4 split stays over the course of one week - tips for the insane? ;)

Hey all,

We've booked our March trip during the last week of the current promotion, and with crunching numbers and flight costs, it makes more sense for us to extend our Sunday to Friday trip and fly on Saturdays, but we have pretty lousy flight times, which means that we will essentially be coming into Disney very late at night on the first night, and leaving first thing in the morning on the day we depart. Since we're staying at the deluxe level, to me, it doesn't make sense to pay more money to sleep at Disney for those nights, so I've book-ended our trip with stays in POR (meaning, we will sleep there the first night we arrive, and the night before we depart).

For the bulk of our trip, my husband and I and our kids couldn't decide between staying at Beach Club and Boardwalk (both new to us--we stayed at Yacht this past summer), and, to complicate matters, we couldn't decide between staying club level or getting the dining plan (but we agreed it would be silly to get both). So, we decided a split stay was the ultimate compromise and would allow us to experience both, so we've decided to spend three nights at Beach with the dining plan, and two nights at Boardwalk at deluxe club level without the dining plan. Insane, right?

So, essentially, we are getting in very late at night on a Saturday, sleeping at POR, transferring to BC in the morning and staying through Wednesday, and then going to BW for two nights, and then transferring to POR once again on Friday night to sleep and catch our flight first thing Saturday morning. (In case you're wondering why we don't just stay at Boardwalk, the promo ends on Friday night, and the room rate is double. I'd pay it if we weren't staying deluxe club level and leaving very first thing in the morning...)

Since we're flying, I usually pack us all a carry-on so we (hopefully) don't need to check any bags. My plan with that is to divvy our clothing up by day and pack them separately: I'll have one carry on that I'll use for POR, two for Yacht, two for Boardwalk and one with pajamas, bathing suits, undies, etc. That way, I will only have one little carry on that will need to be packed for each transfer.

Since my kids are old enough that they can man their own carry on, I may take the extra step to not have Disney move the luggage for us. Even if we can't check into our room when we arrive, at least I'll know where the luggage is.

Crazy? Should I consider an alternate plan? Any tips to ensure this goes as smoothly as I hope?

 

I sorry, but that is more trouble.for what it's worth for us on vacation.....once we check in and unload, put away groceries and drinks... we want the fun to begin and not stop until the last day.... It's also why we do no dining plans... want no structure or time schedules while vacationing.

These type of trips are ok for some but for us, the end doesn't justify the means... Moving and packing and relaxing and unpacking is consuming too much of my precious Disney time.... We don't even like a one split trip.. Good luck!

 

I get why you are doing this. I do think that 2 nights at the Boardwalk is really going to disappoint you. Its such a tease. I have had a couple 3 night stays and its just not enough. You will feel like you barely get to experience the place. The inconvenience of transferring will outweigh the experience of being there since there is no time to "settle in".

The good part is that the BC and BW are right across from each other, so logistically its an easier transfer.

I also totally get why you are spending 1 night on each end at POR.

Will you have a car? The whole thing seems much more bareable with a car.

You might want to consider spending the whole 5 nights at the BC. That seems a lot more manageable to me. Do club level on your next trip. Just my two cents.

 

That does sound like a lot of trouble. You are going to loose a lot of time moving. We are tacking on a couple days at the beginning of our trip so we are staying at 2 different locations, and that is enough.

You will definitely get to experience different locations, and that will be wonderful, but you will be sacrificing true vacation time to do it.

Personally, I don't think I would save enough to justify the trouble of your POR bookends.

 

Ah, where's your sense of adventure?! LOL.

We're really excited about the opportunity to be all of these different places. Since we're relative Disney newbies (this is our third trip--first one was off property, second one was at the Yacht Club), we are super excited about the prospect of seeing if a moderate is nicer than we think; if the Beach Club is just as nice as Yacht Club; and if the clown pool at Boardwalk isn't as creepy as it looks and the hallways and bus service isn't as awful as everyone complains about. We were thinking seriously about purchasing a resale DVC contract this year, and since we couldn't decide between Boardwalk and Beach, it's also a kind of informational-gathering trip as I didn't want to plunk down the cash on the contract without staying at either place first.

This past summer, we drove to Orlando, and while we were on vacation for a few extra days, we did just as many hotels: One night in Savannah, two nights in Orlando at an off-property resort (so we could do Universal), a week at the Yacht Club, and then a night in Hilton Head on the way home. This time, I'm *only* bringing clothes and no food or drinks, so I think our traveling and packing/unpacking will be hugely simplified. Plus, I tried to pick hotels that were all relatively close to each other, so they're fairly quick transfers.

Or maybe I'll be sneaking into Epcot each day for extra drinks. (Which really isn't that bad of plan either, is it?)

 

We have taken a late flight into MCO a bunch and the first night we stay at the Hyatt in the Airport. This works great. We get off the plane and I check my wife and daughter into the room, and I go get the bags. My daughter is asleep within a half hour of getting off the plane. The next morning we get up early and take ME to our resort. This way we are refreshed for a whole day at the parks. We've done the reverse too. Go to a park all day, and take ME in the evening back to the airport and stay at the Hyatt for our flight real early the next morning. Those 2-3 hours of sleep are precious for my family!
BTW, you can get great rates on priceline for Hyatt, or using AAA (includes a nice breakfast the next morning too!)

 

I'd say go for it!

My family will be at the BC CL from march 10-15th. The reason---THEY'RE NOT WEEKEND RATES! We are actually going to be down there from the 8-17th so the 8-10 we are staying in CBR (Pirate rooms, because I LOVE pirates!) 10-15 BL CL and we haven't decided on where to stay the 15-17. I'm considering the Princess rooms at POR...I've mentioned it to my mom, and I think she loves the idea!

I've noticed with the AP discount, that the moderates are just as cheap as the values that week...so that's why we're staying mod instead of value...

We will have a car though, so that might make transferring easier.

Your trip sounds like a fun adventure! Just remember to be patient and have fun!

 

Nick, I've thought of this too. I didn't realize that ME would work, though... (My agent said it wouldn't.) How do you arrange this? I might consider this for the last night instead of an additional stay in POR.

 

You would basically have to tell Disney that you're flying out of MCO on the night that you're actually checking into the Hyatt. Disney doesn't really care if you're heading to the airport to catch a plane or if you're using it as a jumping off spot for somewhere else. Obviously, you would not be able to check any bags at the resort through to your airline. But since you're talking about taking all carry-ons anyway, it's a moot point.

Many disers have done this successfully but most of them book their Disney resorts/packages on their own. You would have to have your TA make the arrangements with DME if you booked thru an agency.

 

I'm a TA and just set up ME for a guest staying at the airport and did just what the PP mentioned. I honestly just explained the situation to Disney so it shouldn't be difficult for your TA to do should that be an option you choose!

 

Great plan, Nick.

OP - would it work to move your BW/CL to the 2nd and 3rd night and spend the remaining part of your trip at BC/package? Have you tried pricing it out that way to see if it's cheaper? That way you do not have to move your last night.

We have done tri-split stays with CL at both beginning/end of trips. The minimum was 9 nights and although we enjoyed ourselves, it was time consuming. And this was with a vehicle. Last year was 12 nights. However, I do not think I could do a tri-split or higher on a 7 night stay. It just takes up an enormous amount of expensive time and energy.

One tip I would like to share - we have always find it best to do CL at the beginning of our trips. If we book it at the end (after being on a dining package), we are pretty much done with eating to even look at lounge offerings.

Plus, you can enjoy the CL lounge up to midnight (lounge offerings usually last til 9-10 pm) of checkout, even if you are checked-in to BC.

Good luck on whatever you decide to do!

 

We did a 4 way split over 9 nights with 4 kids in June. We did 3 nts YC CL, 2 nts GF RPC, 2 nts BWI CL and 2 nts CR CL. It was awesome!

We did pack a separate bag for each stay and one with stuff we would need for the whole trip like you are planning. We had a rental so we moved our own stuff with each move and left what we didn't need in the van.

In the rooms we kept things very neat and organized so that it only took about 15 minutes to pack up when it was time to move. We would pack up in the morning head to the next resort, check in and then either go right to a park or spend some time checking out the new resort. Easy-peasy.

The only thing I didn't like was that if we wanted pool time before the room was ready we had to change in the bathrooms by the pool. That wasn't even that big of a deal, but my toddler DD liked to escape under the door while I was half-naked changing

All in all, I would do a multi-split again in a heartbeat. Actually, our stay next month is a triple split and I can't wait!

I get it that splits aren't for everybody, but for us it's no big deal and just adds to the adventure!

 

it's probably in the "been there done that,not doing it again" cabinet... where mine is! I've been numerous times, we took a couple of trips like this to save money,moved quite a bit...won't do it again. not fun, lots of hassle,not worth the savings (and we saved a lot) IMHO, the rooms you've picked aren't a HUGE savings anyway, like the difference between a BWV room and a room at Pop.....

 

Hmmm .... I love doing split stays but it does seem a bit hectic on both ends of the trip but do-able. I think the key to successful multi splits is planning. Your packing plan sounds excellent. Moving the luggage yourself is probably your best bet for peace of mind. Split stays are a bit more work, but with proper planning, it's a great adventure and alot of fun if moving around doesn't bother you.

 

Yeah, I did, but unfortunately, there are only pool/lagoon views available during those nights, and that increases the costs. View isn't really important to me--I'd rather spend my money on other things since we're usually only in the room to sleep. But my husband really wanted to experience the magic of a good view for a few nights, which is why we're doing the deluxe CL at BW. (We check in on his birthday.)

It's great to hear there are other people who have done it and loved it! We're both really excited about it and can't wait to experience CL and to try three new resorts, but I may be in the BTDT never-doing-it-again camp when we return!

 

You're not that crazy.

We too, often take vacations where we stay at a different hotel nearly every night.

Along those lines, earlier this year, I seriously entertained the thought of doing an 8 way split stay at all 8 deluxe resorts over 8 nights. Having never previously stayed deluxe, I thought it would be cool to check out (and compare) all of the deuxe resorts on the same trip. In addition, we like to eat signature for dinner and I was intrigued with the idea of eating in a different signature restuarant in a different resort every night without having to travel anywhere after dinner (as we rely on Disney transportation).

Ultimately, however, I decided that a two way split over 8 nights at Poly & BC might just be a little less hectic (while providing nearly as good of a restaurant proximity advantage).

 

It sounds like you know exactly what you're getting into and are excited about the adventure - I get it! We were going to do a 6-night/6-resort split in January, but decided against it because we wanted more Poly time, stayed at one of our bucket list resorts by booking an extra trip for MNSSHP in October, and then just decided to stick with two resorts for the week. But we're all about moving around. In February of this year: 2 nights San Francisco, 1 night Monterey, 1 night Santa Barbara, 3 nights Newport. In March of next year: 1 night Indianapolis, 2 nights Asheville, NC, 1 night Savannah, 2 nights Vero Beach, 3 nights Ft. Myers Beach, 2 nights Atlanta. I have a very active husband and three boys, and everyone loves this.

When we split between two resorts, we often take a cab with our luggage first thing in the morning and get a fresh start from our new resort. Like you said, at least we know swimsuits, etc. are accessible. If I were doing a 4-split, I'd let Bell Services handle at least some of transfers. My husband insisted on that when we were planning the 6-night/6-resort trip! If you need swimsuits in the afternoon, you could throw them in a park bag (that's what we'll do for our upcoming trip.)

As for luggage, I've considered one bag for everyone per night, but I'd rather have the boys (ages 5, 12 and 13) have their own stuff all in one place. That means we drag five bags in and out of each room, but you'll be doing that anyway and like our older boys, it sounds like your kids can "man" their own bags. For splits, I always line up the bags in the closet and everyone operates out of their own bag. At check-out, I just zip them up and go. Although I like the idea of a central bag for toiletries - that would make life easier and I might do that!

No idea on the whole dining plan stuff - we have APs, book room-only and use TIW instead of dining plan.

Anyway, sounds like fun - have a great time!

 

Quick question for those of you who suggested we stay at the airport and still use ME...

If I stay at the Hyatt, where would I go to get the bus? They wouldn't come and pick me up at the Hyatt, right? Or drop me off there? I know the hotel's in (?) the airport; is it far to get from there to the bus area? Can you essentially board any ME bus as long as you have a valid reservation? Last time we flew, we rented a car, so I wasn't sure how ME all worked. Thanks!

 

Then maybe you should consider staying in the BCV & BWV to get a feel for them. Staying in a standard room will be different then staying in DVC

I think you'll enjoy POR, if you have any time there to explore. It's our fav moderate.

 

We purchased DVC in 2009 and have done a split stay everytime. Our last trip we did 3 nights at SSR, 2 night at BWV, 1 night at BLT and 3 nights at AKL. I think that is how it went but not in that order. If you pack right it won't make a difference. I will tell you we were not impressed with BWV, my kids did not like it and it is their least favorite of the resorts, but I think everyone should try something for themselves. If you want to do a park for the day I would let the resort move your luggage for you that way you are really not moving. We do not unpack on vacation so it was just zipping our luggae grabbing our bags and going to the next hotel.