Could you get a room on the spot at WDW?

[vettegirl]

Last Feb we were passing through Orlando and the car we bought down in Fort Meyers broke down and we needed a place to stay. I called and in 20 minutes had a king bed preferred room at Pop Century with our military discount.

 

[julluvsdisney]

Awesome! I'm glad to hear I can call the day off and see about reservations! If we make it down in good time I would love to know I can book something last minute ! Thank you for the info!!!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

We've driven into WDW a couple times a day early, walked up to the desk without reservations and booked rooms at both WLV and AKL with no problem whatsoever. You should, however, plan on getting an odd look from the CM when doing so. I don't think they have much experience with walkups and both times we received a chuckling "Uh, ok?" when we asked if they had rooms available without a reservation.

 

[PrincessAli]

A few years ago on our trip to WDW, we had planned a stay in Savannah , but changed our minds and continued on to Port Orleans Riverside it was Thanksgiving and we had our choice of two different room locations! We were also able to make dining reservation for dinner that night without any problem. So wishing you luck---- it has and can be done!!

 

[mdwilliams]

This happened to us just a couple of weeks ago. We were making good time so I called the hotel at 11pm and said we would be there around 1:30am and asked if we could check in early. We were staying at POP. They said yes we could. We got stuck in traffic 20 minutes after that so we had to stop early anyway.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

My folks missed their auto-train a few years ago because my old man needed a slice of pizza. Mom was insanely mad about it, he knew he needed an instant remedy. He called AmEx and within 10 minutes they had him reserved at GF for the overnight, they had so much fun the next day they wanted to stay another night and GF accommodated them.

 

[Minniesgal]

My folks missed their auto-train a few years ago because my old man needed a slice of pizza. Mom was insanely mad about it, he knew he needed an instant remedy. He called AmEx and within 10 minutes they had him reserved at GF for the overnight, they had so much fun the next day they wanted to stay another night and GF accommodated them.

One heck of an expensive slice of pizza

 

[Micca]

Why not book a room 1-2 hours from Disney stop and sleep for the night and get up fresh and ready to go the next day?

I really like this idea. Grab a Days Inn or a Red Roof room a hundred miles or so from WDW. It will be much cheaper than anything in the vicinity of WDW. You can get some sleep, get cleaned up and roll on to property ready to rock the parks.

 

[Jenny-Rebecca]

We used to drive from MA....we lived just outside of Foxboro. We typically stopped in Kingsland, GA. There was a very nice Microtel that typically cost about $55 for the night. Kingsland is right on the border, it is about 5 minutes to get to FL. It would take us about 3-is hours to get to WDW...even with a couple Dunkin Donuts stops thrown in. It was always nice to arrive at our resort showered and rested and ready for the day.

 

[jen5400]

We are headed for our first trip to Disney in September and are driving from Ohio we are planning on driving straight to Jacksonville beach Friday spending Saturday at the beach relaxing then getting up Sunday to head to Disney for five nights. We decided we would like one day of relaxing to get rested up for Disney.

 

[sookie]

Last May we called an hour and 1/2 before we arrived and had no problems. I asked for cr poly or gf and all 3 were available so I picked poly. (He wanted to stay on the ocean but couldn't find availability at a "nice"hotel )

We have also walked up to check in and asked before too. (Left Tampa and drove to Disney and stayed at Dixie Landings instead of airport hotel we had planned on.)

Also were at Marco Island and I was so bored we left and I called and got a great rate for AKL so we moved!

He tries to get me to go somewhere other than disney when we are in florida but usually I can talk him out of it

You realize WDW isn't on "the ocean" right?

 

[julluvsdisney]

This is about my 5th time doing the drive as an adult (many times as a kid but was not the decision maker ). We always drive straight through and grab an off site hotel on a website like Priceline. This time my dh will not be joining us and I will have my kids and sister in law (even though she's 26 she's a young 26 so I still feel responsible for her as well). I am just formulating options. I would much rather do the drive in one day and be done with it but I don't want to book something and decide that I need to stop before arriving. I want to decide once we are driving (and have been for many many hours). I basically wanted to make the decision at about 9pm . Now I know that I can call or book a room online the day of. Looks like online I can book until midnight which makes me very happy. I can't wait!

 

[jen5400]

Yes I do know it is about a 2 or 3 hour drive from Jacksonville to Disney I have been to Orlando several times just not Disney and this is our first time driving.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Be very cautious in your thinking of getting a room at Disney by just calling the night before...

We drove down in May 2014 and made such great time ( from Ohio) ... We were going to catch a nap at the Florida Welcome Center ( over night security on premises) ... I decided to give Disney a shot since we could be there in 3 hours and it was 11pm.... Everything was booked... All values and moderates.... anything deluxe was over 500.00 at night and only the Swan had a room ( which I'd never stay at no matter what) ...

So after a restless few hours at the Welcome Center, we pulled into BLT around 4:30 am, did check in and wandered around but went back to the car and dozed off...

As they say, best laid plans of mice and men....most of the time blowing down the interstate making time and then looking for a decent motel along the highway only to find most people pre booked or stopped earlier got a room... You're stuck with nothing.... If we're planning on stopping, it's planned and we reserve before leaving home... We do like the Kingsland exit... Being 3+ hours the next day to get to WDW...

 

[Minniesgal]

Be very cautious in your thinking of getting a room at Disney by just calling the night before... We drove down in May 2014 and made such great time ( from Ohio) ... We were going to catch a nap at the Florida Welcome Center ( over night security on premises) ... I decided to give Disney a shot since we could be there in 3 hours and it was 11pm.... Everything was booked... All values and moderates.... anything deluxe was over 500.00 at night and only the Swan had a room ( which I'd never stay at no matter what) ... So after a restless few hours at the Welcome Center, we pulled into BLT around 4:30 am, did check in and wandered around but went back to the car and dozed off... As they say, best laid plans of mice and men....most of the time blowing down the interstate making time and then looking for a decent motel along the highway only to find most people pre booked or stopped earlier got a room... You're stuck with nothing.... If we're planning on stopping, it's planned and we reserve before leaving home... We do like the Kingsland exit... Being 3+ hours the next day to get to WDW...

At the same time if getting a room at Disney were an issue there would certainly be a room somewhere nearby.

 

[em36]

We always drive in a day early and stay at a DTD hotel. This year we stayed at the Hilton that is directly across the street from DTD Marketplace. It was very nice. It was spotless and very convenient. We woke up early the next morning, checked into the Yacht Club, and we were at the Magic Kingdom by 9:15. I would recommend the Hilton and the Wyndham at DTD.

 

[julluvsdisney]

Be very cautious in your thinking of getting a room at Disney by just calling the night before... We drove down in May 2014 and made such great time ( from Ohio) ... We were going to catch a nap at the Florida Welcome Center ( over night security on premises) ... I decided to give Disney a shot since we could be there in 3 hours and it was 11pm.... Everything was booked... All values and moderates.... anything deluxe was over 500.00 at night and only the Swan had a room ( which I'd never stay at no matter what) ... So after a restless few hours at the Welcome Center, we pulled into BLT around 4:30 am, did check in and wandered around but went back to the car and dozed off... As they say, best laid plans of mice and men....most of the time blowing down the interstate making time and then looking for a decent motel along the highway only to find most people pre booked or stopped earlier got a room... You're stuck with nothing.... If we're planning on stopping, it's planned and we reserve before leaving home... We do like the Kingsland exit... Being 3+ hours the next day to get to WDW...

I plan on checking the site half way down. If I am seeing nothing then we have dtd even I-drive if it came down to it. No availability at the inn isn't my biggest concern. I was just hoping it's a day of kind of option. I just like having a plan A B C and D at all times! I just don't want to jump the gun and make reservations if I'm not sure how far we will make it. I usually book online once we get to Jacksonville so we are close enough to know we will make it but far enough that we can make other plans if the area we are looking to book is all booked up.

 

[cleophus12]

We usually stay at an International Drive area property when we are just looking for a bed to sleep in. There are so many to choose from. We have done this many times and can usually find a place to stay with minimal effort for much less than a WDW hotel. And lots of them include breakfast. We get some sleep, get up early and eat, and head to our WDW hotel to check in. We are in the park of our choice by rope drop. Easy.