question about checking in when flight gets in at 1am

[DisneyIll]

Our flight arrives in Orlando at 1 am. Will they let us check in at that time or would they charge us an extra night?

 

[DebbieB]

Our flight arrives in Orlando at 1 am. Will they let us check in at that time or would they charge us an extra night?

You would have to pay for that night. Disney's "day" starts at 6:00am. Even if you arrive at 6:00am, the room is not guaranteed to be ready until 3:00pm/4:00pm.

 

[mrg013]

Yes, you'll need to book the hotel for the night before when you're checking in very late. So say your flight departs on Saturday night but lands at 1am on Sunday, you'll want to book the hotel for Saturday night as well. If your reservation started on Sunday, check-in isn't until the afternoon. Even though Disney will try to let you get into a room as soon as possible if one is available, 1am is still technically considered Saturday night from their perspective. They wouldn't be able to let you check-in for a Sunday reservation that early, since it would be considered an entire day ahead of time at that point. Beyond that, there are simply never any guarantees of early check-in anyway.

With such a late arrival, it is probably also a good idea to call the resort on Saturday before your flight leaves and just let them know that you'll be checking in very late and need the room to be held for your late check-in. You wouldn't want any issues when checking-in that late at night if they thought you were a no-show.

When you're landing that late, I would also suggest thinking about just staying at an airport hotel for the night after you arrive and going to Disney in the morning? Depending on the cost, it may be a bit of a waste of money to be paying for a night you're really barely even using. However, it would have its benefits as well, such as giving you extra meal credits if you do the meal plan and simply getting you on property right away, even though it's very late.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I've never had a super late flight like that, but have heard on here that some people like to just stay at the Hyatt at the airport when they arrive so late and then take ME bright and early the next morning to Disney.

 

[chasgoose]

I've never had a super late flight like that, but have heard on here that some people like to just stay at the Hyatt at the airport when they arrive so late and then take ME bright and early the next morning to Disney.

Staying at the Hyatt is a good idea for saving money, but only if you are staying at a moderate or deluxe resort. Rooms there rarely go for less than $150 a night, so if you are staying at a value, its still more cost effective to just go straight to your resort. On that note, you could just book that first night at a value and switch the next day, but its slightly more complicated than getting up and taking the ME from MCO and the Hyatt is a much nicer hotel that will make for an better night's sleep when you are arriving so late. It also means you can go straight from your flight to your room instead of having to wait for the ME, checking into the value, walking to your room (which will undoubtedly be further away from check-in than the rooms at the Hyatt), etc.

 

[Polydweller]

Our flight arrives in Orlando at 1 am. Will they let us check in at that time or would they charge us an extra night?

Hotelier hat on. We rent rooms by the night not by the day. Let's say your flight arrives 1am on Sunday. That's actually the Saturday night rental period which runs from the Saturday checkin time until rollover at 6:00am Sunday. Thus 1:00 am Sunday is a Saturday checkin in the hotel industry and, in your scenario, you would be charged an extra night.

 

[mickeynut1]

Our flight arrives in Orlando at 1 am. Will they let us check in at that time or would they charge us an extra night?

As others have said, 1 a.m. is technically the next day as far as flight arrivals go, but is still the day before as far as Disney's reservation system is concerned. If your reservation doesn't start until the next day, you will have to add another night to your reservation to include that night or stay somewhere else when you arrive and head to your resort the next morning to check in.

 

[Sue M]

Depending on what resort you are staying at, I'd book a room at an airport hotel, or wdw value resort for that night.