YIKES!! Check in time can take up to 2 hours??

jpeka65844

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
2,939
Not sure if I should be worried about this but.....I've read on different threads throughout the boards about people experiencing ungodly wait times for check in. Should I really expect to stand in line (at POFQ) for over an hour getting checked into our hotel room????? What is it about this process that takes so long?????



Denice T.
POFQ 3/12-3/17 (FIRST TRIP EVER!!!!)
 
wow that is a long time...I have never had to wait in a line that long! I don't know what times you will gt to POFQ, but don't check-in around the 3:00pm check-in time. I usually experience a short wait (less than 10 minutes) checking in around 12:30pm-1:00pm. Seeing as POFQ is small I think you will be fine. I wonder if people posting about the long waits are staying at POP or one of the All-stars?
 
Check in time at Disney is 3pm and later. I have never experienced a long wait at that time. Many choose to check in before the official time. Many times they are in line with people checking out especially if they try to check in before 11am. Also since official check in time is 4pm the staff is geared toward that. In the mornings the staff is trying to check people out. If you add people trying to check in early then it can cause a backup. After 11am the have the lunch shift. If you wait till closer to checkin time, I don't think you will experience these long waits.
 
jpeka65844 said:
Not sure if I should be worried about this but.....I've read on different threads throughout the boards about people experiencing ungodly wait times for check in. Should I really expect to stand in line (at POFQ) for over an hour getting checked into our hotel room????? What is it about this process that takes so long?????



Denice T.
POFQ 3/12-3/17 (FIRST TRIP EVER!!!!)

I have never had a problem checking in when I get there or waited 2 hours, I might have waited 20 mins in line. I wouldnt get to concerned about this, I even usually check in around 9am which is 6 hours before Im supposed to, there policy if they have room they will check you in.

Disney actually still believes in Customer Service.
 

I've never waited anything like this to check-in...honestly, I would think 20 minutes would have been my longest wait ever, but that is rare. A lot of times I am the only person. Maybe its because we usually check-in later after a long day of flying (we are coming from California), but its rare to experience any noticeable kind of wait from my experiences. :wave2:
 
I have never had to wait more then 15 minutes (just once in over 30 years) and most of the time I just walk right up to the CM.. maybe it's just timing and good luck...
 
My mother had to wait for an hour. Yes, an hour to check into CBR back in Nov of 2001. The line up went out the door. It was very busy. The most I've waited in recent trips is about 20 minutes. However it is usually less than 5.
 
The only way I can see it taking more than 20 minutes or so is if Mears drops off a load of people. Otherwise I agree with most of the other posters that there is normally a very short wait to check in. I would imagine it would also depend on the day of the week and the time. Most (if not all of us here at the Dis) check in immediately and if the room is not ready just leave the luggage. There is no need to wait until the "official" check in time.
 
The only time I had a problem checking in is when we checked into the CBR a few years ago. We got there right after a busload of people from the Disney Cruise Line, and we had to wait an hour to get to the desk, and then it took them 20 minutes to get through everything they needed to tell us, and then we had to wait another 20 minutes to get someone to take us to our room in a van (since the resort is so spread out).

That being said, I have never had a problem checking into the POFQ. I've always walked right up. If you do happen to get there right after a busload of people, just walk around the building and the grounds. Go get a soda, browse in the gift shop, walk to the pool. Then, when you go back, hopefully the line will be gone.

Karen
 
Until my check-in on Feb 4, I never waited more than 30 minutes. We stayed at Pop Century and I waited in line over an hour. They had all check-in kiosks filled with CM. At POR the most I waited was 30 minutes and the least I've waited was to just walk right up and check in.
 
Last year at Pop there was no one in line, we just walked up and checked in(at around 1pm on a friday afternoon). this year, we are going the same time(week wise), but will be arriving around 10:30 am. :rolleyes1
 
Last March we stayed there. The check in time was short but our room was not ready until after 5:30. We had not requested anything except non-smoking. My DD missed her nap which made for a bad night.
 
Only problem we ever had was CBR. Check-in was over an hour. We had reserved a rack rate waterview room. When we got to our room it was handicapped (which meant one bed for the four of us) facing a stairway & parking lot. Took over an hour of "discussion" to get the right room. So from the arrival to check-in to our correct room was a few hours. Have never experienced anything like that at any of our other WDW resort stays. Even ASMo with a line was only about 20 minutes. You should be fine !
 
We checked in at CBR on Dec. 4th. It was around 9:30 a.m. A MEARS bus, full to capacity, arrived at the same time. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to check in. It also appeared to be a break time for many CM's because only about 1/3 of the windows were manned when we arrived. By the time we got to the counter about 1/2 of the windows were manned. However, I will say that all of our requests were met, except for a king bed, but it worked out because DD wanted to sleep with mommy, so it helped to have the 2 beds. Other than that, we had a magical time. We would have waited and come back later, however we were on the Dreammaker Silver, so we had to check in to get our tickets.
 
We only ever had one long check-in, too. It was also at the CBR back in March 2000. They were known for the long check-in times so I was ready for it, but it still wasn't any fun.

We've been many times and stayed in many Disney properties. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just go with the flow. Is it possible? Yes. So is bad weather delaying your flight...or a flat tire on the road to Disney. Be ready for anything and you won't be disappointed :)
 
The longest wait we ever had to check-in was about 20-30 minutes last September at POP. Just last month at POP, we checked in around noon on a Friday & walked right up to the counter - no waiting at all! :) We've also experienced less than a 5 minute wait or no waits at all when checking in to: Polynesian, Contemporary & Wilderness Lodge. It seems like the waits may be longer at some of the larger resorts - like POP and Caribbean Beach.

I would do what a previous poster mentioned - if there is a huge line (maybe a bus just let out) spend some time exploring & then check-in. Chances are good that the line won't be that long all afternoon. I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it - you'll have a great trip either way! :teeth: HTH!
 
I posted on another thread having a long wait when I checked in at CSR this past Thursday. It was over an hour. It was near midnight, a convention in town and 2 CM's working the desk. They just seemed a little short handed to me. There was no Disney magic in that lobby that night, lol. I have never had that wait before, but I have never arrived that late at other resorts either. I would not worry about it.

Denise
 
Our longest was at ASMo ... we arrived around 9PM, and we didn't open the door to our room until almost 10:30PM. If I'd known it was going to take so long, I would have had DH throw in the load of laundry I needed to do after DS being terribly car sick. I did not get to bed that night until after 1:30AM. After driving for 2 days with a 1yr old and 4 yr old, I was not overly impressed by the long wait time. I've stayed in ASMu a few times and never had more than a 10 minute wait time. I think it's just luck of the draw.

MaryLiz
 
Only been to WDW once, but our check-in at CBR in October 2003 was about 1 1/2 hours. Then we had to wait about 15 minutes to be taken to our room. Went out the door and down the sidewalk a little ways. The CM said that during the summer the line can go out the door and up the hill by the building. I'm glad to see this seems to be an issue mostly at CBR and this isn't the usual wait time. I don't know if I could handle MIL and FIL, DH and both kids through something like that again! The kids were wild to be at WDW and were pretty anxious it was taking so long. DH and his hatred of crowds didn't help!
 


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