Early Check In - How Often?

[Raineman]

3 pm seems to be the standard check in time at all WDW resorts. However, early check in time is possible, if the room is ready. My question is, to all of you who have stayed at the resorts multiple times-is early check-in a fairly common event? Does it depend on which resort it is, how busy the resorts are, etc? The only time I have stayed at a WDW resort was in march of 2014 (AoA), and we were checked in by 1pm.

 

[belledream]

We always stay at Disney resorts and arrive early around 10AM or so. For the past five years, I think our room has only been ready twice. It probably pretty much depends on everything you listed above...which resort, how busy, etc. I recall arriving once not getting the particular building we requested and the CM said that if we wanted that building, we'd have to wait because the room wasn't ready. If we were ok with the building they assigned us to, we could go now.

So it's always possible that they are or aren't trying to adhere by your room requests and that could determine whether or not you check in early...just my musings.

 

[Master Yoda]

Prior to online check in it almost never happened. We usually arrive around 7:00 AM and our room would be ready maybe once a year out of 10-12 trips.

Since online check in that number has gone up to 8-9 times per year, but there is one cavot. We almost never make room requests making getting the next room available much easier.

 

[MickeyMomV]

We usually come in between 12:00 and 1:00 and our room has always been ready. Coming from Mi we just can seem to get there any earlier or we would!

 

[littlered]

We usually arrive about 11 am on our trips and most times our room has been ready or they have been able to shift us to a room that is ready with our request in mind. Our last trip we did end up having to wait but I believe that was only because the person checking us in wasn't to keen on trying to find us something else...we ended up getting a text an hour later when our room was ready.

I have done online check in for the first time with our stay next week, I am anxious to see how it works out.

 

[Irie]

3 pm seems to be the standard check in time at all WDW resorts. However, early check in time is possible, if the room is ready. My question is, to all of you who have stayed at the resorts multiple times-is early check-in a fairly common event? Does it depend on which resort it is, how busy the resorts are, etc? The only time I have stayed at a WDW resort was in march of 2014 (AoA), and we were checked in by 1pm.

It depends on the resort, time of year, capacity, etc.. However, we normally drive all night and arrive around 5:00 a.m. (obviously well before 3:00 p.m.) and have been given a room immediately about 70% of our trips.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Our rooms are usually ready by 10 AM to 11 AM.

 

[shipley731]

I've generally had pretty good luck being able to get in early especially since the introduction of online check in. Probably about 90% of the time the room is ready. Back in March, we were staying at POFQ& had put room requests on the reservation. I figured we wouldn't get in early, but was pleasantly surprised when we got a text still over an hour out of WDW that our room wa ready. They even honored our room requests - corner room & close to main building.

 

[Jahona]

My room last year was ready when we arrived at 10:00 am. This year though, with online check-in, our room was ready at 1:30 pm. It really depends on if house keeping have cleaned an open room.

 

[fireworksandfairytales]

I nearly always get into my room earlier than 3:00. Usually it's not ready first thing in the morning when we arrive, but it's normally ready by noon or so. Our past trip at Pop Century we had done online check-in about a week before and it asked us what time we would be arriving and our room was ready before we even got there! So, that worked out really well.

 

[bigorangeandy]

Our weekday arrivals have had better luck than the weekends. We have not tried to check in early in the last year or so, as we have been arriving later in the day. Our only chance was back in March when we stayed offsite the first night, but went straight to the parks, then checked in after lunch (room was ready CSR).

 

[bethram]

We usually arrive between 10:00 and 11:00 am and there has only been one of four trips that our room wasn't ready. We surprised the kids with that trip (putting them into the car at 3am with no clue what was going on) so while we had them changing out of their jammies into park clothes in the lobby bathroom we got the call that our room was ready.

 

[pixiesteno]

We have been lucky on our trips that our room has always been ready when we arrived. Several trips we arrived in the morning and with the online check in we were immediately given a room. Our first trip down the coast with the RV we had allotted an additional day's travel because we were not sure how much more time towing the travel trailer would take. We were pleansantly surprised that we had an extra day and I called WDW at 6:30-7 am and was able to secure an additional day to our reservation so when we pulled into FWC at 9:30 a.m. our site was ready.

 

[Disneyfreak Jen]

We're usually about 75% chance of going right to the room. We arrive via ME around 9:15am (thumbs up for the 6am flight out of EWR). Nice thing is that if it's not ready you give them your cell # and they'll text you when it is ready…also leave your bags at the bag drop area, hit the restrooms in the lobby to change clothes if need be, and hit the parks!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We always arrive before 3pm and we always seem to have our room ready...even with a 7am arrival. I have this theory that putting my expected arrival time into things during online check in seems to help...but maybe we're just lucky?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We got our direct to room text at 10:49AM today.

 

[wdwjmp239]

Since the advent of online check-in, we are almost "guaranteed" a room before lunch time. In the past 6 trips, we've arrived at our resort at around 7:30am-8:00am, showed up to the front desk to say, "We're here!", and the cast member would put us in the system and tell us to go play.

In this last trip, we showed up at the Beach Club resort at around 7:45am, went to the front desk, dropped off our luggage, and got a text at around 9:45am saying our room was ready. That has to be THE earliest we've ever checked into a hotel. Normally, we'll get the room ready notifications by 10:30am-11:00am.

 

[JasonDeyoung]

I only live an hour away so I get up first thing in the morning and go straight to the resort. If you check early arrival when you do online check in you should get a little better odds. I normally arrive anywhere from 9-10am and only once has my room not been ready. A lot also depends on what day you arrive. I've been lucky and had direct to room check the past 6 stays so I usually have a text first thing in the morning with my room info or a its not quite ready yet message. Latest I've ever had to wait was 1pm, they are pretty good about getting you in early if you arrive early. Just make sure to set arrival time on your check in or early check in requested so they at least know you're coming in early

 

[HouCuseChickie]

If it is known, the guest's arrival time is shown on the housekeeper's daily board. When I was a housekeeper, I'd used this to help prioritize which checkouts I cleaned first. Of course, that's all dependent on when the current guest checks out of their room. So, if you arrive at 10:45am and the current guest doesn't leave until 11:00am, then naturally I couldn't have your room ready.

Maybe so, but we've checked in a handful of times before 11 am and have always had our room ready. I can't explain how, but it's always worked out for us that way. Obviously, a resort not being filled to capacity could be part of it, but it's always worked in our favor.

 

[Kosmo1986]

I have had 2 trips this year (3rd in 2 weeks), I did online check-in before I went and my room was ready by 8:30AM both times