Is switching resorts mid-vacation too much of a pain?

[mommyseven]

I cannot decide where to stay. We normally go on short three-day weekend trips, but in Sept. we are doing for seven (maybe 8 days). For various reasons, I have decided to do the POR (hubby likes this one), but I may want to stay at another. I'm not sure if I'd like the POR (haven't stayed there yet myself) enough to be there for seven to eight days.

I understand that bell services will transport baggage from one resort to the next, and that we can do it while visiting a park. But is it worth it? I'd have to get everyone (9 of us) packed up the night before or morning of.

If some great rates came out, I'd might be more tempted to go through the hassle. I'd sure like a few days in a deluxe (Poly or CR).

What would y'all do?

 

[motaei]

Although I have read many thread of people who love to resort hop, I am not one of them (and I only have 4 in my family). A big part of my vacation is getting to relax. However, I find that packing is a pain (repacking all the kids' stuff, double checking every drawer & under beds, etc.) so I only want to do it once.

On my last trip, I was forced to move to another resort due to air-conditioning problems at CSR. Although YC was very nice & we did enjoy it , the hassle of having to pack everything and get it moved was a not fun. It took a good 24 hours to find DS's luggage after the move. Even though the luggage was moving with us & it still got lost.

Well, that's my side of the story. I am sure you will get many posts from others saying how wonderful it is to experience different resorts on a single stay, However, I would rather experience a different resort on another stay.

Have a great trip no matter where you stay.

 

[4greatboys]

We always stay at atleast 2 resorts on our trips. One Disney and one Universal. This trip we are staying at 4 resorts and there will be 9 of us the first week and 11 the second week. I do all the packing as well because I like to make sure I have everything.

 

[Minky]

I LOVE resort hopping

Its cool because you get to experience two totally different themes to your vacation and actually makes it seem longer....as far as packing and unpacking....We just take what we need out of our suitcases for the first few days (basically staying packed) and on the last day just drive over to the other resort and check in (we have done this many times and it has never taken more than an hour)

 

[Kitty 34]

Our last two trips we have gone from the WDW Dolphin to Universal's Hard Rock Hotel. Piece of cake!

 

[cobbler]

I am doing this for the first time this year. We have a 9 night vacation and will stay 4 at Pop and 5 at all star sports.

I will be interested to see if I think it is a hassle or what myself.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

DD and I split our last stay, and it was only 4 nights!! We did the same as Minky, we just unpacked part of our stuff the first two nights, and packed our dirty clothes as we undressed. Let me explain that we only had 2 duffles with us, and a drawstring bag with our sundries, and I tried to pack 2 days worth of clothes in one duffle, the other two in the other.

We really enjoyed having 2 vacations in one, and to keep the stress to a minimum, we had the bellman get us a cab to transfer. From Poly to AKL, the fare was $13.50 + tip, not bad, IMO.

Have a great time, whatever you decide!!

 

[dawng]

Last June we did this we actually moved 3 times. Daughter was dancing with her Dance Team (D.T.) in M.K. We went down earlier then the D.T and stayed at W.L. and then had to move to ASMusic because we had to stay with the D.T. for 2 nights then to Boardwalk. Our other trips we had stayed at ASMovies so it was a chance to try some other resorts and we got a good price for W.L. and Boardwalk. Loved W.L. was not really impressed with the Boardwalk and probably would not stay again. It wasn't to bad moving I just never really unpacked. We did not have any problems with our luggage being moved at all 3 resorts and we did not have a car so we just packed up in the morning took the luggage outside in the holding room and they gave us a ticket and said it should arrive by noon at the next resort. I have read that you should go over to the next resort as early as possible to check in. The next time I would probably just do two.

 

[dijid]

We won't resort hop until the kids have outgrown naps. It's just too hard for us to check out by 11am and then be "homeless" during naptime. Otherwise I think it would be fun!

 

[Susiesnowflake]

I'm with Motaei. We also were a forced split stay on our last trip, due to CRO overbooking. While many people love split stays and experiencing the theming and benefits of the different resorts, we found the move to take a big chunk out of our vacation time. We also didn't like being homeless for hours and hours and hours. It happened to be very rainy on our move day. Tried checking in early but our room wasn't ready. Were told we'd be able to get in by 3:00 but that also didn't happen. We couldn't get into our room until just before 5 and barely made an early PS for that night. The split stay proved frustrating and inconvenient to us.

Hoping things run smoother for you, if this is something you decide to do. It does seem to work for many!

 

[Katy]

We love to split resorts - only if we're staying at least a week. Then we would do 3 and 4. We just split the Dolphin and Hardrock in April. We unpack only what we'll need for the first few days and keep our bags ready to be repacked. The night before a move we throw our stuff into our luggage before we go to bed and leave as early as possible.

We keep a backpack with swimsuits, medication and anything else we might need during the day in case (almost always) our room is not ready. Then we check in early and either spend the day at the pool or hit the parks. With a little pre-planning it's a breeze and you truly feel like you get two vacations in one. We also split stays between the Disney resorts - they're all so different. Don't be afraid to give it a try - I think you'll like it!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

This will be our first time splitting our stay. We'll be at Universal (HRH) for 5 nights and then GF for 6 nights. I'm planning on dividing the clothes into different suitcases, Disney v. Universal. This started out as a Universal trip only but then we couldn't be that close to DIsney and not go, so DH said let's just go for a couple of nights and surprise the kids. It's grown into where we're actually spending more nights at DIsney than Universal. It's still a surprise for the kids which is another reason I'm keeping the suitcases separate. If they see all their Disney clothes and autograph books, light toys etc. the jig will be up!

 

[airhead]

...our "two vacations"! I wanted to try the Dolphin and my SO really wanted to try AKL so because we're going for 2 weeks I felt it would be a good idea. I don't think I would do it if I had kids with me(because of all the work that would involve!)and I know I wouldn't do it if I was going for less than 2 weeks. We're wicked psyched about staying at these 2 resorts!!!!!!


airhead(..are we there yet????)

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

But I must admit. I am one of those people who don't unpack. I just have a bag for our dirty clothes. I don't like to take a lot of clothes on vacation. I figure I can do one or two loads while sitting at the pool or something. (and next time we go, we are renting a home/townhouse that will have a washer/dryer.....so it will be even easier)

And when we switched, we just used a cab and transferred our own luggage. I had heard horror stories about people not getting their luggage in time at the next resort (Disney) so I didn't want to take any chances. ($12 was worth the peace of mind I received)

I zipped the suitcases, got in the taxi, went to WL, checked the bags with the front desk, and off we went to the parks. When we came back that night, we got our bags and went to our room. No sweat!

We feel it is like two different vacations. But keep in mind. We don't go every year. If we went every year, I might want to do one resort at a time.

 

[KCritter]

It's just DH and I, and I hate splitting the stay between two resorts. It's just too much time wasted packing & unpacking and standing in line to check in. From now on, if I want to experience another resort, we'll go have a meal in their restaurant, or plan another trip (yeah!) so we can stay there.

 

[xmatt0926x]

We've resort switched many times now and I think if you put enough effort into planning it out beforehand, you can avoid alot of the inconveniences of doing too much packing and unpacking. Its really worth it if your like us and really value the different theming and atmospheres that the different hotels provide. For us, the hotel choice is almost as important as enjoying the parks themselves, so we really get alot out of getting the variety when you switch. The only rule we have for ourselves is that if we are going to do a switch in the middle, we have to stay at each hotel for at least 3 nights. When its only 2 nights, it just seems like your stay is over before you know it and its not worth the hassle. just my 2cents.