Check in time at Saratoga Springs what a wasted day!!

[disneynutz]

Our first stay at SSR was in May. We were told to call a number to verify room ready. We called a couple of times and were told, "not yet". Around 4:30 we stooped by the check-in desk to check status. The CM checked the computer and made some funny faces. A back room meeting ensued. We were told that they were going to send someone to our room to check status. I told them that this was unacceptable, and take your time we will be in the bar. Well our room was not ready and the status in the computer was messed up. They had it cleaned and we left the bar at 6:30.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Last August we checked in at BWV at around 1pm, but when we got to the room mousekeeping were still cleaning it and were not amused when we turned up with the bellboy.

They left soon after but there was a smashed glass left on the kitchen table, a bulb had gone on the overhead lamp at the table. There were no towels, but they came back with some and fixed the other problems.

This is julie not johnny

 

[rbl291]

Sorry to hear about your sis's bad experience. We have had rooms ready when we arrive at 10:00am and also have not had our room ready until much later than 4:00pm. It all depends on disneys ability to get the room vacated, cleaned and ready for you. We always plan our first day as if we will not have the room ready in the morning when we fly in. We pack what we need in our carry-on and go off to do something else for the day whether its in the parks or swimming or DTD.
I surely can understand your dissatisfaction at SSR, but I don't think Disney has ever said rooms will be ready whenever you arrive. It never hurts to have her speak with the SSR manager and see what can be done to help compensate her for the inconvenience though. Every time we have had an issue, Disney was overly helpful to find a solution for us! Best of Luck and remember one experience doesn't make the whole thing bad!

 

[Esmerelda]

We were just at SSR and let me tell you...Sunday is the WORST day for check in I've ever seen. I had to go to the concierge desk for an ADR about 3pm on Sunday when we were there. There had to be 200+ folks checking in!!! I have never seen such a madhouse...

I asked the CM about it and they said it was the worst check in day and always looked just like that....yikes!!! They also told me that Friday is the other worst day for checking out. I'm sorry...I would rather use more points than to have to stand in a check in line for 2 hrs...and I'm sure these folks waited a long long time. The line went all the way around the circle...then into the hallway where the couches and DVC desk are....HOLY SMOKES BATMAN!!!

Esmerelda

 

[Mtnman44]

I'm well aware that a normal hotel check in/check out cycle is not 24 hrs. However, my point was that 6pm is really, really not an acceptable time to hold guests to. 4 pm is pretty late as it is, but OK. I'm sure this 6pm thing is a rare exception, at least I hope so as I really think it would be stingy to start asking guests to wait till 6pm till they get their room. As was pointed out, you only get a partial day at best anyway.

I understand that this is probably all caused by uncontrollable circustances such as a large number of late check outs and a large number of early check ins. There's no way to manage it perfectly all of the time. I suspect that most of the time they have enough rooms turned in time for reasonable check in times.

I stay in lots of hotels for business. No hotel rents out for 24 hours if you are staying just one night, so it isn't unusual to think you would get the same on check in or check out day at a DVC resort. Most hotels have check in between 2 and 4 with check out between 10 and 12. That's not 24 hours either. I never assume I can get into my room as soon as I want to. I usually plan to go have a little dinner or check out other amenities at the hotel before my room is ready. At Disney, we don't have to worry about what to do, because there is any number of things we can do to keep us busy. Just sitting pool side is one of them, or take a walk around the resort. That wouldn't be too over stimulating for a special needs child. When we have traveled with an autistic child, we learned to take it easy anyway, and Disney all by itself is over stimulating.

 

[castleri]

At least at Disney you can get check in done as soon as you get there. We had a reservation at an off site hotel and went there early in the hopes of checking in and then going about our day. We were told no check in until after 4PM. Couldn't even do the paperwork. I agree that each person should take their own circumstances into consideration and plan for not being able to get into the room until at least after 4PM and possibly later. If that means arriving later so you can be sure the room will be ready or planning pool time or finding a quiet corner to allow some quiet time it is best to have some ideas ahead of time. The only resort we have had later than 4PM availability for the room was BCV and we had planned a pool time day for arrival anyway so it was a non issue. Unless you plan to spend the day in the room it really shouldn't be a "wasted" day. I do hope that your sister does not have the same experience again and that future check-ins go more smoothly and at the same time hope that she will have some backup plan for down time if the room is not ready.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . Well I guess you would think that with everyone being so excited to be there they would have extra staff during the buzy season . .

1) WDW wishes they could hire more people.
2) They are considerably understaffed in many departments.
3) They simply can't get enough people to work
. . . low wages
. . . bad hours
. . . poorly devised scheduling system
. . . mandatory overtime up to 14-hrs straight
4) When they can get new people, turnover is bad.
5) They even pay signing bonuses and can't get people.
6) They even pay current CM's a bounty from bringing in new people.

NOTE: The housekeeping is so bad that they are farming-out housekeepers via temporary help agencies. This creates some problems in efficiency, speed and quality. In some cases, rooms aren't ready until after 6:00pm, and sometimes there are complaints about subpar houesekeeping.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I've read a number of stories like this on the DIS over the years. Does DVC currently assess a fee for parties that do not vacate by 11AM? If not, a cash fee for not vacating by check-out might reduce any current problems in this area.

We were told that on that day there were three or four villas where the guest who was supposed to check out by 11, failed to do so and the manager was trying to get all these guests out of the rooms. They told me that they did charge these guests an extra night stay on cash.

At DLR, you can't even check into the hotel until after 3PM. Your tickets don't get put on your room key and the room key is only used for a room key (but it does have a hole in it so you can use it as a luggage tag later on).

 

[alldiz]

If you stay one night, you never get a full 24 hour day. Check in is 4 or after and check out is 11. Right there your 24 hour day just became 19 hours.

When we checked in to the BCV on June 1, our room was available immediately. We had no requests other than no-smoking and all rooms were no-smoking on Jun 1. I bet the more requests you have, the longer it can take to get your room. And housekeepers have larger spaces to clean at the DVC resorts, so it takes longer.

On New Year's Day 2006, we checked into OKW at 8AM. Our room wasn't ready until about 6PM because the guests who were in our room failed to leave the room. Until they returned back to the room at about 4:15PM. The housekeepers stayed late that day to clean up that mess (and it was horrendous - I think they had a big party in the villa, bottles, trash everywhere). And about 1.5 hours later, the room was ours. The housekeepers did a fantastic job getting it ready for us.

thats terrible...do guests get charged for checking out late...

Talk about taking advantage....

I've been lucky....
My room has been ready at checkin....
last month 1st dvc visit at SSR....room ready at 11am....

I think it is hit or miss...
Kerri

 

[starbox]

We were just at SSR and let me tell you...Sunday is the WORST day for check in I've ever seen. I had to go to the concierge desk for an ADR about 3pm on Sunday when we were there. There had to be 200+ folks checking in!!! I have never seen such a madhouse...

And add to that the fact that this was the Sunday before 4th of July - only the most popular day for summer travel at the most popular destination for travel in the US.

We left HHI on Saturday and at 10am the traffic getting onto the island was backed up past the interstate. It took us and hour and a half to drive 12 miles to get off the island. Fun. When we came home we met our cousins whose plane had been delayed going to Maine! It's an absolutely horrible time for travel.

 

[dis-happy]

I'm not sure why anyone would think that 4 pm is "barely acceptable" for getting a room, since Disney states upfront that this is the offcial check in time. Anyone getting a room earlier is just plain fortunate, but like so many things that Disney does well, maybe it becomes part of people's expectation. From personal experience Marriott does indeed tell you to come back later at the official check-in time if you try to check in early and the room is still being cleaned. So does Cypress Pointe.

Haven't stayed at SSR, but at BCV, BWV, VWL and OKW there are definitely quiet common rooms you can go to and chill out after a long day of travelling if necessary---doesn't SSR have the same thing? In May at BCV there was a child sleeping on the couch in the room off the main DVC entrance, and several adults snoozing in the rotunda room. Lots of times at VWL I've seen families whiling away the afternoon by the quiet pool while waiting for their room to be ready.

 

[Esmerelda]

Starbox fyi; this was Sunday, June 24......it was not the Sunday before the 4th.

Honestly, I have never seen a front desk in such a mess in my life. We will never check into a DVC on a Sunday....it was a valuable lesson learned for me and my hubby.

E...

 

[crisi]

I'm well aware that a normal hotel check in/check out cycle is not 24 hrs. However, my point was that 6pm is really, really not an acceptable time to hold guests to. 4 pm is pretty late as it is, but OK. I'm sure this 6pm thing is a rare exception, at least I hope so as I really think it would be stingy to start asking guests to wait till 6pm till they get their room. As was pointed out, you only get a partial day at best anyway.

I understand that this is probably all caused by uncontrollable circustances such as a large number of late check outs and a large number of early check ins. There's no way to manage it perfectly all of the time. I suspect that most of the time they have enough rooms turned in time for reasonable check in times.

DVC is not a hotel. DVC is a timeshare. Hotels operate at a much lower occupancy rates than timeshares - therefore have a lot more empty rooms each night that facilitate early checkin.

My understanding is that 4:00pm checkins - and later - are not at all uncommon in the timeshare world - in part due to higher occupancy. But people more familiar with other timeshares can probably weigh in better.

 

[Sammie]

1) WDW wishes they could hire more people.
2) They are considerably understaffed in many departments.
3) They simply can't get enough people to work
. . . low wages
. . . bad hours
. . . poorly devised scheduling system
. . . mandatory overtime up to 14-hrs straight
4) When they can get new people, turnover is bad.
5) They even pay signing bonuses and can't get people.
6) They even pay current CM's a bounty from bringing in new people.

NOTE: The housekeeping is so bad that they are farming-out housekeepers via temporary help agencies. This creates some problems in efficiency, speed and quality. In some cases, rooms aren't ready until after 6:00pm, and sometimes there are complaints about subpar houesekeeping.

And yet the continue to build more resorts,

 

[littlestar]

My daughter checked into SSR on Sunday, June 24th at 10:30 a.m., and her room was ready - no waiting. They actually gave her a choice of 3 different locations - Congress Park, Grandstand, or Paddocks. She picked Grandstand.

She didn't arrive via Magical Express with a bunch of other people, though. She drove over from another resort by car and checked into Saratoga.

 

[mjy]

I don't want to jinx myself by saying that I usually do not have a problem; however, I usually do not have a problem.

My room has always been ready well before 4:00 p.m. except for one time. That time I kept calling until 5:30 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., I asked to speak with a manager. The manager put me on hold to "check out" the situation and came back on line very apologetically. The room had been cleared at 2:00 p.m. and somehow it hadn't been entered in the computer.

You know what they say: Computers make very fast, very accurate mistakes!

 

[Mamiamjo]

I have never had to wait even until 4:00 at Disney (yet)
We typically check in on Saturdays (maybe that's why). This past March we arrived at BCV around 10:30 and our room was ready. Next year we were planning on arriving on Sunday. maybe we should reconsider?

 

[offtheice]

1) WDW wishes they could hire more people.
2) They are considerably understaffed in many departments.
3) They simply can't get enough people to work
. . . low wages
. . . bad hours
. . . poorly devised scheduling system
. . . mandatory overtime up to 14-hrs straight
4) When they can get new people, turnover is bad.
5) They even pay signing bonuses and can't get people.
6) They even pay current CM's a bounty from bringing in new people.

NOTE: The housekeeping is so bad that they are farming-out housekeepers via temporary help agencies. This creates some problems in efficiency, speed and quality. In some cases, rooms aren't ready until after 6:00pm, and sometimes there are complaints about subpar houesekeeping.

Cool . Cant wait to work pt .. Moving down to flor next yr ..

 

[Snookies]

This is why I scan these boards, I'm always learning something new.

We were told that on that day there were three or four villas where the guest who was supposed to check out by 11, failed to do so and the manager was trying to get all these guests out of the rooms. They told me that they did charge these guests an extra night stay on cash.

At DLR, you can't even check into the hotel until after 3PM. Your tickets don't get put on your room key and the room key is only used for a room key (but it does have a hole in it so you can use it as a luggage tag later on).

I would regard an extra night cash penalty as a substantial penalty, particularly for larger units. I have no idea if this is a significant problem at DVC, but, if so, raising awareness about this possibility could reduce it.

My experience has been the same as yours at DLR in that we have never been in the room prior to official check-in time. We were "checked-in" prior to check-in time once a few years ago, but had to return to guest services to have keys authorized and to get the actual room assignment. The other noticeable difference about DLR check-ins is that if you have booked an AP rate, you can count on the cast member asking to see your AP. At WDW, whether you're asked for your AP seems to be more of a hit or miss proposition. In my pre-DVC days when I was booking AP discounts, I never had a cast member ask to see my AP at check-in.

We were just at SSR and let me tell you...Sunday is the WORST day for check in I've ever seen. I had to go to the concierge desk for an ADR about 3pm on Sunday when we were there. There had to be 200+ folks checking in!!! I have never seen such a madhouse...

I asked the CM about it and they said it was the worst check in day and always looked just like that....yikes!!! They also told me that Friday is the other worst day for checking out. I'm sorry...I would rather use more points than to have to stand in a check in line for 2 hrs...and I'm sure these folks waited a long long time. The line went all the way around the circle...then into the hallway where the couches and DVC desk are....HOLY SMOKES BATMAN!!!

Esmerelda

Shouldn't that be...Holy Long Snaking Around the Rotunda Check-In Line Batman! To date, I've never done a Sunday check-in anywhere. Does the same madhouse currently occur on Sundays at all WDW DVC resorts? If so, like you, I'll make it a point to avoid Sundays.

 

[starbox]

Shouldn't that be...Holy Long Snaking Around the Rotunda Check-In Line Batman! To date, I've never done a Sunday check-in anywhere. Does the same madhouse currently occur on Sundays at all WDW DVC resorts? If so, like you, I'll make it a point to avoid Sundays.

We always do Sunday check-ins and yes, it can be bad. I've had really bad luck checking in between 1-4pm. It's really bad when you get behind a DCL bus. We had almost a 2 hour wait at OKW once - the line was out the door and backed up along the walkway.

Generally, we've done much, much better checking in before 11am. We always assume that our room won't be ready until late afternoon, and have fanny packs or swimsuits ready so we can go to a park or swim. We started heading down a day early and staying on a price-lines or travelzoo room about an hour or two outside of Orlando so we can get to Disney by 9am on our first day. We've been able to walk right up and check-in have gotten our KTTW so we can room charge/use the DDP for the day. We're given a card to call for our room number. We use Disney Transportation to go to the park, have a nice lunch and ride a few things at a leisurely pace. About 4, we call to check on our room and head back to swim/unpack/change for dinner. The times I've had to wait past 4 for a room were all times that I checked in beween 12 and 4.

It seems like being the first to check-in that morning ensures that we get one of the first ready rooms. We've also gotten really great room locations and views. It has worked well for us.

I realize that doing an early check-in is not feasable for everyone, but if you can swing it - it's been a great thing.