Decisions, decisions.. Split-stay options

[Travis B]

I have learned so much on the boards and would appreciate if some of you genius Dis-ers would give me your opinion/help me sort my thoughts on our upcoming fall trip.

We are booked 10/25-10/31 at Coronado Springs with free dining. I was excited to get the reservation as I had thought I missed out on FD, and it will be awesome to check out a new resort. In April we stayed at POR, which I enjoyed, and checked out many of the resorts on site.

Here's my dilemma - I've totally drank the kook-aid at this point, and even though we were just there for 10 days in the spring, this nagging voice in my head is telling me that 5 days at Disney is not enough. I'm sure you are familiar with this voice...

Soooo I've decided we will do a split stay, checking out of Coronado on 10/31 and heading to another resort through 11/4. I have been waiting for fall discounts to come, and now that they I see how slim the pickings are, I'm kind of freaking out and feeling the pressure to book something before all the choices are gone. I've been checking multiple times a day, and it seems there are different choices every time I check.

My 'safety' choice is to book the remaining four nights at POR, or more likely POFQ so we can try another new resort. We checked out POFQ a bit and while I found POR prettier, the rooms at POFQ look nice and lots of people seem to love it.

However, that same little voice that I mentioned earlier is still there. Why not try a deluxe resort while discounts are available? It would be so fun to upgrade for the last bit of our trip. I would specifically like to stay at an Epcot resort - I love the area and I think we would enjoy being so close to F&W. With the prices I'm seeing, the responsible (ugh, do I -have- to be responsible??) thing to do would be to stay for only 2 nights at the deluxe, which would be basically the same price as 4 nights at a mod.

So, what would you do? 2 nights at Epcot, or 4 nights at POFQ/POR? Is the deluxe experience worth losing two days of precious Disney time?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I appreciate your thoughts. My partner will listen to my dilemmas but I can see him kind of glaze over - LOL! That's why I love the Dis so much.. you're all just as obsessed as I am!

 

[wdwrich]

Since you were there for 10 days already this year, I would lean toward the 2 nights in order to experience a WDW deluxe hotel. That said, only you can determine what's more valuable to you are your family- two nights in a deluxe, or four nights of additional time at the World.

 

[mlunsford]

Following because I am in the same boat. I am looking to add two days at a Magic Kingdom resort. Not sure if I should just stay at CSR for the extra 2 days or do a split stay. Since we have to have 2 rooms with our large family it will be quite a bit of $$'s. Trying to decide if I should just hold off and do a deluxe trip next year. The hubby will listen but is gazing as well

 

[DJFan88]

Last year we split between POR ( a repeat for us, as I love it!) and then, when discounts came out we tried our first deluxe, YC. It was a 6/4 split. The timing was just right for us, as we usu. go every 2 for 10.
Everyone else loved YC better. Don't get me wrong, it was great, the location, etc., I just at first had a hard time with it. You see, I love walking outside to get my coffee, I love having available laundry machines and I love the foodcourt! When you go deluxe, things differ a bit. However, the good: Location and plenty of options. The Boardwalk bakery is a gem, esp. if you have the DP. Don't neglect nearby Picabu at Dolphin for quick serve. But you wont find many quick food options at BC/YC. In YC, it was a hike from our room to refill mugs. Sure, it was inside a gorgeous hotel, but I just didn't enjoy that to walking outside. However, when it rained, I was so
thankful to be able to walk undercover the whole way for a bus when I went through the BC side.
Going to HS and Epcot couldn't be beat from that location. I didn't have any sort of concern or worry of catching a bus after Illuminations.
That said, you will love the switch to try it out and especially for the convenience.
It took me some adjustments, but this year we will be going back for another split, but itll be between 2 deluxe, and 1 might be BC.
One thing that happened to me last year was that when I tried to book BC , they had discounts available for YC but not BC for the kinds of room I would book, (I think it was Garden, as I couldn't get Standard).
Like you, I almost even went club level those last 4 days since it would've only been $400 more! (Why didn't I do that???, I wish I had). So this year we will try CL.
I think you should try it for 2 days. If you could swing 3, though, it would be better.

 

[robinb]

If it were me, I would add on days at CSR. I don't think 2 days is enough for a split stay. FWIW, if you are planning another trip in the next year you should run the numbers on getting Annual Passes. You'll be able to upgrade your tickets from your next stay.

 

[Travis B]

Since you were there for 10 days already this year, I would lean toward the 2 nights in order to experience a WDW deluxe hotel. That said, only you can determine what's more valuable to you are your family- two nights in a deluxe, or four nights of additional time at the World.

Thanks for your reply. I think you're right. 2 nights so close to Epcot and DHS, especially during F&W, might be worth the trade for extra nights elsewhere. We can skip an Epcot day or two earlier in the week and focus on it while we're nearby.

 

[Travis B]

Following because I am in the same boat. I am looking to add two days at a Magic Kingdom resort. Not sure if I should just stay at CSR for the extra 2 days or do a split stay. Since we have to have 2 rooms with our large family it will be quite a bit of $$'s. Trying to decide if I should just hold off and do a deluxe trip next year. The hubby will listen but is gazing as well

Good to know I'm not the only one! I feel lucky that I only have to manage my partner and myself, so we can move over pretty quickly and easily. I can't imagine wrangling a large family - props to you! I'm sure it's worth it for the fun you have together. There's nothing available at CSR for the time I want to add on, so I'm (happily) being forced to try out something new.

 

[Travis B]

Last year we split between POR ( a repeat for us, as I love it!) and then, when discounts came out we tried our first deluxe, YC. It was a 6/4 split. The timing was just right for us, as we usu. go every 2 for 10.
Everyone else loved YC better. Don't get me wrong, it was great, the location, etc., I just at first had a hard time with it. You see, I love walking outside to get my coffee, I love having available laundry machines and I love the foodcourt! When you go deluxe, things differ a bit. However, the good: Location and plenty of options. The Boardwalk bakery is a gem, esp. if you have the DP. Don't neglect nearby Picabu at Dolphin for quick serve. But you wont find many quick food options at BC/YC. In YC, it was a hike from our room to refill mugs. Sure, it was inside a gorgeous hotel, but I just didn't enjoy that to walking outside. However, when it rained, I was so
thankful to be able to walk undercover the whole way for a bus when I went through the BC side.
Going to HS and Epcot couldn't be beat from that location. I didn't have any sort of concern or worry of catching a bus after Illuminations.
That said, you will love the switch to try it out and especially for the convenience.
It took me some adjustments, but this year we will be going back for another split, but itll be between 2 deluxe, and 1 might be BC.
One thing that happened to me last year was that when I tried to book BC , they had discounts available for YC but not BC for the kinds of room I would book, (I think it was Garden, as I couldn't get Standard).
Like you, I almost even went club level those last 4 days since it would've only been $400 more! (Why didn't I do that???, I wish I had). So this year we will try CL.
I think you should try it for 2 days. If you could swing 3, though, it would be better.

Thanks for the info on the differences to expect between the two! 3 nights might be do-able, that's a good suggestion, and a little more palatable financially than 4 nights. It sounds like trying the deluxe if possible will be worth it. It will also be great to have something to look forward to on the last days of the trip - hopefully that will lessen the sadness about leaving.

 

[loves to dive]

I would go with YC, but then it's my favorite resort so I might be biased. Word of warning, once you go deluxe it's hard to go back to mods. I even think if you can't swing 3 nights, 2 would be fine. Since you've already done 10 days this year, you know what you want to do and probably won't be in as much of a hurry so you can just pick your headliners to ride and then stop and smell the roses (or in this case since it's F&W, taste the food). Enjoy.

 

[Travis B]

I would go with YC, but then it's my favorite resort so I might be biased. Word of warning, once you go deluxe it's hard to go back to mods. I even think if you can't swing 3 nights, 2 would be fine. Since you've already done 10 days this year, you know what you want to do and probably won't be in as much of a hurry so you can just pick your headliners to ride and then stop and smell the roses (or in this case since it's F&W, taste the food). Enjoy.

Thank you! I'm hoping to book soon before I lose out. Of course, now that Im firming up plans with my partner he's talking about doing Universal, which is a whole other can of worms I'd rather save for another trip. It's amazing how he has no opinion until I'm ready to grab the discount rates! LOL. Either way, I'm going to Disney, so it's all good right?? Thanks for your input, and the reassurance that even two days would be worthwhile.