Pros and Cons of Online Check-in

[Brave teacher]

We have done online check-in since it began. We stop at the front desk every so often, but not for check in purposes. We prefer to go straight to a room instead of standing in a line...personal preference. Upgrades do not matter to us. We are DVC members. If we ask, we should expect to be charged the additional points for the upgrade. DVC upgrades occur due to room maintenance issues.

 

[Redhead5]

I've used online check in the last few time we've visited. Last year, we booked a villa at Saratoga Springs. We asked for a specific building. When the text arrived with the room number it wasn't the building we requested so I called (while in route) to ask if there was any way we could change buildings. I was transferred three times (without asking to be transferred) and finally ended up in "the back room" as they referred to it where Matt, the cast member I spoke with, explained that the building we had requested was a preferred building and our reservation wasn't for preferred but he was going to make it happen. We were charged just a little more but it made me very happy and I really appreciated it.

 

[toodycat]

I should add that I often go to the front desk because I lack confidence that I would find my rooom without their little map.

 

[nkereina]

former CM's and current ones have told us..this way..meaning regular check in, is the easiest way to get upgraded.

As mentioned, regular check-in folks and online check-in folks have the same probability of being upgraded without asking. BUT when you ASK for an upgrade, its logistically/systematically easier for a CM to move you (if they can) if you've done regular check-in. This is because you are not in the group of people who have received a text that their room is ready with the room number. Its easier for them to make room block changes to try to accommodate you, and its easier for you because you don't have to stand there as long while they do it. So, its not surprising a CM told you this because it makes life easier for them. But regardless - if someone has checked in online and does not like their assigned room, they can still go to the desk and ask for an upgrade or a different room. And it still can be done, its just not as straightforward systematically for the CM doing the work. This is why its a roll of the dice as to whether you'll get an upgrade when inquiring - will you get a lazy CM who doesn't want to hassle with it or will you get one who likes to play Tetris and enjoys the challenge of moving room blocks.

 

[Dug720]

It's almost as if some think there's a barricade in place and if you've done online check-in, you aren't allowed through to the front desk and to talk to the CM or something.
I don't get it, why so many think it's one or the other, only.

Exactly!

I have yet to have a CM at the entrance checking names and saying "Nope. Sorry. You did online check-in. I can't let you into the front desk area."

When there is a CM with an iPad (or just there) what they are checking for is if you have any questions that they can help with then. NOT to bar you from going to the counter if you did online check-in. I have heard one actually say to a person in front of me who had done online check-in but needed to change out the card "Not a problem! Just wait here and the next available cast member will be right with you!" So they will NOT prevent you from going to the counter if you've done check-in online.

 

[married2mm]

We don’t have the option to omit the front desk as we have to collect our magic bands.
Even when I’ve managed to make room requests online -they’ve not been granted & the front desk has immediately made some of our wishes come true.

 

[MrKnight]

That is 100% incorrect. You can absolutely do both Online Check In AND interact with the CM and potentially get a sweet room and/or upgrade.

It's almost as if some think there's a barricade in place and if you've done online check-in, you aren't allowed through to the front desk and to talk to the CM or something.
I don't get it, why so many think it's one or the other, only.

As a former WDW Resort Front Desk CM who worked at multiple Disney Deluxe Resorts and DVC Villa Resorts throughout my years at Disney, I can tell you that it is actually NOT the same as traditional check-in at the Front Desk, the purpose of Online Check-In is to bypass the Front Desk altogether especially if you have a MB, when you opt to utilize this service the Front Desk will assume that you have opted to bypass the Front Desk check-in process and will not stop by the Front Desk, all of the functions that would normally be done during a traditional Front Desk check-in with a CM (confirm payment, room assignment, etc.) you do yourself during the Online Check-In process, so the human face-to-face check-in element is essentially removed and the check-in communication between you and the Front Desk becomes an electronic process. OF COURSE you can stop still stop by the Front Desk, but procedurally the check-in process has already be completed and it would not be any different from a guest that is already checked in walking up to the Front Desk to ask a question, hence if you are request to change your room assignment it is now a room change rather than an assignment change prior to check-in, this is rather inefficient for both the guest and the resort CMs who are under the assumption that you are already checked-in and well into your vacation. It's like pre-ordering food at a restaurant and then sending it back when it arrives because you simply changed your mind on what you had appetite for, now the food goes to waste and the kitchen has to prepare an entirely new dish for you, this is the same as you using online check-in, arriving at the resort and walking up to the Front Desk to change your room, the resort assumes that you already went to the room which means now Housekeeping has to check the room to see if anything was used or soiled, etc..

 

[AngiTN]

As mentioned, regular check-in folks and online check-in folks have the same probability of being upgraded without asking. BUT when you ASK for an upgrade, its logistically/systematically easier for a CM to move you (if they can) if you've done regular check-in. This is because you are not in the group of people who have received a text that their room is ready with the room number. Its easier for them to make room block changes to try to accommodate you, and its easier for you because you don't have to stand there as long while they do it. So, its not surprising a CM told you this because it makes life easier for them. But regardless - if someone has checked in online and does not like their assigned room, they can still go to the desk and ask for an upgrade or a different room. And it still can be done, its just not as straightforward systematically for the CM doing the work. This is why its a roll of the dice as to whether you'll get an upgrade when inquiring - will you get a lazy CM who doesn't want to hassle with it or will you get one who likes to play Tetris and enjoys the challenge of moving room blocks.

But I don't get that point since the guest who didn't do online check-in still has a room assigned prior to their arrival. They just won't get a text.
And as mentioned by many, even doing online check-in doesn't assure that you will even get a text anyway.
So this is a thin excuse if this is what the CM at the front desk are saying, they have to do the same changes and same hoops jumped through, since the guest standing in front of them will have a room assigned in their computer system. Besides that, they don't assign the rooms anyway, this is done by someone else, in a different area. You as a guest just don't interface with them, the CM does. Sometimes they do it on the phone, something they step to the back to do it.

 

[AngiTN]

As a former WDW Resort Front Desk CM who worked at multiple Disney Deluxe Resorts and DVC Villa Resorts throughout my years at Disney, I can tell you that it is actually NOT the same as traditional check-in at the Front Desk, the purpose of Online Check-In is to bypass the Front Desk altogether especially if you have a MB, when you opt to utilize this service the Front Desk will assume that you have opted to bypass the Front Desk check-in process and will not stop by the Front Desk, all of the functions that would normally be done during a traditional Front Desk check-in with a CM (confirm payment, room assignment, etc.) you do yourself during the Online Check-In process, so the human face-to-face check-in element is essentially removed and the check-in communication between you and the Front Desk becomes an electronic process. OF COURSE you can stop still stop by the Front Desk, but procedurally the check-in process has already be completed and it would not be any different from a guest that is already checked in walking up to the Front Desk to ask a question, hence if you are request to change your room assignment it is now a room change rather than an assignment change prior to check-in, this is rather inefficient for both the guest and the resort CMs who are under the assumption that you are already checked-in and well into your vacation.

What face to face is removed if I walk up and say "I want to check in" without bothering to tell you the CM that I did online check-in already. Maybe I didn't get my room number via text. You do know this is not foolproof and does not go out to all guests who do online check-in, right? A CM shouldn't assume a guest is anywhere carrying on with their vacation if they haven't even gotten a dang room number yet. Twice you bring up CM assuming things. That is never what a CM should do I'm sure you were trained better than that too
And I'm 100% positive I've never confirmed any room assignments during online check-in
Which by the way, is not what other CM have said or what personal experience has shown me. Guess the other CM get training is different than yours? Or they are just more willing? Or you say former, guess things do change so your former may not even be what happens now

 

[Disneypro1]

As a former WDW Resort Front Desk CM who worked at multiple Disney Deluxe Resorts and DVC Villa Resorts throughout my years at Disney, I can tell you that it is actually NOT the same as traditional check-in at the Front Desk, the purpose of Online Check-In is to bypass the Front Desk altogether especially if you have a MB, when you opt to utilize this service the Front Desk will assume that you have opted to bypass the Front Desk check-in process and will not stop by the Front Desk, all of the functions that would normally be done during a traditional Front Desk check-in with a CM (confirm payment, room assignment, etc.) you do yourself during the Online Check-In process, so the human face-to-face check-in element is essentially removed and the check-in communication between you and the Front Desk becomes an electronic process. OF COURSE you can stop still stop by the Front Desk, but procedurally the check-in process has already be completed and it would not be any different from a guest that is already checked in walking up to the Front Desk to ask a question, hence if you are request to change your room assignment it is now a room change rather than an assignment change prior to check-in, this is rather inefficient for both the guest and the resort CMs who are under the assumption that you are already checked-in and well into your vacation. It's like pre-ordering food at a restaurant and then sending it back when it arrives because you simply changed your mind on what you had appetite for, now the food goes to waste and the kitchen has to prepare an entirely new dish for you, this is the same as you using online check-in, arriving at the resort and walking up to the Front Desk to change your room, the resort assumes that you already went to the room which means now Housekeeping has to check the room to see if anything was used or soiled, etc..

Exactly. If folks want to do online check in great. That’s their thing. But the above statement is clearly the most expertise statement.
This is why I choose to check in at the desk. Others may not. But that’s like everything else. It’s all how we want to do Disney vacations. There are many ways and all can be correct. It’s up to the person. And this is how I like to do it. It’s the right way for me and others. But if what u want is an upgrade. Some ways will work better than others. In the end. It’s just checking in a resort. However you want to do it. It’s up to you the individual.

 

[porschegrl]

the purpose of Online Check-In is to bypass the Front Desk altogether especially if you have a MB

I don't think this is true. Online check-in existed before the ability to bypass the front desk. Originally it gave the resort some idea when you expected to arrive, allowed you to set up your credit card for charging to the room, etc., to help streamline the check-in process at the desk. Nothing more. It is only relatively recently that there has been any capability to bypass the front desk.

As others have pointed out, not everyone who does online check-in gets a text allowing them to bypass the desk. I'm about 50-50 in getting the room ready texts. And one of the times I didn't get that text, I got a text telling me I needed to stop by the front desk.

Bottom line is that there are no cons to online check-in. It can streamline the process for those who want it (and who get the room ready text), and it doesn't prevent a visit to the front desk, for those who want that.

 

[Miffy]

The only time I ever did online check-in I didn't get a text before we got to the resort, so we went to the front desk--which I would've done anyway. The front desk had completely wrong information about my room requests (dunno why) and I was able to straighten it out. All good. The room was ready, but we were starving, so left our bags with bell services and went to lunch. At lunch, I get a text that our room is ready--at a completely different resort. So, after lunch, we went back to the front desk to make sure that we weren't getting charged for our room at the resort where we were actually staying and the room that the text had informed us about. No one could figure out how that'd happened, but of course I showed them the text I'd received since it was so odd.

I have no idea if doing online check-in had any effect on any of this, but that was the first and last time I did it. I like going to the front desk when I check in. If we were staying at a resort where the check-in line might be long, that'd be a different story, but I've rarely had to wait more than a few minutes, sometimes not even that.

 

[Disneypro1]

The only time I ever did online check-in I didn't get a text before we got to the resort, so we went to the front desk--which I would've done anyway. The front desk had completely wrong information about my room requests (dunno why) and I was able to straighten it out. All good. The room was ready, but we were starving, so left our bags with bell services and went to lunch. At lunch, I get a text that our room is ready--at a completely different resort. So, after lunch, we went back to the front desk to make sure that we weren't getting charged for our room at the resort where we were actually staying and the room that the text had informed us about. No one could figure out how that'd happened, but of course I showed them the text I'd received since it was so odd.

I have no idea if doing online check-in had any effect on any of this, but that was the first and last time I did it. I like going to the front desk when I check in. If we were staying at a resort where the check-in line might be long, that'd be a different story, but I've rarely had to wait more than a few minutes, sometimes not even that.

We usually stay at POP. I don’t think we have ever waited more than 10min or so in check in line. It’s just nice to check in this way I feel. No fuss no mistakes and right at that moment everything can be ironed out as to where our room is. It’s just to me, the best way to go about it.

 

[married2mm]

We usually stay at POP. I don’t think we have ever waited more than 10min or so in check in line. It’s just nice to check in this way I feel. No fuss no mistakes and right at that moment everything can be ironed out as to where our room is. It’s just to me, the best way to go about it.

We have never waited in any kind of huge line ..
In Europe on vacation check in sometimes took over an hour

 

[BayouQueen]

We usually stay at POP. I don’t think we have ever waited more than 10min or so in check in line. It’s just nice to check in this way I feel. No fuss no mistakes and right at that moment everything can be ironed out as to where our room is. It’s just to me, the best way to go about it.

We always check in face-to-face as well, Disneypro 1. We never ask for any upgrades, but there is always added personal attention to the needs of our particular traveling party. Nothing can replace human-to-human interaction. Too bad if they want to cut staffing costs by circumventing this human contact. That's their problem -- not mine.

 

[Disneypro1]

We always check in face-to-face as well, Disneypro 1. We never ask for any upgrades, but there is always added personal attention to the needs of our particular traveling party. Nothing can replace human-to-human interaction. Too bad if they want to cut staffing costs by circumventing this human contact. That's their problem -- not mine.

Agreed.

 

[dansdad]

We always check in face-to-face as well, Disneypro 1. We never ask for any upgrades, but there is always added personal attention to the needs of our particular traveling party. Nothing can replace human-to-human interaction. Too bad if they want to cut staffing costs by circumventing this human contact. That's their problem -- not mine.

Good thing is they're not. Everyone can still get the exact same personal attention.

 

[nkereina]

But I don't get that point since the guest who didn't do online check-in still has a room assigned prior to their arrival. They just won't get a text.
And as mentioned by many, even doing online check-in doesn't assure that you will even get a text anyway.
So this is a thin excuse if this is what the CM at the front desk are saying, they have to do the same changes and same hoops jumped through, since the guest standing in front of them will have a room assigned in their computer system. Besides that, they don't assign the rooms anyway, this is done by someone else, in a different area. You as a guest just don't interface with them, the CM does. Sometimes they do it on the phone, something they step to the back to do it.

I can't speak for Disney, but when I worked for Hyatt Hotels, all incoming guests were "blocked" into rooms a day or two in advance of their arrival. Usually done by the Reservations Manager or Front Office Manager, but its my understanding Disney has a team for this, which makes sense because our hotel had shorter stays while Disney has many people for 5-6+ days at a time. At our hotel, people who completed online check-in or were "VIPs" (as in, loyalty, celebrity, a guest with a prior issue, etc) were rarely moved out of their block. They were blocked a certain way because of their status or because of their arrival time, which we knew from online check-in. These people also received "room ready" texts and once that text went out, we couldn't switch out the room anymore. And it went out once housekeeping flagged it as clean/available. We'd also add extra towels or pillows to that room, if requested during online check in.

The people who did not complete online check-in were still pre-blocked, but they were more easily able to be moved around by a front desk agent because the room wasn't theirs until they physically checked in at the hotel. It was easy to switch a guest to another room from that pool and it didn't mess up any online check-in blocks. They also did not have any welcome packets and keys to re-print, but this isn't an issue at Disney.

So my point is that its not surprising a front desk agent told a PP that it was easier to upgrade them if they hadn't completed online check-in - its true that there is less work involved from the front desk agent's perspective. I know that Disney front desk agents are capable of moving around the room blocks because I've been the guest who has stood there for 15+ minutes while the agent graciously tried to figure it out when I requested a different room. It can be like Tetris. Since it can be time consuming and complicated, I would imagine many lazy/busy/inexperienced front desk agents would politely decline an upgrade request because of this.

 

[MrKnight]

What face to face is removed if I walk up and say "I want to check in" without bothering to tell you the CM that I did online check-in already. Maybe I didn't get my room number via text. You do know this is not foolproof and does not go out to all guests who do online check-in, right? A CM shouldn't assume a guest is anywhere carrying on with their vacation if they haven't even gotten a dang room number yet. CM assuming things is a mistake
Which by the way, is not what other CM have said or what personal experience has shown me. Guess the other CM get training is different than yours? Or they are just more willing? Or you say former, guess things do change so your former may not even be what happens now

Once again my point is missed, I am not saying that you cannot walk up to the Front Desk and say that, and of course you are perfectly entitled to do that and no there is nothing wrong with that, and in that scenario of course the CM SHOULD go along with it and assist you with anything you need just as they would with anyone else that walks up to the Front Desk, what I am saying is that procedurally in the system you are already officially checked in and listed as an in-house guest, therefore if you would have never walked up to the Front Desk they would have assumed that you were already there and the actual room was occupied from earlier in the day when your online check-in had been processed behind the scenes. If you request any change such as a new room or changes to your reservation, it would be considered a room change rather than an assignment change or a modification to a reservation that is already in-house and arrived. If the guest intended on checking in traditionally at the Front Desk the whole time it would have made more sense to not use Online Check-In and just let the Front Desk CM do everything for you.

 

[RolloTomasi]

I like all the sly little “well I don’t do online checkin in because I like human interaction” comments and implications. Those are fun and super necessary. And as someone who uses online checkin, I’ve still visited the front desk for other reasons. There’s no law that prohibits you from doing so.