Split or stay put

[Boatingmom]

We are traveling two famlies with elementary aged children for seven days. One family has stayed at Poly and AK before and currently booked the WL. Other family is booked at Dolphin and never been to Disney before. Now we have decided to vacation the same week TOGETHER Should we all book the Dolphin orshould we book a split. Cost is a BIG factor, so we all can't book WL for the week. Suggestions? BTW, we dont want to book moderate or value.

 

[Boatingmom]

 

[SGMCO]

What's wrong with Moderates?
The Price is Great, Wonderful Pools, Excellent TS Restaurants,
Beautiful Grounds and they offer all the perks of staying onsite at
WDW.
For the Money you save you could buy plenty of Sovieniers.
I would look into a Moderate if I were you.

 

[Boatingmom]

I Don't think the moderates are an option. Half of the group is a family of five. Still think we might miss the whole theme experience a little.

 

[SGMCO]

POR can accomadate 5 people.
You won't get a Disney experiance at the Dolphin.
You don't know what your missing.
The Mods are very Disney Themed.
I've visited plenty of the Deluxe Resorts and the Mods
have just a much going for them at they do, except for the cost to stay there.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I would try to avoid a split stay, if possible. No matter how streamlined your plan, you will lose time packing, checking out, moving, checking in again, unpacking again.

 

[pepe of ohio]

I would try to avoid a split stay, if possible. No matter how streamlined your plan, you will lose time packing, checking out, moving, checking in again, unpacking again.

We did one, once ,wasted a whole day. It just seems you get acquainted with the first resort, know the ins and outs, layouts and its time to pack up, night before, and inthe am drag your stuff to check out then go to the next resort and wait till after 3 pm for your stuff to reappear. Nuts, if I'm that interested in another resort, we'll wait till next trip to experience it for the whole stay. We're the type of people to unload upon arrival, stash the groceries, get the beer in the fridge, clothes in the closet and dresser and heat to the pool to hoist a few and unwind. Nothing sadder than the day you have to pack uo to leave, we never discuss checking out day.

As for resorts, if we had to stay value we wouldn't go, no Disney experience there, just large tacky icons. Moderates, well there are some better than others, we most always can snag a good discount and stay at the WL, which we prefer and the Swan and Dolphins have never entered our minds being non Disney owned no mastter what the price. After budgeting alot of money towards a Disney vacation, tickets and meals, finding a few hundred more to up scale to a better resort is very easy, our resort is a huge part of our vacation, we do spend time there, we do not spend dawn to closing in parks, we stay no less than 9 nights and most always have AP's for popping in and out and around parks on a whim and for room discounts. Once we park ourselves in our room, we're there, relaxing, no worries no cares for the whole nine yards. We visit other resorts for the entertainment and lounges and food but have no cares to stay there. After 39 trips, we know which resorts we rather stay in and those aren't alot.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I know how tempting a split stay is as we are considering a split stay as well. But my concern is missing any time from the parks - we'll only get to Disney every 2 or 3 years so we don't want to spend our time packing back up and moving to another resort. But on the other hand since we don't go as often & there are SO many resorts we'd like to try, it is tempting to do a split stay. Is there any other resort you could both agree on?

We are a family of 5 & for us to stay at the WL it would have to be a deluxe room which is concierge & approx. $575+ a night. For larger families the WL isn't a good choice if you're trying to watch the cost. I've always thought if my sister's family & our family go together sometime - it might be nice to get a 2 bedroom villa & share the cost. But then again - sometimes my sister and I get on each others nerves so sometimes separate is a good thing !

Sorry I probably haven't helped. Good luck!

 

[Kim1964]

Are you planning to spend every waking moment of the trip together? I mean that as an honest question, not a snotty one. I ask because if you plan to spend time with just your own family, then it may not be necessary to stay at the same hotel, so each family can stay where they can afford to be. You can choose times and places to meet at parks, have meals together, then go back to your hotels. Most people have cell phones so you could reach each other if you were running late or lost.

Split stays have worked well for us, but we always have a rental car. I pack the suitcases so that our stuff is split up like our hotels are, so the first few days we only unpack the bags we need, and the other ones stay packed until we move. I can see how it would be a drag if you were relying on Disney transportation, though.

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

We are traveling two famlies with elementary aged children for seven days. One family has stayed at Poly and AK before and currently booked the WL. Other family is booked at Dolphin and never been to Disney before. Now we have decided to vacation the same week TOGETHER Should we all book the Dolphin orshould we book a split. Cost is a BIG factor, so we all can't book WL for the week. Suggestions? BTW, we dont want to book moderate or value.

I for one don't like a split stay. We did that once and never again. I agree with Kim1964, you can meet, eat, do whatever and then go back to your own hotels. We went with family members in December of 2006, had connecting rooms and by the end of the 3rd day I wanted to pull my hair out. So JMO, I would leave it the way it is. Good luck with your decision

 

[missycj96]

We've done split stays - before the baby. Moving 2-3 families might be more trouble than its worth - especially for the family that's never been to disney before (because they will probably want more of the time in the parks).

Also, if the WL is more than one family wants to spend for 7 days, it might be more than they really want to spend for half the week, too.

One additional reason I'm voting for the moderates over the Dolphin is the food courts. Before DD2 we loved all the best Disney restaurants. This summer (stayed at POFQ and loved it) we had great reservations lined up for our whole vacation. After the first 3 or 4 we gave up and started to have more meals at the food court. This was the best thing we've ever done!! It is just so much easier with small kids. You'll save lots of money, time and headache for meals.

That said, the Dolphin is a great location , good coffee and a really nice place (though I agree less of a disney feeling).

Hope your planning goes well.

 

[camdensmom]

We did a split stay once and would not do it again.

They will move your stuff and in theory it should be a simple enough process. In our case the new room at the 2nd resort smelled of smoke and was not cleaned properly (trash on the floor and under the bed). They couldn't find us a new room in a timely manner. We spent a lot of time on the phone and at registration and truly lost a chunk of our vacation day.

I agree that it would be better to stay moderate than to switch and I would ALWAYS select moderate over the Swan/Dolphin for a "true Disney feel." They are nice hotels, but I really enjoy the real Dis resort feel as part of my vacation.

 

[louey]

We did one, once ,wasted a whole day. It just seems you get acquainted with the first resort, know the ins and outs, layouts and its time to pack up, night before, and inthe am drag your stuff to check out then go to the next resort and wait till after 3 pm for your stuff to reappear. Nuts, if I'm that interested in another resort, we'll wait till next trip to experience it for the whole stay. We're the type of people to unload upon arrival, stash the groceries, get the beer in the fridge, clothes in the closet and dresser and heat to the pool to hoist a few and unwind. Nothing sadder than the day you have to pack uo to leave, we never discuss checking out day.

As for resorts, if we had to stay value we wouldn't go, no Disney experience there, just large tacky icons. Moderates, well there are some better than others, we most always can snag a good discount and stay at the WL, which we prefer and the Swan and Dolphins have never entered our minds being non Disney owned no mastter what the price. After budgeting alot of money towards a Disney vacation, tickets and meals, finding a few hundred more to up scale to a better resort is very easy, our resort is a huge part of our vacation, we do spend time there, we do not spend dawn to closing in parks, we stay no less than 9 nights and most always have AP's for popping in and out and around parks on a whim and for room discounts. Once we park ourselves in our room, we're there, relaxing, no worries no cares for the whole nine yards. We visit other resorts for the entertainment and lounges and food but have no cares to stay there. After 39 trips, we know which resorts we rather stay in and those aren't alot.

Since you have been 39 times you are definately the person to ask. We are going in June 08 and are booked at the Contemporary Tower/MK view and paying alot $$$$$. I was contemplating on getting a quote for a moderate to see what the difference would be money wise. Which moderate would you recommend? or should we just stay at the Contemporary? I was thinking that if I could save a couple of thousand we may stay at a moderate . Thanks for any help