Do you book split stays

[curan69]

just did a great split stay. Checked into Animal Kingdom on Wednesday. Had dinner at Sanna. enjoyed the animals from our Savannah view. Then moved to BLT on Thursday so we could walk to MVMCP. It started to rain around 9, so we went back and watched the Fireworks from our Balcony. Then we checked into Congress park area of SSR for Friday and Saturday night to relax for the weekend. Walked over to Disney Springs several times. Even went for an Amphicar ride!! Three resorts in 4 days. It was fantastic. Lived out of the Suitcases.

 

[zavandor]

I never did a split stay, but I'm planning for my next stay. I want to book a MK resort, but cost per night is nigher than other resorts, so I'll book 3-4 nights at Poly or BLT (or VGF but it's difficult to get a studio there, so I don't have much hope) and the rest of the vacation (usually 10 more days) at another resort requiring less points.
I always pack enough for the first days in my carry on bag anyway, just in case the checked-in bag is lost of delayed, so I'll just use that for the first leg and unpack fully later.
I look forward to this also because it must be nice to experience two different resorts in the same trip, it's like having two vacations in one.

 

[Mo Disney plz]

Only if we are not on dining plan. One plan has to zeroed before using the next plan... It was a pain!

 

[TinkFan74]

For all the comments about packing and unpacking......for those who use studios, do you ever just live out of suitcases? It seems with the drop down bed being installed everywhere, there is very little storage left. I haven't been in a room yet with the new format, so I'm curious.

Last summer my dd 17, her friend, and I lived out of carry on bags for 13 nights during a marathon split stay (two nights AKL JH, one night VGF, one night at HRH at Universal, four nights at BLT, two nights at OKW, and finally three nights at BCV). We are very low maintenance people, so we can leave the kitchen sink at home and do laundry at the resort when we take afternoon swim/nap breaks, but I am not sure how viable this is for people with younger children as packing light is more difficult. For us we prefer split stays as we are able to spend time at a favourite resort while trying something new; this upcoming summer we have my daughter's high school graduation trip planned with two of her friends and we have another split stay booked at resorts close to the parks so that I don't have to rent a car, yet can still avoid long and crowded bus rides (AKL 2 nights, BWV 4 nights, BLT 5 nights), again we will be living out of a carry on suitcase.

 

[jo-jo]

Last summer my dd 17, her friend, and I lived out of carry on bags for 13 nights during a marathon split stay (two nights AKL JH, one night VGF, one night at HRH at Universal, four nights at BLT, two nights at OKW, and finally three nights at BCV). We are very low maintenance people, so we can leave the kitchen sink at home and do laundry at the resort when we take afternoon swim/nap breaks, but I am not sure how viable this is for people with younger children as packing light is more difficult. For us we prefer split stays as we are able to spend time at a favourite resort while trying something new; this upcoming summer we have my daughter's high school graduation trip planned with two of her friends and we have another split stay booked at resorts close to the parks so that I don't have to rent a car, yet can still avoid long and crowded bus rides (AKL 2 nights, BWV 4 nights, BLT 5 nights), again we will be living out of a carry on suitcase.

Well, we DO bring the kitchen sink. DH is a very "just in case let's bring the entire medicine cabinet" type person. And for a Dec trip, weather can be from 35 to 85 degrees so we do bring extra clothes.

For our May trip, we are planning BLT 3 nights, AKL 3 night, BWV 5 nights. At least we won't need as many clothes.

 

[DMKEDM]

We've also done several split stays--up until this past August, always due to lack of availability for the whole time we would be there. Didn't mind them at all (except for the cash drain caused by having to tip at drop-off on both ends)...but "staying put" always seemed preferable until this past August. Luck of the refurbishment draw meant a lot of BCV availability late into the window (I think we were only 3 months out when I put together the trip). Add in changes in personal plans (DS able to come with me, at 3 months out, when I'd planned to go solo to BLT much earlier)...

We wound up w/10 days at WDW; five at BLT and five at BCV...we LOVED it...really was just like two vacations. We packed for a five-day trip (I did laundry our last night at BLT) so it was all carry-on. We grabbed a cab from BLT to BCV, but w/nothing but backpacks, we could have taken a bus (we'd done that before on previous split stays)...we had internet issues at BLT so getting to BCV (a serious favorite of ours) and finding a perfectly working internet was icing on the cake! The two resorts are such different experiences, and we were at each one long enough to really enjoy it. And the usual "oh, no it's time to leave" feeling, after five days, was totally gone when leaving BLT meant heading to BCV. And after 10 days, even loving WDW as we do, we were both ready to head home.

We don't usually take trips of that length, but if one looks possible again, I'm more than up for another split stay like that one!

 

[Canadian Disney Mom]

We love split stays, but generally only if we are staying at least 3 nights in each of the hotels.

 

[glvsav37]

Only if we are not on dining plan. One plan has to zeroed before using the next plan... It was a pain!

Can you expand on this? We are doing our 1st split this year.

So all the credits need to be exhausted before moving to the new resort?

 

[ludari]

Personally I do not like to split my stays because I don't want to have to pack midway between my vacation and move to a different resort. What I have done a few times is stay at a DVC resort, go on a Disney Cruise and when I return stay at a different resort. That to me is okay and my preference since I have a goal of staying at all the DVC resorts.

 

[luckyman_apd]

I remember when we first purchased and hearing about split stays my reaction was "Who the #$@& would do that!" But now I really enjoy split stays. Sometimes it's to save points....late flight grab the cheapest room available and switch to resort we want the next day, or depending on the season/timeframe we like some pools better than others or atmosphere so we'll sample more than one resort. It's really allowed us to explore all the DVC resorts (except poly and GF) and really get a feel for what we like best. Bought at BLT because that's what the wife wanted, and as much as we love it we are certainly big fans of others. Split stays allow us to do both.

For the suitcase studio question, we are budget flyers and use Spirit airlines and usually less than $100 round trip. I don't pay for luggage so we fit just enough in the "free" personal item bag. With Laundry at DVC we will wash clothes when needed. Have an 8 day trip in the summer planned, but will probably only bring 4-5 days worth of clothes.

 

[nalajms]

Can you expand on this? We are doing our 1st split this year.
So all the credits need to be exhausted before moving to the new resort?

It would be best to use all the credits from the check-out room before checking-in, but not necessary. It's a bit of a hassle and pain because lots of issue could arise with split stays and DDP on both. In 2014 we had 2 trips where all credits disappeared and charging on MB wouldn't work after checking in the the 2nd resort. Since then we have not done DDP back to back on split stays.

On our trip this past fall, I had DDP on the first resort but not on the second. We had no problems using the remaining credits on check out day. But be aware that all MB charges on check out day were sent to the check-out room, not the new check-in room.

I would double check credits at the end of check-out day to make sure the old credits are used up.

 

[Mo Disney plz]

Can you expand on this? We are doing our 1st split this year.

So all the credits need to be exhausted before moving to the new resort?

Yes we even had to go back to the resort from the parks because we could not use the meal plan. We were told because we did not collect the mugs and snack credits, we could not use the "new plan" for meals. BOG staff told us to charge to room then get refunded. We did, but it was a hassle. Because we ate out of order...sit down meal on new plan before using quick serve on old, it caused a trip every night to the front desk. I wish I had known that first! I would have planned our meals better but at 180 days out it gets tricky to keep it all straight sometimes.