Upcoming Disney Vacation Dilemma

Yes, this is a first world problem; or you could even call it a Walt Disney World problem.  What is it?  It's that the planning/preparation for one vacation such as online check in windows and the opportunity to reserve port adventures and other ship activities will happen while we are in the middle of a Walt Disney World vacation.

We've had this happen before, but it was the opposite.  We were on a 7-night holiday sailing on the Disney Fantasy when our 60 days out Fastpass selection day arrived.  I solved this by getting a 5G data package for free on the ship and used the Walt Disney World app to make our Fastpass selections.

While Disney Cruise Line has an app, it is for use while on the ship and wouldn't be helpful to complete online check-in for our upcoming cruise.  Other possible options include navigating the internet on my phone or taking advantage of the Business Center at our resort--Disney's Coronado Springs.  The Concierge may also be able to help us.

Online check-in for Disney Cruise Line happens in 15 day increments based on Castaway Club Level.  First time cruisers, get to complete their online selections and check-in 75 days prior to the cruise.  Silver Castaway Club guests' window opens 90 days in advance, with Gold level getting to make their selections at 105 days in advance, and Platinum guests get first options at 120 days prior to sailing.  We are Gold Castaway Club members.  So, the worst thing that would happen if we didn't make our selections the day the window opens is that we would need to do it as soon as we came home.  There would still be time until the Silver level guests logged on.

My plan is to take our reservation information, logon, and at least make our port adventure selections and on board activities such as character meet and greet opportunities.  The rest of the online check-in could wait until we get home.

The good news is that Disney Cruise Line is able to pull up needed information based on your reservation such as your Passport number and other important information. . . unless, of course, it has changed.

Seeing if we can navigate this while traveling will be another adventure for us to experience; something we haven't done before!  Let's see what happens!

Note:  I entered our cruise reservation into the website and it has the same login as MyDisneyExperience account.  Now that the cruise has been added to "My Vacations" I can check-in from there.  Not the MyDisneyExperience app, but on Disney Cruise Line's website.

We Are Checked In For Our Next Disney Cruise!

We are all checked in for our next Disney Cruise!  The process was easy, although a bit different from the last time—better as there were fewer steps when reserving activities.

After logging in, it was easy to reserve specific port adventures for various ports—one day at a time.  Since I had already marked some port adventures as “favorites” those showed up with a star next to them when the entire list of port adventures for that port were displayed.  Once the port adventure was selected, the system checked for availability and offered time(s).  What was also clever was that when we went to schedule another activity for that same day, the system would show when we were available.  That, is a new feature!

In addition to port adventures, we also made reservations for a champagne brunch at Remy, one of two adult only dining options on board the Disney Fantasy.  We scheduled this for our second “at sea” day.  Looking forward to celebrating our anniversary!

And, since the Fantasy has a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on board that transforms into a Pirate’s League on Pirate Night, we made an appointment for the boy to be made into a First Mate.  There were many appointments to choose from and the info said the appointment would take 45 minutes.  (This was when the system told us when we were available due to an activity earlier in the day.)  While 4:00 pm would have been ideal—as our dinner seating is a 5:45 and there are many characters out and about prior to dinner, we were able to select a 3:45 appointment time.  The boy is looking forward to the experience and I am looking forward to the pictures and the story.

As a part of the on-line check in process, we also registered the boy for kids clubs.  Since we are previous cruisers, much of the information was already saved in the system.  But new is that the kiddos will have Mickey Bands, rather than the previously used white clunky bracelets that allow them to check themselves in and out of the kids clubs.  It is great to see this option!  An option we didn’t have while registering the boy for the kids clubs was to give/not give self check in /check out privileges.  The boy will be eleven when we sail and DCL automatically gives him those privileges.  If I wasn’t comfortable with it, I could have it changed once we check him in at the port, but I am okay with him having that privilege.  We did make the agreement though, that when his dad and I are eating at Remy, he has to stay at one of the clubs (he will be able to go between the Oceaneer’s Club and the tween club—Edge.)  He agreed.

Pre/Post cruise info is also entered into the system as a part of the on-line check in.  And, since we have selected, and paid for, Disney Cruise Line transports from airport to port and port to resort we were able to record that information during the check-in process.  What is funny is that even though we are taking Disney transports, we still got to select a port arrival time.  We picked the earliest time available—10:30 am!  Our plan is to be on the first bus leaving Orlando International Airport heading to Port Canaveral.  Staying at the Hyatt at Orlando International the night prior to sailing makes this possible!

The last portions of the on line check-in include agreeing to the cruise contract, making payment arrangements for your on-board account, and printing the signature page to sign and take with you to the port.  The directions for this page say to keep with you and do not pack in your luggage.  Once we present this page along with identification at the port, we are good to go.  And, of course, in Disney style, we will have our own check-in lines being Castaway Club members. 

The excitement continues to build as we count down to our summer 2014 Disney vacation!

Counting Down To Next Trip to Walt Disney World

One would think that after ten trips to Walt Disney World, the excitement and anticipation of yet another trip would wane.  Yes, one COULD think that, but for us, it is not the case.  We are just as excited for our next trip, our 11^th, as we were for our first trip. . . maybe more so!  The countdown has been going since we confirmed our trip.  Our trip consists of 12 days, eleven nights at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort where we will be celebrating our 11th anniversary at the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Disney's Polynesian Resort.

It is now time in the planning, for us to check in on-line at our resort.  Using My Disney Experience, either the mobile app or the link on the Walt Disney World official web-site, checking in on-line is fast and easy.

Our reservation had our dining reservations attached and I was able to add notes and events to our reservation, even sharing them with family members electronically. 

Room requests were accessible via My Disney Experience and we were able to communicate check in and check out times.

This isn’t the first time we have checked in on-line prior to our trip, but this was the first time using My Disney Experience.  A difference this time was that we needed to designate a PIN for each person in our party, with an option to have one PIN for all party members.  My guess is that the PIN is for using the Radio Frequency cards or bands for purchases.  I will let you know if that is the case.

Prospective guests often wonder about the advantages of checking in on-line prior to arrival.  Here is what we have discovered since taking advantage of on-line check in when it first became available:

• Guests need a picture ID when arriving at the resort.
• There is a special line at the resort for guests who have checked in on-line prior to their arrival.  This line tends to be shorter and faster than the other line.
• This faster arrival means less time checking in and more time on my vacation.  The adrenaline is pumping when I get to my happy place and I want to sprint into the rest of my vacation.

At this point, I see no downside to the on-line check in other than it takes a few minutes of your time at your convenience;  Disney does the rest.

Are you counting down to a magical Disney vacation?