If you have what is called a room only reservation (no package), payment of the balance due is made when you check in. You only have to pay one night in advance as a deposit.
TCD
Correct and any charges on your KTTW card and extras like pets or extra persons in general is charged upon check out. We often find they don't add those charges probably because the CM thinks you are paying enough already.
Larry
LOL. We also got a bill from Disney once. We allowed charging privileges once. We didn't realize that on your last night (to get express check out), they bill your card for all charges incurred up until that point. But you're still allowed to use the card on your final day. That night they run a second charge for all that stuff. A couple days after we checked out, I saw the charge online against the account for the first charge. And used some money out of the account, and the second charge didn't go through. So we got a bill from Disney about a few weeks later. Now I make sure we don't charge on the last day. So that way there's only one charge against the account.

Thats just kinda common sense, ain't it
Yep. Stands to reason, in my view, that any charges incurred AFTER checkout or on the last day would not be included in the statement you receive departure day morning.

Talk about being burned! Yikes! $85.00 for lunch and that was BEFORE adding a tip! Needless to say, we didn't have enough cash with us to cover the bill. We'd have spent the rest of our time at Epcot washing dishes if not for CP that day.
I think the other 2 times were only for counter service when DH didn't get the cash from me before going to order. Remember, I said I've had a few brain fluffs in my day. 