Post #717993 by wizzard419 on Fri, May 23, 2014 1:17 PM

Yes, and those lobbies were all built before 2005 (CA resorts don't really count for this though). Back when check in processes were longer, they had to print up your media, etc. Now that they have the Disney's Magical Express service, plus magic bands, your room keys are sent to you months in advance, everything is laid out so far ahead that your entire interaction with the front desk is only a few mins. so they can tell you where your room is, answer questions, and link a credit card to your band so they can save on swipe fees.

They most likely won't be cutting corners on lobby design for future hotels, as it is their first impression, but they also know the activity level in them will remain low.

I remember going, before they had such a system, and it took forever to get checked in even though we were the only people checking in (one perk of flying out of OC to Orlando, you miss all crowds but you only have one flight option). Afterwards, the longest part of the process was simply waiting for the shuttle to pick us up from the airport.