Timing and process for checkin

[Keyser]

I'm trying to figure out the process we'll go through on our arrival day, and I'm hoping some of you US veterans can help us. Our plan has been to spend our arrival day in one of the two parks, but I'm trying to get a sense of what time we'll actually have there. United was nice enough to change our flight times 45 minutes later, which has already cut 45 minutes from our day - I want to see just how bad things are, overall...

For reference, we'll be arriving on a super-busy day (Sat, July 2), and have much of Sunday the 3rd and all of the 4th for the parks. I'm also unclear on how a few steps of this process work, so if I'm mixed up on something in the below, please let me know... Or, if you see something I can eliminate or make a lot faster, please let me know.

Flight arrives in Orlando @ 2:30 p.m.
Get checked luggage
Pick up rental car (currently from Alamo)
Drive to Royal Pacific Resort
Check in at RPR (just stop at entry, or self-park first, or valet park, or ??? - are there valets to help w/luggage?)
Self-park at parking lot
Go to room, make sure luggage is unloaded.
(Wife will probably spend half an hour here.)
Somehow get our express/front-of-line passes (or is this done at the park entrance? - can it be while my wife is in room unpacking and stuff? - or is this just our hotel card or something?)
Leave RPR, and walk (?) to one of the two parks (not sure which).
Use printouts of tickets (bought and printed from Undercover Tourist) to enter parks.

Does that sound like the right idea? Do we really just use our paper printouts as our tickets (and hope they don't get wet...), and do we have something separate that gives us the front-of-line stuff? Any sense of what time we'll actually be entering the park given all that?

On another note, does it seem like one park or the other would be better that first evening? My thought had been to skip the HP stuff the first day, and save that for the two mornings we get early entry. It kind of seemed like US might be the better option, but I'm not too sure. We won't stay much past 8:00, most likely, since we'll be wanting to get up very early the next morning.

 

[macraven]

You can unload the car at the front of the hotel
Get a cart to load your belongings from the car

One can move the car to the hotel Pakistan g lot, other can start the check in process
Valet can take your luggage cart inside the hotel
All in the group will get the room hotel card at check in

After that, go the the end of that check in counter to the back of the building
Use the photo is machine to create your express pass
Could take you ten minutes for check and making the ep

Valet can take the luggage cart to your room
If they are tied up, you can wheel it to your room

After that, head to the parks

 

[schumigirl]

Time it takes from airport will always vary depending on flight times, waits for car and such. We are usually an hour to an hour and a half or so after landing to get to hotel, varies if we are delayed at immigration coming in from the UK.

Check in is a simple process.

When you pull up to RPR the valet guys can take your luggage and then you can either go self park or valet park. Either is fine. If parking lot is busy, valet can be quicker since time is important to you this trip.

At check in desk you will be given keys for all your party. Once you have these keys you walk a few steps to the EP machines.........you put your room key in one at a time, there are more than one booths, the machine takes your picture and your EP is issued. It first into a lanyard and is same approx size as room key.

How long check in will take is obviously dependant on how big queue is........if it's busy they will put more staff on check in desk. Like macraven says, it's usually around 10 minutes or so for us.

Bell services can take your luggage to your room or you can. Up to you. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk to IOA from RPR few moments more to Studios. Or take the boat. It will drop you at the centre of Citywalk and walk one way or the other for either park.

Your paper print out is your ticket. We have seen loads of people use these full size sheets as tickets. They get scanned at park entrances same as regular tickets. You can't exchange them for real tickets as far as I'm aware, never used that type of ticket.

It's going to be busy, so choose whatever park you feel like seeing first. Potter areas are lovely at night so try and even see those areas after dark even if it is your first night and you don't get to do much. EE is a good idea for your next 2 days. You have EP so check out the park maps and see what you feel like doing. Either will be fine.