pixie dust with online check in?

[KTwiegs]

I KNOW I KNOW! I should never wish too much for pixie dust but man oh man I hope we get some.
We are staying at AoA in a little mermaid room and I have a dream of being upgraded to a family suite.
Can or has something like this ever happen with online check in/ no face to face?

 

[Dis Dragon]

I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment, that's a huge price difference. Unless you have some kind of persuading argument you want to try on a CM...

 

[rangerxenos]

I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment, that's a huge price difference. Unless you have some kind of persuading argument you want to try on a CM...

Honestly, you never know, we were once upgraded from a Standard room to Club Level at GF at check in. Also received an upgrade from Standard to two room suite at CSR.

 

[NJlauren]

I have read stories of people showing up going to their room and it is not what they reserved, IE a suite or a theme park view.

But know its really uncommon, but i am not sure online check in makes a difference as my understanding is the rooms are assigned out a few days in advance, but i could be wrong.

 

[Dis Dragon]

Honestly, you never know, we were once upgraded from a Standard room to Club Level at GF at check in. Also received an upgrade from Standard to two room suite at CSR.

No, there's always a chance - but I would venture a guess that you did not go to GF expecting a club level room.

Pixie dust for us lately has been getting a room in the area we were hoping for .

 

[rangerxenos]

No, there's always a chance - but I would venture a guess that you did not go to GF expecting a club level room.

Pixie dust for us lately has been getting a room in the area we were hoping for .

Hell no, we didn't even realize we were put in a CL building until the next day, LOL! I have a feeling they may have done it because they were so late getting us into a room.

 

[Disney.Dreamin.Dee]

That's some pixie dust that is highly unlikely.
Book what you want or expect to get what you book.

 

[KTwiegs]

Again! I’m not expecting or planning to get it. I’m truly just wondering if it happens just randomly anymore through online check in only.
i have also read MANY people mention the upgrade to family suite.

 

[Disney.Dreamin.Dee]

Again! I’m not expecting or planning to get it. I’m truly just wondering if it happens just randomly anymore through online check in only.
i have also read MANY people mention the upgrade to family suite.

I've never heard of it happening when doing online check in.
Also it general only happens if Disney messed up like allocated a room that was not actually available.
This was also more true right after reopening because they only wanted people in certain rooms and at certain resorts.
So lower your excitement of the possibility so you're not disappointed.

 

[MidnightMeeko]

We've been bumped to another resort upon arrival when doing online check in. We just happened to stop by the desk though because we arrived really early. They already had it in the system that they were going to move us and were just waiting for us to get there. The resort was overbooked. We've also been moved to a better room category via doing online check in only without ever stopping by the desk. I could see it in our MDE app before we ever arrived. It really is just sometimes luck of the draw and has so many different variables. Those instances happened a few years apart, but yes online check in will not decrease your chances.

 

[Neener16]

Again! I’m not expecting or planning to get it. I’m truly just wondering if it happens just randomly anymore through online check in only.
i have also read MANY people mention the upgrade to family suite.

Over the many, many times I've been to Disney, we were upgraded once. It was at Beach Club and got upgraded to Club level. When we checked in, we were asked if we were celebrating anything. We said no, just here for a mother/daughters trip. It turned out there was some wild young kids next door, I suspect the previous people asked to be moved. We were fine with it, and they checked out the next day. This was an in-person check-in because I had to change the credit card on file.

 

[Disneylover99]

Again! I’m not expecting or planning to get it. I’m truly just wondering if it happens just randomly anymore through online check in only.
i have also read MANY people mention the upgrade to family suite.

Anything is possible. Upgrades can happen checking in, in person or if you check in online. The customer sees it as pixie dust, but Disney mostly sees it as a necessity because a room or a chunk of rooms are suddenly out of commission due to maintenance issues, or something along those lines.

 

[Mle8308]

You never know, but don't even slightly expect for it to happen. Most times the upgrades are to a better view/location unless something goes wrong and Disney has no other choice or it is Guest recovery. And it can also depend on how long your reservation is for. In my past experience, if we had to upgrade a reservation, it was usually someone with a very short stay (unless the problem was longer term) to minimize potential lost revenue and labor (it takes a housekeeper longer to clean a suite than a regular room, and if it's a comp upgrade, there is no additional revenue being generated to pay for the additional labor and they are short housekeepers - not that you get much right now). The past two years have been an anomaly for upgrades, with changing reopening dates and labor shortages. Good luck, but be prepared to enjoy what you booked. If your heart is set on a family suite, book one.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Again! I’m not expecting or planning to get it. I’m truly just wondering if it happens just randomly anymore through online check in only.
i have also read MANY people mention the upgrade to family suite.

Yes. I've never not done online checkin. To be clear, online check in is not new. It's been around for years. It's rare and online check in does not have anything to do with getting an upgrade, or not.

 

[SkyGuy]

No, there's always a chance - but I would venture a guess that you did not go to GF expecting a club level room.

Pixie dust for us lately has been getting a room in the area we were hoping for .

I’d settle for that as well!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I thought rooms were assigned a few days prior to arrival? If something went wonky and they need your room for something else, boom! Pixie dust! If it’s just you celebrating or whatever- well like half the people checking in are celebrating, nothing special there

IMHO do online check in and enjoy your time in the parks/Disney springs/wherever instead of standing in line at the hotel hoping for that elusive pixie dust to come through.

 

[gottalovepluto]

…Pixie dust for us lately has been getting a room in the area we were hoping for .

I’m at the point where I feel like just getting to go on vacation is pixie dust!

2020 really dropped the bar for my pixie dust expectations…

 

[LoungeflyPrincess]

Dreams do come true. I was in town for a conference Fall 2019 and wanted to go to Mickey's Not So Scary. I booked a Hotwire Hot Rate for $99, and my reservation pulled up AOA Little Mermaid Room. I linked the reservation to my Disney app and checked in via mobile. When the app updated to show my room, I was happily surprised as I was upgraded to Lion King Family Suite. I was solo on this trip, and it was for one night only. Needless to say, I had an amazing time.

 

[Disneylover99]

Dreams do come true. I was in town for a conference Fall 2019 and wanted to go to Mickey's Not So Scary. I booked a Hotwire Hot Rate for $99, and my reservation pulled up AOA Little Mermaid Room. I linked the reservation to my Disney app and checked in via mobile. When the app updated to show my room, I was happily surprised as I was upgraded to Lion King Family Suite. I was solo on this trip, and it was for one night only. Needless to say, I had an amazing time.

Nice upgrade.

I think length of stay factors into this as well. If there are maintenance issues with some rooms, it makes sense for Disney to offer an upgrade to the person who has only booked for a night or two, rather than a week or two.

 

[SharonZ]

Book what you can afford, and enjoy! I think you are setting yourself up for a huge disappointment by hoping for that much pixie dust.