View Full Version : Virgin check-in - Downtown Disney
A couple of questions...
- Is this available to all Virgin passengers;
- How efficent is it, and;
- Would you recommend it.
Seems like a pretty good idea at the moment but it would be helpful to get the observations of those who have used it.
thanks [msnsmile]
Yes
Not used it ourselves
Were going to try it this August
Think I remember a few of the regs mention they had used it
Thanks 'chrisj', just like the idea of being able to dump the luggage and enjoy the remainder of the holiday without the hassle. Trouble is - don't go until 10 July and here I am planning the journey home... aahhhh! [msnsad]
We used it two weeks ago, got there at 8.30am big queue but moved very fast, checked in all baggage confirmed our seats and off to Seaworld. Got to airport 1 1/2 hours before take off browsed the shops had a coffee through departures straight on plane.....in my opinion GREAT!! opened to all Virgin customers.
Oh remember its $5 per person as well
We didnt pay, but our whole holiday was virgin booked, think Chrisj may be right if only flights are booked.
After 3 weeks in Florida with my family, 5 bucks apiece will be nothing - if I don't spend it on this it will only get blown somewhere else during the remainder of the day anyway.[msnsmile]
Hi,
We've used it each time we've been, don't recall paying though.
Brilliant, but don't forget to keep out the stuff you'll need for the day/flight home.:D
Paul & Sheila
We booked all our holiday last year through Virgin and we had to pay to use the downtown disney check-in, the year before we used it and didn't have to pay
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
23-06-2004, 18:17
We used it last Saturday and had to pay $5 per person - not even worth worrying about considering the hassle it saved us. We then had the rest of the day to ourselves before the flight so went to MGM Studios and had a great time.
steph_goodrum
23-06-2004, 18:54
If you've booked through Virgin holidays you dont pay but otherwise its $5 each. As John said its worth it for the extra day without having the cases in the car. It means you can spend the day at a park as well and get the children exhausted before the flight home so you can all try and get some sleep.
This sounds great, can someone point me in the right direction ie where is the check-in for this facility and time of opening etc.
Thanks
Andy
Dave5118
23-06-2004, 20:16
Try this link Andy. http://www.flightsflorida.com/DowntownDisneyCheckin.aspx
[msnwink]
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
23-06-2004, 20:45
I was just going to post that link [msnwink].
When we used it on Saturday they were asking for your Virgin Holidays vouchers as proof you booked with them and thus did not have to pay the $5 per person.
We had booked flights only with Virgin Holidays and this was not enough - they require you to have more than one component of the holiday through Virgin Holidays e.g. flights and car hire.
I told them I'd rather pay the $20 for the 4 of us and use our own cheap car hire (on this site) than pay the substantial extra hiring a car through Virgin would have cost us. They did not disagree [msnwink]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Dave5118
Try this link Andy. http://www.flightsflorida.com/DowntownDisneyCheckin.aspx
[msnwink]
[/quote]
we want to use this service but I just noticed the hire car (dollar) has to be back by 14.35 which will mean its not giving us the value of the extra time , flight agent says they will charge an extra day if we return the car later. Has anyone any experience of this?
It depends on what you put down when you ordered your car rental for the pickup time. What time do you actually arrive in Florida? Can you make the pickup time later?
It's true that going over the return time will incur an extra day's charge though.
Magical Dreams
23-06-2004, 23:30
We used it in October, it had not been re-opened long since the 911 bombing!! (GRTS)
We paid $5 each for the adults and nothing for the kids.
We booked everything through Virgin !!
Well worth the money
Saves SO much time and hassle
Just one thing to remember, don't put padlocks on your cases though!!
We did and had 2 out of the 4 locks cut and cases checked!! This was done by the Aviation at the airport
But still excellant service
Dave5118
23-06-2004, 23:58
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:[i]
Just one thing to remember, don't put padlocks on your cases though!!
We did and had 2 out of the 4 locks cut and cases checked!! This was done by the Aviation at the airport
[/quote]
Odd that,'cos last year when we came back from New York, they managed to get in our cases with the padlocks locked(and without damaging then).
New Yorkans must have a more natural ability :D
Magical Dreams
24-06-2004, 00:01
No doubt they do!!
They didn't damage the cases and did Security Seal them!!
Thankfully we didn't have anything that we shouldn't have had!!
[[msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2]msnsmile2]
Our car hire has to be back at the same time we pick it up, so spose that would be sometime
after 4pm, so we will use it and spend the day either shopping or relax back at the villa for
a bit then shopping
As for the cases, we always use plastic cable ties, theres only
ever clothes in our cases anyway, and on the way back they might
be dirty :D
We used it regular and never round a hold hold up, good value and well worth it.
Magical Dreams
24-06-2004, 01:39
Totally agree!! We used the twilight check in at Gatwick which also made our outbound trip a real pleasure!!
Pity others don't do the same as virgin!
:DAndy love your avatar. i tried to find one similar but they wanted money for it!!!!!!!!
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by pontelad
Totally agree!! We used the twilight check in at Gatwick which also made our outbound trip a real pleasure!!
Pity others don't do the same as virgin!
[/quote]
BA now also do a twilight check in at Gatwick
Dave5118
26-06-2004, 18:18
Just like to add to this, that we received our holiday tickets today(from virgin holidays), and there is a voucher for the downtown disney check in to hand over. Maybe this is a new idea so VH customers don't pay the $5 accidentaly [msnwink]
2 weeks on Tuesday to Takeoff [msncool]
If you book a holiday through Virgin the service is free. From memory if you were staying at a Disney resort
hotel, you could book in there, But that was a few years ago
Magical Dreams
27-06-2004, 15:27
Well this must have changed since we travelled with Virgin in October.
We booked direct with virgin and still had to pay at downtown disney!!
They must treat us northerners different!! [^]
Did you book the whole Holiday through them IE Flight car hotel etc, if not then that might
be why you were charged
Magical Dreams
27-06-2004, 23:55
Yes, the whole job lot including Park Tickets!!
when did you last use the service??
When we used it, it had only recently opened again after the 911 disaster.
Magical Dreams
28-06-2004, 00:01
Free or $5 is nothing to say you get your last day to enjoy the parks and shops without having to worry about the luggage.
Dave5118, have a fab time mate!!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!
Wish it was me going for two weeks!!
We fly this Wednesday for 5 days to go look at some villas!!
Hopefully we will find one in our price range!!
Tracey K
28-06-2004, 00:08
The $5 charge is something that was brought in for everyone when they re-opened the service - before 9/11 it was free to everyone but now, I presume, they have to cover additional security checks.
Like Andy & Diane say it is worth it to have extra time on your last day.
Magical Dreams
28-06-2004, 00:41
Well this time was our first with Virgin, and they were so so pleasant it just made everything seem even better.
Maybe it was because it was our last day there and they wanted to make it go as smooth as possible.
But saying that, if I remember right, they were all americans at the checkins and as we all know, the majority of Amercians are pleasant and polite even in an difficult situation.
As far as I know if you book a whole holiday with wirgin its free and that has been confirmed on
here, as for covering extra security costs, I dont think so. its just a way of making extra
money, Id like an explanation as to what checks it pays for if it was true
Just arrived back from Orlando yesterday after a great holiday and used Virgins Downtown Disney checkin - it was really great as only had to wait for about an hour in the queue( getting our last bit of sun!) and our bags were checked all the way through to Glasgow via Gatwick even though we were flying with BA from Gatwick to Glasgow. We then only had to arrive at the airport an hour and half before the flight and had the whole day to enjoy. Cost us $5 each but definately worth it and not having to queue at the airport for hours was great. [msnsmile]
Magical Dreams
12-07-2004, 23:12
Like I said in an earlier post, best $5 you could probably spend!! Hassle Free checkin
Should be across all companies though!!
Great idea, have used it before,more time to do last minute things and less hassle at the airport.
janeevans
13-07-2004, 19:07
Hi, do all passengers have to be present for downtown check-in?
Sorry I answered that very quickly as you mentioned your time was runnning out.
Basically its the same as when you check in at any airline, all passengers have to
be present.
I'd definitely recommend it. We didn't have to pay £5 but I was asked to fill in a questionnaire as we queued. We were there at 8:25am and the queue was pretty big then and we were checked in by 9:00am. Glad we did - the queue at MCO when we arrived was massive.
When we used this service in October we didn't go down until 11ish and it was pretty quite - we had pre-booked seats in the UK so we did not rush to get there.
Counting down to Thurs!!
Its saturday for us , so we will follow you out there :D