Hey Howdy Hey, John!
Welcome Home and welcome to planDisney! How exciting that you have an upcoming Disney vacation just on the horizon. A whole new world of magic awaits you, and with your stay at your
Disney Vacation Club Resort, you will have all of the amenities of a home-away-from-home while being immersed in the magic!
John, you are able to use the
Direct-to-Room service and complete online check-in on your phone using the
My Disney Experience Mobile App, prior to your arrival. There, you can indicate your early arrival time - this lets the Resort know that you'll be arriving early and would love to have the earliest check-in possible. While you can note you will be there early, typically rooms aren't ready before 3 p.m. at most Disney Resort Hotels or 4 p.m. for Disney Vacation Club Villas. If you decide to do the Direct-to-Room service, then you will be alerted via text or push notification from the My Disney Experience when your room is ready. Alternatively, you can check your My Disney Experience app to see if your room is ready.
In the meantime, on the day of check-in, you can drop your luggage at
Bell Services which will give you a claim ticket. I chatted with Roberta at Guest Services who noted that generally speaking, Bell Services is open 24 hours, however, they are less staffed in the overnight hours between 10 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. They are fully open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (times subject to change). So, if you'd like to arrive to your Disney Vacation Club Resort at 7:00 a.m., you can leave your luggage with them then if you like. You can go about your day, visit one of the theme parks, or enjoy the on-property amenities. When your room is ready, you can go directly to your room. You can open your door using your My Disney Experience app. You may also be able to use your MagicBand to open your door, but sometimes, they don't work right away until you visit the Front Desk and have them reconnected.
If you are busy enjoying the magic in the parks, you don't have to come back when your room is ready. You can continue to enjoy some pixie dust until you are ready to return to the hotel. Then, just call down Bell Services when you return to your room, and with a Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, they'll bring your luggage directly to you!
If you have any further questions, stop back and see me. I'll be so happy to help you.
Have fun making magical memories!
Keri