Question about arriving before official checkin time.

[bsiev1977]

My AoA reservation and Premium Dining Plan are from 12/7/2013 to 12/14/2013.

as of now my plan included getting to Orlando either late on the 5th or early on the 6th, to get in a day at Universal.

My question is, how early on the 7th can I plan to be able to get my park ticket and access to my dining plan? Can I get there early in the morning of the 7th and expect to be able to get into the parks for at least lunch and dinner? Or maybe a breakfast if I get there early enough?

I'm not expecting early access to my room, I just want to be able to plan a day in the parks on the 7th if I can.
Thanks for the input.

 

[Master Yoda]

The earliest you can usually check in is around 6:00 AM on your arrival date. That time can vary a bit from day to day, but I have checked in between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM more times than I could count.

 

[LizC]

I believe you will be able to get your tickets and dining plan info in time for breakfast if you would like.

 

[bsiev1977]

The earliest you can usually check in is around 6:00 AM on your arrival date. That time can vary a bit from day to day, but I have checked in between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM more times than I could count.

6am-7am would be perfect. Full day in the parks, and three possible dining plan meals. I guess I'll call when my arrival is coming up to check for sure what I can do. Thanks.

 

[Rob562]

The earliest you can usually check in is around 6:00 AM on your arrival date. That time can vary a bit from day to day, but I have checked in between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM more times than I could count.

Officially, Disney won't guarantee that you can check in (or "pre-register" in Disney terminology) until 7am. It's possible they can do it earlier, but the overnight end-of-day processes have to finish in the computer system before they can check new Guests in.

-Rob

 

[bsiev1977]

Officially, Disney won't guarantee that you can check in (or "pre-register" in Disney terminology) until 7am. It's possible they can do it earlier, but the overnight end-of-day processes have to finish in the computer system before they can check new Guests in.

-Rob

When my res finally showed up on the new website system, it says I can check-in online 60 days before my arrival. Don't know how or if this might affect the process. All I want is my ticket/wristband/whatever so I can get into the parks. I guess the difference between 6 and 7 isn't much at all. Though 6 would be better!

 

[luv]

They should be ready for you at six.

It just depends on what time the night people "roll" the computers into the next day. Once they've done that, they can check you in. Disney seems to have a much harder time with this than other hotels. I don't know why that is...if their rules are stricter (cannot imagine why they would be) or their staff is dumber (highly unlikely) or what.

 

[jmb2676]

In October, we checked in at 7:45am and our room was ready! Nice surprise considering our early flight. We were able to shower and freshen up before a full day in the parks.

 

[Jennibelle]

I'm glad you asked this question as I had the same one. Thank you this helps us a lot.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Just to add to the above (6am) comment... I'd DEFINITELY recommend you check-in online ahead of your arrival if you think you're going to be getting there that early. That'll help with ensuring that at least your stuff (folder and tickets etc.) is ready for you when you get there, even if the room isn't.

When my res finally showed up on the new website system, it says I can check-in online 60 days before my arrival. Don't know how or if this might affect the process. All I want is my ticket/wristband/whatever so I can get into the parks. I guess the difference between 6 and 7 isn't much at all. Though 6 would be better!

Either this changed or something is wrong because last I knew you couldn't check in online more than 10 days before your arrival date.

 

[Master Yoda]

Just to add to the above (6am) comment... I'd DEFINITELY recommend you check-in online ahead of your arrival if you think you're going to be getting there that early. That'll help with ensuring that at least your stuff (folder and tickets etc.) is ready for you when you get there, even if the room isn't.


Either this changed or something is wrong because last I knew you couldn't check in online more than 10 days before your arrival date.

It has changed. It went to 60 days last week I think.

 

[BigRedDad]

You can check-in when you get there in the morning. The only thing is the room is probably not going to be ready. You can get your passes, dining credits, and head to the parks.

A tip for Universal is to stay on site. Their fast pass thing for hotel guests is worth every penny. You can literally walk on to almost every ride there.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

It has changed. It went to 60 days last week I think.

WOW! I missed that one! Thanks!

 

[bsiev1977]

You can check-in when you get there in the morning. The only thing is the room is probably not going to be ready. You can get your passes, dining credits, and head to the parks.

A tip for Universal is to stay on site. Their fast pass thing for hotel guests is worth every penny. You can literally walk on to almost every ride there.

I'm not worried about the room that early, since I'll have been in town the night before. All I want is my park ticket and access to my dining plan, and I'll be good to go.

As far as Uni goes, I'm seriously considering staying on site. Otherwise I'll stay somewhere cheaper for the night and buy a ticket and Express pass separately. It will depend on price.

 

[BigRedDad]

The Express Pass separately will not save you money. It only works one time at each ride and is not worth it. It winds up being cheaper to stay at Royal Pacific than a cheaper hotel and buying Express Passes.

Just my $0.02.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We checked in just after 7am back in 2011 @ the Contemporary with no problems. In fact, our room was even ready! We had no plans to head to the room at this point, but it was still a pleasant surprise. We waited until later to actually head to the room, but by 7-25-7:30a we were ready to go and were headed to MK for a pre-park opening breakfast at Crystal Palace. Just make sure your reservation and/or online check in details indicate that you're arriving this early. The woman who checked us in bright and early noted that it's probably why everything was 100% ready to go.

 

[bsiev1977]

We checked in just after 7am back in 2011 @ the Contemporary with no problems. In fact, our room was even ready! We had no plans to head to the room at this point, but it was still a pleasant surprise. We waited until later to actually head to the room, but by 7-25-7:30a we were ready to go and were headed to MK for a pre-park opening breakfast at Crystal Palace. Just make sure your reservation and/or online check in details indicate that you're arriving this early. The woman who checked us in bright and early noted that it's probably why everything was 100% ready to go.

That's what i'm hoping to do. Since Saturday the 7th should be one of the busiest days of my stay, getting in early for a breakfast res would be great.

 

[bsiev1977]

The Express Pass separately will not save you money. It only works one time at each ride and is not worth it. It winds up being cheaper to stay at Royal Pacific than a cheaper hotel and buying Express Passes.

Just my $0.02.

I did a little research on Uni pricing, using January 31 as my hypothetical day for visiting the parks. Here's what I found:

Staying overnight January 30 at Loews Royal Pacific would cost $252. This would get me the unlimited Express privilege, with one hour early entry into the parks. Park to park admission would cost $133. So staying onsite would cost me altogether $385.

A one day park to park ticket with the added Unlimited Express option for January 31 would cost just about $194.
There are plenty of cheaper places in the vicinity of Universal that I could stay.

Anyway, I understand what everyone says about the convenience of staying onsite.
Just was interesting to find that cost can be about the same, depending on the quality if accommodations one is willing to endure for the night.

I all really depends on how my work situation is over this upcoming summer. If I am able to work all summer, I'll most likely stay onsite, just for the ability to hit Harry Potter land an hour early.

 

[Rob562]

I did a little research on Uni pricing, using January 31 as my hypothetical day for visiting the parks. Here's what I found:

Staying overnight January 30 at Loews Royal Pacific would cost $252. This would get me the unlimited Express privilege, with one hour early entry into the parks. Park to park admission would cost $133. So staying onsite would cost me altogether $385.

A one day park to park ticket with the added Unlimited Express option for January 31 would cost just about $194.
There are plenty of cheaper places in the vicinity of Universal that I could stay.

Anyway, I understand what everyone says about the convenience of staying onsite.
Just was interesting to find that cost can be about the same, depending on the quality if accommodations one is willing to endure for the night.

I all really depends on how my work situation is over this upcoming summer. If I am able to work all summer, I'll most likely stay onsite, just for the ability to hit Harry Potter land an hour early.

True, but it also sounds like you're going solo. Even just adding a second person would probably bring the per-person cost to about even, and then 3 or more would be a savings, which is probably what the prior poster was thinking about when they posted the Express Pass vs. hotel suggestion.

-Rob

 

[bsiev1977]

True, but it also sounds like you're going solo. Even just adding a second person would probably bring the per-person cost to about even, and then 3 or more would be a savings, which is probably what the prior poster was thinking about when they posted the Express Pass vs. hotel suggestion.

-Rob

Probably. I am going solo, so most likely i'll end up staying onsite for a night.