Benefit to checking in on time or not @ Wilderness Lodge

[Tinkwings]

Just wondering if any of you have any insights on this....we are arriving at WDW about 11:00 in the morning and heading for the MK after dropping off our carryons at the Wilderness Lodge as we have done in the past. Check in is not officially until 3 or 4:00 and is there an advantage to coming back to get better room at actual check in vs coming back in the evening after dinner? We really want bunk beds and I know those tend to go quickly as many want them as well. Will they assign us a room and put our luggage therein when the room is ready or do we have to be physically present before they assign us a room? I have asked and gotten rather round about answers from Disney which did not reassure me either choice had an advantage....What do YOU think....:wave:

 

[maryszhi]

i think the earlier u check in the better the room


also we are getting in super early if we end up going to disney. my ? is can we check in , get our key to the world card with tickets, and participate in extra magic hours. we are staying on property disney owned if we end up going

 

[psdisney]

Just going on an experience we had at AKL last year. We drove in from MA and arrived at about 10:45 AM and immediatley checked in. We had reservations for a standard room but were told at check in that we had been upgraded to a savannah view room. Our room was not ready and they gave us a phone number to call later on to get our room #. I think your room is already decided once you check in at the front desk.

Same thing happened in 2006 at Pop Century, got there at 9:30 AM and checked in, she told us which building we would be in and then gave us a phone # to call later in the day for the room # and our bags we in our room when we got back to the hotel that night.

I hope that helps!

 

[lscott933]

well if they don't have a room available when you arrive the one you want. they will check you in and then like you said you can wait until one come available later in the day. they will give you that room if there is any available that day when you check in. they will drop off your luggage once that room has come available. when you get back to the resort just ask them which room you have now. or you could get the phone to the hotel and call them later in the day to see if they gave you the room you are hoping for. i would ask for the number to the resort when you check in and go have fun.

 

[Mystic]

Just wondering if any of you have any insights on this....we are arriving at WDW about 11:00 in the morning and heading for the MK after dropping off our carryons at the Wilderness Lodge as we have done in the past. Check in is not officially until 3 or 4:00 and is there an advantage to coming back to get better room at actual check in vs coming back in the evening after dinner? We really want bunk beds and I know those tend to go quickly as many want them as well. Will they assign us a room and put our luggage therein when the room is ready or do we have to be physically present before they assign us a room? I have asked and gotten rather round about answers from Disney which did not reassure me either choice had an advantage....What do YOU think....:wave:

Have you booked a bunk bed room? I think that may be the only real way to guarantee that you get a bunk bed room as they seem to now be a category of their own. Other than that, you could have it noted on your reservation before you check in and let them know when you check in that you would like a bunkbed room and take your chances. Room assignments are actually done about 3 days prior to your arrival.

I just checked out the main Disney site and bunk bed rooms are now considered a separate category. If you request a bunk bed room and are not booked into a bunk bed room you can expect it to be considered an 'upgrade' so be prepared to pay for it.

 

[Tinkwings]

Thanks for the info....last year I asked for a quiet room and we stayed on the club floor...we LOVED the room we got and indeed it was quiet and out of the way. I recall we did arrive early but hung around an hour or so waiting for our room to open up...think it was before official checkin time....but I think you are right in that when we actually arrive we are semi-checked in to the system...or perhaps "have our place in line" for request priorities. So this year I requested same exact room with bunkbeds....both when I called this summer to reserve and when I called early December they told me it was in my requests and the rep even mentioned she had the room number I asked for in the information for requests on the puter....both times they told me bunk beds were not guaranteed. Hopefully with the room number requested that already has bunk beds and the other being bunk beds for preferences I will get one. My good friend stayed there last month and asked for bunk beds and the first night they had to stay in another room but the rest of the trip she said they got bunkbeds. She also found that every other room facing the courtyard on the Club level was bunk beds per the CM...not sure how it is on other floors for bunk beds.:king:

I have to find the TLC special on the couple with sextuplets and twins who stayed at the lodge....LOL....trying to imagine such a feat.....:lookaroun

 

[Tinkwings]

Have you booked a bunk bed room? I think that may be the only real way to guarantee that you get a bunk bed room as they seem to now be a category of their own. Other than that, you could have it noted on your reservation before you check in and let them know when you check in that you would like a bunkbed room and take your chances. Room assignments are actually done about 3 days prior to your arrival.

I just checked out the main Disney site and bunk bed rooms are now considered a separate category. If you request a bunk bed room and are not booked into a bunk bed room you can expect it to be considered an 'upgrade' so be prepared to pay for it.

Sigh.....its worth the price to keep mine seperated..... but OUCH....I try to stay in denial as to the actual cost....thank goodness for my Disney Rewards card....:king:

 

[Tinkwings]

That is a great idea to phone in from the park to check the status of the room....perhaps also to check status of our Magical Express Luggage....so far this has worked awesome as we always get early morning flights, it has always been there by late afternoon. :animwink:

 

[mousefan1972]

That's strange, b/c bunkbed rooms are definitely their own category. According to allearsnet.com, you can reserve a room w/bunkbeds with either a woods view or a courtyard view. It seems that bunkbed rooms are $15-$25 more a night than a typical two queen bed room.

I would call and make sure that you have reserved a bunkbed room. If not, you likely won't receive your request. As others have pointed out, if you "request" something that is considered an upgrade (i.e., you book a standard room at Pop Century, but request a room near the food court, which in reality is a preferred room that costs more $$), you will not receive it unless you pay for the higher priced room. :shrug:

 

[Tinkwings]

Ok...will call but requested it at the start and reconfirmed when I called again....they said I should be all set....maybe the club level having fewer rooms cannot guarantee?!?!:lookaroun

 

[Mystic]

Ok...will call but requested it at the start and reconfirmed when I called again....they said I should be all set....maybe the club level having fewer rooms cannot guarantee?!?!:lookaroun

I know when I booked my trip for December 2008 back in September 2007, even the club level bunk bed rooms were considered a separate booking. When I pulled up the room categories at the time they came up "Club level Courtyard bunk bed" / "Club level Courtyard" / "Courtyard". I would check with Disney to make sure that you're actually in a bunk bed room if that's what you want.

 

[mickey&me]

To me, the advantage was in checking in when we got there--about 1oo in the morning. That way, when we finished at Epcot for the day, we could come in and go to our room without having to do all the check-in stuff then. Not sure whether our check-in time had anything to do with it, but we were upgraded to a preferred location for free (without even asking) and got a corner room (which I requested).

 

[Tinkwings]

Maybe they will upgrade us to the VP or the P suites........:lol:....Seriously I had a dream that it happened and it even included a nifty golf cart to scoot about the Wilderness campground trails on....:king: The deluxe suites also look nice but they are a bit too close to traffic pattern and lobby area.....our first visit we got lobby just above the desk....lots of hooping and hollering til about 10:00....:lookaroun

 

[bgraham34]

i think the earlier u check in the better the room

I dont think thats true. I checked in at 10 once and my friend checked in at 4 pm and he had the better room. Even an upgrade to Courtyard view from standard.

 

[mousefan1972]

I dont think thats true. I checked in at 10 once and my friend checked in at 4 pm and he had the better room. Even an upgrade to Courtyard view from standard.

That's true. Most rooms are pre-assigned 3 days ahead of your arrival. All 3 of our last stays onsite (WL and Poly twice), in was apparent that our room was already assigned to us when we arrived. I don't think the time of day matters at all. The only instance when it may matter is if you don't like your room, you may have a better chance of changing it if you arrive earlier in the day vs. later. :shrug:

 

[Mystic]

Although the Resort may start pre-assigning rooms up to 2-3 days prior to your arrival, your room assignment is never finalized or guaranteed until you have arrived and are checked-in to your resort. No one at DRC or the Resort itself will be able to disclosed what (if any) pre-assignments have been made, so please don't ask.

Finally, remember nothing will guarantee you get your requests; that really will always depend on what rooms are scheduled to be vacant on the date you check-in. Often there are only a few rooms in your room category for the room coordinators or front desk Cast to choose from.

I hope this helps!

Arriving earlier in the day will definitely help since people who may not like their room assignment may request a change to a different room and take up the select few rooms that are available to the CMs at the front desk.

 

[The Mom]

The best upgrade we ever received was when we checked in at 10PM. CR had just given away all of their standard/deluxe rooms, so we "had" to stay on the concierge level (way back when they only had one, and the amenities were super!) with a MK view.

 

[banimall]

Keep in mind too that your room is not "guaranteed" at 3:00 check in time. We had stayed at Pop one year and checked in at 11:00 and called and called all afternoon to see if the room was available. It wasn't ready until almost 5:00.

 

[happymom52003]

If you are picky about your room location, check in early. Even if they do assign rooms several days ahead, it is not written in stone. If someone who checks in earlier than you does not like their room, they will be given another room....one that had already been assigned to someone else, perhaps you. Due to our flight time, we always arrive at the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge late. Last time we did not like our room because it was nowhere near to what we requested, but the only thing they could offer us was overlooking the buses which was worse. Same thing this time....we just checked in day before yesterday (we are here now), and they gave us a ground floor overlooking the woods when we had requested a high floor with a water or pool view. They had nothing else to offer us because most people had already checked in for the day. I know they can't guarentee a room reqest, but getting there early does increase your chances of getting what you want.

 

[Tinkwings]

Thanks so much all...happymom when we actually arrive we "checkin" at the desk which will be 10-11 am.....at that time they actually "assign" the room to you or have already done so....according to what I have read thus far....so my question is that if requirements are not met do I physically have to be present to lock in a room that meets my desires later in the day....or do you feel calling from the park will do same feat of magic....hope you are enjoying your visit!!!!:animwink: Give that totem pole a hug for me.....