Why do people switch hotels mid-trip?

[vettegirl]

We are staying our last night at Csr to save $200. Having a rental car makes it much easier for resort switching as well.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Sometimes I have to book another resorts when I add extra days because our other resort is not available. Sometimes we get a discount for certain days and change over because of price.

 

[Cin]

I am choosing to switch hotels because I want to experience all the Disney hotels at least once and well, frankly I can't afford that many trips. I work hard for my dollars and I can't justify the cost of a deluxe for a week's stay as compared to the cost of a value resort. So why not spend a night or two in a deluxe just to experience it and enjoy the splurge and then I can have a longer trip? Also great if you are torn between two favored choices, why not both?

 

[bumbershoot]

During our first trip, we were there early to sleep through jetlag and didn't want to use the DVC points on that, so we stayed at CBR for 2 nights.

Then we had 5 family members with us, so we stayed at a 2 bedroom at OKW.

Family then left and we didn't need the 2 bedroom, so we moved to a 1 bedroom.

Time came to visit Universal so we switched to one of their resorts.

We wanted to finish our trip back at WDW so then we moved back to use more DVC points.

So that's why we did it!


We're going again in September. 1 night...somewhere...2 nights for jetlag was too much, so we'll just do one night for that. 4 nights with the same family in a 2 bedroom.

The points worked out so we needed to move to a studio at Boardwalk (we *could have* stayed at OKW but that sounded boring) for one night, so we'll do that.

Then we move back to OKW for a 1 bedroom.

And now that we've experienced Universal, we want to end our trip there, so we'll move over there!



I do unpack, because it makes each part of the stay feel longer somehow. The short time it took was negligible and it was well worth it.

We had a rental car and we would put our bags with bell services, either at the resort we were leaving (if we didn't have enough time) or at the one we were going to.


For us, the main thing it messed with was our budget, because it increased the tips to bell services.


It's a fun way to see other resorts for me!



Oh, one more thing. When planning our first trip I had intended that our moving days be resort/pool/relaxation days. My hubby and son had requested such days and that's the way I could work them in. Once we got there, however, hubby and son changed their minds, so we did parks on those days as well. But my intentions were good!

 

[Princess Mindy]

I did a split stay 5 years ago with WDW Swan the first half and AKL the second. I decided upon it not only to experience different resorts, but also wanted to include the Disney-ness of one of their hotels at the end of my vacation for a little extra pixie dust. I loved the contrast between the quiet elegance of the Swan and the ethnic charm of AKL. I'm glad I chose a split stay. I never would for short trips but for vacations of a week or more I see no problem with it.

 

[Tigger's ally]

We have done many split stays in the past, and enjoyed all of them. The move is never a hassle for us because we drive. The morning of the move, we have bell services take our luggage, the wife and kids head to the park of choice, I drive the van over to the new hotel and then head to the park to meet up. We always schedule an early dinner at the new hotel and come back for the reservation, then get our room (where the luggage is always waiting) and spend the evening at the new pool.

Also, we usually plan our schedules around the split stay. We stay WL first and do MK and AK while staying there (AK is bus from any hotel). Then we move to BW/BC to spend time at Epcot and the studios.

 

[PRaffen]

I switch because I can't ever decide between AKL and Poly. I love them both and want to stay at both of them whenever we're at disney. We always enjoy a "resort day" mid-stay so switching resorts is never an issue.

We usually sleep in; then head over to the second resort around Noon. If we can get into our room - great. If not, we just relax by the pool.

 

[StuckInKS]

We were originally booked for 3 nights preferred value room and 4 nights Contemporary. After learning about the pixar event (which we found out about inside of our 45 day mark) that ends the day before we were due to arrive, we are now arriving a day early and doing 1 night at the Swan, 3 nights preferred value and 3 nights contemporary. We then head to treasure island for 6 nights and I am contemplating an additional 2 night stay at Disney after.

We did 3 nights at a value because it was so cheap with the kids free deal. We are doing 1 room with 1A/3C on that promo and 1 room with 1A/2 'under 3' with a 35% off PIN. We are then doing 3 nights Contemporary with a 40% off PIN. 6 nights deluxe at rack rate with 2 adult tickets is too expensive and using the 40% off for all 6 nights means we would have to pay for all 3 kids tickets.

Not sure where we would do our additional 2 nights after the beach, but I'd like to do WL or Poly since we will be spending those days at MK.

As far as moving with 5 little kids, we did a lot of offsite moving last trip (3 orlando locations and a beach location) and it wasn't bad.

ETA: Our main reason for wanting a deluxe is for the monorail since car or bus travel is hectic with several small children and a double stroller, but that perk does us no good on the 3 days that we will be at DHS and AK.

 

[disneyworldaddict]

Its a great way to experience another resort that may not be in your budget otherwise. My DH and I stayed at AKL for only 4 nights. In the summer we are going with our daughter and her friend, they have to pay for themselves. If they want the AKL experience they could purchase one night there and maybe even skip the parks that day in order to enjoy watcching the animals and spending time at the resort. But if they are planning to be in the parks all day, they don't need more than a clean place to shower and sleep. This way they can experience both in a more affordable way.

 

[wdwfan1]

We are DVC members. We did it last October and are doing it again this year. Both times are because family asked to join us so I had to book a 2 BR instead of a smaller unit. I could not get BWV for the entire stay, so we had to switch resorts. I feel that the location of BWV is ideal for Food & Wine, so we will concentrate on that when staying at BWV. When we are elsewhere we can visit the other parks.

 

[goodferry]

We are DVC members also. We wanted to stay at the BCV this trip, but it was not available for our entire trip. So we are at the BC for three nights and then at the WL for seven. Moving is simple. You leave your bags with bell services and they transfer everything for you. I pack with the move in mind, with the clothes each kid needs for the first three days at the top of their suitcase.
We have done this one other trip. We were booked at BLT, then DH was all bummed because he wanted to stay at the WL, so I split the trip in half and did half at each resort. Then flights worked out that it was so much cheaper to fly in a day earlier, so we did a one night stay at Pop.

 

[kaligal]

I've seen several references to people switching hotels after one or two nights. Is this to be close to the park you're going to that day, or just to experience a nicer hotel for one night?

Generally, to spend some time in a hotel they couldn't afford for the entire trip.

Is it worth it?

Not in my opinion. It's a major pain in the neck.

I'd hate to unpack and repack. Plus, where do you put your bags for those lost 4 or more hours between checkout and checkin?

The new hotel will hold your stuff.

The packing and unpacking things is SO much worse when you're there than it sounds like it will be when you're at home.

My advice is always to pick a hotel you can afford and just stick with it. The only reason I ever switch is to go to a Uni hotel (if I'm not spending my whole vacation in the Uni hotel.)

 

[DisneyDianna]

We enjoy switching hotels when we stay longer than 7 nights. We have already done 4 nights at the CR and enjoyed the convience of the MK right at our doorstep, followed by 5 nights at the YC/BC resorts where we were close to Epcot and HS. It kind of makes us feels like we are getting two vacations instead of just one.

 

[JenSop]

For us, it's usually because of adding on days later in the planning process.

Often, we book a stay with our DVC points, then decide to add days on either end using cash. That's what we're doing with our upcoming trip in June.

We originally booked our 5 night stay at OKW on points. We don't have any more points beyond that, as we're saving the rest to go towards next year's Grand Gathering trip.

But we wanted to drive down a night early, so we added a night at BWV at the beginning of the trip with our AP discount. But then we thought we'd like to add a day at the end of the trip too - so for that we're also staying on cash with the AP discount at VWL. This'll be our first triple split stay - all of our others have been double stays.

We've never had a problem with bell services taking care of our luggage. Sometimes we have a car, sometimes we don't. But the resort is great at taking care of it.

We don't fully unpack ever, so moving resorts is not really an inconvenience.

 

[TagsMissy]

We have done it both ways... stayed at one place and split stays... The fun for us, since we are DVC and not on any packages that we can check out different resorts. For our upcoming trip we have 5 nights at Boardwalk and 5 nights at Bay Lake booked.. I cannot wait!! We are trying something new (to us) BWV then returning home to BLT to end our vacation.

 

[Sam345]

I love split stays and am doing one next week. It used to be only about the cost-- staying at POP for say, the first two nights makes me feel better about staying at a more expensive resort the rest of the time. Also, I used to rent DVC points to stay at deluxe villa resorts without breaking the bank, but could only do so when it was cheaper on Sun-Thursday-- so I would book POP on the weekend days. Split stays make even more sense now that I am a S/D fan who also loves the Magical Express. Next week I am doing 2 nights POP/5 nights Dolphin. The pros are:

-I get ME on arrival, which I LOVE (I don't care about it so much going back to the airport because it would make me kind of sad-- I actually prefer a towncar at the end of the trip)

-I got those first 2 nights at POP super-cheap with a pin code and if offsets the nights at the Dolphin

-the Dolphin seems AMAZING after 2 nights on the beds at POP (a resort I also love, don't get me wrong)

-Two "beginning of vacation" moments

The cons are not important to me. I don't have kids, don't unpack, and Disney takes the luggage (or I take a cab). I'm so excited!

 

[TDluvsDaisy]

I actually enjoying doing a split stay. We planned for moving day to be a pool day/relaxing day. It worked perfectly.

We totally unpack each day. However each person has their own suitcase and drawer so it's easy to put everything back in a suitcase, call bell services and get going. The only bad part for me is packing toiletries.

I wouldn't do it if I were only staying 2 days or less in a hotel. That's just me. It takes me that long to settle in and get comfy.

 

[jking6]

The first time we did this was because we were staying there during the holidays and my DD had always wanted to stay # the Poly which is $$ so Christmas morning her box my DD and Niece got was a box with a note in the bottom surprise we are going to the Poly....
In 10 days we are going and staying @ All Star Sports for the 1st half because my DS, wife and 2 grandsons are going for the first time and we will spend the 1st part of our trip with them.
It is so easy that after the first time we now switch just to try different hotels. Our goal is to stay at them all.