"streamlined check-in" - skip the lobby question

[ARAITHEL]

I love this idea. I've stayed at so many hotels in my life that checking in is at most mildly amusing. If I could go straight to my room, that would be great! The only thing I can think if that is sketchy is the room location, but if you are a savvy internet searcher, that can be found online too. Good job, Disney!

 

[disneyag]

We arrive at AKL on June 24 and also got this email. Excited to see if it works well. As seasoned WDW vets, we don't need to hear the spiel from the CM every time we arrive.

 

[gamomof2]

We have been offered this for our Bay Lake reservation.

Also if you can't checkin online through the link try www.mydisneyreservation.com

 

[Disfan1968]

We arrive at AKL on June 24 and also got this email. Excited to see if it works well. As seasoned WDW vets, we don't need to hear the spiel from the CM every time we arrive.

LOL... I sorta have to laugh at that "as seasoned WDW vets" thing. You probably don't mean to sound elitist but jeez. Anyway, I am in favor of streamlined check in. But I understand some people's point of view. They could simply have resort greeters though, out front and welcoming people to WDW. I do think a human being welcoming quests to the world is a positive thing.

 

[PrincessesX3]

call me crazy but I love to check in. I love the check in process. I don't even do online check in. It's silly but I look forward to beginning my vacation with the CM welcoming me to the resort.

 

[luvsTink]

We got the email for our stay at pop. Since we are arriving late tomorrow, I am hopeful it will work as planned so we can go straight to our room. I am also excited to bE told our room number even before we leave home

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

We got the email for our stay at pop. Since we are arriving late tomorrow, I am hopeful it will work as planned so we can go straight to our room. I am also excited to bE told our room number even before we leave home

On behalf of all of us on this thread, we'd love it if you'd report back w/ your experiences.
Have a great trip!

 

[lizzyb]

This is neat! Unfortunately won't work for us as we don't get our magic bands until check in.

 

[Fantazmickey]

It would be great to be able to skip check in but I am curious about how the parking pass will work.

 

[nikkij]

I too love the idea but wonder about the parking pass too! If it's offered to CBR I will be using it! After all thru have the express checkout why not express check in Whoever uses the express check in, please be sure to post how it went.

 

[shyjade]

call me crazy but I love to check in. I love the check in process. I don't even do online check in. It's silly but I look forward to beginning my vacation with the CM welcoming me to the resort.

We have always been welcomed to the resort by CM's outside the lobby when we step off the ME bus.

I wonder if this process will cut down on the number of room reassignments that happen when guests arrive, get their room assignment and ask for a different location?

 

[southernfriedmom]

I too love the idea but wonder about the parking pass too! If it's offered to CBR I will be using it! After all thru have the express checkout why not express check in Whoever uses the express check in, please be sure to post how it went.

During our trip a few weeks ago, the parking attendant scanned our Annual Passes (could have just as easily been our magic bands). He clearly could see everything on my MDE because he made the comment "Wow you've got a busy day planned at DHS" so while I'm not positive this is the way you'll do parking, it certainly is an option for the parking attendant to just scan your magic band and see you're a resort guest. Can't wait to hear about everyone's experience.

 

[Three cats]

We got the email for our stay at pop. Since we are arriving late tomorrow, I am hopeful it will work as planned so we can go straight to our room. I am also excited to bE told our room number even before we leave home

They tell you your room number that far ahead of time?

 

[nkereina]

Another catch is if you want to do something different with charging than what you indicated in the online check-in (different card, different allocation of charging privileges, etc.).

If you need to change something you set up during online check-in, you'd still need to visit the desk. This is why it's pertinent you provide accurate info during online check-in if you want to take advantage of by-passing the desk.

People who are not familiar with resorts and need directions/maps will still need to visit the desk, and those who are picky about their room locations will still need to visit the desk. I foresee a lot of people showing up, going straight to the room, being unhappy with the location and marching back to the desk anyway. Hopefully they don't touch anything in the first room....

They tell you your room number that far ahead of time?

They will tell you your room number once it's ready on your check-in day. That can be as early as 6am or as late as check-in time (3pm/4pm), but will likely come around the time you indicate as your arrival time during online check-in.

 

[disneyag]

DisFan--I didn't mean to sound elitist and sorry if it came across that way. I just meant that we don't need to be told where Mara and Boma are, since we have stayed there before. We don't need to be told we can charge things to the room. We don't need to hear about EMH. We know packages can be delivered to the resort. We now how park hopping works. We are just excited to get to the park!!

If, however, I was staying at a new resort, or was new to Disney, I would welcome the CM interaction.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I hope it works out for everyone! In the past, I know there were a lot of issues with people arriving early, rooms not being ready and being promised a text/call when the room was ready, and the text/call never happening, so I'll be interested to see how this actually goes.

How do they say that they'll notify you of your room number?

I'd also guess that this means they'll be cutting back on front desk staff eventually, which will mean longer waits for those people who do need to stop at the front desk, which is a bummer.

 

[olwyngdh]

Go ahead, call me a Luddite, I deserve it, but the thought of this makes me nervous about what all could go wrong...but then, I call to make my ADRs and payments rather than trust the computer too....the idea of having to do FP+ on line rather than talking to a person worries me a bit too. I guess I have just been on the wrong end of too many computer crashes and dealt with too much scrambled/unreadable data not to worry when I have to put my fate in the figurative arms of computer systems.

Thankfully, I am not going back until Dec 2015 and I can hope that all the bugs are out of the system by then.

 

[Chrystmasangel]

For those interested here is the "test info" for this...

Big Changes Being Tested For On Property Disney Guests

Stating this Monday June 16th a select number of Disney World resorts will be testing a direct check in process where guests can go directly to their rooms without stopping by the check-in desk.

This will include guests at the Contemporary Resort, Bay Lake Tower, Port Orleans Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter, Pop Century, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas – Jambo House and Kidani Village. This test that is set to last about two weeks beginning on June 16, 2014, and going through June 28, 2014.

Pre-selected guests will be able to bypass the front desk at the participating Disney Resorts by:

Creating a My Disney Experience account
Connecting your Disney Resorts’ reservation to it
Being paid in full
Completing their online check-in
Setting up a PIN number on their MDE account
Receiving your MagicBands

Participating Disney Guests will receive a notification email a few days before arrival with instructions.

About an hour or so before their check-in time, guests will receive a text with their room number. They can then proceed directly to their room.

I for one am hoping this goes well because I would love to just let Disney handle my luggage and hop the bus to DTD as soon as I get into WDW and then head right to MK after that for the evening without having to worry about stopping to check in. As expressed by others... interested to see how the dining plan credits will be worked. I imagine they will just load them to your magic band first thing in the morning, along with your tickets, the day of check in. Will love not having to explain to the CM at the check in counter that I am NOT celebrating anything special! LOL They always try to convince me that we are celebrating something...as they say "everyone is celebrating something, aren't they". Nope, not us. Just happy to be back to the World!

 

[Micca]

Sounds good to me! When we arrive on property we just want to get our stuff in the room and get it set up enough that when we return for the night we can crash. There are more than enough opportunities to interact with CMs all across the property.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Hopefully we'll start hearing some first hand experiences soon...