Resort Hopping Questions

[SuJo]

So I see people all the time who talk about booking multiple rooms during their trip to WDW and I just can't figure out why/how this works. You have to check out of one resort by 11 and into the second one around 3. Don't you lose time pack and unpacking for each move? Will the resort move your luggage for you to your new room? What do you do with those things you don't want them to move like laptops or large purses? I just feel that this takes away from the vacation and am trying to figure out why a lot of people seem to do this.

Thanks!

 

[RangerPooh]

We have done a few split stays in the past. Often it was because we were unable to get a specific DVC resort for the entire duration of our stay, or because we started with one room category at X resort and then switched to another resort because of a discount. Packing/unpacking doesn't take us too long so that's not an issue for us. On trips where we did not drive/have a rental car we just drop our bags off at bell services and then inform them that we need a resort transfer. The bags are usually not transferred until later that day, so we spend our day at the parks. It also involves patience, as rooms might not be ready right away at the second resort.

We have had a few long waits for bags and rooms to be ready. This was only really an issue when we had cranky kids that needed naps. But we plan accordingly.

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

I like to try new resorts everytime and usually stay at Disney around 5 - 6 nights. On the day I switch hotels I usually spend the morning at the pool of old hotel. Drive to new hotel (have car always). Spend rest of day at pool , exploring new hotel. Breaks up constant parks as well. Its a nice day to relax.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We've done split stays, twice.

The first time we were off property and moved on property.

The second we went from one resort to another.

I'd read here how easy it is.

But to tell the truth, I absolutely hated it. I felt like it was a wasted day. It wasn't relaxing at all, so it wasn't an off day. And I lost park time, so it wasn't a full park day.

I only do it if I have to.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've done a few split stays, but they've always been splits between EP and MK resorts. Quite honestly, when DS was younger, this type of split made my life a lot easier as I would do DHS/EP during our EP resort stay and MK during our MK stay (then I would only bus to AK once). Packing up once and transferring was easier for me than dealing with the buses on a daily basis. We did a BC/WL split once and I simply had our luggage packed on our BC check-out morning, called Bell Services and asked them to transfer our luggage. Then, we walked into EP, stayed there until about 3 pm and took the bus to WL. Honestly, it couldn't have been easier. We are doing a WDW/Uni split in August (obviously for different reasons than a WDW split stay!) and I'm not expecting any issues or wasting any time. We have down time at our resort anyway, so I just take that opportunity to pack. I also pack very lightly for our trips.

 

[loves to dive]

We do them just about every trip. I started doing them the first time I went solo. I drive down and get there around 2 or 3 and normally stay in deluxe resorts. It didn't make sense to me to pay for a deluxe resort for a night I knew I wouldn't be spending much time in the room since I knew I'd be heading to a park as soon as I got there. So I did 2 nights at a value and the rest at the deluxe. We always stay in an Epcot resort since Epcot and HS are our favorite parks. My thinking that trip was that I'd do AK my first full day there at the value since you have to take a bus there no matter where you stay. I did MK the day I arrived and that is a bus park for me even when staying at the Epcot resorts because I hate the monorail. Then I moved over to the deluxe. After that I decided to try to stay in all the resorts so my split stays whet from moderate to deluxe. I had already stayed in Shades of Green and the three original MK resorts years ago when they were the only way you could stay on property. My son (adult) isn't crazy about the splits so I don't do them as often with him as I do when solo.

The way I do it is pack two separate bags, since I drive it's not a problem. I have a hanging toiletry bag that goes in my tote with my laptop and kindle. If my room isn't ready when I get there, I just park my car and leave my bags in the car. On move day, I normally get up early (even on vacation I can't sleep past 6:30 or so) pack up the one bag which isn't hard, the toiletry bag never gets unpacked just hangs from the hook in the bathroom and I work out of it. Call down and check out then drive over to resort #2. Since that is always a deluxe, I normally go ahead and leave my bags with bell services since the parking lot at deluxes tend to be a distance from the lobby. I go ahead and go to the front desk and check in, even if I've done on line check in just to let them know I'm there then head off to a park. I've been known to still be at a park at rope drop since I'm such an early riser. I then go about my day, when I get the text my room is ready, sometimes I go back to the resort, sometimes just go back when I'm ready. The tote that my laptop is in zips up so I don't worry about leaving it with bell services. I don't normally take food with me except maybe snack foods for the drive which I just leave in the car. Takes no time and isn't a hassle at all. Last week we stayed one night at a value and knew the next day we were going to AK so just checked out and drove to AK and went about our day. We were done about 2:30 or 3 and just drove to the second resort, which was Dolphin. As it happens our room wasn't ready so we just left our bags with bell services, went and had some lunch and walked over to Epcot for a while.

 

[AngiTN]

So I see people all the time who talk about booking multiple rooms during their trip to WDW and I just can't figure out why/how this works. You have to check out of one resort by 11 and into the second one around 3. Don't you lose time pack and unpacking for each move? Will the resort move your luggage for you to your new room? What do you do with those things you don't want them to move like laptops or large purses? I just feel that this takes away from the vacation and am trying to figure out why a lot of people seem to do this.

Thanks!

We do them often.
Looking to do at least 2 on our stay in a couple of weeks and 3 on our stay in Oct.
We do them for lots of reasons. Sometimes because we can. Sometimes because we have to in order to get the stay we want
Bell services moves everything for you
I don't unpack so no time lost packing
No time taken away from vacation at all
Depart from Resort 1 in the AM, return to Resort 2 in the PM. Easy as pie
Bags are in the new resort by the time we get there

 

[MsThumper]

We did it for the first time on our last visit. We live in Florida so we visit often. For our last trip, I initially booked AKL for 4 nights. 2 weeks prior to our trip, DH decided that was not long enough, he wanted to stay for 2 more nights. I couldn't get 2 more nights at AKL, but there were 2 nights available for a good price thru Orbitz, at the Contemporary. We had never stayed at the Contemporaty and had talked about trying it, so it was a perfect opportunity.

As far as packing, I use packing cubes, which I simply take out of my suitcase and put into drawers, so packing to leave is no big deal to me. We had our car, so we moved our luggage ourselves. When we got to the Contemporary, at about 11am, we checked at the front desk and they happened to have a room ready, so we took it. We had no park plans that day, and had a lunch ADR in anticipation of not being able to get in the room. We spent the day enjoying the resort. It couldn't have gone any smoother, but I also realize that it was a rare occurance that they had a room available.

 

[flortlebap]

I only split between Disney and Universal now that said, I do like the idea above of splitting between an Epcot and MK resort for less bus time.

For this trip I've packed two separate cases so I don't have to pack and unpack!

 

[Staceycs]

We love trying out new resorts and as we can only get to WDW every 2 or 3 years (we are Australian), we get to make the most of our infrequent trips. We are typically at WDW for longer (2 weeks at a time), so we'll do 2 or 3 resorts each trip, with a decent amount of time spent at each. We don't unpack when we are on holidays and live out of our suitcases. This cuts down on a lot of packing time and then we simply get Bell Services to transfer everything while we are at a park for the day. Both Magic Bands and MDE make it quite easy and painless to do .

 

[bigeyedfish]

We haven't been to Disney yet, but we pack light when we travel. Very light - no laptops, etc. We don't unpack suitcases and toiletries are easy to throw back in their bag.

I am strongly considering a split stay on our 2018 visit!

 

[1withForce]

We do them often.
Looking to do at least 2 on our stay in a couple of weeks and 3 on our stay in Oct.
We do them for lots of reasons. Sometimes because we can. Sometimes because we have to in order to get the stay we want
Bell services moves everything for you
I don't unpack so no time lost packing
No time taken away from vacation at all
Depart from Resort 1 in the AM, return to Resort 2 in the PM. Easy as pie
Bags are in the new resort by the time we get there

Doing first split stay this fall and thanks to my desire for 2 more days we have 3 resorts over 11 days. This post gave me great relief! Thanks

 

[LibbyG]

Doing our first split stay starting this Tues. Aug 15, 5 days POR, 5 days Poly. We wanted stay at a deluxe and for longer than a week this trip so we wouldn't feel rushed. By splitting the cost it was doable. We are renting a car, so luggage transfer won't be an issue. Can't wait to try both resorts for the first time!

 

[goofy4tink]

I don't recommend split stays for people that haven't stayed at WDW a few times to begin with. Yes, it does take time away from parks and other fun stuff. But, if you've been to WDW many multiple times, it isn't a big deal. I usually pack before I go to bed the night before I move. Then, I take my bags with me, in a cab, to the new resort first thing in the morning. If my room isn't ready, I just leave my things with Bell Services, and head to a park until later on in the day. I stopped having Bell Services move my bags since I didn't get them until early evening! And then, on several occasions, they misplaced the bags and it took quite awhile to find them!! So, I take care of them myself. At least I know where my bags are if I need anything out of them.
I don't spend much time during the day in my room, so not having a room for a few hours isn't a big deal for me.

 

[Hopefully]

I do not like split stays at all. I am a "nester" . I like to unpack and settle in. Having to move mid week would be a big issue for me. Plus I like to enjoy the amenities of my resort, as well as the parks. I think moving takes too much time.

 

[Best Aunt]

If you don't want Disney to move your stuff and you won't have a car, you could always taxi/Uber/Lyft from resort # 1 to resort # 2.

I find the mere thought of split stays exhausting. Maybe that's partly because I have skin issues and have to use all my own toiletries. Do I want to move my wet shampoo and conditioner bottles? My wet bar of soap? What about my slightly damp bathrobe? My food? I'm not saying it can't get done (and I'm sure people move wet bathing suits and food all the time); it's just all more of a pain in the neck than I want to deal with. Also, I have Owner's Lockers which are big and heavy and those would be a pain to move if I were doing it myself. I don't think they would fit in a taxi/Uber/Lyft, and I wouldn't want to wait around for Disney to deliver (or find and deliver) my stuff.

I did have a split stay booked because I couldn't get a DVC resie for the last night of my stay, so I booked a regular room in the same resort. But my DVC waitlist came through so I cancelled the hotel resie.

Perhaps it's like many things when planning a Disney vacation - what sounds good to you might sound exhausting to me. For example: Rope Drop works fine for me. Extra Magic Hours when you can stay in the park until midnight? I'm tired just thinking about it. A special day where a park is open 24 hours? No way I would even attempt it.

P.S. When I hear "resort hopping" I think of going to different resorts to look around, eat in their restaurants, etc. I think the term "split stay" is used when checking out of one hotel and into another hotel.

 

[Disney_Alli]

On our wedding/honeymoon trip (24 nights) we stayed in 3 resorts. Hopping was easy: in the morning before heading to a park we called Bell Services to collect our bags and groceries. They collected them and we headed to a park. We gave them everything from our wedding cake leftovers to our laptops and my new leather Disney Dooney. In the afternoon at some point we'd jump on the bus to our new resort and check in collecting our bags from bell services and then get settled into our new room. We also changed rooms at our second resort due to our original room sharing a connecting door with a screaming baby. I love babies, my sister was along for the trip with my 7/8 week old nephew but I didn't want to deal with that when we were trying to enjoy our honeymoon. We didn't unpack everything but due to the nature of the trip we had some... extra items. I even let Bell Services move my wedding dress despite the fact I needed it at the second resort still for our in-park photo shoots. All was fine.

 

[ArielDreams]

We have our first split stay in 2 weeks! We are splitting value and deluxe - otherwise we wouldn't be able to afford the deluxe on its own and I want to stay everywhere at least once!

Our plan:
4 nights at POP, 3 commando park days
On our resort change day, we have a more relaxing day planned. We will drop our bags off at bell services and head to Epcot - just using it as a vehicle for transferring resorts (so no FP plans locking us into it). We will stay for however long we feel like and then head to AKL. I will pack a larger than normal park bag that day with swimsuits so we can hang out by the pool and have lunch. Hopefully we can check into our room/get our bags early but I'm prepared for anything. We have dinner planned at Sanaa and then will head to AK at night with FPs booked.

I'm really looking forward to this as it will give us time to check out the resort and relax!

As for packing, I live out of my suitcase and don't fully unpack so I don't anticipate it taking me too long to throw everything together and move.

 

[AngiTN]

I do not like split stays at all. I am a "nester" . I like to unpack and settle in. Having to move mid week would be a big issue for me. Plus I like to enjoy the amenities of my resort, as well as the parks. I think moving takes too much time.

This is a good point to note.
Split stays are harder for those who unpack.
We use packing cubes and never unpack.
I just set my suitcase on the rack and prop it open, taking out when I need each day from the cube, zip cube back up.
So everything remains packed. I refold (roll technically) my dirty clothes each night and place them in the plastic laundry bag and sit them in the suitcase. So it's ready to go too. As I empty a cube, I place a laundry bag in a cube.
Toiletries are in their bags and on the shelf in the bathroom. I use them each morning/night and put them away after I'm done, each time.
So on the day we move we loose no times whatsoever. I simply take those bags and sit them back in the suitcase, zip it closed.
Take it to the lobby with us, on the way to the bus.
Stop at bell services, drop it off to be moved to the next resort.
Head to the park. Spend the day in the park.
Leave park on bus to new resort
Head to new room. Call for bags.
We have not lost even 1 minute of park time doing this process. And because we spend the full day of moving day in the park, we don't need anything in our bags while they are being moved so it doesn't matter that it takes hours and hours for them to move them. We always plan a long park day for moving day for this reason.
But, not everyone likes to live out of their suitcase like that. I do. I hate packing enough that I don't want to unpack when I arrive, even when we stay 2 weeks in 1 resort.

 

[ohiotodds12]

Suju I have to agree but I also know that all our friends vacation way differently then I do. They can't understand us doing 16 days at Disney, when according to them, "you were just there". I get it, it is not for everyone. I am not excited that we are doing 1 night at Coronado and then 14 nights in a preferred room there, just thinking of moving rooms has my head hurting! I am one of those people that unpack and "live" in a room while we are there. We have discussed trying it and it brings more anxiety then I should have on a vacation. I already over think dining and FP, lol. So we have decided to stick with one resort, that works for us and I am so glad that switching works well for others. Just like we love to park hop and some can't figure how we could do that!