GF and Magical Express

[laurenfratt]

Hello! We are currently 3 days out from our big 20 day honeymoon trip and my travel anxiety has begun Any help would be great!

For the first half of our trip we are staying at The Villas at Grand Floridian. I was just wondering how the magical express situation works. Will they drop us off at the main building? and would we just use bell services at the main building or do the villas have their own?

One last question- I know that I’ve read disney will transfer luggage to our next resort (Riviera) but do I have to set it up ahead of time? We’ll have 3 luggage, 2 carry on size bags, waters and some groceries. Will they move all of that? I’d prefer not to Uber if we don’t have to.

This is our first time staying for so long and we have never used the luggage transfer option so I don’t really know what to expect - add my anxiety to the mix and I can’t stop thinking about it lol

thank you!!

 

[Dave006]

First congratulations.

Now on to your questions. The DME bus will drop you at the main building and bell services are available to help get your luggage to your room. You just need to be in the room to receive it.

When it is time to leave just call bell services and they will pickup your luggage and food items. Just clearly indicate any items that need to stay cold. Again you need to be in the room for them at pickup.

Also you might want to keep a few things with you for the day as your luggage will not be at the Riviera until after 4 PM. Again same Bell Services options and restrictions apply.

Dave

 

[DL1WDW2]

Hello and So happy for your honeymoon plans....
Hope you have registered for the Magic Express in advance and remember to keep your I.d. And voucher /or magic bands for boarding the Magic Express. The policy for drop off might have changed but I have seen bell services at the main GF lobby and at the DVC GF building but not certain about drop off. An entrance into Main Lobby of the GF is a Grand way to begin to your visit!
Recently guests have reported long lines at bell services for the luggage service, again due to Covid creating bizarre times for almost everything.
Sometimes shorter and sometimes longer waits in lines, etc .
I would doublecheck at front desk or at the bell services stand before your departure. You might observe the long line and ask yourself if it is a better idea to just use Uber and transfer your luggage yourself. In that case, ask yourself Is there anyway you can downsize ....
Wow on staying at GF and even bigger WOW for the Riviera Resort. Hope they give you an upgrade for your honeymoon happiness!

 

[DL1WDW2]

Have you seen the new service for a fee with the Disney Photographers ?
I think it is a half hour and seems reasonably priced.
Also they have recently introduced Magic Shot locations
e sure to get your Celebrating Our HoneyMoon Pin at City Hall

 

[DL1WDW2]

If you take the time to view your photographs on Main Street at MK , it will give you the choice to personalize a few favorites with a Disney border... plus they will put them in a nice keepsake folder and might even throw in a few bonus shots taken by their Disney photographers.
And there is another location in CityWalk with more customizable photos to select.
You don’t have to buy the entire PhotoPass Keepsake Package to choose a few favorites .
(I included these to show a sample of MK but there are unique night shots in each theme park in article.)

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I just wanted to say congratulations all the other topics were covered. Have a great time! Bring ponchos and shoes that dry fast it's been a rainy week so far.

 

[laurenfratt]

thanks Dave! Great to know about the 4pm luggage delivery!

 

[laurenfratt]

Hello and So happy for your honeymoon plans....
Hope you have registered for the Magic Express in advance and remember to keep your I.d. And voucher /or magic bands for boarding the Magic Express. The policy for drop off might have changed but I have seen bell services at the main GF lobby and at the DVC GF building but not certain about drop off. An entrance into Main Lobby of the GF is a Grand way to begin to your visit!
Recently guests have reported long lines at bell services for the luggage service, again due to Covid creating bizarre times for almost everything.
Sometimes shorter and sometimes longer waits in lines, etc .
I would doublecheck at front desk or at the bell services stand before your departure. You might observe the long line and ask yourself if it is a better idea to just use Uber and transfer your luggage yourself. In that case, ask yourself Is there anyway you can downsize ....
Wow on staying at GF and even bigger WOW for the Riviera Resort. Hope they give you an upgrade for your honeymoon happiness!

Thank you so much! We were originally supposed to be doing a land and sea trip last year so since that isn’t happening we decided to put that $ towards a dream trip! Next trip will be with babies and probably very different so time to enjoy it just us one last time

and yes we saw that new photopass option! I’ve looked into but can’t get the times available to fit into our MK plans. I’ll keep checking tho, because you’re right- that would be so magical!

We have annual passes so we plan on taking total advantage of our photos with photopass all throughout the parks! Thanks for your help!

 

[rick1zoo2]

We did the same split stay in Feb, started at Grand Floridian Villas and moved to Riviera. There is a separate bell services at the GF Villas, which is much more convenient than going all the way over to the main resort lobby. In the morning of our move day, we took our bags down to the Villas Bell Services, which is just outside the doors of the GF Villa Lobby, explained we were checking into the Riviera later that day. Then we went to Animal Kingdom for the day, took the bus to the Riviera and retrieved our luggage from the Bell Services there. I don't remember what time they told us to expect our luggage to arrive at Riviera, but it was there when we got in around 5:30.

Leaving on Magical Express from Riviera, we had bell services keep our bags so we could go to a park for half the day until our Magical Express pick up time.

 

[laurenfratt]

We did the same split stay in Feb, started at Grand Floridian Villas and moved to Riviera. There is a separate bell services at the GF Villas, which is much more convenient than going all the way over to the main resort lobby. In the morning of our move day, we took our bags down to the Villas Bell Services, which is just outside the doors of the GF Villa Lobby, explained we were checking into the Riviera later that day. Then we went to Animal Kingdom for the day, took the bus to the Riviera and retrieved our luggage from the Bell Services there. I don't remember what time they told us to expect our luggage to arrive at Riviera, but it was there when we got in around 5:30.

Leaving on Magical Express from Riviera, we had bell services keep our bags so we could go to a park for half the day until our Magical Express pick up time.

Awesome, thanks so much! Glad to hear they have their own bell services. That will make things a lot easier!

 

[Fangorn]

... I know that I’ve read disney will transfer luggage to our next resort (Riviera) but do I have to set it up ahead of time?

This hasn't really been answered fully yet...

You can either take your luggage down to Bell Services yourself, or have them come pick them up from your room. It's significantly easier to have them come get it.

You don't HAVE to set it up ahead of time, but you CAN. If you do, it'll save you some time.

I've was given this tip from Bell Services at OKW, and I've verified it with Bell Services at every other where I've used luggage transfer (that's at least 6 resorts).

If you wait until the morning you're moving and call down to Bell Services to have them come get your stuff, you may be waiting well over an hour for them to get to you, as it's first come, first served. That can really throw off your plans for the morning. But if you stop by the Bell Services desk the day before, you can set time for them to be at your room. Pre-booked appointments take priority over those morning phone calls. I've done this many times, and Bell Services has always arrived 5min prior to the set time. They arrive, tag the bags, and we're on our way in less than ten minutes.

And yes, they will transport as much stuff as you need them to. Luggage, bags of merch, groceries, whatever. If you have food items that need to be refrigerated or frozen, put them in separate bags and let Bell Services know what's what. They will store the items appropriately at both resorts and during the transfer process.

Speaking of the process, it is a WDW-wide process. At approx 1pm, all bags to be transferred are taken, from their current resort via truck, to a central warehouse where it is all sorted, put back on trucks and taken to the new resort. The process should be complete by 4pm, but it can take longer.
Once at the new resort, Bell Services will have your bags. They will not be delivered to your room automatically. You must be in your room and call from there to have them delivered your bags.

And of course, tipping is expected on both ends of the transfer.

Have a great trip!

Steve

 

[laurenfratt]

This hasn't really been answered fully yet...

You can either take your luggage down to Bell Services yourself, or have them come pick them up from your room. It's significantly easier to have them come get it.

You don't HAVE to set it up ahead of time, but you CAN. If you do, it'll save you some time.

I've was given this tip from Bell Services at OKW, and I've verified it with Bell Services at every other where I've used luggage transfer (that's at least 6 resorts).

If you wait until the morning you're moving and call down to Bell Services to have them come get your stuff, you may be waiting well over an hour for them to get to you, as it's first come, first served. That can really throw off your plans for the morning. But if you stop by the Bell Services desk the day before, you can set time for them to be at your room. Pre-booked appointments take priority over those morning phone calls. I've done this many times, and Bell Services has always arrived 5min prior to the set time. They arrive, tag the bags, and we're on our way in less than ten minutes.

And yes, they will transport as much stuff as you need them to. Luggage, bags of merch, groceries, whatever. If you have food items that need to be refrigerated or frozen, put them in separate bags and let Bell Services know what's what. They will store the items appropriately at both resorts and during the transfer process.

Speaking of the process, it is a WDW-wide process. At approx 1pm, all bags to be transferred are taken, from their current resort via truck, to a central warehouse where it is all sorted, put back on trucks and taken to the new resort. The process should be complete by 4pm, but it can take longer.
Once at the new resort, Bell Services will have your bags. They will not be delivered to your room automatically. You must be in your room and call from there to have them delivered your bags.

And of course, tipping is expected on both ends of the transfer.

Have a great trip!

Steve

Wow! Thanks for all the info! Super helpful, I’ll def use the bell services tip!