Online Check-In?

[MDChris]

Hello DISers! Tomorrow will be my 10 day to WDW mark and I'm debating whether to do online check-in. Last year we did online check-in and everything worked out great. However, I have seen some people recommend not doing it. Just looking for some advice (pros and cons) as to whether I should check-in online tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

[sweeteypie1118]

did they give a reason why it wasn't recommended?

 

[MDChris]

The impression I was given was that if you don't do online check-in, there is a greater chance of receiving your room requests or unplanned upgrades. The thought process being that if you check-in in person, you have the opportunity to speak with someone and ask for what you want. I'm not sure if there has been any research on this or experience.

 

[fla4fun]

If you have specific requests that you feel will make or break your vacation, then check in at the front desk. That way, if they have pre-assigned your room and it's not what you wanted, you can work with them to find what you need.

If you don't, then do online check in. I have found it does save time, and I like that they don't have to swipe my cc because it's already in the system.

I have done online check in every time since they started offering it. I don't typically make room requests, and I have had good locations every time (with the exception of a two night stay where I wasn't in the room much anyway and had booked a standard view knowing the view could be less than stellar).

 

[OKW Lover]

Go ahead and do the online check-in. The room request thing isn't a valid concern. You have to go to the front desk and actually talk to a person to get your room keys and find out what room you are in anyway. Just use that opportunity to ask if the room you've been assigned meets your preferences and if it doesn't ask to be moved then.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We've done the online check in for our last several WDW stays. Our room has always been ready when we've checked in; normally arriving by 1:30 PM. As for speediness, I'm not sure it was that much faster getting up to the desk to talk to a CM.

And actually for our last trip, at the standard checkin desk there were a couple of CM doing nothing while there was only one person working
the online check in. She was busy checking in Mr. I have a zillion questions and want to chat all day. Finally a CM from the regular checkin came all the way around, asked for our name, grabbed the folder and had us walk around to his station. And got us into our room immediately.

The only request we ever make is which category room we want. Because we will spend some time in our room we alway go for something higher than the standard view room, like a woods, water or garden view. And we have never been disappointed in the room we have been placed in.

 

[GrammyJudy]

I absolutely recommend online check-in. You speak to a persona nd they can change the room but all the paperwork is done and we have gotten all our requests. I call to make my reservation and make requests then. Online check in only gives you a few choices. This year when we got off of ME there was a CM waiting with balloons and birthday buttons for my DD and I. That was a very nice surprise due to online checkin.

 

[MDChris]

Thank you all for your advice! I went ahead and checked-in online this morning, so we'll see how it turns out. Tomorrow we will be in the single digit countdown!

Thanks again!

 

[nkereina]

For those asking why not - in my own experience, and after a discussion with CMs at POR, it's the CMs first priority to get you into a room that will be ready at your arrival time if you've checked in online. If they can meet your request while getting you into a room that will be ready, they will do so. In my experience at POR, I requested a mansion room but those rooms had not yet been cleaned when I arrived. Since they assigned me a room that would be ready at my arrival time, I actually got the exact opposite of my request. I politely asked to be switched and they warned me, twice actually, that the room I was switching to was not ready. I didn't mind. I will say it was a giant hassle to have me switched out of that room at the online check-in desk. Because of this experience, I probably won't do online check-in again unless I stay at a resort where I have no requests.