Split Stay? Worth the hassle for a 7/6 trip?

[highwayg]

The cast: DH, myself, DD10 and DS7. We've been to POR and LOVED it but I have been looking at beach Club. Is it worth the hassle to split the stay? Do we have to move everything? BTW- we plan on spending one LOOONNG day at Universal for Harry Potter-would that be a good day to move?

 

[a1tinkfans]

You do have to check in and unpack then obviously bring your bags down or make plans with bell services to transfer your stuff and check out. .....then you have to check in again and unpack again and get situated again. it all takes time.....
If that seems like something that you don't mind doing its a great way to experience different resorts. We did it once, we would not do it again, we or I should say I did not like the whole pack unpack etc....too much wasted time and energy for me.....
If you do it, perhaps that Universal day would be good though. But, Best rooms IMHO are given to the earliest people checking in....regardless that they say the rooms are "set" they get changed around with requests etc...so, thats another consideration if that concerns you ..
whatever you decide have a great trip!

 

[Pink Mouse Ears]

We did a split stay on a 4 night trip because of room availability (3 nights Kidani, 1 night POFQ.) The only pain was repacking...I don't mind making the change. We lukced out on this trip and our room was ready at POFQ when we went back at nap time (otherwise I had to figure out a place for DS to nap.) I think it actually works better on shorter trips because you aren't as settled. We sometimes stay the first night in a cheaper resort if we are arriving late. Seems silly to pay a lot for just a few hours of sleep.

 

[iluvhawaii]

We have almost always done split stays. Our stays have been between 7 and 10 days. We rent a car so we usually transport the luggage ourselves, but we've also had bell services move our luggage and that worked out, too (though we didn't get our luggage at resort #2 until late afternoon). We love to try different resorts, and usually do one monorail and one Epcot resort. Packing is not such a big deal for us. Usually we bring 3 suitcases (one for me and DH, one small one each for my 2 DDs). We pack the night before our move (after the girls have gone to bed). We generally empty one of the small suitcases out and pack it with our dirty laundry before moving to resort #2--that piece of luggage is never opened again. Never a problem. Minimum 3 nights at each resort--we tried a 3-2-3 once, and the two nights felt like we didn't have enough time to enjoy the resort. We like split stays--it feels like we get two vacations in one, which my girls LOVE.

 

[cbg1027]

I liked our split stay a lot since it gave me a chance to try a Mod. We were there 6 nights - 3 at AS Sports and 3 at POFQ. I don't think I would do a split stay with fewer than 3 nights per resort though.

It didn't take a lot of time out of our day because we always go back to the resort and rest in the afternoon. So the only part I didn't like was having to pack up to move. But we had our own car, so I didn't have to 'pay attention' to the packing like I would if I was flying or traveling a long distance.

 

[Pignanny]

We have done split stays on multiple occassions. We like them because it give you the advantage of being able to experience multiple resorts. One of the things that most people overlook is what the resorts have to offer. Each is very unique and all offer many fun and interesting things.

It is true that a split stay requires unpacking and repacking, however if you know in advance you are doing a split stay you can pack accordingly. In otherwords pack so you do not need to unpack everything, etc. This planning makes life much easier. When the time comes to transfer just call bell services and ask them to pick up your bag (or take them there yourself). Just tell them which resort you are headed to and they will make sure everything arrives at it's destination. We have had situations where the bags were taken directly to our room ahead of time or we just call bell services from our room once we arrive and they immediately deliver them.

The only time I would not recommend a split stay is if you are going to be at WDW 5 dayas or less. I say this because with a shorter stay it seems a bit more cumbersome and feels like you are always on the move (which you really are anyway, going from park to park, etc.) Anything more than 5 days will give you an opportunity to settle in at each resort, assuming the split is somewhere close to the middle of your stay. This, as I mentioned before will also provide you the opportunity to experience what each resort has to offer.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We never do split stays. Once we are in our room, I like to unpack and get settled in for the week. The only time I want to pack my bags again is when we are ready to go home. We do a lot of research before we book our vacations so we know where we want to stay. If there is another resort we would like to stay at, then we will plan on staying at that resort the next time.

 

[nelsonkg]

We did a split stay once and I would not do it again. All in all it ate up a few hours of time and I would have rather spent that time relaxing or doing something more enjoyable. Packing up in the middle was not fun then to check in again and wait for our room to be ready at the second resort. We hit the parks early because we have a young child and then like to return to our room after lunch to relax and could not do this because out room was not ready at the second resort. So we endend up going thru this on our arrival day and the move day. It was too much for all of us.
The plus was we got to experience AKV after our usual BCV and that was fun but to us not worth the hassel. It's such a busy vacation as it is adding more work was not a good thing.

 

[blanq]

I have done a split stay just once, and we were on a 10 day trip. I personally would not do a split stay if I was staying for a week or less because of the hassle factor. I think for people who want to try an more expensive WDW resort, but could only afford to do so for a few nights rather than their entire vacation, it can be a great option.

 

[justplaingoofy]

When are you traveling?

Is the pool at the BC important to you?

Asking because we love the pool at BC, but I don't book BC if there is a chance we can't use the pool.
If it's a season that it may be chilly early Dec-end of Feb. I don't know that I would bother with the split stay and just book

 

[GoofyaboutMickey]

I try not to do split stays. Two years ago we did a week at AK and then two weeks at ASMu. The transferring was super easy. I just called bell service they were at our room in 15 minutes to pick up our bags. I then took a cab (it was only $6 and WAY quicker and easier then trying to bus it) over to ASMu to check in while the rest of my family went to a park. I checked in and our room was ready (it was only like 10am). I checked out the rooms and dropped off the few things I had carried over (kids pool noodels) then met my family at the parks. When we came back to the room for a mid day break all of our stuff from bell service was there.

The hassle for me (and this may not be a problem for you) is I wont live out of a suit case, it drives me nuts. So I have to unpack everything at each resort, and I don't travel light so there is a lot of wasted time packing and unpacking.


Four my family we would not do a split on a week trip. Almost a whole day would be wasted with unpacking, packing, transferring, unpacking and then repacking.

Also at Disney I find it hard to have enough time to just enjoy the resort. When I split the stay I always end up feeling like I didn't have enough time to do everything the resort has to offer.

 

[vettechick99]

I don't think a split stay is worth it when you have kids. Too much to pack up and move!