Split stay for arrival night worth it?

[princessesintraining]

We have one free night at any deluxe, which is currently booked at the Grand Floridian. Our flight lands at 6 pm. We will then be moving on to the Wilderness Lodge for the remainder of our trip. We now have family travelling with us that will be at the lodge the whole time. Should we try to switch to the contemporary or extend our stay at the lodge? We’ve never stayed at the Grand or the Contempoarary. How hard is it to switch resorts? We’d like to be at MK fo rope drop. Thanks!

 

[Hopefully]

If your flight is scheduled to land at 6 PM how are you planning to get to the Resort. If DME, I would pick up my luggage myself at that time of day. The average time is 90 minutes, without stopping for luggage. So you are looking at about 2 hours until you arrive at your resort. That is if everything goes exactly as planned.
I would not pay for the Grand for a few hours

 

[princessesintraining]

If your flight is scheduled to land at 6 PM how are you planning to get to the Resort. If DME, I would pick up my luggage myself at that time of day. The average time is 90 minutes, without stopping for luggage. So you are looking at about 2 hours until you arrive at your resort. That is if everything goes exactly as planned.
I would not pay for the Grand for a few hours

We are doing carry ons, and DME to get to the hotel. The night at the Grand is free because we had a bad trip 3 years ago with room issues at the Poly.

How does my luggage get moved from one resort to the other. Should I get a taxi and take it to WL?

 

[Hopefully]

We are doing carry ons, and DME to get to the hotel. The night at the Grand is free because we had a bad trip 3 years ago with room issues at the Poly.

How does my luggage get moved from one resort to the other. Should I get a taxi and take it to WL?

Disney will move your luggage for you, but it will not be available to you at the new resort until late afternoon/early evening. You call or take it to Bell Services and they will transfer it in the afternoon. Once it arrives at the new resort, call Bell Services and request that it be delivered. A tip both ways is approrpriate.
I would take a taxi/Uber/Lyft and move it myself so I know it is there when I get into my room.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As lovely as GF is, if you aren't getting to the resort until about 7:30 pm or later and you intend to do RD the next day, going to GF and then switching to WL the very next day is not very convenient. If you were coming in earlier and could really enjoy the resort, it would be a different story. It certainly isn't the best value for your free night, but I would see if you can book WL in the same room category you will be in for the rest of your stay or somehow add that free night onto the stay you have. If you have to add it as a separate reservation, at check-in, I would tell the front desk you have a "continuing reservation" and would like to stay in the same room. If that isn't possible, and you need to switch rooms, you can simply give your bags to bell services before you head to MK and then pick them up when you get back and go to your new room. It will be far more convenient than having luggage transferred or transferring it yourself.

 

[FSU Girl]

I think you should keep your GF reservation. It's a really nice hotel and the most expensive of the three you're looking at so a good value for a free night. It's not hard to get to Wilderness Lodge, call and Uber or Minnie Van to pick you and your luggage up and take you over. It's like a 5 minute drive if that. That way if your room isn't ready you can leave your luggage with bell services and pick it up when your room is ready and not have to wait around for it to arrive if the hotel transfers it.

The lobby of the Grand is really nice, you can listen to the live band, have a drink at the bar. The grounds are really nice too to take a stroll around and their quick service is 24 hours.

 

[SharonZ]

I would not waste your free one night stay when you are arriving so late. Save it for when you can enjoy a whole day at GF. And, I second taking your luggage to WL via Uber or Lyft.

 

[princessesintraining]

We will be using the free night regardless on this trip, as it will save us at least $400. I think I will try for the Wilderness Lodge for the additional night. If it’s not available, we will keep the Grand reservation.