Question about split stay check in

[Fairy Godmother]

A question for those of you who have done a split stay. How early do you check in to the second hotel? We are doing a split stay in May between the Poly and Wilderness Lodge and I am wondering how early I should check in to the Wilderness Lodge. We will have a car so should I do it early in the morning before we go to the parks or is it ok to do check in late afternoon when we come back from the parks?
I realize our rooms won't be ready until late afternoon but is there any advantage to checking in early?
I have become a compulsive over planner with this trip.
Thanks in advance for your wonderful advice!

 

[scoutsmom99]

I have done both. It was nice to check in early in the am (9am) because there were next to no lines and our room was actually ready. When we came back at 4pm the check-in line was very long. The last time did the parks till noon or so and then went to check-in and the room was available. One thing about checking in early is that you may run into people who are checking out and have a wait.

 

[TandCmum]

if you check in early and your room isn't ready can you still use the resorts facilities ???

 

[safetymom]

Once you are checked in you are their guest and can use the facilities.

 

[Super Goof]

A question for those of you who have done a split stay. How early do you check in to the second hotel? We are doing a split stay in May between the Poly and Wilderness Lodge and I am wondering how early I should check in to the Wilderness Lodge. We will have a car so should I do it early in the morning before we go to the parks or is it ok to do check in late afternoon when we come back from the parks?
I realize our rooms won't be ready until late afternoon but is there any advantage to checking in early?
I have become a compulsive over planner with this trip.
Thanks in advance for your wonderful advice!

We just returned from a WL/Poly/Wonder/AKL split stay. On the day we moved to Poly, I got up extra early and was at their check-in desk by 7 am. We were able to get a great upgrade on the room (for $$$, no pixie dust) from a garden view to an MK view. I would definitely recommend going over to WL in the morning. Poly and WL are so close to each other that you could be over to WL for check-in and back to Poly while the rest of the family is getting ready for the day. If you do a late afternoon check-in after the parks, you may have tired people with no place to go but the lobby and shops while you proceed through the line. With a morning check-in, you'll already have your room key. That way, when you return in the afternoon from the parks, you can go straight up to your room. At WL, Bell Services had our luggage to us about 10 minutes after we arrived in the room. Enjoy your split stay!

 

[Super Momma]

Hi,
We are thinking of doing a split stay for the first time. Do we have to transfer our luggage or will Disney do it? We are thinking of starting with ASmovies and moving to AK fo rour last two nights. How difficult is it to do a split stay?
Thanks

 

[Super Goof]

Hi,
We are thinking of doing a split stay for the first time. Do we have to transfer our luggage or will Disney do it? We are thinking of starting with ASmovies and moving to AK fo rour last two nights. How difficult is it to do a split stay?
Thanks

It's not too difficult. Disney will transfer your luggage. On your resort change day, simply call Bell Services at ASM and let them know where you're headed. They'll label everything with the appropriate transfer tags. Your luggage will be at AKL by mid-afternoon, like 3pm or so. When you arrive at AKL, let the Bell Services desk know you're there, or call from your room. Your luggage will be then be delivered to your room. The only trouble with split stays is that you have to pack your bags to be ready for shipping over to the next resort, and that you'll be without a room for a few hours. We liked our split stay. We found that with a little advance planning, split stays were very easy to manage.

 

[DebIreland]

Last summer we checked into Wilderness Lodge at 7pm after staying in Hard Rock Hotel the night before. We got an upgrade from standard to courtyard or Woods view (I'm not actually sure but it had bunk beds and it overlooked the villas and quiet pool and was a beautiful view). There was no-one else in line at 7pm - it worked out great!

I bet Wilderness Lodge will be stunning in Autumn, we stayed in June and whilst it was beautiful I kept thinking it would be even nicer in Autumn/Winter. Have a wonderful time and allow some time to just sit on the balcony and relax, it's lovely!