Direct to Room Check-In coming?

stini228

stini228

Active Member
Pax said:
So, we decided to go along with the straight to room concept this weekend. I requested close to lobby & early room availability at Kidani, knowing we would arrive very close to 11 am. We arrived at 11 and left the luggage with bell services then stopped by the front desk to find out where to park the car. We were told we would be in the Rafiki area (ended up in 7830, not close to the lobby IMO) and because they were busy not to expect a room assignment until close to 4. Ok, not what I wanted to hear, but hey we're headed to the Magic Kingdom so an earlier room assignment won't help us out at this point.

Fast forward to 3:43--text from DisneyRoomAlts! Great! This text should give our room assignment. Nope, "Please see the front desk about your room assignment when you arrive at your Resort." Ugh.
Click to expand...

This happened to me recently at SSR. We went to the desk only to be told, "I don't know why you were advised to come here". OK, lovely. Turns out our MagicBands would not open the door, and so we had to make a third trek to the front desk. Did you have difficulty with your bands at all?
 
dreamfinder

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
SnarkyMonkey said:
I can honestly say this has not ever been an issue for me, personally. I have never seen anyone take longer than 20 seconds max to use a MB.

ETA: Do you never pay at the pump or use a pass for tolls either?
Click to expand...

Consider yourself lucky. I've never had a problem using my band (I'm also pretty darn good at the self checkout machines) but plenty of times I have seen people not grasp the concept. Kids just sticking their hand near the mickey symbol, trying the side of their wrist, trying to get it to light up by waving it over the top, etc.

Nope, I do use EZPass and pay at the pump. However, pay at the pump is close to idiot proof, insert card, remove card, push button. You can't mis-align the card, have the card on the inside of your wallet (there are people that like to wear the "top" of the MB on the inside of their wrist) etc. Same thing with EZPass. As long as you have the sensor mounted in the correct place (and frequently even if you don't) it will pick up your car. Could they do this with MB? Ayup, that is what the long range readers are for. Jam enough juice in the MB/reader combo, and you could read the MB while the car drives past the booth at 65mph. But then when the in band battery dies, WDW is out the $15 parking fee and we all know they won't let that slide.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
dreamfinder said:
Consider yourself lucky. I've never had a problem using my band (I'm also pretty darn good at the self checkout machines) but plenty of times I have seen people not grasp the concept. Kids just sticking their hand near the mickey symbol, trying the side of their wrist, trying to get it to light up by waving it over the top, etc.

Nope, I do use EZPass and pay at the pump. However, pay at the pump is close to idiot proof, insert card, remove card, push button. You can't mis-align the card, have the card on the inside of your wallet (there are people that like to wear the "top" of the MB on the inside of their wrist) etc. Same thing with EZPass. As long as you have the sensor mounted in the correct place (and frequently even if you don't) it will pick up your car. Could they do this with MB? Ayup, that is what the long range readers are for. Jam enough juice in the MB/reader combo, and you could read the MB while the car drives past the booth at 65mph. But then when the in band battery dies, WDW is out the $15 parking fee and we all know they won't let that slide.
Click to expand...

the RFID in the MouseArrest band has significantly less range than the card. With the MB you have to precisely align it mickey to mickey, Now with my RFID card (ANNUAL PASS) I don't even need to take the card out of my wallet just wave wallet in general vicinity of MickeyHead and it reads. So it's not even the reader that has the problem its the D@mnable MouseArrest bands which are the problem.
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Just wanted to share an additional thought, to those who may be struggling to understand why guests (in particular, repeat visitors) would choose the traditional check-in process, over express check-in.

At the Disney-owned, onsite hotels, I've always viewed bell services, concierge, and front desk check-in people, as WDW cast members. Those first, initial interactions with CMs really made my day. For me, I considered those experiences to be the "official start" of my WDW vacation, before I even arrived at the parks.

(Note: With the forum members (on the 8 pages so far), somewhat split on preferences, it appears as though the best solution is for the Disney hotels to offer both options for guests.)
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
dstrawn9889 said:
YOUR biggest problem, exploder, is that anyone walking by can collect information off of cards in your wallet...
Click to expand...

Considering that I work in the wireless field I understand how these things work at the component level -

You should have been at Black Hat where they set up a long range passive RFID reader at the checkin desk the feds there were quite horrified that their RFID shielded badge protectors were useless and the game of 'find the fed' was much easier than usual that year.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
betty rose said:
I hope not.
Click to expand...

This is all about the money TWDC probably wants to cut most of the front desk CM's at the hotels and charge for access for the remaining ones. Definitely NOT FIRST CLASS HOTEL material.

Hilton (I'm Diamond) offers a similar service which is great for the BUSINESS traveller who when their plane is delayed and they get to the hotel 6+ hours late and wants to sleep for a few hours before getting up at 0'Dark Hundred.
 
TomP

TomP

Well-Known Member
ford91exploder said:
It's the end of working with a CM at the front desk being free..., Expect a $10-20 upcharge for NOT using the online checkin.
Click to expand...
A number of years ago, my friend's bank started charging "transaction fees" if you used a live teller vs. an ATM. Oddly, the bank did not install additional ATMs to handle the traffic. That practice lasted about 6-7 weeks before they did away with the fees. Dunno why :)
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
TomP said:
A number of years ago, my friend's bank started charging "transaction fees" if you used a live teller vs. an ATM. Oddly, the bank did not install additional ATMs to handle the traffic. That practice lasted about 6-7 weeks before they did away with the fees. Dunno why :)
Click to expand...

Because the other banks did not follow and it was hurting them competitively, Disney does not have that problem.
 
CJLove79

CJLove79

Active Member
It amazes me the negative things people are saying about this new service. Let's be real here, Disney is a company that's changing with the times. Most people nowadays are always on the go and would much rather get everything done quickly from their iphone or Droid. With that being said, I think this service will be great for people like me who can do Online Check In, hopefully get a room number, get to the room, drop their stuff and head straight to the parks. If you choose to Check In at the desk with a Cast Member, cool, then do that. They're not going to charge you for seeing a Cast Member or laying off people. Besides, it wouldn't make much business sense for them to do that because the Cast Members are their bread and butter, THEY make going to their parks magical. So to the concerned Mouseketeers out there, choose the Check In service that's right for you and go have fun. Aint that the point? :)
 
Nick Pappagiorgio

Nick Pappagiorgio

Well-Known Member
CJLove79 said:
It amazes me the negative things people are saying about this new service. Let's be real here, Disney is a company that's changing with the times. Most people nowadays are always on the go and would much rather get everything done quickly from their iphone or Droid. With that being said, I think this service will be great for people like me who can do Online Check In, hopefully get a room number, get to the room, drop their stuff and head straight to the parks. If you choose to Check In at the desk with a Cast Member, cool, then do that. They're not going to charge you for seeing a Cast Member or laying off people. Besides, it wouldn't make much business sense for them to do that because the Cast Members are their bread and butter, THEY make going to their parks magical. So to the concerned Mouseketeers out there, choose the Check In service that's right for you and go have fun. Aint that the point? :)
Click to expand...

Well said. The best thing you can do for your customers is give them more options.
 
1023

1023

Provocateur, Rancanteur, Plaisanter, du Jour
jakeman said:
Do you have a source for this very clear statement of fact you have made?
Click to expand...

It would seem to be the next logical step for MAGICal experiences that used to be free or reasonably priced. Now there are Banks charging for time at the teller window. This is a likely scenario based on past behavior of the current MBA/bean counter mentality. All aspects of guest/customer/sheep experiences must be profit centers.

Or it is "reductio ad absurdum" in order to point out that the current Disney Management in Florida can't get their hand deep enough in your wallet.

*1023*
 
jakeman

jakeman

Well-Known Member
1023 said:
It would seem to be the next logical step for MAGICal experiences that used to be free or reasonably priced. Now there are Banks charging for time at the teller window. This is a likely scenario based on past behavior of the current MBA/bean counter mentality. All aspects of guest/customer/sheep experiences must be profit centers.

Or it is "reductio ad absurdum" in order to point out that the current Disney Management in Florida can't get their hand deep enough in your wallet.

*1023*
Click to expand...
Please demonstrate how this is likely based on past actions?
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom