Polynesian - Split Stay with Boardwalk or Stay all week

starryagain

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 28, 2014
This will be in a trip next May. We are DVC, and will have stayed at the following:

- Animal Kingdom Jambo 2x
- Beach Club 2x
- Boardwalk 1x (owners)
- Swan (I know not DVC, for work)
- We have one night at Bay Lake Tower this May

I am thinking for our next trip I want to try the Polynesian. I am trying to decide whether we would want to split the stay with Boardwalk and do 3 heavy Hollywood / Epcot days followed by 4 heavy Magic Kingdom days (with Animal Kingdom sprinkled in), or should we just stay at Poly. We have two children who will be 5 and 8. To me the upside of split stay is the ease of walking to Hollywood and Epcot in the first part of trip and saving DVC points. The downside is the painfulness of moving mid-trip. Not sure how big of a deal it would be since we haven't done it before. It will be May so pool weather.
 
We did a Contemporary/Beach Club split on our last trip and it was great. It is just so much easier being able to walk to a park. We concentrated our MK days for while we were at CR and our Epcot/HS days for when were at BC. I would definitely do it again.
 
We're doing a Poly/Boardwalk split stay in March and I'm really looking forward to it for the very reasons you've mentioned: MK focus the beginning of the trip and EPCOT/HS focus the second half, with the ease that comes from being so close. We'll be adult ladies sharing the rooms, so not the same as packing up kiddos and all their stuff.
 
I recommend it. We always split just for that reason. Our next trip is BWV/VGF. Best of both worlds. Enjoy!
 


Sounds great, thank you. Honestly we'll be doing a studio so packing isn't a super huge deal, we won't have a ton of stuff. I just think my husband will be resistant. But he ultimately accepts my opinion as the family expert :D
 
Sounds great, thank you. Honestly we'll be doing a studio so packing isn't a super huge deal, we won't have a ton of stuff. I just think my husband will be resistant. But he ultimately accepts my opinion as the family expert :D

My DH doesn’t like switching, but to make it easier on ourselves, we will wash clothes the night before we move, repack the suitcases, and then put any suitcases that we do not need in the car, so the next morning all we have to do is get ready to go! It also feels like you’re on two different trips because of the two different atmospheres that you are experiencing! I love it and look forward to switching every trip! I think you will too! Have fun!
 
For a full week stay, I like the MK/EP resort split. It really cuts down on transportation time to and from the parks and allows you to enjoy the amenities of two different, great resorts. I don't find moving terribly difficult. Personally, on the day you move, I would consider making it a late morning (so you can leisurely pack), drop your luggage with bell services so they can transfer everything for you, then go to EP for the day and simply take the monorail over to Poly when you are done at EP. By then, your luggage should be transferred and your room ready (if you stay in EP until about 4 pm or later). Easy peasy.
 


I'm not a fan of splitting. The one time we tried it packing in the morning was hectic, and our luggage was lost and we didn't get it until 2am, so when we got back tired after fireworks the kids had to go to bed in undies because their park clothes were all sweaty and I had to wait up and make endless calls on the phone to resolve it. It probably would go smoothly most times, but when it goes south, it's not fun.

I also would be sad to leave the Poly midweek! It's so pretty there.
 
We always do a split stay. Packing up/moving is not a big deal at all and the advantages are huge, as you have listed.
 
We love split stays! Our favorite splits are between the MK and Epcot resorts. We always move our luggage to the second resort, check in, and store our luggage with bell services. That way we don’t need to wait on our luggage to arrive. When we get the room ready text, we head back to the resort, retrieve our luggage, and head to our room. Super easy!
 
We much prefer split stays. Magic Kingdom can be complicated to get to, but taking the monorail or boat from Poly makes it so easy. I’m sad that I DONT have a split stay coming up for spring break ! Yes, terrible problem to have!😄
 
For me it really falls on what resort I love. With the Polynesian, the TTC is right there so the trip to Epcot is easy. If I was to switch, Id want to switch to somewhere I like better then the previous resort. Resorts are as big a part of my trips as the parks are. I'm partial to the Poly so I'd hate to leave it. If you don't have or think will love one resort from the other, The split stay isn't a difficult thing to do.
 
Depending on your luggage situation, you might want to designate one more bags as first half and one or more bags as second half. When you get to the first resort, unpack the "first half" bags and don't touch the second half bags. At the end of the first resort, just throw the dirty clothes in the first half bag(s) and when you get to the second resort you just unpack the second half bags. The only thing that you would have pack and unpack is things like toiletries, toothbrushes, etc.

I do this whenever we have a pre or post cruise stay. Have a separate bag from our cruise bags.
 
We love split stays and do them often for shorter trips than yours. Ours mostly come out of the fact that when I originally book I book only for the days I know will work for our schedule (since when you book with Disney it can be so hard to flex your dates) then when the trip gets closer I tend to add a day or two when our schedules are more solid and we actually know what is compatible. We find it pretty easy and just pack separate bags for each resort (leaving the other in the car) with a communal bag for everyone’s toiletries which goes in with us for each stay. To be fair things that make splits easier for us are that we have older kids and we drive. It’s fun to try out new resorts and if you don’t love one, at least you had the other (hopefully you loved at least one!). I know since you’re an owner you know you love BWV, and in our opinion Poly is awesome. I say go for it!
 
I’d probably split. We did that when our kids were younger and it was fine. If you think you’ll want your bags during the day, I’d just call for an Uber or Lyft and move the bags to the new bell desk yourself.
 
Love the split stay convenience of transportation to the theme parks. Also, love trying two resorts in one trip!

If you organize your luggage, it really is only a few minutes top throw everything in the suitcase. and then in the car. Thern pull out what you want at the second resort when you go there. We like to use packing cubes and an empty duffle for laundry. Everything except toiletries stays in the suitcase. WE have to empty the safe, pick up toiletries and phone charger and are pretty much good to go. Everyone manages their own bag of 'stuff'. we unpack as little as possible wherever we go.

We have started taking a Lyft to the second resort first thing in the am. Check in. Leave luggage at second resort with Bell Services (assuming room isn't ready). then we go to the park for the day and come back to the second resort when we finish for the day. Call Bell services and head top the room. Easy.

You can give your luggage at the first resort to get it transferred for you., but I like to know where it is and not worry about it taking the long way around to get to me,.
 
Sounds great, thank you. Honestly we'll be doing a studio so packing isn't a super huge deal, we won't have a ton of stuff. I just think my husband will be resistant. But he ultimately accepts my opinion as the family expert :D

I do split stays all the time. When I did them with my kids when they were younger, I packed our things for each stay. This way, we unpacked one suitcase and then as we wore things, I just put back in to the empty suitcase. The one for the 2nd stay just stayed packed. I even bought an extra set of toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc. at the Dollar Store just to make it even easier,

I also make my split stay day our Disney Springs day so We sleep in, check out, and then head there for lunch and shopping..even once, did bowling. By the time we go to resort 2, it was almost 4 and rooms are almost always ready!
 

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