Arriving Early

[NH Disney Drmr]

Got a quick question....we are driving to Disney (yeah, from NH, but my mother says that since she has never flown in 65+ years, she can get away with not flying longer)...we are staying at a hotel in Orlando the night before we begin our Disney adventure.

My question is, can we check in as early as 8am, and jump right into the parks? I know our cabin at Fort Wilderness will not be ready (and that's perfectly fine), but we are limited in our time and need to take advantage of every moment we are there...I wanted to get there really early, check in, spend the day at the MK and then go back to our cabin later in the day...

Can I do it? Thanks...

[Kiliki]

From what I understand, you can check in and get your Key to the World, etc., but that your room will not likely be ready until later. I believe you can leave your luggage at the resort though, so just make sure you have with you what you'll want in the parks for the day. As far as I know, they send a text when your room is ready, but I've never actually done this myself, so I'm not 100% sure.

[HauntedGabe]

It is possible to check in, get everything but your room likely. A few times we did get our rooms early in the morning however those were in off season times. And if you want your room prior to late night you can always just send the person on the reservation back to obtain your actual room.

I arrived at 930am last month and they took my baggage for me until my son arrived to check us in. I was able to do whatever I wished prior to receiving our room.

[disneycrazy1956]

The last time we drove(from Delaware; 15 hours to Deltona) we were at port orleans by 8:00 am and we were able to check in and get our key to the world card, we just didn't exactly what our room number was. We left everything in the car and headed to the magic kingdom. Tickets from undercover tourist so we didn't really even need our key to the world card. It was funny, not many people at check-in and we are trying to get to the parks early and we get a cast member who wants to chat about everything. Oh well, we didn't make it for rope drop but we still got there early. (He was really nice though) It was June of 2008 and no perishables in the car so everything was fine when came back to the resort at dinner time. Nice Best Western in Deltona that we have stayed a few times; and it has a great full breakfast that with coupon was only $2.99 each so we were well fed before getting to WDW.

[NH Disney Drmr]

Thanks guys...that's what I thought. We are staying off site the night before and will be eager to get a jump on our Disney adventure....

[supernova]

No need to keep your stuff in your car, unless you are going to have to drive to your room. Which you might since you are staying in a cabin. Usually I leave my stuff, including my items to be refrigerated, with the bell hop, then when I get my text, I drive back to the hotel, get my stuff, and walk over to my room. Checking in early makes sense sometimes if it means avoiding lines, but remember that you might have to stand in line again if you still have to pick up your room key or if it needs to be programmed later on anyway. Usually my wife gets the keys while I'm getting the bags, so I am not sure how that works at the desk.

[Mo Noyz]

Most every hotel you'll ever stay at will allow you to check in as early as you like. The only issue is whether your room is ready.