Resort Advice Needed

[Vanryan]

We just booked $99 flights!! Woo Hoo! Now we have a dilemma:


We are a family of 5, our kids will be 9 , 7 and 3.5 at trip time. We are thinking of splitting the trip. The first 2 nights at AKL and the remaining 7 at either BC or the Poly. Anyone have advice on splitting the trip?

 

[gigi1313]

i personally, would not split a trip... we have thought about it, and i realize disney makes it easy w/luggage transfer, but i just cannot justify the time spent packing/unpacking/checking out/checking in/getting acclimated/settling in/etc... i would much rather do something fun w/that time... especially w/three small children... i would stay put...

 

[tatajess]

While it is nice to see 2 different resorts during a trip, the hassles of moving from one to the other are not worth it.

Not only would you have to pack and repack everything, but you may have to wait until check in time to get the new room. At OKW where we stay, we decided to switch rooms at the same resort and faced a wait from 11am to 4pm just to check in to the new room.

Then you have to unpack all over again!

Also, you may not get a room that you like as much as the first one that you would have.

With small children who probably get cranky after a busy day, the best thing to do is to stay at one hotel only and maybe have dinner at the other hotel to experience it.

Hope this helps!

 

[WeLuvWDWx5]

Vanryan -

We are a family of 5 (kids are 10, 8 and 2) and we do this all the time. We typically spend 2-3 nights at a Magic Kingdom resort so that we have monorail access to the park and then switch to an Epcot resort for the last 5-6 nights to have easier access to Epcot and MGM. We do bus to AK several times throughout our stay also. We have stayed several times at AKL for 2 nights and then switched to an Epcot resort so that we could experience AKL. We try to minimize how often we have to bus to parks in lieu of using the monorail and/or boats (and lots of time walking to MGM and Epcot).

We don't find it to be a hassle at all and my kids enjoy experiencing several resorts each trip. Even though we have stayed at all of the deluxe resorts, we still can't wait to get back to each one for different reasons. It's almost like experiencing two vacations in one since each resort is so different!!

Goodluck with your decision!

 

[riopooh]

I would pack enough in one bag for the two nights and then separate bags for the rest of the trip. That would make getting ready for the switch easier.

We've switched plenty of times - one thing I recommend is always have a pool bag ready and maybe a change for the little one. That way if you have to wait between rooms - you can at least go to the pool!!

 

[Vanryan]

Thanks Everybody! I'd love to hear more opinions.

 

[Pattymouse]

Your'e trip is identical to what we have planned... 2 nights at AKL then 7 nights at the Poly. For a nine night trip, I feel this is perfect. My kids are grown now, but I remember staying at the Poly when they were younger, and it is great. Experience both...your kids will love it.

 

[Leota]

I think you're plan sounds great.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

We have 5 in our family now, but when we switched resorts one time, there were only 4 of us. We had no problems. I didn't think it was a hassle at all, but we don't really "unpack" all of the way either.

I didn't want to chance any mess ups with the resorts (at that time on the boards, you were hearing some horror stories about luggage not getting transferred), so we just taxi'd it over to the next resort. Then we went off to the parks. No big deal.

Have fun.

 

[NotTooGoofy]

We've split stays before (ASMovies-POR and CSR-WL) and it was not much of a hassle. If you can, pack clothing for the first two days in a separate suitcase so you don't have to repack everything when you switch. Have fun!

 

[Vanryan]

Thanks everyone!