It's Been Six Years - Need Advice ASAP!

[ArRzrbk]

OK. Here's the deal...

We have promised our children for the past 6 years we would return to Disney after our 2005 trip. We are finally able to afford it. I called about Thanksgiving week (looking for five nights), but the resorts we wanted to stay at were all booked up. The CM was not that helpful or cheerfull, so I decided to just forget it. Changed my mind a few minutes later and called back. Next CM was way more helpful and wanted to make things work for us. We were able to book the following...

* AKV (Kidani Village, 1 bedroom, standard view) - first three nights
* BCV (1 Bedroom) - last two nights (including Thanksgiving day)

My husband has booked our flight, so this trip is now a done deal. Now, I am just trying to figure out whether we should leave the reservation as it sits or get on a waitlist for something else. We have only been once since joining DVC, so we have only had experience with the BCV, and we have certainly never switched rooms during a stay. Help! I know there are some of you out there who can give me some good advice on this trip. We have an 7 year old and a 9 year old. They do like animals and love the beach.

* Is the above a good plan, or do you think we should avoid switching resorts and try and get one or the other for the whole trip?

* If we do stick with this plan, do the CMs move your food to your new room, as well as your bags? We will be eating in the room some to save money.

* Any tips on how to make a room switch easy?

* What about AKV views? Should we waitlist a Savannah view?

* How about the Friday after Thanksgiving? I know there will be Christmas decorations up. We will only have a few hours before we have to fly home. Any suggestions on making the most of those few hours?

Any advice is very much appreciated, on the above or anything else that will help us make the most of this long awaited vacation...resort, rides, food, must sees and dos, etc. Thanks so much. I can't wait to see what you all come up with. I'm a planner at heart, and I'm ready to get started

 

[rsjj]

just subscribing...i'm interested in the suggestions you get for "switching the rooms" part. apparently w/dvc, that's quite common? i'm just curious, so i can prep myself, if i should ever have to do that...thanx for allowing me to read & be part of your thread!

 

[Goofy442]

My DH will not do a split stay, he refuses to pack everything up and move. As for AKV, we did the savannah view and probably won't do it again. Not worth the extra points, I would rather save them and go back to WDW. Any time I can get extra park time before we leave I would do. But this is my personal perference. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We don't particularly care for moving during a stay although when we do it's far from causing a downer to the trip. It has the benefit of giving you a chance to enjoy a couple of resorts which is nice. The process itself is fairly easy and bell service will transfer your luggage and food although we haven't personally had them do food. The big thing for us is that it does take time out of your stay to pack up and then unpack again and you will most likely be without a room for the day until your room is ready at your next location.

Since it's been awhile since you've been to WDW and since your stay is 5 nights I'd try and get all nights at one resorts so you don't have to spend time moving. I'd guess that AKV would have the best chance of filling so I'd waitlist for the last 2 nights in a standard view there. I'd also do a waitlist for the entire time for a savannah view - it's really so unique and we always love being able to go out to our own balcony and watch the animals. There are several viewing areas around the resort though if you keep the standard view.

 

[dzorn]

OK. Here's the deal...

We have promised our children for the past 6 years we would return to Disney after our 2005 trip. We are finally able to afford it. I called about Thanksgiving week (looking for five nights), but the resorts we wanted to stay at were all booked up. The CM was not that helpful or cheerfull, so I decided to just forget it. Changed my mind a few minutes later and called back. Next CM was way more helpful and wanted to make things work for us. We were able to book the following...

* AKV (Kidani Village, 1 bedroom, standard view) - first three nights
* BCV (1 Bedroom) - last two nights (including Thanksgiving day)

My husband has booked our flight, so this trip is now a done deal. Now, I am just trying to figure out whether we should leave the reservation as it sits or get on a waitlist for something else. We have only been once since joining DVC, so we have only had experience with the BCV, and we have certainly never switched rooms during a stay. Help! I know there are some of you out there who can give me some good advice on this trip. We have an 7 year old and a 9 year old. They do like animals and love the beach.

* Is the above a good plan, or do you think we should avoid switching resorts and try and get one or the other for the whole trip?

* If we do stick with this plan, do the CMs move your food to your new room, as well as your bags? We will be eating in the room some to save money.

* Any tips on how to make a room switch easy?

* What about AKV views? Should we waitlist a Savannah view?

* How about the Friday after Thanksgiving? I know there will be Christmas decorations up. We will only have a few hours before we have to fly home. Any suggestions on making the most of those few hours?

Any advice is very much appreciated, on the above or anything else that will help us make the most of this long awaited vacation...resort, rides, food, must sees and dos, etc. Thanks so much. I can't wait to see what you all come up with. I'm a planner at heart, and I'm ready to get started

I would wait list the last two nights and AKV and the first 3 nights at BCV. For that short of a trip I would not want to move. Shorter wait list have a better chance of getting filled so I would not wait list 5 nights somewhere.

Denise in MI

 

[ArRzrbk]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will talk to my husband this afternoon and see what he prefers. I think no matter what, we are going to have a good time. Keep those trip ideas coming I really want this to be a super special trip for our family. Just bought some planning books. I am raring to go

 

[Pakey]

We do split stays more often than not because we like the experience of 2 different resorts. In fact on our next trip in October we are starting in a grand villa at AKV and then transferring to our home resort of BCV in multiple rooms to finish our vacation.

They will move your things, including your food. You just have to bag your food items separately (freezer/refridgerator/shelf) and mark the bags. You should also plan to tip based on bags at both the resort you are leaving and at the resort you are moving to.

We have not had any issue doing this. We prefer to just grab a cab and move our things ourselves but we have had Bell Services do it and it's fine other than you have to wait until late afternoon to have your things.

 

[wilma-bride]

We have done split stays the last few trips we have taken. However, we usually are there for a fortnight. Personally, I would not want to switch after 3 nights if we were there as a family. The problem is, once you have checked out of one resort, technically, you can't check in to the other resort until after 4 pm. And sometimes the room is not ready until then - if you or one of your children wanted to take a break/nap you may not have a room to go to. I wouldn only move if I were 100% sure I was not going to need the room during the day.

As previous posters have said, though, the actual move is relatively painless. Disney will take care of transferring your luggage and any other items.

ETA, when we stayed at Kidani we had a standard view and it was fine. We saw plenty of animals fromt eh viewing areas and weren't in the room long enough to make the additional points for savannah view worth it.

 

[Alexander]

You can have 2 waitlists at a time, so I would waitlist the 3 nights at BCV and the 2 at AKV. You've got nothing to lose. If they don't come through, you have what is already booked. If one does come through, you won't have to move.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I would try to waitlist to stay the whole time in one of the resorts (and if I had enough points, I would probably prefer BCV) but if it doesn't come through and you have to do the split stay, you will still have a great time.

We have done a split stay a couple of times now and though it was not something I thought I would enjoy, it is kind of nice to experience 2 different resorts. We did a split at POFQ and Kidani will 11 people moving from 4 rooms to 3 villas in April. We had bell services move 28 bags for us AND handle our grocery delivery to Kidani. It all went seamlessly and was easy as pie!

Also, we stayed in Standard View rooms at Kidani and found them perfect. I would not use the extra points required for a savanna view. There are tons of places around the resort to view the animals.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I would wait list the last two nights and AKV and the first 3 nights at BCV. For that short of a trip I would not want to move. Shorter wait list have a better chance of getting filled so I would not wait list 5 nights somewhere.

Denise in MI

My only concern with that is the old Murphy's law - they'd probably both fill on the same day and still have a split stay!

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

My only concern with that is the old Murphy's law - they'd probably both fill on the same day and still have a split stay!

But can't you note on the waitlist request that if one waitlist comes through you would like to automatically cancel the other waitlist?

 

[wildernessDad]

Personally, I don't mind moving if I'm staying 4 nights at one resort and 6 at another. But 3 and 2 - you might want to go on the wait list for those 2 nights.

 

[ArRzrbk]

Hmm. Since I have never stayed at AKL, I am a little nervous about putting all my eggs in that basket. That wasn't a top choice for this trip. BCV wasn't either. We stayed there in 2005, and we liked it, but since it will be cool this trip, we were thinking Wilderness or Boardwalk, neither of which were available.

Those of you who love AKV, can you tell me more about that resort and why you love it? I don't really want to do BCV for the whole stay. I'd like to try something new, so either an entirely diff. waitlist for the whole stay or the whole stay at AKV are our options.

 

[MrShiny]

OK. Here's the deal...
* AKV (Kidani Village, 1 bedroom, standard view) - first three nights
* BCV (1 Bedroom) - last two nights (including Thanksgiving day)

I think that plan is great as is! If you want to list a savannah view, that might be worth it - the first time at AKV it is amazing to wake up and see the animals outside, but really there are plenty of places to view them outside of your room too!

Here is how I would do the split:
Packing - make two sets of bags - one for the first resort and one for the second (unless you plan to only bring half as many clothes and wash mid way through).

Switch morning - pack and have one parent take the kids to Epcot or Disney Hollywood Studios.


The other parent calls Bell Services and gives them the bags. Then, he or she takes the bus (assuming you have no car) and then switches to the Beach Club boat at the park. That parent checks in at BCV (it'll be busy, so chances are there might not be a room ready, but if there is you have a good chance of getting it by arriving before most other guests). That parent then meets up with rest of the family in the park (if one of these happens to be an Extra Magic morning park, do that one).



When ready for a break, just go to the BCV and swim or go to the room (if your room is ready).

Note that most of the Christmas decorations will be up. The last day, I'd avoid the crowds and visit the Gingerbread House at GF!

 

[mopee3]

It is kind of nice to experience 2 different resorts. We had bell services move 28 bags for us AND handle our grocery delivery to Kidani. It all went seamlessly and was easy as pie!

Also, we stayed in Standard View rooms at Kidani and found them perfect. I would use the extra points required for a savanna view.

Most of the people here on these forums will tell you split stays are a pain in the rear end, except it's nice to visit more than one resort as witnessed above.

We are just the opposite, in the last 5 years and typically we stay twice a year for 10 -14 days per trip, we have never stayed in the same resort for more than 4 days, mostly 3 days. Usually we go with adults but have gone with grand kids as young as 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, and kids of 35, 40+, 50ish, and 65ish. Bell services will take care of you, your bags and food very well, at least they have in all those trips/years for us.

On the moving day we get up, I call bell services to come get the bags or put them in our rental car, head over to the new resort about 8-10 am, and check in, yes you can check in that early. Early in the am, checking in can be a really pleasant experience, people just came on shift, they are usually on the ball, and happy to see you.

Some times the room is ready or they will offer me a room that is ready, but because I am particular, not picky just discriminating, about where I would like to stay it's usually not ready. I give them a phone number to call or text me, I give the bags to bell services if I have them and head back to meet up with the rest of the folks for either breakfast or at a park.

Now for many here is the bad part, you must have the stuff with you that you will need that day or check it with bell services at the new resort because unless you give it to bell services you won’t see your stuff until they assign you a room after 4:00 pm. Once you get the room assignment you go to the room and call BS, that’s bell services not Bull ****, for your stuff.


What ever you do, remember you only get to spent this day once, not twice or 3 times, so go take on the day and have a magical one while your at it!!

Moe

 

[Sandisw]

We love split stays and don't find them bad at all. I just pack the suitcases in such a way so that everything we need for the first resort is in one bag and everything we need for the second resort is in another one.

This way, we only unpack one bag. As we use things, we put them back in so the packing up we have to do to move is very minimal. I even go as far as getting extra body wash, shampoo, toothbrushes, etc. for each resort so I don't even have to move those.

It works out well. Now, we do rent a car for the move day (rent from the Dolphin via Alamo) so we typically take our own luggage. This summer, I am going with my cousins, my Aunt, my two DD's and one of my DD's friends (9 in all) so we will let Bell Services move the luggage for us.

If you really don't want to do a split stay, then I would WL AKV. However, if you really would like to try one of the other resorts, than WL the AKV nights at VWL and leave the BCV nights. Then, if that comes through, WL for VWL the last two nights (or do it the opposite way). Less nights are more likely to fill.

Given your dates, which include the Veteran's Day holiday, I think you would have a better chance getting those first few nights than the last, but just a guess on my part.

Good luck!

 

[ArRzrbk]

Mr. Shiny,

Can I check in at the BCV early in the morning? We want to head to the parks as early as we can. Do they assign rooms based on who checked in first? If so, that sounds like a great plan Please let me know.

 

[MrShiny]

I have checked before 6am in the past! I think the systems roll sometime after 2am.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

But can't you note on the waitlist request that if one waitlist comes through you would like to automatically cancel the other waitlist?

Yes, you could but I've had enough mistakes of some sort with the waitlists that I don't count on anything anymore. But I've also had good luck with them so I've just learned to do lots of checking on what the CM's have entered.