For those that have done split stays...

[melissafox18]

Did you feel like you lost a day when you switched resorts? Does Disney help you move your bags? The "switch day" we plan on having breakfast and then spending most of the day in one of the parks.

I really want to do 2 days at Poly to get the experience (have dinner at Ohana on our arrival day, watch Wishes from the beach with a drink, breakfast the next morning at Kona and spending the day at MK). Other two nights will be at Epcot eating our way through WS and rope drop at DHS for TSM. For those nights we're going to stay at BC/YC.

Am I going to lose my Epcot day because we're switching resorts?

 

[dansdad]

Did you feel like you lost a day when you switched resorts?

Nope.

Does Disney help you move your bags?

Yup. Don't expect them to show up at resort #2 until after 3PM to be safe.

What we have done is call Bell Services at resort 1 and have them get our bags and tell them where we are checking in for resort #2. Go check out of resort #1. Jump on the bus to the park of choice. Leave park around 5 or 6, get on bus/monorail/boat to resort #2, check in, call Bell Services and have them bring up our bags, freshen up, head out for dinner at one of the parks.

 

[bumbershoot]

There's no need for it to take up your whole day at all! Get your stuff ready the night before, and when you wake up put everything you won't need that day in your luggage. Get Bell Services to take it, and tell them where you need it to go. They will take it for you, and it will be available after official check-in time for the next resort.

Take whatever you need for the parks, and go! Whenever you're ready to go to the next resort, just go there.

 

[ThumpersWorld]

Not at all! Split stays are great! We checked out of the BWV first thing in the am, bell services took our bags and we were off to the parks. Later in the afternoon we checked into BCV and our bags were there and bell services brought everything to our room. Couldn't have been a smoother process. We are doing it again in October.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We're not advocates of split stays... See no advantage or use in them...

We did one once, forced since original resort didn't have all our days.... Cured us though...

We do not like being homeless for the day, second resort may not be ready until after 3 pm... Luggage is not going to arrive until after 3 pm either, along with your grocery items and beverages...

When we go to a park for the morning and work up a sweat, we want a resort to return to, shower, possibly swim and have some adult beverages... Not sit in the lobby cause the room isn't ready...we're not open to park close people!

Some enjoy it but we do not... Complete waste of a time and my time, especially being on a WDW vacation...

 

[gwynne]

We love split stays! We checkout, take our bags and hop in a taxi, head over to our next resort. It avoids a lot of wondering when will our bags get there.

 

[Suzanne74]

It is easy as can be. Like others said. Check out, they ship your bags while you are at a park, go check in after 3pm and bags are there. I don't see how it can get much easier than that. That said, I am not an advocate unless I am there for 8+ days. I like feeling home, not living in a suitcase.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We have done several split stays. We don't feel like we lose the day at all. What we do is get up and have our breakfast and then call a cab and take our bags to the second resort ourselves. We check in early. Sometimes the room is ready and sometimes it's not. If it's not then we just head out to the parks until we get the text that it is ready! Either way, our bags are already at the second resort and we don't have to worry about not getting our belongings until later.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I was like you at first...but soon found split stays to be awesome. I wrote about it in a blog several months ago. You can find the perks and tricks of moving between resorts here:

http://www.disunplugged.com/2012/07/17/resort-hopping-101-the-art-of-carpetbagging-around-the-world/

 

[Bellabully]

I personally am not a fan of split stays. I don't like having to unpack, pack, unpack and pack. Takes too much of my time and energy when there are way more enjoyable things to be doing.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I felt like I lost about 30 minutes, the time to take a cab to the other resort and check in

 

[Belleandtinker]

You wont miss a day in the park. Get up early just like you always do, call bell services after they take your luggage eat breakfast and head to the park.

Everytime we have done it, our stuff is at our next resort by mid-afternoon.

We have done a split stay 2 - 3 times and have had no problems and enjoyed the switch.

 

[melissafox18]

Thanks everyone! I feel much better about my plan.

 

[mkarizona]

You can make it even easier if you plan ahead before you pack. For example, pack everything you will need for the Poly in one suitcase and everything for the BC/YC in another suitcase. That way you will not need to unpack and repack all of your suitcases each time.

 

[Saratoga Goofy]

Split stays don't have to take a full day away. Just checkout from one room, go the parks, and go to the new resort on return. Let Disney do all the work!!! The only downside is if you unpack, it takes a lot of time. Or if you have food in your room. It's hard to transfer cool good without a cooler.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

You can make it even easier if you plan ahead before you pack. For example, pack everything you will need for the Poly in one suitcase and everything for the BC/YC in another suitcase. That way you will not need to unpack and repack all of your suitcases each time.

This is how we do our split stays.

 

[polyfor4]

We prefer taking a down day when we switch resorts but we have switched during an afternoon break many times. If you're bringing your own car I would recommend packing up in the morning, driving to the Polynesian to "check in", park the car and take the monorail to Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Then at 3:00 check in and unpack the car. We have done this multiple times and it always seems pretty easy!

 

[P00H1010]

Did a split stay last year and are doing one this year too. Day wasn't wasted at all and Disney does take care of your bags. When leaving resort #1 contact bell services and tell them you need your bags transferred. Make sure you have everything with you that you need for the day as your bags probably won't arrive at resort #2 until late afternoon. Leave resort #1 and go about your day (take a bus, or in your case you could take the monorail if you wish). Whenever you want to check in to resort #2 grab a bus from wherever you are over to your new resort. Very easy

 

[akl-fan]

I agree that the could not be any easier. We love doing them and are doing one again this year. 6 days BLT and 9 days AKL. We will maybe lose 30 minutes of our day. 10 mins to dealing with Bell services and 20 mins checking into your new resort.
Note if you want to swim before 3pm at your new resort then it is worth packing swim clothes into a small bag and putting them into a locker at the park you are visiting. You can then pick them up before heading to your new resort.

 

[goofy4tink]

We usually live out of our bags, so unpacking and repacking isn't an issue. We do unpack toiletries though. They all go into large ziploc baggies, so it's pretty easy to pack them up.
We moved from ASMusic to AoA-LM last weekend. Got my bags to Luggage Assistence by 7:15, handed them off and we were on the bus to HS by 7:30. Stayed there, SWs fun, until about 2ish. Went directly to AoA and got checked in. Our room was ready, but bags hadn't arrived yet. We grabbed a bite to eat, and went back to the room to relax. We got our bags later in the afternoon.
We never feel that we have wasted a day when switching resorts. We just pack up, hand off the bags and get to a park. Later in the day, head to the new resort and get checked in. If the room isn't ready, return to a park.