How to work a split stay?

[chimo2u]

Hello,
I am hoping to take my family one last time to WDW in Sept 2009. I am hoping Free dining will be an option again, it would save us quite a bit! I'd like to try 2 resorts this time, but was wondering how you go about working a split-stay with the dining plan. I would like to try Beach Club as my boys will be 13 and 17, so SAB will be a definite plus! Also going back and forth between trying Poly or WL for the other resort. We stayed at AKL in Jan and LOVED it, but want to try something new this time. Also, does anyone know if you can get free dining if you are staying concierge? So, do I book a reservation for each resort and end up with an overlap day of extra food? Amy insight into booking split stays would be appreciated!!
Thanks so much,
Marie

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

sorry Marie I wish I could help, do you have a travel agent you could ask? there are a few recommended on other boards, you could call to ask your ?'s

btw love the split stay idea and you will LOVE the BC

 

[MinnieMommy]

Hi Marie,

We are doing a split stay for our upcoming trip. Although we have done the dining plan on 2 previous trips, we were undecided this time. When I made our reservations, I still asked for all of the information, just in case we decided to add it.

Basically, if you are doing a split stay, each reservation is treated completely on it's own. Both require their own deposits etc. Dining Plans are also applied to each reservation separately. So, if you book Resort A with the dining plan, all of those dining credits will expire at midnight the day you check out of Resort A, even though you are continuing your stay at WDW. If you book Resort B with the dining plan, those credits will not be available to you until you actually check in to Resort B. You do not have to have dining on both packages. So, if you are not travelling during free dining... you could always just have the dining package on one of the reservations if that works better with your plans.

Hope that makes sense!

 

[trivial]

You get dining plan credits per night stayed, rather than per day, so there wouldn't be any overlap. I believe you simply just make 2 reservations, and haul your loot over to the second resort when the time comes. I don't see why concierge guests wouldn't also be eligible for free dining.

 

[aGoofyMom]

My $0.02 from my split stay last fall...I had room only bookings and only one reservation number. No info from me on the dining. They applied all payments only to the first stay, so when I arrived at the second resort I was a little surprised by that.

Also - we moved Poly to BC and bell services moved all of our luggage/crap for us. We left the Poly, spent the day at Epcot and wandered over to check in at the Beach Club. No hassles, no worries at all.

 

[Calgary DISHeads]

We also did a Poly/BC split and LOVED it. Best of both worlds. Only problem with it is that due to each being a separate reservation, in order to have DDP you must have park tickets on each reservation ie: we had a 10 day park hopper on the Poly ressie, then had to have one day park pass in order to have dining on the BC ressie. Added expense that makes no sense, but that is "the way it is".

 

[chimo2u]

Thanks for all the replies... I think after reading so many posts on this, it is MUCH more economical and easier to stay with 1 resort, especially since I will be doing the dining plan. Anyway, i am hoping my family will fall in love with 11 nights at BC just as much as they loved AKL!!! Marie