Can you get room upgrades if you do online check in?

[Boopuff]

I tend to think (as previously mentioned) that short stays tend to get an upgrade. I'd love to know if the people who got major upgrades, were indeed given those for a week long stay.

 

[JodyK]

I have never worked at Disney so someone may come in here and tell me I'm totally wrong but I don't think it makes as big of a difference at Disney as it does in other hotels because I think checked-in or not you are being at least lightly assigned a room because of their capacity.

That being said I've checked in online and still gotten an upgrade. I was arriving late and booked at AK Lodge in a standard room and was upgraded to a 1 Bedroom Savannah View Villa. This was at Jambo house, I was only for 2 nights though.

 

[focusondisney]

Ah okay! At other hotels I’ve been at arriving later was an advantage actually because they knew no one would be filling the room haha interesting to know Disney is different

At Disney hotels, the desk clerk doesn’t normally have authority to just give an upgrade. If they want to offer an upgrade, or you ask if one is available, they have to check with the room assigners. Which is why most upgrades seem to be assigned before you even arrive.

 

[KrazeeK120]

That’s an awesome upgrade! Good for you!

But you were already booked for CL. I meant more along the lines that if you had a regular room booked, it’s going to be incredibly rare to get moved from a standard room to the penthouse.

As I mentioned, this is the upgrade I got. I was not already booked for CL. I had a standard room/standard view booked and got bumped to a cottage suite at BWI.

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

As I mentioned, this is the upgrade I got. I was not already booked for CL. I had a standard room/standard view booked and got bumped to a cottage suite at BWI.

Sorry - I totally misunderstood! What a nice treat for sure!

 

[RuntheMouse]

Just wondering how this works at WDW? Normally I check in at other hotels in person on the off chance that they want to give us an upgrade (obviously we don’t expect this at all, but we have been lucky in the past!). Should I do the same at WDW or do we have to do the online check in before we arrive? We won’t be arriving until 8pm so don’t want to have any issues! Thanks

I never expect an upgrade at Disney but we have received them. I always do online check-in. 3 of the time I remember, we received the upgrade without going to the front desk. The last time we stopped at the desk because we were so early (moving from BRV to WL) and went from a std view to fireworks view king. All because we were just talking with the CM, we never asked.

 

[Jacq7414]

We got upgraded to CL at the Poly once. We didn’t do online check in.

ETA: I believe we were in a standard or garden view room and got upgraded to garden view CL. We definitely weren’t booked at CL

 

[_19disnA]

I don't think using (or not using) online check-in has any correlation to getting a room upgrade.

 

[SkyGuy]

Agreed with above poster. I did online check-in quite far in advance for a standard club level room at BWI for a Sun-Fri stay, so not quite a week, and when we arrived, we were placed in a 2-bedroom suite. It was just my DS and me, so really special but we kind of got lost in the room. i’ve upgraded to preferred rooms at Pop and French Quarter after doing online check-in. I can’t remember getting anything extra when checking in in person.

I had also already checked in online, AND it was my check in day when I came down with a really bad case of stomach flu a few weeks ago. I called around 7am to see what could be done. My reservation had already been sent to the hotel, so they had to “expedite my request” and transfer me to guest services from reservations. They had to call the hotel to pull my res, and much to my surprise, he cancelled it for me with no penalty. I almost cried. I had originally said I would modify it to May since we were planning a trip after school and I was told that wasn’t necessary.

 

[blistex]

The vast majority of my clients complete online check-in, and they still do sometimes get upgrades. In fact, I just recently had a client get a text that her room was ready on her way to WDW from the airport: it was then that she discovered that she was no longer in a Garden Wing Room at the Contemporary...she was in a Theme Park View SUITE in the Main Tower! I've also had plenty of people who'd checked in online get less crazy upgrades over the years: Preferred Rooms instead of Standard, etc.

At our stay this past week, we were checking in early (12 PM) for a regular Garden view CL room and I had told the CM I spoke with I knew our room would probably not be ready no worries. When I got there I did online check-in, room was not ready, we headed to the park. I got a text our room was ready 30 minutes later and when I clicked on it it said "PresSte" on it, and I thought it could not possibly be but y'all, it was. My husband was so convinced it was an accident and stopped to ask if they were sure at the front desk I don't even know why a "room" that large exists but it sure was incredible and I worry it's spoiled us for all future trips!

Upgrades are generally super unusual though (first and only I've ever gotten!) so mostly just make sure you are happy with whatever room category you have booked. I definitely hear more upgrade stories for early check-ins and this was the first time we actually told Disney we would be arriving a few hours early so anecdotally it seems like time of check-in may factor more into your luck than method of check-in.

 

[meremac]

At our stay this past week, we were checking in early (12 PM) for a regular Garden view CL room and I had told the CM I spoke with I knew our room would probably not be ready no worries. When I got there I did online check-in, room was not ready, we headed to the park. I got a text our room was ready 30 minutes later and when I clicked on it it said "PresSte" on it, and I thought it could not possibly be but y'all, it was. My husband was so convinced it was an accident and stopped to ask if they were sure at the front desk I don't even know why a "room" that large exists but it sure was incredible and I worry it's spoiled us for all future trips!

Upgrades are generally super unusual though (first and only I've ever gotten!) so mostly just make sure you are happy with whatever room category you have booked. I definitely hear more upgrade stories for early check-ins and this was the first time we actually told Disney we would be arriving a few hours early so anecdotally it seems like time of check-in may factor more into your luck than method of check-in.

That is an AMAZING upgrade!! How fun!! Honestly, I have clients who've been upgraded with early arrivals, late arrivals, middle of the day arrivals. The only time we were personally upgraded was when we arrived at 4pm...so go figure. I honestly don't think there's a rhyme or reason to it...it's just pixie dust!! I totally agree that the most important thing is to be happy with the room you booked, and it's honestly best to not even think about the possibility of an upgrade. Then if it does happen, it's even sweeter!!

 

[MiraclesTakeTime]

It does happen on occasion. I think this is more likely when bookings are low.

 

[wildekatza]

Ah okay! At other hotels I’ve been at arriving later was an advantage actually because they knew no one would be filling the room haha interesting to know Disney is different

The reason it is of little advantage at Disney is due to the fact that #1, they are almost always booked (the high end rooms) or #2, people have gotten there at the start of the day to check in and check luggage with bell hop prior to actually being let in the rooms. That is what always worked for us in the past, but we haven't gotten an upgrade in years due to the fact that the parks are so packed anymore and people are spending more money on their rooms. With the mobile check in, we have not even been able to clear up 2 queens for a King room so I doubt upgrades would even happen. Good luck though! You may report back some Magic!

 

[tetera]

We have never asked for an upgrade but we have gotten them twice. Both times it happened we did online check-in and and had late arrivals (after 7PM).

 

[Kerr84]

I've never received an upgrade, but I've had 2 sets of friends that booked Little Mermaid rooms at AoA get moved to a family suite. They both did online check-in and were both surprised they got the upgrade when they checked room numbers. I think AoA does this more than most places because they oversell the mermaid rooms and then move some parties of 3 or 4 to the suites.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Has anyone ever tried giving a tip to get a better room. Yeah it works in Vegas, but I doubt it works at Disney lol

 

[Mle8308]

Has anyone ever tried giving a tip to get a better room. Yeah it works in Vegas, but I doubt it works at Disney lol

If a CM in a non tipped role accepts a tip, they can be terminated. If they took a tip for giving an upgrade, they would definitely be in trouble. And as others have mentioned, they can't just upgrade at their own discretion, at least for most room types. They need to ask for it to be done. There used to be a code that had to be entered in order to do an upgrade and the regular FD cast did not have it. That was a few years ago and it may have changed, but I do believe there is a similar process still in place.

 

[Anthony1971]

I would go with the original post if you are willing on a gamble. If you arrive late and are checking in at the front desk they just do not know when you will arrive.... So if a person has an issue with a room as a legitimate one and that catgory is fully booked they could give your room to someone else hoping whatever will be fixed.... However there is a flip side if a person does not like their view or location and you happened to have had that better location or view room assigned and did not do online check in you may get a bad room in the cat. you booked. I personally would do online check in with an earlier time. Disney is a just a different animal then regular hotels and I will put a side of it is partially Disney created where everyone wants storm troopers walking out if the elevator and a view of something.

 

[Dug720]

Has anyone ever tried giving a tip to get a better room. Yeah it works in Vegas, but I doubt it works at Disney lol

You mean a bribe? Just book the lowest category you'll be happy in and IF you are pixie dusted, it's a bonus. As stated above, you're asking the CM to risk their job accepting it.

And really...it's not pixie dust if you're paying for it.

 

[Blondie58]

Just wondering how this works at WDW? Normally I check in at other hotels in person on the off chance that they want to give us an upgrade (obviously we don’t expect this at all, but we have been lucky in the past!). Should I do the same at WDW or do we have to do the online check in before we arrive? We won’t be arriving until 8pm so don’t want to have any issues! Thanks

Just stayed at Rivera for a week. Inquired about an upgrade based on the fact we had friends that had received pixi-dust at another property. They looked at us like we were crazy. We were told, "We are always sold out and upgrades are not available here". This is a very nice property. We had a one-bedroom with kitchen etc. An enjoyable stay except the gondolas were on maintenance the entire time we were there and we missed that convenience and the reason we opted to stay here. Note: We were on a Disney Cruise and DH had a torn ACL using a knee cart with walking boot etc. the folks on the ship were amazing and upgraded us to a larger room which was GREAT. We so appreciated!!!