Maybe splitting your stay is the answer???

[TigrLvsPooh]

DH and I were talking last night and we're really starting to think that splitting our stay between 2 or 3 different WDW resorts might be the answer to our transportation woes. Our children are so young (1 and 3) they just have no patience to wait 20-30 minutes for a bus to come. If we spend 2-3 nights at the GF (or other monorail resort) and took in MK by using the monorail or boat, then moved over to an Epcot resort (YC, BC, BW, etc) and hit MGM and Epcot for a few days, wouldn't that be better? The only time we'd need a bus would be to AK and DTD.

I use to think that splitting a stay would be a headache... having to pack everything back up and possibly not having a room for 3-4 hours, but now I think it might be worth it.

What do you guys think?

 

[Robinette]

We stayed at four different places last time we were at Disney. First in a 5 bedroom house with two other families for two nights. Then we went on the Disney cruise for four nights. After that checked into Coronado Springs for five nights and then our final transfer was to AKL to relax for the last four nights!! We did rent vehicles the entire trip so transferring our luggage was not a big deal. It was fun exploring the different resorts. We had a wonderful vacation...all 12 of us!!!

 

[judi]

We have done the exact thing the past few years. Our kids are a bit older being 20,15 and 13 but none of us whats to wait for a bus. Works for us, we don't mind being out of a room for a few hours. You can always sit by the pool or eat a meal.

 

[MELSMICE]

I think splitting your stay is a good idea. You get to experience 2 different resorts & 2 different areas of Disney. The Boardwalk area is so much fun just to walk around.

My only suggestion would be to pack your suitcases according to your "resort stay". Pack 1 suitcase for your first stay & another for the next stay. Pack another with toilettries, etc. that you would need in both resorts. This way you wouldn't have to unpack at least one of the suitcases at each resort.

Have a great time no matter what you decide.

 

[tjkraz]

Have you considered just renting a car for your stay? Dollar has been running $199 / week minivan specials for the last few months. We rented a van from them on our last trip and it was invaluable.

I'm sure you'll find many people advocating the multi-resort approach. But as the father of a 22mo son, I'm not one of them. If it was just my wife and I, my feelings might be different. But I much prefer to settle-in at a single resort for the duration. Don't like living out of suitcases.

Another concern might be the nap times of your children. Our son goes down for 3 hours each day between 12 - 1pm. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking the chance that we wouldn't have a bed for him on a couple of days because of a resort change.

Again, just my opinion...

 

[VickiVM]

Sounds like a great idea. When patience is not your children's best virtue any adjustment you can make to accomodate them is well worth it. I second what a previous poster suggested about packing different "resort" bags to lighten the load. The only thing I would be mindful of is that the second resort you check in may or may not be ready until late in the afternoon and if your children still need a nap to function, just be prepared to spend your "moving" day away from your room in the afternoon.

 

[robinb]

I detest waiting for the bus at WDW (or anywhere else for that matter). But, I think the small amount of time waiting for the bus outweighs the headache of changing resorts! Ugh! I usually end up changing resorts and I hate it even more than the bus. I stayed at the CR for 10 days straight and nowhere else in July and it was heaven! I stayed at the Polynesian, Beach Club Villas and the Summerfield Suites in December/January and while I liked each hotel, moving was a huge pain in the butt for me!

My best advice would be to rent a car. Then there is no bus waiting whatsoever. You can come and go when you please. My second piece of advice is to stay at a resort where you can walk to a park like CR, BW, Y&BC. Even the monorails can take a while. It took us over 45 minutes from station to station to take the resort monorail from the Polynesian to the CR for dinner at Chef Mickey's on Christmas day.

 

[Gupsmom]

We switched resorts last trip and we have 3 kids (5, 4, 2). It was great. It was wonderful to be on the monorail for a few days. It was also great to get a chance to experience 2 resorts in the same trip. We did pack seperate suitcases for each resort with a small bag of things we would need at both. It went so well that for our July trip we are booked at 3 different resorts. I would recommend giving a minimum of 3 nights at each. We did 2 nights at the second resort and we really wish we had another day to enjoy that resort.

Jess

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I do worry about being "homeless" on moving day because our kids usually take a nap in the afternoons. So that is definitely a big issue.

We rented a car when we stayed at OKW, but when we drove to MK, found a place to park, waited for the tram, took the ferry to MK, etc, it ended up taking much longer than waiting for the bus. So we ended up not using our car much, except to go to DTD and dinner at some of the resorts. You really can't beat a 5 minute boat ride from MK to the GF when your kids are in meltdown!

I'd like to try 3 nights at the GF and 3-4 nights at YC on our next trip just to see how it goes. I'd probably plan MK and AK for the first 3 days, and then Epcot and MGM for the last 3-4 days. Thanks for the advice about packing separate bags... that makes a lot of sense!

 

[annemariec]

I've been thinking the same as you, TigrLvsPooh. The next time we go we will probably split our stay. It would be so nice to have the resort near the park we will be visiting.

Annemarie

 

[lizzie64]

tgrlvspooh,

We had the same dilema the first time we went in May of 2001. My two oldest were 13 (twins) my 2 youngest were 2 and 3 months old. We wound up renting a car because I didn't want to deal with having to collapse the stroller and lug all the bags (diaper, snack, camera, camcorder) onto a bus. Oh we stayed at Dixie Landings (loved it there)

This May of 2003, I decided to stay on a monorail resort and use that to get to MK and Epcot. We are staying at the Poly for 4 nights. Figured I'd do MK and Epcot those days, then move to AKL for the next 5 nights and do AK and MGM. But I'm sure we'll be back to the MK and Epcot from AKL.

We are still renting a car, but feel that it will be so much easier to just push the stroller onto the monorail than a bus.

 

[tnkrbell]

I think splitting your stay is a great idea! That way you get a taste of teh two resorts you are wanting to stay at!
And I think your choice of splitting between GF and Yc is Wonderful!!!!!! Great choice!!

 

[BCV23]

Another vote for renting a car and staying in one place with little ones. I think MK is the one park NOT to drive to unless you're parking at the TTC and also visiting one of the monorail resorts for a meal.

Have you considered the Polynesian, Erika? From there you can take the fun launches, monorail or ferry to the MK. You can also walk to the TTC and hop the Epcot monorail. We drive to MGM and AK but if you take the buses on your return you can take whichever shows up first, TTC or Polynesian bus. We love the GF, too, but transportation is faster from the Polynesian. The beach and pools are handy to all longhouses and it's a very relaxing place for children...adults, too!

 

[hercamore]

I agree with the previous posters that renting a car is the way to go.

But, do NOT drive to the MK. Much faster with the bus system.

Trams run to the parking lots from each park every 2 min. It's a breeze to drive in and out of the lots and back to your resort.

Plus, you can drive down to dt disney insteadi of wating for that slow bus. Take advantage of the TONS of restaurants near the Goodings shopping center for dinner.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I think it's easier to get our double stroller onto the bus than on one of those trams! But it's not too fun either way. The boat transportation is my favorite... the boys are mesmerized just watching the water, it makes the trip seem fast and easy. I think splitting between GF and YC would be best because we can use the boats at both resorts and then either drive or take the bus to DTD and AK.

I think we're going to stay at Universal a few days also.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I think it's easier to get our double stroller onto the bus than on one of those trams! But it's not too fun either way. The boat transportation is my favorite... the boys are mesmerized just watching the water, it makes the trip seem fast and easy. I think splitting between GF and YC would be best because we can use the boats at both resorts and then either drive or take the bus to DTD and AK.

I think we're going to stay at Universal a few days also.

 

[Disneydenise]

When our kids were little we stayed at a monorail resort and rented a car. It made our life much easier. I think it is difficult to pack and unpack with all the junk you need with little people. Even with staying in one place I lost a pair of PJ's and a pair of shoes. My kids still remember the items they lost. I think it may be that I am not real organized. We ssstill rent a car when we go to DW and the kids are 17 & 18 now. We can't stand to wait in any more ques then we have to and at DW you have plenty.

 

[tnkrbell]

As far as going to the Mk, we usually either walk through Epcot and get on the monorail (We enjoy walking, when we are at the yacht)
Or we drive to the contemporary or poly and take the monorail from there.

 

[peepsmama]

Hi Erika!

FWIW, we found that staying in the Epcot area eliminated a lot of the bus problems for us. We walked to Epcot, or rode the boat to MGM. If we wanted to go to MK we just walked through Epcot and used the monorail, rather than use the bus. Basically the only time we used a bus was to go to AK or DTD (which wasn't that often). You could drive to DTD though, that would save another bus ride.

We were there in January though, so buses we not crowded at all.

HTH!

Lynn

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Hey Lynn!!

I think we're going to stay at YC the whole time. After talking to dh about it further we decided that changing rooms wasn't worth the effort. I'm excited to stay at the YC again, it's my favorite resort.