Why Are People So Scared of Online Check-In?

[dansdad]

I was under the impression that you could still pick the room view you wanted if you go through the regular check-in lines even if you have checked in online?

You most definitely can.

 

[Radiorox]

I've done online check in for my last 6 trips. I've had 1 "bad" experience at CSR where I requested Casitas and got Ranchos. But, there was a convention in town. It actually wound up being a great problem to have. We were right by the main pool and the walk to the food court wasn't really THAT bad.

Past that, I've had two upgrades from Standard to Preferred.

Now DO NOT do online checkin if you are going with another party and want your rooms together. Hasn't happened to me personally but, I know of a few that have wound up faarrr away from eachother.

 

[dmccarty]

We have done online check in three times and we have gotten our room request for each stay. Our first use of online check in was right after it started, so there was a bit of time used by the CM in following the new process, but it was still faster then the "standby" line. Two check ins were at AKV and there was a small line in standby each visit. I have seen far longer lines though.

For the VBR trip, we did online check in and there was not another person checking in, but we were done with the check in process very quickly because I had already filled out much of the information.

The DW makes the reservations and puts in the room requests which can be very specific at AKV. We have gotten our very specific requests. We are AKV DVC members and we generally make our reservations to AKV around 11 months out which is the earliest we can make the reservations. Reservations at VBR were 5-6 months out but we still got our requests.

Later,
Dan

 

[1girln3boys]

I don't get it. I'm reading through many threads on these boards, and I am seeing the same thing over and over. People are talking about why they don't or won't do online check-in. What gives? Why do people NOT want to take advantage of this free and very convenient service??

I actually read where somebody said that they wanted the experience of standing in a line at the resort so they could have the face-to-face interaction with a Disney CM. Somebody else said that they feel they get better service from a "regular" front desk person, than an "online check-in" front desk person.

Perhaps I should equate this to the people who stand in a long line at a movie theater to purchase tickets, instead of one of the ten empty self-service ticket kiosks that are either next to the box office, or inside the theater lobby.

So people want to stand in long lines for hotel check-in, and to purchase movie tickets. But they don't have any problem taking a cart-full of groceries to the "self-checkout" at the supermarket, even though they have no clue how to use the machine. I guess some human behavior is just not menat to make any sense.

Our kiosks at the movie theater seldom work. And I hate self check out at the grocery store.

 

[Bee2u]

What benefits exactly do you find outweigh the decision not to pre-register? You still have to go to the front desk to complete the check in process.

Not anymore. The last few times I was at WDW I was greeted as I got off the ME and asked my name. The CM checked their ipad, then escorted me inside and asked me to have a seat on the couch. Less than a minute later he returned with my room keys and information. Got my room requests, and once was upgraded from a standard view to a pool view.

 

[Fantaluminishes]

What benefits exactly do you find outweigh the decision not to pre-register? You still have to go to the front desk to complete the check in process. They will still ask if your credit card info is correct. If none of your requests have been met and you need to ask if they can find a different room for you, or if your documents are in any way incorrect, they still have to completely re-do all of the paper work.

The two times that we did online registration (and our dates were during very slow times of the year), we did not get any of our requests, our rooms were not ready, and it took close to an hour to complete the process, after being shuffled over to the regular check in counter. The fact that our KTTW card didn't work when we finally got to our room is a whole different thread.

The last two times (when we did not do online registration) we arrived before 8 am, walked straight up to the counter (no line at all), completed the registration, in one case had our room changed to accommodate my request for a ground floor room, and received our KTTW for the room that was ready for us to occupy. And it took far less time than when we pre-registered.

Being scared of the process has nothing to do with it, and frankly I find the use of the term insulting and condescending. Having experience with the process and having determined what works and what doesn't work is the reason why we don't use this so called perk.

Online check-in is supposed to expedite the check-in process. Quite frankly, I think anybody who has a bunch of room requests shoudn't bother with an expedited check-in process anyway. Perhaps the reason some people wind-up with the somewhat rare bad luck at the online check-in counter is because others ahead of them were a little too demanding.

As to the quip about my "insulting and condescending" use of the word "scared". Not sure why you want to nit-pick what I post. That remark was a bit uncalled for. But this isn't the first time you have lectured me publicly about one of my posts. Replying to my question is welcome (and appreciated). Perhaps you should re-read your last paragraph, and then decide who's really being "insulting and condescending".

 

[ronfin]

Why is the Online Check-in so awesome? Getting off the bus from the airport and there's a guy and a girl standing side-by-side in front of the glass doors, and they say "Hello, are you the [MY LAST NAME] family?" I say "Yes we are", and they say "Well here you go. These are your Online Check-in folders with everything all set to go", and then they quickly go over the map and where our rooms are, the keys, and then BAM! DONE! Having someone literally greet you right off of the bus holding your check-in folders all ready to go is freaking awesome. If someone doesn't like that, then that's their cup of tea. For me though, I'll ALWAYS check-in as early as I can and hope they're standing there when I get off the bus with my folders like they were this year.

 

[merbobear]

I have done traditional check in and online check in. For me, there was really no benefit to the online check in, it was no faster. The only reason I have done it is because I can't contain my excitement any longer and the opportunity to do something Disney related from home lures me in. I haven't ever seen the online check in line be any shorter than the traditional check in.

I did notice that my online check in experiences have left me with a front desk CM that explains less about the resort. I don't know if this is intentional to make it faster, or if it is coincidence. I would do online check in again, but again only because I know that I will be itching to check in early.

 

[bookgirl2632]

Online check-in started after my last trip there. Yeah, I know, it's been too long! Anyway, as a result, we've never done it. Will I do it next year? I probably will, but I'm still unsure.

So, what I've surmised from this thread is that if you don't have a ton of really specific requests, you usually get what you ask for, for the most part anyway. Am I right to think that? Because if so, we are a pretty easygoing group. We stay at the Moderates and the extent of our requests is connecting rooms, preferably one of them being a corner room. So is it the simpler, the better when it comes to requests?

 

[dansdad]

So is it the simpler, the better when it comes to requests?

Yes, the simpler the better. The room assigners do their best to grant requests and you can imaging the more elaborate the requests the harder it has to be.

The best way to add room requests is to call and have them noted on your reservation. Then you don't have to worry about the limited amount of predetermined requests you can make during online check in.

 

[Ofinn]

I have done online check-in 13 of our 14 resort stays. 12 times I got my room request, and 4 times we were upgraded. I think it speeds up the process. You can always ask for a different room either way. I believe the rooms are assigned 3 or 4 days before your arrival no matter which way you decide to check in.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Our results on regular check-in vs online check-in:

9/2011 (All-Star Music) - Regular check-in at 11am, long line, put in back corner of resort in quiet area in Jazz (as requested at the desk), but on walking in, room was dirty (unmade beds, toenail clippings on floor, towels on floor). Called to complain, went to DTD, came back 3 hours later to the same state of room. Complained again, comped one night, moved to Broadway in a non-requested room style.

1/2012 (Pop Century) - Regular check-in at 12pm, long line, requested 80's. Put in 90's. Room was not ready, but got a text 3 hours later when it was. Room was fine and close to the area where we requested. Given upgrade to pool view.

10/2012 (Pop Century) - Online check-in 10 days prior. Moderate line, requested 80's, second floor. Walked up to online check-in desk at 11am, room request for 80's, upper floor honored. Room ready upon arrival. Given upgrade to pool view. Exact area we requested.

1/2013 (Polynesian) - Online check-in 10 days prior. Requested close to TTC, third floor (can't remember what building). Walked up to online check-in desk at 11am, no line. Room request partially honored, we got third floor as requested, but were given a room upgrade to water view meaning we were placed nowhere near where we were requested. However, we were given the option to take standard-view near TTC as requested on 3rd floor. We declined. Stayed in Tuvalau, 3rd floor, water view.

5/2013 (Pop Century) - Online check-in 18 days prior. Requested 80's, second floor. Walked up to online check-in at 12pm, no line. Room request for 80's, upper floor honored. Room ready on arrival. Given upgrade to pool view.

 

[cajunprincess]

I love the online check in. All my room requests were taken care of aside from having a pack n play put in the room, but that was taken care of easily with a quick phone call.

I am all about using technology to get into the parks quicker! I am a big kid about throwing our stuff in our room so we can get going! My poor husband doesn't get in a hurry regardless...

 

[jaiminee krikit]

I don't get why people are scared of it either! I love it. Do people think you don't interact with a human at all upon arrival? (Although I wouldn't mind that, either!) You still talk to a person, they still tell you about the resort and explain how to get to your room. We stayed at POR over Christmas, and the CM told us which bus stops were most convenient.
I've done online check-in for my last 3 trips. I learned after the 1st that I could request a room in any section, and each time I have gotten my request. On my most recent trip, I arrived at 9 in the morning. I thought there was no way my room would be ready. When the CM checking me in said it was, I couldn't hide my shock. She told me that if you do online check-in, that's one of the perks - usually your room will be ready when you arrive.
What do they do at regular check-in that they don't do for online check-in? We've been lucky on every trip, and there's never really been a long line on either side. I think once there was one family in front of us in the online line, but only one CM handling online check-ins, while there were about 5 handling regular check-ins. When one of the CM's at the regular line noticed us waiting, they called us right over. I would say next time I'll try regular check-in and see what the difference is, but I don't think I could stand it! Once I see I can check-in online, I MUST DO IT!!!

 

[nkereina]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned but in terms of room assignments, they assign rooms based on arrival time for those who did online check-in and look at room requests secondary. They will try to accommodate requests when they can, but they will put you in a room that's ready first. This has been my experience and it came up when I was discussing with a CM about this. So, for some of us, the room request is more important than having a room that is ready so we forego online check-in.

 

[ronfin]

They literally meet you at the bus from the airport now with your folder(s) in hand. It's that fast and convenient now. There is really NO reason to NOT do an online check-in and save the time to get right to your vacation. If you prefer lines, and "traditional" waiting, then by all means, skip the online check-in. If however you'd like to step off the Magic Express and have someone say "Hi, are you the [YOUR LAST NAME] family?" the second you walk off the bus with everything already waiting for you, then use the online check-in. It should be a no-brainer just for that.

 

[TDC Nala]

I just did the online check-in for the next trip. But I won't have friends staying with me and the only request I made was a high floor, because I think I'd like a balcony this time. I don't do online checkin when someone stays with me because:

They will most likely arrive at a different time from me, and
We don't put one credit card on both key cards. My friend will be more likely to want to have their own credit card linked instead of mine.

We would have to wait at the desk anyway to have the credit card thing done.

So yes, there are reasons for not doing the online check-in.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

We've done online check-in every time since they started offering it. We've gotten our room requests met every time. Sometimes we've checked in early and the room was ready. One time, it wasn't, but they texted us when it was. Sometimes we checked in pretty late and STILL got our requests met. We know the drill, it aint' our first rodeo, so we want to get our keys, get to our room and get on with our vacation!

I know that some people like the longer interaction with the CMs and some people have had bad luck/experiences with online check-in. It's worked out for us each time.

Uh-oh, I hope I didn't just jinx us for next time!

 

[ronfin]

I just did the online check-in for the next trip. But I won't have friends staying with me and the only request I made was a high floor, because I think I'd like a balcony this time. I don't do online checkin when someone stays with me because:

They will most likely arrive at a different time from me, and
We don't put one credit card on both key cards. My friend will be more likely to want to have their own credit card linked instead of mine.

We would have to wait at the desk anyway to have the credit card thing done.

So yes, there are reasons for not doing the online check-in.

Extenuating circumstances aside.

 

[Lorelei528]

I actually read where somebody said that they wanted the experience of standing in a line at the resort so they could have the face-to-face interaction with a Disney CM.
So people want to stand in long lines for hotel check-in, and to purchase movie tickets. But they don't have any problem taking a cart-full of groceries to the "self-checkout" at the supermarket, even though they have no clue how to use the machine. I guess some human behavior is just not menat to make any sense.

First of all, I'm pretty sure it was me you are referring to, becuase I know I replied to some thread about online checkin saying I love to have as much interactions with CM's as possible. And I don't want to take the chance of not gettng the whole spiel etc. That's me, I'm different to you. Doesn't mean I'm wrong, or it's bad. Heck, I don't judge those who prefer online checkin. Oh, and I don't use the self checkouts either. Hate them. I also prefer vinyl to CD's and I don't even have an iPod! Crazy, right? I must be SCARED!!

The last time i checked in at coronado i had no wait at check in by doing the regular. About 5 families were in the online check in line. Works for me!

Yes, this. Every time we've gone to WDW (and we're DVC), the online check inline was WAY longer than the regular one.

Being scared of the process has nothing to do with it, and frankly I find the use of the term insulting and condescending. Having experience with the process and having determined what works and what doesn't work is the reason why we don't use this so called perk.

Yes, THIS!!! Thank you.

Our kiosks at the movie theater seldom work. And I hate self check out at the grocery store.

Me too!