Are two hotels in six nights crazy?

[Dana_Buckley]

We are going for six nights in Novemeber and I was thinking of staying in two different hotels, is this crazy? It will be DH and DS 5 1/2 and DS 2. I'd be the one taking care of the packing, and disney will transfer the luggage, right? So, it would work out OK, wouldn't it? I definately want to stay at Polynesian and take advantage of the monorail & MK. I'm also thinking of Wilderness Lodge or POFQ if the budget is more limited. Any other suggestions? Any difficulties I am overlooking?

Thank you for your time & have a great weekend!

 

[franw]

I wouldn't say it is crazy as lots of folks do it but for only six nights I would suggest trying to get a rate that you can afford to stay in the same place the whole time.
We only change resorts anymore when we are staying 10 or more days and then we usually wish we had stayed put. It can be real disruptive to have to pack and it seems to interfere with the flow of settling in.
We would often stay at a luxury for the first several days and then move to the CBR but we've decided from now on to do shorter trips at the deluxe and longer trips at the CBR.
Certain periods in November have great AP rates so keep checking back. You might be able to stay at the Poly for the whole time if you decide not to hop.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

I have a great time resort hopping--in fact, we've rarely done trips where we stayed in one resort the whole time (our last trip to the BC cl was the one exception--we stayed put!). However, we once did a fifteen day trip where we stayed in five resorts, three nights apiece (and I think four the last leg, at the Swan). It was a BLAST. It was me and my two year old and we got to experience the world from every angle. Now given this is extreme, I just wanted to exemplify that I don't think three nights a piece is too much of a hassle. Disney moves everything, you just end up paying more in tips to bellman. It makes the trip feel like two in one, and it makes it easier to decide which hotel to pick, since there are so many wonderful ones to choose from. My favorite combination is AKL, BWI and then ending at GF.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

I definately want to stay at Polynesian and take advantage of the monorail & MK. I'm also thinking of Wilderness Lodge or POFQ if the budget is more limited. Any other suggestions? QUOTE]

I forgot to add that both WL and POFQ are great choices (POFQ is my favorite moderate). WL is in a nearby location to the Poly, and sometimes it makes the move more worth it if you switch to another side of WDW so you have different access to the parks. You might want to try an Epcot resort or AKL (or POFQ, which is near DD) if you are starting out at the Poly. The AKL has some great deals on standard rates from time to time, similar to those at the WL, and most kids really love the animals. AKL is my 5 1/2 year old's all time favorite resort. He often asks to go back to the "resort with the animals" and doesn't much ask for any of the others we've tried.

 

[Sammie]

We are going for six nights in Novemeber and I was thinking of staying in two different hotels, is this crazy? It will be DH and DS 5 1/2 and DS 2. I'd be the one taking care of the packing, and disney will transfer the luggage, right? So, it would work out OK, wouldn't it? I definately want to stay at Polynesian and take advantage of the monorail & MK. I'm also thinking of Wilderness Lodge or POFQ if the budget is more limited. Any other suggestions? Any difficulties I am overlooking?

Thank you for your time & have a great weekend!

It can be done, many do it and have no problems. However problems can occur. We have done this and they misplaced our luggage for several hours. Be sure you have everything you will need until after 3pm with you as you will not be able to get to your luggage before then. My biggest concern is the age of your children. On the day you move, you will have to be packed and out of the room by 11. You might get lucky at the next resort when you arrive and get a room, but then you could get there and not be able to get into a room before 4pm. Will that be ok, or do the kids need a place to nap?

The other thing to consider with the ages of your children, many small children unless they travel alot have trouble sleeping in new places. Just as you get them settled, you will pack up and move again.

 

[the kabuki]

Honestly, I would never do it. There's just so many things I would rather do at Disney than spend my time packing and unpacking, especially with 2 small children.

 

[nwdisgal]

Ok, I have done this... 3 times in nine days. It was crazy. The hardest part is being responsible for all the packing (I was the appointed suitcase packer also with two small kids at the time). I felt like I spent more time behind a suitcase than really settling in. If you can settle in one place, you'll be much more comfortable and relaxed.

 

[newholidayx2]

DS13 & I are staying at 3resorts over 14nights this August
Starting at Pop for 5nights, switching to WL for 3nights, then to BCV for 6nights
Since WL is the shortest Im hoping to pack that stay in a separate suitcase so I dont need to repack everything

 

[Bugsmom73]

We are thinking of a 5/2 split this time but we will have 3 adults and 2 kids and we will switch from a mod to a deluxe I think. My friend really likes the looks of AKL but it maybe too much budget wise for us so this is the best compromise we could come up if not, 7 days moderate. As my friend said, 7 days at a moderate is better than no vacation at all.

 

[TJA]

I would stay put in one resort. We have 2 small children too and I've done the packing, unpacking, re-packing, unpacking, re-packing thing with the kids in tow and it wasn't very fun. Seems like I spent the whole trip trying to organize and settle in. Personally, I would never split a vacation again.

If your budget does not allow the Poly for 6 days, why not give CR a chance? It is also on the monorail, you can walk to MK, your kids will most likely love Chef Mickeys, and you can normally get a wing room at CR for a lot less than a standard room at Poly. Just a thought.
Debbie

 

[ADisneygirl]

Changing resorts is a bit time consuming and if I had young children I might think twice about doing it for a short 6 night stay. That being said, I have resort-hopped myself in an 8 day trip, where we wanted to try out WL, but also wanted to stay at out favorite the BWI. So, we decided to go to WL for 3 nights followed by 5 nights at BWI.

I suggest that you put the resort you like better or is an upgrade at the end of your trip. We put BWI at the end so that just in case we did not like WL we still had something on vacation to look foward to.

Turned out we loved WL and would gladly stay there again. I say go ahead and try it. You will never know if resort hopping is fun for you until you try it yourself!

 

[johnvree]

Go for it. Disney makes switching resorts very easy. We do it every trip. We make the switch day our down day. We check out very early (like 9:00) and have Disney move our luggage to the new resort. Then we have breakfast at the old resort and head over to the new one. We check in and then hang by the pool/resort all day. When our room is ready, we unpack and relax some more. We have a nice dinner and maybe catch a closing show at one of the parks.

 

[Bill From PA]

In order to get as much time at the Swan/Dolphin at the Teacher's Rate last month, we did 3 resorts in 8 days, 3 at Swan, 2 at AllStar and 3 at Dolphin. It was just the two of us and we had a car to tote the luggage but still I wouldn't do it again. I like long vacations and I like to 'settle in' at the room. I never got the feeling that a given room was home because we were always faced with moving on the day after tomorrow, or sooner. We'll experience new resorts by plunking our butts in one we haven't done and staying there for the whole vacation.

Bill From PA

 

[Bimmy56]

We have stayed in 2 hotels in 6 nights a couple of times. Just make sure you stay in the nicest hotel (Poly) last. Otherwise there is a distinct feeling of a letdown. We have never found changing hotels during the hottest, most crowded time of the day a problem. We leave our luggage behind at the old one, go to Downtown Disney, have lunch, do some shopping, come back to the new hotel and check in. Our luggage has always been there by 2-3:00.

Hotel changing afternoon is always our designated DD afternoon.

 

[Dana_Buckley]

Thank you for all the advice! I asked DH (non planner, non Disney freak)about changing hotels, and he said it would be fine! I couldn't believe it! I was surprised he would even answer a question about our vacation nine months away!

I think hotel #2 will be a tougher decision than I thought. We are staying at the AKL in 2 weeks, just for 1 night, before our cruise. I'm excitied to have a chance to try it out. So, that may be an option in Nov, if we really like it. Is the Wilderness Lodge very much like the Grand Californian (DL)? We will probably stay there this year, finally! I understand the comment about changing areas of WDW, but we will probably go to MK at least 3 times, maybe 4 (2am, 2pm) in 5 days. (our kids are 2 & 5 1/2) That is why I was thinking of WL. Hopefully, the budget won't be an issue, I already have $300 Disney Rewards to put toward the vacation. I'm hoping to have enough to pay for the park hoppers. My switchover plan was just to checkout, go to MK, then return to the new hotel in the afternoon. I'm a pretty quick packer/unpacker. We travel 4 or 5 times a year, mostly to visit family in Ohio.

Thanks again for all the advice! Have a great weekend!

 

[Keokagal]

Last trip DH and I visited several of the resort we had not yet seen. We loved so many that this time we are doing 3d at CSR then 4 at the Dolphin. We have 2 other families w us. Hopefully it will go smoothly. The hotel change day will be a water park/pool/DD day w an illuminations cruise!!!!! We are psyched.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

Thank you for all the advice! I asked DH (non planner, non Disney freak)about changing hotels, and he said it would be fine! I couldn't believe it! I was surprised he would even answer a question about our vacation nine months away!

I think hotel #2 will be a tougher decision than I thought. We are staying at the AKL in 2 weeks, just for 1 night, before our cruise. I'm excitied to have a chance to try it out. So, that may be an option in Nov, if we really like it. Is the Wilderness Lodge very much like the Grand Californian (DL)?

Thanks again for all the advice! Have a great weekend!

I think the WL is great. It's a little less luxurious than the Grand Californian. I think that the Grand Californian is more WL meets GF (without the Victorian theme) because I found GC pretty elegant. The WL is heavily themed which makes it a lot of fun and I loved the pool area. It feels a bit remote there, so it would still feel pretty different to go from a monorail stay to WL. I once resort hopped from GF to WL and I felt like I was in a completely different area though it wasn't really that far!

 

[BethC1952]

We've done three resorts in four nights, and had no problems. We had one night at ASMU, two at PO Riverside and then three at the Dolphin. Then we headed off for a four-night cruise, and back for two more nights at POR. There are so many choices that switching resorts is just another one of the great activities that WDW offers!

Beth

 

[kimmar067]

...that I must be crazy, too, cuz' we will be checking in at the AKL tomorrow, and then the Ft W cabins on Wednesday!!

 

[kimmar067]

...how smoothly it went, because we wound up staying at the AKL for our entire trip!!