Short trip split stay..worth it?

[pammydw]

We are planning a trip for October 2020 for our DD’s 16th birthday. It will be a long weekend so she doesn’t miss much school (October 1-6) her birthday is on the 5th. As part of the birthday fun, her dearest friend is coming with us. We prefer the deluxe resorts, and wanted to stay at Poly, but after pricing it out with the DDP, it’s just a little more than we wanted to spend. If we did a split stay between BC and Poly, with 3 nights at BC, and finishing the stay at Poly, will it be worth it? I want to be knowledgeable before I present my DH with this idea. The move to Poly would be a surprise for our daughter. Would we get two separate magic bands doing a split stay? Also, splitting the stay, would wee belooking at a higher cost? Thanks for all your ideas and advice!

 

[Marionnette]

We are planning a trip for October 2020 for our DD’s 16th birthday. It will be a long weekend so she doesn’t miss much school (October 1-6) her birthday is on the 5th. As part of the birthday fun, her dearest friend is coming with us. We prefer the deluxe resorts, and wanted to stay at Poly, but after pricing it out with the DDP, it’s just a little more than we wanted to spend. If we did a split stay between BC and Poly, with 3 nights at BC, and finishing the stay at Poly, will it be worth it? I want to be knowledgeable before I present my DH with this idea. The move to Poly would be a surprise for our daughter. Would we get two separate magic bands doing a split stay? Also, splitting the stay, would wee belooking at a higher cost? Thanks for all your ideas and advice!

I’m not a fan of split stays but I just did 4 nights at BWV followed by 3 nights AKV with just me and my adult daughter. It went well. We took a a Lyft from BWV after checkout and dropped our bags at AKL bell services rather than relying on Disney to transport them and then not seeing them for hours. However, having 3-4 nights at each each allowed us to get settled in and enjoy what each resort had to offer. I don’t think that I would do fewer than 3 nights at each resort unless I was just spending a single night at a cheaper resort before starting my real stay.

You can get separate MBs for each reservation if you want them but they all connect to your name in MDE and are interchangeable.

As far as whether it will cost more to do the split stay you are planning, a lot will depend on any discounts packages that Disney offers and if there are minimum length of stays.

 

[HolRae]

I enjoy doing split stays. I did a split with 2 nights at the Contemporary followed by 5 nights at Riverside. When I booked it I wasn’t sure if the 2 nights would be long enough to enjoy the resort or not. I enjoyed the 2 night stay and feel like we got to experience the resort. My next trip is a split with 4 nights at Pop and 2 nights at Grand Destino. I like to add the dining plan to the first stay and then the mug is still good for the second resort stay.

 

[Magnoliafan]

Would a 2/2 split stay be possible? I love split stays and have found that 2 nights are great to get a taste of a Resort, but I would hesitate to book a single night at a Resort that I really want to experience. My very first split stay was 2/1/7 (long story) and the 1 night that I spent at CSR ended up as the worst stay that I’ve had at WDW so far. I bused to the Resort around 2:30 with the idea that I could have a late lunch and wait for my Room Ready Text. But my room wasn’t ready in time and then they had an IT glitch (shocker!), so the text was never sent. I didn’t get into my room until after 6:30 and by then I was frustrated and tired. And then I didn’t really have time to get over it, because I checked out the next morning. I ended up with a negative impression of CSR, which isn’t really fair because I barely stayed there. And if the Resort had been on my bucket list, then I would have been devastated. So if the Poly is a dream Resort, then I would suggest giving it at least 2 nights, if at all possible.

 

[DJFan88]

I mean your whole trip total seems short to shove that all in esp. if you are interested in going to the parks. Especially when you factor in possible delays like the previous poster experienced. I personally love split stays but we have a car and go 9-10 nights.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think a 3/2 split is doable. In terms of costs, it will really depend on room availability for those nights and what types of discounts are available. I would book BC as a room, dining and length of entire stay ticket package. The Poly stay could be room and dining only which you would need to call in to book and ask for a ticketless package. You would be offered two MBs with your split stay and you can order both sets or decline one of them. All MBs will work for both stays.

 

[jennyq87]

I love doing split stays! We think it's fun to explore different resorts, and Disney makes it easy. We usually get a Minnie Van from resort to resort and transport our own bags so we don't end up waiting on them. Plus, if it allows you to stay where you really want, I say go for it. If the Poly is your special place, then 2 days is better than no days! (Side note: since you have until Oct 2020, you might also look at renting DVC points. We're doing that for our upcoming trip in January and saved a ton of $ over booking direct)

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We did a split with two nights at POFQ. I didn't feel like it was enough time to truly enjoy the resort. It was just enough time for me to know I really liked the resort and want to stay there again but I wouldn't say we got to fully experience the resort. Especially since it was the first two days of our trip so day one was arrival day and then day two we were in the parks. Day 3 we checked out bright and early.

 

[Disneypro1]

I don't think any split stay is worth it. Pick a great resort and enjoy!

 

[roydavid7771]

We tend to stay at a moderate, most likely POR, for our arrival night simply because we love the theming and the boat ride to Disney Springs since our first meal is always there. We then spend the rest of the vacay at our DVC resort, whichever one we happen to pick. One year, we actually did a split stay of POR for the first night, followed by three nights at VWL, and then three nights at BCV. Gotta admit, we kinda felt like we never truly got settled....

 

[pammydw]

I’m not a fan of split stays but I just did 4 nights at BWV followed by 3 nights AKV with just me and my adult daughter. It went well. We took a a Lyft from BWV after checkout and dropped our bags at AKL bell services rather than relying on Disney to transport them and then not seeing them for hours. However, having 3-4 nights at each each allowed us to get settled in and enjoy what each resort had to offer. I don’t think that I would do fewer than 3 nights at each resort unless I was just spending a single night at a cheaper resort before starting my real stay.

You can get separate MBs for each reservation if you want them but they all connect to your name in MDE and are interchangeable.

As far as whether it will cost more to do the split stay you are planning, a lot will depend on any discounts packages that Disney offers and if there are minimum length of stays.

Thank you!

 

[pammydw]

I enjoy doing split stays. I did a split with 2 nights at the Contemporary followed by 5 nights at Riverside. When I booked it I wasn’t sure if the 2 nights would be long enough to enjoy the resort or not. I enjoyed the 2 night stay and feel like we got to experience the resort. My next trip is a split with 4 nights at Pop and 2 nights at Grand Destino. I like to add the dining plan to the first stay and then the mug is still good for the second resort stay.

That’s what I was thinking to do, 3 night at BC and 2 nights at Poly! Thank you for your input!

 

[pammydw]

I mean your whole trip total seems short to shove that all in esp. if you are interested in going to the parks. Especially when you factor in possible delays like the previous poster experienced. I personally love split stays but we have a car and go 9-10 nights.

Thanks for your input. Again, my daughter will be in school, so a short trip for her birthday is all we can do. She’ll be a sophomore at a private school with a heavy class load. We always manage to have a great time no matter how many days we go and we always do park hoppers so our choices of adr’s and fun aren’t limited to one park per day. We never have a need to rent a car, we just hire Lyft’s or Uber’s if we want to get somewhere quicker than disney transportation.

 

[pammydw]

I think a 3/2 split is doable. In terms of costs, it will really depend on room availability for those nights and what types of discounts are available. I would book BC as a room, dining and length of entire stay ticket package. The Poly stay could be room and dining only which you would need to call in to book and ask for a ticketless package. You would be offered two MBs with your split stay and you can order both sets or decline one of them. All MBs will work for both stays.

Thank you!

 

[pammydw]

I love doing split stays! We think it's fun to explore different resorts, and Disney makes it easy. We usually get a Minnie Van from resort to resort and transport our own bags so we don't end up waiting on them. Plus, if it allows you to stay where you really want, I say go for it. If the Poly is your special place, then 2 days is better than no days! (Side note: since you have until Oct 2020, you might also look at renting DVC points. We're doing that for our upcoming trip in January and saved a ton of $ over booking direct)

Thank you for all your ideas!

 

[pammydw]

I love doing split stays! We think it's fun to explore different resorts, and Disney makes it easy. We usually get a Minnie Van from resort to resort and transport our own bags so we don't end up waiting on them. Plus, if it allows you to stay where you really want, I say go for it. If the Poly is your special place, then 2 days is better than no days! (Side note: since you have until Oct 2020, you might also look at renting DVC points. We're doing that for our upcoming trip in January and saved a ton of $ over booking direct)

Thank you for your input!

 

[pammydw]

We did a split with two nights at POFQ. I didn't feel like it was enough time to truly enjoy the resort. It was just enough time for me to know I really liked the resort and want to stay there again but I wouldn't say we got to fully experience the resort. Especially since it was the first two days of our trip so day one was arrival day and then day two we were in the parks. Day 3 we checked out bright and early.

Thank you! This is exactly what I think my hubby will say!

 

[pammydw]

I don't think any split stay is worth it. Pick a great resort and enjoy!

Yep! That will likely be what my husband says.

 

[pammydw]

We tend to stay at a moderate, most likely POR, for our arrival night simply because we love the theming and the boat ride to Disney Springs since our first meal is always there. We then spend the rest of the vacay at our DVC resort, whichever one we happen to pick. One year, we actually did a split stay of POR for the first night, followed by three nights at VWL, and then three nights at BCV. Gotta admit, we kinda felt like we never truly got settled....

Yes! We always do Epcot first and we love BC for being so close ( International gateway is one of our favorite things). If it were just the 3 of us, Poly would be doable, but bringing her friend means we have to sacrifice somewhere (not that BC is a sacrifice by any means ), but she’d would love Poly. I know 2 days just won’t be enough to really get to enjoy the resort, but those 2 days are going to be our take it easy days so we can enjoy the resort, and do parks at night. We plan on going to MNSSHP that Sunday and chillin on her birthday until night, so we would have some time to enjoy.
Thanks so much!

 

[Fred M]

My wife and I really enjoy split stays, although we've never done as short as a split stay as you have in mind. That being said we've never had a problem with Disney getting our luggage from one resort to the next. But as mentioned above, I'd really look into renting DVC points for your stay--a great way to save on rooms!