Help with switching resorts!!

[CandCMommy]

I hope this is the right place for this thread. My DH and I are trying to book a trip for Christmas 08 and are thinking about switching hotels halfway through our stay. Can someone please tell us the easiest/cheapest way to go about booking this? It appears that several of you do this on a frequent basis and any help you can give would be much appreciated.

 

[clkelley]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1571991

Check out the above thread, that explains how bell services and luggage services works.

There is no charge at all for transferring your luggage to your next resort, except for tipping bell services.

If you are at a deluxe or moderate resort, simply call bell services, they will come and get your luggage and have it delivered to your next resort. Go off to a park, go to your next resort any time you wish and check in. Your luggage will arrive at your new resort around 3pmish.

If you are at a Value resort, call them the night before, tell them you want to transfer to xxxx resort, you have xx # of bags, and they can pick them up after xx:xx am. Stack everthing by the door, then head for the parks, go to your next resort any time you wish and check in. Your luggage will arrive at your new resort around 3pmish.

 

[CandCMommy]

Thanks for the info on the luggage transfer. What we really need is info/tips on the easiest/cheapest way to actually book the trip. Obviously we need to book two separate reservations but how do we do it with purchasing park tickets and dining plans? I'm sure I'm making it more difficult than it needs to be.

 

[Hopefully]

If you are planning on doing the Disney Dining Plan on a split stay, it is more expensive. You have to purchase at least a one day Park Pass for each resesrvation to be eligible for the Dining Plan for that stay. This is more expensive than buying one longer multiday pass. I donb't think there is any way around that.
HTH

 

[party of 3]

we did a split stay for the 1st time this trip! it was so great. we stayed 10 days total. so we did 5 days at POR and 5 days at the Poly. we booked 5 days at POR with 7 day hopper pass and the dining plan, the we booked 5 days at the Poly with a 1 day hopper and the dining plan. It worked out great for us. we used all our passes (spent one day at sea world). the one thing i read was that you have to use all your dining things before your registration is up at midnight. so the last day at POR we had a ton of snack credits left, so after dinner that night (at the beach club) we went to the gift shop to look around and spent all of our remaining "snacks" in the gift shop. it was all good! i don't know if any of this helps, but i do know for us it was the best thing in the world. we just LOVED the Poly! i hope to stay there next time. we are planning on doing every 2 years so it will give me plenty of time to save up for it. i'd like to do a split stay from now on, 5 days at a mod resort and 5 days at a deluxe.

 

[Princess Amy]

We are doing a split stay this upcoming vacation. AKL Dec 1-5 and CSR Dec 5-9. The CM arranged us with this:

AKL savanna bunk bed view, 8 day MYW park hoppers, with dining plan

and

CSR standard view, 1 day MYW base ticket, with dining plan

The more days for the tickets the cheaper it is. Unfortunately, if you do want the dining plan for your second stay, you do have to at least buy a 1 day MYW base ticket. Which is what we had to do.

 

[CandCMommy]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. We were trying to find out if there was a way to get around having to buy two separate sets of park hoppers with dining plans, but it doesn't sound like there is. Maybe we should rethink this idea.

 

[aljack33]

I just booked 7 nights at the Poly with 10 day park hopper and dining and then 3 at the Beach CLub with no dining. The cost was just too much. And with the tip being taken off the dining plan, I really don't think it is a big deal that we do not have it for three days. In fact, it will be a good indication for hte future and I can compare if I really save that much by doing the dining.

I think money wise, it's a wash for doing or not doing the dining plan for us. I like it more for the convenience, so I am not concerned about 3 days without it.

You could do all your bigger, more expensive meals at the beginning of your trip and then when you switch and do not have the dining plan, do you least expensive meals. I think by doing that, you really wouldn't be paying anything more than with the plan.

 

[Mr. Pig]

The only issue that the dining plan brings up is that you have to purchase at least one day park ticket to get a package and be eligible to purchase the dining plan. This forces you to buy a nine day and a one day (for example) on the two stays. Being able to buy just a 10 day ticket for the entire stay probably would be about $70 per person cheaper. You may consider, as suggested, doing the dining plan only on the first stay on your trip then the second do as room only. When you do a split stay Disney considers it as two separate reservations.