Hi there, Mia! Welcome to
planDisney, and thank you so much for bringing us your question!
The good news is that yes, this can absolutely work, and it doesn't really matter who originally booked the reservation. The important thing is that the reservation either be under your name or include you as one of the Guests staying in the room. Once that happens and the reservation is properly connected to your
My Disney Experience account, Disney's systems should recognize your onsite stay benefits.
That means you should be able to take advantage of the earlier
Lightning Lane booking window based on your resort stay eligibility, even if the reservation itself was made by your employer. I would definitely recommend checking with your employer first to see whether the reservation is already connected to your My Disney Experience account. Sometimes corporate or conference bookings are handled a little differently, so it's always good to confirm.
If the reservation is not currently showing in your plans, you can absolutely
call the Walt Disney World help center and ask a Cast Member to help connect it to your account or add you to the reservation properly. Once it appears in My Disney Experience, everything becomes much easier to manage.
As for luggage transfer between
Disney Resorts Collection hotels, you can most certainly use that service as well. Disney makes resort-to-resort transfers very convenient. All you need to do is call Bell Services either the night before your transfer or early on the morning of checkout. A Bell Services Cast Member will come collect your luggage and have it transferred over to your next Disney resort for you.
I personally love using this service because it allows you to enjoy the parks or Disney Springs instead of dragging bags around all day. One little tip from me: I usually like to tip a few dollars per bag when using Bell Services.
Mia, it sounds like you have such a fun split-stay setup planned. I hope your transition between resorts feels seamless and magical from start to finish. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach back out to us. We're always available and happy to help!
Warm hugs,
Ana Paula