split resort stays

[mirmartinez]

i was set to modify ressie and figured should get some feedback first.

so here are my questions

are splits resort stays difficult?

Is it time consuming to move your stuff over (would not want to waste a day switching resorts?

what is the shortest time frame you be willing to split for. Is 8/2 7/3 6/4

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We are doing a split stay this fall and I don't think it will be a big problem. The best part about it is since we have 2 ressies we were able to buy the DDP for just one of your ressies and not be committed to eating on property the whole time.
This also gives you the opportunity to stay at 2 resorts during one visit and who knows you might fall in love with a place you have never stayed at before.
I say go for it!

 

[queenomean]

We've done them a few times and last year decided not to do it. It's not terribly time consuming, but keep in mind that you'll have to repack twice instead of once to switch resorts. The bell services at BC were very good though and held our luggage from the Poly until our room was ready. To me it makes my vacation seem shorter, even though it's not and I don't know why but that is the effect we get.
I would not want to switch for only two nights, so I would split it like 6/4 or something and then it may not be so bad.
Either way you'll be at the world and all will be good, so enjoy

 

[gatorfreud]

We did a split stay last November and loved it! We had a car, and it was a little hassle to move the stuff, but not so bad that I wouldn't do it again. We just swimming for awhile on the morning of the switch, and hit a park that evening. It was fun to feel like you were starting your vacation over again! I think I would require 4 nights minimum in each place, although for the next trip I had considered a 4/3, but then we I called to book it was gone, and 7 were available at the same spot, so we took it.

If I did not have kids with me, I would move after a couple of nights if needed.

Have fun!
Kim

 

[pepe of ohio]

We did a split stay, once, cured us, not to our liking. We split 3/7 AKL and the Poly. First off, never stayed at AKL and after one day didn't care for the resort or location. We lived out of our suitcases until the switch morning and went down early to get on with our real vacation, the Poly. We rely on Disney transportation and took our stuff to bell services along with our beverages and groceries, nothing was said and we took the bus figuring our stuff would arrive after we checked in the Poly, not. When at the Poly, room not ready and were told luggage would not arrive until after 3 pm. Now were resort less and room less and not stuff. If we had known we would have kept a small bag for swimming and some drinks. Move on to later in the day, 2:30 no room or baggage, 5 pm still no room, finally complaining we're losing a day in this transition at 6 pm a manager comes to us and gives us our room keys, an apology and bumps us up to concierge for the remaining 7 days because of the wait we had, wonderful but our luggage doesn't arrive until 7 pm. Do another split, no thanks, we're not interested in other resorts, know where we want to stay, that trip we couldn't get all 10 nights at the Poly so opted for the first 3 at AKL, just to see, and give the split a shot.

I know others love 2 different resorts, but we like unloading our stuff and moving in for the duration and arranging the room for our needs. Heading to a park during a split and not knowing if you'll have a room ready or not is not very pleasing when you're hot, tired and sweaty and we enjoy afternoon pool breaks but when your luggage is in limbo and no room, it makes for unpleasant vacations. Nope, we'll stick to the one resort vacations and be happy where we pick and let others enjoy splitting reservations.

 

[GuardMusic]

We've done a couple of split stays and if at all possible, we try to avoid it. We did CBR/BC and POR/BC with two nights at the first resort and 4-5 at the second.

We really like being settled rather than thinking - in 36 hours I have to re-pack everything. Also, the big downer is having to get a 2nd KTTW card (mixing them up, especially if your tickets are on one), problems with package delivery, and negotiating check-in/out times. (We never had a car.)

The resorts are great with luggage pick-up and transfer, but it's the effort & dedicated time I don't like.

That being said, we did the split stays to avoid the DVC double point hit on the weekends.

For our Dec. trip, I wanted to add a night and we were at BC. THe extra night would be a Friday. For the first time ever, I paid for the double points simply because we didn't want to transfer to another resort or airport hotel.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Gayle

 

[alldiz]

i was set to modify ressie and figured should get some feedback first.

so here are my questions

are splits resort stays difficult?
No...very simple.....only time it gets a little is if you want the DDP at both resorts. because you need to buy a park ticket at each resort to get DDP.
Is it time consuming to move your stuff over (would not want to waste a day switching resorts?
I don't think it is....for me. I don't fully unpack anyway.
I "switch" one of two ways. We either all take a cab to new resort checkin...and go do what we want...we have our luggage so if room is ready....I have my stuff.....if not as soon as it is available....they will bring my luggage to room.....Or I'll go checkin by cab....and meet the family at the park they are at.
what is the shortest time frame you be willing to split for. Is 8/2 7/3 6/4

I think 7/3 is a good split. I have done 5/3 and it worked out great. IMO you need a good 2/3 nights in a resort to get a feel. My only suggestion is to stay in the "better" resort last.
Kerri

 

[luv4mylittleones]

We split our last stay 2/2/9. It really wasn't a big deal for us because of the circumstances. Our first two nights we were in movies with our kids and extended family...those were the two nights before our wedding. It was kind of a hassle repacking while getting ready for the wedding the next morning but it was made easier by the fact that I purposely packed a seperate suitcase for those first two nights. The next two nights (the first two of our honeymoon) we stayed at GF. We would have loved to stay longer but since we were going into holiday season, it just wasn't feasable so we packed back up and headed over to POR. It really wasn't a big deal though, we didn't completely unpack since we knew we were staying long and bell services was very helpful. I'm glad we split our stay since we got to check out different resorts and since we were there for two weeks, we chose to spend the "switching" days relaxing and checking out the new resort...it was really fun! I'm not sure I'd do it on a shorter trip though, especially if we had all the kids with us but it is a great way to try out those resorts you've always wanted to stay at.

 

[DizzDoll]

If you're gonna do a split, then start "low" and end "up". Splitting is way easy - can we say "hello, bell services"? I don't find it to be a drag in any way, we really don't fully unpack anyway, so it's a matter of tidying up, straightening out, packing up a little, and away we go. Best part? Enjoying two resorts in one stay!

 

[Kim1964]

We've done it a couple of times and it wasn't a big deal. We had a rental car, so we packed up, went to a park, then headed over to our new resort in the afternoon. We've enjoyed the feeling of 2 different vacations in one trip. We've done 3/3 and 1/6. This year it will be 4/7 for the kids and me, with DH joining us for the 7 night stretch at WL. The 1/6 was just because I wanted to try Pop after reading so much about it here.

For your options, I'd go with either 7/3 or 6/4.

 

[epcotized]

I agree with Dizzdoll. It's better to finish at the nicer resort if you switch. I've done this a couple of times and would like to try it again. Disney staff transferred the luggage. I only had to take a break from the parks during the day to register at the 2nd resort. I do this at the hottest time of day when I would be wilting anyway.

 

[Mr. Pig]

i was set to modify ressie and figured should get some feedback first.

so here are my questions

are splits resort stays difficult?
We do this most of the time and have not found it difficult

Is it time consuming to move your stuff over (would not want to waste a day switching resorts?
Don't think it is too time consuming but to some ANY time is too much. It will take a little time checking in at new resort but Disney can move your luggage. It depends a lot if you do a lot of unpacking/arranging or live out of your suitcase.

what is the shortest time frame you be willing to split for. Is 8/2 7/3 6/4
Three days would be my minimum at a resort. Otherwise it hardly feels like you're there and you are already leaving.

Remember that Disney considers these two separate bookings so you will have to put a down payment on each and if you want to make both a package you have to get at least a one day park pass for EACH stay.
I also agree with the others that say do start low and end up.

 

[FoundNemoLostDori]

We did a split stay this month!! We stayed at the All Star Music resort for 6 days and then hopped on over to the Beach Club resort for 2 nights/3 days. The packing is a little time consuming (because of all the souveneirs lol), but it was worth it! We had no problems with the switch. Disney takes your luggage for you and then we went to Epcot and walked to the resort from there. You will usually have to go to a park and take a bus to your next resort unless it's within walking distance from the park. We had a fun time and LOVED the pool, however it was not enough time. I do wish we'd spent 3 nights in the Beach club because you need atleast that length of time to really get a feel of everything and get the most out of your resort. Would I do it again?? YOU BET

 

[MickeyNicki]

are splits resort stays difficult? They are easy for us because we are just 2 adults with our own car

Is it time consuming to move your stuff over (would not want to waste a day switching resorts? Again super easy, I pack the night before and then move over the next morning

what is the shortest time frame you be willing to split for. 6 nights is the shortest I would do, 3 nights at each resort. Any shorter than that I would prefer to sit still

 

[mirmartinez]

FW cabin is were we are currently booked and I am thrilled to be there.
The idea of over 500 sqr ft for my family of five makes me giddy (and the golf cart)
we have only been once before and that was at POR, beautiful resort, but towards the end the walls were closing in.
My hesistance towards the split stay has more to do with fear of feeling crowded in BC/CR room.

What I was hoping to figure out is what is the least amount of time I can spend in BC and still make it worth the hassle?

After reading the post I gather it is easier w/out children and I have 3.

 

[SnowWhite607]

We just did it this past week an 8/3 split at AKL then GF. We packed and took a taxi with our bags so I could make sure they were there. GF held our bags while we went to the park, then took us and our bags immediately back to our room that evening. No problem at all and I have done split stays before 5/5 between CSR and CBR.

 

[blanq]

We did our first split stay this past October. It was a 10 day trip for us, so we did 2 nights at the Swan and then moved over to AKV for 7 nights on rented points. I am not sure I would do a split stay again, unless maybe we were going for 2 weeks and had more down time. Although the transfer went fine (we just took a towncar transfer from the Swan to AKV with our luggage) and our villa at AKV was available for occupancy at 11:00 am , it still was kind of a hassle to pack and then unpack again and it did cut into our park time. I personally would not ever do a split stay if I was going for just a week.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

We just did a split stay earlier this month and we liked being able to experience 2 different resorts. Switching was so easy thanks to bell services. You just pack up your stuff and let them know and they do the transporting. The worst part is not having a home for a few hours. My DD14 wasn't feeling real well (headache) and we couldn't go back to the resort for her to rest.
The big thing is that if you are on the DDP you have to have it separate for each resort. If you have any left over from the first resort they do not carry over to the second one. They expire midnight on the day you check out.
We did 3/4 nights.

 

[karylrocks]

We have never been without a split stay so I don't know what that would be like but the kids think it would be boring. This trip we are doing 1/2/2/2! The first 5 nights at AKL just switiching rooms (pool view, savannah villa, concierge villa) and then POR. Let's just say we won't be unpacking but we don't have any young children so everyone is responsible for their own stuff. Just call bell services, they come and whisk away your stuff and you're off to the park. At the end of the day come back to your new room and there's your stuff waiting for you (at least that has always been our experience).

 

[Carlyzmom]

We had a split stay book - but just chickened out. We were going to do 3 at POP then 4 at AKL. We decided to bite the bullet and do all 7 at AKL. We have a party of 8 with 3 diff. rooms and some really heavy packers! It just sounded like it would be too much trouble.
The only thing is the big cost of a deluxe for 7 days!