Hello and Welcome, Samantha! Thanks for visiting us here at planDisney with your question. Your trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth is quickly approaching. I bet you are getting so excited.
I try to arrive as early as possible to savor all that magic when I visit
Walt Disney World. The earlier the better in my opinion. I think you'll be happy to know that Bell Services will happily store your luggage for you until your Walt Disney World Resort Hotel is ready. When you arrive, just visit the Bell Services counter. Sometimes this is located inside of the lobby and sometimes it is on the outside of the lobby, it just depends on the resort. They'll count the number of pieces that you have and give you a ticket receipt that you'll want to hold on to until you are ready for your things to be retrieved. If you have cold items that need to be refrigerated, they can store these for you too. You'll just need to point out the bags that need to be kept cold. When your room is ready, you can either stop by Bell Services again and collect your things with that ticket receipt or you can wait until you get into your room and use the phone and call down there and ask for your luggage to be brought up to you. This is a complimentary service, but I like to tip the Cast Members helping a few dollars for their hard work.
Did you know that you can sign up to receive a text alert when your room is ready? If you
check-in online using the
MyDisneyExperience app, you can opt-in for this service. I love using it because I am normally pool-side and then love just heading up to my room once it is ready. You can put in what your estimated arrival time is and they will do their best to accommodate you.
If you don't have park tickets and don't want to spend the morning by the pool, I'd suggest checking out Disney Springs. It's my favorite place to hang out at Walt Disney World. Disney Springs is the shopping, dining and entertainment hub. After you drop off your bags you could make your way over there for some shopping and lunch.
The BOATHOUSE is my favorite place to grab a bite to eat while I am down there. If you'd like more of a quick-service style meal and are in the mood for pizza, consider swinging by
Pizza Ponte.
I hope this helps, Samantha. If you have any other questions before your trip, please feel free to stop back by and
ask me. I'm here to help. Have fun!