The easiest way to upgrade your Disney World vacation is by staying at a hotel on property!

Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club

It’s hard to beat free transportation to the parks, delectable eateries, stellar shopping, entertainment, and more. But, if you’re getting ready to head out on your next Disney World trip, make sure you’re not making these check-in mistakes at your hotel!

Staying at a Disney World hotel during your vacation might not be the cheapest, but it’s hard to beat the sheer convenience of staying in the “Disney Bubble.” The next time you check in to your hotel, make sure you don’t make these mistakes.

Not Making a Room Request

Both at check-in and in the My Disney Experience app, you can make room requests for certain buildings or locations at your resort. Want to be close to the pool? Somewhere near transportation? If you’ve stayed at a specific hotel before and know you will want Disney will do their best to accommodate all requests — but keep in mind that there’s no guarantee you’ll get what you ask for.

Art of Animation Family Suite

The same is true for room upgrades. It’s always worth asking for one — the worst they can do is tell you no, but just remember that sometimes these requests just can’t be accommodated for several reasons. And don’t forget to be kind to those Cast Members if you’re asking in person!

Not Using Mobile Check-In/Check-Out

Hate visiting the front desk when checking into a hotel? No problem — use the Mobile Check-In feature on the My Disney Experience app! This option lets you go straight to your room once it’s ready, and you can enter your room with the app or your MagicBand. Just scan the sensor on your hotel room door with your device or MagicBand and there you go! You’re in.

Checking in!

You can also choose to use automatic checkout as long as you’ve got a credit card on file in the app. With auto-checkout, you don’t need to do anything except leave your room by 11AM. If you’ve requested a late checkout, you’ll have until that time to leave — but keep in mind you might not get this request granted!

See what using Mobile Check-In is like here!

Not Leaving Your Luggage with Bell Services

What are you supposed to do if your travel plans don’t exactly line up with check-in and check-out times? Disney has you covered there, too. You can leave your luggage with Bell Services and they’ll store it all for you! This can be helpful if you arrive at your hotel and your room isn’t ready yet — but you’re ready to go to the parks. Just let Cast Members know at check-in and they’ll take care of you.

Carry On Luggage

The same is true if you have to check out of your room but aren’t leaving Disney World until later and still want to spend some time in the parks or exploring the hotels. You can ask guest services to hold your luggage at your hotel, even after checking out.

Not Sharing Your Celebrations

Congratulations! Happy birthday! Great work! No matter what you’re celebrating, Disney World is a great place to do it. And, letting Cast Members (or our robot overlords via the Disney World app) know you’re celebrating something when you check in is a great idea, too. They might be able to sprinkle a little pixie dust onto your trip and make it extra special. Of course, as with other requests, there is no guarantee, but it’s worth a shot.

Magic Kingdom

You can also ask for a celebration button at check-in that you can wear throughout your trip! We’ve seen Happy Birthday, I’m Celebrating, First Visit, and Happily Ever After buttons. These are a great FREE souvenir too!

Not Setting Up Your Profile Before Your Trip

We know, we know — there’s a lot you need to do to prepare BEFORE you even get to your Disney World hotel, and that includes making sure your My Disney Experience profile is set up and good to go if you plan on charging expenses to your room! This is an option for Disney World hotel guests that allows them to charge things directly to the card on file using MagicMobile or MagicBands.

Full spread from The Plaza

You’ll need to set up a PIN in order to be able to do this (as an added security measure for you!) so make sure this is done before you get to your hotel so that you don’t have to worry about it once the excitement of your trip arrives!

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Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.

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What do you always do when you check-in to your Disney World hotel? Tell us in the comments.