Cons of doing a split stay?

sazzifrazz · Jul 23, 2015

For our upcoming trip we are thinking of staying 2 nights (fri and sat) at BWV and 3 nights (sun, mon, tues) at poly villas. we rent DVC points. We have never stayed at Poly so that is excited, but I like being able to boat/walk to epcot and DHS...so we thought a split would be perfect. Now Im worried that it will be a "project". Will ADR's, fast passes, magic bands etc all work the same way even with a split. when we check out of BWV will bell services get our stuff to our room at poly?

nkosiek · Jul 23, 2015

ADRs and whatnot shouldn't be a problem, that said, you will probably need to physically check-out of BWV before heading over to the Poly. Seems that the new programming doesn't always work well with split stays in terms of MBs, etc. There have been plenty of people who haven't had a problem with MBs, etc when splitting and others of us have had some interesting experiences.

As for Bell Services, just give them a call, they'll come and pick up and take it over to Poly. When you get to Poly, just go get the stuff from Bell Services (won't be in your room a la Magical Express).

supersnoop · Jul 23, 2015

Actually, ADR's will be a problem. You're 180 day mark for booking ADR's will apply separately to each trip.

Granny · Jul 24, 2015

Since you asked for the cons of doing a split stay, I'll toss in that there is no way I'd do a split stay for less than 4 nights in each location. While bell services will handle your luggage, you still have to pack everything up (including anything you bought for the fridge) and then check out by 11:00 a.m. Odds are good that your other room won't be available until after 4:00 so you need to plan on being out of pocket for at least those five hours...longer if you want to hit the parks early.

And please don't forget to tip bell services on both ends.

It's not a huge deal, and many people do it regularly. But for me, I wouldn't do a split stay for short stays unless it was the only way I could add on a couple of nights for a trip with no date flexibility.

jerseygal · Jul 29, 2015

supersnoop said:
Actually, ADR's will be a problem. You're 180 day mark for booking ADR's will apply separately to each trip.

What you can do on a split stay for the second half you will have to wait till 9am on the 180 day of the FIRST part of the split stay and you can call MS and they will "bridge" the 2 separate split stays which will allow you to make ADR'S for the second part at the 180 day msrk. Only problem is that you loose 3 hours since you can't do it on line at 6am. We did it twice this way for two different split stays. Good luck! :wizard:

disneynutz · Jul 29, 2015

In addition to the above posts, the more resorts/room that you stay in the greater the chance that you may have a reservation, request, MB, or room problem.

:earsboy:

Bill

supersnoop · Jul 29, 2015

jerseygal said:
What you can do on a split stay for the second half you will have to wait till 9am on the 180 day of the FIRST part of the split stay and you can call MS and they will "bridge" the 2 separate split stays which will allow you to make ADR'S for the second part at the 180 day msrk. Only problem is that you loose 3 hours since you can't do it on line at 6am. We did it twice this way for two different split stays. Good luck!

Within the last six months? This is no longer possible.

jerseygal · Jul 30, 2015

supersnoop said:
Within the last six months? This is no longer possible.

Yes, did it again this past April. :goodvibes

elliefusmom · Jul 30, 2015

We just completed a 3 day at Poly and a 3 day at Beach Club. We had no problems but I didn't book my ADR at 180 and we had a rental car. I loved both locations and will do this again in the future.

jerseygal · Jul 30, 2015

elliefusmom said:
We just completed a 3 day at Poly and a 3 day at Beach Club. We had no problems but I didn't book my ADR at 180 and we had a rental car. I loved both locations and will do this again in the future.

We enjoy split stays too; "best" of both worlds! :thumbsup2

How did you enjoy your stay at BCV? :confused3

Since a renovation project has been "pushed back" what were your impression of the rooms? Did you enjoy the Poly?
Did you stay in one of three DVC buildings? THANKS! :cheer2:

n2mm · Jul 30, 2015

We do not split, though we sometimes will stay in our first night resort cheaper, then move to our bigger unit the next morning. When we do this we add dining to our one night stay, get our mugs and use them in resort number two. So having two resorts can be good by adding dining to one and not the other. We don't like to split because we like to unpack and do not like living out of a suitcase. We also don't like being without a home.

schoen · Jul 30, 2015

My last two stays were split stays, and this year I vowed to never do it again. It was just a hassle. We had to pack, and unpack twice. There was that timeframe where we were homeless, and therefore we just felt somewhat unsettled. We DID have magic band issues on both split stays that required about an hour each time to resolve. It was just a pain. I would not reccomend it.

elliefusmom · Jul 30, 2015

Jerseygal...BCV was fine. I was really disappointed that they delayed the refurbishments and went in with very low expectations. We were in studio 559.
We were on first floor of Moorea... Studio DVC at Poly. It was beautiful. We had no problems with wristbands

gdrj · Jul 30, 2015

We do split stays all the time, in fact last week at Poly and BLT. We actually late in our planning extended our stay and had our last night at POR (an extra day at WDW is worth the move).

As far as "issues" I think it all depends on what you consider a problem.
1- As far as Dining Reservations- we've never booked at 180, and have never had an issue getting a resv that we wanted so for us not an issue.
2- No issues with MB with tickets, FP's etc. When we checked out of Poly (went to front desk to make sure), we did have a problem with room door at BLT but it took 30 seconds to fix.
3- After leaving first resort room we usually go to pool at either resort or park. If at pool we will bring a backpack with clothes to change into.
4- While true that you may not get your room request at both resorts (we did), you may not get your request even if you are at just one resort.

IMO if you think it will be a problem and be an issue, it probably will be. If you go with the flow it will be fine.

ziravan · Jul 31, 2015

We don't mind split stays per se. We've done several. We just decided to take a trip about 30 days out from our decision to go:

MS is tired of all the changes we've made this week, we've made at least one change a day since we decided to go on short notice. We started out with one day at AKV 1br Savanna and 5 nights at 1br OKW and now we're at 2 nights OKW 1BR Near Hospitality House, 2 nights BCV studio, and 2 nights AKV Savanna studio. Whew! If Poly or more BCV days open up, we will change again! I would say, not likely, but then, we've already had BCV nights open up this week and I'm stalking, and I mean --- stalking.

MS rep, "You sure know how to move your points around!"

Yes, I do.

Cons? Biggest con of a split stay is all the touring plans suggest hitting the parks early and late and going back to your room during the heat of the day to rest and swim. This is in fact a chief advantage of staying on site. Not having a room from during the heat of the day detracts quite a bit from that strategy.

PlutoFan10 · Jul 31, 2015

Along with the con above of being without a room until at least 4pm on move day, staying just 2 nights is not ideal. We have vowed to stay at least 3 nights per resort. With a 2-night stay, you only have 1 day that does not involve check in or check out. Need more time to settle in and enjoy the resort. To avoid/minimize magic band issues, be sure to physically visit the front desk to check out before going to your next resort. We have had no problems when using that advice.

lilpnutmama · Aug 7, 2015

we have almost always done splits and enjoy it but here is one con I haven't seen mentioned.

The baby and I came down with a horrible gastro bug on the morning we had to transfer hotels and our room in the second hotel was not ready nor would they let us in until 4. We were really lucky my parents had checked in the night before so they ended up letting us stay in their room.
Now this is a total fluke thing and wouldn't (and didn't) hesitate to a split again. But it can happen!! It is weird not having a home base for a day.

Other then that we enjoy split stays. I never tell the kids where the second part will be and its exciting for them to find out

DVCjj · Aug 7, 2015

I am totally puzzled by the comments about problems with ADR's, Fast Passes etc. for a Split Stay.

I have done 4 Split Stays in the past year+ (love them!) and have ZERO problems with ANYTHING. I make ADR's for each day (separate resorts) on 180 days out. No problem. I make Fast Passes for each day (separate resorts) at 60 days out. Everything perfect.

Twice I did 3 resorts in 4 days. Purposely wanted an adventure as DH loves it. Took a taxi to the new resort though in a month, will do UBER.

Just make sure to check OUT of each resort. Very important for the Magic Bands.

LOVE Split Stays. So much fun.

DenLo · Aug 8, 2015

There are only two cons I can think of to a split stay, unpacking and repacking or IMO worse yet is to live out of a suitcase. And the delay to get into the next room. Everything else works the same. Now with online check in it even goes smoother as you really do not need to go to the other resort, just send your luggage via Bell Services. And then when you get your room notification text you can go straight to the new room. You can use all of your MBs you have active on both resorts, you just need to key them to the room door for them to work around the lock doors at the resort and gates at the pools (if there are any).

DisneyStarWisher · Aug 8, 2015

I used to do split stays mainly for dining plan purposes. I hated it though and decided it wasn't worth it. I hate packing and moving. Such a waste of precious vacation time. We even have a car and still hate it. I like getting somewhere, unpacking, and staying put. Much more relaxing. We usually do 5-night trips so I think that doesn't help. Two days here, three days there. Too disruptive. If I were doing a two-week trip, I might feel differently but I doubt it. In fact, my DH and I are nearing retirement and are planning on adding on points at AKV just to stay in a savanna-view studio for 12 nights at a time. No moving involved!

Cons of doing a split stay?

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