Split Stay?

[DisneyMountainWoman]

We are looking at a trip for next year Sat-Sat Thanksgiving week. We were originally wanting to stay at only Animal Kingdom Lodge for the whole time but with what is happening we want to save some money on our trip.

So we are thinking of a split stay. For people who have done splits stays how was it? Is it worth it? What are logistic issue I need to think about?

We are thinking Sat-Thursday DoubleTree Suite Hilton (As long as they continue to have Disney Privileges) if not then Pop.
Then Thursday-Sat Animal Kingdom Lodge Club Level Savannah

We are even thinking if we go to AKL we do not go into the park and just have fun at the resort.

What do you guys think?

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

We are looking at a trip for next year Sat-Sat Thanksgiving week. We were originally wanting to stay at only Animal Kingdom Lodge for the whole time but with what is happening we want to save some money on our trip.

So we are thinking of a split stay. For people who have done splits stays how was it? Is it worth it?

We are thinking Sat-Thursday DoubleTree Suite Hilton (As long as they continue to have Disney Privileges) if not then Pop.
Then Thursday-Sat Animal Kingdom Lodge Club Level Savannah

We are even thinking if we go to AKL we do not go into the park and just have fun at the resort.

What do you guys think?

Since your primary reason for considering a split is to save money, I recommend forgetting about club level savanna view and save a lot of money by getting standard view for your whole stay. We've stayed standard view at AKL & had animals outside our balcony (including giraffes) 24/7 because we were on the Kudu Trail, near a feeding station & watering hole. The animals loved it there. It wasn't a "savanna view" designated room because we had no sweeping view of the savanna, but we saw plenty of animals. So that's a possibility to consider. Even if you didn't get lucky enough to have an animal view, they'll still be there when you step outside.

Also, AKL is one of the best resorts for both quick service and table service dining, so club level is an unnecessary perk, particularly if budget is a concern.

Yes, I have done several split stays, and there is always a hassle factor involved, even though I know all the tricks to make it go most smoothly. At its best, it's just not the same as not having to move in the middle of your vacation. When we do it, it's because we actively really want to stay at both resorts, enough to make the hassle worth it. But there is a much better option for saving money in your case, since that is your motivation rather than an active desire to stay at another resort.

 

[Carol_]

Sounds great!
If you can’t get Pop, AOA is great and the skyliner is handy.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Since your primary reason for considering a split is to save money, I recommend forgetting about club level savanna view and save a lot of money by getting standard view for your whole stay. We've stayed standard view at AKL & had animals outside our balcony (including giraffes) 23/4 because we were on the Kudu Trail, near a feeding station & watering hole. The animals loved it there. It wasn't a "savanna view" designated room because we had no sweeping view of the savanna, but we saw plenty of animals. So that's a possibility to consider. Even if you didn't get lucky enough to have an animal view, they'll still be there when you step outside.

Also, AKL is one of the best resorts for both quick service and table service dining, so club level is an unnecessary perk, particularly if budget is a concern.

Aren't those standard room views really hard to get, where you can see animals? Like it is a lot of risk involved of not getting those few rooms that you see animals in? The savannah part is non negotiable, all my dad wants is to sit on his balcony and drink and watch animals....

I would love to not do Club lv but my Dad really, really, really, wants club level and the price between Club level savannah is not much at all. I see about less than 100 a night difference. Then we would just eat at the club for all of our food needs. So should equal out.
But yeah, I have had this conversation with him that he does not need club lv. Lol, but he keeps saying he asking for one thing, club lv savannah. But just fyi we are not super hurting on budget, just trimming.

Mostly just wondering about the split stay part. Like how much of a hassle is it. Is it worth losing a day, to move... etc...

 

[AllieBoo]

I agree with the pp who said to skip club level. I would see if that would give you enough savings to stay at AKL the whole time, or split with another Disney resort. My family has done a few split stays and we've enjoyed them, but we've always been splitting between two Disney resorts, so we could try different ones. It's not a hassle, since they will move your luggage for you, but there is always a little bit of irriration of being without a room for almost a full day on your switch day.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

I agree with the pp who said to skip club level. I would see if that would give you enough savings to stay at AKL the whole time, or split with another Disney resort. My family has done a few split stays and we've enjoyed them, but we've always been splitting between two Disney resorts, so we could try different ones. It's not a hassle, since they will move your luggage for you, but there is always a little bit of irriration of being without a room for almost a full day on your switch day.

If we cut club lv we would only save a couple hundred and would still need to do split stay. It does not really impacted the budget. So club lv really is not a big deal for budget.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Mostly just wondering about the split stay part. Like how much of a hassle is it. Is it worth losing a day, to move... etc...

To me, it’s pretty subjective. We don’t mind the “homeless day” - but we’re pretty adept at park touring / making a day away from the resort so there’s not much to the transition.

I never really like having to stop and think about packing and unpacking mid way through a trip (that cuts against what I want to be spending time doing on a vacation), but the trade off is being able to spend some time somewhere else, which is almost like two vacations in one and enhances the overall experience.

I personally would rather split a little longer trip, 7 nights is OK for a split, but sort of borderline for me. For a busy week like Thanksgiving, I think I’d also be more inclined to stay in one spot vs splitting.

Tough call, lots of pros/cons.

As for AKL CL, I do like CL there a lot, but I don’t know about being able to get “all of your food”. Breakfast yes, other meals, CL isn’t really going to be a true meal substitute unless you’re just really light eaters. As you note, AKL CL is among the cheapest cost “premiums” compared to non CL rooms of any of the resorts, so if you want to give it a try it’s a good value oriented choice. And for only a few nights, that’s an even easier choice, in my opinion.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Aren't those standard room views really hard to get, where you can see animals? Like it is a lot of risk involved of not getting those few rooms that you see animals in? The savannah part is non negotiable, all my dad wants is to sit on his balcony and drink and watch animals....

I would love to not do Club lv but my Dad really, really, really, wants club level and the price between Club level savannah is not much at all. I see about less than 100 a night difference. Then we would just eat at the club for all of our food needs. So should equal out.
But yeah, I have had this conversation with him that he does not need club lv. Lol, but he keeps saying he asking for one thing, club lv savannah. But just fyi we are not super hurting on budget, just trimming.

Mostly just wondering about the split stay part. Like how much of a hassle is it. Is it worth losing a day, to move... etc...

1. Club Level / Savanna View: If your dad is so set on having club level and/or savanna view at as gorgeous resort as AKL, I don't think he'll be happy at a value resort like Pop, or a budget offsite hotel, for the bigger part of your stay. I might get flamed for this, but the value resorts have a definite motel-like set-up and feel to their rooms, and are nothing like staying at a deluxe. So there is that to consider and make sure that he's on board with if you do decide to split.

2. Chances of getting a standard animal view: Your chances are fair. Better if you're proactive & call a few weeks ahead to request a Kudu Trail room, and study Touring Plans room finder to get an idea of where those rooms are, then check the map they give you at check-in to see if your actual,room is in that area. If it's not, very politely ask if a switch is possible. If there is room, they'll be happy to accommodate you. But, of course, there are no guarantees. Even if you pay for savanna-view, you have no guarantee of good animal views: some savanna views are better than others and the animals aren't always hanging around right where you'd like them to.

3. About the split: You don't have to lose all or even much of the day in your move. I strongly recommend moving on one of your park days, so being "homeless" doesn't pinch so much. If both stays are onsite, Bell Services will move your luggage for you if you ask. Be ready to tip cash for that and know that luggage won't be available until well into the afternoon at the new resort, and that it won't automatically be delivered to your room. You'll either have to get it yourself from Bell Services or call & wait for them to bring it over (& be ready to tip cash again). Another advantage of switching on a park day is that you'll probably already be planning to get up early anyway, so having to be packed up & out by 11am won't ruin a sleeping-in morning. Yes, packing up and transferring bags before going to the parks takes extra time (& can involve stress), so allow for that.

By my description you can see that even the best-laid-plans have some hassle & stress involved, which imo is best avoided unless you genuinely want to stay at both resorts for their own sake.

 

[epcotobsessed]

I agree with a lot of what has already been said here, though I will say that we always do a split stay and we love it. This is because we like the feel of different resorts and we think it's no big deal at all to repack/hold or send bags (you can have the bags transferred but we sometimes do it ourselves if we know we'll want them for something because it can take several hours to get them at the new resort). We LOVE AKL club level but it's super impractical to use with any regularity on a park day because you have to take a bus to every park (it's not like Beach Club or BWI, for instance, where you are a 5min walk from Epcot), so just keep that in mind.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

1. Club Level: If your dad is so set on club level at AKL, I don't think he'll be happy at a value resort like Pop, or a budget offsite hotel, for part of your stay. I might flamed for this, but the value resorts have a definite motel-like set-up and feel to their rooms, and are nothing like staying at a deluxe. So there is that to consider and make sure that he's on board with if you do decide to split.

2. Chances of getting a standard animal view: Your chances are fair. Better if you're proactive & call a few weeks ahead to request a Kudu Trail room, and study Touring Plans room finder to get an idea of where those rooms are, then check the map they give you at check-in ti see if your actual,room is in that area. If it's not, very politely ask if a switch is possible. If there is room, they'll be happy to accommodate you. But, of course, there are no guarantees. Even if you pay for savanna-view, you have no guarantee of good animal views: some savanna views are better than others and the animals aren't always hanging around right where you'd like them to.

3. About the split: You don't have to lose all of even much of the day in your move. I strongly recommend moving on one of your park days, so being "homeless" doesn't pinch so much. If both stays are onsite, Bell Services will move your luggage for you if you ask. Be ready to tip cash for that and know that luggage won't be available until well into the afternoon at the new resort, and that it won't automatically be delivered to your room. You'll either have to get it yurself from Bell Services or call & wait for them to bring it over (& be ready to tip cash again). Another advantage of switching on a park day is that you'll probably already be planning to get up early anyway, so having to be packed up & out by 11am won't ruin a sleeping-in morning. Yes, packing up and transferring bags before going to the parks takes extra time, so allow for that.

By my description you can see that even the best-laid-plans have some hassle & stress involved, which imo is best avoided unless you genuinely want to stay at two different reorts.

1. So you are right about my dad, he might not be flying in until we are at AKL. He does not want to do Pop. But Doubletree suites he is thinking he can do... (but who knows if disney will continue disney privileges with them, cause we are only going to do a place that has the fast pass privileges) It is great those suites are same price as Pop. My dad is high maintenance and he does not like Disney and likes luxury. He his doing this trip to be with family and grandson for thanksgiving.
2. Good to know about that. I will mention it to him
3. Great tips.

 

[loves to dive]

Our last 7 or 8 trips have been split stays, frankly, I can't imagine not doing one. We drive down from Ga. and get there about 2 or 3 in the afternoon and I'm cheap enough that I can't see paying for a deluxe for what really is just somewhere to sleep for that first night. We tend to do the first and sometimes 2nd night in either a value or moderate and frankly I just go with whatever is cheapest and available. We arrive and take our bags to our room if it's ready, hop on the first bus to arrive when we get to the bus stop and spend the rest of the day at a park. I get up early even on vacation so on move day we get up, go have breakfast, load up the car and either call to check out if express check out isn't available or go by the front desk and do it. Then we drive to resort #2, check in and store our bags then head off to a park. I do on line check in but go ahead and go to the front desk to let them know we are there. We aren't picky about a specific view so I just tell them to let me have whatever is available first. Depending on the time of day and what we are doing, when we get the room ready text we either go back to the resort or not. If we do, we usually just take our bags to the room and check it out, unpack and rest a little bit then had out to a park. We never feel homeless and it's not really a big deal, it is easier for us since we do have the car to switch resorts with but if we didn't we would just Uber it. The only time we don't do split stays is if the trip is a short 3 or 4 night. Anything longer than 4 nights, we do it. I tend to pack a small bag for the first night so I don't have to lug our big bags into the room, I have a travel toiletry bag that I just switch from bag one to bag two. My son uses just one bag and never unpacks, just lives out of the bag but I like to unpack in resort #2.

 

[NicoleLarson]

I think you have a great plan. We've done many many split stays, most were just 1 nighters. They're a lot easier than you may think. Will you have a car? If not, then absolutely do POP, so WDW will move your luggage for you. We absolutely love AKL CL and have stayed up there on Thanksgiving before. They served the most delicious Thanksgiving "dinner" I've ever had. The reason why I called it "dinner" is because its appetizer size portions but you can get as much as you want. Also having access to CL on your "homeless" day would be a great asset. The AKL CL is so cozy, it's easy to hang out in all afternoon. Also AKL is a fantastic resort to just walk around and enjoy all that it has to offer. Just a fair warning once you stay CL, it's really hard to go back. Sounds like you have put a lot of thought into this plan and it sounds very doable. Have a fabulous time.

 

[maxiesmom]

I would be on board with a split stay, but would never split stay during one of the most busy times of the year. Especially not off site to on site. It is going to be super busy, and everything will take longer--even driving/transferring to your new resort. Then who knows how long you will have to wait for your new room, and the odds of getting any requests you make go down.

I would also not be happy only eating the club level food.

 

[Sue M]

No, I wouldn’t do a split stay on a 1 week trip, and def not Thanksgiving week.
If financially it’s going to be difficult why don’t you postpone AKL CL for another time and book a moderate resort for this trip. If there is availablity.
one year we did a split stay at AKL, 1 week pool view, 1 week CL.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

I think you have a great plan. We've done many many split stays, most were just 1 nighters. They're a lot easier than you may think. Will you have a car? If not, then absolutely do POP, so WDW will move your luggage for you. We absolutely love AKL CL and have stayed up there on Thanksgiving before. They served the most delicious Thanksgiving "dinner" I've ever had. The reason why I called it "dinner" is because its appetizer size portions but you can get as much as you want. Also having access to CL on your "homeless" day would be a great asset. The AKL CL is so cozy, it's easy to hang out in all afternoon. Also AKL is a fantastic resort to just walk around and enjoy all that it has to offer. Just a fair warning once you stay CL, it's really hard to go back. Sounds like you have put a lot of thought into this plan and it sounds very doable. Have a fabulous time.

We will have a car no matter what. That was the one thing my mom wanted, she does not like waiting on busses anymore and likes having a seat.
Thanks for the warning. lol.

I would be on board with a split stay, but would never split stay during one of the most busy times of the year. Especially not off site to on site. It is going to be super busy, and everything will take longer--even driving/transferring to your new resort. Then who knows how long you will have to wait for your new room, and the odds of getting any requests you make go down.

I would also not be happy only eating the club level food.

I now only going to go during busy times of the year as a SS teacher. My school district looks down on us using our leave time during the school year for vacations. They want us only to use it for emergency like sickness or doctors appointments. They say use the vacation they already give us for vacations.
Good tip about everything taking longer while crowded that is understandable.

 

[Carolynleanne]

We love split stays. Do them every time. It gives us a whole new Resort feel and different pools and dining options. The only time I don't recommend it is if your visit is less than a week long.

 

[glocon]

Only other thing, I would definitely do the CL portion of the trip second, as going from deluxe to anything else would be a let down.