Hi, Amber! Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Thank you for stopping by with this great question!
I am so happy that you get to start your Walt Disney World Resort vacation a whole day early! Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is a great place to relax before jumping into the Disney Theme Park magic! When you check-in to your first Disney Resort hotel, you will be given a
MagicBand that will be active and you will be able to use it to access your Disney Dining Plan and your Disney Theme Park Tickets. What you won’t be able to do until you visit Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort to check-in, is use it for credit card purchases as you will need to sign a separate form for this to become active. Unless you “decline” your second set of MagicBands, you will receive new ones at each check-in and you can use either as long as they are “active”.
Having just done a “split stay” myself, I suggest calling Bell Services the morning you are switching Disney Resort hotels and let them know of your plans. They will send someone to your room to gather all of your luggage and it will be magically transported to your next Disney Resort hotel. When you are ready for your luggage at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, again- call Bell Services and they will send someone to your room with your luggage. Although not required, it is customary to tip your Bell Service Cast Member for exceptional service. If you have signed-up for express check-out (where your credit card on file gets automatically charged and you receive an email receipt), there is no need for you to go to the front desk to check-out of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, which will expedite the “switch”.
I hope this answers your question and you have the most magical vacation! Please come back and visit us again real soon!
Jen