Can I go to the front desk before check in to see if my requests were honored?

[austinalexander]

Hello everyone,

I’m staying for the first time ever at the Polynesian resort and I couldn’t be more excited. I am worried about the construction and I do want to request a king bed in the Rarotonga building. I opted for a resort view because a king bed and being away from the construction is an equal priority, the water view rooms didn’t offer many king bed rooms and it’s way too much to upgrade (like $800).

The issue is, I booked through Costco travel since it was $1200 cheaper and I am unable to make a room request by calling Disney. I had the Costco travel agent notate it, I requested near bus stop and a king bed on the MDE Check in page, and I signed up for a touring plans subscription just to put a room request in that way. As you can see I REALLY want a king bed in Rarotonga lol.

My question is, am I able to show up at 7 AM on check in day and talk to front desk to see if they were able to honor my request and where my room would be? I’d like to be able to get placed in another room if it is a construction room and we are checking in August 26th so it’s quickly approaching. Thank you

 

[sponica]

It never hurts to ask, but I feel like everyone wants Rarotonga and Niue.

I was able to get my room moved last time we stayed there (the second floor just wasn't going to work for my daredevil toddler) but we had to stay one night in the assigned room and then move the next day.

 

[Genie+]

It’s not a bad idea to show up early in the day and let them know your Preferences. They will not disclose the room# until your room is actually ready though.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Yes, not only can you stop by the front desk, I'd recommend it in your case. Keep in mind, the cast member at the front desk should be able to see which room you've been assigned, but cannot share the room number until the room is ready for you. But they could see if the room matches your particular requests, and see if anything else 'better' might be available to change to. Sometimes they can adjust rooms to help. Sometimes, they can't - depending on capacity, staff, rooms closed for refurb, etc. But definitely stop by and talk with a cast member at the front desk as early as you can.

 

[honeymo78]

You can absolutely swing by the front desk and see if your requests have been honored. They likely won't be able to give you specifics about location if the room isn't ready yet, but they should be able to confirm at least general location. If this description doesn't match what you were looking for, they can try to find a better match (although something else might not be available).

We stop by the front desk at Pop every trip to double check that our request for first floor has been met. Sometimes the assigned room is already first floor, sometimes they have to look for another room, and rarely they can't find something on the first floor.

 

[austinalexander]

Yes, not only can you stop by the front desk, I'd recommend it in your case. Keep in mind, the cast member at the front desk should be able to see which room you've been assigned, but cannot share the room number until the room is ready for you. But they could see if the room matches your particular requests, and see if anything else 'better' might be available to change to. Sometimes they can adjust rooms to help. Sometimes, they can't - depending on capacity, staff, rooms closed for refurb, etc. But definitely stop by and talk with a cast member at the front desk as early as you can.

It’s not a bad idea to show up early in the day and let them know your Preferences. They will not disclose the room# until your room is actually ready though.

It never hurts to ask, but I feel like everyone wants Rarotonga and Niue.

I was able to get my room moved last time we stayed there (the second floor just wasn't going to work for my daredevil toddler) but we had to stay one night in the assigned room and then move the next day.

Thank you all!

 

[Disneylover99]

Yes. You can go to the front desk on arrival day and ask. They will not be able to tell you your room, but they can generally tell you the vicinity you’re in, sometimes the building. They’ll be able to see if your requests were met or not. At that point, you can see if they can find a more suitable room if you find your in the construction zone. Good luck!

 

[RoseGold]

Front desk won't help you. They can't see anything until your room is assigned. Maybe they did in the past, but they aren't going to tell you the building or whatever, they will tell you to wait.

This is an extremely unlikely request to get filled, especially right now, when everyone is requesting it. It's possible, but this is a large gamble.

If the construction is an issue to you, I'd try to change to another hotel. It would be a dealbreaker for me. I would call Costco and try to move hotels, honestly. I had a WDW vacation completely ruined by GF construction.

Exception here I think is accessibility. We have requested accessible rooms when we weren't exactly booked in one. That request is treated differently, as is things like ground floor OKW, because those stairs are tough. We have been able to have discussions about accessibility. Of course, it helps that no one actually wants an accessible room who didn't book one.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Front desk won't help you. They can't see anything until your room is assigned. Maybe they did in the past, but they aren't going to tell you the building or whatever, they will tell you to wait.

All due respect, but that's not our experience, including trips in Feb and March of this year. The front desk is always willing to look and see if they can help - and they can see the room assignments on their screens. They just aren't allowed to share them. We were moved to a room we preferred better both trips, without any issue and without the cast member giving away 'secret' information. Last December, we went to the front desk to see about room location, and they couldn't move us when we asked - which was fine. It's worth a check.

 

[RoseGold]

All due respect, but that's not our experience, including trips in Feb and March of this year. The front desk is always willing to look and see if they can help - and they can see the room assignments on their screens.

Yes, once they are assigned. They aren't assigned at 7AM, which is OP's question.

And everyone in Poly is going to be wanting a non-construction building. I wouldn't bet on anything even being available to move. Everyone is trying this at Poly.

 

[austinalexander]

Yes, once they are assigned. They aren't assigned at 7AM, which is OP's question.

And everyone in Poly is going to be wanting a non-construction building. I wouldn't bet on anything even being available to move.

From what I’ve heard, rooms are assigned days in advance and not day of. Obviously I can’t confirm if this is true or not, but that’s what I’ve heard

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Yes, once they are assigned. They aren't assigned at 7AM, which is OP's question.

And everyone in Poly is going to be wanting a non-construction building. I wouldn't bet on anything even being available to move.

Sorry - again, not our experience on the 7AM side. But we don't stay at Poly, so can't answer to that request. We worked with the CM to improve our room location once at BC and once at AKL.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I guess the bottom line for the OP is like many have been saying - go to the front desk, ask for assistance regarding the room assignment, and see what they can do for you. If by some chance they can't see the room yet, they probably can tell you when they can. There's nothing lost by going to the front desk for an inquiry. I do know in our experience, we got a room change at the AKL front desk prior to 7AM. I don't know if that's the norm or an exception.

 

[Disneylover99]

Front desk won't help you. They can't see anything until your room is assigned. Maybe they did in the past, but they aren't going to tell you the building or whatever, they will tell you to wait.

This is an extremely unlikely request to get filled, especially right now, when everyone is requesting it. It's possible, but this is a large gamble.

If the construction is an issue to you, I'd try to change to another hotel. It would be a dealbreaker for me. I would call Costco and try to move hotels, honestly. I had a WDW vacation completely ruined by GF construction.

Exception here I think is accessibility. We have requested accessible rooms when we weren't exactly booked in one. That request is treated differently, as is things like ground floor OKW, because those stairs are tough. We have been able to have discussions about accessibility. Of course, it helps that no one actually wants an accessible room who didn't book one.

Rooms are assigned 3-5 days in advance.

 

[Robber Baron]

Front desk won't help you. They can't see anything until your room is assigned.

In our experience multiple separate times, they DO know what room is assigned, though they don't share the room number until the room is ready.

When that assigned room has not met our needs, they have switched rooms for us to something that does.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I know you really want a king, but I’d be prepared to make a choice between location and king. There just aren’t that many kings around Poly. Good thing is many guests won’t be put in kings due to party size, but it’s all the luck of the dice with how many other small parties may have also asked for one.

My experience has been CMs can see the room number. I’ve had people say “it looks like we’ve fulfilled that third floor request” or similar statements several times. Were they making it up? Possible. But I don’t think so.

Granted, it can totally depend on the CM. Some are friendly and a little more chatty; some, especially younger or newer ones, sometimes are more timid in what they say or do.

I’m not one to really be vocal when checking in (at some point the cake is baked and I’m fine rolling with whatever fate has in store) but I do think it’s fair to clearly tell them ‘I know it’s super early, I would really like XYZ and am totally fine if that means a long wait until later this afternoon, I’m in no rush to get in the room’ or something similar.

Enjoy your Poly trip!

 

[Genie+]

I’m not one to really be vocal when checking in (at some point the cake is baked and I’m fine rolling with whatever fate has in store) but I do think it’s fair to clearly tell them ‘I know it’s super early, I would really like XYZ and am totally fine if that means a long wait until later this afternoon, I’m in no rush to get in the room’ or something similar.

This is what we do too if a certain request is very important to us, like first floor or something.

 

[Mle8308]

As another poster said, you may have to choose between a king and the location. Hopefully not, but don’t be crushed if they can’t grant it on your arrival day. The majority of rooms at Disney are not king rooms due to Disney being a family destination. It’s actually why king rooms are now a separate booking category. They will do their best to honor your request, but if it’s not available, it’s not available. There’s always the option of a room change, too. Fingers crossed for you!

 

[DLgal]

They absolutely can see your assigned room at 7am.

Ask and see what you can get.

I've checked in prior to 7am and have been told the floor and general area where our room is several hours before it was ready.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Above all, do not use the online automatic check in if you have very specific requests. I used it when we went to POFQ. When we passed the parking guard at the booth, our room was magically ready. It was the opposite of everything I requested. I went to the front desk to see if we could switch and lo and behold, out EXACT room request was available, but still being worked on by housekeeping. The CM at the desk knew which room we were SUPPOSED to get, but online check in just gives you the next available room even if it is the exact opposite of what you want. I won’t use online check in again. Always go to the front desk if your request matters.