Hi there, Kristen! Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out and allowing us to help you plan your vacation to Walt Disney World Resort!
I don't know about you but my family and I almost always arrive at Walt Disney World Resort prior to the 3:00 pm standard
check-in time at the majority of
Disney Resort hotels! We're always so incredibly excited to begin our adventures so we will often head to the parks prior to officially checking-into our room. Fortunately for both of our families, there should be no problems with you using your tickets prior to checking-into your Disney Resort hotel!
There is nothing special you need to do prior to arriving in order to use your
tickets for theme park entry! As long as you have linked your tickets to your
My Disney Experience account, you should have no problems simply tapping your
MagicBand to enter the parks. You can verify that your tickets have been linked by clicking the "My Plans" tab under your My Disney Experience account. Once here, you should be able to scroll down and locate your tickets under "Tickets & Memory Maker".
I hope this information assists you and your family in experiencing the magic of Walt Disney World Resort as quickly as possible on your day of arrival!
~Wyatt