Transfering Luggage from Resorts?

[Splash Mountain Fan]

If we book a cash room at another resort the night before our check-in at DVC, will Dinsey transfer our luggage or are we on our own?

 

[Pennyguy23]

I believe they will transfer it but we ALWAYS take a taxi to what ever resort we are switching to. We always think its worth it to pay 15 or 20$ for the time we save by doing that. We don't like having to get on a bus to a park then find the bus to our resort. It just gets you there that much faster so you don't waste your day moving around.

 

[MAO]

DVC told me that they would -- I'll be finding out this weekend. Member Services told me that they would not allow me to get on a Disney bus with luggage, but if I took my luggage to Bell Services (is that the right term?) at the first hotel and told them I was transferring they'd move my luggage to the corresponding resort's Bell Services where I could pick it up a few hours later. I would assume this would only work if both hotels were Disney properties.

 

[DMKEDM]

Disney does a very nice job of inter-resort luggage transfers (so long as you are aware of their process)...

First, it is true that there is a rule against taking luggage on the DVC busses...occasionally you'll see a bus driver who allows it, during an "empty" time of day...but more often you'll see them refuse to allow you to board w/luggage...

Second, you do in fact either take your luggage to Bell Services, or ask Bell Services to come get it (either way works). There is no charge, but tipping is expected.

Bell Services at the resort where you're checking out will deliver your luggage to Bell Services at the resort where you're checking in. All inter-resort luggage transfers take place between 1 and 3 in the afternoon. So there's no chance for getting your luggage back prior to 3 (or so) in the afternoon of the day you transfer.

Your new resort's Bell Services will deliver your luggage to you, but there's a rule that you have to be in the room to receive it (unlike ME, who will just leave it for you if you're not there). Of course, you can stop by Bell Services and pick it up yourself if you want--but it won't be there til some time between 1 and 3 due to the inter-resort luggage transfer "window" they use.

Each time you deal w/a Bell Services person, a tip is expected. But there's no mandatory charge of any kind.

This was the process in place when we changed resorts (or villas within a resort) 3 times on an 8-day trip last year (OKW to SSR to BWV/pv to BWV/sv)...once we figured out the late afternoon arrival and the need to be in the room to get our luggage, it was smooth as silk and a great service...

And yes, this only works among Disney resorts--but it works for all Disney resorts, whether or not they're DVC...it does not work for the Swan, Dolphin, or Downtown Disney resorts...

Good luck to you!

 

[MAO]

I understand a tip to Bell Services if I ask them to come to the room to pick up my luggage at the first resort -- however, what if I just hand it to them at the desk on my way out the door? Note that I'm talking one piece of carry-on luggage that is so small it fits under the seat in front of me on an airplane, not several pieces of large luggage. And how much of a tip for either the original resort or the new resort? Thanks for the details.

 

[DMKEDM]

Tipping is "by definition" not mandatory...it's just "expected"...and to some degree that expectation is as much in the mind of the tipper as the person receiving the tip...

Where I'm from (big city/east coast) the "usual" tip is $1-$2/bag...a lower amount for lots of bags, the higher amount for fewer (or smaller) bags...at least that's how I do it...

I've never had a Disney CM "ask" me for a tip...ever...but I always felt like if I dealt w/a CM who gets tips and that CM took a bag (or bags) from me--whether at Bell Services or in my room--I "needed" to tip...

And it did get to be a noticeable amount last winter when we had a total of 6 luggage transfers (to and from 3 resorts/villas)...for the last one, we were a party of four w/10 bags (4 suitcases, 4 laptop computer bags, and two carryon type bags) being moved from our preferred view villa at BWV to a standard view villa...I spent $30 tipping on the two transfers...and noticed it! Tried, for the second "round," to send my two teenaged boys to get the bags...but Bell Services insisted on walking back to the villa w/the boys...seemed like a fairly "obvious" tip expectation to me...

But, once I got used to the idea, it seems to me the Bell Services CMs need the money a whole lot worse than I do...and that that $30 meant more to those "kids" than it would to us (especially split up among the four of us)...so I tipped and decided not to begrudge it...

Of course, whether you tip at all, and if so, when and how much, is entirely up to you...