Possible Split Stay... Thoughts?

[timmac]

currently have plans to bring my family to Disney world next april 18-24th, with a reservation currently for the ASM family suite. (There is my wife and I, our four kids, one of whom is an infant, and my mother in law... so three adults, three kids, and an infant) I have 7 day passes included in the package, as well as the dining plan. I am planning this as a bit of a surprise (to tell them probably at Christmas) after we recently scrapped our plans for a longer stay at AKL in a pair of concierege level rooms, since the overall cost of the vacation would have been more than what is sensible for us to spend at this point.

All that said, I know that AKL is still something everyone really wants, and when the wheels in my head started turning, I started to wonder about the possibility of renting DVC points for AKV for the last four nights of the trip (thus avoiding the two weekend nights in the process). I'm thinking, if able to do that, a 2BR villa at AKV wouldn't be that much more than ASM-FS, plus, I'd be able to keep my 7 day passes on the first part of the stay, and still add the dining plan to the second part without having to buy more MYW tickets (since it's a dvc stay).

Several questions come to mind...

- Overall comments on a plan like this? Does it make sense? Does it seem like a good value?
- How much hassle/risk is it to rent DVC points? Any gotchas that make it markedly different than a regular vacation?
- How much trouble is switching resorts in the interim of the split stay? Is Disney able to help with luggage transport, etc?
- Is AKV worth it, even if it's just the value-view, rather than the savanna view? I know this is a bit subjective, of course.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

 

[JESW]

We have split our stays many trips and our family likes it. Now our kids are 8 & 12 and have been to Disney many times so they know what to expect. Disney moves your luggage - just have to pack up and tell them where you are going.

Not sure about the DVC questions.

Personally, I wouldn't split with an infant. You are basically "homeless" the day you split. It could be a bad weather day, a day when the baby is cranky and needs a nap, a day when you don't feel like being out all day, etc. Just my opinion. I am sure others will chime in with a totally different point of view. We took our dd when she was 15 months and I wouldn't have wanted to be without a room for a day.

Jill

 

[WindyCityDisney]

While it was fun to stay at two different resorts, I wouldn't do another split stay anytime soon.

I consider myself a very fast packer -- I was a road warrior with 80% travel for 2 years -- and I still think it was a pain to re-pack and then un-pack. Even though I tried to keep clothes separate, there were still toiletries, extra clothes, toys and stuffed animals to get together.

For our family, I don't think we'll be splitting our stay again anytime soon. I'm sure there will be others that love it, but it's not for us. We were able to get into our room right away and luggage was delivered very quickly, so it wasn't an unpleasant process, but still -- not our thing.

 

[Perditamarie]

Here are some of my thoughts..hope they are helpful:

* Are you adding 4 more days or splitting 7? It would absolutely not be worth packing up and moving that much gear and people after 3 days. If you are staying at the suites 7 days and then moving, then maybe.

* Disney makes it easy and will move your luggage for you, but it could take several hours and you could be "homeless" if you have to wait for your new room to be assigned (sometimes late afternoon). Also, packing up essentially after you arrive w/so many people/cases may eat up more of your vacation time than you would like.

* It may be very difficult to find points to rent in April -- the AKL DVC will be new and it may be difficult to find someone to rent points from during that busy spring break season that can get a 2 bdrm. There is some risk involved - you can get more info on the DVC boards I believe.

* You may want to consider renting points for a DVC villa somewhere else besides AKL and instead of the suites. You also may not need the dining plan if you do this as a 2bdrm unit has a full kitchen and you can use an online grocery service to stock up - that way you won't need a rental car. We find eating table service every day restrictive to our touring and not worth it with small children who eat in 4 minutes.

* I think whatever you choose will be great - the ASmu are fun and no matter what, you will be at Disney. Instead of spending more for the resort, you can also consider doing family tours, or programs for the kids (like pirate cruises or Wonderland Tea Party, etc) and stay put in your family suites.

Have a great trip!