After spending months (possibly years) in anticipation of your Walt Disney World vacation, the last thing you need is to be held up in a line on your arrival. No one wants to finally get to the resort, only to have to wait even longer at their hotel to check-in. Luckily for guests staying at a Disney onsite hotel, there’s a convenient way to take care of all your check-in details before you even arrive!

Walt Disney World’s online check-in allows guests to provide information to the resort through the My Disney Experience app or website. Taking care of details like room charging, arrival time, and room requests allow you to utilize an express check-in line at your hotel, or bypass the physical check-in process entirely. Online check-in is available for all Disney onsite hotels, campsites and Disney Vacation Club properties. The Swan and Dolphin hotels are not eligible.

To begin the check-in process, log-in to the My Disney Experience app or website. If you haven’t done so already, you will need to create an account and link your reservation number to your plans. After that, you’ll click on “My Plans” from the drop down menu.

This will take you to a screen listing all of your current reservations including hotel, FastPass, dining, and other experiences. Your upcoming hotel reservation will be listed conveniently at the top of the list. Underneath that are links to “Start Check-In” as well as to choose your MagicBands. Click the link to start your check-in process.

The first bit of information you’ll need to provide is a phone number and/or email address that will be used to send you notifications before and during your stay. This can include messages from hotel staff concerning your reservation as well as notifying you when your room is ready and where to find it, allowing you to go straight there upon arrival.

You’ll then be asked to provide a credit or debit card for incidental expenses as well as charges to your hotel account. If you’d like to authorize your card for room charges, you’ll also need to create a 4 digit hotel account pin number. This will allow you to make purchases throughout the resort using your MagicBand and the pin you created. You can also designate which members of your traveling party will have charging privileges and set up pin numbers for them as well. MagicBands can be used to charge your expenses for dining, merchandise, and other experiences at most places in the resort to your account. Upon check-out, the balance due will be charged to the card you provided. Any balance due on your reservation will be charged to this card on your check-in day as well. Only one card may be registered to an account at a time.

You can then choose the time you will arrive at the resort. Walt Disney World’s official check-in time for their hotels is 4 PM for standard hotels, and 3 PM for Deluxe Villas. Although you aren’t guaranteed to be able to access your room before these times, providing your arrival time can sometimes get you an open room much earlier. In my experience, it’s a 50/50 shot at getting in early, but those odds are worth the extra few minutes spent checking in online in hopes that I can drop off my bags and get to the parks as soon as possible!

Below the arrival time will be an option to decline MagicBands for your party. If you’re like me, you’ve already got way more bands than you can use, so this is a nice option to save some plastic. If you aren’t declining new MagicBands you can ignore this box. You’ll still need to pick your MagicBand design if you aren’t declining though, and that can be done on the “My Plans” page.

Guests using the online check-in process also have the ability to make two room requests for their stay. This can include building location, floor, or view and can vary depending on the hotel. These requests are not guaranteed, and guests arriving before official check-in time can choose whether their requests or having their room ready early is of more importance.

From there you will save your choices and be redirected to the “My Plans” page. You’ll now see a notice at the top of your plans that lets you know it’s completed. You can click on “Modify Your Check-In” to view the information you provided or update anything you’d like to change.

Now you’re all set to get to the magic even faster! Upon your arrival, if your room is ready you’ll receive a notification to the phone number and email address you provided. This will include the room number, which you can use to locate your room on the My Disney Experience app. If you didn’t opt for direct-to-room service, you’ll need to locate the special online check-in line at your hotel’s check-in area, where you’ll be able to take care of the rest of your details with minimal wait. If you arrive at your hotel before your room is ready, simply take your luggage to Bell Services where they will store it, free of charge, until your room is ready.

If you need help planning your perfect vacation, contact our friends at Key to the World Travel® for a free, no-obligation quote for your next trip. Click here.