Resort Hopping--how do you do it?

[J&Z's Dad]

I have noticed that alot of you stay at different resorts during your stay. We may be interested in trying that out as well. How does it work? Do you have to make different reservations? How do you get your stuff to the next resort? Those of you who have done this, would you recommend it?

Thank you in advance.

 

[SamanthaL]

Hi there! I would recommend resort hopping if you have a relaxed group of people traveling. My daughter is young and gets settled in one place so moving with her is difficult. When it is just us adults it is great! I never try more than 2 hotels at a time. We did 3 once and it was too much. You will need separate reservations and separate deposits for each resort. Basically you check in at the first resort and check out like you normally would. Let the Bellman know when he comes for your bags that they will be trasferred to another hotel and which hotel that is. If you have a car just take your bags with. Go to the next hotel check in again and let them know your bags are coming from another resort. It sounds like alot but it really is easy. You check in and out of each resort like you normally would.

 

[Ricola]

We are dedicated resort-hoppers. It doesn't seem like Disney unless we move at least once!

For us, it's pretty easy. Here are a few tips.

1) Hop "Up"; stay at a less-expensive (or your second favorite) place first, leaving yourself a special treat to look forward to after you've seen the parks and can enjoy it a bit more.

2) Get Express Checkout. When you check in to your first resort, let them know you want express checkout. They'll hang a copy of your bill on your door the morning you check out, you just look it over and leave.

3) Use Bell Services. Call them the night before you move to find out how it works at your resort. Sometimes they will schedule a time to pick up and move your bags right then, sometimes they'll recommed you call back in the morning. Get up in the morning, send your bags on their way, and head to the parks.

4) Keep a bag of swimsuits and essentials. Bring it to the parks and put it in a locker (or leave it in your trunk). That way if resort #2 doesn't have a room ready for you yet, you can swim and enjoy the amenities until it is.

5) Check in to resort 2 when they're not busy. Sometimes the lines to check in can be LOOOONG. We often call the desk to find out when they are usually least busy, so we can avoid the lines if possible. (usually early afternoon).

6) Check in when it's convenient for you. Your room might be available early (we've gotten in as early as 8AM). If your room isn't ready yet, they'll issue you keys and give you a number to call to check if it's ready. Then you can enjoy the resort, have lunch, or head back to the parks. Your bags will either be in your room when you arrive, or a quick call to bell services will have them there shortly.

As I said, I really recommend resort-hopping. Our last trip took us to 4 resorts, and we really enjoyed the change of scenery; we stayed at ASMu the first 6 nights, then moved on to WL and AKL concierge when we could spend time at them and enjoy them!

(Yes, it does take separate ressies and deposits, you can make them both at the same time...)

 

[April76]

We have done this several times and never had a problem.

It is a great way to learn about the different resorts -- in the future you might want to stay at just one, but at least you'll know that it's the RIGHT one!

DH and I have checked out several of the resorts -- they are all very nice -- but we have found that some are more "comfortable" in style, layout, theme, amenities & price for us.

It is VERY easy to move from one resort to another -- as Samantha said, you simply check out of the first - call bell services and ask to pick up and deliver your bags to the next resort (you can leave your bags in your room and they will come and move them even after you have left the hotel or you can arrange for pick up earlier before you go).

Last trip we did this very early in the morning, checked into our new resort but the room wasn't ready -- so we went to the parks -- arrived back at our new resort about 11:30 pm and went straight to our room; our bags were in there waiting for us!

Have a great trip!

 

[jaguar9748]

We did it once and really liked it - went from WLV to AKL. Definitely hop "up"! There was such a huge difference going "down" from WLV 1-bedroom to a standard AKL room! This summer we're going from POR to AKL to WLV.

One difference to the above responses, we prefer to move our own luggage, but then we do have a car.

We checked out of WLV by 10:30 and were at AKL by 11. We had no problem getting our room (we normally check in early at our resorts and have never had a problem getting a room). We hopped on a day that we were not going to a park in the morning and will continue this "tradition" this summer. It made the switching more relaxing. We checked in, unpacked, had lunch, explored the resort in the afternoon and then were back at the parks in the evening.

I'm so glad we hopped, because we discovered that we LOVE AKL and are looking foward to staying there again this summer.

 

[J&Z's Dad]

Thank you for the great responses so far. Here is another question. How does it work when you have ultimate park hoppers tickets on your room key card? Do you use the same card that is coded with the new room key information?

 

[Ricola]

If you are buying UPHs, make sure that when you check in to resort 2 that they know you already have a pass for that day because you are transfering from another Disney resort (they will not always have this information), otherwise you will pay twice! Once the UPHs expire from the first resort, you use the room key from the second as your pass. (We usually bring a Sharpie Marker to keep track of which key is which, although they do have dates printed on them....

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm doing 3 different resorts next trip ( 1 night ASMu - 5 nights BWV - 2 nights Swan) and I am glad I'll have a car for that. I believe that BW would have sent my luggage to the Swan but they're so close that I think I will just roll the suitcase over to the Swan and have them store it until I can get a room. Anything else I'll keep in the car.

If you don't like the idea of being "homeless" for a day, don't switch resorts, because chances are you may not have a place to change clothes or rest up for the day you switch. Swimming can be dealt with if you carry a swimsuit and swim somewhere where there are showers and changing rooms (like a water park.)

 

[corvair]

Hello, about the UHP. I was thinking of resort hopping and we got the UHP. On one of the other threads they said that you had to pay for the hopper twice for the same day when you switched resorts. Did I misunderstand. I really wanted to hop resorts but when I heard that I just decided to stay at the same resort. Can anyone help? thanks

 

[jabrown40]

I have the same question about UPH tickets. I just changed my reservations today - I had a package at the BC, but decided to stay at the BC for 4 nights, and then the GF for two nights. I understand that the package is no longer an option (thru the Disney Club, ) however, the agent said that I couldn't even get the UPH ticket. So, my question is this - can I really switch hotels, still get the Uph tickets - and since the ticket is still good for the day you check out, can you go to a park in the morning with the ticket from the first hotel, then go to the new hotel in the afternoon and check in? Also, the agent didn't make me give two deposits, nor did she give me new reservation numbers. She just said she would change the existing reservation. ( I have already put about 500.00 down on the existing reservation). Please help.

 

[Ricola]

We have been successful in getting "length of stay" passes (what UPHs used to be called) on split stays without having to buy a double day. We did not buy a "package", but purchased our park passes at checkin at each resort. When checking in to resort 2, we just told the CM that we already had a pass for that day, and she was able to sell us one that started on the next day.

I think that you'll have better luck doing it this way (at checkin) than trying to do it while making your ressies.

Also, if anyone is thinking of buying UPHs just to have their passes and room keys on the same card, it's not necessary. The CMs at checkin can also add regular hopper or PHPs to your card, the same ones that are available separately. The advantage to these is that they never expire, should you choose to *gasp* spend a fday or two not going to the Disney Parks, you wouldn't lose those days of passes. (I hope that masde some sense...)

Also note, the Baggage transfer services I mentioned DO NOT work to and fro the Swan/Dolphin, since they are owned and operated by outside companies.

Happy Hopping!

 

[Ricola]

Originally posted by jabrown40
... however, the agent said that I couldn't even get the UPH ticket.

I'm not sure why the agent told you you could not get UPHs. I think you need to stay a minimum of 2 nights to get them, but you should be okay there. I think the Disney reservation agents cannot sell you a UPH with the first and/or last day removed, but the checkin agents at the resort can. This is why we never buy our passes until we are at WDW. Why bother?

...So, my question is this - can I really switch hotels, still get the Uph tickets - and since the ticket is still good for the day you check out, can you go to a park in the morning with the ticket from the first hotel, then go to the new hotel in the afternoon and check in?

Yes, you can do this. We've done it often.

...Also, the agent didn't make me give two deposits, nor did she give me new reservation numbers. She just said she would change the existing reservation. ( I have already put about 500.00 down on the existing reservation). Please help.

I'm not sure where you called to make this reservation, but possibly they applied part of your deposit to the second reservation. If you booked a Disney Club package originally, you probably booked through Walt Disney Travel Company, which has different (more restrictive) deposit and prepayment requirements than the Central Reservations Office (CRO) does.

Hope this helps!

 

[jabrown40]

Thank you for all of your answers, now some of what happened made sense. I did book this through WDTCO, because I used my Disney Club card for the discount. But, since I last posted, I have completely changed my reservations, using the annual pass rates. I will still need to get my boys a uph ticket, but I am going to do it when I get there. I am staying at GF for only 2 nights, so I hope they will lop off the first day. I'm certainly hoping some new codes will come out for August soon, and hopefully I won't even need that pass. (I saved about 300) dollars by changing, including the cost of the passes.