Question about Split Stays

[AmyLand98]

I have been a member of these boards for over 2 years but did more looking then posting until recently

I have been seeing a lot of posts about split stays and I was wondering if you could tell me the pros or the reasons someone would want to do a split stay?

Thanks so much!!

 

[TaraPA]

We do it solely for the reason of having 2 different resort experiences in one trip. I'm sure others will have different reasons for you!

We travel light, and only with carry-ons, and we live our of those bags. So no need to unpack & re-pack for us.

 

[Sue M]

We enjoy split stays when we're staying over 10 nights. It's like having 2 vacays :good vibes Under 10 days we stay put.

 

[aprestwich]

Have a look at my signature and you'll see some split stays! It's allowed us to stay at most of the hotels on property over the last three years and also to vary the experiences!

If you are strictly going to the parks and the hotel is a place to sleep, don't bother with the splits, but if you are going to take the time and really experience the resorts, go for it.

TaraPA is absolutely right, you have to travel fairly light and not need to un-pack and repack. We do it with 2 kids (3rd on the way) no problem. That said, our trip in November is 14 nights at the Grand Floridian, there was NO way I was going to Split Stay with a 2 month old!!

Andrew

 

[POOHsie]

One reason, I think, is as people become WDW veterans, they like to take longer trips. Ten or 14 days at one place gets tedious. WDW is all about magic, not tedium. I'm having a split stay and I had a split stay last time. In any other vacation place, I wouldn't think of changing resorts, mostly because they would be operated by different companies. At WDW, there are 24 places (more or less) to choose from, all run by Disney, all on Disney property, so there is a consistency from place to place, the same transportation, and the same Disney attitude at each resort. Mentally, I feel that I get two different and fulfilling vacations from staying at two WDW resorts.

 

[eaj1228]

I have DVC and sometimes can't get a reservation at a different resort for the entire duration of my trip. A split stay give me the chance to experience a new resort for a several days.

 

[ThumpersWorld]

I have DVC and sometimes can't get a reservation at a different resort for the entire duration of my trip. A split stay give me the chance to experience a new resort for a several days.

We did a split stay on our last trip for this same reason and it turned out to be great so we could experience two resorts (two pools)...we plan to do another split stay on our next trip. I would only recommend it for a stay of a week or more.

 

[cjnix29]

We love split stays because it makes our vacation seem longer. I don't mind the move. Plus, we can stay at a resort we wouldn't afford for an entire week, but still get the experience. There are only three of us, so it's not a horrible hassle. I normally try to pack the suitcases for each stay to the extent I can. We love it, and will probably not go back to staying only at one resort for the whole trip.

 

[mickeynut1]

Split stays are a great way to experience 2 resorts in one trip. We did a 2/4 split and while I wouldn't do another split stay for such a short trip, I would definitely do it again for a longer trip .

 

[kaligal]

They require work.

You have to unpack your crap when you arrive, then pack it all back up - the wet and the dry, the clean and the dirty, the stuff you brought and the new stuff you bought. Ugh. And this packing business is way less fun when you have to take time out of your vacation to do it than it was at home, when you were eagerly anticipating your departure.

You have to decide when you will pack up. Take a morning off from the parks? Get up extra early? Do it the night before, when you're so tired from running around the parks? Or maybe the afternoon before?

You need to go to the new hotel, stand in line again and check in again.

You're effectively homeless until you have a new room, leaving you without a place to go if you are hot, cold, tired or it is raining.

Then you have to pack all that crap up again when you leave.

My advice is to pick a hotel and stick with it.

 

[Collette]

I've done a split stay twice. They were both for cost reasons.

The first time we were arriving on December 29 and couldn't afford holiday rates at WL. Stayed four nights at Pop and three at WL.

The second was a Pop/Kidani Village split. I was renting points for KV and wanted to save money by not renting weekend points. Stayed two nights at Pop and five at KV.

I didn't mind the second split so much because I was on a solo trip and packing up was easy.

The first time it was all four of us and there were two reasons I did not enjoy the split stay. Spent a lot of time packing up and moving. Even though they picked up our luggage from our room, it was still mid afternoon by the time we went over to WL, stood in a long check in line, waited for our luggage to be delivered and unpacked. The other reason I didn't like the split stay was my fault. Three nights at WL was way too short!!

I would maybe do a shortened split stay on a solo trip, but with family it would need to be a minimum 4/4 split - preferably longer.

I like to settle in somewhere and make it home. In order for it to feel like two vacations, I would need at least 5/5.

 

[Mousemom]

Our family has done this a few times and will be splitting our September stay this year between Pop and AKL. We are staying at Pop and paying rack rate to get free dining. There are a few restaurants we would not eat at because of the cost and will use the dining plan for these. (We upgraded from counter to table service). We decided we wanted to have a few days at a deluxe, AKL, but did not want to pay the rack rate to get dining. There was a discount code that came out that made it affordable to stay there. We have AP's and if a better discount comes out we will apply that discount. We would really love to stay at WL, since we've never stayed there before, and will switch if a discount comes out. Staying at a value and upgrading to a deluxe allows us to try different resorts, five nights at each this time. We are three adults and travel light. If we had small kids and had a lot of stuff to move we may think twice (but kind of think we would do it anyway). We love almost all the resorts we have stayed at and think it's great getting to try more than one in a trip.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We do split stays when we extend our vacation a day or two and can't change our original reservation. It's pretty easy to make the switch since we rent a car and move everything ourselves.