Staying at AKL and have a red eye coming in at 8am. Advice please.

[CamillaF]

I have a red eye from the west cost and will arriving Orlando around 8am with two 9 year olds, and both parents. Getting a rental car, breakfast and going shopping I assume that I will be to AKL by 10-11am. We have our first park day the following day. Is it realistic to plan to at the resort/ pool until the room is ready. Perhaps take a nap on the lounge chairs? Check in is not till 4pm so it could be a while. BTW both kids are excellent swimmers (I mean can complete the swimming part of an iron man.) So us sleeping while they swim away is not a concern.

 

[KayKayJS]

We were there last weekend and housekeeping seemed very backed up in comparison to our other WDW stats this year. We didn’t get our room until closer to 5 which was not ideal with a 2 year old. With two 9 year olds there is PLENTY to keep you busy! we loved the Kidani pool.

 

[CamillaF]

Thank you!

 

[megs1313]

IMO, AKL is one of the few resorts where you could genuinely rest a bit in the lobby. There's a room off to one side with couches that would probably work. It's not ideal, obviously, but I think you'll be ok.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

This happened to us.. we ended up at the movies in Disney Springs... it was not originally planned that way but it was overcast and I needed a backup plan quick... I should have planned it that way from the start.

 

[CamillaF]

Thanks you all for you feedback. This helps a lot.

 

[Her Dotness]

I've seen posts advising you try adding the night before your actual arrival, which will allow you immediate access to your room. Some said they simply book their trip this way, specifying a very early-morning arrival.

It's a common trick as well for a late-day or evening flight home to have your room for post-swim showers, naps and leisurely prep to leave.

Sure, it might feel like a waste since you'll not sleep there at all then, but being able to get right into your room could be a huge benefit.

 

[mousedroid]

I have a red eye from the west cost and will arriving Orlando around 8am with two 9 year olds, and both parents. Getting a rental car, breakfast and going shopping I assume that I will be to AKL by 10-11am. We have our first park day the following day. Is it realistic to plan to at the resort/ pool until the room is ready. Perhaps take a nap on the lounge chairs? Check in is not till 4pm so it could be a while. BTW both kids are excellent swimmers (I mean can complete the swimming part of an iron man.) So us sleeping while they swim away is not a concern.

I don't know how feasible it is for you to sleep on the plane, but if you can, I suggest you try to get a nap in during the flight. Then when you get to Orlando, try to power through until your normal bedtime, at which point you'll be exhausted. In my experience that's the quickest way to get your biological clock synched with a new time zone. I'm thinking if you nap during the day, you're going to be wide awake at midnight (9 PM Pacific time).

We are in a similar situation, though we're starting in the Eastern time zone and arriving at 10 AM. Similar in that we won't be able to check in upon arrival either. If we want to go to the pool, are there locker rooms we can use to change into swimsuits and store our street clothes near one of the pools?

Thanks!

 

[Best Aunt]

OP, are you staying in a regular room or a DVC room? In general, it takes longer to clean DVC rooms because some of them are larger units. It's possible that a DVC room could be ready early, but might be less likely than with a regular hotel room.

You could try adding as a room request: "arriving by 11:00 am, hoping room will be ready so kids can nap" or something like that. If it's a cash reservation (made on the Disney website or by calling Disney) you can call 407-W-DISNEY to add a room request. If staying on DVC points, the member who made the reservation needs to add the room request through DVC Member Services.

If your room is not ready and you want someplace inside to hang out, the Jambo House lobby is much bigger than the Kidani lobby.

 

[CamillaF]

I am renting DVC points. Thanks for the advice I will reach out to the owner of the points and see if the can put that request in.

 

[CarolynFH]

I am renting DVC points. Thanks for the advice I will reach out to the owner of the points and see if the can put that request in.

When you do online checkin, you tell them approximately what time you expect to arrive and can tell them that having your room early is more important than any other requests. I’d do that in addition to asking the owner to submit the request, and I wouldn’t put in any other requests.

 

[kmrobins03]

When you do online checkin, you tell them approximately what time you expect to arrive and can tell them that having your room early is more important than any other requests. I’d do that in addition to asking the owner to submit the request, and I wouldn’t put in any other requests.

Agree with this. When you check in on the app, indicate that you will arrive early. We did that once for a stay at the riviera and our room was ready around 11am

 

[PepperjackDragon]

when I wanted an early check in I called and they were able to immediately check us in, it was however farther away and while technically still a Savannah We later switched to a non Savannah room that actually had the same or maybe better angle…so pretty sure they just squeezed us in to the least desirable spot. But, we got in early and kids napped so, that was good. Don’t remember the number but the best move would be to call as soon as you can that morning.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

There is also the option to get a "day room" at the Hyatt MCO which is right in the terminal. I'm not sure of the exact hours it's offered, but many DCL cruisers get a room for the day, post cruise, if they have a much later flight. It's nice to have a real bed to rest on and there's a roof top pool.
The thing with red-eyes is that you generally feel ok when the plane lands but around 4-5 hours later you hit a wall and are ready to just drop.