Question: Why do split stay between resorts?

[Princess on the Run]

I have seen posts where people say they are splitting their stay between 2 different resorts. Why? Is it just to experience more than one resort or is there some other benefit I'm missing out on?

 

[JnTa2]

We sometimes split because of our DVC. It is a better use of our points Sunday to Thursday since the rates are lower. The # of points needed for a Friday and Saturday are double. So we'll pay out of pocket for these nights at a moderate and switch to a DVC resort for the weekdays.

 

[LeslieLou]

You have multiple points of easier access to parks/restaurants and we plan our trips to take advantage. Eg on our bcv leg of the trip, we plan Epcot, HS days.

 

[kerri0616]

We usually book 5 nights package with DDP at one of the Disney resorts and then switch hotels for 2 nights Dolphin. 5 nights is the maximum I'll pay for DDP and the Dolphin is the only affordable resort for us in the Epcot area. That's how I "get it all": DDP at a moderate (that is, affordable) resort AND a few nights at an "Epcot" resort.

K

 

[nickymaria]

We did a split stay last spring break at BLT and BWV. We spent 5 nights at each and enjoyed being by MK for a few days and then being by Epcot for the rest of the trip. I really do enjoy trying out the different resorts (that's part of the vacation for me!) so split stays are right up my alley!

 

[Princess on the Run]

Thanks! All those reasons make perfect sense. I don't think I would want to haul my 3 boys and all their stuff around to more than one resort, but if it was just DH and I going, I'd probably want to try out a couple too!

 

[mistysue]

One of my biggest motivations was actually to use the pools for more entertainment. It allowed us to have fewer park days without the kids noticing.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Free dining or other discounts also play a part for us. For our december trip for example, our bounceback offer doesnt start till 4 days into our trip. Since there is a general room discount (less off then our bounceback though) we want to take advantage of that for those first few days.

 

[Brownsfan317]

We stayed for 8 nights last September. The first 1/2 at a value and the last half at AKL. My son LOVES animals. I couldn't pull off financially the whole trip at AKL, so I calculated how many nights I could afford at AKL and filled in the rest with a less expensive resort.

It was just my son and I. They moved our luggage for us so I was not inconvenienced at all. I had a really good experience (it was our first time doing a split stay).

I have talked to my sister about it and she has 3 young kids. I think it could be more challenging for her to do a split stay.

 

[BMWTeamLeader]

My split stay was completely by accident. My Florida relatives conviced me togoon a 7 night Disney cruise with them. Then it changed to four night cruiseand we booked a single night, the night before at the Swan through some online travel discount site. Well my family decided to change plans again and I said forget it, my daughter and I will plan our own vacation. Well being a single dad at the time money was tight and I certaily couldn't afford much except for a three night stay at Fort Wilderness, so I built those onto my stay at the Swan which becaiuse it was through adiscount site couldn't be refunded.

Then I found out about Magical Express and how I could get back to the airport from Ft Wilderness, but because the Swan was "not a Disney owned hotel" I couldn't get to the resort....

Sooooo....I booked one night, the night before the Swan, at the All Star Resort to get ME to the resort from the airport...

It was fun and it did allow me to see the perspective from all points of view.
I still like the values the best and staying put if I can help it. We are going to the AoA this July - our first suite experience!

 

[*Fantasia*]

I'm indecisive, so to make my life easier, I just do a split.

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

We are doing a split stay for the first time. We have only stayed in deluxe resorts, and mostly club level. We decided we wanted to try CSR, but we didn't want to spend our whole trip there just in case we don't like it. We are doing 3 nights at CSR before moving to BC. Who knows we may love it and spend our entire trip there next time. For us, it's to try out a different resort level.

 

[pixarmom]

Lots of reasons!

1) We have APs and visit Disney relatively frequently (or at least it's frequent given our distance from Florida.) We've been to Disney many times as a family of five, so we all have favorites and love to try new resorts. It's part of the fun for us. A split stay allows us to do both in one trip. And it's less risky to try something new if we're returning to an old favorite at the end.

2) Transportation and convenience. We like Disney transportation, but would prefer to reduce the time we spend on buses. As a result, we LOVE to split between a monorail resort and an Epcot resort. We spend more time at MK while staying in a monorail resort and then more time in Epcot and DHS while in the Epcot area.

3) Variety. My husband gets antsy in one resort for an entire week. A split stay allows us to mix it up a bit.

4) At certain times, cost. We went during Easter week this year and stayed at a mod until the spring discount kicked in - then moved to deluxe.

Packing for WDW is pretty easy for us with three boys (t-shirts, jeans/shorts, a couple sweatshirts) and not hard to transfer. And now that I can compare it with packing for a week on the Disney Wonder to Alaska, it's really a breeze! So our last three visits and next two visits are all splits.

 

[wdw lifer]

We've thought about doing split stays in the past but dont consider it now that we have experienced the epcot resorts. We thought that we would do a less expensive hotel for the first half since we wouldnt be spending much time there then move on to something better for relaxing.

 

[MMS1125]

usually price for us too. We can't afford 7 days at a deluxe if we plan on going often so rather than do the whole trip at a mod or value we'll do a few days mod then last couple a deluxe or like 3 days value then 5 deluxe, etc.

 

[JerseyJanice]

The times we've done it, the decision to do it in the first place was driven by money/discounts, but we then wound up enjoying the experience for what it was.

It can be like two trips in one. To make it easier, I can suggest doing the shorter stay first and not fully unpacking at the first resort.

 

[rentayenta]

DVC. We want to sleep in a treehouse and with the animals so were doing a THV/AKV SV split. And just to make life more interesting I added on a night at AoA the night before THV because it looks so fun and I want to check it out. I'd never spend a day going over so staying is the only way for us to do it.