Should we split our stay between 2 disney resorts?

[trish1970]

Help! My husband and I are planning a trip to Disney (with our 2 year old son) in September. We cannot decide between the AKL and the Beach Club. It is insane to consider 2 nights at the AKL and 3 nights at the Beach Club? Is it a big pain to move to another hotel? We will be renting a car. Has anyone out there ever done this? I would welcome all comments and suggestions! We have visited Disney a few times over the years, but this will be our first time staying at a Disney Resort. There are too many options and I can't make up my mind between the two resorts. THANK YOU

 

[picantel]

We got back 3 weeks ago and did 4 hotels which was a tad much but 2 of them were priceline. We then did 2 at WL and 4 at almo. It was like getting a new vacation all over again when we checked into the almo. There is just something special about checkin. We are going again in may. first night we pricelined at the gaylord palms resort. We then do 3 at CS and 3 at Pofq. Unless I can help it I will split my stay up. double the magic.

 

[karemore]

We're splitting our stay next month.

We're staying three nights outside of Disney while we tour the parks, and then we're checking into the GF for three nights.

We don't have any kids so it's probably going to be easier for us to pack and move than it will be for you.

Will you lose part of a day by moving, if you have to check out earlier than you can check into the next place?

We're going to be at Animal Kingdom the day we move from one place to the other so we don't mind the time gap when we won't have access to a room.

I say go for it, unless it seems too daunting for you.

Why not experience as much as you can?

Karen

 

[wdwrich]

We have done this and it really makes it seema as if you are getting two vacations. Disney will move your luggage for you if you wish, so you won't lose a lot of time doing it yourself.

 

[laughinplace199]

We're splitting our stay as well. We are spending 4 nights at OKW and then 2 nights at AKL. We have a 4 y/o and a 2 y/o. We've never switched resorts during a WDW trip, but we thought we'd give it a try. It seems like fun to explore more than one resort. Hope all goes well for you!

 

[litlpixie]

We love to do that. Last yr it was POR & WL, and this yr it's POR and AKL. It was really no biggie and we have 3 kids. We also drive down so when its time to switch we just throw everything into the van and go! If you dont have your own vehicle the hotel will transfer your luggage for ya.

 

[johnvree]

We are doing it this May (AKL and Poly). Some people might say that five days is a little too short of a stay to split. I would disagree (especially if you can take advantage of the resorts on check-in and check-out days).

For example, if you can get to AKL early in the day on Day 1, you can explore the resort and take advantage of the pool all day. I am pretty sure that you can use the pool before check-in, but I am not sure. Then spend Days 2 and 3 in the the parks. Let Disney send your luggage to the BC for you on Day 3. Check in to the BC late in the afternoon on Day 3 and have dinner there (or shoot over to Epcot or MGM). Then spend Days 4 and 5 in the parks. Day 6, your last day, spend relaxing by the BC's pool.

It will be great.

 

[madalex]

We've done the resort splitting a couple times, both times we stayed at AKL first, then moved over to YC. Once it was 2/4 and another time 3/3. It was great fun to spend time in two different hotels in two different parts of WDW. However, overall, I did not enjoy having to move hotels in the middle of the trip. I never got a chance to really feel "settled" and it made the trip seem much shorter. Our last trip was 6 nights at YC the whole time and the trip seemed longer because there wasn't the one "lost" day in the middle where we had to switch hotels (it did not take the whole day of course, but the time spent packing, leaving, checking in and unpacking took up a few hours of one day). On a longer trip (say at least 4 days at each hotel), I would probably enjoy the switch more. YMMV.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Sounds like a plan to me. Nice resorts too, plus Disney will do most of the transfer for you (you'll still need to pack up, but they'll move 'em & put 'em in your new room).

But it seems to me you might be better off not getting the rental car. For less money you can simply arrive at the airport and have a towncar sweep you off to AKL, and then pick up at BC for the way back. No muss, no fuss, no bother with parking... The buses from AKL are all pretty direct and fairly fast, while at BC you will have 2 of the 4 parks in walking (or boat) distance. Strikes me you'll spend more time getting to the park entrances from the parking lots than you will waiting for buses, so make your life easier and don't drive.
just my $0.02

 

[Sayleaway]

We booked a 5 night Visa Kids Free package for POR, then decided we wanted to stay a bit longer without going into the parks to allow us time to explore non-park things such as Downtown Disney and other resorts.

We're switching to ASMo for two nights. Cheaper than POR and it is also making the kids happy to get to see the giant Woody and such.

By doing this, we can maximize our park passes and not feel like we're wasting them by taking some time to relax and enjoy the other parts of the world!

Hopefull our plan will work!

 

[WoodysRoundup]

Having a couple of toddlers of my own, I can't imagine packing up all that stuff and relocating rooms with a two year old. It sounds easy enough without kids, but my opinion is pick a resort and try the other one next visit!!

 

[madelyn]

I like the idea of splitting a stay between resorts, to be able to try more resorts and also possibly be able to afford a stay at a deluxe (split between a cheaper room and a deluxe). We were married at Disney about 8 years ago and that trip we moved 4 times: from ASMu before the wedding, to GF Main building concierge to GF Lagoon view and finally OKW. DH complained about all the moving and that trip we did have quite a bit of luggage. Yet less than a year later, I was dying to try the Beach Club and it was unavailable for our entire stay so we stayed 2 nights at ASMu and then 3 nights at the Beach Club. Last year we stayed 3 nights at a Universal area hotel then stayed 7 nights at OKW. It was nice to stay put those last 7 nights. For us (now with 2 kids ages 5 and 2) I would prefer to stay in one place for the entire trip. Check-in/out days are usually hectic for us. But for this upcoming trip in June I got 3 nights at the Dolphin through Priceline and I'm not sure where we'll stay the other 3-4 nights of the trip! Dh would prefer that we stay at the Dolphin but I'm not sure we want to pay a higher rate if I can't get it through Priceline (we're getting 2 rooms). My general guideline is not to stay at any one place less than 3 nights.

 

[johnsonet]

Personally, I would not want to stay for just 2 nights at a Disney resort and then move...ESPECIALLY with a 2-year-old. I think you'd enjoy yourselves more staying at one place. I love the 2 resorts you've chosen...Good Luck!

 

[#1hockeymom]

I know many people love two resort stays, but I know when my kids were little familiarity made night time actually happen! A new place and they were up all night! We went so far as to buy a travel trailer for a bit when DH was little and we called it the hotel-motel on wheels. Once he was used to the place, it was easy to change scenery and vacation since sleeping/eating quarters remained the same.

Happy Planning!
Debbie

 

[tar heel]

We've split a couple times, but I would not split on a five-night trip with a two-year-old. You would barely be settled in the first resort when it was time to leave, and I don't think you want to be "homeless" for four hours in the middle of the day with a child that age. I would recommend choosing one resort and saving the other for your next trip.

 

[n2mm]

I will go against the flow here and say I absolutely hate splitting stays. We have HAD to split stays because we couldn't add on to our existing reservations several times and hate it. We lost a day of vacation. Some may want to argue this point, but your day is riddled with, thoughts of "gotta remember to pack dirty clothes, clean clothes and all of the other stuff, will our room be ready, unpacking, getting settled in and the list goes on. I won't give up a day of vacation for anything if I can help it. Now I must admit that we go to WDW 4-5 times a year, so we are quite spoiled. We bouce between the values and delux resorts throughout the year. Sometime we try something different, sometimes it's a familiar place. Our stays are anywhere from 8-14 nights. Get me to my resort of choice, let me unpack and let the fun begin. I don't want to think about packing until the morning of our check out. Maybe it's just me, but packing, checking in, unpacking, packing, checking in, unpacking, packing....is just way too much work for me while I'm on vacation. If we want to try another resort, we just plan to stay there next time. And the idea of doing all of that moving and packing with little ones, no way. It's just the 2 of us and hope to never have to be in that position that we have to move again. JMHO