Split Stay- is it difficult?

[stephk1981]

Disney makes split stays very easy! Although, if traveling with an infant I would probably not recommend a split stay. We did split stays a few times a year for many years once DS was over 3. It was easy and fun to experience new resorts. Then we had our little DD surprise! We had our first split stay with her in April at 7 months old. I said I'd never do it again ........moving all of the baby stuff, not fun to say the least. We do have another split this November, I didn't want to but the resort we wanted wasn't available for the entire time Good luck, and if not traveling with a baby, you will love all three of those resorts!!

 

[nelsonkg]

I have done split stays and I guess I am in the minority but I HATE them! I like to unpack keep my room neat and organized and relax . Repacking, moving bags and groceries does not appeal to me on vacation it feels like work and you can be without a room for hours. I have done it twice and avoid it now

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I've done it once and it was very easy. The only "issue" was that we are midday break by the pool people and your bags probably won't show up at your next resort until 4 pm or after. We didn't really account for that. Our room was ready around 2 so we just napped instead.

Next trip I'm doing a split stay and our second resort is DVC which rooms aren't usually ready until 4 pm. I'm most likely going to Uber my bags over to BWV so if we want to hop in the pool around midday we can change in the locker room and hit the pool.

If your plan is to be at the parks the entire day then you will have no worries.

 

[Amanda999]

Last trip they forgot to transfer our bags (ASMo to CSR), but they never lost track of them. Once we called and they discovered it they drove them right over, it only delayed our bedtime about an hour (we didn't get to CSR until after 10pm) and they gave us three anytime fastpass+ each for the next day.

They told me that the bags had never left POFQ until I called prompting the search to begin. Not a big deal - stuff does happen. I learned not to bother being patient: if the bags haven't arrived by the expected time, call. (Didn't get any FPs - didn't ask, but woulda been nice.)

 

[happymommy]

I personally abhor moving. I like to settle in one place, even if it's a value resort.

I have done a couple times, like one night at the Dolphin then moved to the BWV for a week (not too bad, as we got in late, had dinner, then just walked our luggage over next morning). Also did some off site where I had 5 nights at the Marriott's Grande Vista followed by 11 nights at Sabal Palms. But for the most part, I will never, ever plan a trip where I move hotels.

You basically lose a day when moving, and although yes, they will move your luggage, you will be without it from morning till evening possibly. We tend to sleep in most days, and have stuff in the fridge. I totally unpack, hang most of my clothing, so the thought of either not unpacking or having to spend the time to pack it all up is miserable.

 

[Jchoma]

We've done a split stay between 2 resorts twice, but we drive to the parks (don't like to deal with the buses) and keep our stuff in our car on checkout day, so I can't comment on bell services moving it. I really like experiencing different resorts in the same stay, but my husband really wants to stick to 1 resort on our next trip. He finds it harder to relax and totally unwind if we're moving resorts, and doesn't love packing and unpacking more than once. My kids are past naps and so not having a room in the afternoon is a non-issue for us. Right now we have 8 nights at POFQ booked next April but I'm SO tempted to split between AKL and POFQ if we can swing it and my husband agrees! Not sure I would ever do 3 resorts in an 8-day trip, though.

 

[Spunky946]

We just got back this week and did a split stay. 2 nights pop, 2 nights contemporary, 3 nights yacht and. 1 night at universal.

It really wasn’t bad at all. The morning we moved to the contemporary we went to typhoon lagoon. We called bell services and they took all of our bags. I kept my back pack with a change of clothes and rented a locker. By the time we got to the contemporary it was after 3 and we checked in and our room was ready. Luckily our luggage was there too.

On the day we went to yacht we had a late breakfast chef mickeys, so we called bell services and they took our luggage and we ate and went to Hollywood. Got lucky again and got a text that our room was ready around 1-1:30. It was super hot, so we went to our room at 4ish. No luggage , but they called 20 minutes later that it was there and they brought it right up. Took an Uber to universal and used their bell services.

I didn’t mind at all, but we should have just spent all 4 nights at the contemporary instead of splitting with pop. Forgot how loud pop is.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

People love doing it, but I never will. I want to be in one place.

I have done split stays and I guess I am in the minority but I HATE them! I like to unpack keep my room neat and organized and relax . Repacking, moving bags and groceries does not appeal to me on vacation it feels like work and you can be without a room for hours. I have done it twice and avoid it now

I'm with you guys.

Yes, Disney will move your bags for you. But they don't pack them up, or unpack them.

Once I've unpacked and moved into a room, I don't want to pack up until it is time to go home.

For us, moving is very time consuming. And I hate to waste that time switching resorts. To say nothing of being "homeless" for the day.

I won't say that I will never do another split stay, but I can say that I will not do one unless it is the only way.

 

[e mcduck]

i added an extra night onto my trip and im not able to extend my original reservation where i really want to stay, so im doing a split. shrug. thats how it is. and im in town for work so im moving to a work hotel after the disney portion of the trip. its how it is. not my preference but its how i can go - so it is what it is! i am using packing cubes to segment the portions of my trips. i also prefer to just unpack, but its not always possible!!

do whats best for you, and enjoy!

 

[monorailsilver]

We did one last week. We had 5 nights at the BC f/b 5 nights at the Poly.

I planned our moving day to be Epcot in the am (myself and 2 of my 3 kids did The studios for about 30 min prior to the 9am Epcot opening) and MK at night so we could monorail over to the Poly.

My dh was worried that we wouldn’t have clean clothes until later then we wanted-my plan was to carry our bathing suits and wash our clothes we were wearing while we were at the pool.

So in the end, we stored all our bags with bell services and then took a Lyft over to the Poly.

Next time in 5 years I think if we do a split I will only do 3 nights at the BC f/b 8-9 nights at the Poly.

The worst was packing but I wasn’t concerned with space of things and we expanded out bags to fit more.

 

[SLim501]

We just booked a split stay. Do I need to contact them to link the two reservations together so I can book my FP+ or are we good to go? We have tickets linked to our RO reservations.

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

If you unpack when you arrive, it is a slight inconvenience, but not difficult. if you live out of suitcases, it is very easy.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm with you guys.

Yes, Disney will move your bags for you. But they don't pack them up, or unpack them.

Once I've unpacked and moved into a room, I don't want to pack up until it is time to go home.

For us, moving is very time consuming. And I hate to waste that time switching resorts. To say nothing of being "homeless" for the day.

I won't say that I will never do another split stay, but I can say that I will not do one unless it is the only way.

I also hate packing and unpacking and would prefer to stick to one resort. The fact that we do midday breaks by the pool daily also makes split stays a PIA. I prefer to change into my swimsuit in the comfort of my own room. And when I'm done with the pool I want to have access to my room.

The only reason we are doing a split stay is because we are renting DVC and could only get 7 nights. BWV during F&W and Jersey Week....it's a miracle I got a room at all. So we added on two nights at the beginning at POFQ. I honestly thought about just doing POFQ the entire stay but it was actually only $9 more per night to do BWV. I couldn't pass that up!

It's going to be an easier split stay since it's just DD and myself. Next time the whole crew goes I highly doubt we do a split stay.

 

[nkereina]

I agree with PPs that the logistics of the move are easy - drop your bags with bell services, head out to the park, return to your new resort at the end of your day and retrieve your bags.

But, for us, we like to unpack at the start and stay put until we leave. We like "taking care of business" only at the start and end of our trips, and don't like wasting time for these tasks when we could be at the parks or doing other things. BUT, I would do the split stay you propose if the alternative was staying off-site or not going at all. To make a split stay easier, I would suggest using packing cubes - pull them out of your suitcase and throw them in the drawer, and then just throw them back in your suitcase when you move. It makes packing and unpacking much easier and faster.

 

[lilpiglet97]

My DD14 and I just recently did a split stay.

BWI 7/28-8/1
WL 8/1-8/4
Poly 8/4 - 8-7

Each time we left our bags with bell services and they were delivered to our new hotel usually before 3 except our 1st transfer when we didn't get our bags until after 7:00 from the BWI to WL.

 

[e mcduck]

We just booked a split stay. Do I need to contact them to link the two reservations together so I can book my FP+ or are we good to go? We have tickets linked to our RO reservations.

when i mentioned it on a call with disney when i was fixing something else on my reservation they told me they dont really acknowledge split stays. those are two reservations.

 

[aml3679]

Not a fan of split stays - only because I like to settle in and enjoy my vacation - only my opinion.

 

[Shellyred8]

We don't mind split stays, but I have set our limit at 3 nights in one place as the minimum before moving. We did a trip where we moved after 2 nights, and I just felt like it wasn't long enough to really get immersed in the resort. So, 3 nights is the minimum now. That being said, if I had to choose between moving after 2 nights, and staying home, I'll take the moving after 2 nights.

 

[roydavid7771]

Split stays are easy as Disney does everything for you as far as transfers go. Speaking from personal experience, doing three resorts is tough as we never got the feeling of truly settling in at any one place. Felt like we were living out of our suitcases, so to speak!

 

[NuJoy]

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