Split Stay -- Variety or Hassle?

[jrtoastyman]

To make a long story short, we're currently booked to arrive at AKL, spend a couple of days, and then head over to BLT to finish out our trip. We're also waitlisted at BLT for the time we're at AKL so we wouldn't have to change rooms midstream. We'll have our DD(almost)3 with us.

I did the WL just to give myself that option, but I'm contemplating just dropping it and committing to the split stay -- this will be our first DVC trip, and I'm thinking it would be fun to have a little bit of variety, and try a couple of the properties. With that said, repacking and unpacking in the middle of the trip seems like a bit of a hassle, not sure if it's worth the extra effort, particularly with a toddler in tow. It absolutely means that the day that we transfer, she won't get a midday nap, which could be enough on its own to root for the WL to come through.

Thoughts?

 

[Granny]

This is purely a subjective question...no right or wrong. Personally, we hate split stays. Only way I'd consider it is if we were staying a total of 12 days or longer so each stay would be a long one. With a toddler in tow and needing that nap, I agree that it could be a rough day.

Others love split stays, and of course that's fine too. Ultimately it's what you want to do. The only upside to a split stay that I would see for your situation is that you would get to "sample" two DVC resorts for future reference.

 

[twinklebug]

I like split stays - they make it feel like we are getting more into the trip. How difficult it is to move resorts/rooms really depends on how well you take to it. Each traveler's a little different: You may have a good technique for getting your and your toddler's stuff packed and moved and have an amazing carry bag that will suffice for the day while you're without your luggage. Or maybe you have a vehicle and have easy access to the luggage all day. I've done it and would do it again with a small one, but then it may be easier for me than some as I was taught to stay ultra organized and live out of our luggage/not unpack (slightly paranoid about bed bugs hiding in the dressers).

How many nights do you have in each resort?

For us, splitting a stay for a single night takes too much effort to be worth it. Always 2 nights or more on any one leg. I recommend to friends considering splits that they arrange for the "end half" of their trip to be at their favorite location and have it be more than 1/2 the trip.

 

[sleeperclan]

We did our first split stay in last month. I enjoyed it, but DH refuses to do another! He didn't like transferring the food and luggage from one resort to another. We planned a non-park day for the the transfer day, so not a problem there. For me, it was nice to experience two different resorts in one trip. As a PP stated, it's totally subjective and you will get differing opinions. But with a 3y/o in tow, I'm not sure I would do it!

 

[Granny]

I recommend to friends considering splits that they arrange for the "end half" of their trip at their favorite location and have it be more than 1/2 the trip.

I think this is great advice. Same applies to stays with different accommodation sizes. Always put the larger villa type at the back end of the stay.

Disney does make resort switching fairly easy. The biggest thing that you mention is the potential lack of access to a room during the day. Of course, you could get lucky and have access to your new room right away. But you would want to plan for the worst case scenario.

 

[jrtoastyman]

How many nights do you have in each resort?

We have 2 nights at AKL, and 6 nights at BLT.

My apologies to the mods, btw, as this probably should have gone in "Planning." Forgot which subforum I was in when I posted.

 

[El&Asmom]

We love split stays and try to plan one for each trip that is longer than 7 days. We don't mind packing up and moving. Disney makes it very easy. We always just plan to spend that day at the park and then possibly the pool later in the afternoon on check in day at the second resort.

I like the variety it affords since I love all the resorts and find it hard to pick just one for a longer trip. Especially if you can snag a MK and EPCOT resort.

 

[wendy774]

We did a split stay at BLT for 2 days and then AKL for 6. We also had a toddler (2.5 yo) and had no problem. Naps were/are crucial for her and we were able to check in and get a nap in for her. I'd say do it b/c AKL is great for little ones but it is also great to be at BLT. Disney does make it simple to transfer. I just made sure to only unpack what we needed for the 2 day stay so we didn't need to fully unpack/pack. BTW-it was our first trip too.

 

[DizBub]

We recently did 5 nights at AKV and moved to BCV for the last 7 nights. Love, love, loved both resorts but moving day was not good. We did have our car so were able to move our own stuff but were essentially homeless for a good portion of the day. When we planned this we had intended to have APs and were going to spend the afternoon at WS in Epcot. That did not happen and we were not going to burn a PH tick for a short day.

That said, I would do another split stay in the future but only if it was at least another 12 night stay.

 

[castleri]

We recently did 3 nights each at BLT and AKV Kidani - We had a car so moving was not that big an issue but we have also done it without the car using bell services.

With 2 night at the beginning I would pack so that everything for those days was in one bag and then the rest just stayed in a second bag. You might just get lucky and be able to get into the room early also as PP said which would
make it possible for the afternoon nap. We found when traveling with little ones that they often fell asleep in the stroller and napped that way quite well.

Good luck with your trip whichever way it turns out.

 

[happyj]

we love split stays as we get to be near different parks.I do the packing and it never bothers me my husband just keeps out of it .

 

[jns]

we have done split stays too , love them always feels like 2 holidays in one
used bell serveses even throught we always have a car
one phone call bags leave room , head away for the day return to new resort check in and get bags delivered toa nice clean room ,

 

[Sandisw]

I am a fan of split stays and have not found them to be a big deal. I do like feeling as though we are on a 2nd trip.

We have done split stays several times--the first one was a 3 way split--BWV, BLT, and VWL (too much for 7 days), a BCV and BLT split, and a BWV/BLT split.

Next summer, we are actually doing a OKW/BLT split.

 

[mopee3]

we have done split stays too , love them always feels like 2 holidays in one
used bell serveses even throught we always have a car
one phone call bags leave room , head away for the day return to new resort check in and get bags delivered toa nice clean room ,

Yep this is us, hate looking at the same end of the horse or same room more than 3-4 days. People ask "which resort do you like the best?", well we like them all because they are all different. We will be there in 12 days and are spending 10 days in 2 different Grande Villas, 5 days each, and 2 days in 2br at WV. Maybe we will get a small taste of a longggggggggggg stay.

Moe

 

[DiznyDi]

We've done split stays in the past, but prefer to stay in one spot now.
Our rule of thumb was at least 3 nights in one place - usually a studio then change for 6 nights to a 1 bedroom. It is a reasonable amount of work to pack everything up just to unpack it again. We're not as young as we used to be either and it just seems to be a hassle now. On a positive note, on one split stay when moving from AK to SSR, our SSR villa was ready upon arrival: 8:30 AM! This was a most pleasant surprise.
Have fun what ever you decide to do.

 

[Kidanifan08]

We just did a split stay last week, with 4 nights at Kidani and 4 nights at BLT. The only drawback was that we had a 2BR for the first half and a BLT studio for the second half . I agree with a PP -- try to have the smaller room of a split stay at the start of the trip. Moving was not a big deal -- bell services did a great job! We still had time on moving day to spend 1/2 a day in the park.

It was nice having two totally different experiences. We tried to coordinate the parks that were were going to based on our location, but it did not work out as well as we wanted. Once we made it to BLT, DS5 would have nothing other than MK in the AM !

I would definitely do it again. In fact, we are doing a split stay for each of our next 2 WDW trips. The next one is a 5 night stay at BLT with a move to GF for 4 night (business conference). The one after that is AKV-concierge followed by Kidani (or hopefully BLT, if we can get the room at 7 months).

The biggest thing I did not like was re-packing. With your 2 and 6, I would definitely try to have one bag with clothes for everyone for the first two days and keep the other bags packed. We have an Owner's Locker, and it was a bit of a pain to have to re-pack it after 4 days, although we threw a lot of the stuff into luggage.

Have a great trip!! We love both of those resorts!!

Regarding naps: our DS5 still was able to nap in the stroller last week. We push him a little when we are at Disney, and he does not protest, so he is generally able to fall asleep almost anywhere!

 

[Rest&Relax]

Hassle! I get a just thinking of packing and moving!

Don't want to waste my time packing and moving anywhere. I go to relax and enjoy the resort I book. Only do split stay if I have to.

 

[sweetdana]

I split every trip over 5 nights. I love it; studio for just under 1st 1/2 n 1 bedroom second 1/2+. I pick 2 diff resorts usually. BC/SSR (my favs) or AKV/BC (to save on points). Saves on points easy 2 do a studio for 1st 3-4 nights of a 9 night trip. I go 2 park closest 2 where I am. IE if I go to AK for 3 nights I do that park, use the Kids Club there, Sanaa ect. Or DTD, Artists Pallet, ect while at SSR. I like having a rental car when we split, but would do it anyway.

 

[Anal Annie]

Personally I DESPISE packing (ranks right up there with cleaning toilets in my book) so I wouldn't do it by choice unless it was more like a 10 night trip and I was splitting it 5 / 5. Plus I would not be happy to give up a whole day to be homeless. But if you go thru with it I agree that your packing strategy needs to be to have everything you need for the first 2 nights in 1 bag and then everything else in another.

We just had a hectic trip to Europe in August where we spent our first night / 2 days at Disneyland Paris then we moved into the city on the evening of our 2nd day for 3 nights before we moved on to Barcelona for our DCL Med cruise. I had several reasons for planning it that way. (Primarily expense and to spend less time "commuting".) Anyway, we went to Barcelona the day before our Med cruise so we just had 1 night there before the cruise. I had to pack VERY carefully to do this first week so that I wouldn't have to spend hours & hours repacking before every move. I tried really hard to get almost everything we needed for our first 5 days into our ittty bittty 17" international sized carry-ons. I did for the MOST part but I still had to open the other bags a few times to look for stuff (the weather was cool & uncooperative in France). I was sooo glad to finally get to the ship where we had 7 nights all in 1 spot. Then we had 2 more nights in Barcelona after the cruise where I had to spend quite a bit of time re-packing & weighing everything to get it to the right weight before our flights home. We really cut it close on that end.

Anyway, we also like to try different resorts & have tried not to repeat any until we've tried them all - but so we just book a different resort for each trip. The only repeat we've done so far is AKV and that was because we decided to try Kidani rather than Jambo on our last visit (it was a point saving strategy too). I would stay put if I could, especially after only a 2 night stint.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I've never asked my family with children to do a split stay, but with only myself and one other adult, I have, and have not found it to be difficult because it's usually the second part that's in a larger unit, and we wait to but food.

I hope your wait list comes through.

Bobbi