Room choice with late checkin

[PAcpl]

The first few trips we took to Disney we checked in before 10am. Our room was never ready, but it gave us the opportunity to request a specific area of the resort to stay in. This past trip we flew into Disney and didn't get to our resort until 10pm. The room we were given was still great, but it was an accessible room without the best view. Maybe we are just spoiled from the rooms we were fortunate enough to get in the past?

My question is this, would we be better off booking a studio for just our first night, then the following morning check out and check into a 1BR? Would this give us a better chance of getting a room in a location that we prefer? Has anyone ever done this? Is it a pain in the neck to check in and check out the very next day?

 

[Simba's Mom]

We did this on our last trip (actually it was to HHI) and it was very easy. We arrived about midnite, had reserved a studio for that nite. There was just DH and I, and DH was golfing the next morning, so I took care of the move myself. It was really quite easy, and the 1 BR we got the next morning was beautiful! Oh-we did get a HA studio for the first night-checking in at midnite they told us that's all they had available but they'd already assigned us to an especially nice 1 BR for the next day. I'll say they did! I would definitely do this again-especially for what we ended up with.

 

[Sandisw]

We are actually doing this next summer. We arrive at 8:00 pm, so will do 2 nights in a studio at BCV (so we can also do the DDP) and then move 4 nights to a 1 bedroom at BLT for the rest of the trip (where we will do the QSDP).

While not doing it for room choice, it was a way to save us points as we are arriving on a Friday night (much cheaper flights), it will allow us to move over to BLT in the morning and hope to give us a chance to request a SV room that faces the monorail.

 

[luvndizny]

We stayed at Saratoga Springs the second week of Dec. 09 and had requested a Downtown Disney view...However, we didn't arrive until late, maybe 9pm? and didn't get the view we asked for. So we called 'front desk' and asked...They said we could check out the next morning and get the view we wanted...We had to pay a $45 cleaning fee (understandable) and couldn't check back in until 4pm (again-understandable and also because people were still in that room). So we chose to do that and got a GREAT view of DD.

It may depend on the time of the year as to whether that might be an option for you...and maybe whether the $45 fee vs. points usage. (We are RCI users able to stay at DVC so I don't know how DVC points work.)

 

[pennst8r]

Online check-in! I think you can do it 10 days before you arrive? But then your requests are taken care of as if you checked in first thing in the morning. We got the THV # we requested in October and didn't actually check in til about 10pm

 

[Paticake]

We also did online chegk in in Nov. for THV and got exactly what we wanted. We didn't check in until about 7:00pm.

 

[PAcpl]

Thanks for all the great replies. I wasn't sure about online check in. That actually sounds like a great option. Between the Owners Lockers and DW's nightly facial maintenance routine it would be much easier staying in the same room.