We will be staying at POFQ and then moving to Polynesian. As of right now, I don't have a park planned for that day. I was planning on doing a pool day but then realized I might not have access to my luggage. I'm wondering if I should just move my luggage myself. I was thinking about taking a Minnie Van for the move. I'm assuming we would have access to the POFQ pool as long as we want on the check out day, as well as the Polynesian pool for our entire check in day even if our room might not be ready. Should we do the pool day at the check out resort or the check in resort? I kind of hate the idea of not having access to my luggage all day.....I don't know why.
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Split Stay Moving Day
- Thread starter WDWFan2018
- Start date
CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
Are you able to get your family up and out of bed early in the morning? Rather than take the full day off, I suggest taking the prior night off to get really packed and organized, then check out early in the morning, around 7am. Drop your bags with bell services and rope drop a park. Call it quits after lunch time and hit the Poly pool for the afternoon/evening.
It's the same approach I take on checkout morning when I have a late flight. Pack the night prior, ditch the bags early, and head to a park for opening.
It's the same approach I take on checkout morning when I have a late flight. Pack the night prior, ditch the bags early, and head to a park for opening.
This is a definite possibility. We could do MK that day; take the bus over and then take the shuttle back to Poly. My concern is the luggage. I've heard that we may not have access until after 4:00pm so if we wanted to change into swimsuits, that may not be an option. My kids are young so we don't do rope drop to fireworks. If we do rope drop, we usually head back to the resort either for dinner or right after dinner (depends where we eat).
CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
Do you carry a park bag? Swimsuits don't take up much room. 4pm seems late. I'm sure they say that to cover themselves, but the few times I've done a split stay it never took that long.
Do they nap? This doesn't really apply to your split stay scenario, but we've had the most success going early in the morning, taking a break in the afternoon, and then returning to a park for the evening (but still not super late). It keeps us out of the heat and crowds at their peaks.
nickys
Premium Member
You would have access to both pools. You could change in the shower areas.
If you want to move your own luggage, Bell Services at POFQ would hold them for you until you are ready to move, then drop them at the Poly Bell Services until your room is ready and you are ready to actually move in.
If you want to move your own luggage, Bell Services at POFQ would hold them for you until you are ready to move, then drop them at the Poly Bell Services until your room is ready and you are ready to actually move in.
Ok good. I'm glad 4:00PM isn't the norm.
No, they don't nap anymore. They're 7 and 4. We've never done a park, a break, and then back to the park before (not to say I would never do that). They were 6 & 3 and 5 & 2 the last 2 times we went, so when they started to get tired, we just went back to the resort to relax. I think maybe making the moving day a park day is actually a good idea (also saves me on a Minnie Van lol). It looks like MK will have a MNSSHP that day, so we'll get kicked out of the park early anyway.
Ok thanks. I just want to do whatever gives me access to my luggage the earliest haha. I think I'll let them move it and just hope everything is at the new resort when I need it.
nickys
Premium Member
The luggage transfers don’t start until around 3/4pm. So if you think you’ll need it before 6pm, I would move it yourself.
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
If it helps, what my family did when we transferred (in our case, from Beach Club to Polynesian) was:
- Before 8am: Pack up, check out, and drop our bags with Bell Services at the Beach Club with instructions to transfer to the Polynesian.
- 10 minutes later: Grab a bus to the Magic Kingdom. Tour for 6 hours, with a CS lunch, and leave the park just after the 3pm parade.
- Just before 4pm: Hop on the monorail to the Polynesian. Check in and head to our room. (*We tried to pick up our bags with Bell Services right in the lobby, but they refused and asked us to call them once we got to the room, probably because they wanted a tip.)
- Just after 4pm: Arrive at the room and "ooh" and "aah" over its unrivaled loveliness (seriously). Call for bags, which arrive 10 or so minutes later, and settle in. Freshen up for dinner reservation at 'Ohana, and then return to the MK (since it's now so conveniently close!).
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Yeah, this is where the confusion sets in. I'm getting a lot of different information regarding the luggage transfer and that's what's making me nervous.
nickys
Premium Member
Luggage transfers don’t start until after check-out time so they can coordinate the moves. So the absolute earliest anything would start to actually be loaded would be noon. And I believe they then get taken to a central point, where the bags etc are sorted into the drops.
Occasionally you can be unlucky. We transferred from Kidani to Bay Lake, we phoned at 9pm, it was located at Kidani at 10pm and then they brought it directly over. It just hadn’t been loaded. Luckily all the chilled and frozen stuff was still in their cold store, but when they arrived with the bags they forgot to bring it. So we waited until around 11:30 for that!
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
Huh. I never heard that. When we dropped our bags at Bell Services for our split stay transfer, we were told that it could "take up to several hours." However, the bags we dropped off around 8am at the Beach Club were there and waiting at the Polynesian before 4pm.
If you're worried about it, OP, and are committed to spending the day at a pool, then the efficiency of having your bags transferred for you by Bell Services (while you go to a park, for example) kind of evaporates. If you just want to go directly from one hotel to the other, then a Minnie Van (or better yet, if you don't care to spend three times as much on a vehicle just because of its paint job, a regular old Lyft XL or Uber XL) with your luggage in tow is probably your most efficient and low-stress option.
You'll still have to check your bags with Bell Services at the Polynesian if your room isn't ready, but you'll know they're there. You can even check in online designating an early arrival, and cross your fingers that your room might even be ready when you arrive. Check at the front desk when you get there to check the status of your room. (You will have full use/access to the Polynesian pool and other resort amenities on your check-in and check-out days, regardless of the readiness of your room: you will, however, need your MagicBands to get into the pool area, so make sure to keep them with you.) Then you can relax by the pool, which in my family's opinion is the loveliest on property (especially if you're not visiting during high-crowd times, as it's not huge), and enjoy first-rate CS at Captain Cook's, a fun drink from the pool bar, and a stunning view across the water.
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That was my original plan. The reason I was going to go the Minnie Van route was because I need 2 car seats. Can you specify that with Uber or Lyft?
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
Not sure about Lyft, but Uber Car Seat (formerly known as UberFAMILY) allows you to make car seat requests - but only for ONE car seat. (Info here: https://tripswithtykes.com/uber-car-seat-orlando/). So if you need two, Minnie Van (or a similar, privately-arranged taxi or towncar service) may be your only choice if you want to travel with your luggage.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
That’s what I would do. I also don’t like being without my luggage, risking forgetting to keep something important, or it being moved late or lost - and worrying about it all day.
We usually have our own car and move it ourselves. It becomes an incidental task at that point, rather than a big deal. The Minnie Van sounds like a good solution for you.
**When you do online check-in for the Poly, select something around 9AM for your arrival time. Regardless of generally accepted check-in times, they will often send you a “room ready” text between 9-11AM. We do it all the time. Obvious exception: busier times.
I like to get it done and overwith as early as possible so we can get on with having a blast.
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CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
Two adults, two small kids, very likely a stroller, and who knows how many bags... seems dicey space-wise.
OP, you're working yourself into unnecessary stress (and cost) about the luggage IMO. Just go enjoy the park and let Disney do the work. Consider the fact that Magic Kingdom crowds will probably be light that day anyways due to the Halloween Party in the evening.
wdwfan22
Well-Known Member
We always transfer the luggage ourselves on moving days. This last stay we moved from Contemporary to Polynesian. We arrived early to check-in, left bags with bell services and began the day. While 4 pm is not the norm for when the room is available it does happen. This last visit our Contemporary room wasn't available till 5:30 and Polynesian wasn't ready until 4:15 pm. We always go ahead with whatever we have scheduled for the day so we are not stuck waiting on the room.
CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
Do you have a rental car in this scenario or are you lugging suitcases on monorails and buses? That's the major difference IMO, especially with young kids in tow.
LeighM
Well-Known Member
I have 3 split stays this trip thanks to a cancelled cruise and Disney releasing 2 different discounts during my one week there. For the first transfer, from Caribbean Beach to Coronado Springs, I'm going to let Bell Services transfer my luggage because I'll be in AK most of the day. For the second transfer, I'm going to take an Uber with my luggage from Coronado to AKL. It's going to be a very short distance (and cheap!) and because we are only at AKL for one night, I don't want to risk getting the luggage too late at night (when we're being picked up at 5:30am).
Simba’s Mom
Active Member
If you don't like getting up early, how about planning some time at DS on "moving day"? I'll probably have a late TS breakfast on my next moving day, go to DS, then take the bus back to my new resort. And since it's an Epcot resort, I'll probably go to Epcot in the eve.