Posts and videos about Walt Disney World Resort hotel “room checks” have been going viral, leading many to question the practice. But the checks have been ongoing for years and are for safety.
Disney Hotel Room Checks
Room checks are performed daily on all rooms at Disney hotels, usually in the middle of the day when most guests are gone enjoying the parks. The checks are performed outside of housekeeping services and whether or not guests have placed a “Do Not Disturb” sign on their door.
In one viral TikTok video, The Mouselets shared her experience with room checks. As she explained, the Cast Member(s) performing the checks will knock on your hotel room door multiple times. If nobody answers, they will enter. If you are in the room, you can ask them to come back, which they’ll usually do within 15 minutes. The Mouselets recounted a time they knocked when she had just gotten out of the shower, and they said they would come back in a few minutes, so she had time to get dressed.
Unfortunately, because of the nature of room checks, Cast Members are bound to interrupt guests at inconvenient times. Guests who may have kids napping in the room during the middle of the day can ask Cast Members at the front desk to conduct room checks earlier in the morning. Disney can’t guarantee an earlier room check but will try to accommodate guests.
Guests worried about whether or not the person knocking is a real Cast Member can keep their door latched, so the person can’t enter, and call the front desk to confirm if a room check is happening.
Some guests have stated Cast Members called the police because they refused to allow a room check. It’s important to be aware that the daily room checks are for safety and began after the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas.
On that day, a shooter opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival from his room in the Mandalay Bay hotel, killing 60 people. The shooter checked into his suite a week before. A few days later, he checked into the suite next door. He brought five suitcases into his rooms and placed “Do Not Disturb” signs on the doors. After the mass shooting, authorities found 24 firearms in the rooms.
In her caption on TikTok, The Mouselets also referenced the May 22, 2017 bombing of Manchester Arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. The bombing killed 22 people and injured over 1,000.
Many hotels began daily room checks after these incidents and other mass shootings to ensure guests aren’t stockpiling weapons. The checks also act as wellness checks in case someone has had a health emergency or if there may be trafficking in the hotel. Since guests can refuse housekeeping, the checks have to be performed separately from those services. Hotel room checks are included in the terms and conditions all guests accept when booking a stay at a Disney hotel.
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The post Why Disney Does Hotel Room Checks & What to Expect appeared first on WDW News Today.