

On a side note...We have used our DVC to make reservations about 7 times now. Every time I request something (ex. SSR~Congress Park, or OKW~renovated room, or AKV~ near bus stop)

EVERY TIME I've checked in. the CM says they have NO RECORD of our requests on their screen Makes me wonder if our requests with DVC actually get to the resorts computers.

I realize it is just a request but to be told 7 times now that there is no record of it makes me wonder how the process really works!

 

[seelyt2]

Has that worked out for you in the past?

It worked for us twice thus far. Last Nov/Dec we asked for a room close(ish) to the elevator at Kidani and we were accommodated. And the year before that we asked for the Springs at SSR and we got it. It worked out for us! But you never know, I guess.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Call MS a few days before your arrival to make a particular room/floor request, don't wait til you get there.

If you already have it on your reservation, there isn't any need to call. Just put it on the reservation as soon as you can.

When we have checked in, the CM will tell us that our room either meets our requests or not. So they can see the requests.

 

[princessdawn2011]

Cannot believe I'm gonna write something almost nice because I'm annoyed. To me, online check-in is part of the planning and count-down to getting closer to my magical vacation.

Don't think there are any perks, sometimes it's faster when you arrive @ the hotel.

HOWEVER, I just tried to complete my online check-in, was so excited, and the system is down.

So very annoying! Any of you folks experience this & for how long?

 

[ldo]

1st time I did online vs. regular check-in, room was ready @10:30AM! Maybe luck--but you can bet I will do it again! Elaine

 

[Crystal_27]

We always do online checkin, but we've never had a situation where our room was already assigned to us and/or that our KTTW were ready for us. However, for me, it is just easier to get our credit card information already entered so that's one less step that we have to undertake at the checkin desk. Plus, it is something to pass the time while waiting those last (agonizing) couple weeks before vacation.

 

[tmbcole]

We normally do online check-in. I have found that it is a little faster to get through check-in upon arrival at our resort. I have also found that our room is normally ready when we arrive AND our room isn't at the end of a very long hallway.

 

[Snurk71]

Agree with those that say your individual check-in process should be faster (ours always has). It may or may not make you spend less time in line waiting to check-in, depending on a dedicated online check-in area or not. But there is no waiting for the CM to build your welcome packet, run your CC, print the keys, etc - that is all already done. And you can still ask the CM checking you in any question - they're just as capable to handle something that the non-online check-in'ers get.

We'll always do online check-in.

 

[bumbershoot]

We stayed in 3 different rooms in December (2 resorts). The first two rooms, we did online checkin. Fabulous rooms, good locations (in our opinions).

Third room we didn't do online checkin. Horrid room, awful location. Had to be switched the next day. For the third room we also checked in later, around 6 or so? And I believe we got the bottom of the barrel, rooms-wise. I feel if we had done online checkin we would have probably been assigned a better room (and hopefully someone less picky would have gotten the room we got).


For that first room, I was allowed to make a request, and it was on the reservation. I requested a first floor because of my aunt's knee problems, and that's what we got. Maybe it's changed for the negative since late November (when we checked in), though? I wasn't allowed to make all the requests I wanted, but I did get that one in!