Split stay for PPH & Good Neighbor hotel?

[caroluau]

We are planning on our first DL trip in August. We really love staying on site while at WDW but can't justify the cost in DL to stay on site for the entire trip when we will only be at parks for 4 days out of our 7 day trip. Original plan was staying at PPH for 6 nights.

Is it a hassle to go to a good neighbor hotel for 2 nights, then transfer to PPH? We have done a split stay at WDW but they transferred our luggage free of charge and we just took the free shuttle to our new hotel. We won't have a car rental while in DL so I don't know if there is a shuttle for the good neighbor hotels or if we would have to get a cab.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Malcon10t]

Your best bet is to use a cab. The shuttles drop you on the Harbor side. Then you would need to walk the luggage about 1/2 mile to the PPH.

 

[DarthMole]

Is it a hassle? Yes. Just be prepared to be without a room for a while. Just because you check in early does not mean your room will be ready early. We just did a switch from HoJos to DLH and it turned into a long day when our room wasn't ready until after 4pm. Have a solid plan of what you're going to do if your room is not ready. If I were to do it again, we'd have our swim gear packed separate and we'd hit the pool for the afternoon if we needed a break and our room was not ready yet.

As for the transfer, do get a cab. It will make things much easier.

 

[rentayenta]

I like split stays. Last trip we did one night at the GCV and one night at the DLH. If you plan it out, pack light, have a bag separate for things you'll need the morning of, it's easy. FWIW, our rooms have generally been ready much earlier than check in time.

 

[Watchtower]

We're doing a split stay in two weeks, starting at the Best Western Stovall's Inn the first night, then transferring to the PPH the next morning in time to use the Extra Magic Hour. If you pick from Stovall's or the Annabella Hotel, walking to the PPH is only about 5 minutes, so I guess the inconvenience of it all depends on how much luggage and/or kids you'll be hauling. If your room isn't ready, just drop your luggage at the Bell Desk and head to the parks....the hotel will text you when your room is ready. On our last trip two years ago, we checked into PPH around 11am, room wasn't ready yet, so we dropped off our luggage, enjoyed the parks, got the text around 3ish, took the monorail back, grabbed our luggage and settled into our room (it was our first time at the PPH....very happy with the room!).

If your Good Neighbor Hotel HAS to be one of the one's on Harbor, then I'd definitely get a cab to help with the transfer. Hauling your luggage through the security checkpoint and Downtown Disney would NOT be fun.