Split stay with baby

[TinkB278]

I was hoping to get some advice from the experts as I’ve never brought a baby to Disney before. We are planning a trip next year in May with our three year old and our new baby that will be 8 months old approximately. I was originally wanting to do a split stay with the first half at annMK resort (hopefully vgf2 or ccv) and then will move to a RIV studio for the last four nights. We usually always do a split stay and I enjoy a change in scenery (and transportation) and a freshly cleaned room. However, I’m wondering about past experiences of those who have done a split with a baby?

I’d like to just do a one bedroom but we’re taking family for a second trip in September and so we don’t have the points for a one bedroom in May. Are studios really tough with a baby and toddler together?

 

[lowlight]

I did a split stay with 3 when my youngest was just 4 months. We rented a full size crib from Kingdom strollers and it worked fine in a studio. We are doing another split stay soon, also. A 1br is nice for the kitchen, but the studio is workable also. It does disrupt the nap on moving day, depending on what time you nap him.

 

[TinkB278]

I did a split stay with 3 when my youngest was just 4 months. We rented a full size crib from Kingdom strollers and it worked fine in a studio. We are doing another split stay soon, also. A 1br is nice for the kitchen, but the studio is workable also. It does disrupt the nap on moving day, depending on what time you nap him.

How did it work with renting the crib? Would bell services move it?

 

[starry_solo]

How did it work with renting the crib? Would bell services move it?

Not the poster who responded, but I doubt it. I think you contact the company and let them know that you'll be doing a split stay and where. The company will take care of it (not Disney)

 

[jo-jo]

Make sure you have enough diapers and clothes for the whole day with you. Years ago, traveling with young grandkids our bags were sent to wrong resort (CBR instead of BCV) and DD was down to last diaper.

 

[lowlight]

How did it work with renting the crib? Would bell services move it?

You know I never thought to ask bell services if they could move it when they moved my luggage. I don’t know what they would say. I told the company I rented from about my split stay and they took care of it. Bell services took care of moving it to/from the desk to the rooms. We have tried the pack n play route and also the metal crib that some resorts lend out l, but my kids never slept well on either of those. We’ve even done inflatable bumpers and slept them in the beds.

 

[RoseGold]

Poly is a good solution because the Pack N Play fits in the extra shower room. When I was at Poly in peak Covid, they had old school metal cribs. They may be using those or the soft Pack N Plays now. Poly has A LOT of rooms, and the waitlist does fill, and it does pop up if you stalk. That's an option if you want to try not to move.

i did a triple split stay with an 18 month old, and it was tough on nap time, but she was a champ at sleeping in the stroller. It really depends on your baby. If you are struggling with sleep, this could be a nightmare. If your kid can sleep anywhere, it might be NBD and someone waits by the stroller.

 

[RoseGold]

Make sure you have enough diapers and clothes for the whole day with you. Years ago, traveling with young grandkids our bags were sent to wrong resort (CBR instead of BCV) and DD was down to last diaper.

This happened to me and asked a random mom and she gave me three LOL. You're at Disney, plenty of people with babies.

 

[Sandisw]

We have double booked a night for change over days when we didn’t want to be homeless.

It allowed us to have a place for the afternoon and then checked out and went to the new resort around 4 pm when the new room should be ready.

It was worth the extra!

 

[KristaZ]

I just finished a split stay with my 8 month old (4 ways between Disney and Universal resorts). We found it helpful to do separate grocery delivery orders for each resort and just ordered enough diapers/food/formula for the nights we were at that resort - it cut down on what we had to move from place to place (and also pack to bring with us in the first place). I also pack in separate suitcases for each resort (at least for clothes) to minimize packing and unpacking.

I can't really speak to having a baby and toddler together, but we stayed in a Poly studio and there was plenty of space for the pack n play and to move around - even if we had needed to pull down the 2nd bed. As someone else mentioned, in the Poly rooms, you can also use the extra bathroom as a spot to put the pack n play if needed.

I have an easy baby who naps in the stroller without a problem, so being "homeless" for a few hours wasn't a big deal for us since he was perfectly fine to nap in the parks in his stroller while we did rider swap on the bigger rides and walked around.

 

[jo-jo]

We have double booked a night for change over days when we didn’t want to be homeless.

It allowed us to have a place for the afternoon and then checked out and went to the new resort around 4 pm when the new room should be ready.

It was worth the extra

Wouldn't that count as double booked? I thought that wasn't allowed. Maybe it's an old rule??

We also don't like that homeless feeling . We tend to use it as a rest day . Stay at resort A room until 11, eat lunch in area. Move over to resort B. Wander a bit. Find a snack and keep our fingers crossed. We don't like sending all of DH meds with luggage nor lugging them into parks. He takes about 12 different meds, a few several times a day.

 

[Sandisw]

Wouldn't that count as double booked? I thought that wasn't allowed. Maybe it's an old rule??

We also don't like that homeless feeling . We tend to use it as a rest day . Stay at resort A room until 11, eat lunch in area. Move over to resort B. Wander a bit. Find a snack and keep our fingers crossed. We don't like sending all of DH meds with luggage nor lugging them into parks. He takes about 12 different meds, a few several times a day.

Definitely allowed but you can’t be checked into both at the same time.

For example, we have both VGF And RIV 2 bedroom booked for the night of Dec 12th.

We will be sleeping in and enjoying the monorail resorts that day and then go back, pack up and head to RIV around 4 pm. We will officially check out that afternoon from VGF and sleep at RIV instead.

So, official check out for that room is the 13th but it will be technically empty that night.

Now a few times, some of the group stayed at resort 1 where the others went to resort 2.

Good news is they will be able to clean it first thing for the next guests

We do this a lot and worth the extra points we spend.

 

[jo-jo]

Definitely allowed but you can’t be checked into both at the same time.

For example, we have both VGF And RIV 2 bedroom booked for the night of Dec 12th.

We will be sleeping in and enjoying the monorail resorts that day and then go back, pack up and head to RIV around 4 pm. We will officially check out that afternoon from VGF and sleep at RIV instead.

So, official check out for that room is the 13th but it will be technically empty that night.

Now a few times, some of the group stayed at resort 1 where the others went to resort 2.

Good news is they will be able to clean it first thing for the next guests

We do this a lot and worth the extra points we spend.

thank you. About 8 years ago, we were switching from two bedroom kidani to studio. DH was sick and trying to make the switch seemlessly. CM check us out of one and it the other, but told us don't close the door on first resort until we are done moving. We won't be able to get back in. From that, I was concerned in say BLT is expecting us, but we are staying at AKL for dinner at boma, we wouldn't be able to get back into room at AKL.

 

[LSchrow]

Wouldn't that count as double booked? I thought that wasn't allowed. Maybe it's an old rule??

We also don't like that homeless feeling . We tend to use it as a rest day . Stay at resort A room until 11, eat lunch in area. Move over to resort B. Wander a bit. Find a snack and keep our fingers crossed. We don't like sending all of DH meds with luggage nor lugging them into parks. He takes about 12 different meds, a few several times a day.

You can make yourself the lead on the first reservation, & your husband the lead on the second (or visa-versa) to avoid the appearance of being booked in two rooms at once.

 

[Sandisw]

thank you. About 8 years ago, we were switching from two bedroom kidani to studio. DH was sick and trying to make the switch seemlessly. CM check us out of one and it the other, but told us don't close the door on first resort until we are done moving. We won't be able to get back in. From that, I was concerned in say BLT is expecting us, but we are staying at AKL for dinner at boma, we wouldn't be able to get back into room at AKL.

In that case, though, it doesn't sound like you were booked for that night both places. In our case, we actually have two rooms for the same night, so their is no checking us out of room one until we are done with it. We don't head over to resort two until we are done. And, since we are never check out until later in the day, they can't deactivate the room entry.

Because they see us checked in to resort one, they don't assign us our room at resort two until we get there because we can't be in two places the same night. That is why it works. For the times when some wanted to sleep at resort one and not go to resort two until the next day, they simply kept them in resort one, and unchecked them as guests at resort two until the next day.

 

[jo-jo]

In that case, though, it doesn't sound like you were booked for that night both places. In our case, we actually have two rooms for the same night, so their is no checking us out of room one until we are done with it. We don't head over to resort two until we are done. And, since we are never check out until later in the day, they can't deactivate the room entry.

Because they see us checked in to resort one, they don't assign us our room at resort two until we get there because we can't be in two places the same night. That is why it works. For the times when some wanted to sleep at resort one and not go to resort two until the next day, they simply kept them in resort one, and unchecked them as guests at resort two until the next day.

No, you're right. I just thought that meant you couldn't do what you have done. We never tried it. I thought you couldn't.

 

[Sandisw]

No, you're right. I just thought that meant you couldn't do what you have done. We never tried it. I thought you couldn't.

Got it! Yes, definitely can be done and we do it at least a few times a year!!! We have the points to do it though! LOL

 

[Disney102015]

We have done split stays with a baby and toddler, and have another one coming up. We loved split stays before we had kids and I’d carefully pack 1 bag for each leg of the stay. I will say I found that MUCH harder to do with a baby - babies just need SO much stuff that I ended up unpacking a lot more than I planned on the first leg of the trip, which made the moving day more cumbersome than usual. I think as long as you have a substantial number of nights at each location, packing up in between won’t be so bad - but if you’re looking at only 1-2 nights somewhere, the hassle might not be worth it.

That said - I still love split stays with little ones even with the extra hassle, for the reason you mentioned - transportation. I find emptying and collapsing the stroller to get on the buses exhausting and love the convenience of focusing on MK for one part of the trip (using the ferry/monorail without folding the stroller) then moving to another resort with non-bus transport to the other parks. So I think your plan sounds like a good one!

I’ve never rented a crib, I’ve just used the one you can get from Disney. That way you don’t have to lug it between resorts. I am renting a crib for our upcoming trip because my new baby is NOT a good sleeper and I need a specific type of crib - my plan is to Uber over to the new resort with the crib rather than asking bell services to move it. I just let the company I am renting from know that the drop off and pick up will be different resorts.

 

[mrsswat]

Recently stayed at GF2 with DD, 2yr old grandson and 4 month old granddaughter. Plenty of room! We called for a pack and play and received a small metal crib. Even with that in the room there was still plenty of room for all to move around! And we were even able to move the crib into the sink portion of the bathroom for her afternoon nap so we could watch some tv. We rented a pool cabana for our “moving day” and just stayed at the GF pool even a little after we got room ready notification for SSR. I walked the baby around inside the resort when it was her nap time so she didn’t overheat - we were there mid August.

 

[kboo]

Poly is a good solution because the Pack N Play fits in the extra shower room. When I was at Poly in peak Covid, they had old school metal cribs. They may be using those or the soft Pack N Plays now. Poly has A LOT of rooms, and the waitlist does fill, and it does pop up if you stalk. That's an option if you want to try not to move.

i did a triple split stay with an 18 month old, and it was tough on nap time, but she was a champ at sleeping in the stroller. It really depends on your baby. If you are struggling with sleep, this could be a nightmare. If your kid can sleep anywhere, it might be NBD and someone waits by the stroller.

Lots of good ideas here. We've done splits with a 4yo and baby, not quite the same because the 4yo could sleep in the twin murphy in any studio and crib could fit in the entry hallway little jog in VGF. (or in the main room in any other studio)

For OP's age kids I would get a good double stroller and get baby used to napping in the stroller. On move day we would usually stay at the resort until brunch/lunch and then go to a park. Afternoon nap would be in the stroller.

As for packing - I'd take advantage of the laundry and bring half the amount and do laundry the night before move day, that way you can pretty much throw everything back into the suitcase, clean, on move day. Maybe would also pack a day/pool bag in case you decide to hit the pool in the afternoon on move day. The resorts all have shower/changing facilities so you don't *have* to be in your room to use the pool.

Second the idea to do two grocery deliveries for each leg.

And lastly - I used to book dinner at the new resort on move day, that way even if it takes a while for the room to be ready, you are not necessarily noticing because you're having dinner.

(Pre-Covid, we usually didn't get into our room until well after 4 / dinner time) We've been VERY lucky on our covid trips... we have (knock wood) always been in before 4, and on some instances before 2pm!

We will be sleeping in and enjoying the monorail resorts that day and then go back, pack up and head to RIV around 4 pm. We will officially check out that afternoon from VGF and sleep at RIV instead.

So, official check out for that room is the 13th but it will be technically empty that night.

We have 2 overlapping home resorts, so maybe I should be thanking you for the early check ins!