Repost sorry: Is 5 nights SPLIT between 2 resorts to much of a hassel?

[NeverBeen2DW]

DS and I are traveling to DW dec 4 arriving in the evening to dec 9th leaving in the evening.

Right now we are starting a CSR. I am not entirely excited about staying there for some reason. I thought perhaps we would split the nights up. Stay the night of the 4th, 5th and 6th at some place close to MK. The Poly has aviailable rooms and then stay the other nights at CSR. For the 4-6th I can find several places to stay the Beach Club, Contemp. for example. It is the weekend that is booked up pretty much everywhere. I would like to stay as close to MK as I can so we can go there when we arrive the first night for a bit. We will be getting to the hotel by about 8pm. I know my son would love to go for at least an hour. Any suggestions about resorts. Wilderness Lodge is book for those days.

 

[themilesfamily]

I say do the split stay! If it's just two people going, that's not too much luggage to repack -- and Disney will transfer your bags. 5 minutes to check out, 5 min. to check in -- no big hassle.

If it was a huge, huge group that would resemble the Exodus moving from one hotel to the other -- then I might think differently.

As for hotels close to the Magic Kingdom -- with the WL being booked -- I would do the Contemporary or Poly.

 

[DISNEYNY]

As PP said with only 2 people it probably wouldn't be too bad. I would also go for Ploy or CR. I have never stayed at either, but I would love to be that close to MK. It may be a bit of a let down to move to the moderate after staying deluxe though. Have fun!!

 

[NeverBeen2DW]

Does the poly have a nice pool / slide? I know going to CSR the last 2 nights might be a let down but my son also was excited about the pool and the slide. He saw how big it was! I was also weight the pros can cons of the beach club because it is so kid friendly. The last day we always go to Animal Kingdom so CSR would be a good place to stay as it is closer. OR I thought about trying to do Poly and AKL combo.

 

[disneyfan55]

We did do a split say many years ago - CH and Poly. I found the day of the change to waste time. Just my thoughts and we were 5 and 5 days.

 

[NeverBeen2DW]

Believe me if I could find all 5 nights at the POLY I would stay there for all 5 nights. I am just not sure I am happy with the choice of all 5 nights at CSR it just seems like it is not so kid orientated. When I booked I was told it was 10 mins from MK. Now I read it is more like 20 mins and they have no kid activities.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Been there once, got a great rate but won't consider it again. We're not partial to resorts with exterior doors and no hall ways. Plus it was a long long walk to the pool and bus stop, alot of bus stops there since the resort is spread out. Pepper Market was ok but got old fast.

We like staying by our favoritr park, Mk, so we stay at Wl, but you said it was booked. As for split stays, did that once, AKL to Poly, what a waste of a day, luggage isn't delivered until after 3pm moving day and we're people who like to competely unpack and settle in, not pack up, check out and check in and unpack again, for what? We can see a different resort if we choose on another stay. We couldn't get the poly for all our nights so took the first 3 nights at AKL then moved to the Poly, didn't like AKL at all, had Savannah view with few animals plus the resort is huge, alot of walking to the food court and pool and at night, not much to do but board a bus and go somewhere else. Glad we were forced into that split stay to cure us of ever doing one again.

 

[Jillpie]

We did do a split say many years ago - CH and Poly. I found the day of the change to waste time. Just my thoughts and we were 5 and 5 days.

We are doing a split stay in April, AKL for 3 nights, then to the BCV for seven nights. Can you be more specific, what didn't you like about the "change" over day? We're checking into BCV early in the morning, then going right over to Epcot for the day. Coming back to the pool, and going to our room later in the day. What did you do, that you didn't like about this day?

 

[themilesfamily]

To the OP -- if it makes you feel any better, I've read many posts by families who LOVE CSR. The Dig Site-themed pool and playground may be just right for a 4-5 year old. Swimming may be enough of a diversion -- but they also have two game arcades and I heard they do nature walks for the kids. I think they have watermouse boat rentals, too.

I still say that if your gut instinct is telling you to do a split-stay, you should go with that -- but CSR isn't such a bad place either.

Editing to add: request a room near the bus stop/check-in/food service -- anything to save steps on little 4-year old feet!

 

[teentoddlermom]

Hi Jacquelyn,
I remember your posts from the first trip you took! I see you are becoming a WDW fan like myself.
My take on this question is to stay at CSR. If it is warm enough, your son will love the pool. My son was about the same age when we stayed there and he loved it. CSR is like AKL in that they do not share busses; when we stayed there the transportation was great. Poly shares busses with GF and Cont, sometimes WL too. Poly is an extremely popular resort and it will be very crowded at their pools and restaurants. CSR is a very cheerful resort and you might just love it when you realize how much less $ it is than the Poly. If you do a split stay and want to stay near MK, the Cont. pool is not nearly as nice as the Poly. It is an old fashioned plain rectangle pool. The Poly's main pool has a themed volcano slide.
And finally if you do stay at the BC, it is hard to keep track of your child in the Stormalong bay pool. The slide actually starts outside the walkway to Epcot, and the Lazy river pool is 6 or 8 feet deep, overhead for your little one.
Too bad WL is booked. I think it would be kind of a pain to switch resorts. If you are booking a package with tickets you have to check in and out and get new tickets from the second resort, and it is hard to travel resort to resort with the Disney busses. You might want to take a cab. Good luck! It is great that you are going in December. All the Christmas Decorations will be up and it will be beautiful!
P.S. I can't change my username either! It has been a long time since I had a toddler, she's now in 3rd grade. I think you have to register as a new user to change your name!

 

[tjmw2727]

If you manage it right splitting your stay is fine. I am doing a solo trip of only 4 nights and splitting 2/2 due to good a/p rates only avail 2/2.

On checkout day I plan to pack up and be at bellservices early to have them transfer my bags from SSR to the Polynesian. I will be out and around the parks that day with my SIL and won't head to the Polynesian until after check in time. At which point I am hoping to get my room and bags by 6ish and then head out for the evening. I probably won't unpack to much at either resort since its such a short trip.

For our Easter trip we have 6 nights at the Dolphin and then transfer to the Polynesian for the last 3 and I plan to use the same strategy. I will have the kids with me so it may be a bit more time consuming to move from the Dolphin to the Polynesian but we are looking forward to both resorts.

Good luck-
TJ

 

[samnbilly]

I think it's easier to go from a mod. to a deluxe, than go from a deluxe to a moderate. We have switched resorts before, and its not bad. Its just difficult sometimes to pack your stuff, and then wait for it to be delivered to the other resort if you need a change of clothes, or anything else in your luggage. Hope you have a great time. We have stayed at the Poly, and my kids loved the pool.

 

[NeverBeen2DW]

Hi Jacquelyn,
I remember your posts from the first trip you took! I see you are becoming a WDW fan like myself.
My take on this question is to stay at CSR. If it is warm enough, your son will love the pool. My son was about the same age when we stayed there and he loved it. !

Yes we have the "Disney Fever" we just love it. Our last stay was at POR -FQ and we just loved it there. It is also booked this time around. Unfortunately I waited to late to book our trip. We will be coming back in April so maybe then we will stay at Beach Club. I suppose if we stay at CSR the first night we could also cab it to MK. I did use a discount code and the rate was pretty reasonable. I believe around $1400 for 5 nights and 6 days of park hopper passes with dining included. You know how it though you start getting nervous about the choice you made.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We are doing our first split stay next week...2 nights at the Poly and 3 nights at the Swan..DH has always wanted to stay at the Poly and we love the location of the Swan so we both win!

 

[NeverBeen2DW]

P.S. I can't change my username either! It has been a long time since I had a toddler, she's now in 3rd grade. I think you have to register as a new user to change your name!

that is what I though. Then you also loose your history. In hind sight now sure what I was thinking when I choose this name as right from the start I should have known it would be short lived. I was just so thrilled to find something catchy. LOL!

 

[DISNEYNY]

Yes we have the "Disney Fever" we just love it. Our last stay was at POR -FQ and we just loved it there. It is also booked this time around. Unfortunately I waited to late to book our trip. We will be coming back in April so maybe then we will stay at Beach Club. I suppose if we stay at CSR the first night we could also cab it to MK.

When we did our split stay this year we used a cab. It just seemed much easier to me. We just packed up our stuff and rolled it out to the front and hopped in the cab. 15 minutes later we were at our new resort and didn't have to worry about a luggage transfer. We were lucky and were able to get in our room right away at the new resort. We settled in and were off to the park. It was well worth the $20 for the convenience.

 

[shellybaxter]

My Dh and I are only two people and we love split stays, but we won't do a splity if our stay is less than eight days, and one side of the split must be at least three days. Anything less and we feel like we've rushed our vacation and not enjoyed the surroundings.

If it were me I would try to change from CSR. We don't like CSR and won't stay there because of the conventions. We went there for lunch once and a Granger convention was breaking up. There were people EVERYWHERE, sitting on every ledge. There were giant piles of luggage sitting in the lobby and the portico. Now I know that is probably not the norm, but I would hate to have the "bad" luck of the draw and be at CSR during a convention of that size.

 

[vettechick99]

A split stay is not a huge hassle. We've done it the last two trips.

But do not go from a deluxe to a moderate. I love CSR, but it's not the same as being right there next to the MK. When you move, you'll get hurt feelings.

Always start "cheap" and end "big"!