Split stay at same resort....stay in the same room?

[Violet Parr]

This probably sounds absurd, but we have 2 weeks booked at a FW cabin (but we're considering other options w/kitchens as well.) I am running Dopey and my husband is running Goofy, so for the first 5 days of our stay, we will be mostly resting and eating within our training needs, so cooking in the cabin for most meals.

We really want the dining plan for the rest of our trip, but it seems silly to have it for the first 5 nights if we don't need it.

If I booked two separate reservations, what are the odds of getting to stay in the same room when we switch from the first ressie to the second? I'm assuming they are ridiculously slim. If that is the case, we might go with a full-on split stay at two separate resorts.

TIA for any info!

VP

 

[loves to dive]

It's possible you can stay in the same room but it's a crap shoot. If you tell them when you book the room and then again when you do on line check in then go to the front desk when you get there and tell them again, you might get it. It just depends on if they have already assigned the room. I've not had good luck the two times I've tried it,I've had to move rooms.

 

[mom2rtk]

We've done split stays before in the same resort. Of course you know they won't guarantee the same room, but they do try very hard to keep you in the same room. We've been in the same room each time.

 

[FelisLachesis]

Unless you are absolutely certain that you can (b)eat the value of the dining plan, it may be better to pay out of pocket for your meals. That way, you don't have to risk a split stay.

 

[SandS_K]

If you decide to stay at the same resort, be sure to call and have them link your reservations as a continuing stay. On the advice of others I stopped at the front desk about 8:30pm to check if we would be in the same room the next day. The confirmed that we would and since we did online check in we did NOT need to stop back the next morning to check out and check back in. Only bad part was we received a text about 5:30am that our room was ready!

 

[Violet Parr]

Unless you are absolutely certain that you can (b)eat the value of the dining plan, it may be better to pay out of pocket for your meals. That way, you don't have to risk a split stay.

We eat super clean during training and races, so we will be eating all meals in the cabin the first 5 days. After that, there is a LOT of celebrating going on and if we pay OOP for our meals, we will probably spend far more than we would on the dining plan. I've figured out that if we split stay with no DDP for the first 5 nights and DDP for the last 6 nights, we'll save about $1500.

 

[FelisLachesis]

We eat super clean during training and races, so we will be eating all meals in the cabin the first 5 days. After that, there is a LOT of celebrating going on and if we pay OOP for our meals, we will probably spend far more than we would on the dining plan. I've figured out that if we split stay with no DDP for the first 5 nights and DDP for the last 6 nights, we'll save about $1500.

I'm curious, I've never seen a number that high while on the dining plan. I've seen some people claim to save about $150 going on DDP, but never $1500. Are you calculating in the cost of 6 days on DDP vs 11, where you won't be using it for the first 5 days?

My thought was to not do the DDP at all, and just pay for your meals with a gift card or something like that.

 

[Violet Parr]

I'm curious, I've never seen a number that high while on the dining plan. I've seen some people claim to save about $150 going on DDP, but never $1500. Are you calculating in the cost of 6 days on DDP vs 11, where you won't be using it for the first 5 days?

My thought was to not do the DDP at all, and just pay for your meals with a gift card or something like that.

We aren't saving $1500 by using the dining plan. We are saving $1500 by NOT using the dining plan for the first 5 nights.

5 days of the dining plan for our party will cost $1750. For those 5 days, we will just spend $250 on groceries (and probably less than that, but to be safe, I'll make it high.)

After the race, for those 6 nights/7 days, we have meals at several signatures, and our two eldest kids are teens, so they cost as much as adults. DH and I will def. drink 2 drinks at least per day, and with 2 alcoholic drinks now included on the dining plan, we'll definitely save $$ by using the DDP. We'll also have our meals paid in advance, and with 3 kids, it's nice to have everything paid for before we go. It would be worth a split stay to me. We've skipped the dining plan the last 6 trips or so and I regret it every time.

 

[FelisLachesis]

We aren't saving $1500 by using the dining plan. We are saving $1500 by NOT using the dining plan for the first 5 nights.

5 days of the dining plan for our party will cost $1750. For those 5 days, we will just spend $250 on groceries (and probably less than that, but to be safe, I'll make it high.)

After the race, for those 6 nights/7 days, we have meals at several signatures, and our two eldest kids are teens, so they cost as much as adults. DH and I will def. drink 2 drinks at least per day, and with 2 alcoholic drinks now included on the dining plan, we'll definitely save $$ by using the DDP. We'll also have our meals paid in advance, and with 3 kids, it's nice to have everything paid for before we go. It would be worth a split stay to me. We've skipped the dining plan the last 6 trips or so and I regret it every time.

Oh yes, I have 3 kids of my own, all teenagers, so I know how you feel! In that instance, the dining plan is definitely worth it, even just for the peace of mind that food is paid for.

 

[Violet Parr]

Basically, just going to Boma costs us about $180 when our family goes. Jiko is more like $300. We have Homecoming, Jiko, Contemporary Grill, and Narcoosee's on our agenda,So the DDP will absolutely save us money and allow us to eat and drink what we want. But it seems a waste for the first 5 days since we'll be cooking on our own. I should probably crunch the numbers a little more, but this seems like def. the better option at first glance.

 

[Violet Parr]

Oh yes, I have 3 kids of my own, all teenagers, so I know how you feel! In that instance, the dining plan is definitely worth it, even just for the peace of mind that food is paid for.

Yes, exactly! The 13yo boy is killing me with food costs. He'll eat like a horse and then say he's starved! Last trip, he had 3 brats and a pretzel from the Germany Pavillion and then he wanted a Mickey bar 30 min later!

VP

 

[lanejudy]

We have Homecoming, Jiko, Contemporary Grill, and Narcoosee's on our agenda

You've listed 3 signature meals plus one regular TS. That alone is 7 TS credits per person. Do you have any other meals planned for the last 6 days? I'm thinking the extra credits from getting DDP for the full stay may be needed to avoid OOP costs.

The 13yo boy is killing me with food costs

Sounds like he, alone, could use up your extra snack credits


I suggest planning out all (or most) of your meals for each of those last 6 days, plus any snacks for the kids during the first part of the trip. Tally the meal plan credits that will involve. Credits are shared within your party and can be used by anyone at any point during your stay, not limited to per-person per-day allotment. You might find that you'll use enough of those extra meal credits to be worthwhile.

Enjoy your vacation and

 

[Violet Parr]

Yup, as soon as I posted that, I remembered all of the other meals we had planned before I thought to cut the first 5 days out and how those signatures were dependent upon DDP credits from the first part of the trip.

I'm going to have to sit down and map it all out as you've suggested!

VP

 

[sky13]

Just got back from WDW, stayed at Pop on two separate reservations (both for a standard room) in the same room.

Once I switched my second reservation to Pop, I stopped by the Pop front desk and explained the situation (i.e. I was already staying at Pop, now had a continuing reservation at Pop with the same room type, and really wanted to keep the same room). The front desk CM pulled up my reservation, did something on the computer, called another CM on the phone, and then told me that I could keep the same room and didn't even need to check in/out. She also mentioned that it's easier for everyone to allow people to just stay in the same room!

 

[tjmw2727]

I have done split stays at the same resort 4x now and in my experience they try very hard to keep you in the same room if they can. Of the 4 times only once did I have to move rooms but I would say plan to move and consider it a bonus if you don't have to! We did link the reservations, I mentioned it at check in and then went to the front desk as early as I could on the day of the change to check out / check in in hopes of staying.

 

[TheLittleMerMom]

I have done split stays at the same resort on several occasions & have always been able to stay in the same room. Also, on my last split stay it I stayed at POR, I did not have the dining plan for my first three days (I was attending a conference), but had it for the second stay, which was 6 days.

 

[Violet Parr]

After a weekend of the 13yo eating two double cheeseburgers (and he's a skinny guy!) we have opted to have the dining plan for the full trip. He'll probably eat all the QS meals himself.

VP