Split stay question - magic bands & luggage

[Polynesian27]

hi all, so my wife and I are doing a split stay in August and I was wondering how it all works. Here are my questions and any help would be much appreciated.

1. I know that Disney will more our luggage but how does it work, do I tell them at checkin or at checkout? Will the luggage be delivered by a certain time.

2. Would the move refrigerated/frozen items?

3. Can I use my first set of magic bands for both resorts and fast passes and just deactivate the other set that I'm getting? Or, is it better to just use two sets.

4. Will my first set of magic bands (1st resort) work on fast passes scheduled for the last half of vacation at the 2nd resort?

5. How will magical express work with two separate reservations.

Thanks so much!

 

[Polynesian27]

 

[dansdad]

1. You will call Bell Services at Resort #1 and ask them to come pick up your luggage and deliver it to resort #2. Or you can bring it down to Bell Services yourself. You luggage should be available at resort #2 around 4-5PM.
2. Yes and they will keep your items refrigerated.
3. Both sets of Magic Bands will work your entire trip.
4. See above.
5. You will schedule Magical Express FROM the airport to resort #1 and schedule Magical Express TO the airport from resort #2. People do split stays all the time so it's not problem being dropped off at one resort and yet picket up at another.

Hope this helps.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

This is a good question, and I am wondering the same thing. It's going to be a pain to keep up with if we have to switch bands. My gut says that since they are all linked to the same MDE account they should work interchangeably, but can anyone who has done a split stay confirm that is the case?

 

[dansdad]

This is a good question, and I am wondering the same thing. It's going to be a pain to keep up with if we have to switch bands. My gut says that since they are all linked to the same MDE account they should work interchangeably, but can anyone who has done a split stay confirm that is the case?

Yes, I can confirm that both sets of Magic Bands will work the entire trip. In fact we each have 4 sets of Magic Bands from previous trips and my wife brought all 4 our last trip and they all worked for everything. She has 4 different colors so she would color coordinate them with her outfit.

 

[waffocopter]

So if someone has a gray band for their first stay and red for their second, they could wear both at the same time and be extra stylish? Sounds cool! One for each arm!

Odd, but the CM I talked to on the phone made it sound like I couldn't just check out of my first resort and let my luggage go to the second resort alone while we got to the park. She said Bell Services would arrange transportation for the luggage and us to the second resort, we'd check in there and then we could go to the park.

 

[dansdad]

So if someone has a gray band for their first stay and red for their second, they could wear both at the same time and be extra stylish? Sounds cool! One for each arm!

Yup!

Odd, but the CM I talked to on the phone made it sound like I couldn't just check out of my first resort and let my luggage go to the second resort alone while we got to the park. She said Bell Services would arrange transportation for the luggage and us to the second resort, we'd check in there and then we could go to the park.

Unfortunately you got a CM that didn't know what they were talking about. We have done 5 split stays now and each time have had Bell Services at resort #1 pick up our luggage and deliver it to resort #2 while we went directly from resort #1 to a park for the day. Then when we get into our room at resort #2, we just call down and have Bell Services bring up our luggage.

 

[waffocopter]

Unfortunately you got a CM that didn't know what they were talking about. We have done 5 split stays now and each time have had Bell Services at resort #1 pick up our luggage and deliver it to resort #2 while we went directly from resort #1 to a park for the day. Then when we get into our room at resort #2, we just call down and have Bell Services bring up our luggage.

I remember reading about that before here but I specifically asked her and that's what she told me. That we had to travel with the luggage and physically check in first. I'm relieved that this is not true.

 

[pxidst119]

I was told we would have to stay with our luggage to move to the next resort too. I spoke to a CM on the phone yesterday when I set it up and he said once on property we have to stay with our luggage. Could this be something new?

 

[AngiTN]

I was told we would have to stay with our luggage to move to the next resort too. I spoke to a CM on the phone yesterday when I set it up and he said once on property we have to stay with our luggage. Could this be something new?

No it is not something new. It is a CM on the phone that is wrong. Which is not something new at all. Most of the CM you speak to on the phone have never even been a guest there and haven't a clue how things work. Heck, most of the call centers are not even in FL.

 

[wdwrich]

No it is not something new. It is a CM on the phone that is wrong. Which is not something new at all. Most of the CM you speak to on the phone have never even been a guest there and haven't a clue how things work. Heck, most of the call centers are not even in FL.

Very true. Phone CMs are notorious for giving incorrect information on things like split stays.

 

[bumbershoot]

WDW doesn't know "split stay". They know that it's two separate reservations. They aren't on property and might never have been to WDW so they generally have no clue about how things work. (Or they know the parks but not their jobs like the DME guy who had NO clue that you can book one way flights and balked at doing my DME arrangements because he didn't believe that we were flying in on one airline and out on another)

She said Bell Services would arrange transportation for the luggage and us to the second resort, we'd check in there and then we could go to the park.

So very wrong of the cm. Bags won't arrive until after official checkin time. And in this time of less service for more money, they certainly aren't taking individuals and their bags over one group at a time.

 

[Steph01002]

We got in late and stayed at a value the first night. Found out cab fare was only $10 to get to Beach Club for the rest of our stay. If you are worried, then maybe just get a cab. I wasn't sure how long it would take our luggage to get to the next resort and the $10 was worth it to know where my stuff was.

 

[Polynesian27]

Thanks everyone! One last question...if I put a credit card on file at resort #1 for charging with my magic band, do I have to do anything in particular to be able to continue charging at resort #2? Or once it's linked we should be fine to charge without having to make the front desk aware at resort #2?

 

[dansdad]

Thanks everyone! One last question...if I put a credit card on file at resort #1 for charging with my magic band, do I have to do anything in particular to be able to continue charging at resort #2? Or once it's linked we should be fine to charge without having to make the front desk aware at resort #2?

As long as you do online check in for resort #2 and provide your CC number, you will be good to go.

 

[Sweets156]

No it is not something new. It is a CM on the phone that is wrong. Which is not something new at all. Most of the CM you speak to on the phone have never even been a guest there and haven't a clue how things work. Heck, most of the call centers are not even in FL.

The call center is in Orlando.

 

[Aurora0427]

WDW doesn't know "split stay". They know that it's two separate reservations. They aren't on property and might never have been to WDW so they generally have no clue about how things work. (Or they know the parks but not their jobs like the DME guy who had NO clue that you can book one way flights and balked at doing my DME arrangements because he didn't believe that we were flying in on one airline and out on another)



So very wrong of the cm. Bags won't arrive until after official checkin time. And in this time of less service for more money, they certainly aren't taking individuals and their bags over one group at a time.

This is so true, OP, so if you need your bags ahead of time, take a cab. We are doing one night at AoA bc it was cheaper to fly in the night before. Then we check into the GF. We are going to cab it over because I'm hoping we have a room ready before 3pm so our daughter can nap before MNSSHP. We arrived at the GF at 9am last trip, and we had a room. Fingers crossed.

 

[Sarah22]

We are doing a split stay as well. We only have the dining plan with the second half of the stay. When will we be able to start using the plan? Can we check-in to the second resort early to "activate" it? Thinking of planning a lunch but not sure if the plan would be ready to use.

 

[wdwrich]

We are doing a split stay as well. We only have the dining plan with the second half of the stay. When will we be able to start using the plan? Can we check-in to the second resort early to "activate" it? Thinking of planning a lunch but not sure if the plan would be ready to use.

You will be able to use the dining plan on the day your reservation at the second resort begins. If you complete the on-line check in ahead of time, there should be no need to physically visit the second resort's front desk to get it started. If you decide you want to visit the second resort and check in the traditional way, you can do so as early as 6am.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Above observation is true in that the Disney system does not recognize "split stays." It knows only that you have two reservations. It does not distinguish that the two reservations are consecutive.

Since you have two reservations, you will have to make charging arrangements on each individual reservaton, they won't just "carry over." So you have to either do online check-in and provide the credit card for the second reservation, or you have to visit the front desk at the second resort and have the charging taken care of.

You will also need to register for the incoming DME on the first reservation, and the outgoing DME on the second reservation.

You can definintely get bell services to move your luggage for you, but you must arrange it with bell services yourself. Either call them to pick up your bags, or take your bags down to the bell services desk and tell them you want a transfer. They will NOT automatically know which resort you are transferring to, you will have to tell them. You won't receive the bags until later in the evening, usually after 4 PM, so if there is anything you will need, carry it with you. And don't leave valuables in the luggage you are parting with. Yes you can move perishable food items - you may want to arrange that face to face at the bell services desk.

You can use any magic band registered to you at any time as long as you have not deactivated them in MDX.

Sometimes the online check-in doesn't work correctly. Then you have to go to the desk and get your room number.